Focal Passage: Matthew 3:1-12  John the Baptist could not have been a member of a local Baptist church. He was too blunt. Too abrasive. Too honest. This is not to say that our churches do not have members who are plenty blunt, abrasive and honest. It is to say that John “the baptizer” was of a different kind when it came to speaking truth. But God wanted it that way.

Focal Passage: I Samuel 17:3-8, 32-37, 45-47  The story of David and Goliath is not first and foremost a story of “how we face the giants in our lives,” although it does have practical implications for overcoming the challenges of life. It is, however, the story of how the God of the Israelites – our great Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit –

Focal Passage: Joshua 2:1-4a, 8-14; 6:22-25 It is wrong to lie (Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:9), or is it (Exodus 1:15-21; Joshua 2)? The life and faith of Rahab tests this question. Some would say that lying is permissible in a variety of very specific and unusual cases. It might better be called discretion. For example: We lie to protect feelings:  “I loved your solo,” when it was terrible. We lie

Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-9; 16-18 We often think that the stability of God’s work and Word rests on certain people in the Church. As a pastor, I have often said, “If brother so and so goes on to glory or leaves the Church what will we do?” To a degree, the work of the Lord does depend on good and godly people. Thank God for faithful believers.  But when Joshua

The taproot of righteous living for God is a righteous standing before God. Noah possessed both. He found favor with God that gave him a righteous standing before God that enabled him to live faithfully in ways that pleased God. Noah’s faith in God produced a very large boat on dry ground for the saving of his family and a new start for humanity.  Genesis 6:5-9: A right relationship with

Focal Passage: II Kings 6:8-12, 15-24 This is the final lesson in the series Elisha: Seeing the Hand of God at Work. And what an exciting series it’s been! The prophet Elisha’s story often parallels our Lord Jesus Christ’s. Elisha and Jesus both did hard work in their early years. Both had similar forerunners — Elijah and John the Baptist were ‘men of the wild.’ The school of the prophets

Focal Passage: II Kings 5:1-3; 10-19a  Today’s lesson, God’s Hand in Restoring Lives, could also be called The Gospel According to Elisha. Remember that the prophet Elisha is often referred to as a “type” of Christ: many events in Elisha’s life are similar to events in our Lord’s life. But none paint any clearer picture of the Gospel than our focal passage,  II Kings 5:1-3; 10-19a. It’s from the story

Note: For most of our readers this lesson is for May 11, Mother’s Day. It’s appropriate to be focusing on the prophet Elisha’s encounters with one of the most courageous and faith-filled MOTHERS in the Bible.  Focal Passage: II Kings 4:8-17, 32-37 From the series Elisha: Seeing the Hand of God at Work, this week’s lesson is entitled “God’s Hand in Meeting Other’s Needs.”  Our focal passage, 2 Kings 4:8-17;

Focal Passage: II Kings 4:1-7  Many Bible students see the prophet Elisha as a “type” of Christ — a person in the Old Testament who behaves in a way that corresponds to Jesus’ character and/or actions in the New Testament. One scholar identifies sixteen ways Elisha is a type of Christ!  Today’s focal passage, II Kings 4:1-7, details two of them: helping widows in their grievous circumstances, and raising ‘dead’