About

This online campus has always been part of Thrive Church‘s long-term mission vision.

Imagine someone too sick to drive to church, or a potential visitor who wants to “test-drive” Thrive, or a struggling church without a pastor – all connecting with one another through Thrive Church Live.

There’s so much potential for this campus! Will you pray with us?

Outline

I.Introduction

A.Even a pastor gets the blues sometimes.

1.Who am I, that You think I can handle this responsibility?

B.Many of us have big hearts – but little confidence

1.What can I do? I am nobody.

2.Who am I to think I can make a difference?

 

II.Introducing the text

A.Israel in trouble again: The Midianites

1.The people were scared

2.Made shelters in clefts and caves

3.Invaded like swarms of locusts – leaving nothing alive

B.The Israelites cry out to the Lord

1.Prophet: God says, “I rescued you, gave you this land, then you worship false gods?”

C.The Angel of the Lord visits Gideon

1.Angel: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior”

2.Gideon: “Pardon me, but really?”

a)Where are all the wonders our ancestors told us about?

 

III.The Text

A.(Judges 6:14-16) ¹⁴ The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” ¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” ¹⁶ The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

B.”Go in the strength you have”

1.He did not tell him to train or prepare

2.Go with what you got

C.”Am I not with you?”

1.God reminds Gideon that victory comes from God’s hand

D.”Pardon me, but my clan is weak”

1.Gideon ignores God’s promise of His presence

2.Still relying on human definitions of strength

3.In fact, later God reduces Gideon’s army

a)You have too many men: Israel mustn’t boast of its strength

b)All that was left was 300 men

(1)Remember how large the Midianite army was?

E.”I will be with you”

1.God reminds Gideon of His presence

2.Later, God proves his presence

a)Go down to the enemy camp and listen to what they’re saying

b)Enemy soldier recounts a dream

F.God did not need the army of 300

1.”Blow trumpets and smash jars”

2.The enemy fled and turned on one another

3.They were already defeated

4.Gideon pursued them to their deaths

 

IV.For us

A.Why do we forget that we do not stand alone?

B.Do we REALLY believe that God is with us?

C.When we live in victory, do we forget Who gives that victory?

D.God doesn’t need us – but He chooses to use us.

We apologize, but we’re not back online yet…

We’ve just moved, and are still working through the steps of getting things back on track for online worship. We thought we might be ready for this Sunday, but we aren’t. We appreciate your patience as we work though the remaining issues. Hopefully, we’ll be ready next Sunday.

Miss an event? Want to “catch up” on a series?

We have two ways you can get up to speed.

First, we keep several video sessions in archive here.

Second, we keep an extensive audio archive here.

P.S. Don’t miss another service. Connect with Google Calendar.

Clicking the button below allows you to send a tithe/offering directly to Thrive, online.

We use Paypal, which makes it really easy, even if you do not have a Paypal account.

If you DO NOT have a Paypal account, once you click the button, go ahead and enter an amount, and then choose the “continue” link by the pictures of credit cards.

If you DO have a Paypal account, the button will allow you to enter an amount and then login to Paypal to finish your transaction.