Date:
August 9-13, 2012Battling Disappointment
At its simplest, to rest in your identity in Christ means you believe what God says about you. Here are 10 truths to hold on to when you feel weak.
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In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Christians from the apostles until now have, like Paul, regarded Scripture as central to the life and growth of the Church.
But even though we know its importance to our lives, too often our knowledge and application of Scripture remain minimal. Why? Perhaps sitting down to study the Bible might seem intimidating, or it could just be difficult to carve out some devotional time. Maybe you have questions about the Bible, but you aren’t sure where to look for answers.
Let these tools, articles, audio sermons, and resources help you incorporate the Scriptures more fully into your life.
Hearing the Voice
The Bible isn't just ink on a page, but a conduit of the Spirit. It is not ours to dissect, summarize, manage, or control. It presides over us. With Lectio Divina we read smaller amounts and take more time to do it.
Revelation: God's Final Words
Revelation is notoriously considered the most difficult of all the Bible books…completely unique, full of symbols, and awesome in scope. Regrettably, Revelation has occasionally become the playground of religious eccentrics, fodder for prophecy “fanatics” who seem compelled to find in Revelation a detailed end-times timetable—right down to the very day of the Lord’s return.
Jude: Manual for Survival
Someone has correctly coined Jude’s letter with the title “The Acts of the Apostates.” The primary apostates in the first century were the Gnostics, who embraced the philosophy that humans could do anything they liked, as no one is under any moral obligation to his or her physical body. This mindset led to rebellion against authority, irreverence, presumptuous speech, and a lifestyle marked by unbridled license.
But I'm No Bible Scholar!
One might naturally assume that Christians wouldn't have to be told to study their Bibles. But that is not the case. Here are 10 reasons Christians give for not reading and studying their Bibles (in no particular order of importance).
3 John: Three Men in a Church
John singles out three men for observation and instruction. Gaius, Diotrephes, and Demetrius, while actual personalities in the early church, represent three types in the church today. We’ll find much that is practical for our churches as we examine these 15 verses together.
Discoveries
Hidden in Scripture are vaults of priceless wisdom that can be hard to find if you're preoccupied or in a hurry. But godly truth is there, awaiting discovery.
2 John: A Letter to a Lady
John’s second letter is much less complicated than his first—perhaps because it’s a personal and private letter. In it John mentioned “truth” five times and “love” four times. And both are key to understanding 2 John. John’s desire was for “the chosen lady” who received this letter to maintain a balanced perspective on life: love and truth…practice and doctrine…walking and standing…accepting and rejecting. A balance we need to maintain today.
1 John: God's Life on Display
In this study, we will look at a five-chapter letter appearing simple and uncomplicated yet, in reality, is both profound and complex. In the epistle of 1 John, he emphasized the nature of that life as possessed by God’s children.
2 Peter: Beware...Be Ready
In 2 Peter, the Apostle dealt with the internal enemies—false prophets and other subtle adversaries—who twisted the truth. Of special interest to Peter were false teachings regarding the return of the Lord as well as our life of service and purity prior to the event. The tone of 2 Peter is that of an urgent warning, urging all readers to beware…to be ready.
