Pinpointing some of the big-picture themes of God’s master plan, this sermon covers three major teachings by Jesus from the 17th chapter of John: (1.) Jesus teaches about the world; (2.) Jesus teaches about unity; and, (3.) Jesus teaches about His work. The underlying theme is that of what both the Father and the Son are doing to make possible eternal life for mankind.

The Days of Unleavened Bread remind us that we must come out of sin on a continuous basis. Sometimes, this is very difficult, because we may not always realize that we are still living deceptive. Sometimes, we may not even know that we are sinning, or if we do, we may think that it is not a big deal to God. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that sin easily ensnares us, and David prayed that God would cleanse him from his secret sins. This sermon shows from many Biblical examples how sin easily ensnares us. But as long as we let God lead and rule our lives, we will win our fight against sin. Many of those whom this sermon discusses will be in God’s Kingdom, even though they sinned — sometimes severely. But they repented of their sins, and they pressed forward toward their goal of eternal life. We must do likewise. And with God’s help, we can and will succeed.

We noted in our sermon of 3/08/03 that prophecy can be found in Books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and that over one full third of the Bible is devoted to this subject of prophecy. In this sermon we will go into seven of the basic keys leading to the understanding of this significant part of God’s Word.

The war with Iraq will prove to be one of the essential events necessary to bring about Biblical prophecy that will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly reveals what lies ahead for the near and imminent future. Focusing on the book of Isaiah, we need to understand who modern Israel’s future foes will be, and why. Why will God allow modern Israel and Judah to be defeated in the near future by their enemies? Could pagan worship services, the keeping of Sunday and other pagan festivals, the rejection of the observance of God’s holy days, and pride and trust in the military, have anything to do with it?

God established the Ministry for the purpose of teaching His Law and His Way of Life. Yet, in Ezekiel 34, God shows He is angry with the Ministry. Why is God angry, and what must the Ministry do to correct this breach?

The Bible describes those who are called, chosen and faithful (Rev. 17:14). This sermon reviews the selection, among others, of Moses, David and Paul, and how they were selected for serving God during their lifetimes and in the future. It is pointed out that Christians have also been called to serve God both now and as kings and priests in the future Kingdom of God.

Why does God allow trials? Why are we to enter the kingdom of God with much tribulation? Why must there be trials? This is Satan’s world, and Satan is very angry with us. God allows Satan to inflict trials on us, to make us appreciate that this is not yet God’s world. We are to qualify for a better world. We either work of Satan or for God. We can work for God, because God works with us. We can either delay or hasten the coming of Christ.

Over one-third of your Bible is related to prophecy. Prophecy is found in most every Book of the Bible. The Biblical record of prophecy began back in the Book of Genesis and carries on through the Book of Revelation. While many of these prophecies have been fulfilled in times past, most of prophecy will be fulfilled in our day.

What did God inspire David to write about war and peace in the book of Psalms? What are the principles to apply to live peaceful lives? Does God approve of man’s wars? No way. God hates the violent man. Peace is a blessing from God, while war is a curse. But in order to have peace, we must want to obtain it, and we must live peaceably ourselves. Wars start in the carnal heart of man, and it takes a change of heart to have peace. This means, that we need to meditate over our lives, to be able to recognize and to repent of our sins that separate us from God. We must ask God to reveal to us our secret sins.

The importance of knowing your enemy Satan and the tactics he uses to try to get us to fail as Christians. To know is to understand , to understand is to defeat , with God’s help.