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Judges: Flawed People, Faithful God

Judges is one of the more difficult books of the Bible, because at times it feels quite difficult to find nice, ‘spiritual’ thoughts that will help us.

Instead it’s full of dodgy dealings, fairly brutal murders, leaders that you lose confidence in, general darkness until by the end of the book, you could be excused for wondering why it’s in the Bible at all.

This film gives a helpful overview of the book as a whole.

[youtube]kOYy8iCfIJ4[/youtube]

Listen to the sermons

Judges: Grace for the Bleakest Days


 

Read Judges 17-21
Judges finishes with two stories that show God’s people at their worst.

In the first story, they create a parody of all that true worship was about; in the second they act in ways that would outrage any peoples at that time.

How did they get to that point?

If the Bible finished with the close of these stories, we would be depressed and hopeless. But, remarkably, God doesn’t finish here. The story continues. The story of grace.

These chapters are a warning and a lesson to us, though. It’s so easy to bend Christianity away from all that Jesus intended.

So we pray, ‘God, don’t give up on us, don’t stop wrestling with us, don’t allow us to become the worst versions of ourselves. Save us.’

Judges: Trump. Samson. Jesus.


 

Read Judges 16
Trump. Samson. Jesus.

What do they have in common? They each allow us to be honest about our real needs, hopes and fears.

How are they different? Two out of three seem to go along with the flow of a culture moving away from all that God intended, but only one wants us to be the society that God has designed us to be.

Judges: The Power of the Tongue


 

Read Judges 11-12

Words can be very powerful, used both for good, and for bad.

The story of Jephthah in Judges 11-12 shows us several examples of the power that words can have; rejection, agreement, diplomacy, dangerous vows, and division.

Judges: Abimelek and Power


 

Read Judges 9

Abimelek is one of the most ruthless leaders in Judges – grabbing power and manipulating people and situations for his own ends.

Is there another way of doing business in the ‘real world’? And how do you cope with these ruthless characters who still seem to be very much in evidence in today’s world.

Judges: Weakness and Strength


 

Read Judges 6-8

Gideon was the weakest in his clan, but he was used by God to deliver his people.

It didn’t take long for his biggest strength to become his biggest weakness.

Judges: Enough is enough


 

Read Judges 4-5

Every generation has people who God sets apart, and disturbs enough that they might see things differently than everybody else.

Every generation, God gets hold of people and says to them, ‘I want you to act courageously. I want you to be involved in stuff that you never would have imagined. I want you to make a difference.’

And every generation, God gives people the resources to do the unthinkable, and to do the remarkable.

And no matter how bad the situations are that we find ourselves in, God is always raising up people who can actually make a difference, and normally they are the last people you might expect.

But God does it over and over again. And Judges 4-5 is a story that shows us exactly that…
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Judges: Forgetful People – Faithful God


 

Read Judges 2:6-23

What happens when God’s people forget their own story? They end up living in a permanent ‘now’ – no sense of a past, no hope for a future.

What does God do when they forget their story? He demonstrates his passion for his own people.

He will not let them go.

Judges: Flawed People – Faithful God


 

Judges is one of the more difficult books of the Bible, because at times it feels quite difficult to find nice, ‘spiritual’ thoughts that will help us.

Instead it’s full of dodgy dealings, fairly brutal murders, leaders that you lose confidence in, general darkness until by the end of the book, you could be excused for wondering why it’s in the Bible at all.

Here’s the film I used in the service to help us get an overview of the book as a whole.

[youtube]kOYy8iCfIJ4[/youtube]

If you haven’t come across The Bible Project before, go and have a look – their overviews of Bible books, and biblical themes, are brilliant.

Summer sermons

Missed a sermon over the summer holidays? We’ve collected them all together below for you to listen to.

Dreams: God at work in the midst of a dysfunctional family

Genesis 37
Steve Hollick: 24th July 2016


 
Joseph’s dreams didn’t come true for many years, and that may be true for us too.

Integrity: Who we are when no-one is looking

Genesis 39
Chris Elsdon: 31st July 2016


 
Joseph’s integrity earned him favour and responsibility in Egypt, but it also landed him in trouble! Are we willing to be faithful to God, even when nobody is watching?

Power: The danger of having the upper hand

Genesis 42
Neil Hudson: 14th August 2016


 
Did Joseph use his great power for good, or had he allowed the culture of Egypt to shape him in such a way that he forgot his God?

Reconciliation: Creative Peacemaking

Genesis 44-45
Ian Peacock: 21st August 2016


 
Joseph forgives, blesses, and takes the opportunity to be reconciled to the brothers who hurt him badly. What does the bible teach about forgiveness and reconciliation and how should we respond?

Providence: God was there all along

Genesis 48-52
Arthur Whillans; 28th August 2016


 
Who’s really in control of the world? Is it people? Is it fate? Is it random chance? Or is it God? How do we make sense of things going wrong in our lives?

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