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Ephesians

Salvation By Grace Alone – Part 2

Theme: The Christian’s Past, Present, and Future
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8

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Ephesians

Salvation By Grace Alone – Part 3

Theme: The Christian’s Sad Past
This week’s lessons describe how God’s grace in salvation impacts the Christian’s past, present, and future.
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-8
Yesterday we looked at the first thing Paul says about the Christian’s past condition. We now need to see the other three.

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The Book of Romans

Standing in Grace – Part 1

Theme: Four Pivotal Words
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
“If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?” Haven’t you heard this classic put-down of someone who has been acting arrogantly?

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The Book of Romans

Standing in Grace – Part 2

Theme: Peace with God
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2

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The Book of Romans

Standing in Grace – Part 3

Theme: Union with Christ
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2
Yesterday we looked at the first benefit of our justification, which is peace with God. We also began to look at the second benefit, which is our union with Christ. We saw that this doctrine, found in the teaching of the apostles, goes back to Jesus himself. Let me list a few analogies the Bible uses to describe this union.

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The Book of Romans

Standing in Grace – Part 4

Theme: Joy in Suffering
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2

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The Book of Romans

Standing in Grace – Part 5

Theme: Hope of Glory
This week’s lessons discuss the important benefits that come to every Christian because of their justification given by Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 5:2

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The Book of Galatians

Falling From Grace – Part 1

Theme: The Crisis in Galatia
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4

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The Book of Galatians

Falling From Grace – Part 2

Theme: The First Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4

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The Book of Galatians

Falling From Grace – Part 3

Theme: The Second Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4

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The Book of Galatians

Falling From Grace – Part 4

Theme: The Third Charge
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4

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The Book of Galatians

Falling From Grace – Part 5

Theme: Legalism versus True Holiness
This week’s lessons teach us what the idea of falling from grace really means, and that the freedom of God’s grace in Christ produces a holy life.
Scripture: Galatians 5:4
Yesterday we concluded our study by describing one failure of legalism. We need to see one more, before showing how true freedom leads to obedience.

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The Book of Romans

Abounding Grace – Part 1

Theme: John Bunyan’s Text
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21

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The Book of Romans

Abounding Grace – Part 3

Theme: No Reduction of Grace
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21

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The Book of Romans

Abounding Grace – Part 2

Theme: No Withholding of Grace
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21

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The Book of Romans

Abounding Grace – Part 5

Theme: Citizens of the Kingdom
This week’s lessons show how the abounding grace of God triumphs over the sin of anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Scripture: Romans 5:20, 21
Yesterday we concluded by looking at the first two stages of the kingdom of grace. Now we need to see the last two.

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The Book of Romans

Law and Grace – Part 1

Theme: Grace and Righteous Conduct
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14

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The Book of Romans

Law and Grace – Part 3

Theme: Our Old and Our New Life
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
In yesterday devotional we looked at three mistaken ideas for the meaning of “dying to sin.” Today we begin by looking at two others.

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The Book of Romans

Law and Grace – Part 4

Theme: The First and Great Imperative
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14

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The Book of Romans

Law and Grace – Part 5

Theme: Alive to God
This week’s lessons teach that God’s grace, rather than leading to sin or even an indifferent attitude about it, actually leads to a holy life because we are now dead to sin and have been made alive in Jesus Christ.
Scripture: Romans 6:1-14
Yesterday we saw two changes that have occurred from our being made alive to God in Jesus Christ. Here are three more.

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The Book of II Corinthians

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Part 1

Theme: A Cruel Theology
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9

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The Book of II Corinthians

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Part 2

Theme: Boasting in Suffering
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
How does Paul deal with this problem of the attacks from the “super-apostles”? The way he does it is marvelous and a great example for those who are trying to deal with difficult people as they themselves pursue Christian work.

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The Book of II Corinthians

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Part 4

Theme: The Lessons of the Thorn
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9

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The Book of II Corinthians

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Part 3

Theme: Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh and Ours
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
At this point Paul must have been embarrassed that he had been forced to mention even this one vision, because it is against this background—all I have been describing—that he talks about his thorn in the flesh (v. 7).

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The Book of II Corinthians

My Grace is Sufficient for You – Part 5

Theme: God’s Power in Human Weakness
This week’s lessons talk about how God’s grace is sufficient for the individual and personal trials that come from our own weaknesses, limitations, and struggles.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9
Yesterday we looked at two lessons concerning our burdens arising from Paul’s thorn. We will look at the last three today.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 1

Theme: Prayer Is a Problem
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
I have always been interested in the things George Gallup, the founder and director of the Gallup Poll organization, has to say about the religious life of Americans. Recently I came across some remarks he made about prayer.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 2

Theme: Encouragement to Prayer
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
There are at least two other reasons why prayer is often a problem for us.
 
We are too sinful. This strikes a bit deeper at our problem, though we do not like to admit it.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 3

Theme: The God of All Grace
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
Why is the throne of God described in Hebrews as a throne of grace? The answer is obvious. It is because God is a God of grace. Indeed, he is the God of all grace.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 4

Theme: A Way Opened to God
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
Yesterday we looked at how God the Father and God the Son are gracious. 
 
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also gracious.

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The Book of Hebrews

The Throne of Grace, Part 5

Theme: Drawing Nigh in Confidence
 
This week’s lessons remind us that because God is a God of grace, his throne is also one of grace, which is accessed by prayer through the work of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
 
Scripture: Hebrews 4:16
 
The bottom line of this discussion is that, because of who God is and what Jesus Christ has done in dying for us, changing the throne of judgment into a throne of grace, we who trust Christ are to draw near the throne o

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The Book of II Corinthians

The Grace of Giving, Part 1

Theme: Giving in the Churches of Macedonia and Corinth
 
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
 
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
 
I have been writing about some very practical matters in these studies, but it is hard to imagine a more practical matter than our giving to God, specifically giving money to support spiritual causes.

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The Book of II Corinthians

The Grace of Giving, Part 3

Theme: Overflowing Joy and Extreme Poverty
 
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
 
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
 
 Yesterday we looked at the first element of “God’s Formula for Great Giving.” Today we look at the other two.
 
Overflowing joy. In what were the Macedonian Christians joyful?

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The Book of II Corinthians

The Grace of Giving, Part 2

Theme: A Severe Trial
 
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
 
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
 
Anyone who has ever tried to get someone else to give to religious or charitable causes knows how difficult motivating another person can be. So we are wise to ask: How does Paul move the Corinthians to be faithful in this area?

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The Book of II Corinthians

The Grace of Giving, Part 4

Theme: The Secret of Great Giving
 
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
 
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
 
Verse 5 adds a further explanation of the remarkable giving of the Macedonian Christians: “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” I call this a further explanation

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The Book of II Corinthians

The Grace of Giving, Part 5

Theme: The Greatest Example of Great Giving
 
This week’s lessons teach us how the grace of God in Christ drives both our attitude and our actual practice of giving to support Christian causes.
 
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1
 
When I began to write about the giving of the churches of Macedonia I said that this was Paul’s first motivating example of great giving. It was a good one, as you can see.

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The Conversion of Saint Paul, Part 2

In his classic treatment of the evidences for the resurrection of Christ, Who Moved the Stone? Frank Morison calls attention to Paul’s undoubted knowledge of the fact that the tomb of Jesus Christ was found empty. Everyone in Jerusalem would have known this, and Paul in particular must have known of it.

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The Book of Luke

The Lord’s Own Easter Sermon, Part 1

Theme: Jesus’ Resurrection Sermon  
 
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
 
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
 
One of the great accounts of the appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples following the resurrection is his appearance to the two Emmaus disciples recorded in Luke 24.

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The Book of Luke

The Lord’s Own Easter Sermon, Part 2

Theme: Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
 
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
 
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
 
Today we look at some of the texts Jesus must have used in his sermon, which we discussed yesterday. An obvious place to begin is with Peter’s speech at Pentecost found in Acts 2. Peter used three texts in that message. The first was about Pentecost itself.

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The Book of Luke

The Lord’s Own Easter Sermon, Part 3

Theme: Peter before the Sanhedrin
 
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
 
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
 
In the fourth chapter of Acts we have another of Peter’s sermons. Here he has been called before the Sanhedrin (the highest council of the ancient Jews), and he is defending himself and his teaching.

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The Book of Luke

The Lord’s Own Easter Sermon, Part 4

Theme: “In All the Scriptures concerning Himself”
 
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
 
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
 
In the eighth chapter of Acts, we have another suggestive text. Here Philip has been sent to the Ethiopian eunuch. When Philip finds him, he is reading from a manuscript he acquired in Jerusalem.

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The Book of Luke

The Lord’s Own Easter Sermon, Part 5

Theme: Having Your Eyes Opened
 
This week’s lessons teach us about the wide variety of ways in which the whole Old Testament points to Jesus.
 
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27
 
I say as we end this week of Easter readings that I do not know how much of what I have presented this week is what the Lord preached that day on his walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. But it was a long trip. It would have taken several hours.

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Grace, Seasoned with Salt, Part 1

Theme: Evil Heart, Evil Tongue
 
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
 
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
 
A number of years ago I became fascinated with the writings of Neil Postman, a professor of communication arts at New York University and author of the best-selling critique of our television-saturated society, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in t

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Grace, Seasoned with Salt, Part 2

Theme: Our Lord’s Example
 
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
 
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
 
I want to study carefully what Colossians 4:6 says about how we should speak. But before I do that I want to do one more introductory thing. I want to think about the gracious speech of Jesus, since he is a great example for us in this, as in all other areas.

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Grace, Seasoned with Salt, Part 3

Theme: Kind and Serious Words
 
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
 
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
 
This brings us back to Colossians, where I ask, “What should the Christian’s conversation be like?

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Grace, Seasoned with Salt, Part 4

Theme: Discerning and Wise Speech
 
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
 
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
 
Our comments should be discerning. This is what Paul is speaking about when he tells us to “make the most of every opportunity.” Not every moment of our day contains opportunities for sharing the gospel or speaking a timely or encou

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Grace, Seasoned with Salt, Part 5

Theme: A Few Important Warnings
 
This week’s lessons remind us that all who have received the grace of God in Jesus Christ therefore need to demonstrate that grace in our conversations.
 
Scripture: Colossians 4:6
 
Our conversation should be interesting. My final point is that the conversation of Christians should be interesting, which is the way I understand the phrase “seasoned with salt.” Salt had various uses in the ancient world, the chief

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The Book of Revelation

Grace Be With You All, Part 1

We have come to the end of a study of one of the most wonderful ideas in the Bible, the doctrine of God’s amazing grace. And we have come to the very last verse of the Bible, which not surprisingly is about grace also.

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The Book of Revelation

Grace Be With You All, Part 2

Theme: The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
 
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
 
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
 
Revelation 22:21 does not contain all the elements of the more complete benedictions, but it is in line with them when it links the blessing of grace explicitly to Jesus Christ.

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The Book of Revelation

Grace Be With You All, Part 3

Theme: The Doctrines of Grace
 
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
 
Scripture: Revelation 22:21 
 
Yesterday we introduced the expression “doctrines of grace.”  Today we want to briefly describe each one.
 
Total depravity.

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The Book of Revelation

Grace Be With You All, Part 4

Theme: Growth in Grace
 
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
 
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
 
But the verse that ends the Bible is also a wish, as I wrote earlier. It is a wish that “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [might] be with God’s people.” How are we to understand this?

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The Book of Revelation

Grace Be With You All, Part 5

Theme: Amen and Amen
 
This week’s lessons bring these studies on the glorious doctrine of God’s grace to a fitting conclusion, looking at the last benediction of grace in the Bible.
 
Scripture: Revelation 22:21
 
So we come to the end, to the very last word of the very last verse of the very last book of the Bible.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Discipleship, Part 1

Theme: Costly Grace
 
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32 
 
There is a defect, even a fatal defect, in the life of the church of Christ in the present day: a lack of true discipleship. For the genuine Christian, discipleship means forsaking everything to follow Christ.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Discipleship, Part 2

Theme: “Follow Me”
 
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
 
But it is not only a false theology that has encouraged this fatal lack of discipleship. To limit it thus is to blame theologians, and God does not allow us to blame others for our own failures.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Discipleship, Part 3

Theme: Elements of Discipleship: Obedience and Repentance
 
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32   
 
In the course of this devotional series, each of the following elements will be considered in much greater detail.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Discipleship, Part 4

Theme: Elements of Discipleship: Submission and Commitment 
 
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
 
3. Submission. In one of Jesus’s most important sayings about discipleship—which we will study more carefully next week—the Lord pictures discipleship as putting on a yoke.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Discipleship, Part 5

Theme: Whoever Will May Come
 
This week’s lessons impress upon us the importance that one cannot be a true Christian without being a genuine disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
Scripture: Luke 5:31, 32
 
Yesterday we looked at submission and commitment as elements of discipleship. We now come to the final element.
 
5.

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The Book of Matthew

In the School of Christ, Part 1

Theme: The Universal Call to Discipleship
 
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
 
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
 
In one form or another the knowledge of the human race has been passed through the centuries.

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The Book of Matthew

In the School of Christ, Part 2

Theme: Learning Jesus Christ
 
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
 
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
 
But notice: it is for those who know themselves to be burdened. This does not refer to mere physical weakness or to what we would call the burdens of a hard life, though it may include them.

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The Book of Matthew

In the School of Christ, Part 3

Theme: Under the Yoke: Submission
 
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
 
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
 
We must be careful to explain what we mean when we speak of knowing God in a saving way, however. For this is no mere intellectual knowledge of God, any more than saving faith is mere intellectual assent to certain truths.

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The Book of Matthew

In the School of Christ, Part 4

Theme: Under the Yoke: Work and Companionship
 
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
 
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
 
Yesterday we looked at the first important element of a yoke.  Today we study the other two.
 
2. Work. The yoke placed upon the shoulders of a farm animal enables it to work.

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The Book of Matthew

In the School of Christ, Part 5

Theme: An Easy Burden
 
From this week’s lessons we see that Christ’s call to discipleship is described as a yoke that is both easy and light because Jesus is a kind and gentle Master.
 
Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30
 
When we think of being harnessed together with others in Christ’s school it is possible to be discouraged, especially if we reflect that the work is hard and the course of instruction is unending.

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The Book of Luke

Taking Up the Cross, Part 1

Theme: Self-Esteem or Self-Denial?
 
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.  Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself. 
 
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
 
At the beginning of these studies I wrote that there is a fatal flaw in the professing church today, a lack of true discipleship. Discipleship is talked about, of course.

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The Book of Luke

Taking Up the Cross, Part 2

Theme: Saying “No” to Self
 
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.

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The Book of Luke

Taking Up the Cross, Part 3

Theme: Saying “Yes” to God 
 
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.  Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself. 
 
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
 
But it is not only that we are to say “No” to self, which is what denying self is all about.

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The Book of Luke

Taking Up the Cross, Part 4

Theme: The Demands of Cross-Bearing 
 
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.  Indeed it is a critical idea of discipleship itself. 
 
Scripture: Luke 9:23-26
 
Yesterday we looked at the first demand of taking up our cross.  Today we want to look at four more.
 
2.

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The Book of Luke

Taking Up the Cross, Part 5

Theme: Our Eyes on Jesus
 
This week’s lessons teach us that Jesus’ command for Christians to take up their cross is not something that happens later in the Christian life, but at the very beginning.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Obedience, Part 1

Theme: Profession without Practice
 
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
 
Jesus spoke about obedience toward the end of Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. He had been followed by people who made verbal profession of discipleship.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Obedience, Part 2

Theme: How Does Jesus Speak?
 
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
 
Several years ago, when I was in northern California, I turned on the radio and heard part of an unusual religious program. It was called “Have You Had a Spiritual Experience?” and was conducted like a call-in talk show.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Obedience, Part 3

Theme: Living in the Book: Daily and Systematic Bible Study
 
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
 
Everything I have been saying so far leads to a practical conclusion, and it is this.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Obedience, Part 4

Theme: Living in the Book: Comprehensive and Devotional Bible Study
 
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
 
Yesterday we mentioned what systematic Bible study is.  We now need to see how one does it. Certain procedures should be followed during study. First, the book itself should be read through carefully as many as four or five times, perhaps one of these times aloud.

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The Book of Luke

The Path of Obedience, Part 5

Theme: The Liberty of Obedience
 
This week’s lessons stress the necessity of obedience if one is truly a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 6:46-49
 
Over the last two days we looked at four Bible study methods.  Today we begin by mentioning one more.
 
5. Study the Bible prayerfully (Dan. 9:1-3).

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The Book of John

The Path of Service, Part 1

Theme: Love on Its Knees
 
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
 
Scripture: John 13:1-17
 
Following the Lord Jesus Christ is an individual matter, but it is not individualistic. Let me explain.
 
When we say that discipleship is an individual matter we are saying that it is something the individual himself must do. No one can follow Jesus for you.

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The Book of John

The Path of Service, Part 2

Theme: How to Serve Others: Listening
 
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
 
Scripture: John 13:1-17
 
We must be practical at this point. Jesus served us by leaving heaven, taking on a true human nature, teaching, and then dying on the cross for our sin. We cannot do that. So we must ask, “How can we serve others?

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The Book of John

The Path of Service, Part 3

Theme: How to Serve Others: Helping and Giving
 
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
 
Scripture: John 13:1-17
 
Yesterday we looked at the first way to serve others.  Today we look at the next two.
 
2.

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The Book of John

The Path of Service, Part 4

Theme: How to Serve Others: Bearing Burdens and Speaking God’s Truth
 
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
 
Scripture: John 13:1-17
 
Yesterday we looked at the need to help one another and to give to others in need.

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The Book of John

The Path of Service, Part 5

Theme: How to Serve Others: Restoring
 
This week’s lessons remind us that true discipleship is marked by selfless service to others, because that is how Christ treated us.
 
Scripture: John 13:1-17
 
We now come to the last way we are to serve other people as Jesus did.
 
6.

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The Book of Matthew

The Path of Humility, Part 2

Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Pride 
 
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.  
 
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
 
A third incident came before the triumphal entry.

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The Book of Matthew

The Path of Humility, Part 3

Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Pretense and Artificiality
 
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.  
 
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
 
2. The burden of pretense.

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The Book of Matthew

The Path of Humility, Part 4

Theme: Burdens Rolled Away: Self-Struggle
 
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.  
 
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
 
4. The burden of self-struggle.

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The Book of Matthew

The Path of Humility, Part 5

Theme: Begin with God
 
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.

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The Book of Mark

Traveling Light, Part 1

Theme: Wealth and Poverty
 
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
 
I received a letter from a couple who were going to the mission field for the first time.

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The Book of Mark

Traveling Light, Part 2

Theme: All Good Gifts from God
 
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
 
Where should we go to get a proper perspective on riches? Negatively there is much to be said about them, but the place to begin is not with a negative but with a positive: All things come from God. God is the Creator.

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The Book of Mark

Traveling Light, Part 3

Theme: A Christian Perspective
 
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
 
So I come back to my original question and ask again: What should a disciple’s attitude toward his possessions be? I suggest the following principles:
 
1. Thanksgiving.

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The Book of Mark

Traveling Light, Part 4

Theme: A Christian Perspective, Continued
 
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
 
3. Stewardship.

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The Book of Mark

Traveling Light, Part 5

Theme: A Heart Set Free
 
This week’s lessons remind us what the Christian’s attitude and response toward possessions need to be, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Scripture: Mark 6:7-11
 
I close with an important thought. Wealth is a blessing when properly received and used, but there is something more important than wealth or even the proper use of it. It is being free, as God intends us to be free. Possessions tie us down.

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The Book of Mark

“But Is He with Us?” Section 1

Theme: How We View Other Disciples
 
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
 
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
 
Discipleship is personal, but it is not personalistic. It always involves our relationships to others who also profess to be disciples. But are they disciples?

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The Book of Mark

“But Is He with Us?” Section 2

Theme: The Problem Explored
 
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
 
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
 
In the incident we are studying, the exorcist not only did what he did in Christ’s name and therefore in open allegiance to Christ. He was also effective in what he did, for he was actually casting out demons.

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The Book of Mark

“But Is He with Us?” Section 3

Theme: Cause of Dissension
 
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
 
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
 
I suppose that in the entire history of the church there has never been a division, however unnecessary or sordid, that has not been justified by some persons on spiritual grounds.

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The Book of Mark

“But Is He with Us?” Section 4

Theme: One Body, Many Gifts
 
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
 
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
 
There is only one way we will ever defeat this tendency to an improper narrowness in our view of Christian work, and that is to recover a vision of the greatness of the church as Christ’s body.

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The Book of Mark

“But Is He with Us?” Section 5

Theme: Are They with Us?
 
This week’s lessons remind us of the need to show unity in the gospel with other believers, including those who are different from us.
 
Scripture: Mark 9:33-40
 
Yesterday we looked at the first three varieties within the church. Today we look at the last two.
 
4. There is a variety of methods. When I wrote of “styles” a moment ago I was approaching this area.

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The Book of Luke

Counting the Cost, Scene 1

Theme: What Is the Cost?
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
I was talking with a distinguished doctor who was commenting on missionary practices in his area of the world. According to him, there is much valuable work being done, and the people doing it are certainly earnest and dedicated believers. But there is one thing lacking.

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The Book of Luke

Counting the Cost, Scene 2

Theme: Implications for Sola Scriptura 
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
Jesus also said many specific things about the cost of salvation. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

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The Book of Luke

Counting the Cost, Scene 3

Theme: Implications for Sola Fide and Sola Gratia
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
Yesterday we looked at sola Scriptura.  Today we look at sola fide and sola gratia.
 
2. Sola fide. The second great distinctive is sola fide.

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The Book of Luke

Counting the Cost, Scene 4

Theme: Considering the Cost
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
It is not hard to be an outward Christian. A person can go to church once or twice on Sunday and pretend to be tolerably upright during the week. There is no self-denial, no sacrifice here.

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The Book of Luke

Counting the Cost, Scene 5

Theme: Paying the Cost
 
This week’s lessons show the price that must be paid to follow Christ, as well as the blessings that come when we do.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:25-35
 
What must I pay to be a Christian? I must pay the price of my own self-righteousness, no longer counting myself a good person but rather as one who has transgressed God’s righteous law and is therefore under the sentence of His wrath and condemnation.

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The Book of Luke

New Relationships, Day 1

Theme: A Hard Saying of Jesus
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
Quite frequently, when I am conducting weddings, I point out that the family is the most basic of all human institutions.

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The Book of Luke

New Relationships, Day 2

Theme: Beyond Accounting
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
Yesterday we concluded by offering another way to understand our passage, which was that Jesus was speaking in hyperbole; that is, he was intentionally exaggerating in order to make a point.
 
But there are a number of reasons for thinking that this may be too facile a handling.

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The Book of Luke

New Relationships, Day 3

Theme: Two Shocking Truths
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
1. The radical demands of Christ’s kingdom. Over the years that I have been in Christian work I have been asked to serve on a number of boards of Christian organizations, and to the extent that I have had time I have been glad to do so. I have done everything I am able to do for these organizations.

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The Book of Luke

New Relationships, Day 4

Theme: Two More Shocking Truths
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
3.

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The Book of Matthew

The Path of Humility, Part 1

Theme: A Difficult School
 
This week’s lessons talk about the need for every Christian to be marked by humility, and that the sins that fight against this humility can only be taken away by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose own humility took him to the cross for us.
 
Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28
 
Brother Lawrence, whose collected conversations and letters are entitled The Practice of the Presence of God, lived in the seventeenth century.

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The Book of Luke

New Relationships, Day 5

Theme: Old Family, New Family
 
This week’s lessons focus on the high price of new relationships that must be paid to follow Christ.
 
Scripture: Luke 14:26
 
But I think I hear you thinking. “That is all well and good, to be talking about breaking with old social acquaintances or other distant friends. But that is quite a different thing from breaking with one’s parents or, worse yet, one’s husband or wife.

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The Book of Luke

No Turning Back, Part 1

Theme: Three Who Faltered
 
This week’s lessons press the importance that it is not enough to merely show an initial interest in following Christ; one must persevere in obedience to the very end.
 
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
 
Eight hundred years before Christ’s day the prophet Elijah was led to enlist Elisha as his fellow worker and successor. He found Elisha plowing, went to him, and threw his mantle over him.

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The Book of Luke

No Turning Back, Part 2

Theme: The First Two Difficulties
 
This week’s lessons press the importance that it is not enough to merely show an initial interest in following Christ; one must persevere in obedience to the very end.
 
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
 
1. Physical hardships and deprivation. The first of these three individuals (like the third) volunteered to follow Christ. He said, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Luke 9:57).

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The Book of Luke

No Turning Back, Part 3

Theme: The Third Difficulty
 
This week’s lessons press the importance that it is not enough to merely show an initial interest in following Christ; one must persevere in obedience to the very end.
 
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
 
3. Determination to set one’s own terms. The third of these three individuals (like the first) also volunteered to follow Jesus. But he wanted to do so on his terms rather than on Jesus’ terms.

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The Book of Luke

No Turning Back, Part 4

Theme: Remember Lot’s Wife
 
This week’s lessons press the importance that it is not enough to merely show an initial interest in following Christ; one must persevere in obedience to the very end.
 
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
 
When Jesus said of these individuals, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God,” He was not just making a statement, of course. He was giving a warning.

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The Book of Luke

No Turning Back, Part 5

Theme: Onward! Onward!
 
This week’s lessons press the importance that it is not enough merely to show an initial interest in following Christ; one must persevere in obedience to the very end.
 
Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
 
The greater part of this chapter has been negative, warning those who are contemplating Christ’s service that the mere setting out is not sufficient. There must be perseverance. It is he who “stands firm to the end” who is saved (Matt.

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The Book of Mark

Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 1

Theme: An Astonishing Statement
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
In the great collection of unexpected and challenging teachings about discipleship by Jesus there is perhaps nothing so utterly unexpected (particularly after our study of the earlier sayings) as Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29,

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The Book of Mark

Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 2

Theme: Encouragement to Serve
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
Although this text should not be misused to teach that every Christian is going to be well-off, nevertheless, the text is a great promise, and it does have to do with earthly relationships and material possessions.

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The Book of Mark

Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 3

Theme: Full Payment and More
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
Yesterday we looked at how Abraham would have answered if we were to ask him whether he felt cheated after he left everything to follow God’s call.

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The Book of Mark

Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 4

Theme: Certain Blessings from God
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
2. Certain blessings. It is not only the greatness of the blessings promised by Jesus that encourage us in His service. Their security encourages us too.

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The Book of Mark

Present Blessings, Plus Persecutions, Scene 5

Theme: Encouragement to Trust
 
This week’s lessons remind us that no matter how great the persecutions we may be called to endure as Christians, we are promised blessings, both in this age and also in the age to come.
 
Scripture: Mark 10:29, 30
 
Christ’s words to the disciples in Mark 10:29, 30 are not just an encouragement to serve Christ, important as that is. They are also an encouragement to trust Him through difficult times.

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The Book of Isaiah

The Suffering Servant, Part 1

Theme: A Prophecy Fulfilled
 
This week’s lessons explain how Isaiah 53 clearly points to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant who would accomplish salvation for his people.
 
Scripture: Isaiah 53
 
I do not know of any chapter of the Word of God that gives greater proof of the blindness of the human heart to God’s truth than Isaiah 53. This is very evident in regard to Jewish people.

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The Book of Isaiah

The Suffering Servant, Part 2

Theme: Jesus’ Humble Origins
 
This week’s lessons explain how Isaiah 53 clearly points to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant who would accomplish salvation for his people.
 
Scripture: Isaiah 53
 
Many of the phrases in verses 1–3 speak of the Messiah’s humble origins, but the one that strikes me particularly is in verse 2: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.” That is an unusua

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The Book of Isaiah

The Suffering Servant, Part 3

Theme: Jesus’ Vicarious Suffering
 
This week’s lessons explain how Isaiah 53 clearly points to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant who would accomplish salvation for his people.
 
Scripture: Isaiah 53
 
Beginning with verse 4, we have the Messiah’s vicarious suffering.

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The Book of Isaiah

The Suffering Servant, Part 4

Theme: Jesus’ Exemplary Life and Divine Commissioning
 
This week’s lessons explain how Isaiah 53 clearly points to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant who would accomplish salvation for his people.
 
Scripture: Isaiah 53
 
The third section deals with the Messiah’s exemplary life.

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The Book of Isaiah

The Suffering Servant, Part 5

Theme: Jesus’ Glorious Victory
 
This week’s lessons explain how Isaiah 53 clearly points to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant who would accomplish salvation for his people.
 
Scripture: Isaiah 53
 
That is the point to which we come in the last verses, for these speak of the Messiah’s glorious victory. His death was not without effect. Jesus accomplished everything He came to accomplish.

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The Book of Psalms

God My Shepherd, Section 1

Theme: Practical Discipleship
 
This week’s lessons focus on how God acts as a shepherd toward his sheep, and what we are to do in response to him.
 
Scripture: Psalm 23
 
Psalm 23 is probably the best known and most popular chapter of the Word of God. It is no surprise that this is so, since everyone enjoys the theme of the shepherd who cares for his sheep. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ describes Himself as the shepherd.

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The Book of Psalms

God My Shepherd, Section 2

Theme: Resting in God
 
This week’s lessons focus on how God acts as a shepherd toward his sheep, and what we are to do in response to him.
 
Scripture: Psalm 23
 
Let us consider some of these aspects. First of all, this matter of rest: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” It is very significant that the psalm starts with resting in God, because that is how the Christian life begins. We are so restless.

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The Book of Psalms

God My Shepherd, Section 3

Theme: Our Faithful Guide
 
This week’s lessons focus on how God acts as a shepherd toward his sheep, and what we are to do in response to him.
 
Scripture: Psalm 23
 
I said earlier that the Christian life also has activity, and that is what comes next. The next portion of the psalm stresses guidance: “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

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The Book of Psalms

God My Shepherd, Section 4

Theme: Safety in Shadow
 
This week’s lessons focus on how God acts as a shepherd toward his sheep, and what we are to do in response to him.
 
Scripture: Psalm 23
 
Verse 4 deals with safety. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” What is this valley of the shadow of death?

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The Book of Psalms

God My Shepherd, Section 5

Theme: A Table and Place Prepared
 
This week’s lessons focus on how God acts as a shepherd toward his sheep, and what we are to do in response to him.
 
Scripture: Psalm 23
 
Verse 5 deals with provision. We will not lack provision because “you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” David had real enemies. They wanted to kill him. So if God was able to provide for David in a situation like that, He is able to provide for you.

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The Book of Luke

The Birth of the Savior, Scene 2

Theme: The King in a Manger
 
In these lessons on the birth of Christ we focus on its paradoxes, and how these show that Jesus’ coming is for all who will receive him.
 
Scripture: Luke 2
 
There are other paradoxes besides the two mentioned yesterday.  The one that is most apparent to anyone is that the Lord of glory came in humble circumstances and was presented to us in His first moments upon earth in a manger.

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The Book of Luke

The Birth of the Savior, Scene 1

Theme: The Most Important Birthday of All
 
In these lessons on the birth of Christ we focus on its paradoxes, and how these show that Jesus’ coming is for all who will receive him.
 
Scripture: Luke 2
 
Birthdays are usually very happy times. For that reason we generally try to remember the birthdays of close friends. We who have children cannot forget birthdays; the children will remind us.

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The Book of Luke

The Birth of the Savior, Scene 3

Theme: No Room in the Inn
 
In these lessons on the birth of Christ we focus on its paradoxes, and how these show that Jesus’ coming is for all who will receive him.
 
Scripture: Luke 2
 
Another related paradox comes in at this point: When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay. As a matter of fact, there was no room even in the inn.

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The Book of Luke

The Birth of the Savior, Scene 4

Theme: Angels and Shepherds
 
In these lessons on the birth of Christ we focus on its paradoxes, and how these show that Jesus’ coming is for all who will receive him.
 
Scripture: Luke 2
 
We talk about there being no room in the inn.

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The Book of Luke

The Birth of the Savior, Scene 5

Theme: How to Celebrate Christmas
 
In these lessons on the birth of Christ we focus on its paradoxes, and how these show that Jesus’ coming is for all who will receive him.
 
Scripture: Luke 2
 
I notice something else at the end of the story. It is what I would call instructions on how to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ.

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The Book of Psalms

The Two Ways, Day 1

Theme: Christ Our Example
 
In these lessons we see that our growth in holiness is dependent upon our being grounded in the Word of God, which points us to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation and sanctification.
 
Scripture: Psalm 1
 
It is appropriate that one of our series on the great chapters of the Bible should be the first psalm, because this psalm sets before us the doctrine of the two ways and encourages us to walk in the way of the godly.

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The Book of Psalms

The Two Ways, Day 2

Theme: The Way of the Wicked
 
In these lessons we see that our growth in holiness is dependent upon our being grounded in the Word of God, which points us to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation and sanctification.
 
Scripture: Psalm 1
 
The psalmist says two important things about the man who walks according to his sinful dispositions. 
 
First, the course of the wicked man is always downhill.

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The Book of Psalms

The Two Ways, Day 3

Theme: The Way of the Righteous
 
In these lessons we see that our growth in holiness is dependent upon our being grounded in the Word of God, which points us to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation and sanctification.
 
Scripture: Psalm 1
 
Over against the way of the ungodly, the psalmist sets the way of the righteous. And everything that is said to be lacking in the case of the one is present in the other.

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The Book of Psalms

The Two Ways, Day 5

Theme: Becoming Strong
 
In these lessons we see that our growth in holiness is dependent upon our being grounded in the Word of God, which points us to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation and sanctification.
 
Scripture: Psalm 1
 
The last point I want to make is that the Word of God makes Christians strong, strong enough to resist the idols of their culture and go God’s way. I do not think we have a very strong church in the United States today.

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The Book of Romans

The Heart of the Bible, Part 1

Theme: Three Views of the Human Condition
 
From this week’s lessons we learn that Romans 3 can be considered the heart of the Bible because of the clear and comprehensive way it shows us the depth of our sin, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us from it. 
 
Scripture: Romans 3
 
Somewhere in my library I have a pamphlet by Donald Grey Barnhouse entitled How to Mark Your Bible.

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The Book of Romans

The Heart of the Bible, Part 2

Theme: Man’s Ruin in Sin: The Moral Dimension
 
From this week’s lessons we learn that Romans 3 can be considered the heart of the Bible because of the clear and comprehensive way it shows us the depth of our sin, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us from it. 
 
Scripture: Romans 3
 
Verses 10 and 11 capsulize Paul’s whole theology on this subject when he writes, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no

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The Book of Romans

The Heart of the Bible, Part 3

Theme: Man’s Ruin in Sin: The Intellectual and Volitional Dimensions
 
From this week’s lessons we learn that Romans 3 can be considered the heart of the Bible because of the clear and comprehensive way it shows us the depth of our sin, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us from it. 
 
Scripture: Romans 3
 
The intellectual dimension involves understanding, and the same principles apply.

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The Book of Romans

The Heart of the Bible, Part 4

Theme: God’s Remedy in Christ
 
From this week’s lessons we learn that Romans 3 can be considered the heart of the Bible because of the clear and comprehensive way it shows us the depth of our sin, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us from it. 
 
Scripture: Romans 3
 
Propitiation comes from the world of ancient sacrifices and concerns the wrath of God. Most of us do not like the idea of wrath. We push it off.

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The Book of Romans

The Heart of the Bible, Part 5

Theme: By Faith Alone 
 
From this week’s lessons we learn that Romans 3 can be considered the heart of the Bible because of the clear and comprehensive way it shows us the depth of our sin, and what the Lord Jesus Christ has done to save us from it. 
 
Scripture: Romans 3
 
Yesterday we looked at propitiation and justification. The third term is redemption. It is a business term. It has to do with buying something back.

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The Book of Romans

If God Be For Us, Section 1

When I was talking about the third chapter of Romans, I pointed out that Romans 3 is the heart of the Bible. If that is true, Romans 8 is the Bible’s climax.

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The Book of Romans

If God Be For Us, Section 2

You recall what is said in the third chapter of John’s gospel, the very chapter which contains that great verse beloved by Christians everywhere, beginning, “For God so loved the world . . .” The chapter talks about the gospel: that God sent Jesus Christ that we might have eternal life.

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The Book of Romans

If God Be For Us, Section 3

But how can that be that condemnation does not come to us? There should be condemnation for us because we are sinners. I think that in the days before Christ’s crucifixion no one really understood how that could be. Certainly the men who set out to trap the woman did not understand it.

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The Book of Romans

If God Be For Us, Section 4

Yesterday we concluded by looking at the first reason we might have for being defeated. The second reason is found in verses 17 to 25, where Paul talks about our present sufferings.

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The Book of Romans

If God Be For Us, Section 5

The second reason why there will be no separation from the love of God is the impotence of everything, when set over against the sovereign love of God toward us in Christ Jesus. What are things, when set over against God? Paul talks about a number of things that might tend to separate us from that love.

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 1

Theme: A Great Chapter
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
The fourteenth chapter of John’s gospel is great for several reasons. It is great because of its contents, and it is great because of the situation to which it speaks.

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 2

Theme: A Place Called Heaven
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
Let me list the things Jesus tells us are a basis for why we should not be troubled. First, there is a place called heaven, and He has gone there to prepare it for us. D.L.

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 3

Theme: Christianity Is Christ
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
The next thing I notice is that heaven is a home. It is our home. “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through,” we sing in one of our gospel songs, and that is true.

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 4

Theme: Knowing God
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
In verse 9 Jesus talks about knowing God. He says, “You really can know God, and the way you know God is by knowing me.” It comes out of a question Philip asked.

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The Book of John

Last Will and Testament, Scene 5

Theme: Prayer and Peace
 
In these lessons we look at some of the final instructions Jesus passed on to his disciples, and see how they are also given to us for living godly lives even in the midst of difficulty.
 
Scripture: John 14
 
In verses 13 and 14 Jesus talks about prayer, saying that prayer is effective. Notice the way He puts it: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

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The Book of Matthew

The Beatitudes, Day 1

Theme: Understanding the Beatitudes
 
This week’s lessons on the Beatitudes teach us that true happiness comes by living in a way that is contrary to the world and even to our natural way of thinking.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5
 
No portion of our Lord’s teaching is better known and probably no portion of the Word of God is more difficult to read than the Beatitudes given in Matthew 5.

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The Book of Matthew

The Beatitudes, Day 2

Theme: The Poor in Spirit and Those Who Mourn
 
This week’s lessons on the Beatitudes teach us that true happiness comes by living in a way that is contrary to the world and even to our natural way of thinking.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5
 
When we read the phrase, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” we think of somebody in material poverty and we assume that the Lord is saying that it is better to be poor than to be rich.

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The Book of Matthew

The Beatitudes, Day 3

Theme: Inheriting the Earth
 
This week’s lessons on the Beatitudes teach us that true happiness comes by living in a way that is contrary to the world and even to our natural way of thinking.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5
 
The third beatitude concerns meekness. What do you think of when you think of meekness? Most of us think of Caspar Milquetoast or else the skinny 98-pound weakling in the Charles Atlas ad. That is not what meekness meant in the ancient world.

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The Book of Matthew

The Beatitudes, Day 4

Theme: Hungering after and Practicing Righteousness
 
This week’s lessons on the Beatitudes teach us that true happiness comes by living in a way that is contrary to the world and even to our natural way of thinking.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5
 
The fourth beatitude encourages a hunger and thirst after righteousness. It stands at the center of them all.

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The Book of Matthew

The Beatitudes, Day 5

Theme: When Persecution Comes
 
This week’s lessons on the Beatitudes teach us that true happiness comes by living in a way that is contrary to the world and even to our natural way of thinking.
 
Scripture: Matthew 5
 
Yesterday we concluded by saying that because God has made peace with us, we must be peacemakers toward others.  Among other things, we must be peacemakers in the home.

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The Greatest of These, Part 1

Theme: The Way of Love
 
In this week’s lessons we learn how Jesus perfectly carries out the biblical understanding of love, and how we, as his disciples, are called to show that same kind of love to others. 
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
 
It would not take a great spiritual genius or even a great literary genius to pick 1 Corinthians 13 as one of the greatest chapters in the Bible.

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The Greatest of These, Part 2

Theme: The Importance of Love
 
In this week’s lessons we learn how Jesus perfectly carries out the biblical understanding of love, and how we, as his disciples, are called to show that same kind of love to others. 
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
 
Paul teaches the importance of love by contrasts. He says that if he could speak with the tongues of men, or even angels, but without love, it would be nothing.

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The Greatest of These, Part 4

Theme: The Standard of Love
 
In this week’s lessons we learn how Jesus perfectly carries out the biblical understanding of love, and how we, as his disciples, are called to show that same kind of love to others. 
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
 
Whom do you think of when you read these verses? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

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The Greatest of These, Part 3

Theme: The Nature of Love
 
In this week’s lessons we learn how Jesus perfectly carries out the biblical understanding of love, and how we, as his disciples, are called to show that same kind of love to others. 
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
 
As I look at these items at the beginning of this chapterr, I think they characterize the major types of Christian ministry today, even the types of ministry present in a single Christian congregation.

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The Greatest of These, Part 5

Theme: The Permanence of Love
 
In this week’s lessons we learn how Jesus perfectly carries out the biblical understanding of love, and how we, as his disciples, are called to show that same kind of love to others. 
 
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13
 
In yesterday’s study we concluded by referring to the three reasons John gives in 1 John 4 for why we should love one another.
 
The first reason is found in verse 7: “Dear friends, let us l

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The Book of Revelation

Heaven, Section 1

Theme: Mercy in the End
 
In these lessons we focus on heaven as the place where God and his redeemed people will dwell forever.
 
Scripture: Revelation 21
 
A funeral service of the Book of Common Prayer is a very beautiful thing—both in its simplicity and in the wise way it uses Scripture. The Old Testament readings have to do with many of the Psalms.

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The Book of Revelation

Heaven, Section 2

Theme: Jerusalem and Babylon
 
In these lessons we focus on heaven as the place where God and his redeemed people will dwell forever.
 
Scripture: Revelation 21
 
It’s really not possible to come to this chapter at this point in the Bible, right at the end, without realizing that when John has this vision of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, this is in contrast to practically all of the great themes preceding this that have to do with our normal, earthly expectations

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The Book of Revelation

Heaven, Section 3

Theme: The Throne of God and of the Lamb
 
In these lessons we focus on heaven as the place where God and his redeemed people will dwell forever.
 
Scripture: Revelation 21
 
When John begins to describe this in chapter 21, the thing that impresses him most about Jerusalem is that God dwells there. He writes, “I saw the Holy City,” he says, “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

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The Book of Revelation

Heaven, Section 4

Theme: A Description of the City
 
In these lessons we focus on heaven as the place where God and his redeemed people will dwell forever.
 
Scripture: Revelation 21
 
John begins to describe some of the other details, and he talks about this great wall all the way around it. A wall would symbolize protection, and so you have an image there of our eternal security and safety. He talks about the twelve foundations. Why twelve?

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The Book of Revelation

Heaven, Section 5

Theme: “The Lord Is There”
 
In these lessons we focus on heaven as the place where God and his redeemed people will dwell forever.
 
Scripture: Revelation 21
 
When I read these verses that talk about God being in this city forever, I think to something else that Ezekiel wrote about.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 1

I just love science fiction movies. A number of years ago one of them appeared with the title Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was a great title for the story, and I was sure I remembered it in intricate detail until this week when I tried to think what the encounters of the three kinds were. Can you remember them?

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 2

Now this first story has to do with a Roman centurion, and since we’re talking about encounters, it’s the encounter of this man with Jesus Christ. We want to start by seeing what kind of a man he was. Well, first of all, we need to give attention to his calling.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 3

Yesterday we looked at the first two characteristics of the man who encounters Jesus in Matthew 8.  Today we talk about the other two.
The third thing I want you to notice about him was his humility. A man who serves an occupying force might be the very opposite of humble.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 4

Now on the other side of this encounter we have Jesus Christ. What do we say about him? Well, first of all, he was everything the centurion imagined he was and a great deal more besides. The centurion said to him, “You are able to speak the word, and if you speak it, it will be done because I understand authority.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 5

Now, I’d like to apply this in a few ways. Jesus makes a contrast here between those who are not of Israel who will be present at the banquet and those who are of Israel but who will be excluded. The first principle that comes from it is this: It is possible to have many spiritual advantages and yet not be saved.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Demoniacs, Day 1

Theme: Two Responses to Christ
 
This week’s lessons show both the positive and negative changes that an encounter with Jesus can produce.
 
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34
 
Last week, as we considered the story of Jesus and the centurion, I referred to the different kinds of knowledge, taken from J. I. Packer’s book, Knowing God.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Demoniacs, Day 2

Theme: An Analysis of the Two Demoniacs
 
This week’s lessons show both the positive and negative changes that an encounter with Jesus can produce.
 
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34
 
Now, Acts 8 tells us of the healing of these two demon possessed men. It took place in the region of the Gadarenes. There’s some manuscript peculiarities where that’s concerned due to the fact that nobody is quite certain where this area was.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Demoniacs, Day 3

Theme: Jesus’ Authority and Power
 
This week’s lessons show both the positive and negative changes that an encounter with Jesus can produce.
 
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34
 
In my experience I have never known anybody whom I would say has been demon possessed, but I do believe it happens.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Demoniacs, Day 4

Theme: The People’s Response
 
This week’s lessons show both the positive and negative changes that an encounter with Jesus can produce.
 
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34
 
Now the point I want to make is that it is necessary that the Lord Jesus Christ have authority in the most powerful sense if the demon is to be driven out. And if we’re to go and preach the gospel and have any hope of success, it must be by that power and authority of Jesus Christ as well.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Demoniacs, Day 5

Theme: The Need for Obedience
 
This week’s lessons show both the positive and negative changes that an encounter with Jesus can produce.
 
Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34
 
If we seem to prefer our own comfort to the spiritual condition of others, the Lord may do one of two things to correct us. First of all, sometimes it’s necessary for us to lose the pigs.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Paralyzed Man, Part 1

  As we come to the first eight verses of Matthew 9 we have another story of an encounter of the Lord Jesus Christ with one of the people of his day. In the context of the story it actually involves more than the one individual. It was something that took place in public.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Paralyzed Man, Part 2

Now in our story of the paralytic we have a fourth reaction, and this is a bit further along that spectrum—from indifference, to rejection, to what we now find to be anger or offense at Jesus’ sayings. This is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel that we actually find opposition to Jesus.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Paralyzed Man, Part 3

So the scribes took offense at Jesus because he claimed to be able to forgive sins, which his healing of the man was meant to validate as true. There’s another question I want to ask about this story, and then after I ask it I want to apply all of this in a very personal way. The second question is this: Why did Jesus link this man’s physical suffering to his sin? 

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Paralyzed Man, Part 4

There’s something else we do with our sin. We try to recognize it, but when we recognize it we try to blame it on someone else. We have different ways of doing that. We usually use the word determinism today to express what we do. That is to say, we try to explain why we are as we are by reference to something that is somebody else’s responsibility.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Paralyzed Man, Part 5

But I see something else in the story, and it’s this. It’s buried there just in a little sentence that Jesus says to the religious leaders. These teachers were not paralyzed, at least so far as one could see. They were the leaders; everybody looked up to them. But when Jesus knew their thoughts and spoke to them what is it that he said?

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and Matthew, Section 1

Theme: The Significance of Self-Portraits 
 
This week’s lessons show us the depth of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to call, not those who believe they are righteous, but sinners into his kingdom.
 
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13
 
There is a picture of the crucifixion by Rembrandt in which the artist has included himself in the crowd that is standing around the cross.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and Matthew, Section 2

Theme: First Century Tax Collectors
 
This week’s lessons show us the depth of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to call, not those who believe they are righteous, but sinners into his kingdom.
 
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13
 
Now it’s interesting to focus on Matthew because the one thing we know about him, almost the only thing we know, is that he doesn’t say anything in all of the Gospels.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and Matthew, Section 3

Theme: Those Whom Jesus Calls
 
This week’s lessons show us the depth of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to call, not those who believe they are righteous, but sinners into his kingdom.
 
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13
 
Have you ever noticed as you read through the Gospels that whenever the word tax collector appears, usually it is coupled with the word sinners?

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and Matthew, Section 4

Theme: Evidences of Matthew’s Conversion
 
This week’s lessons show us the depth of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to call, not those who believe they are righteous, but sinners into his kingdom.
 
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13
 
Now here is Matthew’s call following that story of the healing of the paralytic, and it is a way of saying as clearly as he can possibly say it that Jesus Christ came to save him.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and Matthew, Section 5

Theme: Hope for the Outcast
 
This week’s lessons show us the depth of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who continues to call, not those who believe they are righteous, but sinners into his kingdom.
 
Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13 
 
The second thing is that this story gives us a pattern for our evangelism. When Jesus went to Matthew’s house with these disreputable people, outside there were the Pharisees and the other reputable people.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Five Thousand, Scene 1

Theme: Training the Twelve 
 
In this week’s lessons we see how Jesus was teaching his disciples to minister to the needs of others, and that our own service needs to follow in this way.
 
Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
 
We come now in our series to the story of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand, which is the only miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ that appears in all four Gospels. That tells us that this story is important.

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The Book of Matthew

Jesus and the Five Thousand, Scene 2

Theme: The Compassionate Christ
 
In this week’s lessons we see how Jesus was teaching his disciples to minister to the needs of others, and that our own service needs to follow in this way.
 
Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
 
Now the story tells us a number of interesting things, and let me just start with them so we don’t miss any of what is important. First of all, it tells us about the compassion of Jesus Christ. You can hardly read the story and miss that.

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