During the fall of King Saul his life intersects with his successor, David. These two men provide a great contrast to the kind of heart God wants us to have. One of our favorite Bible stories is when David's heart is put on display when he faces the great Philistine warrior, Goliath. In this drama, David shows us how to face the giants in our lives.
1 Jn. 1:1-10 is a beautiful but difficult passage. This lesson seeks to lay out the basic principle we need to get in and stay in fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. This lesson focuses primarily on the second part of this process.
While we tend to overthink many of our worries in life, there are some legitimate concerns we should have. We believe the most important concerns are answered in the Gospel of Jesus. In this lesson, we focus on the impact of the resurrection that is raised in Rom. 4 and discussed in Rom. 5:1-4. The resurrection really changes everything!
In our ongoing "One Book" series we come to a familiar story in 1 Samuel. It's the story of God calling the "boy" Samuel to hear his word. In this lesson, we learn of the circumstances and responsibilities of "When We Hear God's Word."
When Jesus stopped to rest beside Jacob's well it set the scene for one of the most important dialogues in the New Testament (John 4). As he conversed with the Samaritan women, his intent was to explain what would be different about worship in the Christian era. This lesson follows three important realizations that make our assembly what God desires for it to be.
What do you do when your world starts crumbling around you? Perhaps an enemy is out to get you, sickness or death has invaded your family or, even worse, sin has entered your life bringing terrible guilt and consequences. During these times we need to learn the language of lament like David. Psalm 63 is David's lament when Absalom has revolted. In this Psalm, not only does David show us to seek God during difficult times, but he also gives compelling reasons why.
The events of the book of Ruth happened during the days of the Judges. In a time of lawlessness, the book of Ruth shows us how love prevailed. This lesson highlights the relationship of Naomi and Ruth, Boaz and his fidelity to the Law of Moses and eventually the "kinsman redeemer" relationship he would have with Naomi and Ruth.
The book of Psalms, which literally means "Praise songs," was Israel's songbook of worship. Overall, the content and context of the Psalms remind us their assembly was "A Place of Praise." The same is true today in the Christian assembly. But Psalms also shows us the benefits of gathering with God's people. Beyond the worship given to God, we are blessed by being in the assembly. This lesson explores some of those benefits.
Our "One Book" series continues with a look at the book of Judges. In this lesson, we consider three concepts that were present in the days of the judges which also are relevant today.
At first glance, Israel’s penchant for idol worship seems far removed from us today, both in time and concept. A closer look at the nature of idolatry, however, reveals just how much it is still a snare for us today, even within our own Christian faith.
