First Baptist Church of Phillipsburg Sermons

Amos 5:18-27

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!    Why would you have the day of the Lord?It is darkness, and not light,19     as if a man fled from a lion,    and a bear met him,or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,    and a serpent bit him.20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,    and gloom with no brightness in it?

21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,    I will not accept them;and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,    I will not look upon them.23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;    to the melody of your harps I will not listen.24 But let justice roll down like waters,    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Amos 5:1-17

Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 “Fallen, no more to rise,    is the virgin Israel;forsaken on her land,    with none to raise her up.”

3 For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that went out a thousand    shall have a hundred left,and that which went out a hundred    shall have ten left    to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

“Seek me and live;5     but do not seek Bethel,and do not enter into Gilgal    or cross over to Beersheba;for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,    and Bethel shall come to nothing.”

6 Seek the Lord and live,    lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,    and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,7 O you who turn justice to wormwood    and cast down righteousness to the earth!

8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,    and turns deep darkness into the morning    and darkens the day into night,who calls for the waters of the sea    and pours them out on the surface of the earth,the Lord is his name;9 who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,    so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

10 They hate him who reproves in the gate,    and they abhor him who speaks the truth.11 Therefore because you trample on the poor    and you exact taxes of grain from him,you have built houses of hewn stone,    but you shall not dwell in them;you have planted pleasant vineyards,    but you shall not drink their wine.12 For I know how many are your transgressions    and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,    and turn aside the needy in the gate.13 Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,    for it is an evil time.

14 Seek good, and not evil,    that you may live;and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,    as you have said.15 Hate evil, and love good,    and establish justice in the gate;it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:

“In all the squares there shall be wailing,    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’They shall call the farmers to mourning    and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,    for I will pass through your midst,”says the Lord.

Amos 4:1-13

“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,    who are on the mountain of Samaria,who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,    who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness    that, behold, the days are coming upon you,when they shall take you away with hooks,    even the last of you with fishhooks.3 And you shall go out through the breaches,    each one straight ahead;    and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”declares the Lord.

4 “Come to Bethel, and transgress;    to Gilgal, and multiply transgression;bring your sacrifices every morning,    your tithes every three days;5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,    and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;    for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”declares the Lord God.

6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,    and lack of bread in all your places,yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.

7 “I also withheld the rain from you    when there were yet three months to the harvest;I would send rain on one city,    and send no rain on another city;one field would have rain,    and the field on which it did not rain would wither;8 so two or three cities would wander to another city    to drink water, and would not be satisfied;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.

9 “I struck you with blight and mildew;    your many gardens and your vineyards,    your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.

10 “I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;    I killed your young men with the sword,and carried away your horses,    and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.

11 “I overthrew some of you,    as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,    and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;yet you did not return to me,”declares the Lord.

12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;    because I will do this to you,    prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

13 For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,    and declares to man what is his thought,who makes the morning darkness,    and treads on the heights of the earth—    the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

Amos 3:1-15

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

2 “You only have I known    of all the families of the earth;therefore I will punish you    for all your iniquities.

3 “Do two walk together,    unless they have agreed to meet?4 Does a lion roar in the forest,    when he has no prey?Does a young lion cry out from his den,    if he has taken nothing?5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,    when there is no trap for it?Does a snare spring up from the ground,    when it has taken nothing?6 Is a trumpet blown in a city,    and the people are not afraid?Does disaster come to a city,    unless the Lord has done it?

7 “For the Lord God does nothing    without revealing his secret    to his servants the prophets.8 The lion has roared;    who will not fear?The Lord God has spoken;    who can but prophesy?”

9 Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,    and see the great tumults within her,    and the oppressed in her midst.”10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,    “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall surround the land    and bring down your defenses from you,    and your strongholds shall be plundered.”

12 Thus says the Lord: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.

13 “Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,”    declares the Lord God, the God of hosts,14 “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,    I will punish the altars of Bethel,and the horns of the altar shall be cut off    and fall to the ground.15 I will strike the winter house along with the summer house,    and the houses of ivory shall perish,and the great houses shall come to an end,”declares the Lord.

Amos 1 – 2

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said:

“The Lord roars from Zion    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;the pastures of the shepherds mourn,    and the top of Carmel withers.”

3 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Damascus,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they have threshed Gilead    with threshing sledges of iron.4 So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.5 I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,    and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;    and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,”says the Lord.

6 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Gaza,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they carried into exile a whole people    to deliver them up to Edom.7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,    and it shall devour her strongholds.8 I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,    and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;I will turn my hand against Ekron,    and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”says the Lord God.

9 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Tyre,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,    and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.10 So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,    and it shall devour her strongholds.”

11 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Edom,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because he pursued his brother with the sword    and cast off all pity,and his anger tore perpetually,    and he kept his wrath forever.12 So I will send a fire upon Teman,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.”

13 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of the Ammonites,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,    that they might enlarge their border.14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,    and it shall devour her strongholds,with shouting on the day of battle,    with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;15 and their king shall go into exile,    he and his princes together,”says the Lord.

2 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Moab,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because he burned to lime    the bones of the king of Edom.2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,and Moab shall die amid uproar,    amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst,    and will kill all its princes with him,”says the Lord.

4 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Judah,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they have rejected the law of the Lord,    and have not kept his statutes,but their lies have led them astray,    those after which their fathers walked.5 So I will send a fire upon Judah,    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

6 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of Israel,    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,because they sell the righteous for silver,    and the needy for a pair of sandals—7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth    and turn aside the way of the afflicted;a man and his father go in to the same girl,    so that my holy name is profaned;8 they lay themselves down beside every altar    on garments taken in pledge,and in the house of their God they drink    the wine of those who have been fined.

9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,    whose height was like the height of the cedars    and who was as strong as the oaks;I destroyed his fru

Amos 1:1-2; 7:10-17

The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said:

“The Lord roars from Zion    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;the pastures of the shepherds mourn,    and the top of Carmel withers.”

7:10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,

“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,    and Israel must go into exile    away from his land.’”

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

“You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,    and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

17 Therefore thus says the Lord:

“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,    and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;you yourself shall die in an unclean land,    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”

John 20:1-18

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Matthew 26:36-46

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Luke 19:41-44

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”