Old Testament
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Title: The Oil of Joy for Mourning Introduction This passage in Zechariah’s prophecy supplies the full correction for the erring question brought by the men of Bethel regarding fasting. It reminds me of God’s promises to Israel in Isaiah 61:1-3 which is the scroll from which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth in Luke
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Title: After the Storm Introduction We cannot understand Biblical prophecy apart from the fate of Jerusalem. The theme of this passage is God’s promises to bless Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city of God. Of course that means it is His dwelling, but it also means it is His throne wherever that is. Jerusalem has both
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Title: Necessary Roughness Introduction There is a current TV show titled Necessary Roughness. The title is a kind of pun because the focus is a professional football team and you know how rough that is. However the roughness in view is the roughness of a Long Island psychotherapist who employs tough love therapy during her
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Title: Don’t Play at Worship Introduction In some circles condemning modern innovations in worship is tantamount to condemning homosexuality at a gay and lesbian meeting. It draws a great deal of ire. My own experience with this is limited, but I remember mentioning the subject of homosexuality incidentally in a sermon in a church I
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Title: Trivial Pursuits Introduction I was engaged in evangelism on a street in downtown Philadelphia when I was accosted by a man who inquired as to whether I had spoken in tongues. When he heard me say, “No,” he wondered why I was out there trying to introduce people to Jesus when, in his opinion,
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Title: They Will Come to Zion Introduction I have called this section a mystery because that is what Paul calls it. In Ephesians 1:9 Paul writes, He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach
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Title: Wait for Peace Introduction Starting immediately after Saul, David was made king and only descendants of the house of David had a right to the throne. Only the tribe of Judah was the royal tribe. Levi had not right to the throne and the high priest had to be a descendant of Levi. The
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Title: Priest and King Introduction This is a coronation. Why is it important? Because for the first time in the history of Israel the offices of king and priest are married together. Other great leaders such as Moses shared in both offices, and foreign kings such as Melchizedek, King of Salem, served in both capacities,
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Title: No Escape for the Wicked Introduction This vision forms a climax to the whole series. in chapter 1 the nations were at ease and the Lord was angry with them and we read in verses 14 and 15, Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the
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Title: The Final Captivity Introduction As in the first 4 verses of this chapter God is still dealing with the sins of the people because they have resumed the wayward path that led them to the Babylonian captivity in the first place. In the first part God is reminding them that he sees what is
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Title: The Lengthy Indictment Introduction Most of us don’t believe in curses but there are people who do and they practice magic, witchcraft and voodoo. Also in sports people often make up curses. During the 5 years that Babe Ruth played for the Boston Red Sox they won the world series three times. In 1918
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Title: The Prime Mover Introduction The Prime Mover is well known to some as a film, or a computer game, or a comic book character, or a band, I use the term however in the philosophical sense of a first cause. The uncaused cause of other things. In the Bible God is the prime mover
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Title: Our All-sufficient Priest Introduction Joshua was a genuine priest of Israel and is listed among the returning exiles in Ezra 2:2. He is frequently mentioned as the high priest who along with Zerubbabel received the messages of the Lord from Haggai in both chapters of that book. He was the first of the high
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Title: The Wallless City Introduction The word utopia was coined in Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book “Utopia,” describing a fictional island with an ideal society in the Atlantic Ocean. Actually the word is the combination of two Greek words “ou” and “topos” and the meaning is “no place.” More’s work is
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Title: Ironic Doom Introduction This passage is about history. For those of you who hated history in school, relax, this is not a classroom lecture. However, I want us to understand that history is full of ironies. The conquerors become the conquered. History is a fickle mistress. Events and people famous now will fade into
Dr. John P. Clark's Sermons & Writings 