Theme: Jesus is always in control.
This weeks lessons show us the first Lord’s Supper and the events surrounding it.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:26-30
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” A
Theme: Jesus is always in control.
This weeks lessons show us the first Lord’s Supper and the events surrounding it.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:31-35
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night.
Theme: The importance of prayer.
This weeks lessons teach us from Jesus’ example how to pray.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:36-46
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two
Theme: The importance of prayer.
This weeks lessons teach us from Jesus’ example how to pray.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:38-39
Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, &ld
Theme: The importance of prayer.
This weeks lessons teach us from Jesus’ example how to pray.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:39-42
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.&rdq
Theme: The importance of prayer.
This weeks lessons teach us from Jesus’ example how to pray.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:42-46
Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, f
Theme: The importance of prayer.
This weeks lessons teach us from Jesus’ example how to pray.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:40-41
And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
Death Swallowed up in Victory1 Corinthians 15:35-38
Death Swallowed up in Victory1 Corinthians 15:35-38
Death Swallowed up in Victory1 Corinthians 15:35-38
Death Swallowed up in Victory1 Corinthians 15:35-38
Death Swallowed up in Victory1 Corinthians 15:35-38
Theme: The source of true courage.
This week’s lessons show us the importance of depending on Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:47-56
While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
Theme: The source of true courage.
This week’s lessons show us the importance of depending on Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:47-50
While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.
Theme: The source of true courage.
This week’s lessons show us the importance of depending on Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:51-54
And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
Theme: The source of true courage.
This week’s lessons show us the importance of depending on Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:52
Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
LESSON
Theme: The source of true courage.
This week’s lessons show us the importance of depending on Jesus.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:55-56
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me?
Theme: On trial in a case of life or death.
This weeks lessons show that we are the ones on trial.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:57-68
Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.
Theme: On trial in a case of life or death.
This weeks lessons show that we are the ones on trial.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:59-60
Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, 60 but they found none, though many false witnesses came for
Theme: On trial in a case of life or death.
This weeks lessons show that we are the ones on trial.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:62-63
And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent.
Theme: On trial in a case of life or death.
This weeks lessons show that we are the ones on trial.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:63-66
But Jesus remained silent.
Theme: On trial in a case of life or death.
This weeks lessons show that we are the ones on trial.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:65-67
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.
Theme: God redeems our failures
This week’s lessons show us ways to walk faithfully with God
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
We can visualize it something like this. Peter was brought into the courtyard of the high priest by a disciple who knew the high priest, probably John. As Peter came in he was recognized by the girl who kept the door, and although she didn’t object to Peter’s presence initially, she most likely followed him into the courtyard where he had stopped to warm himself at a fire that was there.
The third thing we can say in Peter’s defense is that Peter clearly loved Jesus. That is the only possible reason why he followed him. Like Mary, who is soon to be seen in the garden by the tomb weeping because she loved and missed the Master, Peter did not want to be far from his Lord. True, he wanted “to see the outcome.”
Peter looked down on the other disciples. Peter would probably have denied that he looked down on the others. He would probably have said, “We are all in this together, boys. We are all only ‘unprofitable servants’ at best. Jesus said so, didn’t he” But deep in his heart Peter thought he was the most upright, the most perceptive, and the most courageous one.
David knew the danger of bad company, which is why he spoke so often of avoiding evil doers. We are often uneasy when we read such passages, because they sound self-righteous, judgmental, and harsh. But that gets it exactly backward. The reason David did not want to associate with evildoers is not because he thought he was better than they were but because he was so much like them.
Matthew chapter 27 begins with the handing over of Jesus to the Gentiles in the person of Pilate, the Roman governor. This was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as well as of Jesus’ own predictions of his death. He had warned the disciples, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.
Judas confessed that Jesus was innocent. “I have betrayed innocent blood.” was his testimony. Once again, a true statement. It was a powerful testimony to Jesus’ flawless character and a harsh indictment of the wicked character of the men who had condemned Jesus and to whom Judas spoke, But confessing the innocence of Jesus by itself never saved a single soul. Pilate did the same.
How exactly did Judas die? And how should we understand Matthew’s strange reference to Jeremiah to explain the priests’ decision to use Judas’ blood money to buy the potters field? “Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “‘They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potters field, as the Lord commanded me’” (vv. 9, 10).
Let’s get back to the story and look at a few more lessons from Judas’ actions. First, partners in evil are not friends. It is common to speak of honor among thieves or imagine sentimental bonds among those who do evil. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Those who share in evil actions are not friends, and the reason they are not is because each is evil.
One of the bad things about sin is that its course is always downhill. Judas had a bad end, but we should remember that it did not come about at once. He was an evil man, just like the rulers of the day. But Judas did not start out that way. At one time he must have been an innocent-looking baby smiling in his mother’s arms. We all begin like that. But somewhere Judas’ life took an evil downturn, and his eventual suicide was the result. What was Judas’ life story like? We do not have many details. There is no reason we should. But what we do know about him goes something like this.
Why did Pilate try so hard, grasping at no less than four stratagems, when he could not really have cared much about such matters and certainly did not have any natural instinct to act justly? One explanation is that he was probably impressed with Jesus. He seems to have marvelled at his calm self-possession and the fact that he did not try to defend himself against his accusers.
Three chapters ago when we were beginning a study of Christ’s trials, I pointed out that they present a unique situation in that Jesus was tried, on the one hand, by an ecclesiastical court, seeking to apply the revealed law of God to Jesus’ case, and, on the other hand, by a civil court seeking to apply what is generally thought to be the most highly developed law known to man.
Pilate was trapped by his own scheming. He had miscalculated. But his stubborn character still came through. He was caught, but he did not want to be defeated by the Jews religious rulers whom he obviously despised. He was defeated, but he did not give up. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ” he demanded.
The last verses of this section take the kingship theme a bit further. For Matthew reports that even after he had been flogged in preparation for the crucifixion, Jesus was given to the soldiers who mocked him mercilessly, placing a scarlet robe on his shoulders, a crown of thorns on his head, and a staff in his hand. Then they fell before him in mock homage, crying, “Hail, king of the Jews.”
Well pick up where we left off with Charles Spurgeon yesterday: “Few, nowadays, will side with the truth their fathers bled for. The day for covenanting to follow Jesus through evil report and shame appears to have gone by. Yet, though men turn round upon us and say, ‘Do you call your gospel divine? Are you so preposterous as to believe that your religion comes from God and is to subdue the world’—we boldly answer: “Yes!”
Where do you go to find kings today? It is hard to find kings anywhere, because most have been replaced by presidents and other elected officials. Still, there a few kings left, and if you find them anywhere, you will find them in palaces. You do not find them in apartments or hovels, or walking down the street. The last place you would ever expect to find a king is on a cross.
None of the gospels describes the actual crucifixion in detail. The details were well known; there was no point in dwelling on its horrors. But the gospels do tell what happened. Matthew begins with the fact that a man from the north African town of Cyrene was drafted by the soldiers of the execution detail to carry Jesus’ cross. His name was Simon. It was usual for a condemned person to carry his own cross. So if Simon was drafted, it can only have been because Jesus was too weakened by his scourging and beatings to do it. When he staggered and possibly fell, the soldiers seized upon the first able bodied man they could find, who just happened to be Simon.
Yesterday we looked at the first of six details Matthew gives about Jesus’ crucifixion. Today we’ll look at the remaining five.
2. Gambling for Christ’s clothes (v. 35). Each of the gospels reports how the soldiers divided Christ’s clothing, though John alone explains that the gambling was actually only for Christ’s seamless outer robe, John is also the only one who says specifically that this was to fulfill Psalm 22:18, which says, “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing” (see John 19:24).
Do you understand that it was for you that Jesus did this? And not just as an example of how to endure great suffering. That was not it at all. The point is that Jesus endured the agonies of the cross in your place. The cross was God’s punishment for your sins, and when Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” it was for you that his eternally ancient bond with the Father was broken. We find this theme again and again in the Bible.
All the gospels tell about Jesus’ crucifixion. It is the chief point of their narratives. But each has its own emphasis, and the mocking of Jesus seems to be the dominant note in Matthew. There are thirteen verses in the paragraphs we are studying, but five of them are about the taunts the passersby and the leaders had for Jesus.
We are coming to the end of Matthew, and this means that we are finding ourselves face-to-face with the core doctrines of Christianity. That is particularly the case in this and the next two studies, which cover Matthew 27:45-28:15.
The second miracle that took place when Jesus died was the tearing of the great veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple. Matthew, Mark and Luke all report the tearing of the veil. But Matthew and Mark add that it was torn “from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38), suggesting that this was something God did and that it was heavy with spiritual significance.
We need to be specific about what the rending of the veil teaches.
1. The old system of offering sacrifices year by year was over. The priests probably sewed the veil back together and went on with their traditional religious practices. But in the sight of God the old age had ended and a new age had begun. This new age embraces both Jew and Gentile within Christ’s church, which is why Paul was able to write to the Ephesians as he did.
The third miracle was the earthquake that split the rocks and broke open many of the tombs. Earthquakes themselves are not miraculous, but the timing of this one was. It was at the very moment when Jesus died. Moreover, it was the prelude to the resurrection of many holy persons. Matthew does not explain what the earthquake meant, but it probably correspond
Later on Jesus told his disciples, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). Still later, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
Theme: Life from death.This week’s lessons show us that God is greater than the grave.
SCRIPTUREMatthew 27:57-66
Theme: Life from death.This week’s lessons show us that God is greater than the grave.
SCRIPTUREMatthew 27:57-60
Theme: Life from death.This week’s lessons show us that God is greater than the grave.
SCRIPTUREMatthew 27:62-66
Theme: Life from death.This week’s lessons show us that God is greater than the grave.
SCRIPTUREMatthew 27:63
and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
Theme: Life from death.This week’s lessons show us that God is greater than the grave.
SCRIPTUREMatthew 27:63
and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
Theme: The defeat of death.
This week’s lesson’s show us the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:1-15
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
Theme: The defeat of death.
This week’s lesson’s show us the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:5-9
But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
Theme: The defeat of death.
This week’s lesson’s show us the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:6
He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
LESSON
Theme: The defeat of death.
This week’s lessons show us the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:7
Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
LESSON
Theme: The defeat of death.
This week’s lesson’s show us the joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:11-15
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened, “When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, You are to say, His disciples came during the
Theme: Going out with the good news.
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Theme: Going out with the good news.
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
LESSON
Theme: Going out with the good news.
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
LESSON
Theme: Going out with the good news.
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Theme: Going out with the good news.
This week’s lessons teach that proclaiming the gospel is a requirement for Christians.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Speaking Sense about the Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Speaking Sense about the Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Speaking Sense about the Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Speaking Sense about the Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Speaking Sense about the Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Theme: Knowing the Times
This week we see the dangers of legalism and modernism still among us.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 16:1-6
The Pharisees and Sadducees
Theme: Knowing the Times
This week we see the dangers of legalism and modernism still among us.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 16: 12
Then they understood that he
Theme: Like him we rise.
This week’s lessons teach us the consequences of disbelief in a bodily resurrection.
SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 15:12-34
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Theme: Christ as Judge
This week’s lesson teaches us that we hate God, and only by his grace learn to love him
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 21:28-30
“What do you think? A man had two sons.
Theme: Jesus as the Word
This is certainly a season to think about the birth of Christ. This week we’ll
focus in on who Jesus is—not a little baby in a barn, but the God of Creation.
Scripture: John 1:1-4
Theme: The Preexistence of the Word
This is certainly a season to think about the birth of Christ. This week we’ll
focus in on who Jesus is—not a little baby in a barn, but the God of Creation.
Scripture: John 1:1-4
Theme: The Deity of the Word
This is certainly a season to think about the birth of Christ. This week we’ll
focus in on who Jesus is—not a little baby in a barn, but the God of Creation.
Scripture: John 1:1-4
Jesus is the Word, and he was with God even before the beginning. But John didn’t stop with this. He goes one to make two very important points.
Theme: Christ as Judge
This week’s lesson teaches us that we hate God, and only by his grace learn to love him
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 21 :42-46
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders
Theme: Jesus as Life and Light
This is certainly a season to think about the birth of Christ. This week we’ll
focus in on who Jesus is—not a little baby in a barn, but the God of Creation.
Scripture: John 1:1-4
Silent Night is probably the best known and most deeply loved of all the Christian carols. But the greatest of the carols at least from the point of view of its splendid theology is Charles Wesley’s Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Do you remember the words of the last verse? They say,
Theme: God’s Justice
This parable warns that we must act now, in the day of grace.
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 21:33-46
“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
Theme: Jesus as the Last Word
This is certainly a season to think about the birth of Christ. This week we’ll
focus in on who Jesus is—not a little baby in a barn, but the God of Creation.
Scripture: John 1-4
The second miracle of Christmas announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel is the Virgin Birth. Strangely, this miracle was not a problem for the ancients. At least no strong opposition to its being possible has been recorded. It is only in recent times, in the earlier decades of this century, that the Virgin Birth has been discounted.
Theme: Belief in Gabriel’s Message
This week’s lessons help us to prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ by
focusing on three miracles seen in the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary.
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
Theme: “Be Born in Us Today”
This week’s lessons help us to prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ by
focusing on three miracles seen in the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary.
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38
Theme: Law and Grace
This week’s lessons show how the grace that came through Jesus Christ fits with the
perfect law of God and its condemnation against us for our sins.
Scripture: John 1:17
Theme: Jesus’ Gracious Actions
This week’s lessons show how the grace that came through Jesus Christ fits with the
perfect law of God and its condemnation against us for our sins.
Scripture: John 1:17
Theme: Grace and Holiness
This week’s lessons show how the grace that came through Jesus Christ fits with the
perfect law of God and its condemnation against us for our sins.
Scripture: John 1:17
Theme: Grace in Ephesians
This week’s lessons explain the importance of God’s sovereignty for a biblical
understanding of the doctrine of grace.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8
Theme: Elected by Sovereign Grace
This week’s lessons explain the importance of God’s sovereignty for a biblical
understanding of the doctrine of grace.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8
Theme: Election and the Doctrine of Sin
This week’s lessons explain the importance of God’s sovereignty for a biblical
understanding of the doctrine of grace.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8
Theme: Blessings of Election
This week’s lessons explain the importance of God’s sovereignty for a biblical
understanding of the doctrine of grace.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8
Yesterday we looked at the first blessing of election. Today we look at the other three.
Theme: Sealed by Sovereign Grace
This week’s lessons explain the importance of God’s sovereignty for a biblical
understanding of the doctrine of grace.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-8
Theme: Ephesians 1 and 2
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Theme: The Christian’s Past, Present, and Future
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Theme: The Christian’s Sad Past
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Yesterday we looked at the first thing Paul says about the Christian’s past condition. We now need to see the other three.
Theme: The Christian’s Present: Saved by Grace
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Theme: The Christian’s Bright Future
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Theme: Justification by Grace
This week’s lessons teach us what justification is, and how a proper understanding of grace and faith are necessary for it.
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
Theme: What Is Justification?
This week’s lessons teach us what justification is, and how a proper understanding of grace and faith are necessary for it.
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
Theme: Justification Illustrated
This week’s lessons teach us what justification is, and how a proper understanding of
grace and faith are necessary for it.
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
Theme: By Faith Alone
This week’s lessons teach us what justification is, and how a proper understanding of grace and faith are necessary for it.
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
Theme: The Need for Belief and Commitment
This week’s lessons teach us what justification is, and how a proper understanding of grace and faith are necessary for it.
Scripture: Romans 3:22-24
Theme: Four Pivotal Words
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
“If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?” Haven’t you heard this classic put-down of someone who has been acting arrogantly?
Theme: Peace with God
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
Theme: Union with Christ
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
Yesterday we looked at the first benefit of our justification, which is peace with God. We also began to look at the second benefit, which is our union with Christ. We saw that this doctrine, found in the teaching of the apostles, goes back to Jesus himself. Let me list a few analogies the Bible uses to describe this union.
Theme: Joy in Suffering
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
Theme: Hope of Glory
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
Theme: The Crisis in Galatia
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Theme: The First Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Theme: The Second Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Theme: The Third Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Theme: Legalism versus True Holiness
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Yesterday we concluded our study by describing one failure of legalism. We need to see one more, before showing how true freedom leads to obedience.
Theme: John Bunyan’s Text
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21
Theme: No Reduction of Grace
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21
Theme: No Withholding of Grace
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21
Theme: Citizens of the Kingdom
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21
Yesterday we concluded by looking at the first two stages of the kingdom of grace. Now we need to see the last two.
Theme: Grace and Righteous Conduct
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
Theme: Our Old and Our New Life
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
In yesterday devotional we looked at three mistaken ideas for the meaning of “dying to sin.” Today we begin by looking at two others.
Theme: The First and Great Imperative
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
Theme: Alive to God
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
Yesterday we saw two changes that have occurred from our being made alive to God in Jesus Christ. Here are three more.
Theme: An Introduction to 2 Timothy
This week’s lessons remind us that we do not only need God’s grace for our salvation; we also need God’s grace to provide strength to carry on in God’s service in the midst of difficulties.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1, 2
Theme: The Preservation of the Gospel
This week’s lessons remind us that we do not only need God’s grace for our salvation; we also need God’s grace to provide strength to carry on in God’s service in the midst of difficulties.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1, 2
Today we want to finish up our introduction to 2 Timothy by looking at a third point.
Theme: Pressure-Points: Ridicule and Hardships
This week’s lessons remind us that we do not only need God’s grace for our salvation; we also need God’s grace to provide strength to carry on in God’s service in the midst of difficulties.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1, 2
The first of these pressure-points was ridicule. Paul discusses it in chapter 1, where he urges Timothy not to be ashamed either of the Lord, the gospel or himself.
Theme: Images of Encouragement
This week’s lessons remind us that we do not only need God’s grace for our salvation; we also need God’s grace to provide strength to carry on in God’s service in the midst of difficulties.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1, 2
Yesterday we looked at the first three metaphors of encouragement. We now need to look at the other three.
Theme: A Cruel Theology
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Theme: Boasting in Suffering
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
How does Paul deal with this problem of the attacks from the “super-apostles”? The way he does it is marvelous and a great example for those who are trying to deal with difficult people as they themselves pursue Christian work.
Theme: The Lessons of the Thorn
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Theme: Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh and Ours
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
At this point Paul must have been embarrassed that he had been forced to mention even this one vision, because it is against this background—all I have been describing—that he talks about his thorn in the flesh (v. 7).
Theme: God’s Power in Human Weakness
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Yesterday we looked at two lessons concerning our burdens arising from Paul’s thorn. We will look at the last three today.
Theme: Prayer Is a Problem
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
I have always been interested in the things George Gallup, the founder and director of the Gallup Poll organization, has to say about the religious life of Americans. Recently I came across some remarks he made about prayer.
Theme: Encouragement to Prayer
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
There are at least two other reasons why prayer is often a problem for us.
We are too sinful. This strikes a bit deeper at our problem, though we do not like to admit it.
Theme: The God of All Grace
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
Why is the throne of God described in Hebrews as a throne of grace? The answer is obvious. It is because God is a God of grace. Indeed, he is the God of all grace.
Theme: A Way Opened to God
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
Yesterday we looked at how God the Father and God the Son are gracious.
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also gracious.
Theme: Drawing Nigh in Confidence
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
The bottom line of this discussion is that, because of who God is and what Jesus Christ has done in dying for us, changing the throne of judgment into a throne of grace, we who trust Christ are to draw near the throne o
Theme: Giving in the Churches of Macedonia and Corinth
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
I have been writing about some very practical matters in these studies, but it is hard to imagine a more practical matter than our giving to God, specifically giving money to support spiritual causes.
Theme: Overflowing Joy and Extreme Poverty
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
Yesterday we looked at the first element of “God’s Formula for Great Giving.” Today we look at the other two.
Overflowing joy. In what were the Macedonian Christians joyful?
Theme: A Severe Trial
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
Anyone who has ever tried to get someone else to give to religious or charitable causes knows how difficult motivating another person can be. So we are wise to ask: How does Paul move the Corinthians to be faithful in this area?
Theme: The Secret of Great Giving
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
Verse 5 adds a further explanation of the remarkable giving of the Macedonian Christians: “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” I call this a further explanation
Theme: The Greatest Example of Great Giving
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
When I began to write about the giving of the churches of Macedonia I said that this was Paul’s first motivating example of great giving. It was a good one, as you can see.
Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton were two cynical young students who lived in the eighteenth century. They set out to disprove Christianity. They agreed that the two strongest evidences for Christianity were the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the conversion of Saint Paul. So Lyttleton offered to disprove the conversion of Paul to Christianity, and West offered to disprove the resurrection. When they met again sometime after they had begun their two projects, both were shamefaced.
In his classic treatment of the evidences for the resurrection of Christ, Who Moved the Stone? Frank Morison calls attention to Paul’s undoubted knowledge of the fact that the tomb of Jesus Christ was found empty. Everyone in Jerusalem would have known this, and Paul in particular must have known of it.
Yesterday we concluded by looking at the first two striking things that Paul would have noted concerning Stephen’s death. The third thing about Stephen’s death was the way he died—not cursing or pleading for life, as some might have done, but peacefully and in an atmosphere of prayer.
According to Lyttleton there were four explanations for Paul’s claim of his own conversion. We will look at the first two today.
Let’s look at the two other explanations for Paul’s conversion. Yesterday we dismissed the first two. Was Paul deceived by others? Did Paul genuinely see Jesus and convert?
Theme: Jesus’ Resurrection Sermon
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
One of the great accounts of the appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples following the resurrection is his appearance to the two Emmaus disciples recorded in Luke 24.
Theme: Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
Today we look at some of the texts Jesus must have used in his sermon, which we discussed yesterday. An obvious place to begin is with Peter’s speech at Pentecost found in Acts 2. Peter used three texts in that message. The first was about Pentecost itself.
Theme: Peter before the Sanhedrin
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
In the fourth chapter of Acts we have another of Peter’s sermons. Here he has been called before the Sanhedrin (the highest council of the ancient Jews), and he is defending himself and his teaching.
Theme: “In All the Scriptures concerning Himself”
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
In the eighth chapter of Acts, we have another suggestive text. Here Philip has been sent to the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip finds him, he is reading from a manuscript he acquired in Jerusalem.
Theme: Having Your Eyes Opened
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
I say as we end this week of Easter readings that I do not know how much of what I have presented this week is what the Lord preached that day on his walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. But it was a long trip. It would have taken several hours.
Theme: Evil Heart, Evil Tongue
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
A number of years ago I became fascinated with the writings of Neil Postman, a professor of communication arts at New York University and author of the best-selling critique of our television-saturated society, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in t
Theme: Our Lord’s Example
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
I want to study carefully what Colossians 4:6 says about how we should speak. But before I do that I want to do one more introductory thing. I want to think about the gracious speech of Jesus, since he is a great example for us in this, as in all other areas.
Theme: Kind and Serious Words
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
This brings us back to Colossians, where I ask, “What should the Christian’s conversation be like?
Theme: Discerning and Wise Speech
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
Our comments should be discerning. This is what Paul is speaking about when he tells us to “make the most of every opportunity.” Not every moment of our day contains opportunities for sharing the gospel or speaking a timely or encou
Theme: A Few Important Warnings
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
Our conversation should be interesting. My final point is that the conversation of Christians should be interesting, which is the way I understand the phrase “seasoned with salt.” Salt had various uses in the ancient world, the chief
Theme: Perseverance Promises
This week’s lessons encourage us with the truth that because God always finishes what he begins, every true believer will receive God’s eternal glory in Christ.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10
We are nearing the end of this study of the Bible doctrine of grace—this is the next to the last devotional—but if you think back to the first of these studies, you may recall that one way I introduced the subject of grace was by listing the
Theme: No Escape from Suffering
This week’s lessons encourage us with the truth that because God always finishes what he begins, every true believer will receive God’s eternal glory in Christ.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10
Here is the third important point we need to know about the background of 1 Peter.
Theme: God Will Perfect You
This week’s lessons encourage us with the truth that because God always finishes what he begins, every true believer will receive God’s eternal glory in Christ.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10
Not only did Peter learn about suffering from Jesus. He also learned from Jesus that the only way to resist Satan is through God’s power.
Theme: God Will Establish, Strengthen, and Settle You
This week’s lessons encourage us with the truth that because God always finishes what he begins, every true believer will receive God’s eternal glory in Christ.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10
Yesterday we looked at the first of God’s promises from our text.
Theme: Grace and Glory
This week’s lessons encourage us with the truth that because God always finishes what he begins, every true believer will receive God’s eternal glory in Christ.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10
At the beginning of this study I called attention to the glory that is mentioned in this verse as the Christian’s ultimate destiny and sure hope: “God, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ.” I return to it now, because glory is the
We have come to the end of a study of one of the most wonderful ideas in the Bible, the doctrine of God’s amazing grace. And we have come to the very last verse of the Bible, which not surprisingly is about grace also.
Theme: The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
Revelation 22:21 does not contain all the elements of the more complete benedictions, but it is in line with them when it links the blessing of grace explicitly to Jesus Christ.
Theme: The Doctrines of Grace
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
Yesterday we introduced the expression “doctrines of grace.” Today we want to briefly describe each one.
Total depravity.
Theme: Growth in Grace
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
But the verse that ends the Bible is also a wish, as I wrote earlier. It is a wish that “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [might] be with God’s people.” How are we to understand this?
Theme: Amen and Amen
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
So we come to the end, to the very last word of the very last verse of the very last book of the Bible.
Theme: Costly Grace
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
There is a defect, even a fatal defect, in the life of the church of Christ in the present day: a lack of true discipleship. For the genuine Christian, discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ.
Theme: “Follow Me”
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
But it is not only a false theology that has encouraged this fatal lack of discipleship. To limit it thus is to blame theologians, and God does not allow us to blame others for our own failures.
Theme: Elements of Discipleship: Obedience and Repentance
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
In the course of this devotional series, each of the following elements will be considered in much greater detail.
Theme: Elements of Discipleship: Submission and Commitment
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
3. Submission. In one of Jesus’s most important sayings about discipleship—which we will study more carefully next week—the Lord pictures discipleship as putting on a yoke.
Theme: Whoever Will May Come
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
Yesterday we looked at submission and commitment as elements of discipleship. We now come to the final element.
5.
Theme: The Universal Call to Discipleship
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
In one form or another the knowledge of the human race has been passed through the centuries.
Theme: Learning Jesus Christ
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
But notice: it is for those who know themselves to be burdened. This does not refer to mere physical weakness or to what we would call the burdens of a hard life, though it may include them.
Theme: Under the Yoke: Submission
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
We must be careful to explain what we mean when we speak of knowing God in a saving way, however. For this is no mere intellectual knowledge of God, any more than saving faith is mere intellectual assent to certain truths.
Theme: Under the Yoke: Work and Companionship
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
Yesterday we looked at the first important element of a yoke. Today we study the other two.
2. Work. The yoke placed upon the shoulders of a farm animal enables it to work.
Theme: An Easy Burden
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
When we think of being harnessed together with others in Christ’s school it is possible to be discouraged, especially if we reflect that the work is hard and the course of instruction is unending.
Theme: Self-Esteem or Self-Denial?
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning. Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself.
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
At the beginning of these studies I wrote that there is a fatal flaw in the professing church today, a lack of true discipleship. Discipleship is talked about, of course.
Theme: Saying “No” to Self
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.
Theme: Saying “Yes” to God
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning. Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself.
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
But it is not only that we are to say “No” to self, which is what denying self is all about.
Theme: The Demands of Cross-Bearing
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning. Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself.
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
Yesterday we looked at the first demand of taking up our cross. Today we want to look at four more.
2.
Theme: Our Eyes on Jesus
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.
Theme: Profession without Practice
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
Jesus spoke about obedience toward the end of Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. He had been followed by people who made verbal profession of discipleship.
Theme: How Does Jesus Speak?
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
Several years ago, when I was in northern California, I turned on the radio and heard part of an unusual religious program. It was called “Have You Had a Spiritual Experience?” and was conducted like a call-in talk show.
Theme: Living in the Book: Daily and Systematic Bible Study
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
Everything I have been saying so far leads to a practical conclusion, and it is this.
Theme: Living in the Book: Comprehensive and Devotional Bible Study
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
Yesterday we mentioned what systematic Bible study is. We now need to see how one does it. Certain procedures should be followed during study. First, the book itself should be read through carefully as many as four or five times, perhaps one of these times aloud.
Theme: The Liberty of Obedience
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
Over the last two days we looked at four Bible study methods. Today we begin by mentioning one more.
5. Study the Bible prayerfully (Dan. 9:1-3).
Theme: Love on Its Knees
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
Scripture: John 13:1-17
Following the Lord Jesus Christ is an individual matter, but it is not individualistic. Let me explain.
When we say that discipleship is an individual matter we are saying that it is something the individual himself must do. No one can follow Jesus for you.
Theme: How to Serve Others: Listening
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
Scripture: John 13:1-17
We must be practical at this point. Jesus served us by leaving heaven, taking on a true human nature, teaching, and then dying on the cross for our sin. We cannot do that. So we must ask, “How can we serve others?
Theme: How to Serve Others: Helping and Giving
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
Scripture: John 13:1-17
Yesterday we looked at the first way to serve others. Today we look at the next two.
2.
Theme: How to Serve Others: Bearing Burdens and Speaking God’s Truth
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
Scripture: John 13:1-17
Yesterday we looked at the need to help one another and to give to others in need.
Theme: How to Serve Others: Restoring
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
Scripture: John 13:1-17
We now come to the last way we are to serve other people as Jesus did.
6.
Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Pride
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
A third incident came before the triumphal entry.
Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Pretense and Artificiality
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
2. The burden of pretense.
Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Self-Struggle
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
4. The burden of self-struggle.
Theme: Begin with God
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.
Theme: Wealth and Poverty
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
I received a letter from a couple who were going to the mission field for the first time.
Theme: All Good Gifts from God
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
Where should we go to get a proper perspective on riches? Negatively there is much to be said about them, but the place to begin is not with a negative but with a positive: All things come from God. God is the Creator.
Theme: A Christian Perspective
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
So I come back to my original question and ask again: What should a disciple’s attitude toward his possessions be? I suggest the following principles:
1. Thanksgiving.
Theme: A Christian Perspective, Continued
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
3. Stewardship.
Theme: A Heart Set Free
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
I close with an important thought. Wealth is a blessing when properly received and used, but there is something more important than wealth or even the proper use of it. It is being free, as God intends us to be free. Possessions tie us down.
Theme: How We View Other Disciples
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
Discipleship is personal, but it is not personalistic. It always involves our relationships to others who also profess to be disciples. But are they disciples?
Theme: The Problem Explored
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
In the incident we are studying, the exorcist not only did what he did in Christ’s name and therefore in open allegiance to Christ. He was also effective in what he did, for he was actually casting out demons.
Theme: Cause of Dissension
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
I suppose that in the entire history of the church there has never been a division, however unnecessary or sordid, that has not been justified by some persons on spiritual grounds.
Theme: One Body, Many Gifts
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
There is only one way we will ever defeat this tendency to an improper narrowness in our view of Christian work, and that is to recover a vision of the greatness of the church as Christ’s body.
Theme: Are They with Us?
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
Yesterday we looked at the first three varieties within the church. Today we look at the last two.
4. There is a variety of methods. When I wrote of “styles” a moment ago I was approaching this area.
Theme: What Is the Cost?
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
I was talking with a distinguished doctor who was commenting on missionary practices in his area of the world. According to him, there is much valuable work being done, and the people doing it are certainly earnest and dedicated believers. But there is one thing lacking.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
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