Sermons on Ezra
Ezra 1, 2
The God Who Moves Hearts Introduction: We embark upon a new series this morning that will take us, Lord willing, through the end of the summer. We have just finished a heavily theological book from the NT (Colossians), and we are moving to an historical narrative portion of the OT (Ezra and Nehemiah). In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” I trust that will become evident as we…
Ezra 3
First Things First: Priorities for God’s People Returning from Exile Date: May 3, 1992 Note: There is no manuscript available for this sermon. Below is the outline, and the audio is available. Introduction: Whenever you return from a long trip there is always a list of things that need to be done–mail that needs to be answered, bills that need to be paid, maintenance that needs to be done on the house, friends that need to be contacted, etc. Well, the Jews have…
Ezra 4
The Many Faces of Opposition Introduction: Life can be tough. Just the ordinary responsibilities of making a living, developing family relationships, putting a kid through college, and keeping two cars running can leave you exhausted at the end of the day. And if you have a high‑stress job, a child who’s difficult, high balances on your credit cards, and elderly parents who need lots of attention, you may feel at times that you can hardly cope. But when you add to all that the…
Ezra 5, 6
The Lord of History Introduction: The other day I watched a news program which indicated that gambling is the fastest growing industry in the United States. Forty-eight states now have some form of legalized gambling—lotteries, horse racing, dog racing, casinos, etc. Even East St. Louis has finally discovered the golden egg that is supposed to pull it out of poverty—legalized gambling. When you add to that all the legal and illegal gambling that goes on in sports, office pools, card games, church bingo, and…
Ezra 7
A Man of the Word Introduction: One of the highest compliments one can receive is for someone to say you are a person of your word—that you will do exactly what you say. Or if you sign a document, you will fulfill the obligations listed in that document. People who can’t write generally have someone else print their name and then they add an “x”. Originally the “X” was an imitation of the cross of Christ, and to make that sign was the same…
Ezra 8
Accompaniments of Revival Introduction: Last Sunday we noted that there are three essential ingredients to experience revival: a renewed commitment to Scripture, earnest prayer, and confession. I think I would like to change that slightly. Prayer and confession really go together, while the third ingredient is better stated as true repentance. We’ve already seen the importance of the Scriptures in the life and ministry of Ezra, and next Lord’s Day we will examine a powerful passage in chapters 9 & 10 on prayer and…
Ezra 9, 10
Taking Sin Seriously Introduction: In 1973, at the age of 80, Karl Menninger of the world-famous Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas, published a book which shocked the mental health community. Its title was Whatever Became of Sin? It was not a biblical theology of sin, but its thesis was a welcome corrective, namely that moral responsibility must be brought back into the therapy process. The shock, unfortunately, was short-lived, and today sin is once again as foreign a concept to psychiatry as efficiency…