Righteous Lot

Text: 2 Peter 2:6-9 Lot is described as being “righteous,” yet he was not without his faults. In Lot we see one who was righteous, yet too often focused on the wrong thing, tolerated too much, and compromised with the world. There are some important lessons we can learn from Lot’s example, both good and […]

The Covenant with the Gibeonites

Text: Joshua 9:3-15 After Israel left Egypt, they were warned not to make any covenant with the people of Canaan (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). But after conquering just two cities (Jericho and Ai), they made a covenant with the Gibeonites. Though they were deceived, this was still a failure on their part and would come with consequences. […]

How One’s Heart Becomes Hardened

Hebrews 3:12-13 The Hebrew writer warned about brethren developing an unbelieving heart hardened by sin. This comes in the middle of two warnings against following the poor example of the Israelites (Hebrews 3:7-8,15). The example of the Israelites hardening their hearts is a warning for us. However, the Israelites also had an example that they […]

Jesus: The Great Physician

Text: Luke 5:27-32 Jesus is sometimes referred to as the Great Physician because He came to heal those who were sick. In our text, He referred to spiritual sickness – sin. But Jesus also healed many physical ailments. These helped symbolize the spiritual healing He came to provide. In this lesson, we will look at some of […]

How the Church Grew in Ephesus

Text: Acts 19:20 When Paul came to Ephesus, he quickly converted twelve men (Acts 19:1-7). In three years (Acts 20:31), the gospel grew mightily (Acts 19:20) and the church went from just twelve men to “a considerable number” (Acts 19:26). There are challenges that come with being part of a smaller congregation. But we can […]

The Childhood of Jesus

Text: Luke 2:40 Many wonder what the childhood of Jesus was like. The Bible says little about it, though other writings claim to contain accounts of His childhood. His childhood was important because it was a necessary part of God’s scheme of redemption (Hebrews 2:14-15; 10:5). But it is also significant that the Bible says […]

A Parable About Forgiveness

Text: Matthew 18:23-35 Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiving his brother (Matthew 18:21-22). After answering, Jesus used a parable to explain the answer. We must forgive because we have been forgiven. There are several lessons to be learned from this parable. The King (v. 23) The kingdom of heaven is a spiritual kingdom (John […]