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First Alliance Church Weekly Sermons
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Thursday Aug 26, 2021
Thursday Aug 26, 2021
“Managing Sexual Desire” (part 2)
Proverbs 5:3-4
Some people have the idea that Christians never discuss sex, or, if they do, this discussion must take place behind locked doors. If that is true, then it is a shame that no one communicated this rule to the authors of the Bible. God created sex, and in his creation mandate he made sure that the human race can only flourish if sex flourishes. Since God obviously finds great value in human sexuality, we need to make sure we see our sex life from his perspective. This is especially true when it comes to how we manage our God-given sexual desire.
I It may be helpful to start off with an outline of chapter 5, so we have an idea where Solomon is going:
A. First, verses 3-6 focus on ______________ we should say “No” to sexual temptation.
B. Second, verses 7-14 tell us ___________ we can say “No” to sexual temptation.
C. Third, verses 15-20 continue Solomon’s advice about how to say “NO” to sexual temptation, but from a very d_______________ point of view.
D. Finally, verses 21-23 answer the question about why we should say “No” to sexual sin, but this time from _____________ perspective.
II Why should I manage my sexual desires? Because listening to sweet words of sexual temptation can result in a very _________________ life (5:3-4).
A. First, there is an issue we must deal with, and that is how many _____________________ see Proverbs chapter 5.
1. Many see in this chapter a patriarchal view of sex in which ______________ are always the victims and __________________ the victimizers.
2. But to see Proverbs in a more accurate way, we need to recognize these four points:
a. First, this book was written, not just for _______________, but for ______________________ as well.
b. Second, Solomon is writing about a sexual predator who was a woman, but that does not mean that in his mind o____________ women can be sexual predators.
c. Third, there is no doubt that the woman depicted in Proverbs 5 is an example of folly or foolishness, but Proverbs also depicts ___________ as a woman.
d. Fourth, there is a simple reason why Solomon talks about the adulteress (female) in chapter 5, and it is because Solomon’s concern is for his ______________.
B. What is wrong with this woman Solomon describes in verses 3-4?
1. First, __________ is she?
a. The Hebrew text calls her “the _________________ woman.”
b. She is strange for two reasons:
1. First, she does not live by the ____________ standards of Israel.
2. Second, she is strange because she is not a female r____________ of Solomon’s son.
c. The really strange woman was the a____________________ or prostitute.
d. There is something else about who she is: she may or may not be beautiful, but she does not ____________________ on her beauty to get what she wants.
2. Second, ______________ does she do?
a. The Jewish Old Testament scholar Michael Fox says that l___________ are the problem here, and l____________ are the only solution.
b. The strange woman uses her lips to f_______________ and manipulate the young man, hoping to persuade him to commit adultery.
c. The only way the son will escape her trap is if he uses his lips to counter her deceptive words with words of d____________________________.
d. The strange woman, or man, was an exception in Solomon’s day, but today he or she has become the n_________________.
3. Third, to what do her actions _________________?
a. When the young man does what the strange woman wants, the result is the complete _________________________ of his life.
b. Solomon’s point is that though this woman pours out honey with her lips, inside she is nothing but ______________________.
c. The woman’s temptation -- if the son yields to it -- will result in some kind of ______________________.
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
“Four Keys to Managing Sexual Desire”
Proverbs 5:1-2
Some people have the idea that Christians never discuss sex, or, if they do, this discussion must take place behind locked doors. If that is true, then it is a shame that no one communicated this principle to the authors of the Bible. God created sex, and in his creation mandate he made sure that the human race can only flourish if sex flourishes. Since God obviously finds great value in human sexuality, we need to make sure we see our sex life from his perspective. This is especially true when it comes to how we manage our God-given sexual desire.
I Not only is Proverbs chapter five focused on the subject of sex, but so also are the following ___________ chapters.
A. That is really not surprising, for two reasons:
1. Solomon knew from experience how the inability to manage one’s sexual desires could cause __________________.
2. It is not surprising that Solomon devotes so much attention to sexual desire because he is writing to his y___________________ s______________.
B. So, what is Solomon doing in chapter five? He is trying to teach his son how to m______________ his sexual desire.
-Solomon makes _____________ points in these two verses:
II First, we will never manage our sexual desires unless we are willing to __________________ to wisdom (5:1a).
A. What is unique about verse one is that Solomon is saying, “Of all the wisdom which God has given to me to give to you, this is a wisdom that I have seen p________________ true in my own life and experience.”
B. In other words, Solomon is not speaking t______________________________ here.
c. Every parent’s desire is that our children learn from our mistakes rather than r____________________________ them.
II Second, we will never manage our sexual desires unless we are willing to take r____________________________________________ (5:1b).
A. The point is: there is a time in life when it is appropriate to think about pursuing an intimate relationship, and there is a time when it is not appropriate, and both the _______________ and ________________ are agreed on this.
B. According to the WHO, each year around the world 770,000 adolescent girls under the age of ___________ get pregnant.
C. Solomon is c__________________ his son to realize the awesome responsibilities that come with sex.
III Third, we will never manage our sexual desires unless we learn to practice d_________________________________ (5:2a).
A. Solomon is asking his son to listen to his teaching so he can develop the ability to make g__________ j______________________ about relationships.
B. Discretion weighs the pros and cons, both in the p___________________ sphere of life and in the m____________________ sphere of life.
C. Discretion means not behaving like an animal with nothing but i___________________ and u______________________ to guide us.
IV Fourth, we will never manage our sexual desires unless we learn how to manage our s_______________________________ (5:2b).
A. Illicit sexual encounters do not happen without ____________________.
B. The generation that is a________________ or a__________________ to talk about sex is, in some measure, responsible for the sexual immorality of the next generation.
C. According to a 2019 survey done by the Institute for Family Studies, among male and female never-married Evangelicals between the ages of 18 and 22, _________% have engaged in sexual intercourse.
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
“The Test We All Should Take”
Proverbs 4:20-27
After a six-month sabbatical, we return today to our study of Proverbs and John. When last we looked at Proverbs we had just completed Proverbs 4:18-19, which compares the path of the righteous with the way of the wicked. In the beginning of chapter four Solomon exhorts us to walk the road of wisdom. We may believe that we are doing just that, but is there a way we can know for sure? We can know by taking the test that Solomon gives us. By asking ourselves the five questions which these verses raise, we can see whether we are, in fact, walking the road of wisdom:
I First, what do we allow into our _______________ (4:20-22)?
A. Sometimes our ears are solidly c____________________ to certain people and solidly d__________________________________ from others.
B. The crucial question is not, “What do we hear each day?” The real question is to what do we _________________________.
C. Since our God is a s___________________ God, and Jesus is the _____________ of God, if we do not hear him speak to us, it can only be because we are not listening.
II Second, what do we allow into our ___________________________ (4:23)?
A. There is nothing that needs g_______________ so much as our heart.
B. We know we must guard our physical heart, but we also must guard our emotional, i____________________________, moral, and spiritual heart.
C. Solomon reminds us here that God is not interested in how much we ____________ we love him, but in whether our deepest and most secret thoughts reveal a real love for God.
D. We may have ____________ control over the ungodly thoughts that flitter through our brain, but we ____________ have control over what we choose to do with that thought.
E. Our mind cannot focus on everything at the same time, so if we bring God-honoring thoughts to the _________________ of our mind, then wrong thoughts will die of n________________.
III Third, what is on my ______________________ (4:24)?
A. Spiritual contamination in our heart will often reveal itself in our ________________.
B. The word “_______________” appears more than forty times in Proverbs
C. What we say can never be u __________________. That is why our self-examination must include an analysis of our words.
IV Fourth, what is in front of my _______________________ (4:25)?
A. If we are Christians, we are not only looking f________________________, we are also looking toward ________________________.
B. Seeing Jesus not only enables us to walk s_____________________________, as he did, but it enables us to go forward without q_____________________.
C. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I looking straight down the road at Jesus, or am I looking to either side of the road at what lies in the ______________________.”
V Fifth, where is my path _________________________ (4:26-27)?
A. Some think they have total _________________________ over their future.
B. Still others, including some Christians, reject the idea that they have ____________________ control.
C. Do we have total control over our future? No, we are f___________________ people.
D. Do we have no control at all? No, the Bible sees us as moral d____________________-m____________________.
E. Solomon says that when you decide the direction of your life t_____________, you decide where you want to end up t___________________.
F. We must ask ourselves, whatever our age, do I know where I want to ________ in life, and do I have a ______________________________ to get there.
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
“Wisdom is Fabulous!” (Pt 3)
Proverbs 3:27-35
People seek many things in our world today, but very few seem to be seeking wisdom. This is why the author of Proverbs wants us to know just how fabulous wisdom is.
I First, wisdom is worth the effort and we should seek it with all our heart (3:13-18).
II Second, wisdom is so good that even God uses it (3:19-20).
III Third, wisdom can guard our life (3:21-26).
IV Fourth, wisdom is d____________. Here Solomon gives us four principles that we can follow to put wisdom to _______ in our lives today:
A. Principle #1: Do ________ to people _____________ you can (3:27-28).
-But there are ______ conditions:
1. First, “do not withhold good from those who d___________ it.
2. Second, “do not withhold good when it is in your _________ to act.”
B. Principle #2: Do not b___________ the one who t_________ you (3:29-30).
1. A better translation is: “Don’t devise _________ against someone who lives in __________ with you.”
2. Not only should we be careful not to h__________ those who trust us, but we should not f___________ accuse anyone of hurting us.
C. Principle #3: Do not envy those who get what they want by unethical means (3:31-32).
1. “Don’t envy them,” Solomon says, “because even if they get what they want, they won’t k_________ it for l_______.”
2. People who cheat, steal, lie, and use violence to get what they want make God ___________.
D. Principle #4: S_______ wisdom and do not act like a __________ (3:33-35).
1. First contrast: “The Lord’s c_______ is on the house of the wicked, but he b_________ the home of the righteous” (3:33).
2. Second contrast: “He _______ proud mockers, but gives _______ to the humble” (3:34).
3. Third contrast: “The wise inherit h__________, but fools he holds up to s__________” (3:35).
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
Tuesday Oct 29, 2019
“Wisdom is Fabulous!” (Pt 2) Proverbs 3:19-26
People seek many things in our world today, but very few seem to be seeking wisdom. Perhaps this is because they are afraid wisdom might interfere with their selfish plans, or it may be because people have no idea how wonderful God’s wisdom is. In any case, the author of Proverbs wants us to know just how fabulous wisdom is.
I Wisdom is worth the e________________ and we should seek it with _______ our heart (3:13).
II Wisdom is so good that even ______ uses it (3:19-20).
A. The greatest p_________ of wisdom’s v_________ is that God himself makes use of it.
B. The understanding God used in creating the universe includes two types of k________-h_____:
1. There is the know-how that is focused on r________________.
2. There is the know-how that is needed to b_______ something.
III Wisdom can g__________ our life (3:21-26).
A. Solomon says sound judgement and discernment are so important to life that we must make sure we k_______ our e______ on them.
B. Why? Because the world has a way of h__________ them from us.
C. Wisdom can guard our life in _______ ways:
1. First, wisdom protects our s_________ (3:22)
2. Second, wisdom keeps us s________ (3:23).
3. Third, wisdom helps us s__________ (3:24)
4. Fourth, wisdom eases our s___________ (3:25).
5. Fifth, wisdom gives us s____________ (3:26).
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
Thursday Oct 17, 2019
“Wisdom is Fabulous!” Proverbs 3:13-18
People seek many things in our world today, but very few seem to be seeking wisdom. Perhaps this is because they are afraid wisdom might interfere with their selfish plans, or it may be because people have no idea how wonderful God’s wisdom is. In any case, the author of Proverbs wants us to know just how fabulous wisdom is.
I In his introduction to wisdom, Solomon makes _______ major points.
A. First, wisdom has ___________ ____________ (3:13-18).
B. Solomon gives us ______ reasons why we should want wisdom with all our heart.
II First, wisdom is __________ the ___________ (3:13).
A. From the start we need to understand that living as a wise person requires __________________.
B. It took gut-wrenching discipline on Solomon’s part to ask for what he knew would benefit _____________, rather than ____________.
III Second, wisdom is p__________________ (3:14)
A. Silver and gold have value, but they will never earn as much in the f_______________ as wisdom will.
B. Wisdom has the potential to provide ________________the things we cannot know _____________ that we will need tomorrow.
IV Third, wisdom is greater than anything we can _______________ (3:15).
V Fourth, wisdom gives the best ______________ (3:16).
A. Wisdom knows how to use riches in an h_________________ way.
B. Wisdom can fill life, even long life, with _________________.
VI Fifth, wisdom gives real _______________ (3:17).
VII Sixth, wisdom gives _______________ life (3:18).
-Just as Solomon began by saying that wisdom is something we must seek, so he ends by telling us again that wisdom must be e_____ _____.
Tuesday Oct 30, 2018
Tuesday Oct 30, 2018
“Six Steps to Peace” (Conclusion) Proverbs 3:11-12
In Proverbs 3:1-12 Solomon tells us about the six dimensions of life for which God has a special and unique kind of peace for us. Verses 1-2 focused our attention on Spiritual Shalom, or peace with God. Verses 3-4 were about Community Shalom, or peace with people. Verses 5-6 directed our attention to decision-making shalom. Verses 7-8 were focused on physical shalom, or peace in our body, and verses 9-10 were about financial shalom. Today we conclude with verses 11-12 and corrective shalom.
I What makes verses 11-12 so interesting is that we can easily see the l_____ s___________ out of which these words came to be written.
A. According to Prov 13:24, the parent who allows a child to do as she or he pleases actually h________ his child.
B. Refusing to follow God will not s______ you from God’s discipline.
II Living our life knowing that there is an almighty and absolutely holy God w_________ us, and knowing that our willful disobedience of his commands could bring his discipline, can make us very u____________. But we can have ________ if we’re willing to following his instructions:
A. Solomon says, verse 11, “My son, do not d__________ the Lord’s d____________.”
1. The question Solomon asks is this: when we mess up and when God brings discipline (correction) into our life, how will we ________?
2. When we despise God for his discipline, we are r________ what he is working to do in our life.
3. When we despise God’s discipline we not only reject God, we miss out on what his discipline could a___________ in our life.
B. Then Solomon says, “and do not r________ his r_________.”
Rebuke means to use words to convince someone they have done wrong, not to s_______ them, but to call them to r__________.
2. When we resent rebuke, we are actually getting angry at _____. We resent the fact that he allowed someone to
confront us with his _________.
III As with the other five kinds of shalom, to obey the c_________ of verse eleven, entitles us to the r_________ of verse twelve.
A. The first reward is __________ ___ ______ __________.
B. The second reward is knowing that God does his work of discipline so that he can take d___________ in us.
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
Thursday Oct 11, 2018
“Six Steps to Peace” (Pt 6) Proverbs 3:9-10
In Proverbs 3:1-12 Solomon tells us about the six dimensions of life for which God has a special kind of peace for us. Today we look at verses 9-10 which focus our attention on financial peace.
I Let’s begin with the command: (3:9) “Honor the Lord with your w_________.”
A. The noun “wealth” originally meant all p________ or m__________ p____________ which have value.
1. The Hebrew word literally means e___________.
2. What’s striking about this is that Solomon doesn’t say “Honor the Lord with your t__________.”
B. To honor God is to say that God is worthy of r___________, o__________, and a_____________.
II With the second part of the command Solomon pokes even harder: “Honor God with your wealth, with the f____________ of all your crops.”
A. Solomon says we should give God the raysheeth, or firstfruits, which means the f______ and the b________.
B. Giving God our firstfruits means we make giving to the Lord our f_____ p__________, before anything else.
III That’s the command and the command hurts, but there is o______________ in the form of a p____________.
A. The promise is that God will bless us with that which can be used to do good to ___ and to o________ p_________.
B. The principle is simple: honor God with what we h_____ and he will give us m______ which we can use to honor him.
IV But this raises a question: isn’t this the p___________ G___________?
A. What’s wrong with this teaching?
1. First, they lack convincing S__________ s___________.
2. Second, they do not live like m___________ of the Gospel.
3. Third, they treat God like a get-r____-quick scheme rather than the righteous j________ of the universe.
4. Fourth, they give people the idea that we should never have to face s____________ in this life.
5. Last, they talk about money as if it is the u_____________ blessing.
Tuesday Oct 02, 2018
Tuesday Oct 02, 2018
“Six Steps to Peace” (Pt 5) Proverbs 3:7-8
In Proverbs 3:1-12 Solomon tells us about the six dimensions of life for which God has a special and unique kind of peace for us. Verses 1-2 focused our attention on Spiritual Shalom, or peace with God. Verses 3-4 were about Community Shalom, or peace with people. Verses 5-6 directed our attention to decision-making shalom. Today we look at another kind of Shalom.
I When we are well, we don’t think about how our s_________ life is connected to our p____________ life.
A. This connection is c_______________.
B. This connection is b_______________.
II Today we are looking at p____________ shalom – the peace we can experience in our b__________.
A. This shalom catches us o_____-g___________. We don’t e_________ it.
B. Those uncomfortable with this connection do their best to interpret verse 8 as a reference to s__________ healing, rather than p__________ healing.
C. But S__________ makes it clear he is talking about physical healing.
III The promise states that there is something we can do spiritually which will bring h_______ and p________ to our physical body. But what?:
A. If you ask me today, ‘How can I be healed?’ I would refer you to J_________ ___:____.
B. The interesting thing about the Old Testament is that while it speaks about God’s cure for spiritual and physical sickness, it puts more emphasis on p___________.
IV Let’s look at the commands:
A. First, “Do not be w_______ in your own e_______.”
B. Second, “F______ the Lord.”
C. Third, “S_______ evil.”
Tuesday Sep 25, 2018
Tuesday Sep 25, 2018
“Six Steps to Peace” (Pt 4) Proverbs 3:1-12
In Proverbs 3:1-12 Solomon tells us about the six dimensions of life for which God has a special and unique kind of peace for us. Verses 1-2 focused our attention on Spiritual Shalom, or peace with God. Verses 3-4 focused on Community Shalom, or peace with people. Today we look at verses 5-6 which focus on decision-making shalom.
I The reason we need decision-making shalom is because we have so many c___________.
A. Choice can be great, but only if we know how to choose w_____.
B. God, Solomon says, has a special kind of peace for the d_________-m________ dimension of our life.
II This shalom is unique because Solomon gives us o_____-and-a-h______ verses for the command and only a h______ verse for the promise.
A. Yashar means either to b_____ straight or to m________ straight.
B. Yashar means not only straight or right, but it also means s__________ or p___________.
C. Throughout the Bible there is a connection between doing what is r_______, as God defines it, and having a s____________ life.
III Verse 6b is a stellar promise, but how do we make it w_______ for us? That brings us to the command, and the command consists of ______ parts:
A. First, t_________ in the Lord with all your h_________.
B. Second, l_____ not on your own u______________.
C. Third, in all your w_____ a_____________ him.
1. First, to acknowledge means to be aware of what it is the Lord e__________ of ____.
2. Second, it means to have a d_________ to do what I know he expects of me.
3. To acknowledge him in all our ways means to p__________ the p__________ of Christ.
4. If we are not willing to do that in all the s________ decisions of life, we will not be able to do it when it comes to the m_________ decisions of life.