Having shared with Timothy the proper content and purpose of prayer during worship (2:1-7), Paul now discusses the proper role of men and women during worship (2:8-10), which then segues into the topic on women teaching (2:11-15). In the beginning of chapter 2, what Paul said about prayer was his request (2:1). Now his words […]
Isaiah 6:1-7: “Holy! Holy! Holy!” to the Holy Trinity
June 11, 2015 by
Isaiah was having a bad day. He was in the Temple, offering the daily burnt sacrifice for the sins of Israel. It was a straightforward task, no different from the many other times that he had stood before the Lord’s altar. Isaiah had years of practice being a priest. Making such sacrifices, for him, may […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 22: Love is a Verb
June 11, 2015 by
Having dealt with those who were misusing spiritual gifts (or doing what they thought were expressions of their spiritual gifts, but were not), Paul now moves to his main train of thought. He finished chapter 12 with these words: “And now I will show you the best way of all” (1 Corinthians 12:31). 1 Corinthians […]
Misreading Scripture Alone
June 11, 2015 by
This is an article that pastor came across last autumn. The author, Matthew Block, writes how many have succumbed to ancient heresies that the Church has long ago refuted. He also explains why he thinks this is the case. When the author uses the word “evangelical,” he means Protestant Christians who do not consider themselves […]
Acts 2: It Had All Been For This
May 26, 2015 by
It had all been for this. Jesus ascended into heaven, taking His seat at the right hand of the Father, that position of authority and power, all to pour out the Holy Spirit from the Father. That Spirit, which Jesus had sent to His Church, was the same Spirit that had come to the Virgin […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 21: The “Spirituals”
May 23, 2015 by
Although 1 Corinthians is a joint letter from the Apostle Paul and Pr. Sosthenes (1 Corinthians 1:1), the letter continues, for now, being from the Apostle Paul. Paul now switches to a different topic: Spiritual gifts. Paul begins this section with, “Now concerning,” to address specific questions he had received in a letter from the […]
1 Timothy, Lesson 3: Faithful Worship—Paul’s Pastoral Instructions to Timothy
May 21, 2015 by
Having commanded Timothy to “wage the good war” against the false teaching and teachers, Paul now shifts his focus to the Church and worship, “so you may know how someone should conduct himself in God’s household” (1 Timothy 3:15). The Church in Prayer Read 1 Timothy 2:1a Paul begins this section with a “so […]
Luke 24:44-53: Preaching Repentance into the Forgiveness of Sins
May 20, 2015 by
It’s easy to think of Jesus ascending into heaven as His goodbye to His people. But that isn’t so. Jesus’ ascension wasn’t a goodbye, even though we who live in this world see Him no more. Ascension wasn’t an ending, or even a time to be sad. But neither was Christ’s ascension a convenient way […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 20: How to Deal with Heresy and the Lord’s Supper
May 20, 2015 by
Last week, we heard Paul’s words of censure to the Corinthian congregation: “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup [of the Lord’s Supper].” Paul had directed those words to those who had committed, or were capable of committing, heresy. “Heresy” requires three things for it […]
1 Timothy, Lesson 2: Timothy is to “wage war” against false doctrine
May 14, 2015 by
Last week we learned that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to serve as pastor there to “clean house.” God’s household, the congregation there, had come under the sway of “alien teaching.” Since Paul was writing to Pastor Timothy, Timothy, as the manager or steward of the congregation, was to deal with of that problem. […]
