Emmanuel Baptist Church Sermons

It's better to be one of God's poor, needy and afflicted ones who get cared for by Him, than to try and take care of ourselves on our own and meet the fate of the Philistines.

Passage: Isaiah 13:1-14:27 | Message By: Chris Hutchison | Series: Lord of the Nations

What can we learn from a chapter like this?

Why did Jesus choose the cross as the way to die?

History is not just a series of short stories that each end in death. Christ's resurrection guarantees Isaac's resurrection—and your resurrection.

Jacob's follow-through only meant something because there was a faithful and gracious God waiting to bless Him at Bethel.

Passage: Genesis 34:1-31 | Message By: Austin Dyck | Series: Blood Brothers1. Recap  Today we come to Genesis 34, where a lot happens that seems out of the blue after the happy events we saw in the last chapter. In chapter 33, after returning from 20 years in Paddan-aram, Jacob reunites with his brother in an unexpected reconciliation. Instead of wanting to kill him, which had been the whole reason Jacob ran away in the first place, Esau wants Jacob to come and live with him. But Jacob can't do that. And one of the reasons is because God told him to go back to the land of Canaan—the land of his people, the land God promised him. The land God promised to bring him back to. But God's promise to bring Jacob back to the land isn't the only promise on the table. There's also a promise that Jacob made to God. On His way out of the land, after God met him and promised to bring him back to the land, this happened: “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you'” (Genesis 28:20–22). If God keeps His word—which is almost a dare, given that God promised to do this—then God will be Jacob's God, and Jacob will set up that stone to be God's house. Perhaps he means to make a temple for God there, or even just build an altar. The point is, He's promised to come back to this place when God brings him back to the land in peace. And look what God has done. He's brought him back to the land—and He's done it in peace. He's given him peace with Laban, peace with Esau. So what should Jacob be doing next? I mean, he knows how kind God has been to him. Before he met Esau, he said, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps” (Genesis 32:10). He should be heading straight for Bethel. But instead, he seems to be dragging his feet. We saw last week that after Esau leaves him, he settles for a time in Succoth, on the far side of the Jordan, not even in the land of Canaan officially, and he stays there long enough to build a home and booths for his animals. He was in no rush. And then we were told he came peacefully to Shechem, in the land of Canaan (33:18). A step closer. He buys some land and builds an altar, which is good, but he still hasn't come all the way back to Bethel. It seems like he's on his way there. But he's taking his time. God has kept His promises to Him, but He's not showing any urgency to keep his promise to God. And it's here, on the outskirts of Shechem, almost-but-not-quite where he should be, that a terrible thing happens to his daughter. 2. Conflict •           Dinah & Shechem  “Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.” (34:1) Besides their births and meanings of their names, none of Jacob's children have been mentioned to this point. Now, we're reintroduced to Dinah as the daughter of Leah. We've already seen that Jacob didn't care much for Leah and didn't care as much about the children that Leah had borne to him. In this time in history, for a young woman to go out alone was dangerous. Remember how Boaz told Ruth to stay close to his servants so that nothing bad would happen to her? So why is Dinah, with a dad and twelve brothers, going out by herself? Does this suggest some neglect from her family? Whatever the case may be, we do know that she is seen by Shechem, who we read to be the son of Hamor the Hivite, and prince of the land (34:2). In verse 2, we read that when Shechem (who was a young man—34:19) saw Dinah (who was a young woman—34:3) ...

Unexpectedly, Esau represents God in this passage: running to meet us, eager to reconcile, happy to forgive, zealous to save.

As we watch God and Jacob wrestle, don't marvel at Jacob's audacity—marvel at God's humility.

Passage: Genesis 31:1-55 | Message By: Victor Kuligin | Series: Blood Brothers

Just because God blesses us does not mean He approves of our actions...

God continue to keep His promises through Jacob's dysfunctional family.

There is one way to God, and it comes down from heaven—not the other way around.

Genesis 27 is messy—and it's a part of our story. This is the way God planned for His grace to flow to us.

Passage: Genesis 26:1-33 | Message By: Chris Hutchison | Series: Blood BrothersAny middle children in the room? Middle children someone's have sense of being lost in the middle. Oldest children tend to get a certain amount of attention because they are the first. Youngest children tend to be noticed in a certain way because they are the youngest. And then there's the middle child. I don't know if this is really a thing or not. But it seems to be the case with the patriarchs. "Patriarch" is a word we use use for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know lots about Abraham. Jacob had some pretty interesting stories told about him. But Isaac? Well, other than a few events here and there, today's chapter, chapter 26, is really the only extended place where we see Isaac active as a main character. But in this chapter we're going to find that Isaac isn't really the main character after all, any more than Abraham before him or Jacob after Him. God is the main character of this story and it's God's blessings, God's promises, and God's initiative that shapes and directs Isaac's life. Which means that Isaac's story matters, and has a lot to say to wandering pilgrims like you and I today. A. Prologue: Famine & Philistia (v. 1) The prologue or introduction to this chapter is in verse 1: “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines” (Genesis 26:1). In the Middle East, water was a big deal. Unlike the other super-powers in the ancient world, the land of Canaan had no consistent supply of water. Most of the land depended on the rain. And if there was no rain, you had to go find water. It's no surprise then that the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were each shaped significantly by their need for water. In Genesis 12, Abraham is hit by a famine and goes to Egypt. Lot's choice of the Jordan valley—because of its water—let to all kinds of major events for the both of them. Jacob will also head to Egypt because of a famine, which will lead to the 400 years of captivity. Water is a big deal. And here is Isaac, faced with a famine—a lack of water. What's he going to do? He begins by relocating to Gerar, to the land of the Philistines where Abimelech is king. We might remember an Abimelech that Abraham interacted with, and it's probably not the same person—this is probably a title like "Pharaoh." Gerar was close the coast and had more rain, so maybe this was a first attempt at getting access to more water. But it seems like Isaac doesn't plan to stay here long. He's on his way to Egypt, the land of the Nile, just like his dad. B. Blessing & Conflict (v. 2-22) 1. Inheriting the Same Promises (vv. 2-6) But God stops him. Verse 2: “And the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you'” (Genesis 26:2). When we read the Bible we can imagine that this kind of event was an everyday occurrence. But how many times did God appear to Isaac? Twice. Most of his life he walked by faith, just like us. But here, God appears to him to tell him not to go to Egypt. Egypt was a dangerous place. Abraham almost lost Sarah there. Jacob's descendants needed Moses to get them out. Who knows what God is sparing Isaac from. But there's more here. Because the main reason God wants Isaac to stay in the land has to do with the promises given to Abraham which Isaac is the heir of. Verse 3: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws'” (Genesis 26:3–5).

Esau's appetite is a case study in the power of lust—and of how God uses sin to accomplish His plan..

God's reason for all of the impossible situations He puts His people into is to make crystal-clear that His promises will be fulfilled by His power and for His glory alone.

Jesus re-configures our expectations for the Kingdom of God.

The goal of all things is that Jesus be preeminent.

Jesus is a worthy treasure because He is supreme over all creation.

Nothing plus Jesus is better than everything else without Him.

Though hidden, the kingdom of God grows on...

There is a gap between the end of exile and the end of the age, and Jesus has made a conscious decision to allow both good and evil to grow up together during this time.

Jesus is here to end the exile, and plant His people by His Word...

We often think that the parables are nice stories to help people understand, but the reality is far from that idea...

Jesus gives us the incredible privilege of being His family.

The greater priest, greater prophet than Jonah, and the greater king than Solomon—the greater sign from heaven that you are looking for—is right in front of you.

The "unforgivable sin" isn't something you do by accident.

God wants to be in relationship with His people—and He orders that relationship through His covenants.

The Lord who is seated on heavens throne, looks down at those who are in need with care.

Jesus has overwhelmed the darkness—and we have nothing to fear.

See Him, full of the spirit, proclaiming justice to the nations. See His humble love, giving safety to weak and broken people, including you.

Jesus is our rest. Jesus saves us from trying to justify ourselves, save ourselves, earn our way into God's heart.

Our rest is found primarily in a person - Jesus Christ who is gentle & lowly.

The unbelief of Jesus' generation didn't catch Him off guard; rather, it was God's good pleasure to hide these things from the arrogant and reveal them to the humble.

The violence done to John the Baptist is not a reason to disbelieve Jesus. It is evidence that His kingdom has come.

Today's passage shows us that, if we ask deep questions and wrestle with painful doubts, we're in good company. But today's passage also shows us not to stay there.

God in Christ has given us every reason to be generous - but what does that actually look like?

When the gospel takes root in a person's heart, one of the fruits is generosity.

Passage: Luke 7:11-17 | Message By: Alex Bojorquez | Series: Various

The author of Judges wants us to see how messed up Israel is, how prone to wander they are, to highlight the solution: a king.

What happens when we ignore God's instructions and do ministry how it seems best to us?