The Recommender

Life on the West Side

Find any powerful story in Scripture—then look closely. Past the obvious. Behind the headliners. You will likely read about a woman or man, perhaps a servant or onlooker, who contributes a line, a word, or a gesture.

The servant girl who offers a word of advice to a king. A face in the crowd that sparks a ministry. Those secondary stories that represent the minor key in the symphony. Every one of them important.

In this series, we will consider the unsung, unnoticed, often unnamed characters in scripture without whose contribution the music may never have been heard.

The sermon today is titled "The Recommender." It is the second installment in our series "Supporting Cast: Minor Characters, Major Lessons." The Scripture reading is from 2 Kings 5:1-4 (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ (Searcy, AR) on July 28, 2024. All lessons fit under one of 5 broad categories: Begin, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under SERVE: Making A Difference.
Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript.
Sources of Inspiration for the Lesson Used in Today's Podcast:

• Tim Keller, “How We Live As Believers” (2012).
• Imaculee Ilibageza, Left To Tell.
• Le Miserables, Act 1.
• Hieronymus Weller von Molsdorf (1499-1572), “Annotations on 2 Kings.” In Weller, Liber secundus Regum, 15v. Quoted in Reformation Commentary on Scripture, OT Vol 5: 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles.
• T. R. Hobbs, 2 Kings, WBC, Vol 13.
• David T. Lamb, 1 & 2 Kings, The Story of God Bible Commentary.

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Chapters

1. Intro Highlight: Can You Offer Life To One Who Took It From You? (00:00:00)

2. We Value A Good Recommendation (00:01:00)

3. Examples of Recommenders In Scripture (00:03:03)

4. The Servant Girl And The Syrian Commander (00:05:25)

5. Le Miserables: "I Bought Your Soul For God!" (00:11:55)

6. Immaculee Ilibageza: "I Forgive You" (00:13:57)

7. This Is The Gospel (00:18:09)

8. Hieronymus Weller von Molsdorf (1499-1572) (00:20:36)

9. Conclusion: Will You Be The Recommender? (00:22:07)