Last week, we finished with Paul and Timothy saying how all Christians (“we all”) experience God’s glory. Right now, that glory comes to us like an image that we see reflected in a mirror (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is God’s glory coming to us in an indirect way, hidden, so we do not die from […]
2 Timothy, Lesson 6: Follow and Deliver the Apostles’ Teaching from the Scriptures
October 5, 2015 by
Paul just finishing describing false teachers in Ephesus, comparing them to Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh’s magicians who opposed Moses. In contrast to those false teachers, Paul now commends Pastor Timothy. Continue in the Apostles’ Teaching Read 2 Timothy 3:10-12 “followed”: Greek, parakoloutheo. This means more than “follow”; it has the idea of “accompanying” or […]
Luke 14:1-6: Jesus is Our Sabbath Rest
September 27, 2015 by
With laser-like precision, they honed in on His every word. They did this, not because they wanted to learn from the Lord of lords in the flesh, but to trap Him in His words. They wanted to pounce on Jesus and show that He was a fraud. So, those Pharisees conspired and schemed, looking for […]
2 Corinthians, Lesson 5: The Ministry of Death versus the Ministry of Life
September 27, 2015 by
Paul and Timothy (“we”) just finished saying that what they were doing was from God. They wanted to contrast themselves against false teachers, who were “peddlers of God’s Word” (2 Corinthians 2:17-18). Even more, these “peddlers” were of Jewish origin (2 Corinthians 11:22) who had come into the congregation at Corinth with letters of recommendation. […]
2 Timothy, Lesson 5: Dealing with Human “Devils” in the Church
September 27, 2015 by
Describing the Church, which Paul called a “foundation,” he now moves on to what is built on the foundation, the “house.” Pastor Timothy, Avoid Needless Quarrels Read 2 Timothy 2:20 Read 2 Timothy 2:21 Paul now moves from the greater to the lesser. Like the Church is to be free from […]
1 Kings 17: Pointing to Jesus
September 21, 2015 by
Jesus says that all, not some, but all the Scriptures testify of Him (John 5:39). And so when we ponder our Old-Testament reading for today, we should ask, “How does Elijah, the widow, and her son point me to Jesus?” But before we go there, let’s review last week’s Old-Testament reading. For today’s Old-Testament reading […]
2 Corinthians, Lesson 4: The Change in Travel Plans
September 21, 2015 by
Last week, we explored Paul and Timothy’s use of a chiasm to mention that God seals and anoints His people in the New Covenant. We explored that and saw that such sealing and anointing was what the Church later came to call “confirmation.” Explanation for 2 Corinthians Paul earlier explained why he and Timothy […]
2 Timothy, Lesson 4: Persevere
September 21, 2015 by
Last week, we explored the relationship between Paul and Onesiphorus, how Onesiphorus helped Paul in prison when others had abandoned him, and how Paul prayed for Onesiphorus after he had most likely died. Paul now continues to encourage Timothy to be faithful in what God had given him to do. Persevere in Suffering to […]
Comfort, even in the Darkest Valley
September 21, 2015 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for the October 2015 edition of our congregational newsletter. In our midweek Bible class, we are studying the New Testament book of 2 Timothy. It’s a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to (you guessed it!) Pastor Timothy. Although it’s written for a pastor, it still contains many […]
Matthew 6:24-34: You Can’t Serve God and Money
September 15, 2015 by
When Jesus says, “You can’t serve God and money,” He’s not accusing you of devoting your life to amassing wealth. For if you serve money, that means money is the most important part of your life. You’ll do whatever you need to do to get it, to get more of it. That describes almost no […]
