Resources for Discussion Class Hour on May 22, 2019
Sermon Title: It Cost Everything Text: 2 Samuel 24 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king,…
Don’t Worry
If you’re one of those people who obey this passage with something close to consistency, I applaud you. Here’s what Paul writes: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6). Just to make sure we understand exactly what he’s commanding, here are a couple…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on May 15, 2019
Sermon Title: Have Mercy On Me, O God Text: Psalm 51 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on May 8, 2019
Sermon Title: How is Our Culture Affecting Us? “That We May Be Like All the Nations” Text: 1 Samuel 8:19-22 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and…
At Hand
I’ve got quite a few things within reach as I type these words: my computer, of course, and my desk, a bunch of books, pictures of my wife and kids, and dozens of other things. They’re “at hand,” so to speak, because I can reach them from where I sit. Wherever you are, look around. What’s within your reach? What’s “at hand”? The way Paul uses that expression in Philippians 4:5 both comforts and warns us. The Lord is at…
Be Nice
We Christians ought to be nice, you know? Kind, gentle, warm, friendly. Perhaps that’s not anything new to you, but it seems to me that occasionally we overemphasize some things and forget about others. For example, we’ve really stressed what the Bible teaches about baptism, the church, sexuality, what women can and cannot do, and so on. And we don’t need to ignore “doctrinal” matters. People need to hear what God said about issues like those, so we shouldn’t shy…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on May 1, 2019
Sermon Title: What Shall We Do? Text: Acts 2:37-41 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on April 24, 2019
Sermon Title: This Jesus Text: Acts 2:14-39 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary Sunday was Easter, of course, and people throughout the world reflected on the resurrection of Christ. We studied Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 because it was the first sermon preached after the resurrection, and so it was the first sermon from the apostles that was shaped by their new awareness of who Jesus really was. Notice how Peter…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on April 10, 2019
Sermon Title: Root Rot: Weathering Storms and the Damage Done by Sin Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) “‘For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure.…
Resources for Discussion Class Hour on April 3, 2019
Sermon Title: What Was Right In Their Eyes Text: Philippians 2:19-24 Resources: Click here to listen to or watch the sermon Download tonight’s printable study guide Brief summary In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. –Judges 17:6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. –Judges 21:25 To be frank, the book of Judges is a discouraging book. If you’re…
In the Lord
If you look at the world a certain way, it’s easy not to rejoice. Life is stressful. I keep waiting for that time when everything slows down. Then, I tell myself, I’ll be less stressed and more content. Do you ever fall into this trap? There’s negative stuff all around us, which, if we’re so inclined, can damper our spirits. An uncertain economy. A rising deficit. Strife in the Middle East (isn’t there always?). Perhaps there’s uncertainty about health (why these weird…
Thank You
Sometimes my prayers are characterized more by habit than by heart. “Father, I thank you so much for this food and for this day and for my family and for every blessing. Thank you for our house and our clothes and our friends. And, of course, thank you for Jesus.” I can say all that—and quite a bit more—without thinking at all about what I’ve said. Do you ever do this? We fall so easily into the rut of ritualism,…