The Limits of Fellowship

Text: Galatians 2:9 The New Testament describes fellowship as something to be valued, built, and maintained. The “right hand of fellowship” was a symbol of acceptance and approval. But we cannot accept and approve of everyone. There are limits to fellowship. We will discuss them in this lesson. Defining Fellowship Greek word (koinonia) – association, […]

Mediocre Christianity

Text: Revelation 3:15-16 The church in Laodicea was condemned for being “lukewarm.” They thought they were in “need of nothing,” but they were not spiritually healthy. They needed to “be zealous and repent.” At times, we may be like the Laodiceans – not what we should be, but not completely unfaithful either; not zealously serving God, […]

Oh Hold Them Back

Text: Proverbs 24:11 In our text, the wise man encouraged efforts to rescue those who were headed for destruction. Sometimes this is done by protecting someone from PHYSICAL harm (murder, rape, injury, kidnapping, etc.). It can also be done by protecting someone from SPIRITUAL harm, and we will focus on this in this lesson. The […]

The Flesh vs. The Spirit

Text: Romans 8:5-13 In our text, Paul contrasted two different mindsets – one set on the flesh, the other set on the Spirit. These are diametrically opposed to one another, and as Christians, it should be obvious which side we are on. Yet too often, we allow our minds to focus on the flesh instead […]

Problems with Denying Jesus’ Resurrection

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 In the previous lesson, we talked about the proof we have for the resurrection of Jesus. This was not just a myth or legend, it is a historical fact. This is important. If the resurrection of Jesus did not happen, there are some major implications. Paul warned about what it would […]

What Is a Sin Not Leading to Death?

Text: 1 John 5:16-17 At the end of John’s first epistle, he mentioned two different kinds of sin – one that leads to death and one that does not. What was he talking about? This is a difficult passage. We must take care not to misinterpret it, but we can understand it. To do this, […]

How Does Sin Enslave Us?

Text: John 8:34-36 In the verses before this, Jesus explained that the truth is able to make us free (John 8:32). Free from what? From sin. Sin enslaves those who commit it. How does it do this? It is not by somehow removing our free will. So how does it happen? In this lesson, we […]