“Trusting Providence In A Fallen World” (“Trust & Obey”) Matthew 2:13-23 sermon

Posted on 2024/12/29 by Shawn Thomas

(Preached at First Baptist Church, Angleton, TX, December 29, 2024.)

I hope that you are among those who had a Merry Christmas — but honestly I know that not everyone did. Our lives are often very difficult, and maybe you’ve noticed, that problems don’t usually take off for the holidays! Just a few years ago my mom & step dad were facing a lot of problems that December. He had just finished his treatments for bone cancer, and he was doing ok with it right then — but his son was engaged with a difficult struggle with cancer — and then just before the holiday they were given the news that his daughter had a serious brain tumor. One of my sisters told my mom that she was planning to come to their house for Christmas, but Mom told her that if she came up she was going to have to bring Christmas with her, because there wasn’t much Christmas at their house that year.

And that’s the world in which we live, right? There is pain, there are hardships, and sickness, and death — as YES that is true even for Christians too. We aren’t somehow exempt from suffering just because we follow the Lord — in fact, to be honest, sometimes God’s people have even MORE difficulties because we belong to the Lord! But it’s important for us as we face these things, to keep our eyes on the Lord, and to trust & obey Him. Our passage for today is very fitting for this time of year; it is a followup from scriptures that we often associate with the Christmas season: the visit of the magi to the young Christ after His birth, and the gifts they brought Him. Here in Matthew 2:13-23 we find in the aftermath of that sweet visit a tragedy the likes of which many of us may never see — but we also see that even in these tragic times, God is still working in His Providence. So we learn here that we need to trust and obey God as we walk through sometimes very difficult times in our fallen world.


 

I. Our Fallen World
This scripture passage makes it very obvious that we do live in a very sinful, fallen world. We see a jealous king Herod who is enraged when the magi don’t respond to his insincere desire to supposedly “worship” Jesus, and he sends his men and kills all the male children around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because he didn’t want any “competition” for his throne. This Christ he was seeking to kill was not much more than a baby — a 2 year old — about the age of our grand daughter Sophie. This was an unspeakably wicked and evil act. And it’s a reminder of the kind of fallen world we live in.

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Teacher’s Overview of Exodus 16 & 17, Lifeway Explore the Bible lesson for January 5, 2025

Posted on 2024/12/28 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 16:11-19, 17:1-6, “Provision Given,” for Sunday, January 5, 2025. A video version of this overview, that you can watch/listen to, is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: One way to begin your lesson this week would be by asking your members to share a time that God provided for them in a special way.

(For example: after Cheryl & I had graduated from seminary, and were still waiting to be called to our first full-time church, it was a very difficult time for us financially. We had just had our first baby; I was only working part-time, we had been out of school for several months, and hadn’t heard from a church yet, and things were really tight. In fact, we had some emergency bills come up, and we did not have the money to pay our rent the next week. One day that week, we received a check in the mail from a high school friend of Cheryl’s, that was exactly the amount of the rent we needed to pay. We had not told them, and they had no idea of our need. God provided in a very providential way!

You/your group can share stories of God’s provision like that, and they say something like: In today’s lesson from Exodus 16 & 17, we see how God provided for His people in the Exodus — and He STILL provides for us as His people today.

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“Immanuel: God is With Us” (Matthew 1:23 sermon)

Posted on 2024/12/23 by Shawn Thomas

In David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Harry Truman, he writes about “This first Truman to reach Jackson County … Anderson Shipp Truman … was slight, gentle, soft-spoken, thirty years old, and without prospects. Nevertheless, Mary Jane Holmes, who was five years younger, had seen enough of him to defy her mother and marry him. … Then Mary Jane’s Mr. ‘Truman,’ as she would always refer to him, set off by horse for the ‘wild country of Missouri, intending to stay only long enough to secure the blessing of his new mother-in-law. … He was urged to stay and take up the frontier life. He could be happy anywhere, even in Missouri, he wrote to Mary Jane, if only she were with him. ‘As for myself I believed that I would be satisfied if you was out here … I believe I can live here if you are willing.’”(David McCullough, Truman, p. 20)

Mr. Truman’s attitude was basically, “I can live anywhere — if you are with me.” That’s a sweet sentiment for man and his wife — and it is even more true of the Christian’s relationship with our God.

To know that God is “with you” is the greatest blessing there is. That’s the comfort that David talked about in Psalm 23, when he said “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME.” David knew he could face anything – even death – because God was with him.

And that is the blessing we celebrate at Christmas time: that God the Son came to earth, to be “with us,” just as our passage in Matthew 1 for today says: “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”

If you notice, in many of your translations of the Bible, these words in Matthew 1 are in all caps, or quotes; that is because most of these words are a quote from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, Chapter 7:14.
God had promised in Isaiah 7 that there was coming a child, who would be “God with us.” And He tells us here that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy. “God is with us” through Jesus. This means several things for us:
 

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Teacher’s Overview of Exodus 14:19-31, “Power Revealed,” Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson for December 29, 2024.

Posted on 2024/12/21 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 14:19-31, with the title of “Power Revealed,” for Sunday December 29, 2024. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: In his classic book, 1776, David McCullough writes about the winter of 1776, when the young American army had lost battle after battle:   “As near as could be determined, Washington now had an army of about 7,500, but that was a paper figure only. Possibly 6,000 were fit for duty. Hundreds were sick and suffering from the cold. Robert Morris and others in and around Philadelphia were doing everything possible to find winter clothes and blankets, while more and more of the local citizenry were signing the British proclamation (of peace for loyalty to the Crown). Congress had fled. Two former members of Congress, Joseph Galloway and Andrew Allen, had gone over to the enemy. By all reasonable signs, the war was over and the Americans had lost.” (David McCullough, 1776, p. 270)

Things looked hopeless for Washington and the young American army — but they were not. Washington and his army not only survived, but won that war for Independence, with what appears to so many to be God’s Divine intervention.

Then you can transition and say: In today’s lesson we’ll see how Israel appeared to be in a hopeless situation, but the Lord delivered them — and He delivered us from an even more hopeless situation through His Son Jesus Christ!

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“For the Mouth of the Lord Has Spoken It” (Isaiah 40:1-8 sermon)

Posted on 2024/12/16 by Shawn Thomas

Emory University in Atlanta has a big collection of the writings of Martin Luther, who set off the Reformation in the early 1500s, and emphasized justification by grace alone, through faith alone.  A couple of years ago, they found this old document, which was printed in 1520, 3 years after the Reformation had begun, on which someone had handwritten a note. It turns out after they studied it, that this note is from the hand of Martin Luther himself, who’d written a comment on this page, mocking the Pope, who had excommunicated him for his beliefs!  It was a surprising discovery, and now of course that document is one of the treasures of Emory University, as they have the very words of Martin Luther Himself on that document!  

That pamphlet is quite a treasure; but the fact is, every one of us has something far greater in our hands today: we have the very words of God himself, in the Bible! Isaiah 40, our passage for today, talks about the confidence we can have in God’s word, and the comfort we can find in it, as well as the attention that we should pay to it.

Isaiah 40 is a favorite Christmas time passage for many, George Fredrick Handel put several of Isaiah 40’s verses to music in his famous oratorio “Messiah,” which opens with its words “Comfort ye,” right out of Isaiah 40:1. So I thought it would be fitting for us, as we enter this Christmas season, to look at the text of this famous song, right out of scripture, and the message that it has for us today.

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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson of Luke 1:26-38, “Delivered From Sin” for 12/22/24

Posted on 2024/12/14 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday school workers who are teaching Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson for Dec. 22, 2024, Luke 1:26-38, with the title “Delivered From Sin.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO  One of my very favorite books is Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, the story of his steamboat cruise to Europe and the Holy Land. It’s a very entertaining book, but he also shares some truly insightful things. After visiting Rome, Twain writes:

“In all seriousness—without meaning to be frivolous—without meaning to be irreverent, and more than all, without meaning to be blasphemous,—I state as my simple deduction from the things I have seen and the things I have heard, that the Holy Personages rank thus in Rome:  

First — ‘The Mother of God’—otherwise the Virgin Mary. 

Second—The Deity. (God)

Third — Peter.  

Fourth—Some twelve or fifteen canonised Popes and martyrs. 

(THEN) —Jesus Christ the Saviour—(but always as an infant in arms). 

I may be wrong in this—my judgment errs often, just as is the case with other men’s—but it is my judgment, be it good or bad.”

(Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, p. 273)

??? What do you think about Mark Twain’s observation here???

(From the paintings, statues, etc. in Rome, it appears to Twain that Mary has too high a place in their regard — even over God! — and Jesus is way down on the list, almost insignificant in comparison. And of course this is misguided and imbalanced. 

You could follow that up with a question like: ??? Do we see some of this today as well — have YOU seen it???

I’m sure there’s plenty of good discussion to be had about Mark Twain’s quote! But when you’re finished, then you can say: In today’s lesson we get a balanced, Biblical perspective on Mary from our focus passage in Luke 1:26-38.

OR for an alternative introduction, you might ask: 

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Teachers’ Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 12:21-32, “Delivered From Egypt” for 12/15/24

Posted on 2024/12/07 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 12:21-32 for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, with the title: “Delivered From Egypt.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO: I would plan to start the lesson with a story/reference to blood. For example, one of my very first memories was a 4 or 5-year-old, and I had a little choo-choo-train that I used to scoot down the sidewalk on. But one day the “cow catcher” on the front of my little train hit a storm drain lid and flipped me up in the air, and I landed on the ground, and blood was gushing out of my forehead. They took me to the ER and sewed my head up (I can still remember the white sheet over my head!). But a few days later, I remember walking down the sidewalk and seeing several drops of my blood which had stained the concrete sidewalk; I remember I just stood there looking at it. Something about seeing my blood was just so sobering. You can share my story if you’d like, or you, or another class member may have one of your own to share.

But I would point out that blood is a sobering thing. We talk of the blood of martyrs; of the blood of those who have died to preserve our freedoms. And blood is a vital element in our salvation. In Leviticus 17:11 God tells Israel: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.” And of course I John 1:7 tells us “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 

In our lesson for today from Exodus 12, God introduces His people to this idea of blood bringing deliverance — which foreshadows our ultimate salvation through the blood of Jesus.

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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 5 & 6, “Freedom Promised” for 12/08/24

Posted on 2024/11/30 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson for December 8, 2024, from Exodus 5:1-4, and 6:2-9, entitled “Freedom Promised.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:  “On a trip to China, (U.S. President Ronald) Reagan made a speech on Chinese television. However, the Chinese government didn’t want the Chinese people to hear everything he had to say and blocked out some parts of his address. We in the press corps came rushing over to get his reaction. How was he going to stand for such censorship? How could he allow this to happen — his full message not getting through to the Chinese people? 

Reagan just smiled at all of us and replied, ‘Oh, it didn’t bother me at all. You guys do it all the time.’”

(Helen Thomas, Thanks For The Memories, Mr. President, p. 130)

In our passage from Exodus for today we see how Moses WAS a faithful messenger, sharing with Pharaoh all that God told him.

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“Give Thanks to the Lord” (Psalm 118 sermon) Thanksgiving 2024

Posted on 2024/11/25 by Shawn Thomas

In Nathaniel Philbrick’s book, The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World, he writes that when the Pilgrims first landed in America on November 11, 1620, Governor William Bradford wrote: “‘They fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element.’” (p. 44)

That’s what the first Thanksgiving was all about: giving thanks to God for His blessings of safety and provision in bringing them and sustaining them in the New World.  And OUR Thanksgivings should be about that too. Many of us enjoy a lot of things about our Thanksgiving week: time off, time with family, good food, hopefully cooler weather!, football, shopping — and most of those things are good. But our primary emphasis should be what the Pilgrims’ was: giving thanks to God for His blessings and provision for US. 

That’s why this Sunday before Thanksgiving, I felt led to share a special Thanksgiving message from God’s word. I’ve shared before that Psalm 118 is a scripture the Lord used to minister to me while Cheryl & I were in the hospital and rehab after her stroke. I had just finished memorizing Psalm 118 when the stroke came, and so every morning I would quote Psalm 118 (or Psalm 116) on the couch in the hospital to begin my day. And significantly, it begins with a word of thanksgiving: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Every day I would start with this word: “Give thanks to the Lord.” Let’s look at some things that Psalm 118 and other scriptures tell us about giving thanks to the Lord:

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Teacher’s Overview of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 2:23-25, 3:7-15, “Seen & Heard” for 12/01/24

Posted on 2024/11/23 by Shawn Thomas

An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Exodus 2 & for December 1, 2024 with the title, “Seen & Heard.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:  ??? Can you share a time in your life when you desperately called out to God for help???

(For example; Cheryl & I have had several times like this: when we had graduated from seminary with a new baby, but no full-time church yet; we were so desperately needy; then in 2012 when I became sick and had to step down from ministry and began to apply for disability; and now again with my wife Cheryl’s crippling stroke this August, we have had several opportunities in our lives to desperately call out to the Lord.

The truth is, we have ALL probably had times like that, when we were under great pressure, or trial, and we called out to God for help. If so, we can understand something about the situation that Israel was in, in our passage for today in Exodus 2 & 3. It was a time of great distress for them — but the Bible says that God saw and heard, and answered their cry — and He will do the same for us today, too!  (He HAS done it, in Jesus, as we will see!)

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