Legacy Baptist Church

We have been talking for several weeks about the blessing of fellowship. As we enter the Christmas season, we find that this is one of two primary purposes for the coming of Jesus Christ. May our celebrations surrounding Christ's birth exhort us to seek, not only the salvation of a God who came to save men, but also the fellowship of a God who IS with us.

A rejection of truth, mercy, and knowledge lead to moral depravity, loss, and mourning. We consider this theme of knowledge in the prophecy of Hosea in Hosea 4.

1 John is written that our joy may be full. In this final survey sermon, we consider the lies in our lives that might strip from us fellowship, and so fullness of joy.

Last week we learned that it is the birthright of the believer to have fullness of joy. This week we contemplate how we come to this joy.

The direct context of Hosea 3 teaches us that God will one day redeem Israel. The extended application connects well to the Church's redemption. Most literally, however, the example of Hosea and Gomer teaches us important things about being a husband. We speak about those this evening.

LBC has spent the whole year memorizing 1 John 1. Now, as we come to our final month, we are going to talk about what it means.

The account of Hosea and Gomer serves to teach us that God still has a plan for the nation of Israel, but it also serves a much more personal metaphor of redemption. In our time together, we consider the connection between the redemption of Gomer in Hosea 3, and our own redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ.

In Psalm 138 David expresses his confidence in the promises of God, giving him a hope for the future and compelling him to the heights of praise. May it do the same for us as we think on this blessed Psalm.

We come to the conclusion of the narrative surrounding Hosea and Gomer, where we find Hosea purchase his wife's redemption. God uses this act of sacrificial love as a prophetic promise of Israel's future. We connect those dots in our time together today.

To this point in Hosea, Jezreel has been primarily associated with the terrible day of judgment that would fall upon Israel through the Assyrian overthrow. In Hosea 2, however, God makes it clear that Jezreel will not always be associated with judgment: there is coming a day when Jezreel will be turned from sorrow into joy, and from scattering into regathering.

We often think of thanksgiving in terms of "what". This week we are going to think about gratitude, not in terms of "what" directly, but in terms of "why": why should we be thankful? We think though this in our time together.

Last time we were together we considered the sources of guilt and shame, and grace as the great solution. This week we consider next the outcomes of guilt and shame, and once again consider grace as the solution.

Guilt and shame are very common in the human experience, but for we who are born-again by faith in Christ, guilt and shame have no place in our lives. We talk about the sources of guilt and shame in this first of a two-part sermon on the topic of guilt and shame.

Hosea writes this week about the adultery of his wife Gomer through the perspective of a message unto his 3 children. Through this we learn several lessons, culminating in a call to remember the God from whom all blessings flow.

The story of Loammi is the story in three parts: the growth of Israel, the establishment of the church, and the future regathering of the nation. Through Loammi we learn about God's ability to bring sorrow, that He might bring greater joy on the other end.

Today we learn about the first interaction between Joseph and his brothers in nearly 15 years. Much happens at this reunion, but today we use its events to think about the life and choices of Reuben, to ask the question: what could have been, if Reuben had simply made better choices?

Last time we were together we considered the call to endure affliction. This week we get to see the fruit of endurance in Joseph's life and example.

Hosea's first son, Jezreel, taught us of the day of judgment connected to the sins of Jehu. Hosea's first daughter, Loruhamma, teaches us of the contrast between God's rejection of Israel, and His mercy upon Judah in the day of Israel's destruction.

Joseph is falsely accused and thrown into prison. While there, he is just as faithful and fruitful as he was in the house of Potiphar. We all face days of waiting and unknowns. Can we be just a faithful in our lives, as Joseph was in his?

Hosea marries a wife and has a child named Jezreel, connecting this name to the end of the line of Jehu, and to the Kingdom of Israel. We talk about the history of this important city in our time together.

In the first 6 verses of Genesis 39 Joseph taught us how it is Christians are called to respond to evil. This week Joseph teaches us how it is Christians are called to respond to temptation.

Joseph will be the focus of most of the remainder of Genesis, but as we continue through the Old Testament, Judah is the preeminent tribe. To this end the text continues to give us insight into the life of Judah and his lineage. Through Judah's history, today we consider the greatness of God's grace.

We think of Hosea as a book where God, in His longsuffering, announces His love for Israel that would endure until the end. Yet God's love and longsuffering had been long established by that day. We consider this together in Hosea 1:1.

Joseph is a slave in Egypt, having been sold by his murderous brothers. Yet the beginning of Genesis 39 tells us that the LORD prospered Joseph, and that he found great success in Egypt. We learn in our time together today that there is only one way that the LORD can prosper his people in the face of evil.

Today we begin the book of Hosea: in it we explore man's rebellious heart, and God's enduring love. In this book sermon we explore the whole book of Hosea in summary fashion, and ask the question: "do you have a heart to know God?"

Last week we considered the character of Joseph, from his reports to his dreams. This week we consider the response of Joseph's brothers, and use this to paint a picture of the nature of envy, both in our hearts, and even in society at large.

Jesus speaks in Mark 16:17-18 about signs that will follow those that believe. This is a controversial passage in the church, which we are going to think through in our time together.

Genesis 37 introduces us to Joseph, and the picture we receive is not necessarily flattering. In our time together today we consider our first impressions of Joseph's character, and lessons we can learn from them.

As we conclude the gospel of Mark, we are drawn by the writer back to the same theme we have seen throughout: Jesus is the Son of God with all authority, and it is our call to believe that.

We move from the life of Jacob to the life of Joseph. As the narrative begins, we find that the sons of Jacob are living in the consequences of various sinful choices. This sets the foundation for what will come, and we consider it together today.

Most modern translations tell us that Mark 16:9-20 are not in the oldest and best manuscripts. Then do they belong in our Bibles? We consider the history and philosophy together.

Today is a transitional message between the life of Jacob and Esau, and that of the sons of Jacob. In this time God once again establishes His character as "the Almighty God", which we consider in our time together.

Jesus died on the cross, and rose again from the dead. This fact is essential to the Christian faith. Today we talked about why.

Jacob has settled into the land of Canaan once again. Some time after, his daughter Dinah goes out to see the daughters of the land, and a man named Shechem defiles here. We discuss this terrible event in our time together today.

The Bible tells us how the church began. The Bible tells us the church's commission. The Bible specifies the qualifications for the church's officers. But what is a church? We answer that question from Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 today.

After much preparation, Jacob and Esau meet. This meeting compels some thoughts about the Jacob as a brother, and Jacob as a father. We talk about it together today.

Jesus has been tried, convicted, and sent to be crucified. It is there on the cross that Jesus will face His darkest hour, and bear the sin of the world. From this we learn two important lessons: the just will come by faith, and the just will live by faith. We talk about it together.

The night before Jacob met Esau after 20 years absence, he wrestles with a man, and would not let that man go until he blessed Jacob. This is a very important passage, both in the history of Israel, and in the context of the Christian church. We talk about it together today.

Jesus is delivered into the judgment of Rome, where Pilate realizes Jesus is not guilty, but is willing to condemn Him for the sake of the Jews. We consider this false judgment in our time together.

Psalm 34:15, "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. "

Today we study Judas' betrayal of Jesus, and specifically consider the testimony of Peter in that hour to learn lessons about the danger of personal pride.

in Genesis 31 God tells Jacob it is time to go back to Haran. Laban is not happy at this, and the interaction between Jacob and Laban give us the opportunity to think about Laban's selfishness one last time. This is what we will think about in our time together.

Following Jacob's 14 years serving Laban for Leah and Rachel, Jacob now works for Laban in order to increase his own household. But is the manner of Jacob's labor pleasing to the Lord? We think about it in our time together.

Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane, calling upon His disciples to "watch and pray". Jesus' example gives us an opportunity to ask and answer the question: what is prayer?

Today is the record of Jesus with His disciples in the upper room at Passover. There Jesus speaks of His betrayal, and establishes the ordinance which we call "communion"

Today we honor fathers for their moral courage, their generosity, their example, and their preparation. Fatherhood is essential to the church and society. God bless our fathers.

Jesus is in Bethany 2 days before Passover, when Mary approaches Him and anoints him with precious ointment. The disciples are troubled by this seeming waste. We talk about it in our time togther.

Last time we considered the consequences of deceit upon the lives of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. This week we consider the responses of Leah and Rachel to circumstances that were outside of their control, and how we can be content in whatever state within which we find ourselves.

Prophecy is not given to us to know the future. Prophecy is not given only for the generation that will live through its fulfillment. Prophecy is given to every generation for a very specific reason. We will consider that reason in our time together today.

Today we consider our interpretation of the final section of Jesus' end-time prophecy. As we do so, we remember that Jesus is coming to judge, but also to deliver.

Today we trace the 7 years of Jacob's life following his marriage to the two sisters Leah and Rachel. As we consider the tremendous dysfunction, we will learn important lessons about choice and consequences.