In this lesson we will discuss the four commands in 1 Peter 2:17: Honor all men; Love the brotherhood; Fear God; Honor the king. The hearer should be able to quote and explain the verse citing a supporting scripture for each point.
I don’t like fire ants, but I do admire them. I suppose that is kind of a strange statement, so let me explain. Last week I was out in the […]
Verse 26 of Romans 11 is the conclusion to the allegory. Paul says, "And SO all Israel shall be saved." Paul doesn't say, "all Israel shall be saved," but "SO all Israel shall be saved." The word "so" is an adverb of manner. It means in such a way, or in such a manner, all Israel shall be saved. The idea is that they will be saved in the same manner in which they are grafted back into the Olive Tree, through belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
In this lesson, we will discuss the command to obey the Lord. We will look at 1) What the command means, 2) Who is responsible to follow it, and 3) Why we must obey it. Each hearer should be impressed with the absolute necessity of obeying the Lord. I hope to communicate with each person what obedience means.
At the end of August, buried among the headlines of riots and viruses, a three-thousand person survey found that 52% of those that responded did not believe that Jesus was […]
In this lesson we will look at the bible doctrine of inspiration: the evidence for inspiration; the nature of inspiration; the function of inspiration; and the scope of inspiration; some misunderstandings of inspiration. The objective of this lesson is to help everyone understand what the Bible doctrine of inspiration is and implies and to help all respect God's authority.
In this lesson we will study the song “A Beautiful Life.” This song emphasizes that the true beauty of the Christian is in 1) serving others 2) pure living, 3) recognizing our mortality. Each hearer should understand that life is fleeting and we need to make the most of every day to do good to others.
When I was a young boy, we played football. We played in the front and back yards, in the streets, in the parking lot, and in the parks. We […]
From Joshua 22 we learn about 1) Fellowship, 2) Falling Out, 3) Fact Finding, and 3) Fairness. We should follow the example of the Israelites when resolving our problems as well.
In this lesson we will examine three practical ways in which we can make it easy to forbear and forgive one another. The objective of this lesson is to seek to practice forbearance and forgiveness of one another in our lives.
The psalm expresses love for good and hatred for evil by his 1) Petition, 2) Opposition, 3) Position, 4) Condemnation, 5) Exaltation. Each listener should share the Psalmists attitudes toward good and evil.
We must keep the unity of the Spirit by 1) Speaking the Same Things 2) Not have division, 3) Have the same Judgment. Each listener should be able to explain how to have unity. Each Christian should be committed to maintaining unity by doing these things.
A Christian is a person who 1) Believes Christ, 2) Obeys Christ, 3) Is Faithful to Christ. Each person should understand that it isn’t enough to claim to be a Christian, one must live that way.
Is love worth the risk? Rejecting the possibility of having love in our life is just another “rubber room,” a place where we will be protected from emotional pain, but at the loss of real relationships, which everyone actually desires most in this world. When we refuse to love others, we also fall into a profound self-absorption, a selfishness from which we will never recover. But to learn to love, we must risk suffering, and to risk suffering, we need a world that is not safe, sanitized, and preventative of all harm.
Last week we looked at the question, “Why didn’t God make the world in such a way so as to give people freedom but without any bad consequences?” The answer […]
God has spoken in a way we can understand because 1) God knows how to communicate, 2) The Bible is written in a language we can understand, and 3) Jesus gives us his example so that we may follow. Each person should know that he/she can understand and obey the Bible.
“Why is there so much suffering in the world?” the atheist asks. The believer responds, “Because God made people free to choose between right and wrong, and all suffering is […]
What is reality? God is real. People are real. Relationships are real. Each listener will know the biblical answer to the question, “What is Reality?” We will focus our thoughts on what is real as opposed to what is not.
The Lord hears when we pray and provides 1) Relief, 2) Relationship, 3) Righteousness, and 4) Refuge. Each Christian should learn to trust in the Lord and turn to him to prayer in all circumstances of life. The aim of this lesson is to help each Christian recognize the power of prayer through the Psalms.
There is no doubt that God is a God of justice. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A […]