Calvary Bible Fellowship, Bangalore: Recent Episodes
Calvary Bible Fellowship, Bangalore
Colossians 1:9-14 is a prayer by Paul for the Colossian believers, asking God to fill them with spiritual wisdom and understanding. He prays that they live worthy lives, bearing fruit in good works, growing in knowledge, and being strengthened with God's power, while giving thanks for their salvation through Christ.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14
Sermon: 3
Notes : https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtxDNo0X286gRujDF5?e=ZosIPB
Colossians 1:3-8 is a passage where Paul expresses gratitude for the Colossians' faith in Christ and their love for all believers, inspired by their hope in heaven. He mentions that the gospel, which bears fruit globally, has impacted them since Epaphras, a faithful minister, shared it with them.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Colossians 1:3-8
Sermon: 2
Notes : https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtxClqjeh7t1ixWS7c?e=IIB4b5
In Colossians 1:1-2, Paul introduces his letter to the church in Colossae, affirming his apostolic authority and role as a servant of Christ. He addresses the faithful believers, offering them grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ, setting a tone of encouragement and spiritual enrichment.Series: Paul's Prison EpistlesSpeaker: Revanth TScripture: Colossians 1:1-2Sermon: 1Notes : https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtxCMCcKYrH67Vlc26?e=7AXw91
In Philippians 4:21-23, Paul extends greetings to all the believers in Philippi from the saints in Caesar’s household. He blesses them with grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, expressing a warm, personal connection and unity in faith despite his imprisonment.Series: Paul's Prison EpistlesSpeaker: Revanth TScripture: Philippians 4:21-23Sermon: 18Notes : https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtxCGE52pJFwNmM2kr?e=Ggcdo9
Philippians 4:10-20 expresses Paul's gratitude for the Philippians' support. He acknowledges their concern, recounts learning contentment in all situations, and praises their generosity. Paul emphasizes that their gifts are a pleasing sacrifice to God and assures them that God will supply all their needs according to His riches in glory.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 4:10-20
Sermon: 17
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtxAn4ISvlBhd4Xvea?e=77tCaI
Philippians 4:1-9 encourages believers to stand firm in faith, resolve conflicts, rejoice in the Lord, be gentle, and not be anxious but pray with thanksgiving. God's peace will guard their hearts. Focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Philippians 4:1-9
Sermon: 16
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtw3SKCQs0wA3OCMhl?e=1fdjJn
Philippians 3:17-21 urges believers to follow Paul's example and to avoid those who live as enemies of the cross, focused on earthly things. Paul contrasts their destiny with the believers', whose citizenship is in heaven, where they await Christ who will transform their bodies to be like His glorious body.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Philippians 3:17-21
Sermon: 15
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtw2qVuqRMyk095Gkk?e=GYGg1D
Philippians 3:12-14 emphasizes perseverance and focus on spiritual goals. Paul acknowledges he hasn't yet achieved perfection but is committed to pressing on, forgetting past failures, and striving toward his heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. This passage encourages believers to persistently pursue their faith journey with determination.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: John Paul
Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14
Sermon: 14
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtw2Df-idPxeicvwbG?e=77Z5sv
In Philippians 3:7-11, Paul declares that he considers all his former gains as loss compared to knowing Christ. He values being found in Christ, having righteousness through faith, not the law. His goal is to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, share in His sufferings, and attain resurrection from the dead.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 3:7-11
Sermon: 13
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtw1EJhR6MEazRqLyw?e=9gMeI1
In Philippians 3:1-6, Paul warns against placing confidence in the flesh and boasts of his own credentials: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous in persecuting the church, and faultless in legalistic righteousness. Despite this, he places no confidence in these achievements.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: Philippians 3:1-6
Sermon: 12
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwz1R7gtzJVlufVYU?e=dqscwM
In Philippians 2:25-30, Paul commends Epaphroditus, a fellow worker and messenger from the Philippians, who risked his life to serve Paul and bring him aid. Epaphroditus became seriously ill, nearly dying, but God healed him. Paul urges the Philippians to honor him and others who serve faithfully.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30
Sermon: 11
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwzPf02vHeqFJVzQ9?e=qfY5yc
In Philippians 2:19-24, Paul hopes to send Timothy to the Philippians soon to bring back encouraging news. He praises Timothy's genuine concern for their welfare and his proven character in serving the gospel. Paul himself plans to visit them but will send Timothy first, trusting in the Lord for his own visit later.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 2:19-24
Sermon: 10
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwyJGGfIvpiWKvROJ?e=jOje7T
Philippians 2:12-18 encourages believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, as God works in them. They should do everything without grumbling or arguing, shining like stars in the universe as they hold firmly to the word of life, bringing joy to Paul in the day of Christ.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Philippians 2:12-18
Sermon: 9
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwx_zVv4t7_GwdQRk?e=hc0REv
Philippians 2:5-11 emphasizes humility and exalts Jesus Christ as the ultimate model of selflessness. It highlights Christ's voluntary incarnation, obedient life, and sacrificial death, leading to his exaltation by God. Believers are encouraged to adopt Christ's humble attitude, serving others with love and humility.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11
Sermon: 8
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwxSMS12UK3vC1hJ1?e=VXZZvs
Numbers 11:1-10 reveals Israel's complaints for meat in the wilderness, leading to God sending quail but punishing their ingratitude. Moses struggles with feeding them. Verses 31-35 narrate the quail incident's aftermath. Psalm 78:25-31 recounts God's provision of manna and quail, despite Israel's unfaithfulness, showcasing His enduring mercy.
Series: Topical Sermon
Speaker: Iype Cherian
Scripture: Numbers 11: 1-10, 18-23, 31-35, Ps. 78:25-31
Sermon:
Notes:
Philippians 2:1-4 urges believers to embody humility and unity, prioritizing others' interests above their own. It emphasizes fostering harmony and selflessness within Christian communities, mirroring Christ's example of humility and service. Believers are encouraged to be like-minded, empathetic, and considerate, fostering love and unity in their relationships.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 2:1-4
Sermon: 7
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwnzWo9gVMrZf5OGb?e=Sc4n2y
In Philippians 1:27-30, Paul urges believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel, emphasizing unity and steadfastness amidst challenges. He encourages them to stand firm in faith, not intimidated by adversaries, viewing suffering as a privilege granted by God, a sign of their salvation and unity in Christ.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Prithvi G
Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30
Sermon: 6
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwnKRFF5GJZ8DsfDC?e=hEKrlK
In Philippians 1:19-26, Paul expresses his assurance of deliverance through the Philippians' prayers and the Spirit's help. He sees life and death as opportunities to glorify Christ, torn between departing to be with Christ or remaining for the sake of the Philippians' progress and joy in faith.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 1:19-26
Sermon: 5
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwmY19wrLHvELSXmQ?e=s9RiSn
In Philippians 1:12-18, Paul expresses joy despite imprisonment, as his situation advances the gospel. He asserts that his chains inspire confidence in others, leading some to preach with pure motives while others do so out of rivalry. Nonetheless, he rejoices that Christ is proclaimed, regardless of the speaker's intent.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Philippians 1:12-18
Sermon: 4
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwlZ4V15VXTN0uz6q?e=uXZ6n4
Philippians 1:9-11 highlights Paul's prayer for the Philippian believers, expressing his desire for their love to abound in knowledge and discernment, enabling them to prioritize what truly matters. He prays they may be filled with righteousness, producing fruit of good character through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11
Sermon: 3
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwkO9pabxQ9MpwRQb?e=6ukpZz
Philippians 1:3-8 expresses gratitude and affection. Paul thanks God for the Philippians' partnership in spreading the gospel. He fondly remembers them, praying with joy for their spiritual growth. He reflects on their mutual love and encourages them in their faith, confident that God will complete the good work begun in them.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Philippians 1:3-8
Sermon: 2
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwhf-I5CHNHSNUjuz?e=a4hrlU
Philippians, authored by the apostle Paul during his imprisonment, is a letter of joy and encouragement to the Christian community in Philippi. In its opening verses (1:1-2), Paul expresses gratitude, addressing believers with love and extending grace and peace from God and Jesus Christ, fostering unity and fellowship.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Philippians 1:1-2
Sermon: 1
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwXU8dEHMuM5zkqiz?e=GyskBz
"Numbers 11" recounts Israelites' complaints in the wilderness, lamenting the lack of meat. Moses, overwhelmed, seeks divine help. God provides quail but also punishes their ingratitude with a plague. Moses appoints seventy elders to share leadership responsibilities. The chapter highlights faith, provision, and consequences.Series: Topical SermonSpeaker: Eldy EldhoseScripture: Numbers 11Sermon:Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwULIPgnEnT7K_CAx?e=5kPcd9
Ephesians 6:21-24 is the concluding passage of Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It contains personal greetings from Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister, and Paul's farewell blessings for the Ephesians, emphasizing God's grace, love, and peace for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Ephesians 6:21-24
Sermon: 21
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwRBJOti1jfd9t_G4?e=9OjU7A
Ephesians 6:18-20 emphasizes the importance of prayer and spiritual vigilance. Believers are called to pray in the Spirit, using all kinds of prayers, and to stay alert, praying for fellow believers and for the proclamation of the gospel. They are also encouraged to pray for boldness in sharing the good news.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20
Sermon : 20
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwHFtTGbkbVOZPxgo?e=AJgBDB
Ephesians 6:10-17 illustrates the importance of spiritual fortitude, urging believers to equip themselves with God's armor to withstand spiritual battles. It highlights various components of this armor, emphasizing the need for readiness and perseverance in facing spiritual challenges.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-17
Sermon : 19
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtwFknJG_RRoCrF6DA?e=oelKGF
Ephesians 6:5-9 advises slaves to obey their earthly masters with sincerity, as if serving Christ. Masters are urged to treat their slaves fairly, remembering they have a Master in heaven. Both are reminded that in God's eyes, there is no partiality; all are accountable for their actions.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9
Sermon : 18
Notes: Sermon 18 - Christ Your Master In Heaven!.pdf
Ephesians 6:1-4 instructs children to honor and obey their parents, promising blessings for obedience. Fathers are urged not to provoke their children but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. This passage emphasizes family harmony, respect, and the importance of parental guidance in nurturing children.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4
Sermon : 17
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvmwSG1jZFWzDqmPl?e=Vc6pGb
Ephesians 5:22-33 emphasizes mutual love and submission in marital relationships. Wives are called to submit to their husbands as the church does to Christ. Husbands are instructed to love their wives sacrificially, reflecting Christ's love for the church. This passage highlights the profound union between Christ and His church, mirroring marital unity.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33
Sermon : 16
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvlsJo9kkDJVp3pl0?e=SFaSRI
Ephesians 5:15-21 advises wise living by making the most of time, understanding God's will. It urges believers to avoid foolishness and drunkenness, instead being filled with the Spirit, expressing gratitude, and engaging in mutual submission, worship, and harmony, reflecting Christ-centered relationships.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-21
Sermon : 15
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvjUenfF3eEE_YHIj?e=qavGD7
Caleb, among twelve spies, exhibited steadfast faith in God's promise despite others' fear. His distinct spirit and allegiance earned commendation. God pledged Caleb land inheritance due to his unwavering trust, highlighting the reward for resolute faith and wholehearted commitment to divine promises in adversity.
Series: Topical Sermon
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Numbers 14:24
Ephesians 5:7-14 advises believers to live as children of light, avoiding dark deeds. They're urged to embrace goodness, righteousness, and truth, shining Christ's light. They're called to discern, awaken from spiritual slumber, and let Christ's light illuminate their lives, exposing and avoiding deeds of darkness.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Ephesians 5:7-14
Sermon : 14
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvW8ILJJM5mAlLZ6p?e=W20D1F
Ephesians 5:1-6 urges believers to imitate God's love, avoiding immoral behavior like impurity, greed, and obscenity. It emphasizes holy living and warns that those engaging in such actions won't inherit God's kingdom. Christians are urged to walk in love and righteousness, honoring God with their conduct.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: John Paul
Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-6
Sermon : 13
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvVV28pxnfnFfWiVh?e=oOQh4h
Ephesians 4:25-32 advises truthfulness, kindness, forgiveness, and unity among believers, urging them to discard negative behaviors and embrace positive attributes in their interactions and relationships.Series: Paul's Prison EpistlesSpeaker: Job Sam KoshyScripture: Ephesians 4:25-32Sermon : 12 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvT0XESXIWe3_9Dt-?e=9jPED4
In this next section of, verses 7-16, we are going to look deeper into how Christ has made this high calling possible for all believers. First, what has been given to the church? Second, How have these gifts been given to the church? Third, What is the purpose of these gifts? And fourth, What does it look like when these gifts are properly used?Series: Paul's Prison EpistlesSpeaker: Pradeep DanielScripture: Ephesians 4:7-16Sermon : 10 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvQy85Y4PNeltM1wg?e=Ehc7tE
In this next section of, verses 7-16, we are going to look deeper into how Christ has made this high calling possible for all believers. First, what has been given to the church? Second, How have these gifts been given to the church? Third, What is the purpose of these gifts? And fourth, What does it look like when these gifts are properly used?
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-16
Sermon : 10
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvQy85Y4PNeltM1wg?e=Ehc7tE
In this portion, from 4:1 Paul begins to transition from the mystery of the gospel to the working out of the mystery of the gospel all the way through chapter 6. And inasmuch as these Ephesians were called with an holy calling, he entreats them, if they had any regard for him as a prisoner of Christ, that they would walk worthy of it, and directs to the manner in which they should act becoming it, with all humility, patience, forbearance, and love; seeking to preserve a spiritual harmony, unity, and peace among each other.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6
Sermon : 9
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvEahTR5zk5_WaGyY?e=EdCQXC
This passage is the last part of Paul’s parenthesis. In Ephesians 3:1, Paul began to tell his readers something, but then he got sidetracked onto a rabbit trail, which is found in Ephesians 3:2-13. The main idea of Paul’s parenthesis is the mystery that was revealed to him. Ephesians 3:1-5 explains that Paul was a Prisoner of the mystery, and in Ephesians 3:6, the Plan of mystery. The mystery is that God had joined the Jewish and Gentile believers into one body. Where before there was separation, now there was unity. The rest of the mystery is found in Ephesians 3:7-13. These verses are the continuation of Paul’s Parenthesis about the mystery revealed to him in Christ.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: Ephesians 3:7-13
Sermon : 7
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtvAuUeboelr6XIfcI?e=62L4BG
In today's passage, Paul hints at his state and condition as a prisoner, and at the afflictions he endured for the sake of the Gospel; and whereas he knew these would be objected to his ministry, and be discouraging to the saints, he chiefly insists on these two things; namely, to assert his office of apostleship, and observe the knowledge of divine mysteries, and gifts of grace bestowed on him, which he does with all modesty and humility; and also to exhort the saints to constancy and perseverance, notwithstanding his tribulations; for which purpose he puts up several petitions for them.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-7
Sermon : 6
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtuzbZkGjkfaqBJhrL?e=DTYct1
In today’s passage. Paul begins to address a practical matter within the church, the tensions between Jewish and gentile believers. Because we are saved by grace and because we are saved for good works, our attitudes and behavior toward one another ought to change.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22
Sermon : 5
Notes: Sermon 5 - Ephesians 2 PPT.pptx
In today’s passage Paul helps the Ephesians firmly grasp their identity in Christ. He does so by helping them remember who they were before knowing Christ (1-3), who they are in Christ (4-6,8-9), and why they were saved (7,10).
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10
Sermon : 4
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtukmMd4lZgVxDl_vG?e=lk1uaZ
The apostle Paul has spent the first part of his letter to the Ephesians telling them who they are in Christ. Paul has described the many spiritual blessings that are found in Christ. You are chosen, adopted, redeemed, and sealed. Paul now moves forward in this section to describe to us what God wants us to have and what God wants us to know. So we will look for these things as we read the rest of Ephesians 1.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Sermon : 3
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtujrZ2Qi-LDMNtVEf?e=kXsBMX
Ephesians 1:3-14 is a celebration of God, who from the beginning of times wrote the script and melody of human life, as well as the natural order of things. Creation’s music and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals something of the attributes of God’s mystery. The mystery summons people to live together as siblings because Christ’s death and resurrection formed humanity into a new creation. More importantly, God’s mystery signals to all believers that God is not as impulsive as humans are, but that the divine nature of the creator is deeply intentional.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
Sermon : 2
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtuiALq-YdLCYlHgAu?e=8tHfq3
Ephesians, more than any other book, presents the purpose and plan of God for the church. This book sets forth one of the clearest presentations on the relation between positional truth and experiencing positional truth in one’s life. We see something of the supremacy of Christ in God’s eternal plan.Ephesians emphasizes God’s sovereign grace in the lives of believers.
Series: Paul's Prison Epistles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-2
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtuW4r0lddAJN7nvcY?e=qkLKmu
As Paul closes the letter to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6, he speaks of a great struggle that lies before every believer. Christian life is a struggle, a battle, a wrestling match, as Paul calls it in Ephesians 6:12, and so we literally exist as believers in a life-and-death struggle.
Series: Topical Sermon
Speaker: Dr. Jerry George
Scripture: Ephesians 6
Luke concludes the book of Acts with Paul a prisoner in Rome, yet still “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31). Though he was held captive by Rome, and many of his hearers were held captive by unbelief, he knew that God’s word was not bound; and Paul was willing to endure anything if it would bring about salvation for the glory of God (2 Tim. 2:8-10).
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Acts 28:16-31
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtuFUYr4JZ_LYt1lvI?e=FiHEwf
The 27th chapter of Acts is the story of this long storm experience in Paul’s life. As we read Acts chapter 27 and on into chapter 28, it seems like the storm and adversity will never end. Though it seemed at times that they would not survive and that this storm would never end and that Paul would never reach his destination, through it all, Paul seems to have exhibited a faith that sustained him through the ordeal of being a prisoner and through the ordeal of going through several weeks of stormy weather. In fact, in the midst of their darkest hour, Paul rose up and said clearly and confidently in verse 25, “I believe God.”
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Acts 27
Notes: PPT Acts 27 Paul Believes GOD.pdf
In this portion, Paul speaks on his own defense having been mobbed by the Jews, arrested in the Temple, accused of being a plague, acting as a ringleader, starting a riot and been persecuted by Ananias. – Here, in legal proceedings he is responding to Tertullus, the High Priest’s prosecution attorney. He sets out to his adjudicator his devotion to Judaism, before denying unprovable false-charges, and then alluding to his conversion. He proceeds to make this statement about clearing his own conscience.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: John Paul
Scripture: Acts 24
Notes:
In this portion Paul, his heart so moved, so burdened for his people, is so desirous of reaching them, so intent upon bringing about that great day when Israel would be a nation exercising faith in Jesus Christ, knowing and accepting their Messiah, that he seeks to carry out this purpose at whatever the cost. The end result, as the Holy Spirit had warned him, is that he winds up as a prisoner in the hands of the Romans.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: Acts 22:22-23:11
Notes:
Today's text relates Paul’s testimony to the angry mob of Jews in Jerusalem who were in the process of beating him to death, until he was rescued by the Roman soldiers. It is the second of three times that the story of Paul’s conversion is told in Acts. Perhaps second only to the resurrection of Jesus, Paul’s conversion stands as an impressive testimony to the truth of the gospel. How else can you explain the sudden turnaround of this man who vehemently persecuted the church into the apostle who relentlessly preached what he had once despised, except for his meeting the risen Savior? The Spirit of God saw fit to include this testimony three times in Acts so that we could learn from it.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles Speaker: Revanth T Scripture: Acts 22:1-21 Notes: Acts - Paul in Jerusalem - Defense in the Temple.pdf
In this portion,Paul is passing the baton to the elders at Ephesus. He’s on his way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit has told him that he is going to face hardship. And even though he has yet to write the letter to the Ephesians, this is the last time he will see them in person again. Here as he sprints towards Jerusalem, he wants to pass the ministry baton to the church’s leadership and make sure that they run a good race going forward.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles Speaker: Pradeep Daniel Scripture: Acts 20:13-38 Notes: Acts 20-13-38 Paul's lessons in evangelism & pastoring.pdf
In the first part of this passage when Paul gets to Ephesus he runs into twelve men whom he calls disciples. Which is great except for one thing. The problem surrounding these men was similar to that of Apollos when he first came to Ephesus. These men don’t really know Jesus because they haven’t been baptized by the Holy Spirit. But this brings up some questions, how could they be called disciples, essentially Christians, and not know Jesus or have been baptized by the Holy Spirit? Is that even possible?
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Acts 19:1-22
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYttgLssd3CvsfFf50R?e=Kb9dVI
As we continue our study of Acts into the eighteenth chapter we see the Apostle Paul leaving Athens, the intellectual capital of the Roman world, and coming into Corinth, the center of sensuality. These two cities are symbols of the twin evils which, in every day and every generation, trap and enslave the hearts of people: intellectual pride and sensual lust.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles Speaker: Dr. Darrell L. Bock Scripture: Acts 18 Notes:
In this portion, while waiting for his missionary companions to join him in Athens, the Apostle Paul was deeply concerned that the people of Athens were idolatrous and didn’t understand the true nature of God. To help the Athenians understand and draw closer to God, Paul taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in the synagogues and marketplaces. Philosophers then invited Paul to explain “this new doctrine” (Acts 17:19) at a place called Mars’ Hill. Paul taught the philosophers the true nature of God and testified of their divine relationship to Him.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Acts 17:16-34
Notes:
In Acts 17 the gospel begins to spread in Macedonia. Paul and Silas are undoubtedly still bruised and battered from the beating they received in Philippi, but they press on to the city of Thessalonica, the capital of Macedonia.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Jerry Williams
Scripture: Acts 17:1-15
In Acts 13–14 we studied Paul’s first missionary journey, which occurred in AD 46–48. Paul’s second missionary journey, which occurred in AD 50–52, is recorded in Acts 16–18. In Acts 15:36–41, after delivering the news from the Jerusalem council, Paul and Barnabas planned to embark upon a second missionary journey, in order to strengthen the churches they had planted earlier.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Acts 16
What are the conditions that we need as people, family and church to reach our full potential? One of the most important conditions for growth of any unit is to have unity among people. Unity does not mean that we are all the same or we all do the same thing. Being united means despite the differences, we are able to work as one. Here, Paul speaks of the gifts that God has given to churches for ministry, which leads to unity and maturity in the faith.
Series: Topical Sermon
Speaker: Iype Cherian
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
In this portion, we reach this hinge moment in church history when a really big encounter happens. And what we see here is, it is coming to a head in the story of Acts. We see these Judaizers who are constantly following Paul and his companions around, trying to say, “No, something’s got to be added to the Gospel.” The Jews of that time, based upon their traditional religious lens, for them, their external actions like circumcision and following laws were essential. Following the laws of Moses in their mind and in their worldview were critical for a right relationship with God. However, Paul and Barnabas had been preaching this message of the Gospel that, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that is a gift of God. Is it not by works, so that no one can boast…"
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: Acts 15:1-21
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtsgqP-3f3lKVURoL0?e=mrE59U
In this chapter we are going to see Paul and Barnabas ministering in three different cities -- Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The conditions were different in each city to which they came. In two of them they met very vicious and violent opposition. It is instructive to see how they handled this because it is very likely that, in the days to come, many of us will face the same kind of conditions -- violence and opposition which threaten us physically because of our faith. Let us look together at this account.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Acts 14:1-27
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtsSg1dC11zaraVAPa?e=fJBQ7i
We begin the third act of our study of Acts. The Gospel has spread from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria. Now it begins to spread to the ends of the earth. Saul (Paul) begins his first missionary journey with Barnabas.
This week we learn that God uses imperfect people to accomplish His plan for redemption.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Acts 13:13-52
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtsRtfcmJda8bCrMLf?e=zT1aSc
At the beginning of Acts 12, we have James dead, Peter in prison, and the tyrant Herod basking in his popularity and power. At the end of the chapter, we have Peter free, Herod eaten by worms and dead, and the Word of God growing and multiplying. Luke is showing us that the gospel is unstoppable. If you oppose the gospel, you may temporarily win, but you will finally lose and lose big. If you stand for the gospel, you may temporarily lose, but you will finally win and win big.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Acts 12
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtsQIUFQhCnCHgKYAK?e=RsUqwR
The gospel had broken through the Jewish barriers that had held it in and was now reaching out to the Gentiles. The result of this first preaching was that many Gentile converts came to Christ. This news was a bit disconcerting to the disciples at Jerusalem. They did not know what to do about this movement of the Holy Spirit. Since they were themselves Jews, raised in the tradition that they were God's chosen people, you can imagine what happened. They never thought that God would move to reach the Gentile world and so they hardly knew what to make of it. When word came to them that Gentiles were becoming converts of Jesus Christ, they were utterly astounded. Were these real Christians? To settle the issue, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Galikaraj Prithviraj
Scripture: Acts 11:19-30
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtsF6Z0JMiRFAWSmSu?e=WO0aKw
The conversion of Cornelius is a milestone in the church’s history. However, it doesn’t settle the troubling issues of the proper relationship of Jews to Gentiles within the body of believers. In fact, the church throughout Judea is soon buzzing with the tale that Peter met with and baptized Cornelius. In this portion, Peter addresses their concerns.
Scripture: Acts 11:1-18
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Notes:Acts 11.pdf
In this portion, we look at the two visions given to the two individuals, Peter and Cornelius living in different places and at different times. We see how God directs them to meet together. One could summarize this intervention by God in Acts 10 as the cause the local church has become a worldwide church. The principle subject of this chapter is not so much the conversion of Cornelius as the conversion of Peter. Peter learned that grace trumps race.
Scripture: Acts 10:1-48
Speaker: Revanth T
Notes:
This portion has one of the most important event happen in the life of the early church which is recorded. The Biblical writer considers it so important that he refers to it no less than three times in the book of Acts – here, in chapter 22 and again in chapter 26. Saul, the man who had done more harm to the church than anyone else is met by the Savior of the church. He who "breathed in" threatening and slaughter, i.e., it is his life's breath, is to be turned about completely. He who possessed a fanatical zeal against the believers will later use that same burning zeal for them. The Lord singles out Saul, not only of great ability, but someone who will not stop at anything to accomplish his purposes.
Scripture: Acts 9:1-19
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Notes:
In this portion, we see that God is revealed to us in His Word as a sovereign God who positions his people to be in the right places at the right times to accomplish His purposes! Not by chance, but by design! Not “divine appointments,” but “divine positioning.”
Philip’s role in Samaria may be over, but he is about to play another important part in spreading of the gospel.
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Acts 8:26-40
Notes:
In this portion Stephen makes his defense. The defense of Stephen before the Sanhedrin is hardly a defense in the sense of an explanation or apology calculated to win an acquittal. Rather, it is a proclamation of the Christian message in terms of the popular Judaism of the day and an indictment of the Jewish leaders for their failure to recognize Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah or to appreciate the salvation provided in him.
Speaker: Dr. Eldy Eldhose
Scripture: Acts 7:1-53
Notes:
In this portion we learn that there is a price that we must be willing to pay, to make our Lord's name known. And that price may even include death. This is what we are going to see here in the Book of Acts, which takes us to the account of Stephen, who became the very first martyr of the NT church.
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Acts 6:8-15; 7:54-60
Notes:
In this Portion, Luke turns away from the conflict between the Sanhedrin and the church leaders to introduce two groups within the Jerusalem church. They were the “Grecian” Jews (Greek, Hellenistai, or “Hellenists”) and “Hebraic” Jews. As the church in Jerusalem grew larger, more and more Hebraic and Grecian Jews came into the church, and some of the prejudices between the two groups carried over into the church. As the case of Ananias and Sapphira showed, all was not well with everyone in the church. One of the difficulties that the Greek-speaking Jews felt was that they were being discriminated against in the Jerusalem church. The problem here specifically was that the Hellenistic widows of the Jerusalem church were “being overlooked in the daily distribution of food”.
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Acts 6:1-7
Notes:
This passage teaches us that God’s Word is unstoppable against all opposition to it. The apostles had been warned previously by the Jewish leaders not to teach in the name of Jesus. Nevertheless, they continued to proclaim the gospel of Christ in the temple, and were doing mighty works (verse 16).
Speaker: George Thomas
Scripture: Acts 5:17-47
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrwiQkS34QjpPjvJQ?e=YYxe59
In this passage we see the blessedness of those who enter the kingdom of God. The power of the kingdom of God is displayed in the “signs and wonders” done by the hands of the apostles among the people (verse 12). The apostles are performing miracles of healing and casting out demons and the people are amazed. You would think everyone would be rushing to join them, but they’re not. Why not? Perhaps they are afraid of Peter’s power, which he just displayed in the story of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to God and died because of it or was there something else?
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Acts 5:12-16
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrl0N9Rbin1xXTRHP?e=1rs3oD
We learned in last week's passage (Acts 4:1–22) that, after Peter and John's arrest, they spoke boldly to the Sanhedrin, defending their healing the lame man lovingly in Jesus Name. Moreover, Peter proclaimed that salvation was through Christ alone. He and John also blamed the religious leaders for crucifying Jesus who'd been prophesied to be the Messiah. The elders and rulers met privately (4:13–22) but didn't know what to do. They decided to warn Peter and John to speak no more in the name of Jesus, threatening them additionally but letting them go. Today's passage begins with their release and return to their own people to report what the chief priest and elders had said.
When Peter and John returned to the company of believers, probably in the same upper room where the apostles had met before (1:13), they reported how the rulers treated them. Assembled brethren then prayed, addressing the Lord as Creator of all. They acknowledged that their persecutors were only fulfilling God's plan from long ago. They were encouraging themselves with the reminder that a loving God was in control, and that no enemy of Christ could abuse his followers more than God allowed. Because the religious leaders had ordered Peter and John not to teach or preach again in the name of Jesus, all of the saints prayed boldly. We'll see in vv. 23–28 that three specific adoration prayers were prayed collectively: 1. that God is the Creator; 2. that God is omniscient; and 3. that God is sovereign.
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Acts 4:23-31
Notes:
When we come to this portion, it was the job of the priests to teach the people, so they didn’t like it when the apostles taught them. “The captain of the temple” was supposed to keep everyone but priests out of the temple , but the leaders in Israel used them and their weapons as “muscle” to arrest the Lord and the apostles here. So the captain didn’t like the apostles preaching Christ, for it made him look bad for arresting Him. And “the Sadducees” didn’t like it when they preached “the resurrection” because they didn’t believe in the resurrection.
Peter was explaining to the religious leadership that it was by the name of Jesus of Nazareth that the lame man was healed of his congenital deformity. Jesus whom they had crucified but whom God raised from the dead was alive and well and at work in the world by his Holy Spirit. The one they had rejected, – most of those men to whom Peter had been speaking had been involved in the crime of the Lord’s murder – the Author of life, is nothing less than the hope of salvation for every human being on the face of the earth. The galactic blunder of these men was that they rejected, indeed had murdered the only one who could get them to heaven!
Speaker: Prithvi G
Scripture: Acts 4:1-12
Notes:
In this passage, Peter applies his sermon (verses 11-16) to the crowd of people who are gathered and astonished at a crippled man being instantly healed. Peter has already explained that the man was healed through faith in Jesus of Nazareth. He has also declared that Jesus is the promised Christ of the prophets, and that they are culpable in his death. Very weighty statements. Now he explains what they must do; repent.
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: Acts 3:17-26
Notes:
Here Paul summarizes his point: “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you” (v. 15). Jesus wants people who are eager to do good, so Titus, as a messenger of Christ, should encourage good behavior and speak out against bad behavior. He should not do anything that would cause people to despise him, because they would then despise the Savior he represented.
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 2:14-33
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhk43JvncjKeLp7Z?e=h10X45
Titus 2:12–13 says that the grace of God teaches us “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This passage identifies the “blessed hope” as the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior.
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 2:2-13
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhjXcaszGzAvXZ-W?e=gfnDvR
Paul tells us that people often judge the gospel by the way we live. Do we make the gospel look good, or do we give people a reason to complain? The gospel teaches grace, and grace teaches us something about the way we live.
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 2:2-10
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhfbTxF_LASb5-Db?e=hJHQXM
Adorn means to decorate something. Ever wondered how can you adorn the gospel? Adorning doesn’t mean adding or subtracting anything from the gospel. Neither is the gospel powerless so that we need to add some “masala” to make it relevant and effective. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. At the same time think about it, the gospel actually makes more sense to an unbeliever when they see it being clearly reflected in your life and mine. We wrongly influence the perception of the gospel when we live like the rest of the world.
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 2:2-10
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhZJiq1f7802KNrH?e=AdoYIP
In this portion, we begin the reading of Paul’s letter to one of his most trusted co-workers, Titus. In about 63 AD, Paul had appointed this Gentle Christian to oversee the mission in Crete. It was a challenging ministry because the church was young and susceptible to smooth talkers who were already deceiving whole households of church members (vs. 11). Paul instructs Titus to censure these false teachers because they are “abominable,” that is, “detestable”, “disobedient,” and “unqualified for every good work”(Titus 1:16). Moreover, their motives are “dishonest,” that is “shameful” (Titus 1:11).
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 1:5 - 2:1
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhWCZ8B-4f8fJ9sD?e=j4JFEJ
This letter would have been written about the same time as 1 Timothy. Paul has been released from his Roman house arrest after being acquitted by Caesar. Paul’s intention was to take the gospel west as far as Spain (Romans 15:24, 28), but before he did so, he strove to build up and exhort the established churches in Asia and Europe. We know about his visit to Ephesus where he left Timothy to minister. Before setting his sights west, Paul travels to the island of Crete with Titus. It is possible that there was already a Christian presence on Crete due to the fact that there were Cretans present in Jerusalem who heard Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:11). If so, Paul and Titus would be mainly concerned in establishing and putting in order these groups of believers rather than evangelism and church planting. This seems to fit the pattern of Paul after his release. Before he entertains ideas of another journey to spread the gospel in Spain, he first desires that the established churches have a firm footing. For this reason, he leaves Titus on Crete.
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Scripture: Titus 1:1-4
Reading Material:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtrhSELALCZzwSIdty?e=dpOTO0
Earlier in Acts 2 we saw the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. The multitudes have witnessed the apostles’ ability to speak in different languages and the multitudes want to know what this means. Peter, with the other eleven apostles, preach from Joel 2 explaining that these events were the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. Further, the apostles condemn the multitudes for killing the Messiah whom God had testified to be His Son.
The people are pierced to the heart concerning what they have heard from Peter and the apostles and ask what they should do to be saved from the judgment that is to come upon them for their actions. Peter responded, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39). Peter further said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40). The responsibility has been placed upon the multitudes to make a decision whom they will follow and serve. Will they obey the words of the apostles so they can avoid the coming judgment which Peter preached, or will they reject the words of Peter?
This will be our opportunity to look at what characteristics made up those first century Christians. Whatever made these people disciples of Jesus in the first century continues to be the way we can be disciples today. Or, put another way, those who received the word of the Lord, what did they do? The answer is the pattern we were left to model in our own lives.
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Acts 2:41-47
Notes:
In the previous verses, Peter has just explained to the crowd in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit is working through the disciples. Now he shifts to preaching about Jesus Christ. He addresses his audience a second time, Men of Israel, to draw attention to what he is about to say: listen to these words. The words he will speak are for the Men of Israel specifically, because they have a firsthand connection to the subject of his sermon, Jesus the Nazarene, who is Israel’s promised Messiah.
Peter preaches that Jesus’s death was part of God’s plan, and that He has been resurrected from death by God. King David had prophesied this resurrection in his psalms.
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Acts 2:22-28
Notes:
This passage is about Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. You cannot overstate how important this event is in the history of the church. Pentecost means 50; it was a festival that came 7 weeks or 50 days after Passover. The Lord commanded the Jews to observe it in order to give thanks for the first fruits of their harvest, which pointed to the fuller harvest to come.
This pointed to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the fruit he would give. We see 3000 souls converted in verse 41 following Peter’s sermon. These souls who entered into Christ’s kingdom were the first fruits of souls who will enter from all over the earth, making up the full harvest of the Lord.
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Acts 2:1-13
Notes:
Luke begins Acts by reminding readers of his previous book, the Gospel of Luke, and the situation he had described at the end of that book. Jesus suffered and died and was raised from the dead. He appeared to the disciples and gave them a dramatic new understanding of the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27, 45). The Old Testament had not only predicted the Messiah and his suffering, but it also predicted that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (verse 47).
How would this prophecy be fulfilled? Jesus reminded the disciples that they had seen the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies (verse 48) — and in this Jesus implied that the disciples would be involved in fulfilling the biblical prediction about preaching.
How could the disciples preach to all nations? The Gospel of Luke does not tell us. But it tells us that Jesus told the disciples to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (verse 49). What is this power, and what is it for? This is where Acts picks up the story. Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom of God and told them to wait in Jerusalem for a special gift from God (Acts 1:4). “In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (verse 5). Luke, the inspired story-teller, is setting the stage for the dramatic events that will soon be narrated.
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Acts 1:1-11
Notes:
How do you talk matter-of-factly about an event so mind-boggling as the raising of a person from the dead, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? Hollywood would use special effects to impact the viewer. Novelists would employ powerful prose. But the Scripture just tells the story of the disciples, both male and female, as they discover this unexpected and life-jolting joy. And the Scripture tells it simply, clearly, and convincingly.
Scripture: Luke 24
Speaker: George Mattackal
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtqAAP7tF8WacA5wng?e=fte9fb
The Biblical titles of Jesus Son of God, Messiah, and King have been so thoroughly absorbed as words for church and worship that their simple, earthly force is largely lost. Jesus’ crucifixion, however, did not occur on an altar between two candles, but outside the city between two convicts on a dismal executioner’s hill, called “The Skull.” The Gospel is the story of how Jesus the Messiah of God brought God’s reign of justice and mercy to earth, and Luke’s account presents the crucified Messiah enacting God’s reign, surrounded by mocking, brutal violence.
Scripture: LUKE 23:33–56
Speaker: Dr. Alias K. Eldhose
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtpwTUDG7ZTOKu6PmD?e=BkhH92
Jesus and his disciples were leaving the temple when one of them commented about how impressive that building was. By all accounts, it was a magnificent structure. At that time, it had been under construction for about 50 years. According to Jewish historian Josephus, some of the stones measured 35 feet long, 12 feet high, and 18 feet wide. Today, Israel's Western Wall (or Wailing Wall) is a part of the foundation of that temple structure. Its white marble walls rose about 200 feet above the Kidron Valley. The brilliance of those white walls and the gold trim in the morning sun was no doubt dazzling. The courtyard was about 400 by 500 yards square, enabling thousands of worshipers to gather there.
"Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God" (v. 5). The disciples were likely nodding in agreement when Jesus shocked them by saying prophetically, "The time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down" (v. 6). That was unthinkable! To their credit, the disciples didn't doubt Jesus' words, but they did ask when these things would take place and what signs would precede this momentous event. Jesus responded with his lengthy discourse on future things.
Jesus was showing his followers how to hold on not only to their sanity, but to their faith, when the world around them becomes chaotic and seemingly out of control. When the whole world goes crazy, God's people can remain sane by knowing that all things are under God's righteous, sovereign control. His purpose was not to satisfy curiosity about the end times. Rather, he was trying to instill assurance and faith in his disciples so that they wouldn't fall away under intense persecution or world chaos.
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: LUKE 21: 5 - 37
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtpTBqwX_uqXM2a-oH?e=qaumUY
In this portion, we see Jesus in the temple. At the temple, Jesus drove out the merchants because they have made the House of Prayer into a den of thieves. Never mind if businesses serve the material needs of pilgrims who came from faraway places. The temple is sacred and for Jesus, it should never be a place to commit sin like profiteering and scamming in addition to the noise and foul smell that distracted the worshippers. In our time, church administrators should learn the lessons from Jesus.
There will be dire consequences for those who reject God’s authority and attempt to live independently from His sovereign rule. The Jewish nation had been carefully and lovingly cultivated as God’s choice vine. The religious leaders were privileged to receive numerous prophetic warnings leading up to the culmination of God’s revelation in John the Baptist who served as the forerunner to God’s only beloved Son – the living Word. Yet they consistently failed to humble themselves and submit to God’s authority. The patience and forbearance of God has been stretched beyond any imaginable limits. The day of reckoning is upon them. This is their last chance to respond with respect and obedience to the Promised Messiah.
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: LUKE 19:45-48 & 20:9-18
Notes:
As we look at this portion and what happened 2000 years ago when Jesus enter Jerusalem, it is not what any of us would have done.Luke 19:28-44 sets the scene. This passage contains the first event in Christ’s final week—the event known as the Triumphal Entry. But as we will see, it is anything but “Triumphal.” A Triumphal Entry would be what the Jews were looking for. A Triumphal Entry would have included Jesus defeating Satan and overthrowing the Roman domination of Israel. A Triumphal Entry would have had Jesus set up as King and Ruler and Judge. But none of those things happened. This event is called the Triumphal Entry, but it happened very differently from what everyone thought would happen.
Speaker: Jerry William
Scripture: LUKE 19:28-44
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYto38LueHqR8G6T1XY?e=Aggs8U
Confusion and Uncertainty have long surrounded the topic of the coming kingdom of God. This was true when Jesus walked the earth and it remains true today. Yet the Bible offers abundant revelation about many specific aspects of the kingdom. Here the Pharisees kick things off with a question (cloaked in skepticism) about the timing of the kingdom promised in the OT. Jesus focuses their attention on their ignorance of His First Coming. If they don’t submit to the King when He is present among them, what is the use of investigating the topic any deeper?
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: LUKE 17:20-37
Notes:
In this portion, We see how God deeply loves and pursues us. He values us, being made in His image and pursues us. He invites us into a life with Him, as we love and pursue others.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: LUKE 15:1-32
Notes:
It seemed that some Jews had a belief about bad events were a form of punishment for bad deeds. In this passage, Jesus is firmly debunking that kind of negative thinking about God. Real repentance prepares for entrance into God’s kingdom and into new life which starts now but reaches fulfillment in the next life.
The second parable underlines God’s patience in waiting for us to repent and to grow. The gardener puts manure around the tree. This manure smells bad but it promotes growth. It takes time, courage and effort to repent and to right our own wrongs, say that we are sorry and make amends. Humiliations are good for us if they increase our humility.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: Luke 13:1-9
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtokR60FPs6K8iXO0C?e=ffUhKy
Jesus’ ministry on the earth was not without opposition. Though He preached the Word, healed the sick, cast out demons and did many other miraculous signs, there were still some who could not believe in Him, acknowledge Him or submit to His authority.
Here we have a demon possessed, mute man healed and delivered- while many marveled, others said he cast out the demon by the ruler of demons!! Jesus knew the thoughts and intents of their hearts and came hard on them with an answer- “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” (Luke 11:19).
Today’s reading draws our attention to the power and authority the Lord Jesus has over the powers of darkness, the finger of God working through Him to establish His Kingdom (vs.20). In making the bold declaration that “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Luke 11:23), Jesus was making a clear demarcation between those who believed in Him and those who didn’t.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Jean Thomas
Scripture: Luke 11:14-32
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtogWGiFSP8euH3PTN?e=Wntwgf
Part of what it meant for Jesus to "determine to go to Jerusalem" was the growing presence of legal experts and Pharisees testing him with questions that sought to trap him. In this section, Jesus responded to three of those questions:
To the question on how one could inherit eternal life, He answers with a story showing in vivid human terms what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.
He told his friend Martha it was vital to make him her first priority.
And finally, he taught his disciples how to pray—and why.
Although the needs differ widely, they all center on our relationship with God.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Ben Kurien
Scripture: LUKE 10:25 – 11:13
Notes:
This passage contains some very harsh statements. Jesus’ response to the first would-be follower is that – before deciding to follow Jesus – he should first count the cost. The closing sentence is even harder, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’ This is a Jesus who leaves no room for compromise. Not only must we follow Jesus, whatever the cost, but we must do it immediately and wholeheartedly.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: LUKE 9:51-62
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtoQYRA8ZpwMwejT-b?e=v2EcYs
In this portion, Luke now brings together four short incidents in which he shows the disciples’ lack of faith, their slowness to learn, their pride and their intolerance. It is an impressive sequence and makes a sad conclusion to his Galilean section. The disciples have much to learn.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: LUKE 9:37-50
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtoGuj-pPdcWawA1_A?e=dAskh0
Our gospel for today is from Luke 9:28-36. Today marks the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, the Chosen One, His identity is not hidden from His people. His mission is clearer than the water in the rivers.
The gospel in Luke 9:28-36 is a reminder that Jesus in His divinity still goes through a lot of trials to save us. He is a royalty but He suffered a lot for our sins.
The prophecy of the Old Testament is realized in the presence of Moses and Elijah. Let us proclaim our faith in Jesus. The transfiguration of Jesus is a manifestation of His radiance and glory forever.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Kishor Hegde
Scripture: LUKE 9:28-36
Notes:
Many people today understand the church as a building. This is not a biblical understanding of the church. The word “church” is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out ones.” The root meaning of church is not that of a building, but of people. It is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend, they usually identify a building. Romans 16:5 says, “Greet the church that is in their house.” Paul refers to the church in their house—not a church building, but a body of believers.
The church is the body of Christ, of which He is the head. Ephesians 1:22–23 says, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” The body of Christ is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) until Christ’s return. Biblically, we may regard the church in two ways, as the universal church or as the local church.
Speaker: Dave Sangiah
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-3
This is first time in Luke, where he records for us that Jesus predicted His death on the cross. We might have heard it said before, that Jesus' words were shocking for his disciples and those that followed Him. In our day and age, the cross is closely associated with Christianity, and often made into associated jewelry or even accessories. But in Jesus' time, the ancient world saw it as a symbol of great shame and death by the cross was reviled and reserved for terrible criminals. It is this death that Jesus predicts for Himself, and what He calls His followers to. The Lord Jesus Christ calls on us to follow him. To get right behind him and follow in his footsteps, doing his will, imitating him, and obeying him.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Thomas
Scripture: Luke 9:18-27
Notes:
Maybe you are facing some crisis in life today. Maybe you know someone who is under intense pressure. These 4 quick stories presented in a row by Luke are intended to cover all of life’s possible dangers and threats. No matter what we might face, we need to be confident in the Power and Authority of Jesus to deliver and protect us according to His good purposes.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Dr. Alias K. Eldhose
Scripture: Luke 8:22-56
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtnw9DOKvzCWM7K4eJ?e=rlLCEa
Luke 8:4-21 has four distinct paragraphs. First, Jesus tells the parable of the four soils to a large crowd. Second, he explains the parable of the four soils to his disciples privately. Third, he tells a parable about putting a lamp on a stand (not under a jar or under the bed). Fourth, Jesus talks about who comprises his true family. What is common to all four paragraphs is the issue, “Are you careful or careless when you hear the word of God.” and "How do you respond to a call of faith?"
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Prithvi G
Scripture: Luke 8:4-21
Notes:
This passage looks at two contrasting stories. The first is the powerful centurion who humbled himself and demonstrated unusual faith. The second is the widow who lost her only son and the compassion that Jesus has on her. These two stories demonstrate how the kingdom of God is the great equalizer where everyone is welcome.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Luke 7:1-17
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtnl8-jddQrRZ-ct_e?e=v26bzw
When Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged,” Jesus is not saying that we must not judge people so that people do not judge us. Jesus is not teaching some sort of relativism that we just let people believe what they want to believe so that no one is judging each other. Jesus is talking about God judging others. Do not judge others and you will not be judged by God. Do not condemn others and you will not be condemned by God. Forgive others and you will be forgiven by God.
Previously, Jesus taught to do to others as you want them to do to you. Now Jesus teaches this principle: Do to others what you want God to do to you. Treat others, not only how you want them to treat you, but also how you want God to treat you. Jesus is not teaching that we can avoid the day of final judgment if we somehow be sure not to judge other people. No one can avoid the day of judgment. All must stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Luke 6:37-49
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtnj4qxlBuxDyZod0_?e=sdttjw
The Lord of the Sabbath is an expression describing Jesus which appears in all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 12:1–8, Mark 2:23–28 and Luke 6:1–5. These sections each relate an encounter between Jesus, his Apostles and the Pharisees, the first of the four "Sabbath controversies".
As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus had the right, power, and authority to dispense it in any way He pleased. The Lord of the Sabbath had come, and with His death and resurrection He became the fulfillment of our “Sabbath rest.” The salvation we have in Christ has made the old law of the Sabbath no longer needed or binding. When Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27), Jesus was attesting to the fact that, just as the Sabbath day was originally instituted to give man rest from his labors, so did He come to provide us rest from laboring to achieve our own salvation by our works. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we can now forever cease laboring to attain God’s favor and rest in His mercy and grace.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy
Scripture: Luke 5:27-6:11
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtnVTqYI7_ICi7Puw_?e=BdTPHH
This passage recounts the opening scene of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke’s Gospel. The placement of this scene at this point in Luke highlights the important role that it fills in Luke’s Gospel. Here Jesus applies the words of Isaiah 61 to his own ministry: the Spirit anointed him to bring liberation to those in need. First, his mission was to proclaim good news to the poor. Throughout Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke, he indeed emphasizes God’s care for the poor (Luke 6:20; 16:22) and the responsibility of others to care for them (12:33; 14:13; 18:22).
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Ben John
Scripture: Luke 4: 14-44
Notes:
The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the time, Satan came to Jesus and tried to tempt him. Jesus having refused each temptation, Satan then departed and Jesus returned to Galilee to begin his ministry. During this entire time of spiritual battle, Jesus was fasting.
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews also refers to Jesus having been tempted "in every way that we are, except without sin."
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Jerry William
Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13
Notes:
From the general features of the remarkable ministry of the Baptist, summed up as it is for us in the preceding verses, we now pass to the most notable instance of baptism performed by him. This was the baptism of Jesus. We are expressly told that it was when the movement under John had become national, when all the people had submitted to the rite, with, of course, the Pharisaic exceptions already noticed (Luke 7:30), that Jesus appeared at the Jordan to claim the rite too.
Jesus had just been assured of his Sonship, according to St. Luke's history, and now the evangelist interposes between the baptism and the temptation the genealogy of his human nature, carrying it upwards, step by step, to God.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: Luke 3 : 21-38
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtmyA4TCnug5maN64Y?e=wKDgEA
This passage records the testimony, or witness, of John the Baptist, with regard to the messianic credentials of Christ. Luke sets the stage, v1-2, records the nature of John's mission, v3-6, the substance of John's message, v7-14, John's relationship with the coming messiah, v15-18, and his imprisonment, v19-20.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Luke 3 : 1-20
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtmidZDbruuC9HxohS?e=K3zD4G
While visiting the temple in Jerusalem at age twelve, Jesus became separated from his parents and was inadvertently left behind. Upon returning to Jerusalem three days later, his worried parents found him at the temple listening to the teachers and amazing those around him with his understanding.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Luke 2 : 41-52
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtmALTejzcJ9bzQ6S5?e=weiwv8
"For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" -- Acts 13:47
Both Old and New Testaments speak of God's people being light to the Gentiles. Isaiah used that phrase twice (Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6). Those same words appear at the beginning of the New Testament when Mary and Joseph "presented" eight-day-old Jesus in the Temple. That day, an elderly priest named Simeon took the infant Messiah in his arms. As he did so, the Holy Spirit moved him to quote Isaiah's light to the Gentiles phrase (Luke 2:28-32).
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Dr. Alias K. Eldhose
Scripture: Luke 2 : 22-38
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtlGm3m_40kuDt5UIY?e=PzkcE8
Have you asked and asked and asked (and begged) God to change your circumstance? When we carry a heavy burden for a long time, we get weary and worn down. An extended hospital stay. A hard marriage. An unfair project at work. A health issue. A chronic or even terminal diagnosis. There are so many things in this life we wish God would change. We ask. And yet, He doesn’t always do what we ask when we ask. God is always in the process of finishing what He started in us.
Speaker: Eben Abraham Scripture: Philippians 1
Almost 2,000 years ago a young woman from the town of Nazareth named Mary was visited by an angel named Gabriel. Gabriel told the Jewish woman that she would have a son named Jesus and that he would be the Son of God. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem because of an order from the Roman emperor that a census, or record, of all people, be taken in their hometown. After traveling pregnant on a donkey for several days, Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem and were told that there were no places to stay. The inns were full. Seeing that Mary was due at any moment, an owner of an inn told Joseph that they could stay in his stable. Mary and Joseph settled down on the hay in a stable with animals sleeping. Mary went into labor and Jesus was born in the stable. The only place for the sleeping baby to rest was most likely in the animals' trough, known as the manger.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Thomas
Scripture: Luke 2 : 1-21
Notes:
At his son’s birth, Zechariah bursts into Spirit-filled prophetic song, the second song that Luke records, known as the Benedictus after the first word of the song in Latin. Mary’s song spoke of the reversal that Jesus would bring. Zechariah’s prophetic song is a hymn of blessing to God for his salvation of Israel, the fulfillment of promise and God’s faithfulness. He also foresaw his son’s future as a prophet preparing the way for the Lord who would bring light in the darkness.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: Luke 1 : 68-79
Notes:
The Magnificat is a canticle—a hymn taken from the Bible. When the angel Gabriel visited the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, he told her that her cousin Elizabeth was also with child. Mary went to see her cousin, and the baby in Elizabeth's womb—John the Baptist—leapt with joy when Elizabeth heard Mary's voice. The Magnificat is the Virgin Mary's response to Elizabeth's greeting, glorifying God and thanking Him for choosing her to bear His Son.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel
Scripture: Luke 1 : 46-55
Notes:
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth with a message for Mary, who was promised in marriage to Joseph. The angel told Mary that she would have a son, whom she was to name Jesus. The angel said, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God.”
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: Luke 1 : 26-38
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtlCy0W-QKVullkJXZ?e=OyZU36
Isaiah had prophesied that someone will come before Christ to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’.
For the last 400 years there has been no word from God. The prophet Malachi was the last voice to speak the Word of the Lord to Israel. Since that time, God has been silent. There have been a period of waiting. Four hundred years have passed. It seems as though God is waiting for an appointed time before He will begin His program. In this portion, through the announcement to Zachariah it is revealed that the prophecy will be fulfilled.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Jerry William
Scripture: Luke 1 : 5-25
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtlAGmD1jJahJ-0hKb?e=t3da7J
Luke’s own introduction to his gospel indicates that Luke composed the letter with the purpose of providing a careful rendering of the events of Christ’s life in chronological order. As a physician, Luke would have been trained as a careful observer, a quality that would have been invaluable in this project.
Series: The Acts of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Luke 1-4
The Gospel According to Luke, written in roughly 85 C.E. (± five to ten years), most likely during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, is known in its earliest form from extensive papyri fragments dating to the early or middle of the third century. Although the author of Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, a historical narrative of the travels and ministries of prominent followers of Jesus, neither manuscript preserves Luke-Acts as a single textual unit. Many scholars contend that the two texts were originally fused, only to be separated as the canon of the New Testament took shape.
Series: The Acts Of Christ And The Apostles
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: Various
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtk3aPn-D6iLXAALzW
The biggest danger to the church is not blatant heresy, the moral failures of church leaders, persecution, or the loss of our rights. The biggest threat is counterfeit gospels within the church. Ways of thinking and speaking about the good news that lead to a gradual drift from the truth of Scripture.
Speaker: Ben John
Scripture: Galatians 1:1-5
A survey of all the 52 lessons that was taught over the last sixteen months that proclaimed "The Whole Counsel Of God" in this series. This episode concludes the series.
The Bible closes with the prophecy of how all things will end. While there are many questions as to the precise meaning of this book, it’s central message is crystal clear. God will not keep us from suffering and persecution; it is going to get worst; God calls us to be faithful in the midst of our pain. If we are faithful to the end, we will be rewarded. This is what we are waiting for, a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no sin. The Garden of Eden will be restored, at last. We were created for fellowship with God, and we long for the day when Jesus will return again and take us home.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: REVELATION 13-22
Notes: Revelation - For the Time is Near - II
The Bible closes with the prophecy of how all things will end. While there are many questions as to the precise meaning of this book, it’s central message is crystal clear. God will not keep us from suffering and persecution; it is going to get worst; God calls us to be faithful in the midst of our pain. If we are faithful to the end, we will be rewarded. This is what we are waiting for, a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no sin. The Garden of Eden will be restored, at last. We were created for fellowship with God, and we long for the day when Jesus will return again and take us home.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: REVELATION 1-12
Notes:
The letter we call 1 John is primarily about love. We have been loved by God, and so we should love others as well. Love is not some simplistic emotion but it involves action: God loved us and therefore sent his Son. Love is the giving of oneself for the benefit of the other.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Jerry William
Scripture: 1 John
Notes: Sermon Notes _ Christian Love
To do ministry God’s way, we must not only “do” ministry in alignment with Him, but we must also “be” in alignment with Him. Being God’s servant requires ministry qualities He views as important.
1 Peter asks one of the fundamental question of life is, how can an all-powerful, all-good God allow pain and suffering. It helps us grapple with this question by pointing our attention to the realities of our lives, especially the fact that we are exiles on earth and our true home is heaven. We are to recognize in the midst of suffering that God is still at work for our good.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Charles Mathew
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-9
Notes:
James tells us that there is nothing more difficult to control than the tongue. It destroys people’s reputation, often under the guise that what is being said is accurate. We are hurt, so we verbally lash out. We want to be well thought of, so we feign piety. The only way to gain any victory over the tongue is to work on the heart, since it is out of the heart that the mouth speaks. Unfortunately, gossip often is the natural language of the church, but there can be victory.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Jestin James
Scripture: James 3:1-12
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkwMAHSLULdvbkSe2?e=3F16cX
The Rapture, in Christianity, the eschatological (concerned with the last things and Endtime) belief that both living and dead believers will ascend into heaven to meet Jesus Christ at the Second Coming (Parousia).The belief in the Rapture emerged from the anticipation that Jesus would return to redeem all members of the church.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
The book of Hebrews is a deep theological study on the superiority of Christ over everyone and everything else. Interspersed throughout the teaching are the “Warning” passages in which the author encourages his readers to not fall away from their faith. If people do leave the Christian faith, they can have no assurance that they truly are Christians.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: George Mattackal
Scripture: HEBREWS 2:1-4; 3:12-14; 5:12-14; 10:26-31; 12:25-2
Notes:https://1drv.ms/p/s!AtZn-btopJYtkmzT3mvggxoV5Zqz?e=OR8bLu
Christians are people of the book. We believe that all of Scripture came from the very mouth of God. It is true in all it affirms and authoritative over our lives. The challenge is to come to the point where you really believe this.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Benjamin Mathew
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16 - 4:2
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkl4JyTgBflFjtt5D?e=gT6684
Paul wants the church in Philippi to understand humility. They should agree on one central focus, and that is a humility that stems from a right understanding of who you are in Christ. As an example, we look no further than Jesus, who is God, lowering himself to be human, and in return being exalted. In response, we should take great care at working out the implications of what it means to be saved.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Scripture: PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11
Speaker: Jerry William
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkjcLWBf1g_qt8yFL?e=2KT0C7
In Romans 5–8, Paul reminds us of the many reasons why we are joyful. We are at peace with God. We are reconciled to him. We have been set free from sin. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives within us. We are adopted into God’s family, assured that we are his children. This is the joy of the righteous life.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: Ben Kurian
Scripture: ROMANS 5-8
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkhf6lVrDg0LrdkxZ?e=8gkup8
We are not only saved by God’s grace, but his grace continues to sustain us throughout our life. One way that God’s grace shows itself is in how we give, financially. God’s grace enables to to both want to give and to be able to give. If someone is not giving, they should wonder about the condition of their heart and why God’s grace is not active in it.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: John Paul Scripture: 2 CORINTHIANS 8-9 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkWrqi6lnFlgDVLyU?e=cNZ0YU
How do we speak compassionately and comprehensively about mental illness and about the complex interaction of the brain/body/mind/soul? How do we address any concerns about root causes of life struggles without being heard to say that we are ignoring the whole person or lacking empathy for social factors and physiological issues?
Speaker: Dr. Ashok Chacko
The church is not a building or an activity. The church is the sum total of all true believers. Christ is the head. We are the body. We are a family. We are the temple of God, the place that he inhabits.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Charles Mathew Scripture: Ephesians 2 : 19 - 20 ; 1 Corinthians 12 : 12 - 24 ; Revelation 19 : 7 - 8 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkU8CkscvTW45BrQW?e=g07qRD
Justification is the doctrine of being declared not guilty of our sins. It is a work of God alone; we do not help. In Romans 1:16–17 and 3:21–26, Paul makes it clear that this declaration of righteousness is based not on what we do (“works”) but on what we believe about Jesus (“faith”), that Jesus did on the cross for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Revanth T Scripture: ROMANS 3:21-31; 5:12-21 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkTa9xLPzphp7V0b5?e=8jctAx
During the Jewish festival of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, Jesus’ promise was fulfilled and the Holy Spirit came and empowered all of Jesus’ followers, giving them supernatural power to, among other things, speak in human languages they had not learned. Peter explains the phenomena as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and then preaches the basic message found throughout Acts: Jesus lived, died, was raised form the dead, and therefore all people are called to repent of their misunderstanding of who Jesus is.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: George Thomas Scripture: Acts 2 Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkQfTxbVBuYSS1ZAl?e=ueUzbR
When one is consumed by God’s glory, he or she will do everything in God’s interest and not for one’s own glory. The consequential choices God’s people make as His representatives have eternal ramifications.
Speaker: Dr. Alias K. Eldhose Scripture: Exodus 32
Jesus’ final act on earth was to commission his followers. Their central mission is to make disciples. They are to make new disciples by sharing the gospel and baptizing them; and they are to make fully-devoted disciples by teaching people to obey everything Jesus taught. Because God is sovereign over all, we must do this. Because he will never leave us, we are able to do this.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Job Sam Koshy Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20 Notes:
The death and resurrection of Jesus is the culmination of not only Jesus' life but of all history to that point. Jesus died on the cross so that we can be friends of God, and he was shown to have conquered death by his resurrection from the grave. The temple curtain, which symbolized the separation between God and people, was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, and we can now live in direct relationship with God.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: George Mattackal Scripture: John 19:17-37; 20:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkEY-SRkkUtv0aF3Z?e=b4f7X2
The greatest act of salvation before the cross was God freeing the Israelites from Egypt. To celebrate that event, God instituted the Passover celebration, commemorating God’s graciousness act of passing over the Israelite houses and killing the first-born of only the Egyptian homes. But now God is about to perform and even greater salvation event, Jesus dying on the cross. Christians are to celebrate Passover not looking back to Egypt but looking at Jesus’ death and forward to his eventual return.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Tobin Mattackal Scripture: Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-23; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkEQ17uoFxGewhtf4?e=O2FfFG
In Jesus’ last teaching before his death and resurrection, among other things he taught the disciples about the coming Spirit who will convict the world of its sin, show the world Jesus’ righteousness, and convict the world of its coming judgment. We know this “Spirit” to be the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.
Speaker: Pradeep Daniel Series: The Whole Counsel of God Scripture: John 14-17 Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkBvBVVjt_lqmttjE?e=vqDirC
Two major events await the disciples: the destruction of the temple and Jesus’ return. There will be signs, warning them to flee Jerusalem, which happened in A.D. 70. But there are no warning signs for when Jesus will return and this age will end. The disciple’s role is not to wonder about when this will happen — not even Jesus knows — but to live a life of preparedness.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Revanth T Scripture: Matthew 24:1-25:46; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-36 Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtkAFSn44R6-Ux-4yH?e=zwbXbD
GOD demands our highest LOVE and our deepest OBEDIENCE To “LOVE GOD” means: * We love Him With all our HEART (with all your thinking & affection) * We love Him With all our SOUL (with your desires & feeling * We love Him With our MIND (with your understanding * We love Him With our Strength (with your energy and power)
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Benjamin Mathew Scripture: Mark 12:28-34 Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtj3StT4lH_MvW1R4z?e=cf0Ajr
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” Mark 8:34 The cross is the suffering we must be willingly choose for His sake, because we are His followers. And this must be visible in our lives. There is no such thing as a hidden cross! Following Christ is a personal decision but not a private one.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Jerry William Scripture: Mark 8 Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtj2D1PMcdjeev4Z9J?e=DNyxvl
The mystery of the Trinity is that there is one God, and yet God is three – Father, Son, Spirit. Who is Jesus? This was a common question in the context in which He lived and ministered in the first century AD. But after more than 20 centuries, it still remains the most discussed question. Jesus culminates this by saying, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Revanth T Scripture: John 10:30Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjyyCtExHEb4Py2nQ?e=Rf4gQQ
We are continually being crucified between two thieves–the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow. - Warren Wiersbe The heart of worry is our distrust on God's promises and providence. Matthew 6:25-34 is a Sermon by the King himself - Our Lord Jesus Christ who addresses the SIN OF WORRY. If regrets and worries lead to self-destruction then let us be encouraged Church that Jesus wants us to come to HIM in repentance and enjoy restoration and rest in HIM.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Ben John
Jesus teaches us that prayer begins with us orienting ourselves to our heavenly father, being most concerned with his glory and the advance of his kingdom, and concludes with our admission of total dependence on him for our physical and spiritual needs. Prayer is primarily about God.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Charles Mathew Notes:
The Sermon on the Mount is the message of new king who has come, speaking about a new Kingdom and Is a point of entry for the kingdom, the citizens of this Kingdom are supposed to have qualities different from what the world would expect. The Beatitudes helps us understand that God wants us to be blessed not in a material sense, but to be in a state where we are intrinsically content. Be like Jesus in that aspect, which is the true characteristic of a believe
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Ben Kurian Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjnpoDzaCLvdu095w?e=3mhM4p
Nicodemus a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin came to Jesus at night, acknowledging him as a teacher sent by God (John 3:2). Jesus tells him that if he is to enter God’s kingdom, he cannot get there naturally, through what he can do. Only the supernatural work of God’s Spirit in making us new — so new that it is a rebirth — can accomplish our salvation. All this is explained by the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16.
Speaker: Job Sam Koshy Series: The Whole Counsel Of God Scripture: Notes:
Have you ever been there, in the gloom of despair and defeat when all your expectations exploded in your face? We don’t know what Elijah was expecting. With the power of God so clearly manifested perhaps Elijah thought there would be some change in Ahab, some positive response with the result there were going to be changes in the kingdom of Israel. We aren’t told. We can only guess. But something really shattered Elijah’s focus and his faith. Let’s look at the text and see what we can learn.
The Old Testament ends on a note of promise, that God would send Elijah to prepare the people for their coming savior, the Messiah. This Elijah turns out to be John the Baptist, who prepares the people by teaching them about repentance. Much to their surprise, the people learned that being born Jewish was of no advantage, and that they too had to learn that they have nothing of value to offer God if they are to enter his kingdom.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Geoffrey Alex George
Notes:https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjTDXA_QaqQU39-14?e=kxOTfg
The Story of Jesus Birth is incomplete without… Understanding His Humanity and Divinity Understanding His Life, Death, Burial and Resurrection. When we truly believe his finished work on that Cross of Calvary We are united in His Death, Burial and Resurrection. We are united in Him as are dead to Sin and Alive in Christ Jesus.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God Speaker: Pradeep Daniel Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjSPFPxbzoEzBvSfQ?e=s29Mcz
Unity of the Bible 1. Thread of person of Christ – We see the first mention of Christ in Gen 3 and have seen glimpses of Him in the history of Israel and the prophets (Isaiah) 2. Thread of plan of redemption – From Genesis 3 at the fall where a redeemer is promised, to the call of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, to the promise of a new covenant which would change hearts, to the prophecies of Christ, we see the plan of redemption being brought to fruition. 3. Thread of God’s program for the ages – We see God moving not only among Israel but even among the nations to fulfil his ultimate plans. We see His total control of all things. The period between Malachi and the Gospels covers a period of 400 years and is often called “The 400 Silent Years” or “The Intertestamental Period”. The first prophet to appear publicly proclaiming the Word of God after this period was John the Baptist proclaiming “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand”. Many flocked to John because there was a yearning for God’s word after the 400 silent years. The Foundational Books (The Gospels -Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) – each book presents a different facet of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the one the OT points to. He is the fulfillment of much prophecy. He is the foundation of the New Covenant and the Church (1 Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20).
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: George Mattackal
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjHyiyfLmREEyeb_D?e=83ZB8k
Unity of the Bible 1. Thread of person of Christ – We see the first mention of Christ in Gen 3 and have seen glimpses of Him in the history of Israel and the prophets (Isaiah) 2. Thread of plan of redemption – From Genesis 3 at the fall where a redeemer is promised, to the call of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed, to the promise of a new covenant which would change hearts, to the prophecies of Christ, we see the plan of redemption being brought to fruition. 3. Thread of God’s program for the ages – We see God moving not only among Israel but even among the nations to fulfil his ultimate plans. We see His total control of all things. The period between Malachi and the Gospels covers a period of 400 years and is often called “The 400 Silent Years” or “The Intertestamental Period”. The first prophet to appear publicly proclaiming the Word of God after this period was John the Baptist proclaiming “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand”. Many flocked to John because there was a yearning for God’s word after the 400 silent years. The Foundational Books (The Gospels -Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) – each book presents a different facet of the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the one the OT points to. He is the fulfillment of much prophecy. He is the foundation of the New Covenant and the Church (1 Cor. 3:11, Eph. 2:20).
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: George Mattackal
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjHyiyfLmREEyeb_D?e=83ZB8k
Restore worship that glorifies God.
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Charles M
Scripture: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjHRnG...
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: Revanth T
Scripture: Ezra - Nehemiah
Notes: https://1drv.ms/p/s!AtZn-btopJYtjGPdprKniy8EiOM2?e=OWeimb
- The Character of Daniel (chapter 1 ) 2. The Times of the Gentiles: God's program for the world (Chapter 2-7) i.Ch2 - Nebuchadnezzar's first dream: the big picture ii.Ch3 - Nebuchadnezzar's golden image iii.Ch4 - Nebuchadnezzar's pride and humbling iv.Ch5 - Belshazzar's feast v.Ch6 - Darius' pride and Daniel's preservation vi.Ch7 - Daniel's vision of future world history 3. Israel in relation to the Gentiles: God's program for Israel (Chapter 8-12) i.Ch8 - Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat ii.Ch9 - Daniel's vision of the 70 sevens iii.Ch10 to 12 - Daniel's most detailed vision of the future Main Point: Knowing God’s sovereignty, let us remain faithful to Him in all circumstances as we wait for His promised kingdom.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God Speaker: Jerry William Scripture: Daniel Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjEzMR...
The book of Lamentations teach us that disobedience to the Lord results in immense suffering and distress. It also offers a biblical view of how we can respond to God in grief and sorrow. Main Summary Point
God’s discipline is inevitable, but He has promised His presence through the process. We need to confess and repent to be restored to him. During times of sorrow, our steadfast anchor of faith is the unchanging character of God. We have a God who is loving, merciful and faithful through generations. True faith will lead us to a hope that propels us to live our Christian life through pain and suffering.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: Stanly Thomas
Scripture: Lamentations
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjEVNPtrOxmzrI5wC?e=T58woz
Jeremiah 31:33-34 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Main Question: Can God be Trusted? Look at God's purposes. Look at God's promises Look at God's proof. The New Covenant is evidence that we can trust the God who purposed, promised and proved Himself to us.
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: Sujay Thomas
Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34;
Ezekiel 36:16 – 37:28
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjDZBxKMq-nCfnPWf?e=YrNE9R
The Book of Habakkuk is a dialogue between Habakkuk the Prophet and YHWH. * We are able to see Prophet Habakkuk wrestling with God over God’s unfathomable ways. * But when we read this book, we also see Prophet Habakkuk bursting out in Praise of Sovereign Saviour. We see him moving from sobbing, complaining to singing songs of trust and praise. * This book is a fascinating exchange that gets us into the heart of God and his purposes. It offers us a picture of a prideful people being humbled, while the righteous are called to live by faith in God (Ch 2:4).
Series: The Whole Counsel Of God
Speaker: Ben John
Scripture: Habakkuk
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjCbbkD9xEEZ89LMY?e=IkkAZ2
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Speaker: Tobin Mattackal Scripture: Hosea
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtjAuI8O5YOWj5isVr?e=7Pn0hw
Hosea wrote the book and it was written While Isaiah and Micah were prophesying to the Southern Kingdom, Hosea was prophesying to the Northern Kingdom, to Israel, which is also called Ephraim. This was about 200 years after they had broken off from southern Judah(1 Kings). Hosea was also called to speak to God’s people during the reign of one of Israel’s worst Kings, Jeroboam the second.
So it is believed that the time period was around 760 to 722 B.C. We know clearly that the message was to God’s chosen people Israel and the reason why this book was written was to call out their unfaithfulness towards God. Under Jeroboam the nation was descending into chaos. And in the year 722 it is believed that the Assyrian empire swooped in and destroyed Israel (Story in 2 Kings).
This unfaithfulness of Israelites are explained as various sins in this book and two of the themes that stand out are material prosperity and spiritual bankruptcy.
Scripture: Micah 1-7
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYti3oC2wgYnUSckkcO?e=Qcvc5h
Micah’s Message contains stern warning for God’s people. The Book of Micah was likely written between 735 and 700 B.C.
Micah prophesied 3 Sets of Judgment Woe – Punishment - Death And then Restoration along with Blessings.
Each Set of Judgement Starts with a proclamation to Hear
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Micah 1:2 – Hear, all you peoples of (v5) Kingdom of Israel, Samaria & Kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem
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Micah 3:1 – Hear now Heads & Rulers of Judah (v1)
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Micah 6:1 – Hear now for the (v2) Lord has a complaint against His People
God alone is the God of all glory, and so we must turn to Him to bless Him alone. And when we give glory to Him, He in His divine grace has fashioned the world in such a way as to allow us to be a reflected glory.
Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYti1CaaWlCqNvor6cg?e=2RePRC
Scripture: Isaiah 6
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYti0FOApcptQUsDnVS?e=IK0qZe
The times of Isaiah and the divided kingdom was also a time of increasing syncretism. God punished the northern kingdom for their disobedience and failing to keep the conditions of the covenant by allowing the Assyrians to take them captive and scatter them throughout their kingdom Isaiah prophesied in the pre-exilic period in Judah during the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah The book of Isaiah is the old testament book with the clearest picture of the work of Christ.
Scripture: Acts 17:22-31
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtixW50EsGQeDVN4qR?e=NPsRCZ
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Job 1:1-12
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiwvQ1XST-eL0YXh4?e=zUIgxT
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Proverbs 1:1-7
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiweQHWAildLhnZ-O?e=v9C7Of
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: 2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 51
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiHiaSxCSnbxe9wYC?e=wDMLGU
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Psalm 23
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiGtITx05hJ2g2EPe?e=by4iGf
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: I Samuel 16-17
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiGauhL6PDLn-L4gU?e=KOK4n0
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: I Samuel 2:1-10
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiGJOdvX7EG0L1nUE?e=4WrqS6
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Judges 2:6-10; Deuteronomy 6: 1-25
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiFkF1Oh-RfUVNn8_?e=NAAgOW
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics: – What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiE7YonJx4nNuV0yT?e=R1biNk
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Leviticus 1:3-9; 4:20
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiEgCstG4srdTHRvi?e=xOtPeH
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
This sermon will remind us: How Holy God is and how He desires Holiness but we cannot and do not desire holiness and so God had to become man to now help us attain holiness. He does not do this by lowering His standard of Holiness but helps us by lifting us up to meet His standard of Holiness.
Scripture: John 16:33; Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7
Though our circumstances change our destiny does not. Sometimes during difficult times we simply need to remember God. David embraced difficult times because he believed his future was in the hands of a God that loved him. We too need to believe that our future is in the hands of a God that loves us
Scripture: Exodus 33
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiEd4VW5IfJSUojqH?e=GW3O5b
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Music: Scandinavianz - Cliffhanger Track: https://soundcloud.com/scandinavianz/scandinavianz-cliffhanger-free-downloadhttps://soundcloud.com/scandinavianz/scandinavianz-cliffhanger-free-downloadSoundcloud Link: http://www.soundcloud.com/scandinavianz
Scripture: Exodus 15-22
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiC9Uhd-CizHAH9wu?e=VwfUHB
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Exodus 1-14
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiCXeAubVo155fjHO?e=HAFGGC
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Genesis 37-50
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiBfQUzkdakMUViQN?e=jD38kV
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Genesis 12-22
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiA3VhCLKj8t9yHm8?e=3uEvRd
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Genesis 6:5-18
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYtiwgD34MPPwDD7xbf?e=JD9TpS
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics: – What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it? – The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Genesis 3:14-21
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYth3P9sDj59U7C8EMn?e=wt35ug
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics: – What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it? – The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYth2C9XAIdURlJmcHa?e=Hc6goT
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith. This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Series: Purity - Understanding the problem, Finding Victory in Christ & Striving for Purity
Speaker: George Thomas
Speaker: Viji Roberts
Reading Material: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYthkt7M6DMdytDYi_x?e=tnawRJ
The letter to the Romans stands as the clearest and most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in all the Scriptures. Paul began by discussing that which is most easily observable in the world—the sinfulness of all humanity. All people have been condemned due to our rebellion against God. However, God in His grace offers us justification by faith in His Son, Jesus. When we are justified by God, we receive redemption, or salvation, because Christ’s blood covers our sin. But Paul made it clear that the believer’s pursuit of God doesn’t stop with salvation; it continues as each of us is sanctified—made holy—as we persist in following Him. Paul’s treatment of these issues offers a logical and complete presentation of how a person can be saved from the penalty and power of his or her sin.
Series: Purity - Understanding the problem, Finding Victory in Christ & Striving for Purity
Speaker: Jobin John Mathew
Series: Purity - Understanding the problem, Finding Victory in Christ & Striving for Purity
Speaker: Charles Matthew
Two external video resources were used for internal training and for non-commercial use.
Source Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX1AjYG_vDQries&ab_channel=JamesDrake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUCDVi7OQCQ&ab_channel=ChristianMarriageTeaching-ArtofMarriage
Scripture: Luke 24:13-35
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYthgppu1XfPQx3STYp?e=nJnqFD
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith.
This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics: – What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
The teaching about God – Creation – The teaching about man – The person of Jesus Christ – Salvation – Working out your salvation – The doctrine of the Holy Spirit – The doctrine of scripture – The doctrine of the church – The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: II Timothy 3:10 - 4:5
Series: The Whole Counsel of God
Notes: https://1drv.ms/b/s!AtZn-btopJYthgppu1XfPQx3STYp?e=nJnqFD
This is a systematic theology series rich in biblical exposition that serves as an overview of the beliefs that define our Christian faith.
This series will cover sessions on what The Bible says about the following topics:
– What is “the whole counsel of God” and what do we do with it?
– The teaching about God
– Creation
– The teaching about man
– The person of Jesus Christ
– Salvation
– Working out your salvation
– The doctrine of the Holy Spirit
– The doctrine of scripture
– The doctrine of the church
– The doctrine of the last things
The whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is necessary to equip saints for their walk with the Lord. In them are found answers to life’s origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. It helps a believer see the big picture of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind that has been playing out through the ages.
Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30
The parable of the talents is among the most abused texts in the New Testament. Contrary to what might be modeled by some best-selling televangelists, the parable does not justify a gospel of economic prosperity. Instead, it challenges believers to emulate their Master by using all that God has given them for the sake of the kingdom. The parable is located in Jesus’ eschatological discourse (24:1-25:46) where he instructs his disciples to endure through difficult times and to live in anticipation of the Lord’s return. Like all the parables in this section, it exemplifies the certainty of the Lord’s coming and how the disciples are to live in the meantime.
Scripture: Romans 12:1-2
Paul in Romans 12:1-2, tells his readers that view of God's gracious sacrifice for you, offer yourself as GLAD sacrifices to God. We don't offer our sacrifices to receive God's mercy rather we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God in response to the mercy that God has already given us.
Scripture: Mark 10:17-22
The passage begins by introducing to us the main character who approaches Jesus. And while mark says, “a man” Matt and Luke add these descriptions, “a wealthy, young and influential man.” Wealth and influence was surely something that he achieved through his works, years of hard labor, and so he thought that receiving God, His kingdom and Eternal life also could be achieved through labor and hard work. His confidence came from his possessions, he commanded because of this position, and he concentrated on his privileges. This is greed, it is dangerous and it is sinful. This a trap that even believers can also fall into.
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Think for a second of someone that has influenced you. Someone who has impacted your life. Someone you aspire to become. Someone you’d call a great leader. Now what are characteristics of that person? What draws you to him or her? What makes that leader so effective?
In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul is describing himself. He’s not doing this to boast. He’s doing it in response to critics. The gospel’s at stake. That church is at risk.
Paul comes into this town Thessalonica. He goes into the synagogue as he always does. He preaches. And people come to faith. And, as always happens, the Jewish leaders get enraged, and they chase Paul out of town. Apparently there are some people there - likely the Jewish leaders again - who are questioning Paul’s motives. They’re trying to lead that young, fragile congregation astray.
Paul here writes back to those Thessalonian believers. He defends his time of ministry there. And in the process, he shows us what biblical servants look like. And he allows us to look into a devoted Christian leader’s heart.
Scripture: James 1:2-4
In James 1:2-4, the main command seems very obvious. When we encounter difficult and frustrating circumstances, we should count it all joy. But how do we do that?
God who desires our greatest joy, doesn't merely leave us a command to obey. In the text, He builds the command on a foundation so strong, that our joy cannot be shaken.
Scripture: Revelation 11:15
As a Christian ,each of us are mandated by Lord Jesus to love our neighbors as a second commandment! The second commandment requires us to look beyond ourselves & have a genuine concern for the people around us . This is only possible if we love our God with all our Heart, Soul & mind - The first commandment!
These are traits that make a ‘ Kingdom Builder’ in a Christian’s life . Only those with a close relationship with Lord Jesus & understand what he has done on the cross for wretched sinners as us can really realize we are saved by Grace & mercy of God! When this happens , God creates these 5 situations in our life as we move from just being a Christian seeking God to fulfill our ‘ Personal issues of life’ to ‘ Loving others ‘.
This is called the ‘ Build’ situation in the road to being a ‘Kingdom Builder’ in a Christian’s life :-
1) B -Burden & Purpose
2)U -Utilize opportunities
3)I - Ideas & Resources
4)L- Lord’s people to support you
5)D- Distractors & Enemies
Scripture: Exodus 2:23 - 3:14
Looking back the last few months of the pandemic, there are many things we can thank God for, especially for the protection and healing. But at the same time, we may be also tempted to question God for the painful and uncertain situations He allowed us to pass through and the prayers He hasn’t answered till now. Waiting on God to answer our prayers or act on our behalf is not easy. We often grow weary, show impatience and at times get frustrated in the process. In these moments, we ask questions like does God exist? If He exists, Is He mindful of me? If yes, why is He not delivering me? Many such questions bother us. Are we tired of waiting upon God? Today, we will look at a very familiar passage from Exodus and understand the invisible hand of God that fashions our life. When going through turmoil and chaotic situations it may not make sense at that moment in time. But we are to remind ourselves of our God who is ever mindful and intimately involved in our situation. He controls everything sovereignly and is working behind the scenes to accomplish His will and greater purpose beyond what we can see and perceive in our human comprehension. Every situation God takes us through will have greater goodness that will reveal His glory.
Scripture: John 9: 1-12
John was fond of symbolism. He often uses the imagery of light and darkness to illustrate holiness and sin. This message explains how the world is lost in the darkness of sin and how we are blinded by the god of this world. Jesus who said “I am the light of world..” is the only one can bring us from ‘darkness to his marvelous light’. We therefore ought to be the light in this world
Series: I’m Done – I Can’t Change. Or Can I ? The Path To Lasting Change
Speaker : Benjamin Mathew
Ever wonder why our attempts to change, after one is born again, seems frustrating? Believers almost feel like some of their negative temperaments/behavior have not only hardly changes, but probably gone further downhill. After trying so hard, either they give up or they fake their spirituality.
Is it possible to experience lasting change? Come explore with us as we get to the heart of the matter - whom do we truly worship? While the journey of unravelling deeper issues is definitely uncomfortable, the destination towards growing intimacy with Jesus and the resultant change, is definitely worth it.
Scripture: John 6
What a beautiful, unique and special time it is to take this hour every Sunday to remember the Lord. When we come, and this is something unique with the Church of Christ, we meet every week to do nothing else but to remember the Lord. We don't come here to talk about ourselves. We don't come here to thank The Lord for what he has done for us throughout the week. We don't come here to talk about the good health HE has given us. Certainly we are all very thankful for all those things and we should be but we are not here to thank him for our health or the job he might has given us or the healing that he brought to us. Not any of those things, but we are here to do just one thing, and that is to focus on the person and the work of The Lord Jesus Christ.
In our lives, what happens is that we tend to lose sight of the fact, that the Christian life is about a person. And it is not about me or you. It is not about what's in it for me or a type of bargain.
Do we see our relationship with our Lord as something we have just for the things that come along with Him? For the gifts or the blessings or the wealth or the prosperity? Why are we following Jesus?
Series: I’m Done – I Can’t Change. Or Can I ? The Path To Lasting Change
Speaker : George Thomas
Ever wonder why our attempts to change, after one is born again, seems frustrating? Believers almost feel like some of their negative temperaments/behavior have not only hardly changes, but probably gone further downhill. After trying so hard, either they give up or they fake their spirituality.
Is it possible to experience lasting change? Come explore with us as we get to the heart of the matter - whom do we truly worship? While the journey of unravelling deeper issues is definitely uncomfortable, the destination towards growing intimacy with Jesus and the resultant change, is definitely worth it.
Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 1 : 3-4
2020 has not been a pleasant year for most of us. Some of us can't even wait for the year to end. While the lockdown was a blessing in disguise for a few, it was a big nightmare for others. Think about it. What started out as a pandemic soon led to other unfortunate incidents such as loss of jobs, loss of pay, loss of livelihoods, loss of heath etc. Many of us had gone through personal tragedies, either related to Covid or outside of Covid. W would have faced many uncertainties, mishaps and trials. I am sure that many of us are right now hurting, who are brokenhearted, weary, lonely and scared. Probably some of us are in situations, that we wish will soon pass away. Probably, some of you will be in situations, wondering to yourselves, why am I going through this? Probably, some of us do not know the way out. How can we as the Church, help those who are hurting? Have we found ourselves in situations where, we really wanted to help, but we did not know how to start? What would we say? Do we fear that we would offend or even worse hurt the person we are trying to help?
Scripture: Daniel 6
Daniel's life is a beautiful representation in the Bible of 'Coram Deo' - a life lived 'before the face of God' - for the glory of God. Our vocation as well as the skill to do it is a blessing from God and to be used for His glory. And today's passage teaches us the right godly attitude towards work when we see it as something sacred and as blessing from God and do everything for His glory.
The vocation that God entrusted Daniel was to serve as a government administrator - like the IAS of today. He started young (in his teens) but he kept learning & growing at his workplace. Kings came & went, kingdoms rose and fell. Daniel stayed on. He is now 90 years old and this chapter is a culmination of Daniel's story from which we can learn how each of us should approach our God-given vocation.
Scripture: 1st John 3 : 11-18
Most people would agree that the real hallmark of true Christianity is love. But the truth is that people mean different things by that term love. People think it means being tolerant of everything and everyone so that we never object to any action or any teaching. Others think it is about having feeling of compassion for others. But when we look at the bible we see that true biblical love is all about giving of ourselves to others.
In the first ten verses of chapter 3, John argued that a lifestyle of righteousness, or of not sinning, is the essential evidence of being a child of God. On the other hand, a lifestyle of habitual, persistent, unrepentant sin is clear evidence of being not a child of God but a child of the devil.
Now John shifts gears and brings us into a discussion of the Christian's obligation to love his brother. Now John makes a transition from a discussion of righteousness in general to a discussion of love in particular. John begins his discussion of love in vs 11.
Scripture: 1st John 4 : 7-12
We know that John really identified with Jesus’ love for him, even to the point of referring to himself as “the apostle whom Jesus loved” in his gospel record. And just when you might think how much more can I learn about love?, John gives us even more insight into the love of God. Though we have heard the command love one another before, John is clarifying some things even further and makes a case that we haven’t quite seen yet: we show God by our love.
This passage gives us the reason, example, standard, rationale, and result of loving with God's prefect love. Are you following God's example in loving others?
Scripture: Esther
The pull of the pleasures of the kingdom of the world is strong. This kingdom wants us to identify with itself. It wants us to think and speak like its inhabitants. Remember the Jews were not in their homeland, they didn’t want to go back. But the Kingdom of God calls us to identify ourselves with its inhabitants who have the character of its righteous King. This would mean that we’d lose our identity in this world. We would suffer injustice, be hated and voiceless. But brethren don’t lose heart, for the Kingdom of God is at hand and there will be a great reversal of fortunes. Jesus himself said in Luke 21:12-19. Dear friend, who do you want to identify yourself with?
Scripture: 1st Peter 4 : 7-11
The coronavirus has brought about the breakdown in the world's ecology and economics. Our Lord Jesus Himself has given us the warning in Matthew 24:33 that when we see all these things, we should know that His coming is near, even at the doors. The end of all things is at hand. And it should certainly thrill our hearts to know that Christ is coming very soon! In the light of the imminent coming of our Lord, How ought we to live?. What kind of lifestyle should we be pursuing, if Christ is coming? Should we continue to live the way we are living right now?
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15: 23 - 28
In chapter 2, Paul dealt with Christ’s crucifixion. Now, in chapter 15, he deals with the resurrection, both Christ’s resurrection (15:1-11) and our own (15:12-58). Chapters 2 and 15, then, serve as bookends around the parts of this letter that deal with ethical issues.
Scripture: James 1:2-4
- How can we have a victorious life in the midst of trials?
- What do I do when Trials becomes overwhelming & refuses to go away?
A detailed look into James 1:2-4 drawing out practical expectations and applications to tackle the rough patches in this journey of life. God is purposeful and this portion sets the realities of His expectations from us.
Scripture: James 1:2-4
In spite of all the above, Hezekiah was a man who had gone through setbacks in his life and today's message would be for us to learn of how Hezekiah responded to those setbacks. Some of them good and some of them not so good. Hope this message will help us as we live in times that have setbacks and these setbacks can have an effect over our lives and our view of God and His sovereignty over our lives.
Scripture: Habakkuk 1-3.
In this season of global challenges, how do you perceive and understand a sovereign God and His plans. Drawing a case study from Habakuk chapters 1-3.
Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27
What are you building your life on? Or rather what is your foundation? You will either find yourself building your life on the word of God or you will find yourself building your life on the things of this world. ‘What is your life build on’ is an important question to ask because the scripture says - Those who build their life upon the word of God will spend eternity with Him. But, those who build their life upon the pleasures of this world will not be able to stand when the storms hit because the foundation is weak and hence will fall apart. So then, what is your life built on?
Luke 5:27-32
Despite writing one of the largest books in the New Testament, there is very little known about Mathew the Apostle. The response of Mathew to the call of Jesus came at a great personal loss and teaches us to treasure Christ above all. Can anything be too great a sacrifice for a savior who restores us sinners, with a Holy God? Can we love him and make him known?
Scripture: 2 Peter 1: 1-11
Most Christians want to grow in the Lord, especially when they are new in the faith. But often, as time goes on, the enthusiasm to grow begins to fade. We settle into a humdrum routine and grow spiritually complacent. We know that growth is important, and we know that it is the normal result of life. Just as physical life results in physical growth, in the same manner our spiritual life should result in spiritual growth. How then, must we as believers strive for Spiritual Growth? How do we grow in every part of our lives?
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 15:20-23
The resurrection of Jesus is the principal tenet of the New Testament. Baptism is centered in Jesus' resurrection.The resurrection culminates the passion narrative in all four Gospels because it is at the center of redemption itself. But what does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us as believers?
Scripture: Philemon 1
We often struggle to forgive those who have hurt us, and even when we do, is it by the standards that God expects from us? The epistle to Philemon, a short personal letter from Paul to Philemon, is a wonderful practical lesson on forgiveness. While the world teaches us to take revenge & get even, the Bible teaches us to "Forgive as the Lord forgave you" – Colossians 3:13 But how do we do that? Do we have the spiritual characteristics to be a forgiver? What are the steps involved in forgiving others the way our Lord Jesus Christ forgave us?
Scripture: 2nd Timothy 4:6-8
Becoming a Christian is relatively easy: acknowledge to God that you are a sinner and receive by faith the free gift of eternal life that Christ provided by His shed blood.But then comes the hard part—hanging in there as a Christian in a world that is hostile towards God and His people. The world constantly dangles in front of you all that it has to offer in opposition to the things of God. From within, the flesh entices you to forsake Christ and gratify your sinful desires. The enemy hits you with temptation after temptation.Let’s face it: starting well is relatively easy. Finishing well is a different matter! How do we, as believers stay strong and keep ourselves pure in world chock-full of sin? What should be the driving factor that keeps us motivated?
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21
In Ephesians 3:14-21, we see Paul showing us what it is like to pray in view of God’s greatness, and our human need. Corrie Ten Boom said ‘Prayer is supposed to be the steering wheel,not the spare tyre! When we look at the early church , they seemed to recognize there desperation for God. They had no great human resources. They weren’t influential. They weren’t really strategic. But they were desperate for the Spirit of God to work mightily. Paul asks the readers to know the Lord better. We need the Holy Spirit’s power to transform our inner bring because that’s the only way our outward being like our habits, actions, our responses can be truly transformed. Are we praying in humility? Are we praying to be filled with his Strength, Love and Power as Paul wanted the church at Ephesus to pray? Are we praying with great expectations from a great God?
Scripture: 2 Peter 3:14-18
Many followers of Jesus tend to walk confused and defeated lives after they are born again. They walk discouraged and distracted lives. How can a believer not be distracted by erroneous teaching or ways of the world? How can one possess the life of abundance and peace that Jesus promised in the midst of all storms? What are believers called to to do while here on earth, after they are born again?What are they supposed to progress to and what is the process for it?
Speaker: George Mattackal
Series: Shepherding A Child's Heart
Based on the book: 'Shepherding a Child's Heart' by 'Tedd Tripp'
Scripture: Mathew 14:22-33
In our storms of life, there are moments when we feel vulnerable. We are anxious of how our lives will pan out in the uncertainties of the future. God is clear that he has a purpose and plan for us. He even equips us with His power to enable us in our walk of faith. Are we ready to allow him to lead us through the insecurities in our lives?
Scripture: 1st Corinthians: 15:12 - 19
The believers in the Church at Corinth had a struggle with their belief and it had to do with the Resurrection of Christ. Some in the Church even denied the resurrection of Christ. And Paul warns them of the dangers of denying the resurrection. Are there consequences in not believing in the resurrection of Christ?
Scripture: Mathew 25 : 1-13
"You may have been born in the church, being raised in the church, you could have married in the church, dead in the church, until it was veiled in the church and still ended in hell, perhaps because you were only on church and not in Christ." Are you ready to meet our Lord?
Scripture: 1st Peter 4:7-11
The outbreak of the coronovirus has changed the world as we know it. Every person on the planet has been affected by this pandemic. Our Lord Jesus Himself has given us the warning in Matthew 24:33 that when we see all these things, we should know that His coming is near, even at the doors. The end of all things is at hand. And it should certainly thrill our hearts to know that Christ is coming very soon! How should we as Christians ought to be living now, in the light of the imminent coming of our Lord? What kind of lifestyle should we be pursuing, if Christ is coming? Should we continue to live the way we are living right now?
Scripture: Genesis 1:26 – 27
We are living in a world where man often has a crisis with identity and purpose. When we see the chaotic world today and anxious people all around us, it gives us great hope and perspective to understand God’s original plan for the world and man. We will explore some of the truths from the creation account in the Bible - the creation of man, his position in the creation and what it means to be made in the image of God.
Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7
In Revelation 2, Jesus commends the Ephesians for their many good works and hard work. They tested teachers to see whether their professions were real; they endured hardship and persevered without growing weary. But they had lost their warmth and zeal for Christ, and when that happened, they began to “go through the motions” of good works, motivated not by the love of and for Christ, but by the works themselves.Today, many churches, like the church at Ephesus are happy with their doctrine, happy with their large church, money, leadership, missions program, ministries, etc. But God was disappointed with them because they had left first love. Where do we as a church see ourselves in this aspect? Have we become cold in our relationship to God? And do we see ourselves going through the motions, being mechanical? Have we abandoned our first love to God?
Scripture: Jude : 24-25
Our God is Able. How does the bible describe our God to be able? What does it mean that God is able to keep us from stumbling?
Scripture: Acts 4:36
To encourage others is not just a suggestion from the Lord - It's a command. We might think that to encourage is to appreciate someone with a few sweet words and that's where it ends. But there is much more to it, as we see from the life of Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. Are we intentional in encouraging others? Do we allow the Lord to use our lives to reach out to the lives of people around us and do we think of them in the light of God's Eternal Kingdom?
Scripture: Philippians 3:17-21
We are surrounded by, impacted by, and influenced by the people around us. Who are we as believers called to emulate? Do we follow or allow to be influenced by the right people in our lives? Do people who watch our actions or those we mentor see Christ and the Gospel? While we live on this earth, our citizenship is in Heaven. Do we stop to remember the we don’t belong here and our future is a glorious one with Christ? And do we think about the glorious prize that awaits us?
This series is based on the chapter "Don't be Gullible' from the book 'The Disciple's Manual' by 'William MacDonald'. This podcast addresses the questions mentioned at the end of the chapter.
Scripture: Zechariah 7
In Zechariah 7 ,the Jewish people had been mourning and fasting. After they had returned from exile, a delegation of the people had come to the priests asking if they should continue to fast and mourn. It had been done for years, leading the people to wonder if it needed to be continued. During the period of captivity to the Babylonians, God questioned whether the people were truly fasting for Him. The people had the wrong motives, they were doing it for themselves as an outward display of religion. The prophets had spoken to this issue years before . After all that the nation had gone through, the people were acting no better than their ancestors who had been taken into captivity. How does this theme reflect in the lives of us as believers?Have our worship to God become Ritualistic and Legalistic in nature?
Scripture: Romans 12:1
What does it mean for us as believers to answer the call to be 'A Living Sacrifice'?
Scripture: James 4 13-17
Every one is impacted by the spread of the coronavirus. It has caused unprecedented events such as churches to shut down, and the economy to come apart. We are moving into a big recession that will cause millions of people to lose their jobs as commerce and production suddenly cease. This virus doesn't discriminate between nation, social status, race or ethnicity. Amidst the panic, money lost, shortage of resources, etc we are in the middle of a shutdown and it is causing an impact to us believers as well. We are not immune to the impact of what is happening around us. How do we as believers react to this? And what is God trying to teach us by what is happening?
Scripture: Psalm 121
In Psalm 121, the psalmist's assessment of his situation reflects the place in which we all find ourselves. Our help comes only from the hill of the Lord — the Lord who made all the hills. All other hills we see before us in life can neither rescue us nor destroy us. When the hills in your life look like the solution to your pain or the source of your affliction, the psalmist teaches us to look elsewhere for our help. We look with spiritual eyes to the heavenly hill of Zion, the dwelling place of the Lord.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 15:1 - 11
The death of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, is the center of the gospel. Though the idea of glorying in the death of a Savior seems foolishness to the world, it is salvation to those who will believe. If Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and remove our guilt, then why is the resurrection of Jesus so important?
Scripture: Mathew 7:1-12
In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus points out the great flaw in our approach to change — and offers a more effective formula to inspire the transformation we seek. Changing others begins with changing ourselves What does Jesus mean when he calls people not to judge others? Does he mean he wants us to be undiscriminating between what is right and wrong? Or does he mean to simply keep your comments about right and wrong to yourself? Or to live in such as way where we don't care how other people live at all? Is he telling us to just leave others alone?
Because sin became part of the human nature in the Fall, we are prone to conflict, even conflict with those we love most. For that reason, we must wisely prepare for conflict because it will happen in the marriage union.
Scripture: Acts 20:28-31, 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:9, 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Peter 5:2-3,James 5:14, Acts 20:35
Biblically, the focal point of all church leadership is the elder. An elder is one of a plurality of biblically qualified men who jointly shepherd and oversee a local body of believers. The word translated “elder” is used nearly twenty times in Acts and the epistles in reference to this unique group of leaders who have responsibility for overseeing the people of God.
Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-7
The Bible teaches us that "God opposes the proud" and that we should therefore "humble ourselves". But how do we do that? We can praise God that He did not just instruct us to be humble but also told us how. Let's together discover some practical steps to cultivate humility
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
It is a child-like behavior to completely believe everything and place one's trust without question. Jesus also encouraged childlike behavior. In Mark 10:14-15, Jesus says "But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” God's Kingdom can never be gained by human achievements or good works or one's standing in society. While in salvation, Jesus desires childlike faith, He also desires that we grow in our faith.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 10:12-20
The topic about 'Fools' is not often sermonized. We all need to know how to deal with fools. And the reason is, that we all know at least one. And at some point in time, we too ourselves have acted the fool. Mark Twain quotes: "It is easier to fool people, than to convince them that they've actually been fooled". In the previous passages, Solomon warned us about the advantages and even the downsides to wisdom. And later, he goes on to say that we ought not to celebrate foolishness just because wisdom has it's downsides as foolishness have greater downsides. Therefore wisdom ought to be pursued. A foolish person is one who lives his / her life however he / she thinks best without God at the center of their life.
Scripture: Luke 2:52, Isaiah 50:7, Mathew 6:33, 1 Colossians 3:1-2, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Revelation 5:2, 1 Samuel 16:7, Philippians 2:1-4, Philippians 2:5-10
Jesus grew physically, spiritually and mentally. Most of us understand that He had to grow physically, He had to become strong, and grow older, but we struggle with Him growing spiritually and mentally. How could He grow spiritually? He was God. God doesn’t develop spiritually. And since Jesus was God, how could He develop spiritually?
1st Corinthians:13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Looking at this verse, let us consider these questions. How has our faith in The Lord Jesus Christ been in the past year? What or on Whom does our hope lie on today? How have we shown love in the past year? And finally, how can we show love?
Galatians 4:4-5, Philippians 3:7-11
When we think of the Incarnation of The Lord Jesus, it is the most pivotal event in history. It reveals a thread throughout scripture that defines God's plan for the redemption of man. As we follow this thread from Genesis all the way to the crucifixion of Christ, we see a continuous celestial battle between God and Satan.
Scripture: 1st Samuel 8:1-9:14
We as Christians all believe in God's sovereignty. Yet, there are times when we find it difficult to cope with it or even understand it.And in trying to make sense of the undeniable presence of sin, along with the injustice and suffering it causes, many times we deny this essential truth. But Scripture offers us considerable insight into how God's Sovereignty harmonizes within the plan of redemption.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 10:1 – 11
Lack of wisdom is also called as folly or foolishness. But generally when we think about the difference about one who is wise and another who is a fool, we often think the difference is in terms of intelligence. But one's intelligence or the level of education does not determine whether somebody is wise or a fool. There are many intelligent well educated people who are fools and on the other hand, there are people with little to no education at all and yet who are very wise as well. We also tend to believe that people in high places are always wise. And those who occupy lowly places as foolish. According to scriptures the difference between a wise man and a fool is not determined by one's intelligence or one's education but it is based on one's response to God. That's why the bible boldly proclaims that the fear of Lord is the beginning of knowledge and fools despise wisdom.
Scripture: Luke 12:16-34
At the foot hills of mt. Sinai God had commanded the Israelites to give Him exclusive devotion with no room for a compromise. However Old Testament history is replete with recurrent issues of idolatry in Israel and Judah. This message looks at the reasons why idolatry was attractive, the sinful practices that accompanied it and the relevance of this commandment for today’s church in the light of Colossians 3: 5. It also discusses 3 common idols of today which are money, sex and self.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:11 - 18
Every one of us wants to be successful in life. Be it in our career, in our studies, even in ministry. But how can one guarantee success? Human strategies will not work all the time. And as Christians we cannot abide by every single human theory about success. Solomon constantly mentions throughout Ecclesiastes that the one quality we need to have in this meaningless world is wisdom. Now, is wisdom a sure guarantee for success? Will we automatically succeed just because we have wisdom? Are there any warning that one needs to heed about wisdom that will help one navigate in a world such as ours?
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 13: 1 - 7
In 1945, on the 6th and 9th of August, the world watched in horror as The United States dropped two nuclear bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki taking the lives of more than 2 lakh people. These weapons affected lives. It changed lives. And even years and years later future generations bore the after effects of that weapon. These images is and will be forever in the hearts and the minds of humanity. The world felt that this was a very powerful weapon at that time. Years and years before this, around 4 BC, there was born an obscure man by the name of Jesus. He too had a powerful weapon. The most powerful weapon in fact. He constantly used it. It also affected lives. It changed them. And years and years later, even future generations bear the after effects of this weapon. This weapon was 'LOVE'. When Jesus demonstrated love, he was letting his children , even the future generations know that love is the most excellent way of life.
Scripture: Daniel 5
God does not leave willful rejection or a challenge against him unpunished. No man is without excuse. When we willfully stray away from God, His judgment is quick to follow.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:1 – 10
How do we live in a world filled with uncertainties? Are we allowed to enjoy life? How are we, as Christians supposed to live in this world?
Scripture: 1st Timothy 3:8-13
The role of a deacon is one traditional area that has had seen many changes over the years. Let's study from Scripture what a deacon is, what their role is and how many the church should have.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians:12:12-26
What does the Bible mean by the term Body of Christ? And what role do 'we' as believers have to play in it?
Scripture: Hebrews 11-12
Believers in Jesus Christ are challenged to run with endurance the race of faith. The great heavenly celebration will come at the final judgment. For the believer it will be a day of triumph and celebration. The writer of Hebrews gives strong words of encouragement to endure as runners in the race.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 8:10 – 17
What is our response to corruption or delayed judgment? How are we to react when we see evil flourish and the good suffer? How does the bible address us to deal with all the injustice in the world?
Scripture: Daniel 4
Pride is the sinful desire in all of us to be seen, to be known, to be heard and to be recognized. It is one of the sins that is most ignored by us. But the Lord does not ignore the proud. He takes it very seriously.
Scripture: John 15
What provisions does God promise to his children? Will God provide us anything and everything we ask for? Does scripture provide evidence for this?
Scripture: John 15
The story of the first king of Israel, Saul is one of the most fascinating and instructive stories in the bible. While he started his reign in noble fashion, eventually rebellion invaded his heart and he fell from Heaven’s grace. It’s interesting not only as part of the history of Israel, but as a character study. Saul’s life has so many lessons for us – we can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do as Christians.
Scripture: John 15
Podcast Series: Abide In Christ
Speaker: Sam Thomas
One of Jesus’ most vivid and powerful illustrations for the believer’s relationship with him is the vine and branches. But what does it mean for us to abide in Jesus as branches in the vine?
Scripture: 2nd Chronicles 32: 9-19
Hezekiah was one of the few Godly kings of his time. And at that time the Assyrian king Sennacherib was capturing and plundering all the nations of Judah. And he had reached the fortified city of Jerusalem where Hezekiah dwelt. Sennacherib then continued to besiege the city by form of discouragement through the way of messengers as well as with his army from all sides of the city. Considering Hezekiah's response to the siege, How do we as Christians respond to crisis?
The story of Joseph is unquestionably one of the most thrilling in the whole of Scripture, which records his life in more detail than is given about the lives of other great patriarchs, such as Abraham and Isaac. Despite being sold into slavery and imprisoned on false accusations, Joseph found ways to live in forgiveness and hope.
Scripture: Acts 2:1-13
One of the most significant events recorded in the Bible happened on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came down to permanently indwell the disciples, and the church age began. Several significant things happened on the Day of Pentecost. Let us look at these in detail.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 8:1 –9
Christians often struggle with how to engage the world. Issues with sexuality and gender often confuse us in the way we relate to society as well as the government. How are we as Christians to respond in a world where we are beset by threats and acts of violence? To what extent should we obey the government? Should we as Christians always without a question do everything the governing authorities demand? If not, then how do you decide where you draw the line. What is our response to the perplexities of human authority? And how do we and Christians relate to the government?
Scripture: Hebrews 10:19-39
It would be wonderful if we did not have to endure trials, suffering and problems in life. We all strongly desire not to have to deal with circumstances that drag us down and cause us such stress and heartache.How confident are we really at drawing near to God in full assurance of faith? How does the faithfulness of God, make it possible for us to hold fast to our confession?
A lot of people who go to church resemble Christians, but they lack real authenticity. They have no living, vital relationship with Jesus Christ.How can we live in total dependence on God and truly display His glory to others?
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
The Bible defines the church—the sacred and called-out assembly of those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus—as ‘the body of Christ’. And the Bible does not mean to use that phrase in a merely ‘sentimental’ sort of way. It means for us to take it as a proposition of definitional fact. It means that whatever else the church may be with its faults and failings on earth, it is truly, genuinely, authentically the body of Christ on earth.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:15 - 29
Solomon says: "Consider the ways of God. Who can make straight what He makes crooked." God has made somethings crooked in this world. Solomon says that if we try to understand why God has made certain things crooked in this world, we really can't understand it and not just that; but when we try to straighten out what God has made crooked, we just can't do it. The effort goes in vain. And so Solomon also displays to us that we ought not to ever take comfort in our circumstances. Instead we need to take comfort in God who alone is faithful and good even if we don't understand all his ways and even if we are still in pain.
Scripture: Mark 5:1-20; Mathew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39; Ephesians 1:3-14
God's kingdom in Mark's gospel comes with power, power to do things that humans can not do on their own. It transforms and forces humans to perceive the truth that God's kingdom best takes root in the marginalized, the outcasts, those seemingly most insignificant. This runs counter to human institutions -- even most ecclesiastical ones -- in which power, wealth, fame, and influence are given pride of place.
Scripture: Romans 7 : 1 - 25
Our position in our Savior enables us to experience daily victory over sin through constantly yielding to the Holy Spirit for obedience to God’s will. But the spiritual life will be a struggle
Scripture: 1st John 5:1-13
We live in a world that is filled with doubt. Very few people seem to have any real certainty about anything. The worse place for doubt to arise is in the realm of the spiritual. We seem to be able to handle other forms of doubt better than we handle those doubts that are spiritual in nature. But, doubt does arise there too, doesn’t it? Sadly, we are living in a day when many do not know for sure! They are constantly in spiritual turmoil because they do not know. There may be some of those people in our presence today. You are filled with confusion and doubt regarding your salvation. You vacillate day by day between being sure and not knowing. You are tired of riding that spiritual yo-yo and you want to know for sure.
How can we know for sure that we have been saved?
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:1 – 14
Perspective is everything. Every decision we make is based on a perspective or a worldview that reflects our understanding of reality. It is a set of lenses through which we look at the world that shows other people what we think of reality or how we view the world. One of the most crucial lessons to learn in this sin contaminated world is for us to know how to handle prosperity and how to handle adversity. Today, when we go through tough times, how are we going to handle it? When God takes us through times of prosperity and wealth, how are we going to handle that? What do we as believers need to understand about prosperity and adversity to have the right perspective about them, so that we can handle them in the most godly perspective possible?
Scripture: Hebrews 10:1-25
We have seen how the old system of sacrifices under the law of Moses was simply a sketch, a shadow, a dim preview of the true form of the good things to come. The mold holds the shape, but it’s the thing that will fill the mold for which everyone is waiting. The Old Covenant, the old system, was the mold holding the shape of the good things to come. Jesus filled it; now the mold is no longer necessary. The Old Covenant still teaches us very important things about God and His expectations for His people. Paul said it was God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and acted as a guardian or teacher to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). There is a timeless form to godliness, a shapeliness (to use the language of how agape love is described) that was preserved by the Old Covenant as it waited for the mold to be filled with the perfect expression of it.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:7-11
Spiritual gifts are given only to Christians, and they are something you never had before you became a Christian. They are abilities to function in the realm of the spirit, not the body, so that the health of the spirit is improved and enhanced and strengthened, and it results in what we usually term "blessing." When you are "blessed" by something you feel spiritually healthier, and that is the function of spiritual gifts, to make the human spirit free and strong and whole and sound and able to live and function as it was intended.
Scripture: Daniel 3 : 1-30
Idolatry is a perversion of the worship of God and it opposes His majesty. That’s why it’s such a temptation to our hearts.One of the reasons that idolatry is tempting is because it capitalizes on half-truths. We are all worshipers. We were created to have awe and reverence for something. We were created to reflect the beautiful image of God. In our sin and the fall the world was broken, and in rebellion against God we deserve His eternal wrath for rejecting and fighting against this eternal God. We were made to worship God. And in our rebellion we set things up to worship instead. Many times our hearts are idol factories. And we love and cherish and nurture these idols.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 6: 1 – 12
Viktor Frankl once said "There is nothing in the world that will help you survive even in the worst of conditions, the worst ordeals in your life like the knowledge that there is meaning in life." Does the understanding that life has meaning make such a difference to in our lives? Is there something that we need to understand that will help us make the most of our lives?
Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-14
All around us are models for living. We are given so many different options that it can be difficult to choose which one to follow. For the follower of Christ, the answer is less complicated. It involves two thoughts: “How will my life allow Christ to shine?” and “How will my life allow others to shine?”
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5 : 8 – 20
The world believes that the more wealth we have, the more we are satisfied, and greater will be our happiness in life. We too sometimes tend to lean towards believing that having a little more money to pay off our bills etc could be really helpful and could bail us out of our problems. Is there a connection between money and happiness? What is the secret to happiness in life?
Scripture: Luke 15
We all rejoice in finding lost things. Our text is Luke’s account of three parables, each of which describes the finding of a lost item, and each of which describes the joy and celebration which resulted.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:1-7
The 2012 movie The Avengers was the story of a group of superheroes that banded together to battle an evil force that was bent on world domination. The only problem was, these superheroes had a hard time banding. For about the first half of the movie, they were each caught up in their own agendas. They squabbled. They backbit. They distrusted each other's motives. As a result, the whole was actually far less than the sum of its parts.
The funny thing is, with the exception of that "fight the battles we never could" part, that pretty much could describe God's plan for His church. And, unfortunately, the first half of The Avengers pretty much describes the way it often works out for churches. It certainly describes the way the church was functioning (or malfunctioning) in Corinth. So in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul gives a "Nick Fury" speech of his own.
Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16
Have you ever heard the phrase, “that person is a salt of the earth person?” Have you ever wondered what that meant? Here Jesus makes clear what is the mission, the vocation, the task and responsibility of those who live according to the Beatitudes.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:1 – 7
Do we struggle in worshiping God? We are aware of his promises that He is there amidst us when we assemble together as a church or when we spend our quiet times or our personal times with him. Unfortunately, we don't recognize His presence sometimes we even sleep or end up in the slumber land. We don't mean to be disrespectful but often we are. We know we should burst forth in awe of God but instead our thoughts wander and we yawn and we go through the same motions and mutter the same old cliches again and again. Now, how can we honor God? What is a right way to approach God as I come here on a Sunday morning? What are the ingredients of true reverence for God?
Mark 4:35-5:1 Jesus Calms a Storm 35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.[a]
Daniel 2 Nebuchadnezzar's Dream 2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,[a] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared[b] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream 17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.”
24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I hav
Hebrews 8:6 English Standard Version (ESV) 6 But as it is, Christ[a] has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Ecclesiastes 4 English Standard Version (ESV) Evil Under the Sun 4 Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity[a] and a striving after wind.
5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.
6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.
7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
13 Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that[b] youth who was to stand in the king's[c] place. 16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
1 Corinthians 11:27-34 English Standard Version (ESV) 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.[a] 31 But if we judged[b] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined[c] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,[d] when you come together to eat, wait for[e] one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
Matthew 28:18-20 English Standard Version (ESV) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 English Standard Version (ESV) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[a] and teachers,[b] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[c] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Jonah 1 English Standard Version (ESV) Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[a] has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[b] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
Daniel 1 English Standard Version (ESV) Daniel Taken to Babylon 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family[a] and of the nobility, 4 youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6 Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
Daniel's Faithfulness 8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.
17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 English Standard Version (ESV) From Dust to Dust 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.[a] 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?
Matthew 2:1-12 English Standard Version (ESV) The Visit of the Wise Men 2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Luke 3:21 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
Mark 1:35 Jesus Preaches in Galilee 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Luke 5:16 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 6:12 The Twelve Apostles 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
Mark 6:46 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
Mark 6:48 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night[a] he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
Luke 9:18 Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ 18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Luke 9:28 The Transfiguration 28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
Luke 10:21-22 Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.[a] 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Luke 11:1 The Lord's Prayer 11 Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
John 11:41-42 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
John 12:27-29 The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up 27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Luke 22:32 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
John 17 The High Priestly Prayer 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that th
1 Corinthians 11:17-34 English Standard Version (ESV) The Lord's Supper 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,[a] 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[b] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[c] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.[d] 31 But if we judged[e] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined[f] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,[g] when you come together to eat, wait for[h] one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
Revelation 2:1-7 English Standard Version (ESV) To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
John 1:1-16 English Standard Version (ESV) The Word Became Flesh 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[e]
John 5:37-47 English Standard Version (ESV) 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Psalm 8 English Standard Version (ESV) How Majestic Is Your Name To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith.[a] A Psalm of David. 8 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b] and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 English Standard Version (ESV) A Time for Everything 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task 9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.[a]
Matthew 7:24-29 English Standard Version (ESV) Build Your House on the Rock 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The Authority of Jesus 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Hebrews 5:11-6:20 Warning Against Apostasy 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,[a] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
The Certainty of God's Promise 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[b] having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Philippians 3 Righteousness Through Faith in Christ 3 Finally, my brothers,[a] rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God[b] and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,[c] blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Straining Toward the Goal 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
1 Corinthians 10-11 English Standard Version (ESV) Warning Against Idolatry 10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown[b] in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel:[d] are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Do All to the Glory of God 23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Head Coverings 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[e] is her husband,[f] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife[g] who prays or pr
1 Corinthians 11 11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Head Coverings 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[a] is her husband,[b] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife[c] who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.[d] 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
The Lord's Supper 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,[e] 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.[h] 31 But if we judged[i] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined[j] so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,[k] when you come together to eat, wait for[l] one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
1 Timothy 6 English Standard Version (ESV) 6 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants[a] regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
False Teachers and True Contentment Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound[b] words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[c] we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Fight the Good Fight of Faith 11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before[d] Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.
Grace be with you.[e]
Ezekiel 37:1-14 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Valley of Dry Bones 37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;[a] it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath[b] to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 10 English Standard Version (ESV) Warning Against Idolatry 10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown[b] in the wilderness.
6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel:[d] are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Do All to the Glory of God 23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 English Standard Version (ESV) The Vanity of Self-Indulgence 2 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.[a] 2 I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. 4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines,[b] the delight of the sons of man.
9 So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
John 20 The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'[a] head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,[c] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[d] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing
John 15:12-17 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 The Vanity of Wisdom 12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I applied my heart[a] to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity[b] and a striving after wind.[c]
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Warning Against Idolatry 10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown[b] in the wilderness.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 All Is Vanity 1 The words of the Preacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens[c] to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things,[d] nor will there be any remembrance of later things[e] yet to be among those who come after.
Hebrews 4:14-5:10 Jesus the Great High Priest 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus[a] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Scripture: Matthew 16:13-27
The Church may seem at times to be weak, divided, and ineffective. But that is usually the result of human leaders and institutions creating problems. Christ declared that he was going to build His church on the apostles; they would proclaim the message of Christ, record it in Scripture, and establish the Church throughout the known world. Everything we do today is based on the work and the teachings of the apostles, who were commissioned by Christ and inspired by the Spirit.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 9:19-27
One of the reasons that people are not effective in evangelism is because they really don’t know what the message is. They’re not sure about the content of the Gospel. Or they’re afraid to get into a conversation because somebody will get them away from what they know and ask them something they don’t know, and they’ll be hung. How was Paul effective in his ministry?
Scripture: Philippians 4:1-20
Paul begins the fourth chapter of Philippians saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” The “therefore” tells us that what Paul is going to say in this chapter is predicated in all that he has already said. So as a quick review is in order. What is Philippians all about? This wonderful book is about being able to rejoice in the Lord in all circumstances. It is tragic that so many professing Christians live their life without that joy because they either continue to keep one foot in the world, or they do not believe God’s promises, or both.
Scripture: Daniel 1-12
The Book of Daniel is the chief example of apocalyptic writing in the Old Testament, a form of writing that came into use largely in response to the disappointments that were experienced by the Hebrews. For centuries, they had looked forward to a reign of justice and righteousness on earth. Instead of these hopes being realized, the lot of the Hebrew people was becoming more difficult with each generation, while at the same time the forces of evil were constantly becoming stronger. These circumstances led to a conviction that only a supernatural intervention by Yahweh could bring about the desired goal. Prior to this time, the forces of evil would continue to grow stronger, and persecutions of the righteous would become even more severe. At the appointed time, a great catastrophic event would engulf the world. The wicked would be destroyed, and the messianic kingdom would be established for all time to come. The purpose of the apocalyptic literature was to offer encouragement to the righteous to remain true and faithful to the principles of their religion. Apocalyptic literature gave them the assurance that the time was not far distant when their deliverance would be at hand.
Scripture: Hebrews 4
The Lord issued the invitation for them to enter and they did not listen. They forfeited their opportunity to enter. Rather than worshipping the Rock known as Jesus Christ and seeking refuge in Him, they looked back to Egypt for comfort. This wasn’t a one time thing, but they were doing this for 40 years. The Almighty swore in His wrath that they would not enter into His rest. The Lord’s invitation to enter into His rest is still valid today. The message is the same today as it was in those days.
Scripture: Luke 15:11-33
Verses 1-2 of this chapter tell us what motivated Jesus to give the four illustrations that make up these verses. The enemies of Jesus were criticizing Him because He received sinners. They are astounded that someone like Jesus Christ would spend His time with “publicans and sinners.” They are stunned that He would receive such wicked and evil people. In response, Jesus tells them these stories. All of these stories are designed to teach the same great truth: “Every soul is precious to God, even yours!”
The Parable of the Prodigal Son makes the same point -- God's joy at the repentance of a lost and wayward son. But most often we look only at the first part of the parable that focuses on the younger, wayward son, who represents the "sinners" and tax collectors. The second part of the parable focuses on the older son's reaction -- one of anger and jealousy -- and represents the Pharisees' own reaction to Jesus seeking the sinners.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 9:1-18
This passage seems to connect in two ways to the book and the previous chapter. Firstly, Paul goes into detail about how himself used freedom for the good of others and whole church body. In the past chapter he describes a specific way that Christian freedom is to be used. It is to be used for others, not oneself. Christian freedom is for profit for others. Secondly, in this passage Paul defends himself. He defends his apostolic authority. He has gone through and delivered a lot of strong reprimands to the church. Here is just a reminder that he has this authority. He is an apostle. He has seen Christ. He’s given up basically everything to serve the church so if anyone has room to teach them, it is Paul.
Scripture: Acts 2:1-7
When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and the other believers on the Day of Pentecost, those who heard them speaking in tongues were perplexed and asked, “What does this mean?” (2:12). The question persists in our day. Many claim that the meaning of Pentecost is that we should have the same experience as the disciples, namely, that we are to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and to speak in tongues. You have probably had other Christians ask you, as I have, “Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit?” If you have not spoken in tongues, they are eager to help you have this experience for yourself. We all need to answer biblically, in light of the context, What is the meaning of Pentecost?
Scripture: Daniel 12
Daniel’s God is our God too—and he is still on the throne. This may be the most important lesson of the book. God is in charge! Simple and clear. He is in charge of nations, families, and individuals. He is in charge of the past, the present, and the future. He is in charge of good times and bad days, of happiness and sorrow, of joy and heartache, of great victories and shocking defeats. He is in charge when a child is born and he is in charge when death knocks at your door.
Scripture: Mark 10:17-27
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”Luke’s gospel tells us this man was a “ruler,” probably in his local synagogue. He was the cream of the religious crop. You’d be proud to call this man your relative. You’d love having a synagogue ruler as a neighbor. He’d mow your lawn and babysit your kids. By all accounts, including his own, he was a law abiding Jew. But still he wondered…What do I have to do? What an interesting juxtaposition – such a well-respected, well-to-do, well-behaved man fell on his knees before Jesus, not to try to trap him, but sincerely asking the million dollar religious question. “What must I do?” How could he wonder? Based on what he says next, he’s pretty sure he’s kept all the commandments. But here’s the problem: in a religion of law and works – no matter how well I do, no matter how much I do – the question is always there: have I done enough? So, his question is genuine – What am I missing? Before Jesus shows him the solution to his spiritual crisis, Jesus needs him to see how deep the problem goes.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 9
This passage seems to connect in two ways to the book and the previous chapter. Firstly, Paul goes into detail about how himself used freedom for the good of others and whole church body. In the past chapter he describes a specific way that Christian freedom is to be used. It is to be used for others, not oneself. Christian freedom is for profit for others. Secondly, in this passage Paul defends himself. He defends his apostolic authority. He has gone through and delivered a lot of strong reprimands to the church. Here is just a reminder that he has this authority. He is an apostle. He has seen Christ. He’s given up basically everything to serve the church so if anyone has room to teach them, it is Paul.
Scripture: Hebrews 3:12-16; Hebrews 4
The Lord issued the invitation for them to enter and they did not listen. They forfeited their opportunity to enter. Rather than worshipping the Rock known as Jesus Christ and seeking refuge in Him, they looked back to Egypt for comfort. This wasn’t a one time thing, but they were doing this for 40 years. The Almighty swore in His wrath that they would not enter into His rest. The Lord’s invitation to enter into His rest is still valid today. The message is the same today as it was in those days.
Scripture: Daniel 11:21-45
God was going to reveal to Daniel some amazing details about major world powers, beginning with the Medo-Persian Empire and continuing through the time of the end just prior to Christ’s second coming. The angel that came to help Daniel understand the vision told him that its focus was on “what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come”
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 10:14-33
This passage starts off with the key verse to flee from idolatry. Like most pagan cities at that time, Corinth was filled with idol worship. It was everywhere and most people were caught up completely in it. Fleeing from idolatry is the way out that God offered. The second issue is one closely related to idol worship, but regarding the food sacrificed to idols. Since this is the third or fourth time it has been mentioned in this book, obviously it was a major issue to them. Often times the writers of Scripture under divine inspiration repeated very important topics. It is not enough to hear something once. We need to hear it again and again.
Scripture: Philippians 3
Paul wrote this letter from prison, in which case his future doesn’t look bright. But he’s not deterred by that. It’s a setback, but not devastating. The life he used to live was devastating. He’s leaving something behind and pressing toward something else. Not even prison stops the pressing on.
Scripture: Daniel 11
God was going to reveal to Daniel some amazing details about major world powers, beginning with the Medo-Persian Empire and continuing through the time of the end just prior to Christ’s second coming. The angel that came to help Daniel understand the vision told him that its focus was on “what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come”
Scripture: Esther 3
We have reached the place in the book of Esther, at the close of the first two chapters, which represents all that most Christians know about the Christian life. They have accepted Christ so many years ago; they have been born again; they feel that they have been left here to struggle on the best they can until the Lord comes or they are called to be with him -- and they are trying to make the best of it until that time. This is all they know. Christianity, to them, is receiving Christ, being born again, and trying to do the best they can from there on. Now, if this were all there were to the Christian experience, then the book of Esther would end at Chapter 2. But it doesn't. It goes on to teach some very important truths.
Scripture: Daniel 10
Daniel, as it were, pulls back the curtain that separates us from the spirit world. He gives us a glimpse of the battle behind the scene, a struggle that goes on today, a struggle that goes on all around us, even though we do not see it with our own eyes.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 8
After answering their questions about marriage, Paul turned to another controversial subject in the letter he received from the Corinthian church: “Can Christians eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?” You may wonder how this question has any relevance for us today, but it’s actually incredibly relevant as it speaks to the issue of Christian freedom. We face this issue all the time as we consider and debate things.
Scripture: 1st Corinthians 1 - 7
In chapters 1 through 7 of First Corinthians, Paul writes of the contrast between human wisdom and God’s wisdom, what it means to be a servant of Christ, and how believers are bought with a price. Although these chapters were directed to a specific situation, they are relevant still today.
Scripture: Mathew 25:14-30
The parable of the talents is among the most abused texts in the New Testament.
Contrary to what might be modeled by some best-selling televangelists, the parable does not justify a gospel of economic prosperity. Instead, it challenges believers to emulate their Master by using all that God has given them for the sake of the kingdom.
Scripture: II Corinthians 2 : 14-16
As Christians, we are the most blessed people on earth, for in Christ we have become victorious in life - and through Him we have been declared triumphant over death. We are identified with His Person, His perfections, His glorious victories, and His resurrected life - and it is all by faith.
Because we are in Christ by faith, we have passed from death to life-eternal and are one with Him. Because we have been born again, we are accepted forever by the Father. We are declared righteous because of our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
In this second letter to the Corinthians, we discover Paul encompassed by the sort of difficult circumstances that would cause most people to fall apart. Paul tells his readers that he was pressed out of measure and attacked by the enemy of our souls, insomuch that he, "despaired even of life!" He was tossed about by every possible difficulty and danger, but Paul learned a valuable lesson... that he must not trust in his own abilities but only in God.
Scripture: Psalm 40:2
This Psalm is a song about the pits. It falls into two sections. In the first half (40:1-10), David tells how God got him out of one pit and he sings God’s praise for doing so. But he did not then live happily ever after. Rather, it is evident from the second half of the psalm (40:11-17) that he is in another pit, crying out to the Lord to deliver him from this one. Because David waited intently on the Lord to rescue him from the first pit, he knew how to wait on the Lord to get him out of the second pit. How do we as Christians respond when we are in the pit?