Free resources for youth pastors and small group leaders:

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (mp3)

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (ppt)

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (fillout sheet)

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (sermon)

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (Scripture)

3 – 2 Kings 17-25 – Josiah (service order)

1 Kings Sermon Intro Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSGZNhiA7E

            I am absolutely amazed at what God is currently doing in our church.  We just came off our revival week called “HarvestFEST.”  Get this: about 100 people saved, about 60 baptized, and 850 teens attended on student night.  It was one of the best weeks of my life.  I’m so thankful that God has included me in His plan to be a part of this miraculous work here in our church.  God is not only blessing us numerically, but He is also blessing so many personally.  I’ve counseled with many who have converted to Christ, who are repenting of sin, who are making decisions to follow Jesus more specifically, and who need answers to their questions. 

            So how’s your life?  Are you walking with Christ?  Have you given it totally over to Him for your eternal salvation by trusting in His death on the cross and therefore turning from your sin, and by trusting in His resurrection from the dead and therefore following Him as the Lord of your life?  Have you biblically obeyed Him by getting baptized in your church as the first step of your obedience?  Are you biblically a participating member of a local church and worshipping Jesus with other believers?  If you are someone who is a new believer, young in your faith, or still need to learn a whole lot…I have an apology for you.  We, as the church, can often do a very poor job of teaching you the basics on how to live your life for Christ, but God has led us to a few chapters this week that will show us exactly how we can live and walk with Jesus! 

            Read 2 Kings 17-25.  The story begins with Hoshea, king of Israel, falling into sin and fearing other nations.  God had enough of it, so Assyria moved in, conquered Israel (the northern kingdom), and captured all the people in 722 B.C.  This major event in biblical history is huge to think about as Satan wants to do the same thing with us.  He wants to slither sin into our hands, our feet, our eyes, and our minds with the objective to get it into our hearts.  Our hearts are much like the capital city of our lives…just like Assyria ended up defeating Israel by capturing Samaria, the capital city of Israel.

            Several years and many wicked kings later, Amon is on the throne in Judah (the southern kingdom).  He’s so wicked that his own servants kill him in his own house.  So the people of Judah set up Amon’s son to be king – Josiah.  Josiah was 8 years old at the time.  That little kid was said to do what was right in God’s sight (22:1-2).  That is not speaking of Josiah’s good heart, but it is speaking of God’s grace in his life!  One of the first kingly things Josiah does is repair the temple in Jerusalem because he knows the kingdom’s problem is a matter of worship.  Everyone is a worshipper as we all worship something.  If you have a sin problem, then you have a worship problem.  We are created to worship Christ.  While repairing the temple, the high priest finds the Book of the Law that had been lost for about 45 years.  He read it to King Josiah, who then tore his clothes out of conviction of his own sin and the sin of his people.  The Book of the Law is the OT Torah…the first five books of the Bible.  Now get this…Josiah had NEVER read or heard the Bible before.  When it was finally read to him for the first time, God’s Word impacted him so much that he had it read to his entire kingdom, and they all made a covenant with God to obey His Word.  God’s Word is absolutely central to our lives!

            Are you someone who didn’t necessarily grow up with the Bible in your life, but the first time you heard it read…it impacted you greatly because you knew it was God’s Word?  The Scriptures are God speaking directly to His churches and to His Christians.  We know that every Word of Scripture is absolutely true because they are all directly from God.  We need the Word of God preached to us and taught to us.  We need to discuss it with others.  We need to study it on our own.  We need to live what it says!