South Valley Community Church

Ricky Hemme 12/03/2023

How is Christmas a story of hope? It’s not just because of Jesus. It’s because of WHO Jesus was and is. It is only because of the divine nature of Jesus, the fact that God robed himself in flesh, that we have hope for today and hope for eternity.

There are a number of different ways churches operate today. But how did Jesus want the church to operate? Come and see? Or go and tell? We see that Jesus went to the people who never would have come to him. He was on mission to go and share the news of his kingdom with all those who most desperately needed to hear.

Guest speaker Matthias Haeusel speaks on church planting and what that looks like in a biblical aspect. 

Does the church do anything besides what happens on Sunday mornings? There is a tremendous amount effort that goes in, on a daily basis, to share the gospel with the world both in word and deed. This means organizations that are working to rescue the most marginalized people in the world such as She Is Safe which rescues girls from human sex trafficking.

Does justice mark the end of a story? Last week we saw Haman meet justice and it sure made the story feel like it had been resolved. The problem is that there is still that law Xerxes signed to see the Jews wiped out. What is God going to do? God leads Esther to realize that her salvation is not enough. Her salvation should lead to her seeking the salvation of all of her people.

As things have seemed to continue getting worse and worse in Esther’s story, today things actually seem to be going Esther’s way. Haman is exposed to be the wicked man that he is and he is served justice in maybe the most ironic way possible.

As Mordecai sat in sackcloth and ashes, he could not have had any idea that Xerxes was going to have a sleepless night that led to a reminder of how Mordecai saved his life. In a beautiful moment of irony, Xerxes has Haman plan Mordecai’s party while thinking the party is going to be for Haman himself. We see the beautiful justice that God brings to his people.

Sometimes God has some really hard assignments for us. Have you ever asked, “God, are you sure?” Like there’s no way he could really be assigning something like that. There’s no way he could want me to do something that dangerous. And yet, God intentionally assigns hard assignments. He does this because he wants to draw deeper levels of faith out of us while he partners with us to accomplish his g...

Because of Haman’s wrath, Xerxes signed into law that all the Jews could be killed. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, found out and he wept and put on sackcloth. He went to Esther and told her that she needed to go before the king to try to save the lives of her people. The problem is that going before the king without be beckoned could result in death…

Haman is a terribly evil person in the book of Esther. He has created a plan to kill all of the Jews. Somehow he’s gotten the king to sign a plan into law to kill all the Jews because the king has not realized that his own wife is a Jew. Where is God? Why would he let his people get wiped out? We will see that God is always moving for the good of his people.

As if the deeds of king Xerxes weren’t already bad enough, he has now made the decision to gather up women and make them go through beauty treatments to see which one could please him the most. It is within this gross abuse of power that Esther finds herself as she has become one receiving beauty treatments and responsible for pleasing the king.

As Xerxes throws a wild party he calls in his queen and she refuses. This causes drama like you could not believe. Xerxes flexed his power for his own benefit and to prove to other leaders how great he and his possessions were. Xerxes and his queen had a toxic relationship. Maybe you’ve wondered, “How does God feel about toxic relationships?” We see that even in a story where God’s name is not men...

The book of Esther is one of the most interesting books in the Bible for one simple reason. It never mentions God. It has left many people asking the question, “Where is God?” Is he actually there? Is it possible God left? Ultimately, Esther teaches us that even though God’s name is never mentioned he is still, very much, in control. He is still very much protecting his people.

Many today are asking a simple question. What’s the point of the church? Is the church even relevant anymore? The problem is that so many churches have adopted a strategy that has nothing to do with what Jesus actually called the church to be. The church is relevant because we still have a mission for Jesus and he is still actively saving and changing lives.

What does God want from me? God has a plan for reaching your world. The people around you have specifically been put there so that you can reach them with the good news of Jesus.

This week we concluded our series on wisdom. We can all agree that it is wise to plan ahead. If wisdom is the application of knowledge, planning is very much wisdom in action. Some take planing more seriously than others, but it’s safe to say that we all know what it’s like to have a plan and then watch that plan fall apart. What we do with those pieces of broken plans also takes wisdom. Do we fal...

What do I do if my friends are leading me away from God? What if they pressure me to sin? The Bible has a lot to say about the people we keep around us. We need friends who are going to help us in our relationship with Jesus and we need to place boundaries around relationships that are not good for us.

Why does the church care so much about money? Actually, it may be better to ask why God cares so much about money. Jesus talks a tremendous amount about money. The Proverbs even encourage how we should be wise with our money. The goal is to use finances as a tool to share the blessings of God, but to simultaneously ensure that we do not allow finances to become a master over us.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Ever heard that phrase? The problem is it is not true. Words have so much power. Words can hurt, words can empower, and words will impact every relationship around you. So what in the world do we do with the tongue? We learn to tame it so that we can listen like Jesus does and we get wisdom so we can speak with grace and truth lik...

We’ve learned in this series that wisdom is different from knowledge. Wisdom is not measured by intelligence, but one’s ability to learn, adapt, survive, and even thrive. How do we apply what we learn in order to better our chances at survival? At success? Within relationships? The connection between knowledge and application is where wisdom is born.  And as we’ve learned in this series, the best...

What is wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to live a skillful life. Have you ever gotten to know people that just seem to know what they’re doing in life? Like no matter what life throws at them they know what to do? That’s called wisdom. That’s exercising the gift of wisdom that God gives in order for us to thrive in this life.

What is the process of wisdom? It starts with trusting in the Lord. The wisdom that we need to walk in this life, a life that God has seen all of our yesterdays and every tomorrow, is a wisdom that can only be found in Him. The Bible tells us to trust in the Lord and to rest in the Lord. Those things have to be related - because when we trust in the Lord, we can REST assured that He is providing w...

How do we get wisdom? Fear God. The proverbs say that the beginning of wisdom is to get wisdom, but then it breaks down that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge applied. God has given his people a job to do and the only way to accomplish the things that he has for us is for us to practice wisdom in this life.

The Bible is often misunderstood regarding sex. Does the Bible say sex is bad? Does the Bible say its good? Pastor Ricky showed us that the Bible says that sex is a gift, but specifically, and only, within the confines of marriage. God gave sex as a good gift, but some gifts are only to be used in certain ways.