Pastor Duckett preached from the book of Isaiah on Sunday, December 29th.

Isaiah
Isaiah, the "Mount Everest of Hebrew prophecy," resembles the Bible in miniature.  Its first thirty-nine chapters correspond to the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and stress the righteousness, holiness, and justice of God.   The prophet announces judgment upon immoral and idolatrous people beginning with Judah, then Judah's neighboring nations, and finally the whole world.  Surely there is cause to groan under God's chastening hand.
But the last twenty-seven chapters correspond to the twenty-seven books of the New Testament and portray God's glory, compassion, and undeserved favor.  Messiah will come as a Savior to bear a cross and as a Sovereign to wear a crown.  Therefore, " 'Comfort, yes comfort My people!' says your God" (40:1).
Focus	Prophecies of Condemnation				Historical Parenthesis	Prophecies of Comfort
	1:1                                               35:10				36:1- 39:8	40:1                          66:24
Divisions	Prophecies Against Judah	Prophecies Against the Nation	Prophecies of the Day of the Lord	Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing	Hezekiah's Salvation, Sickness and Sin	Israel's Deliverance	Israel's Deliverer	Israel's Glorious Future
	1:1 -       12:6	13:1 -     23:18	24:1 -     27:13	28:1 -   35:10	36:1  -         39:8	40:1 -    48:22	49:1 - 57:21	58:1 -   66:24
Topics	Prophetic				Historic	Messianic
	Judgment				Transition	Hope
Place	Israel & Judah
Time	740-680 B.C.

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Pastor Duckett preached from Luke on Sunday, December 22, 2013.

Luke
Luke, a gentile physician, builds his gospel narrative around a historical, chronological presentation of Jesus' life.  Luke's is the longest and most comprehensive of the four Gospels, presenting Jesus Christ as the Perfect Man who came to seek and save sinful men.  Growing belief and growing opposition develop side by side.  Those who believe His claims are challenged to count the cost of discipleship; those who oppose Him will not be satisfied until the Son of Man hangs lifeless on a cross.  But the Resurrection insures that His ministry of seeking and saving the lost will continue in the person of His disciples once they have been equipped with His power.
Focus	Introduction of Son of Man	Ministry of Son of Man	Rejection of Son of Man	Crucifixion and Resurrection of Son of Man
	1:1            4:13	4:14          9:50	9:51      19:27	19:28            24:53
Divisions	Advent	Activities	Antagonism and Admonition	Application and Authentication
	1:1              4:13	4:14          9:50	9:51        19:27	19:28            24:53
Topics	Seeking the Lost			Saving the Lost
	Miracles Prominent		Teaching Prominent
Place	Israel	Galilee	Israel	Jerusalem
Time	c. 4 B.C. - A.D. 33

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Esther
The story of Esther's life fits between Chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra, between the first return led by Zerubbabel and the second return led by Ezra.  It provides the only biblical portrait of the vast majority of Jews who chose to remain in Persia rather than return to Palestine after the Exile.  God's hand of providence and protection on  behalf of His people is evident throughout the book, though His name does not appear once!  Haman's plot which brings grave danger to the Jews (chs. 1--4) is countered by the courage of beautiful Esther and the counsel of her wise cousin Mordecai, resulting in a great deliverance (chs. 5--10).  The Feast of Purim becomes an annual reminder of God's faithfulness on behalf of His people.
Focus	Threat to the Jews		Triumph of the Jews
	1:1                                4:17		5:1                                     10:3
Divisions	Selection of Esther as Queen	Formulation of the Plot by Haman	Triumph of Mordecai over Haman	Triumph of Israel over Her Enemies
	1:1              2:20	2:21          4:17	5:1               8:3	8:4                 10:3
Topics	Feasts of Ahasuerus		Feasts of Esther and Purim
	Grave Danger		Great Deliverance
Place	Persia
Time	10 Years (483 - 473 B.C.)

Pastor Duckett preached from the book of Esther on Sunday, December 15, 2013.

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Pastor Duckett preached from Philippians on Sunday,  December 8, 2013.

 

Philippians
Philippians is the epistle of joy and encouragement in the midst of adverse circumstances.  In it, Paul freely expresses his fond affection for the Philippians in view of their consistent testimony and support, and lovingly urges them to center their actions and thoughts on the person, pursuit, and power of Jesus Christ.  Paul also seeks to correct a problem with disunity and rivalry, urging his readers to imitate Christ in His humility and servanthood.  In this way the work of the gospel will go forward as believers seek to stand fast, be of the same mind, rejoice always, and pray about everything.
Focus	Account of Circumstances	Appeal to Have the Mind of Christ	Appeal to Have the Knowledge of Christ	Appeal to Have the Peace of Christ
	1:1             1:30	2:1               2:30	3:1                       3:21	4:1                             4:23
Divisions	Partakers of Christ	People of Christ	Pursuit of Christ	Power of Christ
	1:1            1:30	2:1              2:30	3:1                     3:21	4:1                            4:23
Topics	Suffering	Submission	Salvation	Sanctification
	Experience	Examples	Exhortation
Place	Rome
Time	c. A.D. 62

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