King of Kings (part 2) – Sermon Audio, Video, & Questions

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Isaiah 11:1-12.  This message was part 2 in the “King of Kings” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

  1. Pray
  2. Read Isaiah 11:1-12
  3. What is a place you have always wanted to live? What has attracted you to that place? What are some characteristics that you feel like make a great leader of a nation?
  4. In Isaiah 11, we see a picture of both the King of Kings, and His coming Kingdom. In 11:1-5, we see a picture of King Jesus. What stands out to you most about His leadership (described there)? What would it be like to live in an area ruled by Him?
  5. Have you trusted in Jesus to be your King of Kings? Is there evidence in your life that you are living under His direction?
  6. The Kingdom Jesus presides over is described in Isaiah 11:6-12. This future Kingdom upon the earth, established after Jesus returns, is marked by various phenomena outlined in these verses. What stands out to you most about life in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ?
  7. How has reviewing both the King and His Kingdom encouraged you in light of the “groaning” we see around us in the world today? Our problems are only temporary, but His Kingdom will reign forever and ever!
  8. What evidence do you see today of churches living by Kingdom priorities?
  9. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

King of Kings #2 11.17.24

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

King of Kings (part 2) Sermon Preview

Let’s suppose we were all able to select where we were from and who our President or King would be.  Let’s say we had that kind of sway … what would we do?  Well, maybe we would fly around from country to country, looking for the cities or natural landscape we liked the best.  We would make a short list from the environments … then we would cross check our approved places with the leaders who ruled over them.  What kinds of characteristics would you look for in your leader of choice?  What policies would they promote?  What kind of character would they represent?  After this thorough examination, we could then make a selection on where we would live and under whose leadership we would reside.

Now, the above scenario is mostly fantasy.  We do not determine our nationality at birth, and it can be quite complicated to change our citizenship in this world!  Acts 17:26 actually lets us know that God Himself sits sovereign over the context of our lives, saying, “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.”  Further, though our form of government in America allows us to participate in the process of selecting a leader, if you voted in the last Presidential election, you are merely one vote out of 140 million!  We play a part, but many other forces are at play in determining our leaders … and again, God Himself sits sovereign over that process as Romans 13:1 reminds us, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”

And so, our places of residence and our governing authorities are not entirely of our own choosing … and part of the challenge we face in this world is that because of sin and the consequences that have followed it, both our environment and our leaders are far from idyllic.  No matter where you live, there are a unique set of problems.  Oklahoma has rattlesnakes, tornados, and ice storms (among other things).  We take the good with the bad!  And our leaders are morally imperfect and make flawed decisions at times.  You win some, you lose some.  Change the city, state, or even country you live in, and you will trade one set of imperfections with another.  To say it another way, both our kingdoms and our kings have their problems!

But what can God teach us through this?  Romans 8:22 tells us that “all creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”  Our imperfect world and our flawed leaders remind us that THIS IS NOT OUR HOME.  We groan like a mother in childbirth, longing for the birthday of a new age … and a new leader.

On Sunday, November 17 at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship service, we will continue our sermon series “King of Kings” by looking at Isaiah 11:1-11.  This prophetic passage, written 700 years before Jesus was born, describes Jesus and what it will be like to live under His authority.  This prophecy describes the King of Kings and His coming Kingdom in terms unlike anything we know.  It is my prayer that these verses will raise our eyes from our kings and kingdoms (lowercase “k’s”) to Him and His promised dominion … and that we will all be filled with hope!

See you Sunday, and bring friends!

King of Kings (part 1) – Sermon Audio, Video, & Questions

On Sunday, November 10, 2024, at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Revelation 5:1-14.  This message was part 1 in the “King of Kings” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

  1. Pray
  2. In what ways is Jesus different from all other world leaders today?  How are you encouraged when you look to Jesus, and discouraged when you look to the world?
  3. How does knowing that Jesus will one day return to the earth and establish His kingdom encourage you today?
  4. In this passage, what do you learn about Jesus?  Make a list and keep it handy as a reminder of the object of your faith.
  5. What is your general posture toward Jesus?  Do you position yourself ABOVE, BESIDE, or BELOW Him?
  6. How does seeing the prayers of believers present in heaven ENCOURAGE your prayer life today?  What have you stopped praying for that you might begin praying for again given this reminder?
  7. Take some time to praise Jesus with your words.  If you need inspiration, look to the songs of Revelation 5:8-14.
  8. What is one particular application you took away from this message?

To access these questions in pdf format click here.

 

To listen to message offline, click the link:

King of Kings #1 11.10.24

 

To listen online, use media player below:

 

To watch online use YouTube:

 

King of Kings (part 1) Sermon Preview

I heard someone recently say (regarding this past presidential election) that “Jesus was not on the ballot.”  I think their point was that all candidates running for office at any level, are flawed at some level.  After all, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and this includes politicians as well as plumbers and painters!  The thesis being, Jesus is perfect, and we are not.  True statement.

But as we head past November 5, I want to remind us of something very important.  Jesus was not on the ballot, because Jesus is not like any other leader we know.  He is not voted into and out of office, His reign is eternal.  He is not “the better of two evils” as some have described candidates in elections, He has no evil in Him.  He is not pursuing our “likes” to His posts, He desires to be our Lord.  He is not first asking what we can do for Him, but He came while we were yet sinners to die for us.  He does not want our ballot, He wants our best.  He is not wanting something from us, ultimately He has something for us.  His Kingdom ultimately knows no boundaries, term limits, or end.  He has no “god complex,” He is (in fact) God Himself!

As John Stott has said, “So we may talk about Alexander the Great, Charles the Great, and Napoleon the Great, but not Jesus the Great.  He is not the Great – He is the ONLY.  There is nobody like Him.  He has no rival and no successor.”

So as we walk toward Sunday, November 10 together, I wanted us to pause and remember who the King of Kings really is.  Some of you are celebrating election results, while others are crying.  Together, let us lift our eyes to heaven and see the exalted Son of God, the King of Kings, who was the same on November 10, 2020 as He is on November 10, 2024, as He will be on November 10, 2028.  Let us worship Him together in Spirit and in Truth on Sunday at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service.  This will be part one of a two part sermon series called “King of Kings” and will focus on Revelation 5:1-14.

See you there … and bring friends!