In this life, we will experience suffering, for we live in a fallen world. “In Christ,” His suffering is ours—even if we are not suffering for being Christians. If we are in Him, we have what He gives us, which includes being glorified with Him on the Last Day. We know how the story ends—and […]
Our Life with God, Lesson 9: Christian Prayer, Pt. 3
May 29, 2016 by
We now look further into prayer, looking at specific verses that help shape our life of prayer. Fervent Prayer The traditional wording of James 5:16 is this: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” This has fostered in some that if your prayer isn’t fervent enough (with intensity, with genuine heart-felt passion), […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 24: Worship is to reflect the orderliness of God
June 21, 2015 by
Earlier in chapter 14, Paul told the Corinthians Christians to be infants in evil. Paul was pointing out that they were not infants, but adults, when it came to evil. The only negative topic of chapter 14, the evil to which Paul referred, was speaking in unintelligible tongues. Paul was not against speaking in tongues—but […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 23: Seek the Understandable Word, not Intelligible Sounds
June 13, 2015 by
Starting with chapter 12, Paul has dealt with the topic of spiritual gifts, which many in the congregation at Corinth were abusing. Last week, Paul focused on the greatest expression of the Holy Spirit’s work in someone: agape love. He now revisits the proper use of “the Spirituals,” focusing on speaking the Word (prophecy) and […]
Acts, Lesson 20: In Ephesus: Confirmation and Speaking in Tongues
November 5, 2014 by
Paul in Ephesus In the last Lesson, we saw Luke hurriedly describe many events in passing (Acts 18:22-23), wanting to bring us to Ephesus. Luke now does that, telling us what took place there with the Apostle Paul. Ephesus was located in what today is the western coast of Turkey. It was the fourth largest […]
Acts, Lesson 3: A glimpse into the earliest New-Covenant Church
June 4, 2014 by
In the last lesson, pastor taught that the “they” in Acts 2:1 referred to the entire Christian Church at the time: those before whom Peter spoke (Acts 1:15). And we find more confirmation that more than just the Apostles spoke in other languages. Read Acts 2:5-13 What brought the Jews to where the Christians were […]
Acts, Lesson 2: Jesus ascends and then sends the Holy Spirit
May 29, 2014 by
Jesus had just told His Apostles that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit would descend on them. The Spirit would empower them to speak of what their eyes had witnessed when they were with Jesus. The Ascension Read Acts 1:9-11 What takes place with Jesus? The Significance of the Cloud […]
Pentecost: Acts 2:1-21
May 27, 2012 by
This past week in our liturgical, Church calendar, we’ve been in limbo. We’ve been existing between two realities. We celebrated our Lord’s ascension into heaven. But since the Ascension, we’ve been waiting. We’ve been waiting for this day. Like the Apostles of old, we’ve been listening to our Lord’s instructions to “wait in Jerusalem until […]
