Woodland Hills Church of Christ

Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge Speakers: David Desloge, Michael Lindsey The post Genesis 1 – 11 Questions & Answers (Part 2) appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Topical Sermons / Speaker:Danny McGee The post Salvation Narrative appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge The post Genesis 1 – 11 In The New Testament appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey The post Genesis 1 – 11 Drawing Summary appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Quarterly Group Studies Class / Speaker:Adam Malone Series: Have you heard of Woodland Hills Topic: Sharpening Our Beliefs Scripture : Matthew 5:21-32 The post Sharpening Our Beliefs appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge The post Genesis 1-11 in the Old Testament appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Scott Kercheville The post Genesis 42–45 True Repentance: Joseph, Jesus and Us appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge The post Genesis 11:10-32 Genesis 11 & Beyond appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

New Testament Sermons / Speaker:David Desloge The post Luke 19:1-9 – Then Who Can Be Saved? appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Old Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville The Idolatry of Scarecrows Jeremiah 10 Introduction: In Isaiah, the Lord made many arguments to the people about the foolishness of idolatry. One hundred years later and a new generation, he heightens his description of the foolishness of humans and their idols. Of course, the bad news is, our problem with idols is greater than their problem. You might say, “What are you talking about? We don’t have golden calves and female Ashtorath.” Yes, and that is what makes our idolatry worse. We love to deny we have a problem and that makes it a bigger problem. Consider a few passages: 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or covetousness, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Luke 12:15 “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” In the followup parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus said the covetous man was not “rich toward God.” Simply building bigger barns was not the problem. His eyes and heart were on taking his ease and thinking his happiness would be attained through having a wealthy retirement. In 1 Timothy 6:6-11 contrasts the love of money to being content with food and clothing. When we are not content, it is evidence of idolatry. These passages are not to suggest that specifically coveting money is the primary problem with Christians. Most Christians are very liberal with their giving. Coveting is more subtle than that. Paul speaks of “all manner of covetousness” in Romans 7. In the most basic sense, idolatry is “inordinate desire.” It is desire that places anything above service to God or what should be given and dedicated to God. These desires do not even have to be literally fulfilled in order to be idolatrous. Jesus said that the lust of the heart was enough to commit the sin (Matthew 5:21ff). When lives are lived this way, what makes it idolatry is we are trying to fill an inner void with something other than God. Israel’s idols were in addition to what they believed they couldn’t or might not get from God, especially in a timely fashion. “Learn Not the Way of the Nations” (10:1-16) 10:2 In other words, do not think the way our culture thinks. Do not be influenced by what influences people today. What could that be? Present cultural idols: Money & pleasure An automobile. And idol? Always has been. Remember how you felt with your first car? The commercials prove it. You can pretend you live like the rich and famous. Just sign up for a $700/month payment and you can ride in luxury and appear amazing. But you actually have made yourself poor and turned your eyes away from the living God (v. 10) who can give you true riches. Job/career/economy Marriage/Family/Children Sexuality (a major idol! Always has been, and especially today) A life of ease. [desires for retirement: travel, rest, enjoyment, live for self, but what are the plans for more effort in God’s kingdom? “Rich toward God.” Politics/Leaders/President/Congress (how we worry and are anxious, but they are human and not God. They may do a “little” good or a “little” bad in comparison to the King of kings, but our anxiousness proves our idolatry. 10:3-5 10:5 “…they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” They ultimately have no real power. Ecclesiastes 1:3-11 — the same things keep happening over and over. Obviously, whatever we think these “gods” are doing, they are not doing. All is vanity—just a breath. (Vs. 3: same word as in Ecclesiastes) “Like scarecrows in a field”— Consider the scarecrow. What does it do? It pretends to be a real person; it pretends to be a threat to birds and anything else that could eat the crops of a farmer’s field. But it isn’t real. It can’t do anything. A bird could land on it and do things birds do when the land on something, but the scarecrow knows nothing about it. The scarecrow is a fraud. It has nothing to do with reality. What is a scarecrow made of? Wood and other things that God has made. What are our idols made of? Only things that God has made. And we take what God has made and we form it and prop it up in our minds as if it has power and intelligence, and can fill our inner desires. But it doesn’t. If fact, our desires are always greater than the reality of having. “Fasten it with hammers!” Instead of simply being content with what God gives us and enjoying it for the day, we think it is something to be grasped, something that has importance to satisfy out lives. But it is not the source of life. They are frauds. Verses 8-9, “They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood…beaten silver…gold…clothing violet and purple…all

Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge The post Genesis 10:1-11:9 Table of Nations, Tower of Babel appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey The post Genesis 9:18-29 Sin After the Flood appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.

Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville “And He Gave Evangelists…” (3) Introduction: Purpose of these lessons: Understanding the need of and the work of an evangelist is critical whether you stay at this church or must relocate. It is disturbing to often see both evangelists and shepherds who do not know or practice what God called them to do. Ephesians 4:11-16 reminds us of the importance of evangelists and shepherds in a local church as gifts God has given to equip Christians so that every part of the body can do its share, which causes the growth of the body and the edifying of itself in love. My primary purpose in these lessons has been to call attention to the great need we have throughout the brotherhood to raise up evangelists and shepherds who truly reflect God’s purposes in Ephesians 4:11-16. The work of evangelists has especially been an enigma to Christians everywhere partially because we evangelists tend not to say much about our work and also because there are considerable differences in how preachers do their work. Thus it is easy for Christians to be confused about what the word is supposed to be and what we should look for in a preacher. In this final lesson of our series we will consider the challenges & expectations of a prospective preacher and the challenges of a church in their relationship with him and his work. The Preacher and the Local Church Woodland Hills is not a typical church, especially when it comes to preaching and teaching. Not many churches have the number of men and women who possess the drive and desire to know God’s word and the talent to teach/preach the word. Because of you, such desire and talent becomes contagious, causing others to want to join in the effort. Ephesians 4:15-16 “…Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. That’s God’s goal and purpose for us and the elders and I love the work and progress in that regard. The church is learning to build itself up in love. Beautiful. Therefore, training other men to teach and preach (who have no plans of full-time preaching) is vital to the future and health of a church. We need future shepherds who have been trained and practiced in preaching and teaching. That has been a major failure in many congregations. Ephesians 4:11-16 includes the shepherds in equipping the saints. Preaching and teaching creates a maturing of the church as a whole. Ephesians 4:15— Maturity is indicated by the ability to speak the truth in love. Remember, we have a responsibility to the kingdom, not just to this church. Preparing and training men and women to teach (2 Timothy 2:2) is important for the kingdom as a whole when some of our members have the need to move to others areas (Julie is teaching a woman in Florence, AL that may never have heard the gospel if she did not move there). However, as mentioned previously, there is more to the work of an evangelist than just a sermon. It is not uncommon for a men to get good at preaching a sermon, and then decide that qualifies them to be an evangelist. Or, the church decides we do not need a preacher because the men can just do the preaching. This has led to the increasing problem for churches who have a man who never trained and therefore does not understand the work. He can give a sermon, but does not know how to lead and equip the church in evangelism and spiritual growth. A topical sermon once a week is not going to do that. The last two churches Teresa and I visited were clearly floundering. The goal of the church was to just to have a worship service and have someone preach a sermon. The sermons were “okay” but were not with purpose or direction to equip the church for the goal of Ephesians 4. Two problems typically exist: Visitors will never come back for that kind of preaching, nor will members do any inviting. Evangelism is simply not on the radar. In fact, the only “evangelism” done is “church-building evangelism”—if the lost want to be saved, they know where we are! It may surprise you, but the most important part of a good preacher training program is the amount of time the one being trained spends with the preacher! (Many preachers do not do this because it is so time-consuming) When we see training in the NT, it is on the job; it is a mentorship. When I train, the man goes with me to all studies so he can see and learn. He is with me in the “office next door” so that I’m available to him every time he has a question. Many hours are spent with me preparing him with my years of experience so that he is ready to face the work by himself. [Recent young man was told he was “ready” after preaching a few sermons]. I know what it is like to start preaching without a mentor who can give me his experience. (1) Years of trial and error and

New Testament Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville I Am the Door of the Sheep, the Good Shepherd John 10:1-21 Introduction: As we read the text before us our first thought might be, “Never have more beautiful words been uttered than these”—“I am the door of the sheepfold; I am the good shepherd.” Those words by Jesus should give us great comfort. However, a more careful examination reveals that in the original context Jesus was offering more than comfort, he was also revealing condemnation. When Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep…I am the good shepherd,” we must remember that John proclaimed Jesus as the “Word.” With every “I AM” statement, Jesus is revealing the beauty of God, and also the very nature of God. Both statements should alert us to three truths that must be clearly accepted and acted upon by us: We are sheep. It is foolish to think of ourselves any other way. Sheep are extremely vulnerable. They are among the weakest of all farm animals and are completely unable to protect themselves apart from a shepherd. We, however, in contrast do not think of ourselves that way. As Jesus said in the conclusion of chapter 9, we think we see, when we are actually blind. Without a shepherd, we are without wisdom or direction. Sheep have no idea how to seek good food and water for themselves. On their own, they will starve, become diseased, and die. There is no such thing as “wild sheep” who roam in the open country. We must choose a shepherd to lead us. There are other choices for “shepherds.” Many claim to be shepherds, but there is only Good Shepherd. All us are “hirelings.” Seeing the Movement through the Text As usual, seeing a new chapter division causes us to conclude that we are starting a new event in Jesus’ life. But careful reading shows that this is not so. Note the lead up to chapter 10: In chapter 5, Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath who had been in physical bondage to his illness for 38 years. In chapter 6, Jesus took on the escalated role of a new Moses leading a new exodus. He portrays this by not only feeding the people, but also crossing the sea by walking on it, and then proclaiming himself to be the bread of life. In chapter 7, during the Feast of Tabernacles, and at the time of seventh day when the priests poured out water at the altar and calling to God to give them the abundance of water, Jesus cried out, “If any man thirsts let him come to me and drink…out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” In chapter 8, Jesus at the same time, proclaimed himself as “the light of the world,” and then followed up in chapter 9 with giving sight to a man born blind, As we come to the end of chapter 9, we see that Jesus has not only healed the physical sight of the man, but has also brought to spiritual sight. The man was cast out of the synagogue by the Pharisees, and therefore banned him from the flock of Israel. In 9:39, after the confession of belief by the man born blind, Jesus makes a startling statement that his entrance into the world was “for judgment.” That is not that he came “to judge,” but that his entrance created a judgment between those who knew they were blind and needed sight, and those who believed they could see and therefore did not know they were blind. As you read those final verses of chapter 9, and then into chapter 10, you will recognize immediately that there is no break. Immediately, Jesus answers the Pharisees who had just challenged his statement that they did not recognize their own blindness. The metaphor of “entering the sheepfold by the door,” and “I am the door to sheep.” With this metaphor, Jesus speaks of a communal sheepfold that was common in the city. A large enclosed area was provided in which many different flocks of sheep were housed. There was one entrance guarded by a doorkeeper who knew the different shepherds and would only allow a true shepherd to enter. Once inside a shepherd would call his sheep, and only his sheep would respond by gathering to him. He would then lead them out and they would follow because they knew his voice. In this picture, Jesus is speaking of how one would enter this sheepfold. The only legitimate way to enter was by the door. Anyone attempting to enter another way was a thief and a robber In the second picture Jesus speaks of a temporary sheepfold that would commonly be set up for the night out in the open field. This sheepfold consisted of four walls but no door. Once the sheep were inside the enclosure and night had fallen the shepherd would lay down at the entrance of the enclosure. He literally became the door of the sheepfold. No sheep could enter or leave except through him. And no wolf or robber could enter except over his body. A true shepherd would never leave that post and leave the sheep unattended. [remember David killing the lion and bear?] But a hireling, one who was in it just for pay and did not love the sheep, would flee and save his own life at the first sign of danger. A true shepherd would