Category: Subject Index
Study Material Categorized by Subject
Sermon: You Must Be Born Again (3:1-8)
Lesson 5 in series (John 3:1-8)
The conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, regarding the new birth, is discussed and explained.
We MUST Love Our Brethren
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).
John’s words ring so true. Men have been “made in the similitude of God” (James 3:9). Thayer defines the word “similitude”, 1) a making like; 2) likeness. When we combine the facts that men are made like God, and our Christian brethren have the motivations, principles and character that He personifies, it is simply not possible to have love for Him and animus for them.
Further, we profess a love for God when we know Him only by Faith. We have not seen Him. We know of His character and person only as they are revealed in His word, His creation, and His providential care for us. That doesn’t mean our profession of love is not true. But, our brethren we know experientially. We see them, converse with them, live with them, worship with them, work with them. If we hate them, our profession of love for the God they emulate is demonstrably hollow.
If we truly love God, we will keep His commandments (cf. John 14:15). “And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
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Sermon: In Everything Give Thanks
A discussion of things for which we should give thanks: Christ’s victory over sin and death, the revelation of truth, life’s physical provisions, our brethren, God’s grace, the authority of our Lord. All are established scripturally and discussed.
Sermon: Examine Your Faith
Speaker: Joshua Cox
Josh’s lesson establishes the need for every Christian to determine for themselves whether they are living faithfully for the Lord.
Sermon: Jesus Cleanses the Temple (2:13-22)
Lesson 4 in series (John 2:13-22)
This lesson discusses the first time Jesus cleansed the temple of the money changers, and His words, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Patternists: Fellowship in the Gospel
Paul expressed thanksgiving for the disciples in Philippi, writing, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:3-5).
The word “fellowship” used here describes a wonderful truth that brings blessings to God’s people. While all may not have the same talent, capability and opportunity to share the gospel message, we are able to have fellowship in the work by supporting those who can and do! Fellowship is defined as “joint participation, association, intercourse.” Put simply, if I support a man who preaches the gospel, by extension I am participating in that work!
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Husbands and Wives
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them” (Colossians 3:18-19).
Paul’s instructions are in keeping with his teaching in Ephesians 5, highlighting the importance of submission on the part of the wife, and love on the part of the husband (cf. Ephesians 5:22,25).
The difference in instructions is not because of any inequality, either perceived or actual. In fact, Paul establishes the equal worth of all humans in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
The difference in instructions comes because of the position of each in the marriage relationship. To illustrate, consider that an employer has a different position, (and therefore authority), in a company than his employees. As such his responsibilities and actions are influenced by his position. This does not mean that he has more human value. Remember our founding fathers’ words, “All men are created equal.”
The wife is to submit because God gave the headship in the home to the husband (cf. Ephesians 5:23). The husband is to love the wife (seek her welfare) because to exercise authority without that limitation leads to despotism. Consider how destructively a man might wield his authority in the home if he harbors bitterness in his heart toward his wife.
As always, God’s way brings harmony and blessings.
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Sermon: The Conversion of the Eunuch
The sermon is an examination of the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, recorded in Acts 8.
The Patternists: The Day of the Lord
A popular religious past time of every generation is discerning “the times and the seasons” in an attempt to ascertain the date of the Lord’s coming.
Hal Lindsey was a big time author in the 1970’s and 1980’s writing books like, “The Late Great Planet Earth”, “There’s a New World Coming”, and “The 1980’s: Countdown to Armageddon”. His reputation was built upon interpreting the socio-political climate of the day, so as to determine when the Lord would come.
Date setters have been common in the last few centuries. The Jehovah Witnesses set dates of 1874, 1914 and 1975 in seeking to predict the second coming of the Lord.
“But for you it is safe”
“…For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe” (Philippians 3:1).
Paul repeated a message in his letter to the Philippians, revisiting a theme that was common for him to discuss. “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation…” (vs. 2).
Have you ever thought about why a preacher might repeat the same messages over and over and over? Have you thought that surely he must be tired of covering the same themes and subjects? I fear that some men do burn out. After all, I shouldn’t have to tell the brethren over and over again. Once or twice should suffice!
But, Paul said “to write the same things to you is not tedious.” He was fine with the repetition. The warnings, (“beware”), are found in every letter. Again and again and again. Yet he did not wane in his diligent efforts to warn them about false teachers, doctrinal error, and evil men. He told the Philippians why — ”but for you it is safe.”
The Holy Spirit knows the danger of error; how the false teacher destroys faith; how the devil is ever on the prowl. Some tire of preaching the warning, and others tire of listening to it. They impatiently say “I know, I know!” when the warning is offered. Yet, the importance of the constant “beware” remains. It is to make you safe. It is important. When the warning comes, please listen!
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Sermon: Hope, Self Esteem and Our Spiritual Family
Speaker: Josh Jackson
The world struggles with despair. The rise in suicide, drug abuse and sexual promiscuity are all indicators of dysfunction. The answer to these problems is spiritual in nature. Hope, Self-Esteem and the spiritual family of God.
The Patternists: Acceptable Words – Words of Truth
The book of Ecclesiastes is a masterpiece of experiential deduction. The initial words of the preacher, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (1:2), is not a theoretical supposition — it is what he observed.
“And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered. I communed with my heart, saying, ‘Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.’ And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Ecclesiastes 1:13-18).
Through all of his experiences, the preacher remained driven by a desire to know the purpose of life. He did not find it in greatness nor in knowledge, much less in madness and folly. Through it all, he persisted in his efforts, “And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth” (12:9-10).
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Be Strong in Grace
Paul’s admonition in 2 Timothy 2:1, is amazingly sublime, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
There are truths that are intimated by these simple words. First, it affirms Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The redemptive grace of God is accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
Second, it affirms that God’s will for any individual can be resisted and thwarted. Stephen told the Jews, “You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you” (Acts 7:51). Though God is “not willing that any should perish” (cf. 2 Peter 3:9), some refuse to come to repentance.
Consequently, we understand our responsibility to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling! (Philippians 2:12). This does not mean that God’s sovereignty is denied, nor does it in anyway indicate that we earn our salvation by works of merit. Rather, it acknowledges man’s free will, and the obligation of our salvation debt.
Paul understood it, do we? “Be strong in the grace”!
Sermon: Why is Repentance So Hard?
Repentance is absolutely imperative for man’s salvation. So, why does it seem so hard for men to come to repentance? Three reasons are discussed in this lesson.
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It requires a humble heart
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It requires a radical change
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It requirest great sacrifice
Sermon: The Wedding Feast (2:1-12)
Lesson 3 in series (John 2:1-12)
Jesus’ conversation with his mother Mary at the Wedding Feast in Cana. This conversation reveals the first public sign that Jesus is God’s Messiah, bringing faith to His disciples.
