Legacy Baptist Church

There is a manner of living defined by complete surrender to God. Many, perhaps most, Christians have never known this blessedness. In our time togteher, the testimony of Hosea to Israel compels us to walk this path of full surrender.

The actions Joseph took toward his family in his life are a beautiful reflection of the gospel. Over the next several weeks we are going to consider all of these reflections in our morning worship together.

True liberty is not found in relgion, or in sin. True liberty is found in Christ alone. Hosea tells us this in Hosea 11.

In Genesis 49 Jacob blesses his sons, telling them what would befall them "in the latter days". Judah is preeminent, and Joseph is blessed with fruitfulness. We talk about these blessings today.

No human can BE righteous: that is why we need Jesus as our Savior. No human can PRODUCE righteousness: that is why we have the indwelling Spirit of God. It is the job of the believer to have a heart prepared to receive by faith God's Word, so that it can then produce that righteousness in us.

Jacob is on his death bed. Before he dies, he determines to adopt Josesph's two sons into the family of Israel. This is by no means insignificant. We talk about it in our time together.

The world is full of temptations and truth claims. In our time together we are going to remember the principle of sowing and reaping, and draw from it the call that we would not yield that which is good and eternal, for that which is temporal and carnal.

Israel is now in Egypt. In Genesis 47 we learn about their settlement, and about the consequences of the famine throughout Egypt. Through these things, we are able to discern some very important truths about the nature of Biblical accuracy.

Israel is now under judgment for their rebellion. God focuses in this chapter on the foolishness and pride of their sin. Such things can happen in the Christian life as well. We talk about it in our time together.

Since the beginning, it has been the nature of man to divide, and the nature of God to unite. What does that look like in an age of "racism" and identity politics? We talk about it in our time together.

It is easy, in the Christian life, to tell the truth in anger, or to reject the truth because of its source. It is easy, in the Christian life, to have the form of godliness but not the substance of godliness. Hosea addresses such things in our time in Hosea 6.

Joseph reveals himself to his brethren, and reflects to them his perspective on their actions, connected to God's Divine love for the family. He rejoices that his suffering might be used to bless them. We consider this Divine perspective in our time together.

No matter how far gone a man may seem, as long as a man lives, he is never too far gone for redemption. We think on this in our time together.

Today we see the rise of Judah as the next man in the line of the faithful men and women who would be in the line of the seed of the woman, Jesus of Nazareth. This gives us a chance to think again on faith.

Hosea 5 explores wicked leaders, proud people, and a patient God

Hard days can still be good days.

Israel had given away their heart to sin. Today we think about the call to keep our hearts with all diligence.

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.