Focal Passage: John 8:2-11  Though we sing and preach about it all the time, we don’t know much about grace. Yes, we might say, God’s grace is the undeserved, unmerited favor of God. But when it comes down to it, most of us have been raised to believe that unless one works for something we haven’t earned it. Yes, we are to work for our wages. But when it comes

Focal Passage: John 5:2-11, 19-21  Words like restoration, restitution and reparations are “hot topic words” these days.  Often, they are used in ways that are harmful and unrealistic. At other times, they are mocked as impossible goals. These words have been politicized. Though Jesus seemed to be uninterested in using political means for spiritual ends, He was consummately interested in restoring the lives of broken people. Take for example the

Focal Passage: John 4:7-18; 25-26  Have you ever met a famous person? If so, you might remember how it made you think or feel at the time. In some small way, that encounter changed your life, an encounter that became a talking point for you in future conversations with friends.  John 4 tells us the story of Jesus with the nameless, but needy “woman at the well.” Her encounter with

Focal Passage: Colossians 3:1-14  Since Jan. 22, 2023, the Bible Studies for Life have been focused on the issue of discerning the voice of God. Issues such as biblical faithfulness, convictional living, in addition to trusting and honoring God have all been in focus. But what’s the ultimate purpose of this series? The final lesson in this series sums up the intent of the series — discerning the voice of

Focal Passage: John 17:1-9  God’s voice always leads us to glorify Him and accomplish His purposes. We can glorify God by honoring God in how we speak and live. But what specifically needs to be a part of how we speak and live that would honor God? In what has been called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer on the eve of His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and subsequent resurrection reaches the zenith

Focal Passage: Exodus 34:1-9  How are we to discern the voice of God? How are we to know how to live for Him? One answer is that we are to live in ways that align with God’s character.  God would never ask His people to do or say anything that He Himself would not do or say. Making sure we’re aligned with the character of God is essential. But who

Focal Passage: Hebrews 11:1-6; 13-16  Discerning and obeying God’s voice calls for faith in God. But what is faith? Just as we talk about love without knowing what love is, we talk a great deal about faith without understanding its definition. What is the anatomy of faith that enables us to discern and do the will of God? Hebrews 11 is our guide. First, Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is

Focal Passage: Acts 2:32-41  The word conviction is used in at least two ways in Scripture.  First, it is used in reference to the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting us of sin, righteousness and judgment, so that we might repent and believe the gospel (John 16:8-11). Second, it is used with the notion of someone holding a belief with “great conviction.” The two are connected. The convicted sinner comes to

Focal Passage: Genesis 3:1-6  Discernment or making sound judgments is a lost art. We have allowed a wrong interpretation of the phrase “Judge not, that you be not judged” from Matthew 7:1 to frighten us away from discerning between right and wrong, of making value judgments based on eternal truths. God repeatedly calls His people to make judgments. We are called to discern between one thing and another. In fact,

Focal Passage: Psalm 139:1-10, 13-16  Though not a Catholic, we should appreciate the words of the late Pope John Paul II in his 1995 Papal Encyclical — Evangelium Vitae — when he compared two opposing cultures: the “culture of death” that devalued life and the “culture of life” that valued life from conception to death.As Baptists whose worldview ought to be grounded in Scripture, we value life from conception to