I have the honor of meeting with our elementary aged kids this week during our AWANA program at Southern Calvert Baptist Church. The kids have been learning about Jesus over this past quarter. Tonight will be a review where we put several passages together and get a clear view of who Jesus is. Many people in the Western world grow up hearing something about Jesus. Some of what they hear comes from the Bible while other aspects come from popular culture. I have ministered to a tribe in Myanmar where the majority of the people had never heard the name Jesus. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Ephesians
Following Jesus breaks down barriers
Praise the Lord for the opportunity to teach the Word of God every week in our Connect Groups at Southern Calvert Baptist Church! I have the privilege of studying these lessons weekly, meditating on them, turning them into lesson plans, equipping the teachers, and imparting what I learn with the people the Lord brings to church week in and week out. I have mentioned this many times already but, I want to write it out again. We have been on a journey through the entire Bible over a three year period. We have arrived at our last quarter in this journey. In the beginning, the last quarter seemed like it was so far away yet, here we are. We have learned a great deal about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am excited to finish strong. I have heard many testimonies of people who have been in church for years but never actually read through the entire Bible, cover to cover. I am so glad that so many are reading the entire Bible with us. Continue reading
Striving to live a disciplined life
It has been a lot of fun teaching through II Thessalonians. I have taught this book many times and, each time I teach through it, I learn new things about God and new things about myself.
If you have been following this series, you are aware of the previous lessons and what they teach. If you have not been following the series, take a moment to play a little catch up by reading the following articles.
- The importance of communication
- Genuine faith endures persecution
- Concerning the Day of the Lord
- The Church and the Day of the Lord
- Praying for your disciples
The previous lesson focused on prayer, specifically, praying for your disciples, that they would grow in their knowledge of the Word of God, that they would grow in their faith, that they would grow in their love, and that they would continue making more disciples. Continue reading
The Urgency of the Gospel
I was trained by some of the best disciple makers in the world and, as they were investing in me, they invested the idea of the urgency of the Gospel. As I have grown in my faith by walking with the Lord, and as I have grown in the ministry, I have noticed that there are many “brothers” and “sisters” in Christ who have a much different philosophy of ministry than the one I was taught. Part of that includes a lack of urgency when it comes to making disciples and getting the Gospel out to the lost and dying world. I would like to examine the Scriptures and focus on the idea of the urgency of making disciples because the days are evil. Continue reading
Resurrected to different rewards
Contrary to popular belief, heaven will not be equal for all. Heaven will not be a communistic dream where everyone receives the same, no matter what they did on this earth. I would like to examine a couple of Jesus’ teachings on the kingdom of heaven. After that, we will take a look at what Paul teaches about the rewards that await us after this life is over.
If you will take a look with me at Paul’s writing to the church in Ephesus. Continue reading
The Importance of OBEDIENCE
The Apostle Paul on Leadership (Acts 20)
Yesterday, I was watching a video of a Bible study that our church leadership did a few years ago as we met and planned the upcoming year for us at that time. It was an amazing day. As a leadership team, we hiked about 18-20 miles, visiting villages, sharing the Gospel, doing Bible study, and planning. It was a great day of fellowship and brotherhood. We even found time to take a nap beside a lake under some shade trees during the hottest part of the day. All the memories came flooding back as I watched the Bible study session. I wanted to write an article with the teachings from Acts 20, given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul. I linked to the verses, or, you can open your own Bible and read the account, starting in verse 15 and going through the end of the chapter. As we studied the passage, we looked at what we learned about Paul and the commands Paul gave to the Ephesian elders. From these two aspects, we have much to learn about Biblical leadership.
I. Insights about Paul
God first, family second, and then service in the ministry
Can we separate love for God from service to God? Many seem to think so but that is not what the Scriptures teach. Unfortunately, in the Evangelical world, the title of this article is a common mantra. I do not believe that it is correct, nor Biblical. According to the Scriptures, we cannot separate love for God from service to God.
I. Jesus’ understanding
Born again by water and the Spirit
The idea for this article came as a direct result of a Facebook question that I asked in reference to John 3:5. I received the answers that I expected. I was asked to explain the meaning of the water to which Jesus refers in John 3:5. I want to share the explanation here in this post. One of the requirements in answering the posed question was that interpretation needed to be contextual and referenced with other Scriptures if possible.
Here is the question: Continue reading
Covenant, Lesson 11: Living in the light of the New Covenant
Well, it is hard for me to believe that we are on lesson 11 of Covenant, the final lesson of the manual. This has been such a rewarding study for me and for all of those who have taken the class. I am a little sad that it is almost over, but, at the same time, I am excited to begin Titus in January. If you have been with us from the beginning, here is a little reminder of our previous lessons.
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