Paul now deals with a topic that he had earlier touched on in 1 Corinthians chapter 10: The Lord’s Supper. In this section, Paul was admonishing the Corinthians for straying from what he had “traditioned” to them. “In following the command [the mandate of the Lord’s Supper], I do not praise you… For I received […]
1 Timothy, Lesson 1 (and Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles)
May 7, 2015 by
Before we delve into 1 Timothy, a general survey of what we call “the Pastoral Epistles” would be helpful. Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles What are the Pastoral Epistles? They are the New-Testament books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. It is good to study them together because they are the last three […]
Isaiah 12:1-6: Jesus is Our Salvation
May 3, 2015 by
The Old Testament isn’t easy to read. It has so much killing in it, people rebelling against God, and more history than most of us can handle. It’s also hard to understand. But don’t let that keep you from the Old Testament. If you have the patience to take in what God has for you, […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 18: God’s Tradition
May 3, 2015 by
We see Paul start this section doing something that he rarely did in 1 Corinthians: He praised them! In this case, Paul praised them for keeping the traditions that he had passed on to them. Thus, we learn, that keeping the right traditions are something important for us to do in Christ’s Church. Tradition […]
Acts, Lesson 30: Paul Finally Makes It to Rome
April 29, 2015 by
Last week, we got a lesson in 1st-century sailing and how ship captains navigated the Mediterranean Sea to deliver cargo and passengers. Since Paul left late in the sailing season, he met storms on his way to Rome. The storms became so bad that, as Paul had predicted, they would become shipwrecked. And that’s where […]
Lamentations 3:22-33: Depression
April 26, 2015 by
Depression is a vexing condition. It’s part of that huge array of problems that have afflicted us since our first parents fell into sin. Depression is the result of a sin-corrupted body, a defect in how our brains work, just like the fall into sin also affects how our hearts, livers, and stomachs perform. But […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 17: A Look at the Lord’s Supper
April 26, 2015 by
Last week, we finished looking into Paul’s use of Israel’s sins during the Old Covenant as examples of what not to do for the Corinthian Christians in the New Covenant. At first glance, it simply looked as if Paul’s examples were Israel being unfaithful to God (and they were, but the question is, “In what […]
Acts, Lesson 29: Paul Sets Sail to Rome
April 23, 2015 by
After being under house arrest for two years in Caesarea, and after speaking before Herod Agrippa and Festus, Paul’s appeal to Caesar now begins to take place. They deliver Paul to be taken by ship to Rome. Luke records these events in a parallel structure: A Paul journeys to Malta (Acts 27) . B Paul […]
Understanding Five Bible Verses in a Better Way
April 21, 2015 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for May, 2015. We each have our favorite Bible verses, which we quote, which may even help us get through dark times. But, sometimes, the way we use a verse can cause us see God or events in ways that the original writer of that verse never meant. […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 16: Don’t Keep God from Coming to You with His Life and Salvation
April 19, 2015 by
Paul continues to deal with the issue of whether it’s okay to eat the meat that was earlier sacrificed to idols. To deal with this issue, he continues to use Old-Covenant Israel as an example of what not to do and how not to approach God, all within a chiastic structure. A 8:1-13 Dealing with […]
