Istrouma Baptist Church Podcast

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Syndication

Many of us learned Mother Goose nursery rhymes growing up.  One of the best known goes like this:

 

“What are little girls made of? 

Sugar and spice and everything nice. 

That’s what little girls are made of.”

 

How about boys?

 

“What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

That’s what little boys are made of.”

 

Let’s tweak the question and word it this way, “What are godly girls (and guys) made of?”  That is, what are the ingredients that combine to produce women and men who impact the world for God and for good?

 

This Sunday, in our ongoing series through the biblical book of Judges, we’re going to take a look at a godly woman named Deborah and her colleagues.  Their lives impacted not only their own generation but thousands to follow.   The same factors that influenced them are available to us.  To the degree that we embrace them, to that degree God can bless and use us.

 

Carousel: The Broken Heroes of Judges

“What Are Godly Girls (and Guys) Made Of?”

Judges 4 & 5

 

  1. The word of God

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time (4:4).

  1. Accept it
  2. Apply it
  1. The work of God

Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you” (4:8-9a).

 

  1. Be an encouragement
  2. Be an example
  1. The worship of God

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day(5:1).

  1. Sing with God’s people
  2. Sing for God’s praise
Direct download: IBC_20190127.mp3
Category:Carousel -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “God can hit a straight lick with a crooked stick.”  The basic meaning is that God can take imperfect instruments, like you and me, and do amazing things.

 

How old a saying is it, you may ask?  Well, here’s a version of it from over 300 years ago:

 

"Do not contemne thy weak brother.  God can raise his thoughts, or direct his follie to a happie end, he can make him an Instrument of glorie, who is now a subject of weaknesse, and can strike a streight stroake with a crooked stick." –Edward Corbet in a sermon to the House of Commons 1642

 

But I can go back further than 300 years ago.  Let’s go back some 2,000 years.  In 1 Cor. 1:26-28 the Apostle Paul by inspiration of the Spirit of God writes,

 

“26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

 

You know what Paul is, in effect, saying?  He is saying that God hits straight licks with crooked sticks.  God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

 

A great recent example of this is the current head football coach of the Clemson Tigers.  His name is Dabo Swinney.  He has led his Clemson team to 2 national championships.  He knows and admits that he is an ordinary person through whom God has done and is doing extraordinary things. 

 

He is the product of a broken home.  His parents divorced and his father was an alcoholic.  When he went to college to play football, his mother came with him and lived in his apartment because she had nowhere else to go.  He lived through some tough times.  He credits the Lord for bringing him through the tough times of life.  He gave his life to Jesus as a 16-year-old.

 

His post-game interview after winning the national championship game this year as underdogs was so good!  In part he said,

 

“And I know we’re not supposed to be here. We’re just little ol’ Clemson, and I’m not supposed to be here. But we are, and I am! . . . Hey listen, I hope that you get a little hope from us and a little inspiration that hey, if we can do it, anybody can do it. And I mean that. If a guy like me — I said this two years ago — you can’t write a Hollywood script like this. Only God can do this, and that’s a fact. And people may think I’m crazy or quacky or whatever, but only God can orchestrate this. No Hollywood producer can write it.  But I’m just telling ya, if I can do it, if these Clemson Tigers can do it, hey, anybody can do it if you have a belief . . . .”

 

This coming Sunday, in our continuing walk through the Old Testament book of Judges, we’re going to meet some ordinary people through whom God did some extraordinary things.  He can hit “straight licks with crooked sticks.”

Join us at Istrouma!

 

Carousel: The Broken Heroes of Judges

“Straight Licks and Crooked Sticks”

Judges 3:7-31

 

  1. A spirit-empowered deliverer: Othniel
    1. His story
    2. His secret
  2. A strategic deliverer: Ehud
    1. His disability
    2. His dependence
  3. A simple deliverer: Shamgar
    1. His insignificance
    2. His impact
Direct download: IBC_20190120.mp3
Category:Carousel -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

There’s one sound that no relay runner ever wants to hear—it’s the sound of a dropped relay baton clanking on the track.

 

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, both the United States men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams dropped their batons—and heard that dreaded sound. 

 

Both squads were heavy favorites.  Both were leading their races and headed for certain victory.  But both dropped the batons as they headed into their fourth and final leg.  Their long-held hopes of Olympic glory were dashed.

 

On the surface, relaying a baton does not seem hard.  Batons are about a foot in length, lightweight, and cylindrical.  They go by a simple nickname: the “stick.”  But history has shown that it’s not as easy to make the pass successfully as you might think.  It requires dedicated training and a laser focus. 

 

To win, the team has to pass the baton well.  Repeatedly.  It doesn’t matter how fast or fearless or experienced the runners are.  If they fail to “stick the passing of the stick,” they are disqualified.

 

Similarly, the kingdom of God goes forward—it “wins,” if you will—as one generation passes the stick of faith to the next. 

 

This Sunday we will learn how to take and pass the baton of faith.  Join us at Istrouma!

 

Carousel: The Broken Heroes of Judges

“Pass the Baton Well to Win”

Judges 2:7-16

 

  1. A loyal generation (Judges 2:7-9)
    1. Marked by an influential faith (2:7)
    2. Marked by an individual faith (2:8)
  2. A lost generation (Judges 2:10-15)
    1. Marked by their ignorance(2:10)
    2. Marked by their iniquity(2:11-15a)
  3. A loved generation (Judges 2:15b-16)
    1. God saw their distress(2:15b)
    2. God secured their deliverance(2:16)
Direct download: IBC_20190113.mp3
Category:Carousel -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Ever feel like life is a merry-go-round, without a lot of “merry”? 

 

If you’ve seen many New Year’s come and go, you probably know the feeling.  Been here.  Done that.  New Year’s resolutions that are broken before they are cold.  According to statistics, the percentage of Americans who keep their New Year's resolution for one month is 55.  Who keep it for six months: 40.  Who keep it for two years: 19 (John C. Norcross, et.al.; and "Addictive Behaviors" reported in U.S. News & World Report, 1/16/89. Leadership, Vol. 10).

 

Truth is, there’s a long history of that kind of frustration and failure.  Starting this Sunday, we’re going to walk through the Old Testament book of Judges.  It reveals that the children of Israel were not so different from us.  We will learn from their experiences both what not to do and what to do to be victorious in the challenges we face.

Carousel: The Broken Heroes of Judges

“When Life Is a Merry-Go-Round (Minus the Merry)”

Judges 1-2

 

  1. Dependence on the Lord
  2. Disobedience to the Lord
  3. Distress from the Lord
  4. Deliverance by the Lord

 

Direct download: IBC_20190106.mp3
Category:Carousel -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

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