March Sermons 2026
3-22 - Rooster Memories
John 18:15-18 , John 18:25-27
3-29 - A Crown of Thorns
Isaiah 53:1-10 , John 19: 1-7
One reason for the difficulty we experience when addressing and overcoming sin is we fail to grasp the urgency of sin's consequences.
We read what the Apostle Paul writes: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). But because the consequences seem far removed from the present, we tolerate sin’s effects in our hearts and lives. I believe we need to remember sin has both temporal and eternal effects.
The Book of Judges records the devastating effect of cyclical, unrepentant sin in the lives of God’s people. On one occasion:
“The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites” (Judges 6:1).
Their sin brought immediate consequences. The Midianites were so oppressive that the Israelites were forced to live in caves just to survive. The people of Midian systematically destroyed Israel’s crops and slaughtered or stole their livestock. The results were awful.
In their misery, Israel remembered God and cried out to Him for help. The purpose of sin’s discomforting consequences was to prompt the people’s repentance and God’s restoration. When they repented, an angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He was threshing wheat in secret—to keep the Midianites from knowing. The angel said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12). Gideon didn’t look like a mighty warrior, nor was he behaving like one. But the angel of the Lord saw what Gideon could become and commissioned him to save the nation. When Gideon objected, the Lord answered, “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16). God’s presence gave Gideon the courage and strength to do what he couldn't do on his own—but it started with Israel’s repentance.
The next time you find yourself feeling the consequences of your sin, cry out to God—and watch for His deliverer to appear.