Text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 In this passage, Paul talked about God giving the Holy Spirit to us “as a pledge.” We might wonder what this means. What is a pledge? Why did God do this? How is the Spirit given? It is helpful to understand what Paul meant here. This was said to provide us […]
February 5, 2024
The Problem with Ecumenism
Text: Ephesians 4:3-6 In a recent lesson, we talked about what would destroy a congregation. One of the things we discussed was a lack of unity. When a congregation is divided, it cannot stand. Yet it is possible to “overcorrect” on the problem of division and go beyond God’s will for our unity. That is […]
September 11, 2023
What Will Destroy a Congregation
Text: 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 When Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians, there were many problems he needed to address. When he wrote the second letter, they had definitely made some improvements. However, there were still issues that threatened the health of the church. Toward the end of the second letter, he described some […]
June 19, 2023
Letter to the Church in Thyatira
Text: Revelation 2:18-29 This is the fourth 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, […]
May 15, 2023
Members One of Another
Text: Romans 12:3-5 Paul told the saints in Rome they were “members one of another” as part of the same body. Therefore, they were to act in a certain way toward one another. The same is true for us today. As members of the church – and of a local congregation in particular – we […]
September 12, 2022
Be Subject to One Another in the Fear of Christ
Text: Ephesians 5:21-6:9 Paul talked about being “subject to one another” and the various relationships in which we do this. This is the idea of placing ourselves “under” someone – not by force as if we were defeated, but willingly. Ultimately, we do this because we are subjecting ourselves to the Lord as it is done “in […]
February 21, 2022
Developing a Resilient Faith
Text: 1 Peter 1:3-9 I recently read the book, Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock. The book described how living in today’s godless and digital society is like living in exile (like Babylonian captivity). Based on research of 18-29 year olds who […]
