TOUGH QUESTIONS: How can you say there is only one true faith?
Ephesians 4:1-6 — A variety of influences have converged in our nation over the past century, fundamentally altering how people perceive truth. We live in a culture that now believes individuals must be allowed to interpret truth against the shifting and unique circumstances of their lives. Today, truth often comes prefixed with possessive pronouns – “my truth,” “your truth,” “their truth,” etc. Against that backdrop, Christianity’s claim that “Jesus rightly demands the allegiance of every human being – regardless of…
Followers of God
Deuteronomy 4:1-2 A key to a great game is clear rules all players commit to following. But for there to be enjoyment, there needs to be a commitment to the one enforcing the rules. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses recaps God’s rules and laws for Israel. Moses calls Israel to remember God the Law-giver who is a fearful presence and consuming power. He is to be taken seriously. Yet, this fearful and consuming God can be followed. Those who seek to…
Tough Questions: Ancient Answers for Modern Questions
Paul makes a bold assertion about the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – the Bible offers instruction in “righteousness” for all people, places, and times. However, his claim raises a crucial question – how does an ancient book offer relevant guidance for people living in a time and culture far removed from the one that birthed the Bible? This lesson introduces a series examining some of the challenges confronting Christians that raise tough questions about things like the reality of suffering, the complexity of sexuality,…
Lest We Forget
Deuteronomy 8:11-18 We learn very little by hearing something only once. How many times do you need to hear a name before that name sticks? In Deuteronomy, Moses does a very simple yet profound thing: He repeats what God has already said while urging listeners to remember and walk faithfully. Do what you’ve already learned! An entire generation of Israelites knew the right way to the Promised Land but chose to not act on that knowledge. As a result, their…
Purifying God’s Space: the Sin Offering
Leviticus opens with three chapters detailing instructions for three offerings central to the problem driving the book’s content – how will God manage His covenant with rebellious Israel? While the placement (and idea of sacrifices and offerings) might seem dull and antiquated to us, the first-place position of the offerings in the book and the amount of space dedicated to them indicates their importance in understanding God’s relationship with Israel. The purposes God gave to those offerings not only provided Israel…
You shall eat before the Lord: The Peace Offering
Leviticus opens with three chapters detailing instructions for three offerings central to the problem driving the book’s content – how will God manage His covenant with rebellious Israel? While the placement (and idea of sacrifices and offerings) might seem dull and antiquated to us, the first-place position of the offerings in the book and the amount of space dedicated to them indicates their importance in understanding God’s relationship with Israel. The purposes God gave to those offerings not only provided Israel…
A Covenant of Salt: The Grain Offering
Leviticus opens with three chapters detailing instructions for three offerings central to the problem driving the book’s content – how will God manage His covenant with rebellious Israel? While the placement (and idea of sacrifices and offerings) might seem dull and antiquated to us, the first-place position of the offerings in the book and the amount of space dedicated to them indicates their importance in understanding God’s relationship with Israel. The purposes God gave to those offerings not only offered Israel…
God’s Deacon
Romans 13:1-7 Christians think differently from the world. Their different thinking requires respect for and submission to legitimate authority. God knows we need order, not chaos. Living with God’s eternal hope means thinking Biblically and wisely about the authorities and governments God has instituted. A Christian’s response to earthly kings reflects how we submit to the King of kings. Whether authority is in the form of a parent, church elder, or civil ruler, all authority is from God. Everyone submits…
Unfair Grace: The Burnt Offering
Exodus narrates God’s rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and His organization of the people into a nation through the covenant He made with them at Mount Sinai. Even though He gave the Jewish people the honor of representing His identity and will to the world, making them a holy nation by choosing to dwell in their midst, the Jewish people responded with rebellion rather than thankfulness. Exodus ends its account with a dilemma – how would God maintain…
God Looks Like Jesus: Forgiving and Just
God “proclaimed the name of the LORD” when He revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, disclosing to Moses the character of the God covenanting with him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:6-7). Because it contains His explanation of His identity, Exodus 34:6-7 plays a crucial role in understanding God’s character. John offers a pair of equally important passages for understanding God in his gospel. After recording Jesus’ declaration of his divine identity (John 8:58), John wrote that Jesus informed his…
God Looks Like Jesus: Loving and Faithful
God “proclaimed the name of the LORD” when He revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, disclosing to Moses the character of the God covenanting with him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:6-7). Because it contains His explanation of His identity, Exodus 34:6-7 plays a crucial role in understanding God’s character. John offers a pair of equally important passages for understanding God in his gospel. After recording Jesus’ declaration of his divine identity (John 8:58), John wrote that Jesus informed his…
God Looks Like Jesus: Patience
God “proclaimed the name of the LORD” when He revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, disclosing to Moses the character of the God covenanting with him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:6-7). Because it contains His explanation of His identity, Exodus 34:6-7 plays a crucial role in understanding God’s character. John offers a pair of equally important passages for understanding God in his gospel. After recording Jesus’ declaration of his divine identity (John 8:58), John wrote that Jesus informed his…
God Looks Like Jesus -Mercy and Grace
Matthew 12:1-8— God “proclaimed the name of the LORD” when He revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:5), disclosing to Moses the character of the God covenanting with him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:6-7). Because it contains His explanation of His identity, Exodus 34:6-7 plays a crucial role in understanding God’s character that anchors the Bible’s narrative. God foregrounds a pair of characteristics in His announcement (“merciful and gracious”), signaling their importance in understanding Him. Given the importance…
God Looks Like Jesus
John 14:8-9 — Exodus chapters 33-34 narrate the unexpected and dramatic moment God revealed Himself to Moses. Yielding to Moses’ intercessions, God agreed to spare Israel following their egregious violation of its newly enacted covenant relationship with Him. Not only did God mercifully spare the nation, but He also graciously permitted Moses to see His glory. However, God only allowed Moses a glimpse of His “back” because of the danger it posed for him. That risk emphasizes the surprising nature…
Kingdom Emotions: Joy and Anger
James 1:2-3, 19-20 — We live in a consumerist culture in which joy has become bound to the products and services promoted by marketers and influencers. At the same time, we live in a culture where outrage has become the expected response to a growing list of offenses. No matter how we feel about our culture’s values, its influence shapes us. That shaping complicates the already challenging balance between joy and anger. This lesson, which considers the place of joy…
Kingdom Emotions: Peace and Worry
Matthew 6:19-33 — God designed the world to be a place of abundance and blessing. However, we encounter scarcity, pain, and death in the world. Those shared experiences remind us that the world contains dangers that can tempt us to foreground those risks over God. Against that backdrop, Paul instructed the Philippians to “not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6). Yet, in the same letter, he also wrote about his “anxiety for all the churches” (Philippians 2:20). How then do we…
Good at Being a Woman
Reading: Genesis 2:23 In Genesis 2:23, Adam praises God’s creation of woman. He sees in her the ability to take the good he gives and make it grow and flourish. When she is good at being what God made her to be, this brings glory to God the Creator. If men build a house by their strength, women in their beauty and care make it a home. “A wise woman builds up her house, but with her own hands the…
Kingdom Emotions: Lament and Thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 — My phone gives me accurate, simple, and constantly updated directions to whatever destination I enter into its maps app. Its accuracy, simplicity, and adaptability to the conditions around me have made the app an essential part of my daily life. Even though I claim the Bible occupies an even more important place in my life, it does not have the features I prize in my map app – it instead possesses a sprawling complexity that, while…
Gifted to Serve God’s Mission
Romans 12:3-8 — A gift freely given must still be used according to a purpose. If you give someone a chainsaw, you expect them to build with it and not destroy. God’s free gift of grace can never be earned. Yet grace is more than a ticket to heaven. Paul says, “we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:6a). Grace is also a tool we grow in by serving His purpose. We don’t…
Guest Speaker Willie Franklin
Please note there is no video portion, only audio.