Letter to the Church in Pergamum

Text: Revelation 2:12-17 This is the third in a series of lessons on the seven churches of Asia addressed in Revelation 2-3. Through John, Jesus sent a letter to each church, which He also shared with the others and with us as well. The letters described challenges they were facing, what they were doing well, […]

Seek the Welfare of the City

Text: Jeremiah 29:4-11 In this passage, Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles living in captivity. The letter contained instructions about how they were to conduct themselves while in exile and explained what they could hope for in the future. Today, we live as exiles in the world. The basic points in Jeremiah’s letter are helpful for us as well. […]

Who Is My Brother?

Text: 1 Peter 2:17 Peter said we are to “love the brotherhood.” This is a special group of people. But who are they? Does it matter that we know? Shouldn’t we love everyone? Of course, we should love everyone; but it is important that we know who our brethren are. We need to appreciate the blessings […]

The Forces That Are Against Us

Text: Ephesians 6:11-12 At the end of the book of Ephesians, Paul admonished them to “put on the full armor of God.” Why? We are involved in a spiritual conflict. There is a battle going on around us. We prepare by putting on the armor AND by knowing who our enemy is. Paul explained who […]

The Sect That Is Spoken Against Everywhere

Text: Acts 28:22 When Paul came to Rome as a prisoner, he was permitted to meet with the Jewish leaders. He explained why he was there (Acts 28:17-20). They had not heard about Paul, but they had heard about the church (Acts 28:21-22). The church was the “sect…spoken against everywhere.” Why? There are several reasons for this. As […]

Mark and Avoid

Text: Romans 16:17-18 At the close of his letter to Rome, Paul told the brethren to “mark” and “avoid” certain people. Why would he tell them to do this? What was this to accomplish? And what about the one being marked? In this lesson, we will seek to answer these questions from the word of God. Reasons […]

The Gospel of Adoption

Text: Galatians 4:1-20 This is the fourth of six lessons examining the gospel from the book of Galatians. This lesson will focus on the gospel as a message of adoption. We can become the children of God. Once we do, we must live in a certain way. The Announcement Christ came at the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4) – this was […]