by Paul Apple | Apr 13, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: SOME DAY THE PARTY WILL BE OVER ABRUPTLY FOR ANY WORLD SYSTEM THAT REJECTS GODINTRODUCTION:“Turn out the lights, the party is over!” The jig is up. World powers can bask in their false confidence and take security in their wealth and power. But when God...
by Paul Apple | Apr 13, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE MOST HIGH IS RULER OVER THE REALM OF MANKIND AND BESTOWS AUTHORITY ON WHOMEVER HE WISHESINTRODUCTION:Power Struggles can be quite dramatic. They take place all the time in the political realm. But when the highest authority on earth enters into a power...
by Paul Apple | Apr 13, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE GOD WHO IS SUPREME IN SAVING POWER DESERVES OUR UNSWERVING LOYALTY DESPITE THE PRESSURE OF INTENSE PERSECUTIONBackground:Daniel and his friends were in a pagan environment that was hostile towards the worship of the true God. They faced the dilemma of...
by Paul Apple | Apr 13, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: MAN’S INABILITY REQUIRES GOD’S SUFFICIENCY –TRUE WISDOM AND POWER COME FROM THE SOVEREIGN GODBackground:This chapter exposes man’s inability (his limitations) and God’s gracious sufficiency. In himself man is bankrupt in the...
by Paul Apple | Apr 13, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE SOVEREIGN GOD RAISES UP LOYAL LEADERS AND EQUIPS THEM TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSESBackground (1:1-2) The moral and spiritual decline of Israel led to the coming of Nebuchad. against Jerusalem and the Babylonian Captivity. This was a desperate time for the...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: WHEN THINGS COME TO AN END THEY WILL CONTINUE ON FOREVER – EITHER IN A STATE OF RECREATION AND ETERNAL LIFE OR A STATE OF CORRUPTION AND ETERNAL SUFFERINGINTRODUCTION:“The Road to the Final Four” has a nice ring of finality to it – the wrapping up of the...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: REBORN JERUSALEM WILL PROVIDE AMPLE SUSTENANCE TO GOD’S PEOPLE INTRODUCTION:The final chapters of Isaiah have reflected the alternating emphasis of God’s judgment upon His enemies and His ultimate comfort and blessing for the reborn nation of Israel in the...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WORD OF GOD DETERMINES THE LEGITIMACY OF OUR WORSHIPINTRODUCTION:People have all kinds of opinion about what type of worship pleases God.- Some people think it is all about ambiance – you must have the type of environment that...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: REJOICE IN ANTICIPATION OF GOD’S NEW CREATION – MILLENNIAL BLESSINGSINTRODUCTION:This earth is headed for a glorious finish as God’s holy mountain – the establishment of His kingdom of righteousness and peace on a global scale. Hard to imagine when we look...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: PROVOKING GOD BY FALSE WORSHIP BRINGS DIVINE RETRIBUTION IN CONTRAST TO THE BLESSING PROMISED TO HIS SERVANTSINTRODUCTION:A “primer” is a book that covers the basic elements of a subject. In the field of education, you have various primers on the subject of...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: GOD’S ELECT WRESTLE WITH THE TENSION BETWEEN THE FATHER’S FAITHFUL LOVE AND HIS CHILDREN’S RECURRING REBELLIONINTRODUCTION:Most college sports teams have some type of rally cry to unify their student body as they enter into the battle. Some are more...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE ONE COMING TO EXECUTE DIVINE VENGEANCE IS THE MESSIAH WARRIOR STAINED WITH BLOODINTRODUCTION:People have a lot of questions about Divine Vengeance – about the wrath of God poured out on His creation. How could a loving God consign anyone to an eternal...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE LORD SWEARS HE WILL BRING SALVATION AND RIGHTEOUSNESS TO HIS HOLY CITY JERUSALEMINTRODUCTION:Integrity if it means anything, surely means that a person can be trusted to keep his word, to stand by his promises. Nothing less than the integrity of the Lord...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE PROMISED MESSIAH COMES IN BLESSING AND VENGEANCE TO TRANSFORM ISRAEL AND REJOICE IN HIS MISSIONINTRODUCTION:Context:58:1-14 ONLY GENUINE WORSHIP BRINGS BLESSING “Why have we fasted and you did not see?” vs.359:1-15a THE PERVASIVE, CORRUPTING IMPACT OF...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: OUR RESPONSE TO THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRISTMAS — RAGE OR JUBILEE?INTRODUCTION:It’s hard to imagine that the Christmas season is already upon us. In the providence of God we have arrived after a 2 year journey and over 90 messages at a most appropriate...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE LIGHT OF THE LORD WILL BE REFLECTED IN TRANSFORMED ISRAEL, SERVED BY TRANSFORMED NATIONS IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOMINTRODUCTION:Our passage this morning is all about Transformation – the transformation of the nation of Israel that will happen in the last...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE REDEEMER-WARRIOR COMES TO EXECUTE SALVATION AND VENGEANCEINTRODUCTION:This is a great Christmas season text – A Redeemer will come to Zion! The Redeemer is coming – that was the message of the OT and that is the message of the NT as well. The first time...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: THE PERVASIVE, CORRUPTING IMPACT OF SIN LEAVES SOCIETY DEVOID OF TRUTH, JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESSINTRODUCTION:What does society look like when it is devoid of truth? When instead of justice and righteousness, one finds only the pervasive, corrupting...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: ONLY GENUINE WORSHIP BRINGS BLESSINGINTRODUCTION:This chapter examines our motivation for all of our religious activity. Certainly there should be the expectation that blessing will be associated with obedient worship. But religious people down thru the ages...
by Paul Apple | Apr 7, 2020 | Bible-OT
BIG IDEA: MAN-MADE RELIGION CAN NEVER PRODUCE PEACE –PEACE ONLY COMES FROM THE SOVEREIGN GRACE OF A HOLY GODINTRODUCTION:Everybody has an innate longing for Peace. The troubled and anxious and fearful long to have their agitated heart calmed; The sick and the dying...
