Romans “Why Do I Believe What I Believe?”

Romans   “Why Do I Believe What I Believe?”

As you read the Old Testament, you get the sense that someone is coming.  That you are not just reading about lives of people, but that the stage is being set for an amazing event.

That amazing event was the coming of God’s Son to the earth.  His story (all the things that pointed to Him from the Old Testament, all the things He did on earth, His death and resurrection, His return to heaven, and the promise of His return to earth again) is the Gospel.

The Gospel is an unbelievably valuable commodity.  It’s not to be hidden, not to be camouflaged, and not to be doled out in tiny doses to the worst people.  It is more valuable than education.  More valuable than money.  More valuable than homes or clothes or cars or jobs.  It is the most valuable thing on earth.  If I had a pot of gold sitting in my living room, I would be cheating you if I gave it to you, instead of giving you the Gospel.

If you know the Gospel story, do you believe it?

And if you believe it, do you know why you believe it?

And if you know why you believe it, what are you doing with it?

Psalm 119:81-88 “Persecution” Week 11 of our study of Psalm 119

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #11 – Psalm 119:81-88  “Persecution”.

The two women traveled week after week to attend secret house-church meetings.  They were tired and frustrated that no church existed in their own village.

After praying for months for a church nearby, one of the women said, “Maybe God is waiting for us to build a church.  Why should He listen to our constant complaints if we are not willing to do something ourselves?”

So they decided to take a risk.  The two women and their husbands built a church in their little village in the Anhui province of China.  The government immediately threatened to tear the building down unless they registered with the religious affairs bureau.  They complied, and fortunately their rural area was not as closely supervised as some of the larger city churches.  They even dared to invite other house-church pastors as guest speakers without first acquiring written permission.

The women evangelized by visiting the local hospital and finding the patients that had no hope of recovery.  Then they would pray and ask God to heal them.  In one year, the budding church grew to over two hundred!

One of the sisters said, “We prayed twenty days straight for one man, and he wasn’t healed until the very end.  The family started threatening violence against us, saying that we were angering the gods.  You have to be willing to take risks for God.

(Taken from “Extreme Devotion”, published by Voice of the Martyrs.)

1st Peter “You Are Different”

1st Peter – You Are Different

If you are a Christian, you are different.  You are not the same as the unbelieving people who live around you..  You may look the same.  You may dress the same.  You may eat the same.  You may work in the same places and live in the same neighborhoods.  But you are totally, radically, different.

You are:

Chapter 1 – Chosen

Chapter 2 – United

Chapter 3 – Submitted

Chapter 4 – Alerted

Chapter 5 –  Shepherded

And it’s perfectly normal for you to be different.

If you are daily walking with the One Who gave His life for you, you should feel like a butterfly emerging from it’s cocoon….finally free to be who you were always meant to be.

1st Timothy Chapter 6 “Contentment”

1st Timothy Chapter 6.  This is the final chapter in our 1st Timothy Bible Study.

“Godliness with contentment is great gain”.   Being Godly, and being satisfied with life, no matter how difficult or challenging, is the key to happiness for the leader of the church.  Yes, of course this applies to all believers in Jesus….but mostly, I think, Paul is calling out those who are specifically called to lead churches.

Click HERE to view or download the entire 1st Timothy study.

Selected Psalms – “Begin Every Day in the Word, End Every Day With Praise”

This is a small collection of Bible studies on several Psalms:

Psalms 1, 150, 139, 22, 51, 120-135

Will the Psalms really apply to my life?   Take a look:

  • Are you stressed?    Psalm 131:2
  • Are you jealous?   Psalm 73
  • Are you struggling with the truth of the creation story?  Psalm 89:11-13, Psalm 90:2
  • Are you looking back, wondering what you’ve accomplished?  Psalm 90:10-12
  • Are you successful?   Psalm 115:1
  • Is your life full and wonderful and you’re not sure sin is such a big deal?  Psalm 107:33,34
  • Is your life pretty miserable but you still want to serve God?  Psalm 107: 35
  • Not sure where to turn for help?  Psalm 91:1-4
  • Have you ever looked at the ocean and wondered if there was a verse to describe what you feel?  Psalm 92:4, 104:9
  • Do you want to serve God, but feel like you have no training, so little to offer?  Psalm 78:70-72
  • Are you a mother?  Psalm 78:5-8
  • A grandmother?  Psalm 118:18, 145:4
  • Do you have trouble getting along in your family?  Psalm 133
  • Kids driving you nuts?  Psalm 127:3-5, Psalm 128:1-4
  • Do you feel like you’re all alone in what you’re trying to do?  Psalm 125:2
  • Do you wonder if God will ever stop loving you?  Psalm 136
  • Do you rage at injustice?  Psalm 24:1-10,22,23
  • Do you love nature?  Psalm 104:10-24, 32
  • Have you failed again, and wonder if God will ever give you another chance?  Psalm 106-43-46
  • Can’t sleep at night?  Psalm 119:62, 148
  • Do you need to be convinced of the value of God’s word?  Psalm 119 – the whole thing – especially verse 72
  • Are you choosing a career?  Psalm 119 – the whole thing in one sitting.

Psalm 119:73-80 “The Hands of God” Week #10 of our study of Psalm 119

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #10 – Psalm 119:73-80  “The Hands of God”.

Have you ever thought much about God’s hands?  Have you ever thought about your hand being held in His Hand?

I became a believer in Jesus when I was 17 years old.  My Dad had become a believer a few years before that.  Soon after I believed in Christ, My Dad and I sang this song together at a banquet.  “He holds my hand”.   I’m not sure I remember what the banquet was for…or who else was there…or why in the world we would have been asked to sing…but I still remember the feeling I had that night….of serving God together with my Dad.  It was priceless.  It’s a memory which will last all the way until we stand together at the throne of Jesus and cast our crowns before His feet.  Maybe we’ll sing our song together again.

He holds my hand, Jesus holds my hand;

Safely to Heaven He leads the way; He is my keeper from day to day;

He holds my hand, Jesus holds my hand;

Thou the way may be long; but my Saviour is strong;

‘Cause He holds my hand.

The Gospel of John “Is Jesus Really God?”

The Gospel of John, verse-by-verse.  “Is Jesus Really God?”

The audience the Apostle John was writing to were Jewish and non-Jewish people who knew the story of Jesus’ life…but probably second-hand.

John was concerned that people would know how to “pass it on” – each new generation had to know The Word – Jesus – personally.   So John was not just imparting facts or telling a story – He was introducing Jesus to his readers – and giving them a tool to “pass-it-on”.

By the time you get through studying this book, you should be able to solidly confirm in your mind that Jesus was God….and is God.

This one simple fact separates believers in Jesus from every other religion in the world.  It also cost Jesus His life.

Psalm 119:65-72 “When Bad Things Happen…” Week #9 of our study of Psalm 119

Are you studying with us through Psalm 119?  Great!  This is Week #9:  Psalm 119:65-72  “When Bad Things Happen…”

I have found that going through bad times is a painfully personal thing.  It’s not academic.  It’s not simply a lesson to be learned.  It’s an infinitely impossible task which must be accomplished One-on-one with Almighty God.

Psalm 119:57-64 “Friendships” Week #8 of our Study of Psalm 119

Friendships.

History is rich with the mercy of God.  Because of that, dysfunctional, hopelessly weak people, when placed together by God, can grow in faith and accomplish the impossible.

1st Timothy Chapter 5 “Who to Honor”

1st Timothy Chapter 5   “Who to Honor”

Timothy has a job to do.  He will be best able to convey spiritual truths to the people in his congregation if he treats each person as an honored and special creation of God.  Will everyone react well to Timothy’s Pastoring?  No.  Some will not want to be confronted no matter how respectfully Timothy treats them.  But Paul’s advice will open the most doors for ministry possible.

 

Click HERE to view or download the entire 1st Timothy study.