Wednesday Night Services

Did God make things more difficult for those who returned from Babylon then it otherwise would have been? That’s a puzzling question raised by Zechariah 8:10-11. Is God saying I did make it difficult for them, but now I won’t do that for you? If God did then why, and if He didn’t, what is He saying? Here is another question raised. Have you ever been discouraged by a prophetic word that didn’t come to pass? Ever wanted to quit on it? There are people in that very situation there and the prophet speaks God’s word to them.

Do you have memorials in your life to remember a past loss, event, or failure, or have you developed a practice that became a habit you thought might help you grow spiritually? There is no command in the word to do such things, but it’s been a part of your life for so long that to cut it out now would seem to be wrong. Maybe God might be disappointed in you, or even a loved one that past away? This guilt can keep us maintaining a ritual or state of mind that maybe has become harmful to our mental well being. This is the basis of a question that the returnees in Jerusalem asked of God about some of the fasts they picked up. Should we continue these fasts? Do we continue to remember the past failures so we don’t fall into them again? Do we remember the sadness of past events so as not to forget? Well God sent a message back and we look at that answer in Zechariah 7.

Are the prophesies regarding Jesus’ coming as king and ruler dependent on our obedience in order to come about? Are there things we must do before He comes or is it does it occur because it is the will of God? The word given to Zechariah to finish chapter 6 concerning the coming Messiah ends with “And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.” In this midweek service we explore this vision, it’s interpretation, and what this last part means.

We all look at this world and the evil things that go on. Some wonder where is God and why does He allow these things to happen? As we look at Zechariah 6 I think we find a great clue!

What does the flying scroll and the woman in the basket mean? Is this for sometime in the future or was it just for Zechariah's day?

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” Many love this verse from Zechariah 4:6, but when you understand it in it’s context, you may understand better how to apply this to your own life. This is a word God gave to Zechariah to the people of that day, but it is written in scripture because it has application to us.

Why does God measure things? Looking at scripture I came up with two purposes He has for measuring. Then I thought about our lives: do we have a similar practice of measuring spiritual things? I saw some very glaring differences in our purposes.

Why did God get mad at the nations? In this first vision of Zechariah we see that angels had been sent out to observe the world and they came back saying everything is at peace. This made God mad, so why is He mad at the nations for their state of peace? We learn some interesting things about how God looks at the world and His people in this vision of the horses.

What made the people of Judah who built the 2nd temple so receptive to the word of God? They responded 1st to the call or word from God in their spirit and made the trip to leave Babylon. Then they received the word from God’s prophets and restarted the work God had called them do. And finally they responded when the word of God was taught and showed them the error of their ways. As we finish the book of Ezra we want to discover the qualities needed to be as receptive as they were to what God revealed to their spirit, spoke to their ears, and was written for their eyes.

What did Jesus mean when He said "It is finished" right before His death on the cross? In this Good Friday service, we look at this question and why the answer matters to your Christian walk.

How does a society dedicated to serving the Lord become corrupted? In our own country 60 years ago God was a much bigger part of our society and our culture was shaped by our love for and obedience to God. Things that would shock our society then are hardly a blip now. How did we get to where we are now? In Ezra 9 we see a very similar occurrence, as the social norms and customs of the Jews who returned have strayed from the way God commanded them to live when He spoke to Moses. Ezra has apparently seen more Biblical behavior in Babylon then he does here in Jerusalem. How did this happen in the 60 years since the Temple was completed? There were no rebukes of lifestyle issues spoken by the prophets that we have recorded, so this change would seem to have occurred in the years following the Temple’s completion.

Most of us are aware of how what we say can produce good or bad in our life. Here we see that Ezra spoke good about His God but it created a very interesting dilemma for him.

What does it take for you to see the hand of the Lord upon you? It is easy to see God’s helping hand when things are going well and mostly as you expect, but what do you see when things are difficult, you are repeatedly hit with the unexpected, or it seems like you are trudging through spiritual mud? Can you still see the hand of God, or does it appear to have left you? We look at what it takes to be able to see the hand of God on your life and call in the difficult times, as we take on Ezra 7.

There were two groups of people that opposed Jesus, in the Sadducees and the Pharisees, and we will be looking at how these groups began in this week's midweek service. There was also a third group not mentioned in the Bible as they were not involved in any direct confrontation with Jesus. It is amazing how what was in the past continues in the present.

What do you expect should happen when a prophet is given a message from the Lord to not only tell you what the will of God is, but that He wants you to do it? Would you expect things to be easier from then on or harder? Smooth sailing or more opposition? We may say we should expect more opposition, but in practice Christians who receive increased opposition feel and speak things like “the word must not have been from God,” “the devil must be real mad at what I’m doing,” or even “people need to line up with what God told me.” How have you responded in the past? How should we respond and what can we learn from these events in the lives of those who resumed building the Temple, after Haggai gives them such great words from God?" In this chapter we can learn a very important lesson in dealing with those who oppose us, and how we can make the situation better. Also, what does it mean that "The eye of their God was on the elders..."? Is the same eye on you and wh

What gets God excited? We all get excited about things to come or things that have occurred for different reasons, but what are the reasons that cause God to anticipate the good He sees coming? In Haggai Chapter 2 we get a glimpse of what that is, and if we are endeavoring to be more like Him then we should become excited on the things that make our God anticipate somethings arrival.

How does God look upon us when we become discouraged in doing what God asked of us or perhaps even distracted from it? The exiles who returned to Judea have been discouraged, and may have let that turn into becoming distracted from the task of rebuilding the temple of God. How does God respond? What is God’s view of them at this time? As we begin Ezra 5 we see a prophet who was sent to them. The messages he is given make it into a book we know as Haggai. In this weeks midweek service we take a look at these messages Haggai has for them, beginning with the first two tonight. What we learn from these messages to the people of Judea are intended to help us when we are facing the same thing. Have you been discouraged in your God given purpose? Have you put off doing what God told you to do? Let's look at the messages of Haggai together and see what we can use to help in what we need to overcome.

What kind of resistance have you had in life? Resistance in doing what is good and right? Resistance in staying true to your calling and gifts? What about resisting the pull to stray from sound doctrine, as worldly pressure builds or we are pushed to go with the popular doctrine of the day? In Ezra 4 there were three kinds of resistance the returning exiles faced in doing what God had them to do. These same three are still at work today, so we will look at what they did to stay with the work they were called to do.

Who was the destroyer that killed the firstborn in the first Passover (Exodus 12)? As I have listened to teachers and preachers teach on Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the many things surrounding the sprinkling of the blood on the door posts to protect the home from the destroyer, I am amazed at how many things are read into the story that are just not there. If we want to fully grasp the purpose God has for an event like Passover, we must first understand what the Bible teaches actually occurred. It has been a long time since we looked closely at Exodus 12 and the first Passover. Since the desire is always to answer the questions sent to me as accurately as possible, tonight we will go back to the account in Exodus so we can differentiate truth from fiction.

In this service we take on the 3 fall feast of Israel. They are all unfulfilled and we will look into how they will be fulfilled and what they point to.