- 10:00 am: Dedicated Prayer Time in the Sanctuary
- 10:30 am: Worship
WEDNESDAYS:
- 6:30 pm: Abraham - Hebrews 11:8-10, 17-19
COMING UP:
- October 20th: Christmas in October with John & Karen Lytle: Worship service starts at 10:00 am with a meal to follow!
- November 30th at 6:00 pm: Christmas Concert with Daniel Ball & The Gibson Girls
Sermon Notes for October 6, 2024:
God’s Holiness on Display – 1 Samuel 5 & 6
God gave specific instructions on moving the ark of the covenant – Numbers 4:4-6; 17-20 (lest they die)
God’s holiness denotes His “separateness from all creation and elevation above it.” Eerdmans Bible Dictionary
God’s holiness denotes His moral perfection and separation from sin. Jerry Bridges – The Pursuit of Holiness
The fact that God is holy (Lev. 11:44,45) means that He always does what is right.
Because He is holy He cannot tempt anyone to sin. James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
Because He is holy He cannot overlook sin, in fact, He hates sin.
Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
It is only because of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can approach God, because He has made us holy!
Today we are going to see God’s holiness on display!
God Defeats Dagon – 5:1-5
Dagon was the chief god of the Philistines, the father of Baal.
They put the Ark of God in the temple of Dagon.
They were adding the God of Israel to their collection of gods.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
In his book, “gods at war”, Kyle Idleman lists the following gods which war against out souls: god of food;
god of sex; god of entertainment; god of success; god of money; god of achievement; god of romance;
god of family; god of me.
False gods do not speak, they only enslave! Ps. 115:1-8
The next day, Dagon was fallen on its face.
As if to worship!
The next day, Dagon fell on its face, its head and hands broken off.
Signifying no wisdom or ability to do anything. See Isaiah 44:6-20
God Destroys 5 Philistine Cities – 5:6-12
Ashdod, Gath, Ekron, Gaza and Ashkelon were struck with tumors/boils. Ex. 9:8-12
They admit God is stronger than Dagon - vs 7
The plague turns deadly - vs 8-11 (see 6:5 – rat infestation)
Their cry went up to heaven – vs 12 God observes and responds
God Returns the Ark to Israel – 6:1-12
They decide to send the Ark back to Israel after 7 months
Sometimes it takes a while for people to come to their senses
They show no evidence of repentance (they didn’t dispose of their gods)
People are willing to admit their sin but refuse to change (the Philistines would repeatedly attack Israel)
They send it back with a trespass offering; admitting their sin (you cannot buy forgiveness)
They were warned not to harden their hearts as the Egyptians
They send 2 milk cows with the Ark
They test to see if God has brought this great evil against them
God directs the cows to a Levitical city
God Punishes the Men of Israel – 6:13-21
The people of Beth Shemesh rejoice (the glory returns)
They offer the cows as a burnt offering
Only male cows (bulls) were an acceptable offering (Lev. 1:3)
They look into the Ark of the LORD
Only the high priest could look into the ark and only 1 time every year
God slaughtered those who looked into the ark
They recognize the LORD God as holy
The men of Kirjath Jearim are asked to come and take the ark
There were not godly priests to take care of the ark