Empty Thoughts and Darkened Hearts
Romans 1:21-23
As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome today we have to remember where we have been so far in our study. If you will remember, our last few studies have focused on our current situation, we are living life under the wrath of God. The wrath of God is [...]
The Good News of God
Romans 1:1-7
This week, in our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, we are going to take a look at Romans 1:1-7. These seven verses, in large part, summarize the entire message that Paul wanted to communicate to the brothers and sisters in Rome. It is the “gospel of God,” the good news of [...]
One Subject. One Professor. One Classroom.
Ephesians 4:20-24
In our study last week we took a look at Ephesians 4:17-19 and we heard Paul tell the followers of Jesus, in Ephesus, that they “must no longer live like the Gentiles do.” He insists on it. He’s adamant. He’s uncompromising. He’s fully aware that the people who will hear his letter read are Gentiles [...]
What is the Church?
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is much confusion today about the Church? What is it? Why does it exist? How did it come about? What is the purpose of the Church in our modern society? I would say that if you took a poll of people from around town today you would find many different answers to these questions. [...]
Maintaining the Gift of Unity
Ephesians 4:1-3
This morning we are going to focus our time together on the first three verses of the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. As I have studied these three verses this past week I have been drawn again and again to verse 3. Let’s read the first three verses, and as [...]
The Incomprehensible Love of Christ
Ephesians 3:14-19
How can we comprehend that which is incomprehensible? To “comprehend” means “to grasp mentally” or “to understand.” To know facts and to understand are really two different things. We can know that the earth is 93,000,000 miles away from the sun, but who can really understand the magnitude of that distance. If we were traveling [...]
Strengthening the Inner Man
Ephesians 3:14-19
It is one thing to “know.” It is a completely different thing to “act on what you know.” You can know everything there is to know about a subject and yet never act on what you know. Let me give you some examples of what I am talking about. You can be the world’s authority [...]
The Transcendence and Power of Prayer
Ephesians 3:14
Prison can be a lonely place. In a small prison cell the world can close in on you. Confinement is, well, it’s confining. We were born to be free, to move about, and to experience life to its fullest. It is not in our nature to be confined, to be isolated. Yet this was the [...]
Sharing the Truth Whatever the Cost
Ephesians 3:1-13
Over and over again in Scripture we are reminded that there is a cost to be paid for following Jesus. There is a price to be paid if we want to follow faithfully in our Lord’s steps. Jesus said, 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny [...]
Look What God Has Done!
Ephesians 2:1-10
As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus it is so important that we remember who Paul was addressing in his letter. He wasn’t writing to the Chamber of Commerce, the members of some philanthropic organization, the academics at a local high school or college, and neither was he writing [...]
“But God…”
Ephesians 2:1-3
God had a plan. He made a promise. It was a promise to Abraham to bless him and to make him a great nation. There were twists and turns. Things didn’t go as smoothly as Abraham or his descendants would have liked, but God had a plan. The Jews were a nation, a unique people [...]
“Where Did You Get That?”
Romans 13:7-10
“Where did you get that?” That’s a statement that is most often connected to lots of energy and emotion. Most often, when we hear that question, there is body language that goes along with it. Eyes are wide open, body is leaning forward, and the pitch of the voice suddenly takes an elevator ride to [...]
The Transformed Mind
Romans 12:1-2
Google the phrase, �Battle for the mind� and you will find 120,000,000 websites that you can visit. Must be an important topic. Needless to say I haven’t read all of the information that is available for me on the internet about winning the battle of the mind, but I have spent quite a bit of [...]
How Many Times?
Romans 11:5-10
This is our 45th lesson from Pauls letter to the church in Rome. Last week we began our study of Romans 11:1-10, but we only made it through the first five verses. I was tempted to skip over the last five verses just so we could move on, but these last five verses are so [...]