Villainous: A Close Look at Unsavory Characters of the Bible

 

  I have been preaching a sermon series over the past several weeks, that will continue through to til the end of the year titled: Villainous: A Close Look at Unsavory Characters of the Bible.
  I have chosen 8 different characters from the larger biblical narrative who I am sharing about each week, and along the way we are seeking to understand their story, and learning something from them.
  It is a common practice to take the heroes and success stories and good moral examples of the Bible as opportunities for us to see what we can be about and how we can make wise choices.  However, we have much to learn from the unsavory characters as well.  In particular, I have noticed that we tend to compare ourselves to them and think things like: "Well, at least I am not that bad..."  or "I must be doing ok, because I have never committed atrocities like those..."  And so on and so forth.
  But, the real lesson in studying these characters is the profound realization that, in fact, we are far more like them then we want to admit.  And admitting that can be quite scary, as well as humbling.
   We have pride like they did, we have a controlling spirit like they did, we have much more of their character then we probably realize, and we need to confess, repent and see our need for Jesus as our Savior.  Emulate the heroes, look for the good examples, follow Jesus to be sure, but don't neglect the lessons that come from those who show us how not to do it, what our broken nature looks like, and how much we need Jesus' love, forgiveness and healing touch.
  You can listen to the audio of these sermons here:
   http://www.oasissanjose.org/sermonplayer/