Perry’s Scope: Christian sermons, lessons, and resources for teachers

We are very similar to the ancient Hebrews. They thought that they could worship Baal and then come to the temple and worship YHWH. This is how many American Christians think but God did not and does not tolerate it. He has a higher standard and level of expectation than that. Take a few minutes and hear this sermon based on text from the prophet.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

 

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I read that the belief that black cats are bad luck goes back to the middle ages. Then people thought that a black cat was a companion or mascot of a coven of witches. They thought that after seven years of service, the cat would turn into a witch or Satan himself.

Therefore, people reasoned that if a black cat crossed your path, it might be a witch or the Devil in disguise. They would assume that this being would only be up to no good. They would steer clear of the cat.

While it is true that the “Evil One” is up to no good, we need to realize that he is not disguised as a black cat. Neither is he running around with a pitchfork and pointed tail. He is far to clever for that.

“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. . . ” 2 Corinthians 11.14-15

One of the names we assign to Satan is “Lucifer.” The name  means “Son of the Morning.” This seems to indicate beauty and significance. He has the ability to appear as a godly person or a person of good intentions. In fact, he uses his beauty and influence to have the opposite effect.

Isn’t it interesting how he gets us to lower our guard? He deceives us into thinking he is better than he is. Or, an even greater deception he uses is to get us thinking he is not there at all. Either way, he can get us to drop our guard and let him in - to our destruction.

The good news is our God is stronger than Satan. We have a God against whom nothing can stand. He has won the ultimate victory in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It is just a matter of time until he decides to end the “contest” between good and evil and take us home.

Stan firm in the power of his might.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

I heard about a man in Sydney, Australia who was, to say the least, obsessed with bicycles. When he died the police found 435 bicycles in his house. It took them a week to remove the bikes and hundreds of parts from the house. No doubt some of the bikes were purchased; some were traded; and some were stolen.

It is easy to see what the focus of this man’s life was. We would quickly say that it is ridiculous to put so much emphasis on bicycles of all things.  Yet, is that really any different from other things that we put at the center of our lives — in place of God?

Jesus spoke of a man who was so obsessed with his things that he had to tear down his barns and build bigger ones in order to keep it (Luke 12:13-21). The truth is that if our focus is not on God, it makes little difference where it is — bicycles, vacation homes, jewelry — it is all just clutter that we will leave behind.

The irony in the bicycle story is the way the man died. You guessed it — he fell off of a bike and landed on his head. His obsession resulted in his death!

Death means the loss of everything in this world. When a wealthy man died, someone asked how much money he left behind.  “All of it,” was the answer. There is only one obsession that lasts — “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene