Sermons

Summary: An overview of things that go bump in the night. What is it about the spiritual world that we are not aware of? Discover four keys to success in waging spiritual warfare with teens.

OPENER: Foil Face Unscramble

For this game all that you need are a couple of rolls of aluminum foil and a cool prize for the winner.

Before service starts recruit 5-6 people and make molds of their face using aluminum foil – pick a mix of leaders and students.

If they wear glasses, a hat, earrings or other peculiar identifiable items ask them to leave them on during the mold making process.

Pick 3-4 people to play the game. Have the volunteers who made the molds stand on stage or in front of the audience.

Place the masks in random order in front of the volunteers.

The players have to try to match the face with the mask.

The player with the most correct wins the prize.

For a tiebreaker have a speed round to guess one last mask. Make it the youth pastor’s face!

---------DVD OPENER: THE SIXTH SENSE

BEGIN: Chapter 10 “Bedtime Stories and Secrets”

Fast forward to the part where Bruce Willis is saying:

“…and Malcolm decides to try and help this new boy.

Cause if he can help this new boy, it would be like helping that other one too…”

END:

As the camera fades back, Bruce Willis says:

“The pathology is more severe than initially assessed.”

-----------

Question: "What does the Bible say about a sixth sense / third eye?"

A recent movie entitled "The Sixth Sense" stirred up a renewed interest in the ability to see "dead people," and/or communicate with the spirit world.

Television shows titled "Medium" and "Ghost Whisperer" and “Crossing Over” continue the trend.

Is it truly possible to see the spirits of dead people? Is there such a thing as a "sixth sense" or "third eye"?

A "sixth sense" can also be described as ESP, or extra-sensory perception.

Sensory perception is the means by which we acquire information through any sense other than the five basic senses (sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound), or other well-documented scientific physiological senses.

An "extra-sensory perception" is anything beyond what we can sense with the "normal" senses.

Depending on one’s culture and beliefs, a "sixth sense" can be attributed to anything from the spiritual to the technological.

Parapsychology addresses certain types of ESP with disputed validity, such as those possessed by psychics and mediums, including clairvoyance, telekinesis, and communication with the dead.

The Bible makes it clear that these types of senses should be avoided—and that we should not exercise any sort of spiritual abilities outside the realm of what the Bible deems acceptable--nor should we consult with anyone who does so.

Leviticus 19:31 says, "Do not rely on mediums and psychics, for you will be defiled by them. I, the Lord, am your God."

If such a thing as a "sixth sense" or "third eye" truly exists, it is not of God. Those who claim to practice such abilities are either deceivers, self-deceived, and/or under the power of demonic forces.

Consulting those who conjure spirits is foolish and angers the Lord (2 Chronicles 33:6)--

“He (King Manasseh) made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking God to anger.”

Tell how Manasseh was captured. (bound with hooks and chains on a wagon)

Acting as a medium or psychic was punishable by death in the Old Testament (Leviticus 20:27).

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit of God has been given to each of us who has received salvation through faith in Christ (Romans 8:9-11).

This Spirit will be our guide and teacher of all truth (John 16:13). For Christians, all spiritual leading and communication should come from God, through prayer and revelation from His Word.

The only "sixth sense" we need is the Holy Spirit; everything else is counterfeit. But if we allow the Spirit to fill and control us (Ephesians 5:18), we will not be led astray by deceiving spirits.

Question: "What does the Bible say about ghosts / hauntings?"

Here are some Bible truths that relate to hauntings and visits by the spirits of dead people. There are only a few incidents that deal with the living having contact with a "dead" person.

In 1 Samuel 28:7-19, King Saul seeks a woman with a familiar spirit (demon) to inquire of Samuel about what to do.

That she actually manages to communicate with the dead shocks her (v. 12) indicating to me that it did not previously happen.

In Matthew 17:1-8, Peter, James and John see Moses and Elijah with Jesus for a brief period of time.

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In this story we learn of there being two compartments for the dead until the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11f.).

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