Tuesday, December 11, 2007

"What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).

IDEA: God’s grace is often at its best after our disobedience has done its worst.

PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that God’s grace is greater than all our sin.

Can you think of phrases in the Bible that say more than whole paragraphs?

I. There are several phrases that capture our imagination and capture God’s kindness.

“The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time . . .” (Jonah 3:1)

“But God . . .” (Ephesians 2:4)

“While he was still a long way off . . .” (Luke 15:20)

II. In Judges 16:22 in the story of Samson, there is the short sentence: “But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.”

What is the situation that leads to this lovely little phrase?

Even though Samson looks like a total failure, God has not abandoned him. God was working to restore Samson.

If you feel you have failed and failed miserably, the hair can grow again!

III. Can you give examples of the truth of that phrase?