1. We are glad that you have come to worship with us.
Welcome
We are glad that you have come to worship with us.

2. Humility Cures Worldliness
James 4:7-10 (NKJV)
Humility Cures Worldliness
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

3. Passage notes
James is referring to people who have a backwards view of humor. Christians who make the temporary pleasure of sin the source of their happiness, and get depressed when they think of spiritual things. So God is essentially saying: "Look, you need to change your attitude, because sin isn't funny".

4. Isn't It Funny?
Ironies in the Church

5. Isn't It Funny How? When something bad happens, people say,
“How did God allow this to happen?",
But when something good happens,
they say, "Hey, look what I did!“

6. Attitude God gets blamed for sin Innocent adult killed by drunk driver
Teen dies from overdose of drugs
Children get killed in a shooting
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

7. Do Not Be Deceived James 1:12-17 (NKJV)
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Do Not Be Deceived

8. "Standing on the Promises", but all they really do is
Isn't It Funny How?
Some Christians sing
"Standing on the Promises",
but all they really do is
sit on the premises.

9. Unity and Diversity in One Body
Samantha Watkins
Troy Thompson
Effort
Matt. 25:14-30 – the parable of the talents
What if every member did only what you do?
Wives
Eddie Gooch
Let’s all give our
best effort for God!
1 Corinthians 12:14-26
Unity and Diversity in One Body
1.Each member does a specific task. (vs 14-18)
2.Our differences help us. (vs 19-21)
3.We all are needed. (vs 22-24)
4.Everything is better, working together. (vs 25-26)
Mike Pressnell
Jerry Smith

10. Isn't It Funny How? We can't think of anything to pray for,
but we can talk to a friend for hours.

11. Prayer 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

12. Consider what others have prayed.
Prayers in the Bible
Abijah's army - for victory in battle (2 Chronicles 13:14)
Abraham - for a son (Genesis 15:2)
Abraham - for Ishmael (Genesis 17:18)
Abraham - for Sodom (Genesis 18:23-24)
Abraham - for Abimelech (Genesis 20:17)
Abraham's servant - for guidance (Genesis 24:12,14)
Asa - for victory (2 Chronicles 14:11)
Cain - for mercy (Genesis 4:13-14)
Centurion - for his servant (Matthew 8:5-6)
Christian disciples - for boldness (Acts 4:29-30)
Christians - for Peter (Acts 12:5)
Cornelius - for enlightenment (Acts 10:3-4)
Thief at the cross - for salvation (Luke 23:42)
Daniel - for dream interpretation (Daniel 2:17-18)
Daniel - for the Jews (Daniel 9:3-5)
David - for blessing (2 Samuel 7:18)
David - for direction (1 Samuel 23:10- 13)
David - for repentance (Psalm 51:10-13)
Elijah - for drought and rain (James 5:17-18)
Elijah - raising the widow's son from the dead (1 Kings 17:20-22)
Elijah - for death (1 Kings 19:4)
Elisha - for sight and blindness (2 Kings 6:17-18)
Ezra - confession for the sins of Israel (Ezra 9:6)
Gideon - for proof of God's call (Judges 6:36)
Habakkuk - for justice (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
Habakkuk - for revival and deliverance (Habakkuk 3:2)
Hannah - for a son (1 Samuel 10:11)
Hezekiah - for deliverance (2 Kings 19:15-19)
Hezekiah - for health (2 Kings 20:3)
Holy Spirit - for us when we don't know how to pray (Romans 8:26)
Isaac - for children (Genesis 25:21)
Israelites - for deliverance (Exodus 2:23)
Jabez - for prosperity (1 Chronicles 4:10)
Jacob - wrestled with God for blessing (Genesis 32:24-28)
Jacob - deliverance from Esau (Genesis 32:11)
Jehoahaz - for favor from the enemy (2 Kings 13:4)
Jehoshaphat - for deliverance (2 Chronicles 18:31)
Jeremiah - intercession on behalf of the people (Jeremiah 42:2)
Jeremiah - for mercy (Jeremiah 14:7)
Jesus - The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9)
Jesus - revelation to children (Matthew 11:25)
Jesus - at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41-42)
Jesus - for the church (John 17:1-26)
Jesus - for deliverance from the cross (Matthew 26:39)
Jesus - forgiveness for his killers (Luke 23:34)
Jesus - submission to God's plan (Luke 23:46)
Jews through Ezra - for safe journey (Ezra 8:21)
Job - confession of surrender to God's sovereignty
Jonah - for deliverance from the fish
Joshua - for help and mercy (Joshua 7:6-9)
Leper - for healing (Matthew 8:2)
Manasseh - for deliverance (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)
Manoah - for guidance (Judges 13:8)
Moses - for Pharaoh (Exodus 8:8-9)
Moses - for water (Exodus 15:24-25)
Moses - forgiveness for the sin of Israel (Exodus 32:31-32)
Moses - for Miriam (Numbers 12:11-13)
Moses - to see the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:23-25)
Moses - for a successor (Numbers 27:15-17)
Nehemiah - for the Jews to return to their land (Nehemiah 1:4-11)
Paul - for healing of Publius' father (Acts 28:8)
Paul - for the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Paul - for deliverance from his thorn (2 Corinthians 12:8)
People of Judah - for a covenant (2 Chronicles 15:12)
Peter - for raising Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9:40)
Rebekah - for wisdom (Genesis 25:22-23)
Samson - for water (Judges 15:18)
Samson - for strength (Judges 16:28)
Samuel - for Israel (1 Samuel 7:5-6)
Solomon - for wisdom (1 Kings 3:6-9)
Tax-gatherer - mercy (Luke 18:13)
Zacharias - for a son (Luke 1:13)
Are we in a similar condition?
Should we pray also?
How were those prayers answered?

13. Isn't It Funny How? God is our Creator, Jesus is our Savior,
but we don’t talk about them
because it might offend others?

14. Evangelism
Jesus’ disciples worried what others thought.

15. The greatest thing we can do is expose someone to the truth.
Matthew 15
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
The greatest thing we can do
is expose someone to the truth.
2 Tim 3:16-17

16. Isn't It Funny How? The sins of others seem “so terrible”,
but our sins are “not that bad”.

17. Point Of View We demand justice for others, but expect mercy from God.
We think their sin is worse
2 Corinthians 10:12 - Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!

18. Examine Yourself First
Matthew 7:3-5 (NKJV)
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Examine Yourself First

19. We “get to go” do what we want to do but we “have to go” to church
Isn't It Funny How?
We “get to go” do what we want to do
but we “have to go” to church

20. Attendance “Do we have to…?” “Is it a sin if we don’t…?”
What does the Bible say?
Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

21. “Is it a sin if we don’t….?”
Attendance
Matthew 22:37 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
“Do we have to…?”
“Is it a sin if we don’t….?”
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

22. No, It’s Not. Isn't It Funny?
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

23. Matthew 27:41-44 (NKJV)
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.