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

Do you think America is in trouble?

There is a war going on within our country right now that has nothing to do with the terrorist threat or foreign invasion. It is a war between right and wrong/truth and lies/godliness and ungodliness

We have gone from:

• Kids having fistfights at the bike rack to drive by shootings in the neighborhood
• School searches for chewing gum to searches for weapons
• Mayberry to Brokeback Mountain

John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

 Sweden (2005)

A Swedish appeals court has overturned the “hate crimes” conviction of a Pentecostal pastor who preached a sermon on homosexuality.

“It’s one thing to arrest someone; it’s quite another to arrest someone’s conscience,” said ADF Senior Counsel Glen Lavy. “This pastor had no desire whatsoever to incite hatred against those who participate in homosexual behavior. He was merely stating his views on the morality of such behavior. That should not be a crime.”

The pastor, Ake Green, received a one-month jail sentence last year under a Swedish “hate crimes” law that forbids criticism of those who participate in homosexual behavior. But Friday the Goeta Appeals Court found no fault with Green.

“Nothing indicates the pastor used his position as a preacher as a cover for attacking homosexuals,” the court said in its opinion, concluding that Ake’s speech resulted from “the Bible’s categorical condemnation of homosexual relations as a sin.”

That kind of thing could never happen in America! Or can it?

Wichita, KS (2009)

City of Wichita officials have agreed to a consent order from a federal court that concludes that police violated the constitutional rights of a pastor when they arrested him as he prepared to peacefully express his Christian beliefs on a public sidewalk. Pastor Mark Holick is represented by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund.

“Christians shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “We are pleased city of Wichita officials will now ensure that Pastor Holick is free to exercise his First Amendment rights in public without fear of arrest.”

Holick was arrested June 24, 2007, while attempting to peacefully express his faith on a public sidewalk with other members of his church outside of an event celebrating homosexual behavior. Holick, who notified police of the group’s plans a week before the event, was confronted by eight to 10 officers, who informed him that he would be arrested if he did not leave the public sidewalk. They charged him with trespassing and arrested him after he refused to move to a private parking lot across the street. The charges were later dismissed.

“The actions of the police were based solely on the perceived content of our Christian speech and beliefs,” said Holick. “They arrested me before I even had a chance to speak.”

San Juan Capistrano, CA – 2011

Chuck and Stephanie Fromm were fined $300 and ordered to stop holding a regular Bible study at their home. The meeting violates a city ordinance as a “church” and not as a private gathering, they were told. They also face additional charges of $500 per meeting for any further “religious gatherings” in their home, according to the Pacific Justice Institute, which is representing the couple in a legal fight to get the city’s decision overturned.

San Diego, CA 2009

In San Diego, county officials have reneged on their demand that a preacher and his wife discontinue weekly Bible studies in their home until they obtain a Major Use Permit, a process that costs tens of thousands of dollars.

According to news reports out of San Diego, Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary were interrogated by a county official and then threatened with increasing fines if they continued holding their Tuesday night Bible studies. The studies regularly drew about 15 people.

What will we do about it?

I.                   It has ALWAYS been the Job of God’s People to Contend with Ungodly Culture

Examples:

• Noah
• Moses with Pharaoh
• Jonah and Nineveh
• Elijah and Ahab
• Nathan and David
• Isaiah – Counselor to 4 Kings
• Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar
• John the Immerser and Herod
• Jesus

A Charge – Ezekiel 33.2-9

America‘s Foundation

John Adams Letter to Hezekiah Niles, 1818

We have UNALIENABLE Rights based on Scripture

• No President/Congress/Supreme Court/Dictator gives us these rights – only God

II.                   Practical Actions:

#1 – Prepare – Educate Ourselves to Current Events

²Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.  1 Chronicles 12.32

[Connecticut’s Education Laws – Know Bible – Know Laws of Land

Learn the Constitution – no Department of Education; EPA; etc.

#2 – Practice Your Faith Every Day

Talk about Yeshua – Deuteronomy 6

It won’t be easy/comfortable

#3 – Participate in the Process

Vote

Pressure our REPRESENTATIVES in OKC and DC

•  John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
• We get wrapped up in talking about Heaven and that this world is unimportant
• We are stewards of God’s gifts – Yeshua/FREEDOM/Unalienable Rights/Freedom
• 85% of all mission work originates in US – what happens if/when we can’t openly practice our faith?
• “My kingdom is not of this world” does not mean it is not IN this world – its origin was before this world; it continues in this world; and will eternally exist in the world to come. We need to support its principles NOW as well as in heaven.

#4 – PRAY Diligently

¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7.14

Note the conditions

Note the promises

Pray for the help of God

Pray for a Great Awakening

Good News – I read the last chapter – Yeshua wins – we do, too.

• What about “honoring Caesar”?
• In US – elected officials are not our rulers they are our representatives – WE THE PEOPLE are Caesar

The Bible and the Constitution:

• Three Branches of Government – Isaiah 33.22
• President as Citizen – Deuteronomy 17.15
• Not Above the Law, i.e., Treason (A-2; S-4) – Deuteronomy 17.18-19
• Representative form of Government (A-4; S-4) – Exodus 18.21

Open

• How do you respond when you realize someone has “pulled the wool over your eyes”?
• What is your better means of motivation – the “carrot” or the “stick”?

Study

Please read 2 Chronicles 7.11-22 verses and discuss with your Group.

1. Why do you think God appears to Solomon in dreams? (see also 2 Chronicles 1.7ff)
2. How does he motivate Solomon?
3. What is the original situation for verse 14?
4. What are the promises to Solomon? What are the conditions to the promises?
5. Why do you think God makes his promises conditional?
6. Are God’s warnings harsh to you? Why?
7. What is the significance of verse 18?

Apply

• Although the initial intent of verse 14 was to Israel, how may we apply it?
• Contrary to modern history books, America was established on Biblical principles. How do you see our country’s alignment to the scriptures today?
• If you were the “Monarch of America,” what would you do to fix our problems (short answers, please).
• If we honor God as a nation, what will he do for us? What if we don’t?
• What are things YOU can do to help America get back on track?

Open

Please share your response to one of the following:

• As a high school student what did you do in your spare time? (Sports, student government, band, scouts, etc.)
•  
• Outside of your family, where would you say your personality, who you are today, was shaped?

• Junior high school
• High school
• Church
• Club or Organization
• College First Job

Study

Please read the following passages and share your responses to the following questions:

Matthew 22.34-40

• In what ways does this passage simplify our walk with God?
• Why do you think we try to complicate our faith?
• What happens to people when we make things harder than God intended?

Exodus 17.12-13

• What is the symbolism in this passage?
• Who do you think the Amalekites represent?
• What is significant about Moses’ hands?
• What is exemplified by Aaron and Hur? Joshua? His army?
• How does the steadiness of Moses’ hands represent our faith?

Deuteronomy 7.6-12

• What do you think is significant about the “steadiness/faithfulness” of God to us?
• What mutual obligations do we have?

Apply

• How would you say you are “chosen” by God? How is this similar to Israel? What obligations come with it?
• When you feel like wavering from God, what do you do to steady yourself?
• What battle has God won (or is winning) in your life lately?

Did you hear that a couple in San Juan Capistrano, California was fined for hosting a Bible study in their home? The initial charge was $300. The next payment is to be $500 for each additional gathering. City officials cite a municipal code violation that prohibits religious, fraternal, or non-profit organizations from meeting in residential neighborhoods without a permit.

Do you see ANY problems with this? Has the city of San Juan Capistrano overstepped its bounds? Are the people of the community restricted from practicing freedom of religion? Where does the Constitution limit Christian activity to a church building? If this is an issue of frequency or the size of the crowd, should that not be the regulation rather than restricting a “religious” organization? “At the same time that our government is singling out homosexual groups for special protection (under the guise of civil rights) it is also singling out religious groups for special discrimination!

Isn’t it interesting that when the church began, people met in public places like the temple in Jerusalem as well as in houses (Acts 2:46)? In addition to eating meals together, they taught the bible in homes (Acts 20:20). Those early believers treated their homes as “small temples” in which they would honor God with worship, prayer, and study.

Have you ever heard people say, “That could never happen in America (or Oklahoma)? Well, it IS happening in America. What is to prevent such governmental actions in our state or other parts of the country?

The answer is – WE THE PEOPLE. We are the keys to stopping unconstitutional government activities. We must let our voices be heard in our Capitols, both state and federal. We must demand Constitutional compliance. If we do not, Christian silence will have no voice.

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

Sometimes when it comes to faithfully serving God, we make it far more complicated than it has to be. It helps us to simplify things.

⁶ “With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
⁸He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6.6-8

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22.34-40

I.       God Demonstrates His Faithfulness, Not Just His Forgiveness

 A.     In Words:

Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”

1 Corinthians 1:9, “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”

 B.     In Actions

Giving Abraham his descendants – stars/sand

Psalm 89:5, “The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too…”

Giving them the Land

Bringing the Messiah through them

Psalm 36:5, “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”

II.    God Desires Our Faithfulness, not Our Flash!

 A.     God is interested in the marathon, not the sprint

“Slow and steady wins the race”

1.      Abraham was a great example of faithfulness for the long-haul – Romans 4.3; Galatians 3.6; James 2.23 All three are Quoting Genesis 15.6 — ⁶And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Covenant for Abraham’s descendants)

2.      Moses is an example of faithfulness for the long-haul – Exodus 17.12-13

¹²But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady (faithful) until the going down of the sun. ¹³And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

a.       “Faith” involves belief

b.      Faith involves Steadiness – emunah is used in either place

c.       Often we are tempted to do some “big thing” for God and then rest on our laurels

I built an ark

I killed a giant

I gave money

I built a sanctuary for God

I taught classes

I preached sermons

I visited the sick

 B.     God is interested in Availability more than Ability – Parable of Talents (Matthew 25.14ff)

A talent was a large sum of money – comparable to about $500,000 today

The Master was more interested in the effort than the results – 5 and 2 talent men received the same commendation; the 1 talent man a rebuke

‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!

Also a reminder of the unexpected return of the Messiah

Stewardship and accountability

Invest in what we have been given by God – source of all good gifts

Conclusion

In spite of our near-sightedness God still stands by us and works with us.

God is faithful/steady (emunah) in working with us – Deuteronomy 7.6-12

⁶“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful (emunah/steady) God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. ¹¹ You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. ¹² “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.

God desires our faithful steadiness – believing and doing

Open

Please share one of the following with your Group:

• Do you prefer to buy clothes at – a garage sale or a Macy’s? Why?
• What is the greatest act of generosity you have ever seen? What made t so?
• In Dickens’ “Christmas Carol,” which Scrooge do you identify with – the miser or the one who shared?

Study

Please read Matthew 6.19-24 and discuss the following

• Why do you think the eyes are significant in Jesus’ statements here?
• Why would God describe generosity as the “good” eye? Stinginess as the “evil” eye?
• In what ways does the evil eye “see” itself?
• What is the connection between treasure and heart? Where do our eyes fit in?
• How does our choice of treasures affect our actions?
• How do our actions now produce rewards in the world to come? Why is this not about salvation?

Apply

• How do our eyes affect our actions?
• How does thinking as God thinks impact how and what we see and do?
• How can we cultivate an attitude that emphasizes others?
• What role does thanksgiving play?

Matthew 6.22-23

1. Context of Money – 6.19-21
2. Dealing with attitude – 6.24ff

Consider:

I. The Role of the Eyes

A. Good Actions Can Begin with the Eyes –

1. Serving – Matthew 25.44

2. Sharing – John 4.35

3. Avoiding Problems – Lot’s Wife

B. Evil Actions Can Begin with Eyes

1. Garden of Eden – Eve saw that the tree was good for food/delight to eyes (Genesis 3.6)

2. “Thou shalt not covet. . . “

3. GREEK PROVERB: “As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man”

4. “What causes wars, and what causes fights among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:1-3

II. The Right Eye – “Good Eye” – Idiom is Generous (could be Good/Sound/Single)

A. Eye Errors

1. New Age – Single/Third Eye for meditation

2. Neurological/Health Issues

3. A Matter of Focus or Priorities

B. The Idiom Describes How We Are to See Others (graciously/generously)

1. Perceiving and Responding to Needs

2. Generous attitude – Good Samaritan

3.      ⁷ As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10.7-8

III. The Wrong Eye – Evil Eye – Stingy

A. Warnings Against Self-Centeredness –

³Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2.3-4

Generous Landowner — ¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? Matthew 20.15

A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth; And does not know that want will come upon him. Proverbs 28.22 (NASB)

⁶Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy (has an evil eye, literally); do not desire his delicacies, ⁷for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.“Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. Proverbs 23.6-7

B. Evil Eye is Full of Darkness –

1. Can’t see others as God sees them

2. God makes rain and sun on evil and good – us?

How Can I Gain/Maintain the Good Eye?

1. Learn to think as God thinks – ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2.4-5

2. Have an “Others” Attitude

3. Realize Actions in this world produce rewards in the world to come – Matthew 6.19-21; Matthew 25.44ff

4. Practice Thanksgiving

5. Learn Contentment

Recently a DJ on the radio announced that an unusual event occurred at the Belmont racetrack on September 11. In the first race the 9^th horse won. In the second race the 1^st horse won. In the third race the 1^st horse won. That made 9-1-1 on 9.11. What are the odds?

People go to Vegas or play the Lottery in an effort to win large sums of money. What are the odds?

Believe it or not, there is a biblical application. Imagine the odds of the accuracy of the Bible if it was not inspired by God. Sixty-six books were written by about forty men over hundreds of years. Yet, the storyline remains intact. Here is a challenge for the skeptics. Go to the library and pull any sixty-six books written by at least forty people over a period of 1500 years. Do they match? Do the stories harmonize?

Here are some more things to consider. What are the odds of the following:

• That Micah could predict the exact location of the Messiah’s birth 700 years in advance?
• 1000 years before Jesus David predicted his betrayal by a friend?
• Six centuries before, Zechariah predicted that he would be sold for thirty pieces of silver?
• In the eighth century before his coming, Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would be born of a virgin?

I am sure you get the point. The coming of Jesus into the world and fulfilling ancient prophecy was no accident. It is not by chance that He is the King of Kings!

Keep The Light Burning!

Perry Greene

South Yukon Church of Christ

1. Memorable Events in US History: 7.4.1776; 3.6.1836; 12.7.1941; VE/VJ Day; JFK; RFK; MLK; Challenger; 9.11.01

Reminders of conflict with cultures

Reminder of a greater battle going on – good vs. evil

2. Relive those events – TV coverage

3. Emergency 911 Phone Call

4. What do you do when something happens that is beyond your control? What do you do when you stand by watching, wanting to help but completely helpless to correct the situation. Panic has set in as you try to figure out what to do. And then you think of it “Of course” you dial 911 and ask for help.

5. Key 911 verses in times of need:

I. Faith Over Fear (14.26-27; 30-31)

A. The sin-cursed world affects all of us – Ecclesiastes 9.11

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

1. Fear is our natural response

2. No answers in fear, only doubt and confusion

B. Faith is the supernatural/spiritual response

1. Faith may appear to be illogical

2. Faith’s origin is God – Romans 10.17

3. Faith’s Response – John 9.11

He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”

II. Prayer Over Panic

A. Prayer is the Right Action (Matthew 14.28; 30)

B. Prayer is the Reminder of God’s Power and Will

1. The Natural Man Panics the Spiritual Man Prays – Nehemiah 9.11

And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.

2. Shadow of God = Safety/Relief/Shade/Adversary can’t penetrate – Psalm 91.1

¹He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

3. There is power in giving thanks – 2 Corinthians 9.11

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

III. Respond To Over Running From (Matthew 14.33)

A. Do What Needs to be Done

1. Trust in Yeshua – ¹¹And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Matthew 9.11

2. Worship God in all Circumstances – ¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds! ¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds! Psalm 9.11

B. Do What Needs to be Done in Spite of Circumstances (Matthew 9.11 – above)

1. Spiritual Armor (Ephesians 6) – protects the front

2. Soldiers fought back to back – we protect each other’s back

Chinese saying: “True Gold is not afraid of fire”

Gold is:

Expensive – Investment

Coveted – Competed for

High Melting Point – 1945 Degrees F

Almost all the gold that has been mined = the amount of gold in history

Almost indestructible – Jewelry – never rusts or tarnishes

God purifies NATIONS and PEOPLE with fire

⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1.6-7

¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Revelation 3.18

Remember 911

• Faith Over Fear
• Prayer Over Panic
• Respond TO Over Running Away

Open

Please discuss one of the following with your Group:

• Where were you when you heard the news of 9.11.01?
• What would you say was your most daring adventure?
• When you are afraid, where do you go?

Study

Please read Matthew 14.22-33 and discuss the following:

1. Why do you think Jesus chose to walk on the water to the disciples (rather than choosing another way)?
2. If you had been in the boat with the disciples and seen someone walking on water, what would you have said?
3. How do you think Jesus’ words calmed the disciples?
4. What do Peter’s actions tell you about him?
5. Why did Jesus allow Peter to sink before rescuing him?
6. What do you think the disciples have concluded about Jesus as a result of this experience?

Apply

• In what ways do you think Jesus is inviting us/you to “get out of the boat”?
• When have you felt like you were sinking? How did Jesus save you?
• When it comes to taking risks, how would you assess yourself?
• Which of the following 911 scriptures is most significant to you? Why?

Psalm 9.11

Ecclesiastes 9.11

John 9.11

Nehemiah 9.11

Psalm 91.1