Christian Life Church
June 21, 2026 - Father's Day
Nehemiah 8:9–10NKJV
- That's Who I Praise
- LION
- Amazing Grace
- Hype up Growth Track - Show Photo of Graduates!Sign up for Growth Track 1&2 and 3&4 Starting August 5thWednesdays 7PMLords PrayerBefore we begin today’s sermon would you join me in praying the words our Lord taught us to pray?Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: AmenDismiss Vanguard and NavigatorsIntroductionPlease stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Genesis 34:8–31 NKJV But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.” Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.” But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.” And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was more honorable than all the household of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”This is the Word of the Lord, Amen? You may be seatedPray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray PrayWell church… welcome back to maybe not the MOST encouraging chapter in scripture...In this chapter the young Dinah, who is around 14 years old, goes out to make friends with the Cananite girls of the land… as she is out frolicking in the enemy’s camp she get’s raped by one of the Cananite princes named Shechem.And in that first half of this chapter I introduced the concept of this 2 part sermon… How NOT to get what you want… a series about “hey, just because what you want is good doesn’t mean the way you are trying to get it is good”.So Dinah, she wants to go out to see the daughters of the land… she wants to make friends… but she ends up going to make friends with the world.Shechem, the Cananite prince, he wants a beautiful young wife… and the first young girl he sees, Dinah… He takes her and rapes her...Then we get to this weeks passage...Hamor, Shechem’s dad, want’s to make things right for his son… so he tries to use cultural norms and traditions to redeem his son’s wicked actions… he says “listen if they get married it is not a big deal, let’s make this marriage happen”.Simeon and Levi wanted justice for their sister… so they murdered and plundered entire city...So in this chapter we have some of the worst sins that can be recorded...There is worldliness, there is lust… rape, mass murder, theft, and even kidnapping and slavery.And yet, God’s word is alive, and it is active, and it is God Breathed, and it is useful for the man and woman of God… useful in building us up and training us and rebuking us and encouraging us...And so even though last week I preached a sermon that I was like “Man that was heavy… and I don’t know if it came across the right way, and I don’t want to come off as condemning...” and I just kind of walked away from that sermon thinking “Is this really what you wanted me to preach Lord”...Yet through all of that… last week I kept getting testimonies of how timely the message was, people who came and said “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that”… Praise God… if He can use a sermon about a 14 year old getting raped for His glory, then He can use this sermon this morning, about a city getting massacred for His glory… Amen?Well, welcome to Christian Life Church where we only preach the most inspiring and joy filled sermons! Hallelujah!Okay, I joke, but really, there is joy in heaven when repentance comes… living righteously is a life of joy and encouragement… so if we can learn from the mistakes of people in the past, we truly can live a more joy filled, God pleasing life… so though the content may seem heavy this morning, the result of obeying God’s word and listening to His warnings will always be victory in Jesus!And I don’t know about you, but victory encourages me… so this morning as we preach again about a hard topic, remember that the joy comes in the victory… So with that, here is part two ofHow NOT to Get what you want.Everyone in this story wanted something admirable… something just...The problem was not with what they wanted… but with how they went about trying to get it.Let’s get into it this morning by talking about culture...Point One – Don’t Compromise with CultureGenesis 34:8–12 NKJV But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.” Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”Church… don’t compromise with culture to get what you want…You see in Canaanite culture… Rape was “frowned upon”… it wasn’t great… raping a 14 year old is probably not something the “most in the honorable” prince of the land should be doing...Did you catch that… in verse 18 Schechem, the Rapist, is called “more honorable than all the household of his father”… BRO, WHAT DOES THE REST OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD LOOK LIKE IF A RAPIST IS THE MOST HONOROABLE?But this is their culture… rape is frowned upon, but if the Rapist and the victim get married, then all is well! I mean a husband can sleep with his wife… what’s the problem? Just pay the bride price, get the father’s and brothers’ permission… and we are good to go… it’s Canaanite culture… it’s the way we do things… what is the problem? The problem is verse 7… that might make be okay in your culture… but this is Isreal, we are God’s people, that is not how we do things...Genesis 34:7 NKJV And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.In other words… I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR CULTURE SAYS! YOU DON’T RAPE MY SISTER!!!!!And this was what, like 4,000 years ago…And now we look down our modern American noses at their culture?!WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF CULTURE ALLOWS RAPE AS LONG AS IT IS FOLLOWED BY MARRIAGE? What kind of culture says it is okay for someone to rape a 14 year old… THIS IS DISGUISTING… I would NEVER cooperate with such a culture… I would never be a part of such a culture...And as a pastor my response is “Are we that much better? Is American culture that much better”?Planned Parenthood ImageNo, we all agree rape is wrong… but hey, as long as it is two consenting adults… have as much sex as you want! And just murder any babies that come from it… raping an innocent child for sexual pleasure… absolutely wrong in American culture… but murdering an innocent young child in order to avoid consequences of sexual pleasure… totally okay in American culture… just kill your baby… if you catch it early enough, kill it with a “Plan B” pill… “Plan B? What was plan A exactly?” and if you catch it too late, kill it in a planned parenthood… “Why are all these names plans? YOU DIDN’T PLAN ANYTHING and now you are using American Culture to cover it up… These things ought not to be done among God’s people… amen?Speaking of abortion… what about these little guys...Birth Control Pills imageThe birth control pill… did you know these can cause abortion? If we define life as begining at conception, which I do and the Bible and science supports that definition, though culture may not... if you believe life begins at conception then you should RUN from these things...because though it is not their main method of working, one thing they do as a backup plan is thin the uterian lining so if, and I do mean IF, because it is rare, but if an egg does happen to get fertilized while you are on the pill, if it’s method’s to stop ovulation fail and you happen to get a fertilized egg… the egg just falls right out and you end up flushing your baby down the toilet… They don’t talk about that part that much in our society… because our culture says “No no no, the pill is okay!”In fact in our culture we give the pill to our teenage daughters who are not having sex, not as birth control but because of the medical benifits...It helps with Acne, it helps with many issues regarding heavy or irregular menstruation, and pain, and certain syndromes revolving around menstruation…And we have parent’s giving their 14 year old daughters these pills to help with these issues… and listen, parents, you desire a good thing… you want to help your daughters with REAL issues… You desire a good thing for your daughter! But don’t look to the culture for what you want for your daughter...Don’t give your daughter pills our culture designed for inconsequential sex to help her with her cramps… you desire a good thing by wanting to help her but when you look to the culture there are unintended consequences...The doctor probably won’t tell you about these, but the research is out there and I have seen it personally, my wife has seen it personally as we council young couples.Taking the pill increases your chances for breast cancer and cervical cancer, it increases your risk for blood clots and even for heart attacks…This is some serious stuff… but these risks are minor, I don’t want to exagerate the risks here… we are talking about going from a 5 in 10,000 chance to a 10 in 10,000 chance… so technically your risks are doubled but it is still minor...Here is what is not minor… An extreme risk of clinical depression follows young girls who take the pill… and coming off the pill can wreck your emotions...Then complications can come when you come off the pill that make it hard for you to ever have babies… research says that only happens rarely, but my experience in God’s church is that it happens more often then culture wants to admit.Don’t give your daughters to the Canaanites, obviously! But don’t give your daughters the pill either, or IUD’s or other firms of birth control… Be set apart, be different, we are Christian's, we don’t mess with baby murdering drugs…Speaking of baby murdering drugs, I don’t care what culture says and I don’t care what the doctor’s say… I am not giving my kids these three vaccines:Vaccines Made from Fetal CellsVaricella (chickenpox)Rubella (the “R” in the MMR vaccine)Hepatitis ARabies (one version, called Imovax)COVID-19 (except for Novavax)Listen, I am not an anti-vaxer, the first vaxines were invented by sold out Christians who gave God the glory for them! I am not an anti-vaxer, but I am a selective vaxer… it is ok to talk to your doctors about these things, just because everyone else uses vaccines made from dead babies, doesn’t mean you need to… The world says “What about mumps and measels?” well, stop pairing them with the Rubella vacine and I will give them to my kid… but no doctor I have talked to has found stand alone Mumps and measles vaccines so we don’t get the MMR… because I am a Christian, I don’t do things according to cultural norms.Now enough about abortion, let’s talk about this monstrosity for a moment...Casino photoMake no mistake about it, this is a house of sin… Can a Christian go in here and have a good time without sinning, maybe.But this place wasn’t designed with good intentions… it is here to sap the money out of the people of Cedar Rapids… Culturally it is okay, but as Christians we should no better… So why does Tiffany O'Donnell, our mayor, who claims Christ, and maybe she is a Christian I don’t know, but why would a Christian speak so highly of this place? Well, because it brings in money and jobs and stability in our community…“This is a community where local investors saw the need for an amenity like a casino. The state saw the need for additional revenue. And... the conversation around property taxes is tied to opportunities like this casino. We know that this casino is going to bring in much-needed revenue to the state as it looks to fill gaps from property tax relief. So we’re happy to have that facility here in Linn County and look forward to living up to all of those expectations.“ -Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Tiffany O’Donell.Effects of a Casino in a Community Within 5 Years of EstablishmentCrime rates rise within 10 miles (especially car theft and robbery)**This was specifically a Mid-West study!Bankruptcy in community increases by up to 10%Drug and alcoholism rates increase.Some evidence that suicide and divorce rates increase.Doubles the amount of people with pathological gambling addictions within 50 miles.See, people don’t get rich at casinos… cassino owners get rich, but not the community… the community get’s raped. And it was a Christian woman who wanted good things for the community who finally pushed this through… she cooperated with the culture… and the culture robbed her…Saint’s it is okay to be American… but not all parts of our culture is Christian. I am one of these crazy guys who really believes that America was founded as a Christian nation… but I don’t think we have ever lived up to those ideals...American culture has approved of many atrocities… Brutal slavery, Native American wars and displacement, Jim Crow Segregation, Eugenics and forced sterilizations, rampant divorce rates, pornography, and abortion… side note… nearly 60% if not more of the worlds pornography comes from our nation… American culture is NOT Christian culture… it never has been…Some parts of American culture are good, some parts are great… we are the greatest country in the world… but we are not anywhere near the ideals that Christ has set before us… so I participate in American culture all the way up until the point it contradicts Kingdom Culture…Romans 12:2 NKJV And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.Now this brings me to point two this morning… don’t use religion to get what you want.Point Two – Don’t Use ReligionGenesis 34:13–16 NKJV But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.Understand what they are saying here… yes they are saying “you need to cut off your foreskins” yuck… but what they are saying is “you need to become Jewish”.But they didn’t care what religion the Canaanites were… they were planning on killing them all… they were using religion as a way to get what they wanted… JUSTICE!Genesis 34:25 NKJV Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.So what happened was this: All the males in Schechem, the rapist’s, city, including shechem, got circumsiced all at once… now the 3rd day is physically the worst day of recovery for this procedure… they would be in pain and drinking a bunch of alcohol to numb the pain. They couldn’t walk, they could barely see straight from the pain, and they were drunk… EASY TARGETS for Levi and Semion… they went in house by house and killed all the males… a masacre… they then took all the plunder and livestock, and took the women and children as slaves… An atrocity… all done with a religious ritual as the driving tactic...That would be like holding a huge communion service and poisoning the wine… though the circumcision murder party would have been a lot more bloody…But either way I think we can agree… this is wickedness… to use the things of God for our own personal gain… vengeance in this case… What was the result? They are cursed and scattered as a people… And we see this in the penultimate chapter of Genesis wherein is blessing all of his sons with their final blessings before he dies. Instead of blessing Levi and Semeion he curses them:Genesis 49:5–7 NKJV “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.Semeion's tribe get’s left out of future blessings. His tribe never get’s their own real territory, just land within Judah’s territory. His tribe struggles with sin constantly and his numbers diminish over time instead of grow.Levi, on the other hand, get’s no land allotment at all, but is completely scattered amongst the other tribes… but his story ends up a little different, and we will talk about that in the conclusion… but for now, just know… when you use religion to get your way it does not end up well.Now hopefully none of you are using Christianity as a means of vengeance… no one is planning mass murder in the name of Jesus...But I have seen many people use religion to get other things.How many men have thought “I can be a preacher and make a ton of money and have air-conditioned dog houses and private jets” only to have it come crashing down in the end… I wouldn’t want to be that preacher on Judgment day.And listen, don’t get me wrong… it is okay to want to be financially stable, even financially prosperous… I don’t think God wants you to suffer fiscally… and there is nothing wrong with praying to God and asking for Him to provide… in fact we are told to ask for these things… and God has the cattle on a thousand hills, He can provided it… so yes we ask, and yes we trust… but I do not USE God or the things of God for financial gain… God is my provider, but He is not a tool I can use and twist and manipulate for my own financial gain.For example… I don’t bring my tithes and offerings in order to recieve financial blessings. I know that I will recieve financial blessing because His Word says I will… but that is not WHY I give them. I would give them even if there was no blessing involved, simply because God demands it, because I owe it, and because it is all from Him in the first place…Further… How many single men and women have used the church as their own personal dating app? We have even had women leave the church because there were not enough single men here… okay, the only man you should be seeking at church is Jesus...And don’t get me wrong… finding a Godly husband is a good thing… and finding him in church is a great place to find him… but don’t use church as a means to find him… Cupid is a false God, he didn’t die on the cross for you… instead trust in Jesus… Jesus will give you a good husband or a good wife… if it is according to His good and perfect plan Jesus will do it… But that is not why you come to Him… you come to Him because He loves you and died for you.How many politicians have used religion to get a vote?Every single US president except for Andrew Johnson claimed to be Christians, and Johnson still went to church sometimes with his Methodist wife.The only other exceptions are Lincoln who was quite about his faith but still proclaimed Christ, and Thomas Jefferson who claimed to be a Christian but rejected the Trinity…So just think about this, in our nations history of slaver, and abortion, and segregation, and witch trials, and trails of tears… through all of our history our leaders have CLAIMED to be Christian… but certainly many if not most of them were not… they were just using religion to get what they wanted, a vote.I think Schechem the rapist and his father Hamor would have been good modern day politicians...Genesis 34:20–23 NKJV And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”In other words they said “Hey if we just pretend to be Jewish we get all their stuff”...Oh saints… how many have used the church this way… and it ends in destruction every time…And listen, God can do so much good for your life… GOD WILL DO SO MUCH GOOD FOR YOUR LIFE… but it shouldn’t come from pretending, or desire for selfish gain… instead, give everything to Christ… be born again, be transformed and changed and converted… and you will begin to get what you want not because you have forced it from the hands of God, but because He has freely given...Now I want to spend a lot more time on that topic, so next week we are going to talk about HOW to get what you want. The proper way to get what you want… for now, let’s conclude by looking a little deeper at the curse that was put on Levi and Semion for this atrocity they commited… murdering an entire city for the sin of one man…ConclusionTurn On Children’s Class LampsGenesis 34:25 NKJV Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males.Genesis 49:5–7 NKJV “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place… Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.Simeon and Levi were both cursed for this atrocity… this sin… and both of them had massive tribes that came from them… and their tribes carried this curse with them… not as individuals, God judges each individual according to HIs own sin, but as a whole tribe they carried this curse...Yet the outcome of Levi and Simeon were very different.In the book of Numbers Simeon shrinks from 59,000 fighting men at the start of the book to 22,000 by the end of the book.As I said earlier, they got no land for themself, they had to live within Judah’s land… and most notably in Deuteronomy 33 all the tribes are blessed by Moses before they enter the promised land… all the tribes EXCEPT Simeon… he missed out...But Levi was blessed… and Levi, though they did not get physical land, they were given a better inheritance… they were given the priesthood… Joshua 18:7Joshua 18:7 NKJV But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance...What does this tell me? First: It is never too late for God's redemption. If you have done anything in these sermons that I am talking about… it’s not okay… but it’s not too late. God has so much GOOD instore for you, God will not cast you off forever, God will not leave you or forsake you… it’s not too late, there are no stones up here for me to throw… it’s not too late… there is a preisthood ahead of you! There is redemption and grace and forgivness… BUT, there is a difference between Levi and Semion...You see the tribe of Levi walked in repentance… and repentance opens the door for God’s grace...While the other tribes were worshiping the golden calf… it was the LEVITES that stood up and said no, in fact Moses was a Levit.While other tribes were casually sleeping with foreign women in Baal-Peor it was the Levites that stood up and said NOT TODAY SATAN.If any of these things struck a cord with you, if they are happening in your family or your household… take a stand today, like a Levit, and put an end to it… Like Moses coming down from the mountian… Like Phineihas, the Livite, you can thrust evil through with a spear and be done with it… and if you would turn to God He will forgive, He will grant grace, and the curse will be broken and the blessings will flow… but you have to make the desicion…No more looking to the world to get what I want.No more taking everything I want without seeking the face of the Lord.No more covering up my sin by calling it culture...No more using religion as a means to get what I want...Instead of me using you God, I cry out… GOD YOU USE ME! I WANT TO BE USED BY YOU! I trust you will work everything out.Gospel CallNehemiah 8:9–10 NKJV And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”Next week: How to get what you want.Aaronic Blessingיאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחנך ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שׁלום"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.You are dismissed from this place but not from His Presenceye·va·re'·khe·kha' · Adonai · ve·yeesh'·me·re'·khaya·eir · Adonai · pa·nav · e·ley'·kha · vee·khoon·ne'·kahees·sa · Adonai · pa·nav · e·ley'·kha · ve·ya·seim · le·kha · sha·lom"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.You are dismissed from this place but not from His Presence Genesis 34:8–31ESV
Genesis 34:8-10NKJV
Genesis 34:11-12NKJV
Genesis 34:13-14NKJV
Genesis 34:15-17NKJV
Genesis 34:18-20NKJV
Genesis 34:21NKJV
Genesis 34:22-23NKJV
Genesis 34:24NKJV
Genesis 34:25-26NKJV
Genesis 34:27-29NKJV
Genesis 34:30-31NKJV
Genesis 34:8–12ESV
Genesis 34:7ESV
Romans 12:2NKJV
Genesis 34:13–16ESV
Genesis 34:25ESV
Genesis 49:5–7ESV
Genesis 34:20–23ESV
Genesis 34:25ESV
Genesis 49:5–7ESV
Joshua 18:7ESV
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