The Book of Psalms begins with the contrast of two life paths; one leads to happiness, the other leads to ruin. The psalmist clarified that the pathway to happiness consists in part of actively avoiding the pathway to ruin. In our walking, standing, and sitting (all of our waking hours) we must avoid the wicked, sinners, and mockers (Psalm1:1) who champion godlessness. However, it is not sufficient merely to avoid
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 Peter 3:8-18 My family has an elderly friend who will soon be with Jesus. One thing is for sure — there will be no deathbed confession. Why? Ms. Jean has been confessing her faith in Jesus for decades. Whether you were family, friend, home health nurse, or total stranger, she would tell you about her faith in Christ, and that she was ready to go home. Have
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
Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-8, 16-21 When you are sending your child away on a trip, you may ask, “Do you have everything you need?” What if the question was broadened to address your life as a whole? Typically, we would answer the question with several items from our wish list, which may include some critically important things. Yet when we consider the true definition of “need,” we realize that
Focal Passage: II Peter 2:1-3, 17-19; Jude 17-23 I am currently teaching Contemporary World Religions in Seminary Extension, because the nations are coming to our cities and we need to know what they believe. The course is mostly a study of spiritual darkness. It reveals the numerous pathways, both at home and abroad, that people are taking to avoid the cross of Christ and embrace intricately woven lies. Peter warned
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: I Peter 5:1-11 A CEO is much different than a shepherd. In the final decades of the twentieth century, an excessive emphasis on numerical growth began to “flip the Script[ure]” and many churches put the shepherd model out to pasture. He was replaced by a man with surplus self-confidence, a type A personality, and maybe even an advanced degree in business, who knew he could turn the ship
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’
The Book of Psalms begins with the contrast of two life paths; one leads to happiness, the other leads to ruin. The psalmist clarified that
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
Focal Passage: II Peter 3:8-18 My family has an elderly friend who will soon be with Jesus. One thing is for sure — there will
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
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
Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-8, 16-21 When you are sending your child away on a trip, you may ask, “Do you have everything you need?”
Focal Passage: II Peter 2:1-3, 17-19; Jude 17-23 I am currently teaching Contemporary World Religions in Seminary Extension, because the nations are coming to our
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
Focal Passage: I Peter 5:1-11 A CEO is much different than a shepherd. In the final decades of the twentieth century, an excessive emphasis on
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
