The Line of Judah

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 38:1-30

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The Line of Judah — Pastor Lonnie D. Bell, Jr.
Genesis 38:1-30
Sermon Series: Genesis
September 22, 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   Why does Moses put this story about Judah and Tamar at this point in Genesis? What are the respective roles of Judah and Joseph in God’s overall plan?
2.   How does Revelation 5:5 help us to appreciate the relevance of this story for our lives?
3.   Describe Judah’s moral and spiritual descent. How does his story show us that sin desensitizes us to further sin?
4.   What role does this Hirah figure play in the narrative? What impact should this have on our relationships?
5.   Compare and contrast the sins of Judah and Tamar. Why does Judah say, “She is more righteous than I” (v. 26)? How do these words give us hope about Judah’s future?
6.   How does this narrative show God’s preservation and electing grace towards his covenant people? How does it show his hatred and judgment towards sin?

References: Revelation 5:5; Proverbs 13:20; Deuteronomy 25:5-6; Genesis 39:2.

Deliverance and Destruction

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 19:1-29

1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

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Deliverance and Destruction
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 19:1-29
27 January 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   Discuss the wickedness of the people of Sodom. How is Lot contrasted with them?
2.   How is Lot portrayed as a weak believer? What does this tell us about the effect that the world can have on us?
3.   Where do we see God’s patience and mercy towards Lot? What does this teach us about God’s attitude towards us?
4.   How does the story of Sodom and Gomorrah function as a warning? In what ways have you viewed sin lightly in your own life?
5.   How would you characterize the difference between Lot and his wife? How does this help us to distinguish between a weak Christian and a non-Christian?
6.   How does this passage (particularly v. 29) point ultimately to Christ as the only basis and means of salvation?

References: Genesis 11:5; 18:20-21; Jude 7; 2 Peter 2:4-10; Romans 1:27.

Abraham's Three Visitors, Part 2

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 18:16-33

16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

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Abraham’s Three Visitors, Part 2
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 18:16-33
20 January 2019

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How is Abraham portrayed as a “friend of God”?
2.  How does this passage teach us that as Christians we are close to God whether we feel it or not?
3.  What does v. 19 teach us about parenting?
4.  What is Abraham’s concern, and how does God respond to it? What does this teach us about God’s character?
5.  How does this passage encourage intercessory prayer?

References: Genesis 13:12; 14:12; James 2:23; Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7; John 15:15; 1 Samuel 6:20; John 17:9; Psalm 1:5-6; Micah 6:8.

The Flood

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 7:1-24

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The Flood -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 7:1-24
05 August 2018

Deep Sheet: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How does the New Testament guide us on how to read the flood narrative? Why should the world’s view of Noah’s flood not surprise us?
2.  In what ways is the flood a “controlled” event? How should this impact our view of God and our circumstances?
3.  How is the flood a “careful” event? What all does God preserve?
4.  What do the words at the end of v. 16, “And the LORD shut him in,” teach us about God?
5.  How does the text describe the flood as both powerful and universal?
6.  What does it mean to say that this story should leave us in repentant reverence running to the ark of safety?

References: Matthew 24:37-39; 2 Peter 3:5-7; Matthew 7:21; Genesis 1:9; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 2:6; Proverbs 18:10; Exodus 14:28; Genesis 1:2

Noah and the Ark

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 6:9-22

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Noah and the Ark -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 6:9-22
29 July 2018

DEEP SHEET:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  How would you describe Noah based on the text? How does Noah’s character challenge us in the midst of our generation?
2.  How would you characterize the relationship between God and Noah?
3.  What does it mean to say that God destroyed what man had already destroyed?
4.  How does God’s judgment in the past point us to the future? According to Peter, what practical effect should this have on the Christian?
5.  In what ways does the ark serve as a picture of Christ?

References: Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 15:6; Proverbs 11:5; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 2 Peter 2:5; John 5:24; Genesis 18:17-21; John 15:15; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:11-12; 1 John 2:17; Exodus 2:3, 5.

A Sorrowful State, Part 2

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 6:4-8

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A Sorrowful State, Part 2 -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 6:4-8
22 July 2018

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Questions
1.  What does it look like for us to feel the weight of sin and of grace in our daily lives? How can we cultivate the attitude of John Chrysostom: “I fear nothing but sin”?
2.  What does it mean to say that left to ourselves, we always assess wrongly? How do we keep our assessment of reality aligned with God’s?
3.  What do you find most striking about the depravity described in vv. 5-6? Discuss the breadth, depth, totality, and offense of this depravity?
4.  What does v. 6 in particular teach us about God?
5.  Are people less sinful today than at the time of the flood? What are some key passages of Scripture for answering this question?
6.  How does the text point us to God’s grace rather than human merit?
7.  How does the figure of Noah contribute to a “theology of singularity”?

References: Jeremiah 17:9-10; Genesis 8:21; Romans 3:10-12; Romans 8:19-21; Genesis 3:15. 

Expelled With Grace

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 3:20-24

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Expelled With Grace -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 3:20-24
03 June 2018

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  How would you describe the relationship between Adam and Eve and the entire human race?  What does it mean to say that the story of sin runs through every biography?
2.  In what specific ways does the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden serve as punishment?
3.  How does Adam’s naming of Eve demonstrate faith?|
4.  How does God’s act of covering them with animal skins point to Christ?  What does it mean to say that the covering of guilt and shame is God’s work?
5.  How is God’s expulsion of Adam and Eve a means of protection?  How does God protect us from ultimately being lost?

References: Genesis 4:8, 23; 6:5; Romans 3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:3; Hebrews 11:1, 4.

The Divine Judgment

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 3:16-19

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The Divine Judgment -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 3:16-19
27 May 2018

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Notes
1.  What comes to your mind when you think of a “fallen world”?
2.  How do we see the hope of grace, relationship, victory, and reversal leading into God’s words of judgment?
3.  What would it look like to be more serious about sin in your daily life?
4.  In what ways does “painful toil” affect men and women? How have you seen the outworking of this in your own life?
5.  How does this passage help us to understand the cause of strife in marriage? What is God’s remedy in this life?
6.  What does it mean to say that Christ died so that death will die forever?

References: Proverbs 8:13; Genesis 4:7; 5:29; Ephesians 5:18, 22, 25; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:1, 7; Genesis 2:7; Job 14:1; Romans 8:22; 1 Corinthians 15:47-49.

The Defeated Devil

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 3:14-15

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The Defeated Devil -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 3:14-15
20 May 2018

Deep Sheet:  Sermon Study Notes
1.  What does it mean to be “sober-minded” and “watchful” concerning Satan (1 Peter 5:8)?
2.  In what ways do we see God’s sovereignty in this passage? Why should that increase our confidence in him?
3.  What is the relationship between the serpent and Satan? What curse is placed on Satan?
4.  Why has v. 15 been called the “first gospel”? How does this verse impact the way we read the Bible from beginning to end?
5.  Why should Christians not be afraid of the devil?

References: John 17:5; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9; Romans 3:19; Job 1:6-12; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Genesis 9:5; Exodus 21:28; Leviticus 20:15, 16; Genesis 5:28-29; 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 16:20.

The Deadly Dialogue

FCC Vision Statement: Building on Exposition, Centering on Christ, Dying in Community, Serving on Mission

Genesis 3:1-5

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The Deadly Dialogue -- Lonnie Bell
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis 3:1-5
29 April 2018

Sermon Study Questions
1.  Why must we keep Christ’s righteousness and obedience in view as we consider the Fall?
2.  Who is Satan, and why should we take him seriously?
3.  How does Satan subtly undermine God’s Word and character with his initial question, and what are the implications for us?
4.  In what ways does Eve alter God’s Word? What does this suggest about what is going on in her heart?
5.  How does Satan tempt people into thinking there are no consequences for disobedience?
6.   By the time we reach v. 5, how would you describe Satan’s portrayal of himself and of God?

References: Romans 5:18-19; Genesis 2:16-17; Revelation 12:9; John 8:44; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:4, 10.