Eastside Baptist Church, Winfield, Alabama

“Wise Words” Chapter 10

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
“Wise Words” Chapter 10
Wise Words
Words are powerful.Words are limited.Words reveal what is in your heart.Don’t use your speech to destroy.Learn to speak with wisdom.
Destructive Speech
FlatteryLiesGossip and SlanderAngry speechQuarrelsome speechPerverse speechProud speechExcessive speechGod judges foolish speech.
Wise Speech
Exercise self-control.Speak with integrity.Build others up with your words.Develop excellence in your manner of speechGod values and rewards wise speech.
Conclusion
How can you change your speech?Christ speaks to you.

“Extreme Vengeance”

“Extreme Vengeance” (Genesis 34:1–31)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, August 14, 2016
 
Genesis 34:1–31 (NIV)
34 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. 2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 His heart was drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob; he loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her.4 And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”
5 When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.
6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. 7 Meanwhile,Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. 9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 You can settle among us; the land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it, and acquire property in it.”
11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and I will give you whatever you ask. 12 Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”
13 Because their sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. 14 They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing;we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That would be a disgrace to us. 15 We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males. 16 The we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. 17 But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”
18 Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. 21 “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade init; the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours. 22 But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised, as they themselves are. 23 Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.”
24 All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
25 Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. 26 They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. 28 They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. 29 They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
31 But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
 
11. 1.    Incomplete obedience and compromise with the world leads to troublesome consequences down the road.
 
2.  2.  Self-interested sexual desire is not self-sacrificial love.
 
3.  3.  Favoritism and unchecked narcissism lead to foolish and disastrous actions.
 
4.  4.  Passivity in leadership creates a vacuum that is often filled by those not qualified to lead (5, 30–31).
 
5.  5.  “Justice”accomplished through deception and violent vengeance is not righteous justice.
 
6.  6.  Jacob’s sons profaned the sign of God’s holy covenant (circumcision) and used it as a ploy in their plot for revenge.
 
7.  7.  The depth of human selfishness and deception is deep and dark.
 
8.  8.   In the providence of God, God’s purposes and plans are always fulfilled, even if through the ungodly motives and actions of people.

“Genuine Testimony”

“Genuine Testimony” (1 John 5:1–12)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, August 14, 2016
1 John 5:1-12
​1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.   12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1. The Genuineness of our Testimony of Spiritual Birth (1–5).
a. The one born of God believes that Jesus is the Messiah (1, 5).
b. The one born of God loves God (1, 2, 3).
c. The one born of God loves God’s children (1, 2).
d. The one born of God keeps God’s commands (2–3).
e. The one born of God overcomes the world through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (5).
2. The Genuineness of Christ’s Testimony as the Son of God (6–12).
a. The Three-fold Witness to the Genuineness of Christ’s Testimony (6–8):
i. The water
ii. The blood
iii. The Spirit
b. The Witness of God the Father to the Genuineness of Christ’s Testimony (9–12).

“Financial Wisdom” Chapter 9

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
 
“Financial Wisdom” Chapter 9
 
Financial Wisdom
Ø The theology of money
Ø Are the wise always wealthy?
 
A Balanced View of Money
Ø Money can be good.
Ø Money is dangerous.
Ø Godly wisdom is more important than wealth.
Ø Learn the secret of contentment.
 
Acquiring Money
Ø Work hard.
Ø Don’t compromise your integrity to gain wealth.
Ø Should Christians gamble and play the lottery?
 
Spending Money
Ø Give generously.
Ø Control your expenditures.
Ø Stay out of debt.
Ø Is it ever legitimate to borrow money?
Ø Don’t make yourself liable for the debt ofothers by co-signing.
 
Saving Money
Ø Anticipate future expenses.
Ø Accumulate wealth and invest wisely.
Ø Is it wrong to receive interest from others?
Ø Save so you can leave an inheritance to yourchildren.
 
Conclusion
Ø Make it your goal to be wise, not rich.
Ø You can’t take it with you.
Ø Remember Christ, who paid your debt.
 
Further Reading
Ø The Total Money Makeover: Classic Editionby Dave Ramsey
Ø Money, Possessions, and Eternity by RandyAlcorn
Ø Christians in an Age of Wealth: A BiblicalTheology of Stewardship by Craig Blomberg
Ø Rethinking Retirement by John Piper
Ø Radical by David Platt
 

“Jacob and Esau at Peace”

“Jacob and Esau at Peace” (Genesis 33:1–20)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, August 7, 2016
Genesis 33:1–20 (NIV) 

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. 
Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” 
6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. 
8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” 
“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. 
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” 
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. 
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” 
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” 
“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” 
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17 Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth. 
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. 
Main Idea: In spite of our fears and failures, God is faithful to his promises, answers prayer, and rescues his people in time of need.

“We Love Because God Loves”

“We Love Because God Loves” (1 John 4:7–21)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, August 7, 2016
1 John 4:7–21 (NIV) 
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 
1. True Believers Love God and People (6–10).

2. There is an inseparable connection between God’s love for us and our love for other people (11–12).

3. There is an inseparable connection between faith in Jesus Christ and love for other people (13–16).

4. There is an inseparable connection between our love for other people and our confidence that we belong to God (17–18).

5. There is no connection whatsoever between love for God and hatred of other people (19–21).
Main Idea: “If God loves us then we will love others, because God’s love for us is transformational and effective, resulting in our love for God and for other people.”

“Wisdom at Work” Chapter 8

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
 
“Wisdom at Work” Chapter 8
 
The Theology of Work
Ø God works
Ø His image-bearers work
Ø The fall corrupted work and labor
Ø Christ is reversing the effects of the fall
Ø Work is meaningful and significant before God.
 
Don’t Be a Sluggard
Ø Characteristics of a sluggard:
o  The sluggard is lazy
o  The sluggard delights in sleep and recreation
o  The sluggard lacks initiative
o  The sluggard procrastinates
o  The sluggard is self-deceived
o  The sluggard is looking for easy money
o  The sluggard is a destructive force
Ø God has ordained severe consequences forsluggard behavior
Ø Don’t provide material aid to sluggards
 
Be Diligent
Ø Characteristics of the wise worker:
o  He works hard
o  Takes initiative and works well withoutsupervision
o  Prepares for the future
o  Patiently pursues success
o  A good steward of his resources
o  Performs duties with excellence and artistry
Ø God rewards the diligent
o  Will enjoy financial success
o  Enjoy success and fulfillment in his vocation
o  Enjoy the fruit of labor
o  Will be rewarded at the final judgment
Ø Proverbs does not promote communism
Ø Warnings to the diligent:
o  Work is only good when exercised under God’slordship.
o  Don’t make an idol out of work.
 
Exhortations to Various Classes of People
Ø Young people should establish habits of diligencefrom an early age.
Ø Homemakers should remain faithful in their work.
Ø Older people should continue working.
Ø Don’t be a spiritual sluggard.
 
Conclusion
Ø God has given you work to do for his glory.
Ø God gives you rest.
Ø Further reading on work/vocation
o  Work Matters by Tom Nelson
o  Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller
o  The Gospel at Work by Traeger and Gilbert
o  Business for the Glory of God by WayneGrudem
 

“Acknowledging Christ”

“Acknowledging Christ” (1 John 4:1–6)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, July 31, 2016
1 John 4:1–6 (NIV) 
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 
1. God’s people must exercise discernment (1).

2. God’s people agree with the Holy Spirit’s witness regarding Jesus’ person (2–3).

3. God’s people will experience the victory of God, even though they face the world’s opposition (4–5).

4. God’s people agree with the true apostolic witness regarding Christ (6).
Main Idea: Those who belong to God and truly have God’s Spirit within them will acknowledge the truth about Jesus Christ, that He is God and Man and our Savior and Lord.

“The Theology of Proverbs” (Chapter 7)

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
“The Theology of Proverbs” (Chapter 7)
The Theology of Proverbs
The biblical proverbs are unique.The attributes of God are revealed in Proverbs.How can you know God?
God’s Omnipotence (Power)
God is the almighty Creator.God controls all things through his providence.Humble yourself before God.
God’s Omniscience (Knowledge)
God is wise.God knows everything.God knows you.Be humble about what you think you know.
God’s Justice
God is just.God’s justice is perfect.Live in light of God’s justice.
God’s Grace
God is holy, and we are not.We all deserve God’s judgment.Proverbs declares that there is hope for sinners.Wisdom calls out to sinners to turn and live.God offers atonement and forgiveness to those who repent.God’s grace is fully revealed in NT.

“From Jacob to Israel”

“From Jacob to Israel” (Genesis 32:1-32)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 24, 2016
Genesis 32:1–32 (NIV) 
32  Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.  
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’” 
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 
7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” 
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” 
13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” 
17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’” 
19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. 
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” 
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” 
“Jacob,” he answered. 
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” 
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon. 
Textual Outline
1. Jacob’s Journey to Meet Esau (1-21).
a. Jacob at the Camp of God (1-2).
b. Jacob’s benevolent message to Esau (3-5).
c. Esau’s ominous response (6).
d. Jacob’s fear-inspired plan (7-8).
e. Jacob’s prayer (9-12)
f. Jacob’s over-the-top gift to Esau (13-21). 
2. Jacob’s Wrestling Match with God for His Blessing (22-32).
a. The all night wrestling match (22-29).
i. Jacob’s fear (22-24a)
ii. Jacob wrestles with a “man” until daybreak (24b).
iii. Jacob’s hip injury (25).
iv. Jacob’s refusal to let the man go without a blessing (26).
v. Jacob becomes Israel (27-28).
vi. Jacob cannot know the “man’s” name (29).
b. Jacob’s Response to his Struggle with God (30-32).
i. Peniel – Jacob’s awareness of God’s presence (30).
ii. Jacob’s permanent hip disability and reminder of his weakness (31).
iii. Israel’s perpetual memorial of this event (32).
Sermon Lessons/Applications
1. God reassures his people of his abiding protection and presence.
2. We should be willing to humble ourselves before others as Jacob did before Esau and admit our faults.
3. When faced with fear or difficult situations, we should not trust in our own abilities or our own wisdom; instead, we must trust in God’s provision and strength.
4. God is faithful to his promises and responds to earnest prayers that are prayed in line with God’s Word and God’s glory.
5. When God chooses and calls us, he radically changes us and causes us to renounce our self-sufficiency and depend wholly on him.
6. God cannot be controlled or manipulated by people, but he is a gracious God who delights in blessing his people.
7. Sometimes, God leaves permanent reminders of the weakness of self-sufficiency, so that we can be reminded to trust in Him.

“Assurance in God’s Presence”

“Assurance in God’s Presence” (1 John 3:19–24)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, July 24, 2016
1 John 3:19–24 (NIV) 
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 
Working through the passage in reverse:
Main overriding question: “How do we know that we belong to God?” (v. 24)
Main overriding answer: “By the Holy Spirit he has given to us” (v. 24).
Clarifying question: “How do we know that we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us?”
Clarifying answer (3 works of the Spirit): John weaves together all 3 of the main indicators that we are the children of God (vv. 23–24).
1. Faith in Jesus Christ (v. 23).

2. Obedience to the commands of Christ (v. 24). 

3. Love for one another (v. 23). 
*All three of these indicators are produced by the indwelling Holy Spirit. These are not human initiated, self-produced works. These are works of God. 
*The presence of these three works of the Spirit provides two great benefits to us as believers:
1. Boldness/confidence in prayer (vv. 21–22; cf. 5:13–15). 

2. Assurance/confidence in God’s presence when our hearts (consciences) accuse us (vv. 19–20; cf. 4:13–18). 
Main Idea: “The fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives gives us confidence before the presence of God in judgment and in prayer.”

“The Call of Wisdom and of Christ” ­ Chapter 6

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
“The Call of Wisdom and of Christ” ­ Chapter 6
Who Is Wisdom?
Personified as Lady Wisdom in ProverbsWisdom is an attribute of God that he shares with those who are faithful to his covenant.God’s Wisdom is revealed in Scripture.
Adulteress Lady Wisdom
Calls from the darkness and secret Call is open and public
Sexually loose Holy
Unreliable liar Truthful and Faithful
Gives body but not herself Offers true love
Offers fleeting pleasures Provides everlasting joy
Selfish; giving only to get Delights to give, serve
Leads to a chamber of death Gives everlasting life
Jesus Christ Is Wisdom Incarnate
Isaiah 11:2 says that the Spirit of Wisdom and of Understanding would rest on the Messiah.1 Cor. 1:30 says that Jesus is the Wisdom of God to us.Proverbs, like all Scripture points us to Christ. When Wisdom speaks, Christ speaks.Wisdom and Christ call out to you (8:1-5).Wisdom and Christ should be treasured (8:6-11).Wisdom and Christ teach you to humbly fear God (8:12-13).Wisdom and Christ offer you success (8:14-16).Wisdom and Christ offer you great rewards (8:17-21).Wisdom displays its glory in creation (8:22-31).Wisdom will bless you with life (8:32-36).Wisdom invites you to a feast (9:1-5).
What is Your Reply to the Call?
Don’t be a scoffer.Hunger after God, and he will fill you. Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord (Jer. 9:23–24).

“Jacob’s Exodus”

“Jacob’s Exodus” (Genesis 31:1–55)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 17, 2016
Genesis 31:1–55 (NIV) 
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. 
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. 
10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’” 
14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father’s estate? 15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” 
17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 
19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was running away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. 
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his relatives with him, he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” 
25 Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war. 27 Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels and harps? 28 You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing. 29 I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?” 
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods. 
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he found nothing. After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them inside her camel’s saddle and was sitting on them. Laban searched through everything in the tent but found nothing. 
35 Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods. 
36 Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged you that you hunt me down? 37 Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household? Put it here in front of your relatives and mine, and let them judge between the two of us. 
38 “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 39 I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. 40 This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 41 It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” 
43 Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.” 
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.  
48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah,  because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” 
51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” 
So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. 
55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and returned home.  
Applications and Main Idea:
1. This story shows God’s abiding care and blessing on Jacob’s life.
2. This story demonstrates God’s faithfulness in keeping his promised word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
3. This story shows the importance of the chosen land that has been promised to Abraham and his descendants. Abraham’s descendants are to dwell in Canaan. Even when they are away for a time, Canaan is their home.
4. This story foreshadows the exodus of God’s people and Jacob’s descendants the Israelites when they leave a difficult sojourn in a foreign land to return home wealthier and more numerous than when they left.
Main Idea: God watches over his people, even in times of suffering. He will not forsake them, and in his appointed time he will bless them and bring them home.

“The Mark of Love”

“The Mark of Love” (1 John 3:11–18)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, July 17, 2016
1 John 3:11–18 (NIV) 
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 
1. We have been given a clear command to love one another (11).
a. The Message: The gospel compels us to love.
b. From the beginning: From the point of conversion, love for one another is a primary act of obedience to Christ.
c. One another: Love is personal. We are to care for one another in the body of Christ. 
2. The devil and the world are characterized by hatred, not love (12–15).
a. The devil is characterized by hatred and murder. 
b. Cain was a child of the devil, and revealed his family resemblance when he killed his brother in anger.
i. Cain was an evildoer (1 John 3:12; Gen 4:6–7).
ii. Cain lacked faith (Heb. 11:4)
c. The world is characterized by hatred.
d. Hatred is a mark of worldliness, unbelief, the family resemblance of Satan, and confirmation that one is still in death/condemnation (14).
e. Hatred/lack of love is murder. Murderers are not children of God.
3. Christ and his church are characterized by love, not hatred (14a, 16–18).
a. Jesus Christ gave us the ultimate demonstration of love when he gave his life for ours (16).
b. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must follow the example of Christ and give our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ (16).
c. Our love for one another is demonstrated in real life actions, not thoughts and words only (17–18).
d. Love for one another is a clear mark that we are God’s children and disciples of Christ.
e. Love for one another gives us assurance that we have crossed over from death to life (14a).
Main Idea: Love for other people is a clear mark that we have been born into God’s family.

“Sexual Wisdom” Chapter 5

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
 
“Sexual Wisdom” Chapter 5
(Proverbs 5:1–23; 6:20–35; 7:1–27)
 
Introduction
Ø  Wisdom in the area of sexual relations is a major theme in Proverbs.
Ø  Ironically, Solomon was ultimately ruined by his many pagan wives.
Ø  This issue is just as relevant today as it was 3,000 years ago.
Ø  Our culture is wholly given over to sexuality. It is the main “god” of our current culture.
Ø  Proverbs speaks of moral purity in both symbolic and literal terms.
 
Sex Education Takes Place in the Home (5:1-4; 6:20-24; 7:1-5)
Ø  These three discourses are addressed from a father to a son.
Ø  Parents need to be the primary teachers on his issue.
Ø  Teach children that sex is a gift from God for joy in marriage and for bringing children into the world.
Ø  Teach children that sex (like all of God’s gifts) can be abused and used for evil.
 
The Adulteress Can Destroy You (7:6–23)
Ø  Proverbs 7 dramatically describes the temptation of a naïve young man.
o  The prey(6-9)
o  The huntress and her tactics (10-20)
ü  She besieges every sense (10-17).
ü  She lures you with the promise of ultimate sensual exhilaration (16, 18).
ü  She overcomes your doubts and fears (19-20).
o  The kill(21-23)
 
Make Wisdom Your First Love (4:5–9;7:4–5)
Ø  Lady Wisdom will deliver you from immorality.
Ø  Lady Wisdom helps you see the true nature of he seductress.
Ø  Lady Wisdom shows you why sexual immorality is wrong.
Ø  Lady Wisdom reminds you of the deadly consequences of immorality (5:4–5, 11–12, 22–23; 6:26–35; 7:22–27).
o  Sexual sin will affect you physically (5:9, 11; 6:34–35).
o  Sexual sin will ruin you financially (5:10; 6:26a, 30–31; 29:3).
o  Sexual sin will destroy your reputation (5:14; 6:33).
o  Sexual sin will break apart your family (5:16–17).
o  Your sin will find you out (6:27–29; Num. 32:23).
Ø  Lady Wisdom trains you to stay far away from sexual temptation.
 
Your Wife Can Also Protect You (5:15–23)
Ø  Your wife can also protect you from sexual immorality.
o  Find sexual happiness with your spouse (5:15–17).
o  Marital sex brings a greater joy (5:18–19).
o  Sexual happiness in marriage serves as a guard against the wiles of the adulteress (5:20–23).
o  Clarifications:
ü  Marital joy assumes a godly marriage.
ü  God and his wisdom must be your first love.
ü  If you are not wise, your wife will not protect you from temptation.
 
Conclusion
Ø  Proverbs 5-7 tells us about three women:
o  The adulteress can destroy you. 
o  Lady Wisdom will save you.
o  Your wife can help you.
Ø  Christ is our ultimate treasure.
o  We have all been unfaithful to God.
o  We all deserve God’s wrath.
o  Jesus Christ cleanses us and makes us wise.
o  Christ purifies and transforms us (1 Cor. 6:9–11; 2 Cor. 5:17).
o  He quenches our spiritual thirst and provides the ultimate satisfaction for our souls (Prov. 14:27; Isa. 12:3; Zech.13:1; John 4:14).
  

“Jacob Prospers”

“Jacob Prospers” (Genesis 30:25–43)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 10, 2016
 
Genesis 30:25–43 (NIV)
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30 The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31 “What shall I give you?” he asked.
“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied.“But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”
34 “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 35 That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Jacob, however,took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
 
1.1 1. Jacob fulfills his contractual obligations to Laban and desires to take his wives, children, and possessions and leave (25–26).
 
2.          2. Laban desires for Jacob to stay because the Lord’s blessings on Jacob have overflowed on him as well (27–28).
 
3.    3. Jacob desires to work for more than wages and the price of his wives. He wants to build his own household possessions and flocks (29–30).
 
4.    4. Jacob and Laban come to an agreement in which Jacob will keep all the spotted and dark colored sheep/goats for himself as his own while he maintains Laban’s flocks (31–36).
 
5.     5. Jacob wisely outmaneuvers Laban, and God causes Jacob’s flocks to grow to be more numerous than Laban’s while under his care (37–43).
 
Textual Main Idea: In fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, God blessed Abraham’s grandson Jacob and caused him to prosper with flocks, servants, and wealth as he did Abraham and Isaac before him, and Jacob’s prosperity ended up spilling over to Laban as well.
 
Applications/Lessons
 
1.    1. God delights in using his people to bless others around them.
 
2.  2. In keeping with his promises, God faithfully blesses his people and cares for them.
 
3.  3. We can’t rush God’s timing for blessing.
 
Sermon Main Idea: Because God is merciful and faithful, he blesses and prospers his covenant people, and he often uses his covenant people to be a blessing to others around them.

“Bearing the Family Resemblance”

“Bearing the Family Resemblance” (1 John 3:4–10)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, July 10, 2016
1 John 3:4–10 (NIV) 
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 
1. Sin is incompatible with the righteous character of God (v. 4).
2. Sin is incompatible with the Work of Christ (v. 5)
3. Sin is incompatible with the ministry of the Holy Spirit (9–10).
Main Idea: If sin is a part of your life, then it presents evidence that you may not be a child of God. However, an attitude of repentance and growth in righteousness prevents evidence that you are a part of God’s family.

“A Crash Course in Success” Chapter 4

Opening Up Proverbs
A study by Jim Newheiser
“A Crash Course in Success” Chapter 4
Pay Attention (1-4)
The father pleads with the son to remember and internalize what he is being taught.The wise father portrays wisdom and lovingkindness as bound around one’s neck or written on the tablet of the heart.The father reminds the son of the great benefits of wisdom (vv. 2, 4).Wisdom will bring you favor and a good reputation before both God and men.
4 Ways to Act Wisely towards God (5-12)
Trust in the Lord (5-6).Trust God entirely.Trust God exclusively.Trust God extensively.Fear the Lord (7-8).Honor the Lord w/ your wealth (9-10).Embrace the Lord’s Discipline (11-12).
3 Ways to Act Wisely towards Men (27-35)
Repay your needy neighbor (27-28).Do not harm your innocent neighbor (29-30).Do not envy your wicked neighbor (31-35).
If You Act Wisely towards God and Men, You will Enjoy Success (2, 4, 13-26, 32-35)
Long, healthy, pleasant life (2, 6, 8, 16a, 17-18)Enjoy the favor of God and men (4, 35a)Enjoy material prosperity (10, 16b)Enriched with spiritual treasures (14-15)Partake of the wisdom of God, which created the world (19-20)Protected from trouble and fear (22-26)Know the counsels of God and have close fellowship with Him (32b)Honored by God (35a)
Does Proverbs Promise Too Much?
Proverbs contains maxims that describe the way life generally works in God’s world. Not necessarily promises to each individual, especially in the short term.God is sovereign and may allow his children to suffer for his glory (Rom 8:28).Proverbs written in the old covenant connected with land and blessing.Proverbs look ahead to eschatological blessings in God’s kingdom.

“Jacob’s House”

“Jacob’s House” (Genesis 29:31–30:24)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday PM, July 3, 2016
Genesis 29:31–30:24 (NIV) 
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,  for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” 
33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.  
34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.  
35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.  Then she stopped having children. 
30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” 
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.  
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.  
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.  
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.  
14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” 
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 
16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 
17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.  
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.  
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 
22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 She named him Joseph, and said, "May the Lord add to me another son.” 
What is going on with the human characters in this story and what we can learn from them? 
1. Leah’s misguided pursuit (29:31–35)
2. Rachel’s jealousy and selfish rivalry (30:1–8)
3. Leah’s counter-scheme (30:9–13)
4. Leah’s manipulation of Rachel (30:14-21)
5. Rachel blessed and yet dissatisfied (30:22–24)
Where is God in this story?
1. God loves the unloved and has special concern for the downtrodden.
2. God demonstrates grace even to those who are not seeking him with all their heart.
3. God sometimes mercifully answers prayer, even when it is not asked for the right reasons. 
4. God doesn’t need our manipulation or schemes to accomplish his purposes.
5. God was going to build the house of Jacob regardless, but God mercifully uses these two sinful and selfish rival sisters to build the house of Israel. 
6. God is faithful to his covenant. 
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. (Ruth 4:11, NIV)
Textual Main Idea: God mercifully and providentially built the house of Jacob through the sinful, selfish, sibling rivalry between Leah and Rachel as they competed for Jacob’s love by bearing him sons.
Application Main Idea: God mercifully and providentially accomplishes his gracious purposes, even through and in spite of our sinful and selfish actions.

“Confidence at His Coming”

“Confidence at His Coming” (1 John 2:28–3:3)
Pastor Cameron Jungels
Eastside Baptist Church
Sunday AM, July 3, 2016
28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.  29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.  1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.  (1 John 2:28-3:3, NIV)

1. Confidence for the day of Christ comes by abiding in Christ now (2:28).
2. Confidence for the day of Christ comes by the righteous character that is produced in us by the regenerating and indwelling Holy Spirit (2:29).
3. Confidence for the day of Christ does not ultimately rest in us, but rests in God’s love for us that has made us his children (3:1).
4. Confidence for the day of Christ comes through the development of Christlikeness that will one day be perfected at his coming (3:2).
5. In light of Christ’s coming we have a responsibility to purify ourselves and in so doing nurture a confident expectation for his return (3:3).
Big Idea: Christians can have confidence that they are in Christ now, which will lead to confidence and not shame at the future coming of Jesus Christ.

1.