This Week's Sermons

Does God Still Send Angels?
by Brian Atwood
Luke 1:5-17

We're in the series "Christmas Calms Our Fears" and were looking this month at the four times angels appeared to central characters of the Christmas story with this message from God: "Don't be afraid." Last week we saw how the angel told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary to be his wife. Today we’re looking at Zechariah, father to John the Baptist. The angel appears to him while he is doing his work as a priest in the Jewish Temple. The word angel means, "messenger," but although they deliver God's message, the activity of these celestial beings on God’s behalf most often goes unseen to the human eye. (They are mentioned in 34 of the 66 books of the Bible.) They mostly operate in the spiritual realm. But occasionally God allowed angels to appear in visible form. Their appearances are rare and therefore somewhat mysterious…

A Study on Angels
by Scott Coltrain
Psalm 148:1-5

The angels were created by God before the earth was made. They are innumerable. They are a higher order than Man. They are eternal. They are mighty in strength. Holy angels (those loyal to God) are ministers of the Lord. They praise and worship God. They deliver divine revelations to Man. They execute judgments of God. Angels also minister to God's people: they strengthen in the hour of trial, they guard and protect, deliver God’s chosen, they receive departed saints. There are different classes of angels: Archangels (Michael, Gabriel), Cherubim, Seraphim. One final characteristic of God's angels is that they rejoice when one sinner repents.

A Biblical Description of Angels
by Jerry Shirley
Hebrews 1:14

For the next several weeks we will look at some things unseen…the spirit world around us. There is much confusion on this subject and we will lay to rest some myths, and more importantly, learn some incredible truths that will change the way we view the world around us, and how we live. We should never underestimate the ministry of angels. They have a job to do in our lives, and in this world.

Angels
by Ken Gilmore
Hebrews 2:13-14

This sermon answers questions about angels, including what angels are and our relationship to them.

Exploring the Supernatural: Touched by the Angels
by Andrew Chan
Colossians 2:18-19

Angels are making a comeback. And that's not because of the way the Anaheim Angels won the World Series. It seems we like stories about them…My suspicion is that we like these stories because it warms our hearts. To believe God's looking out for us, he cares to send his angels to do something good for people. As we gather today in church, I believe many of us here would like to get the story straight about angels. So what does the Bible have to say about angels?

This Week's Videos

Angels on Angels Time: 2:44 A funny video on what kids think about angels, from what do they look like, what do they sing to what do guardian angels do. click to watch »

Angels Time: 2:39 Messengers? Guardians? Spiritual warriors? We decided to see what mere mortals believe about these intriguing celestial beings. click to watch »

Angels on High (Long Play) Time: 3:20 Long-playing video background featuring aerial scenes from the Christmas story. click to watch »

This Week's Sermon Illustrations

Angels Around Us
Source: Ellen G. White, The Youth's Instructor
Contributor: Adam Deibert

"Could the veil be lifted, we would see that angels of God are around us to preserve us from unseen dangers. Thousands of times has their care been especially manifested for us in our warfare with the agencies of Satan."

Mary's Response
Source: Frederick Buechner in Peculiar Treasures
Contributor: D. Greg Ebie

Frederick Buechner's little book of character sketches of people from the Bible has this to say about the angel Gabriel as he encounters Mary: "She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. 'You mustn't be afraid, Mary,' he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn't notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a girl."

No Sermons on Angels
Contributor: Andrew Chan

Rev. Billy Graham, noted evangelist, said this in 1975: "When I decided to preach a sermon on angels, I found practically nothing in my library… I soon discovered that little had been written on the subject in this century." He also added: "I have never heard anyone preach a sermon on angels."

God's Will is Best
Contributor: W. Pat Cunningham

Angels are pure spirits, but it was God's intention to raise human beings, who are lower than the angels, to divine status, to union with the Trinity. An ancient tradition tells us that this was the cause of Lucifer's rebellion, jealousy over one day being ruled by a mere human. The great army of Michael got it right—God's will is best, and serving God's will is the highest happiness, even if it causes us some inconvenience.

Angel Warriors
Source: Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18
Contributor: Rob Ross

John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present—but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.

This Week's PowerPoint Templates

Supernatural Angels

Angel 1

Angel 3

Angels

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