Sermon Notes June 15, 2025

Delilah — Bad to the Bone

“Bad Girls of the Bible”

Judges 13:2-5, 24-25,  ”A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, ‘You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.’ 24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.”

  1. “Nazirite” means someone _____________, separated or dedicated.               
  2. Samson didn‘t make this _________ personally! _______________.

See Judges 14:6; 14:19; and 15:14-15

  1. Samson _________________________vow after vow after vow.

Judges 16:4-5, ”Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.’”

See Judges 16:6-9; 10-12; 13-14; 15-16; 17

  1. So why was Samson so foolish? Because Samson didn’t think  _____________________. He had lived his whole life in complete disregard of his __________________, and his strength had never left him. So why care now?

See Judges 16:18-30

  1. What’s the take away? 
A.  Be careful who you give your ___________________ to.
B.  Be ________________________ when being pressured.   
C.  View your ______________ in light of the _____________ of  Go
D.  A life given over to _____________________ destroys the life of the ______________.

 


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Sermon Notes June 08, 2025

Reduction of Sin by Letting God IN

Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  1. _________________ of sin, by letting ______________in!

1 John 5:14 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us.

Hebrews 3:13 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Romans 8:26 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

  1. You purposely ________________ God ___________ life.

 


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Sermon Notes June 01, 2025

What God Cannot Do!

  1. The single most important question: Who is ____________?           The second most important question: What is the ___________              ________?

Mark 3:28-29, ”Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

Matthew 12:31-32, ”And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Luke 12:10, “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

Don’t Forget…
A) When we talk about the Holy Spirit, we’re talking about  _______________ the Holy Spirit.
B) One of the ministries specific to the Holy Spirit is to _________________ to a relationship with God the Father through Jesus.

See John 16:8-9; John 15:26; and John 3:3-7

  1. To blasphemy the Holy Spirit, means that you show the Holy Spirit and His work __________. You ___________ Him.
  2. The person who repeatedly, continually, without repentance  rejects ________________ in their life, (Who is) promoting Jesus and testifying to Jesus… that person blasphemes the Holy Spirit.

 


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Sermon Notes May 25, 2025

How Does It End?                                                                       “Crazy, Reckless Love”

See Hosea 2:2-13

Hosea 2:14-17, 19-20, 23, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness  and speak tenderly to her.15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘you will call Me “My husband”; you will no longer call Me “My master.” 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. 20 I will betroth you in faithfulness and you will acknowledge the Lord. I will plant her for Myself in the land; I will show My love to the one I called “Not My loved one.”  I will say to those called “Not My people,” You are My people’; and they will say, “You are my God.”’“

Hosea 3:13, “The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’” 

  1. God’s not going _______________ and His _______________ for              you is not going _______________. There’s nothing you can do that will make Him love you less. But ________________________ you?

Hosea 14:1-4, “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say “Our gods” to what our own hands have made, for in You the fatherless find compassion.’ ‘I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them.’”

  1. God goes after us at our ______________, He keeps after us throughout our life, and if we turn to Him, makes us into lovers even when we knew _________________ of love.

 


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Sermon Notes May 18, 2025

Some Crazy Named Children                                          “Crazy, Reckless Love”

  1. God called Hosea to marry a woman who was a known prostitute, and then to be ______________ to her no matter what. To stay true to her, no matter how __________ she might be to him.

Hosea 1:2-4, ”When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.’ So he married Gomer     daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.    Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.’”

Hosea 1:6,8-9, ”Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them.’… After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not My people, and I am not your God.’”

  1. Jezreel means ______________ or __________________, but here, it is referring to a place, a town named Jezreel.

See 2 Kings 9:6-10

  1. Lo-Ruhamah means ______________ or ________________.
  2. Lo-Ammi means ___________________________________.
  3. This is something we don’t often think about. There are                  ___________________ for our decisions, our choices, in relation to _____________.

See Hosea 2:2-13.

 


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Sermon Notes May 11, 2025

My Name is Hosea                                                    “Crazy, Reckless Love”

  1. Why? The reason God did this was for Hosea’s life to serve as a _______________ of God’s crazy, reckless love for His people despite their ___________________ of Him.

Hosea 1:1-2, “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel:  When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.’”

  1. In God’s eyes, that’s the nature of our betrayal of His love — our radical, habitual unfaithfulness and ________________.
How We View Ourselves in Relation to God
 
a.     A __________________.              
b.     A __________________. 
c.      An _________________. 
d.      A __________________.    
e.      A __________________.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The one great spiritual disease is thinking that one is quite well.”

  1. How can you possible be ______________ if you never admit you are ________________!

 


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Sermon Notes May 04, 2025

Why Get Wet?                                                                                               “The Big Ask”

  1. You ___________ it for your life.

Matthew 28:18-20, ”Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

  1. You go _____________ for God.

Matthew 10:32-33, “Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown him before My Father in heaven.”

  1. You experience in, and participate with, what some churches call a  ________________________.          
a) What is that? An ________________________ of an _________________________.
b) In Protestant churches there are only two: baptism and  ___________________________.  

See 1 Corinthians 11:27-31.

John 3:3-5, “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”

2 Kings 5:13-14, ”But his servants came near and said to him, ‘My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, “Wash, and be clean”?’ 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

  1. You ________, you get baptized for the sake of ________________. 

 


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Sermon Notes April 27, 2025

You Need to Get Wet                                                    “The Big Ask”

  1. The word “baptize” means to ____________, or __________ ,  or _____________ someone in water.

Psalm 51:7, “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

  1. John the Baptist’s baptism was not about ritual purity, but                        ________________ purity.

Matthew 3:11, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 3:13-15, ”Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?’ 15 Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.”

Matthew 28:19-20, ”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

  1. Baptism is a reflection of the life you are ________________              _____________, not the one you have lived, or are living now.
  2. All examples of baptism in the New Testament followed an   individual’s  _____________to trust Christ alone for their salvation.

 


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Sermon Notes April 20, 2025

Resurrection Sunday                                              “His Final Week But Our New Beginning” 

IQ Quiz                                                       

  1. How long did the Hundred Years’ War last?
  2. Which country makes Panama hats?
  3. From which animal do we get catgut?
  4. In what month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
  5. What is a camel-hair brush made of ?
  6. The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
  1. Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 

Current Events Quiz

  1. President Trump backed away from a major piece of his tariff plan this last week, pausing the reciprocal import taxes he had placed on dozens of countries. Which country was the exception? Algeria, China, Japan, Britain
  2. Markets shot up last week after Trump announced his tariff pause. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 9.5% —  it’s the biggest one day gain since when? 2020, 1982, 2008, 1930
  3. At least 221 people died last week after a roof of a nightclub collapsed during a concert in what Caribbean country? Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic 
  4. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, last week called for states to ban Fluoride in what? Aluminum Smelting, Drinking Water,  Soda, Mouth Wash 
  5. Which two universities won the men’s and women’s N.C.A.A. basketball championships last week? University of Florida, Houston University, University of Connecticut, Duke University
  6. A PG– rated comedic fantasy had the biggest opening box office for a video game adaptation. What game is it based on? Fortnite, Pokemon, Minecraft, Call of Duty 
  7. Scientists bred animals that carry genes of what species that went extinct 13,000 years ago? Dire wolf, Dodo bird, Golden toad, Woolly mammoth 

 

Luke 24:1-11, “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ”The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” ’ Then they remembered His words.When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”

 

Luke 24:13-24, “Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles  from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing Him.17 He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, ‘Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’19 ’What things?’ He asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  

21 but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.’” 

Luke 9:22, ”And He said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’” 

Luke 18:31-33, ”Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him and spit on Him; 33 they will flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.’” 

Luke 18:34, ”The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about.” 

Three Radical Ideas 

(A) The real problem of our world is our need to be __________    ____________________from all the things we’ve done that separates us from God. 

(B) The real nature of the Messiah… they didn’t see how a                _____________________________ would be of any value. 

Luke 24:25-27, ”He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’ 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” 

See also Isaiah 53:1-12

Luke 24:28-34, ”As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So He went in to stay with them.30 When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’

(C) The real ending of Friday… was on __________________.

 


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Sermon Notes April 13, 2025

Holy Saturday                                                                           “His Final Week But Our New Beginning”

What Happens When You Die? Three Choices…                                   

  1. This life is __________________________; or,   
  2. You are _________________________; or,   
  3. The Christian faith is right; it contends that when we die, we remain ___________ and, in a non-physical sense, _________.

See Ecclesiastes 12:7

1 Peter 3:18-20, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, He went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water…”

  1. Who were the spirits? The consensus is Peter was not talking about _____________________, but ___________________.

2 Peter 2:4, ”For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment.”

Jude 1:6, ”And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” 

  1. “Tartarus”: a Greek term used to describe the place where the ______________________________ were sent to be punished.
  2. What did Jesus “preach to them?” The Greek word used simply means that Jesus made an ______________________.

So, What Happens When We Die?   

a) We remain ___________________.   
b) Our spiritual, eternal decisions are sealed. 
c) We go to a place that reflects our __________________.  
d) We are judged.       
e) We go to be _____________, or apart _____________, for eternity.

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