We begin 2018 with a sermon about Satan. The big idea of the sermon is that God has conducted a war against Satan, and God has won the war. The text for the sermon comes from 1 Peter 5:8,9, a text about the power we have to resist Satan. Truly, Satan didn’t “make you do it.”
Daily Bible Reading:
Monday, January 1. Read John 12:27-31. 1) What was Jesus praying for in this text? 2) What was did Jesus say about “the ruler of this world?”
Tuesday, January 2. Read Genesis 3:8-15. 1) Where were Adam and Eve when God appeared to them in the Garden? 2) Why? 3) What did God tell the woman about the serpent and its offspring and the woman’s relationship to them?
Wednesday, January 3. Read 1 John 3:1-10. 1) What do the people do who love the Father and hope him? 2) What can you say about people who commit sin? 3) What did the Son of God come to do (verse 8)?
Thursday, January 4. Read Colossians 2:8-15. 1) What does Paul advise the Colossian church to avoid? 2) What benefits did they receive from being related to Christ? 3) What did Christ do to the rulers and authorities?
Friday, January 5. Read Luke 13:31-35. 1) What did some Pharisees say to Jesus? 2) What message did Jesus give them to take back to Herod? 3) What power, therefore, did Jesus demonstrate against Satan, and why should that be encouraging to a believer today?
Saturday, January 6. Read 1 Peter 5:8,9. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer for the Week:
Dear Risen Christ and Son of God, sanctify me, save me from evil, drown me in your Spirit. Wash me with pure water, strengthen me with your Word, and hide me from all that can deceive or harm me. Let me never be separated from you. From the evil one, protect me. At the hour of my death, call me, and bid me come to you; that with your saints, I may praise you forever and ever. Amen.
Hymn of the Week:
Only in Thee
by T. O. Chisholm, 1933
Only in Thee, O Savior mine,
Dwelleth my soul in peace divine,
Peace that the world, though all combine,
Never can take from me.
Pleasures of earth, so seemingly sweet,
Fail at the last my longings to meet;
Only in Thee my bliss is complete,
Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
Only in Thee a radiance bright,
Shines like a beacon in the night,
Guiding my pilgrim bark aright,
Over life’s trackless sea.
Only in Thee, when troubles molest,
When with temptation I am oppressed,
There is a sweet pavilion of rest,
Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
Only in Thee, when days are drear,
When neither sun nor stars appear,
Still I can trust and feel no fear,
Sing when I cannot see.
Only in Thee, whatever betide,
All of my need is freely supplied;
There is no help nor helper beside,
Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
Only in Thee, dear Savior, slain,
Losing Thy life my own to gain,
Trusting, I’m cleansed from ev’ry stain;
Thou art my only plea.
Only in Thee my heart will delight,
Till in that land where cometh no night
Faith will be lost in heavenly sight,
Only, dear Lord, in Thee!
Article of the Week:
How Satan Wants to Separate You from God
Satan has a plan to destroy you. Here it is.
by Steve Ridgell
Satan, the devil, has one main goal in life: to separate you from God and keep you separated. Very early after creation, Satan attacked Adam and Eve. He used three basic approaches and they are the same ones he uses today.
Sow confusion about what God said. “Did God really say…?” Satan does not want you to read God’s Word for yourself. He wants you to think you cannot understand it, or believe that it could not possibly mean what it says. So you do not have to worry about doing — or not doing — what it says.
Lie about God. In this approach, Satan contradicts God. “You will not die if you eat of this tree.” The argument goes like this: God wants you to be happy, and so whatever you want to do to be happy is fine with God. Any time you hear terms like “God would never…” or “God will do…”, it would be best to check your Bible and see what God actually says about things.
You can be your own god. Satan told Eve the only reason God would not let them eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was that then they would be like God. Of course, the problem is not just to know good from evil, but to know what to do about it. Or how to handle it when you choose evil.
You can read this story yourself. It is in the very first pages of the Bible in the book of Genesis, chapter 3. Satan will use the same approach to separate you from God. He keeps using it because it works so well. The only flaw in his plan is that he cannot keep us away from God because God sent his Son Jesus to provide a way for us to come back to God.
