Series: Major Lessons From The Minor Prophets

This sermon examines why God gave us the Holy Spirit. This long-awaited promise poured out upon the Early Church in Acts 2. What are the "last days"? What were they to the early church? This is the START OF THE CHURCH. Now God would dwell within us and through us. This sermon is about the promise of this Holy Spirit from Joel freely given to us.

God's Love for us is extraordinary. It's important to know that because what we believe about God's love for us will impact our actions. When we don't have a healthy view of God's love for us there's no telling what kinds of thoughts and beliefs could creep in. Yet, when our foundation is the love of God, it impacts every area of our lives. Particularly impacting the most important areas of our life. Malachi teaches us some very important truths about these things.

Zechariah is known as the "Messianic Prophet" because he is quoted so often in the New Testament with his shear number of prophecies that point to Jesus. In this sermon we learn about the CLEAR GOSPEL STORY found in the book of Zechariah. When compared side-by-side with the life of Christ, the book of Zechariah paints an incredible picture of who the Messiah would be, down to his character and nature. He also shares clearly about the sacrifice Jesus would give us at the hand of God, Himself. If you've ever struggled with the love of God, this sermon is for you. God went to every effort to let us know He loves us, by sending His one and only son to die on the cross for our sins. You are loved.

Have you ever started a project and never finished it? In this sermon we learn about when God puts us on a mission and the many ways we can easily find ourself off mission. No matter how faithful. No matter how much we want to. There are still times we want to throw our hands up and say, "I'm done." If you've ever felt this way know this... GOD IS NOT DONE WITH YOU. As long as you have breath in your lungs, God can use you. When we get off mission, there's a price to pay. In fact, it can have a bigger impact than we may realize. Learn about how you can get back on mission for Jesus!

Nahum is the "FINALLY" prophet. Nahum announces how God will protect his faithful people, and how Assyria would be destroyed due to their arrogance, violence, and evil. The destruction of the Assyrian empire is an image of how God will confront and bring down all violent human empires. So what is Anger? Is anger a bad thing? In this sermon we are challenged with our own emotions. We learn the difference between GODLY anger and other negative emotions. God becomes angry because of his goodness, always.

Have you ever NOT wanted to do something God asked you to do? If there was ever a "not" prophet it was Jonah. He did NOT want go to Ninevah to tell the Assyrians God was going to be gracious with them if they repented. In fact, he did NOT want to so bad that he went 2500 miles the opposite direction... by boat! Jonah is famous for being the guy who refused to do what God wanted him to do. Yet he had unprecedented favor from God. The way the text reads - 120,000 people repented and gave their life to God... all from an 8-word sermon. We all have some Jonah in our life. This sermon teaches us about God and His Will.

Micah shows us how God's not oblivious to the things that go on in our lives. He's not oblivious to the things we do, both good, and bad. When people do bad things to us, God sees.  Micah goes on to show us how to be merciful with others. It's not about getting it all just right. How can we claim to be of God and not be merciful to others?   Micah addresses these very real issues.  

Zephaniah is a Minor Prophet of royal blood who teaches us about the Day of the Lord. He uses it to talk about the consequence of sin for Judah.  A remnant will be saved (The humble and the lowly), all through judgement of the wicked.   The truth is, our sins separate us from God. When we know better, and we still sin, we are accountable. God loves us, and he wants to sing over us. Understanding His character shows us His heart.  

One of the biggest reasons people "walk away from their faith" is the issue of good and evil. Specifically, why does God let bad things happen to good people? And why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?  It seemingly makes no sense. If God is a God of justice, there are plenty of times is SEEMS like God surely isn't exacting any at all. In fact, it sometimes appears as though God's sovereignty stopped and we are left to our own devices to "figure it out."  This is the tension Habakkuk felt when he put ink to papyrus. In this unique book of the Bible, we have a prophet who isn't actually prophesying to anyone at all. Instead, he journals his conversation with God over this very issue.