In a world under constant change and constant struggle, it is difficult not to worry. There are concerns about our health, exacerbated by the spread of Corona Virus. There are concerns with money as retirement looms for some; or the expense of raising children or paying for college. All these are real world issues, but are they cause for us to worry?
This begs the question, what does it mean to worry? And why is worry so counter to a Christian faith?
In today's lesson, we look at an eternal perspective to the cares of this world. As Jesus teaches His disciples, we see that as believers in Jesus, God is our Father. And when we look at how he cares for the rest of His creation, the birds of the air, or the flowers of the field, we see we have no need to worry; for as much as He cares for the rest of creation, how much more does He care for us?
May the Lord bless you as you listen to today's lesson. Thank you for listening.
Every one hopes in something; where are you placing your hope?
In his first epistle, Peter writes to a church that is enduring intense suffering because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Believers in the first century church in Asia faced beatings, imprisonment, execution and more because of their faith. Into such an existence, Peter speaks hope. But unlike the wishful hope the world offers, Peter speaks of a certain hope; a hope based upon the work of Christ.
As we look into Peter's letter to the church in Asia, we are faced with three questions:
- Why to we need a living hope?
- What is this living hope?
- How do I acquire this living hope?
May the Lord bless you as you listen to today's lesson.
God's redemptive plan is seen throughout all of Scripture. From the very beginning in Genesis 3, when God promises the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head, the Bible is a history of God redeeming fallen man.
In today's lesson, we see how the life of Abraham fits into God's plan. From Genesis 12 and the call of Abram, we will see the sovereign will of God, the faithful response of Abraham and God's marvelous grace on display as Abram stumbles on his faith journey.
We often view the characters that God uses in Scripture as spiritual giants. But when we dig deeper, we find that they were just as human as the rest of us. What we find, however, is that when these heroes of the faith stumble, the focus is not so much on their stumble but on God's grace.
In today's lesson, we see from the lives of Abraham and Job how God's character shines in the face of the apparent failures of each of these men. More importantly, we see how God uses these failures to bring honor and glory to Himself and works even the mistakes for His own purposes.
Our tendency is to look at the heroes of the Bible as spiritual giants. But when we peal back the curtain on their lives we see that many were just ordinary people like the rest of us. In fact, many of the heroes in scripture are relatively unknown.
in 2 Samuel 7:16, the Lord's purpose in redemptive history is made known when He promises King David that the line of David would be an eternal one. Thus, the purpose of bringing the Saviour through the line of David is made known.
Opposed to this, we see Satan's attempts again and again to thwart God's purposes. But God, in His wisdom, uses ordinary people to accomplish His plans on earth. In today's lesson, we see two examples of this.
First, we will look briefly at 2 Chronicles 32:30 where we see the workers who built Hezekiah's Tunnel and the place this played in God's redemptive history.
Second, we will look at Jehoshabeath, the granddaughter to wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Despite her upbringing, this relatively unknown woman was used by God to literally save the line of David, thus protecting the line that led ultimately to the Lord Jesus.
How will God use you for His purposes. As you listen, may your heart and mind be opened to the ways in which God plans to use you; an ordinary person used for God's purposes and glory.
When the apostle Paul met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, the Lord said of him, "he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel...I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake." Certainly this was the life Paul led as an ambassador for Christ. As he wrote to the church in Corinth, he had been imprisoned, beaten times without number, received the thirty-nine lashes from the Jews five times, stoned, shipwrecked three times, and the list goes on. But despite the constant threat of suffering, Paul eagerly served the Lord without fail.
Knowing the road that lay ahead of him, Paul eagerly took up the stewardship of suffering given him in his service for Christ. But what could possibly motivate someone to take up such a mission? And how can we apply this to our lives today.
In today's lesson from 2 Corinthians 5, we get a glimpse into Paul's motivation for service. May you be blessed as you listen to it and meditate upon God's Word.
There once was a duck village populated by ducks. In this village, was a duck church and they had their duck bible. One Sunday, the duck preacher exhorted the duck congregation, "My duck brothers and sisters, God has given us wings so we can fly and glorify God." The duck congregation shouted in agreement, "Amen!" and then waddled home.
Throughout scripture, we see that man is justified by faith apart from works. But then we get to James 2 where we read that faith without works is dead, and that we are justified by our works. Is this a contradiction in Scripture? How do we reconcile James with the rest of Scripture?
In today's lesson, we see there truly is no contradiction here. We are justified, declared righteous through faith. Works, then, become the evidence of that faith.
Mountains appear in various times and in various ways throughout scripture. Mountains are sometimes tied with various aspects of God, His character and His redemptive plan.
Mount Sinai is often associated with God's Law and the requirements of the Law. Through our own efforts, we can never measure up to the righteous requirements of the Law.
Contrasted with Mount Sinai, today's lesson looks at Mount Zion, the mountain which Paul, in Galatians 5:21-5:1, equates with God's redemptive grace through Christ.
