Posts from April 2021
Keep Growing: Add to Your Faith, Part 3 of 4
2 Peter 1:5-11 – 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[a] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[b] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[c] be all the more…
Planning for Death
The news of the passing of famous people reminds us once again that in the end, we all must die, even celebrities. For any loss, there is a time for grieving. This grieving, however, will only be complete when we accept that another’s death points to our own inevitable end. This realization should motivate us to plan for that sure event. Planning for our death means we have accepted the reality of it and are ready to go on living…
Lesson 2 – Daniel in Babylon
A background look at the person (Daniel) and the circumstances surrounding his exile from Jerusalem to Babylon as well as a first description of the dream that forms the basis for Daniel’s prophecies. 02-daniel-revelation-notes We are studying the book of Daniel as a way of understanding the background information, imagery and symbolism that is contained in the book of Revelation. Much of the apocalyptic style of writing found in Daniel is also found in Revelation; understanding one helps us understand…
Love One Another. Why?
Scripture for today’s sermon: John 13:34-35 LOVE ONE ANOTHER – Romans 12:9-10 WHAT IS LOVE? LOVE IS NOT… – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 CONCLUSION – Jn. 14:15
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Part 2
In the last few chapters I have emphasized the fact that Paul used the device of contrast in highlighting the difference between one who walked in the flesh and one who walked by the Spirit. Paul was doing this in order to respond to teachers who insisted that maintaining one’s perfection before God required adherence to man-made religious rules and prohibitions. He taught them that to remain perfect before God they had to walk in the Spirit, not keep man-made…
Keep Growing: Add to Your Faith, Part 2 of 4
2 Peter 1:5-11 Last week we started out in 2 Peter 1:3-4. Some of us may fail to appreciate what scripture informs us of when it comes to all that we’ve been given “for a godly life.” • Some of us need to go deep and learn these for the first time. • Others of us need to be reminded of what we’ve already learned! Peter says in verses 12-13 – Sometimes I just need to be reminded about…
Duck Dilemma
The duck people have gone and done it now. The patriarch of reality television’s Duck Dynasty has actually shared his Christian perspective on the subject of homosexuality with a reporter for trendy GQ magazine. Of course, the reaction to his unfiltered view of homosexuality as a sin and the comment that he didn’t get why gays preferred men to women was, to say the least, a cardinal offense to that group and those who saw this as an attack on their…
Lesson 1 – Setting the Stage for Daniel/Revelation
This series explains in simple terms the relationship between these two books of the Bible. Each book will be reviewed to better understand the meaning of the symbolic language used in both and the message that the writers were communicating to their readers as well as a modern application for today’s Christian. This introductory lesson will situate the historical setting for the book of Daniel and its relationship to the Book of Revelation. 01-daniel-revelation-notes This is a study of the…
Friendship
Scripture for today’s sermon: 1 Samuel 18:1-4 A SHARED LOVE A SACRIFICIAL LOVE A SELFLESS LOVE A STRUGGLING LOVE A STRENGTHENING LOVE
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – Part 1
In this first of a two-part lesson, Mike describes the way that spiritual life and character are actually produced in the life of every disciple great and small. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is dealing with false teachers who are perverting the gospel. They were trying to teach that in order to maintain one’s perfect status with God, it was necessary to submit to a mix of rules and rituals that they imposed, the main one being circumcision.…
Keep Growing, Part 1 of 4
2 Peter 1:5-11 – 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be…
What Does Your Child See?
There is nothing more joyful than watching our children “grow” in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord. This thought leads me to wonder if children receive the same joy and encouragement from seeing their parents “grow”. I believe that much of the development we seek in them may be directly related to how much growth they see in us. When it comes to spiritual growth, you can’t just teach it, you’ve got to show it. In the area of…
Playing it Safe
In this day of roller-coaster markets and the threat of entire nations collapsing because of financial downturns, it’s easy to get into the “play it safe” mindset. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a prudent approach to investing and money management but some people think that prudence means never taking a risk. It is interesting to note that in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, where Jesus is teaching on stewardship, He says that the least one…
Assurance
Scriptures for today’s sermon: Elijah’s Faith 1 Kings 17-18 Elijah’s Fall 1 Kings 19:1-11 God’s Response 1 Kings 19:12-18
The Deeds of the Flesh
In this lesson, Mike examines the four groups of activities that Paul describes and condemns as those that will lead a Christian away from the kingdom of God. We are reviewing the passage in Galatians 5:16-18 where Paul is refuting and rebuking false teachers who are disturbing the church with their teachings. Basically, they were promoting the idea that in order to maintain one’s Conditional perfection before God, a person had to adhere to a combination of rules and rituals…
Gay Nation
It seems that the surest way to secure your fifteen minutes of fame in America these days is to declare to the world that you’re gay. Homosexuals are literally tripping over each other in order to be the first in their respective fields of endeavor to “come out” and thereby clinch their spot in the Gay Hall of Fame. Whether it be in sports or politics, entertainment or academia, being gay now comes with some kind of mystique that simply…
Winning The War
The old adage, “Winning the battle, losing the war”, is a warning to those involved in a struggle that it is important to keep one’s eye on what you’re fighting for. You often see this principle at work in amateur sports where a player will lose control and strike out in revenge against an opponent who is provoking them in some way. The momentary satisfaction is lost when the referee penalizes the team which usually leads to losing the game,…
Evangelism
Evangelism—Luke 19:1-10 Scriptures for today’s sermon: Jesus Was Going – Luke 19:1 Jesus Saved The Rich – Luke 19:2 Jesus Tasted Death For Every Man – Hebrews 2:9 Jesus Looked Everywhere – Luke 19:4-5 Jesus Went To A Sinner’s House – Luke 19:5-8
Actual Perfection
In this lesson, Mike explains the reasons why the pursuit of Actual Perfection is not another form of “Law keeping.” The “more perfect you” mentioned in the title of this book is a reference to the Actual perfection Christians diligently seek through the Holy Spirit. In other words, the (conditionally) perfect ones are seeking more perfection (Actual perfection) by living according to the influence (fruit) of the Holy Spirit. In this way the perfect (saved) seek perfection (spiritual maturity). The…
Women’s Role in the Church
The idea that man is the head of the house is viewed by many as antiquated. Also, a woman who chooses to stay at home instead of working outside the home is sometimes held in low regard. Some see such a woman as wasting her talents and abilities. It is no secret that the woman’s role in society has changed in recent years. In religious circles, it is quite common to find females serving as ministers and in leadership roles.…
- 1
- 2