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Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

This coming Sunday we will be resuming our sermons from the Book of Judges. You will remember that this study is part of our larger sermon series on the ‘Great Events in the History of Redemption.’

For the last few messages from Judges our focus has been upon the man named “Gideon,” one of the most famous of Israel’s ‘judges.’ In fact, he is one of the four Israelite judges listed in Hebrews 11:32 (along with Barak, Samson, and Jephthah) who are said to have lived and served the Lord “by faith” (Heb. 11:33). Of course, Gideon is most famous for two things: his “fleece” (Judges 6:36-40), and his victory over the Midianites with just 300 warriors (Judges 7:1-25). The first of these will be our subject for this Sunday.

Virtually everyone has, at one time or another, followed along with Gideon’s example of ‘putting out a fleece’ in an effort to determine God’s will, or to find divine guidance for a particular matter. However, if we take a good look at the details of this episode, we see that God’s will for Gideon was never in doubt. What Gideon was doing had nothing to do with seeking guidance from the Lord or determining His will. Rather, he was testing the Lord and His Word, and seeking to find some additional confirmation of the Lord’s previous promise of victory over Midian (see 6:14-16). The fleece episode, then, was fundamentally about Gideon’s difficulty in trusting God’s character and His Word.

As we come to investigate this well-known story on Sunday, we will try and understand why Gideon needed such a confirmation, what led him to put the Lord to the test, and how this experience in his life can teach us many important lessons about our Lord, His Word, and the all-sufficient grace in which we stand.

As you pray and prepare your heart for Lord’s Day worship, take a moment to read and meditate upon our sermon passage found in Judges 6:36-40.

Also this coming Lord’s Day, Sunday School resumes for all ages at 9:15 AM. I will be teaching our Adult Class on the topic of ‘Spiritual Depression’ based upon the classic book by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones entitled, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure.

Finally, it will be our great joy on Sunday to officially welcome Mr. Matthew Elliott to our Church family. As you know, Matthew is our Pastoral Assistant for Counseling, and we are thrilled at how the Lord brought him to us to serve our Savior and His Church in this vital area. Please pray for Matthew and for his wife Meg as their ministry with us begins this week.

I love you all so much, and you are ever on my heart and in my prayers,

Mike

Upcoming Events:

January 7, 9:15 AM – Sunday School resumes
January 9, 6 PM – Women’s Evening Study
January 9, 9 AM – Senior Fellows Breakfast at Church House
January 10, 9:30 AM – Women’s Morning Study
January 18, 6 AM – Men’s Morning Study

Order of Worship:

You can access this week’s Order of Worship by clicking here

The songs for this week are:

Be Unto Your Name
Stricken, Smitten And Afflicted (Hymn 257, all 4 verses)
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Hymn 296, vs 1,3,6)

Announcements:

Senior Fellows: On Tuesday, January 9 at 9:00 AM the Senior Fellows will have breakfast at the Church House. Come and join us for food, fellowship, fun, and a devotional. They will also support Bags of Blessings packing at The CARE Center on January 31.

Prayer Requests:

Healing: Please pray for the health of the following individuals: Bill Bower, Suzi Jones, Robin Holloway, Chris Smotherman, Elizabeth Holton, Janet Chou, Ramona Edwards, Nolan Osmer.
Expecting: Please pray for the the Townsley family, expecting in March, and the Staffords and Deans, expecting in April.
Ministries: Please pray for the following missionaries and ministries: Seth and Jessica Lewis (Ireland); Steve and Rita Williams (New Zealand); Vinnie and Molly Athey (RUF at UAH); RUF at Alabama A&M; Ken and Angie Burnett (FCA); Franky Garcia (seminary student).