Jim Jester Sermons

I & II CHRONICLES

Sermon notes by Jim Jester

September 4, 2022

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 89:35-37

The Chronicles are a continuation of the books of the Kings. Israel had asked Samuel for a king rather than have God as their King (q.v., I Sam. 8:1-9). This would prove to be a disaster, for nearly all the kings of Israel and Judah turned out to be very wicked. Of course, if they had a good and honorable king, one that feared God and ruled by His Law, then things went well for Israel. This same principle follows through today. No matter what form of government of men we have, it can always be perverted and corrupted by a deep state that is almost impossible to defuse. So why need we be sentimental about a particular form of government we have had for a length of time? Our particular constitution even says “the people have the right to alter or abolish it and institute new government” as they see fit “for their future security.”

SAMUEL - KINGS

by Pastor Jim Jester

August 14, 2022

SCRIPTURE READING: I Samuel 22:17-19

This scripture is the first account that contains a racially significant event within the books we are covering today (I & II Samuel through I & II Kings). It is not known who wrote the books of Samuel. The books bear his name because they record the life and work of Samuel, the last of Israel’s judges and the first of a long line of prophets. The events of these books are a continuation of the book of Judges.

Ruth

Sermon notes by Pastor Jim Jester

July 24, 2020

SCRIPTURE READING: Ruth 1:1-5, ISV

Our Scripture reading sets the stage for the story of Ruth. “…Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah.” (v. 2). Ephrath was an earlier name for Bethlehem, where Christ our Lord was born. Thus already, the type, or symbol, for a kinsman redeemer is already being formed.

Was Ruth a Moabitess racially, or was she called such because she lived in Moab?

RACIAL CONTEXT OF JOSHUA/JUDGES

Sermon notes by Jim Jester

July 10, 2022

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Judges 21:25

When Moses died, Joshua was commissioned to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. The book of Joshua is the account of the family of God crossing over the Jordan River on dry ground and possessing all the land that God had given to them. Jehovah had fought for Israel; and the people who had lived in the land were either driven out or killed. The land was divided up among the tribes of Israel, just as God had promised.

DEUTERONOMY

Sermon notes by Jim Jester

June 12, 2022

SCRIPTURE READING: Deuteronomy 7:7-8

THE THEME

The theme of the book of Deuteronomy, racial identity, begins in chapter two:

Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you. (Deut. 2:4)

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob who became Israel. This account is found in Genesis 25:21-34. Esau married an Ishmaelite woman whose descendants had come from Abraham and Hagar. Hagar was the Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah, wife of Abraham, who was given to Abraham to conceive a child because of Sarah’s old age (q.v., Gen. 16). When Sarah finally had a son, Isaac, Hagar and her son, Ishmael, were forced to leave. It was from the Ishmaelites that Esau first took a wife. It is clear then, why the Lord referred to “your brothers, the children of Esau,” for all had come from Abraham, though some were tarnished by the Egyptian blood of Hagar.

Numbers

Sermon notes by Pastor Jim Jester

May 29, 2022

SCRIPTURE READING: Numbers 31:1-4

INTRODUCTION

The book of Numbers is not concerned so much with narrating the history of the Hebrew people, but rather to emphasize the faithfulness of the God of their fathers. Despite the failures of everyone, from the least of the people to Moses himself, God was faithful to His original promise to Abraham and his descendants. This does not mean that individuals do not experience the consequences of their sin. But it does mean that God’s redemptive purposes cannot be thwarted.

Therefore, the events of the forty years of Israel’s wandering were not important to the book’s purpose. All that the people needed to know in order to obey God and enter the land had already been given to them. The only issue was whether the new generation would believe, after their fathers had not. Israel was going to war.

Exodus

Sermon notes by Jim Jester

May 1, 2022

SCRIPTURE READING: Exodus 15:11-13 & 17-18

INTRODUCTION

Of all the books in the Bible, the book of Exodus ought to be the simplest book to recognize the racial implications contained therein. The message of identity is obvious in the language of Scripture, even though the judeo-Christian world refuses to acknowledge it. All we can say is “come now, let us reason together.”

In the “burning bush” experience, Moses meets the God of his fathers; and God says to him; “Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.” (Ex. 3:10)

The Israelites had been in Egypt 215 years (most say over 400 years); the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel had long passed on. Now the Israelites were a multitudinous number, feared by the Egyptians, and made slaves to Pharaoh. God spoke to Moses with the promise of deliverance for His people, the progeny of Israel. The deliverance (the salvation), was not for the Egyptians, but for the covenant people of God. “My people” denotes possession.

Does the Scripture Sanction the Sacraments? by Pastor Jim Jester

April 10, 2022

The question before us as a church is, does the Bible demand that we observe the alleged sacraments of the historic Christian faith?

Holy Communion by Pastor Don Elmore

There are different ways and different formulas that every church uses.  Which one is correct or are several correct?  Which ones are wrong?  They all can’t be correct.  Maybe none are correct. What are we as a covenant church to believe and do?