For students in my Wednesday night class on The Life of Abraham: Handouts and Notes for Lesson 3 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tonight at 6:30pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on The Life of Abraham: Handouts and Notes for Lesson 2 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 6:30pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on The Life of Abraham: Handouts and Notes for Lesson 1 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 6:30pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
When was the last time you were in a Bible class that studied the life of Abraham? If you are like me….it has been a while. As a matter of fact I can’t remember a single class that I’ve been involved with as an adult (teacher or student) where the primary focus was on Abraham . Why is this? His story is a staple of children’s sunday school classes, but then for some reason we abandon the subject as we get older.
Consider what the Apostle Paul says about Abraham in Galatians:
Galatians 3:7–9 (ESV)
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
If it is indeed true that the Gospel message was originally preached to Abraham, and that all Christians are “sons of Abraham,” is it not critical that we have a thorough understanding of God’s working throughout his life?
To that end, I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a new class beginning tomorrow night at Bellevue Church of Christ in the auditorium at 6:30pm. It is simply entitled, The Life of Abraham, and will be an in-depth study of this great man beginning in Genesis 11. I would like to invite everyone to join us for an expository look at the life of the man who provided the blueprint for living a life with faith in God.
Tomorrow morning I will be preaching at Berea Church of Christ in Lebanon, TN.
The title of my sermon is…
This sermon looks at the reasons why James says that followers of Christ should find joy in trials (or suffering) of life.
If you are in the Middle Tennessee area, we would love to have you join us tomorrow morning at 9am for worship!
Berea Church of Christ
5555 Coles Ferry Pike Pke
Lebanon, TN 37087
(615) 443-2232
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letters to the Colossians & Philemon: Handouts and Notes for Philemon are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 6:30pm in the auditorium at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 4:7-18 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 6:30pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 4:2-6 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 6:30pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 3:18 – 4:1 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 3:12-17 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 3:1-11 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 2:16-23 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
I know I’m in the minority these days, but I still love to listen to music on vinyl records. The long play (“LP”) record, which was introduced by Columbia in 1948, was pushed to the brink of extinction by the cassette tape, the compact disc (“CD”), and now digital media. Today it is enjoying somewhat of a comeback, but is still little more than a small niche in the overall music industry.
There are two main reasons why I prefer the LP format. First, I love the warm, rich sound that is the hallmark of most vinyl pressings. Music just sounds more authentic on a record. Second, the LP puts the emphasis on listening to the album all the way through from beginning to end. When I listen to a record, I know I’m hearing the album the way the artist originally intended for it to be enjoyed.
This emphasis on the album as a whole has been slowly eroding with each passing generation of music recording technology. The cassette tape allowed for fast-forwarding or rewinding to a particular song on the album. The CD made it possible to “skip” straight to individual songs we wanted to hear. With digital media we can forgo the album altogether and merely purchase the tracks we want, assembling them together in any way our heart desires. The focus on the album is almost non-existent in today’s music culture.
Unfortunately, the same thing can be said regarding the trend of how the “Ancient Record” (i.e. the Word of God) is studied and taught. It used to be common for preachers and teachers to employ “expository” methods in presenting scripture. The aim of expository preaching is to dig deep into the Word of God and attempt to present a section of text in the way the author, and ultimately God’s Holy Spirit, intended for it to be received. This often involves the consideration of context, culture, original language, and other factors. In other words, expository teaching requires a willingness to work hard and dig deep to find the truth contained in God’s Word.
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 2:6-15 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 1:24 – 2:5 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
A few years ago I developed a medical condition with symptoms that began to significantly impact my life. During the process of undergoing test after test to discover the source of these problems, I had a discussion with a health provider who was advising me on how to cope with my symptoms, have more energy, and regain my strength. She asked about all of the things I was involved in related to work, family, church, and social life, and immediately said that I first needed to simplify my life and focus on those things that are most important.
Today I find myself in a different type of struggle, however this one is not related to my physical health. Instead, it involves my spiritual life. Once again, there are symptoms that are severely affecting me. I often find myself out of energy, frustrated, and overwhelmed. As with my health issue, I know the only way I’m going to break free of these symptoms is by simplifying my spiritual life and focusing on those things that are most fundamental to my Christian faith.
This challenge is mostly because the American execution of “Church” has become overly complicated. Anyone involved in the work of a local body knows that today’s church is often filled with politics, competing agendas, feuds, entertainment, marketing, denominationalism, and so many other things that take our focus off of what God intended His believers to be about.
These are the things that have me at a spiritual crossroads in my life, and yearning for simplicity in my church experience and my Christian walk. I want to stop worrying about things that ultimately don’t matter, and focus on the core fundamentals of Christianity.
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 1:15-23 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 1:1-14 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
For students in my new Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for the Class Introduction are now available online. Lord willing start this new class tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
