The hymn “Praise Him! Praise Him!” was written by Fanny Crosby, the blind American songwriter who lived 1820-1915. Though she was blind, she wrote more than 8000 gospel hymn texts. She looked beyond her trial in life and praised God in her heart and song. Because Peter’s readers were elect strangers scattered in the back woods because […]
So far we have learned four things about conflicts. Remove Sinful Reactions (v.8-9) Rely upon the Lord (v.10-11) Respond with Godliness (v.12-14) Let the Lord Guide (v.15-16) Transition: Conflicts often begin when someone irritates us. They do something that displeases us and we react in a wrong way. In this section, God shows us that […]
1 Peter 1:2 is one of the most debated verses in the Bible. When we approach a difficult verse or topic, it is very important that we remember the first two rules for interpreting Scripture. The gold rule of Bible interpretation is: “Interpret Scripture with Scripture” (2 Peter 1:20). The silver rule of Bible interpretation […]
Colossians 3 is a great place to learn how to deal with family conflicts God’s way. So far in this series we have studied three of the five steps outlined for dealing with family conflicts. 1. Remove Sinful Reactions (v.8-9) Identify and admit sinful reactions Commit to quit sinful reactions with God’s help 2. Rely […]
Peter, the disciple of Jesus, wrote the book of 1 Peter to Christians living in the area of modern day Turkey. (See Map) Though he was a rough fisherman when he first met Jesus, the Lord changed him into a fearless preacher. This first letter by Peter is full of doctrine to guide Christians spiritually. […]
Though Colossians 3 is written primarily to local church congregations, it contains a powerful message for families. Every family has conflicts. If we learn to follow God’s Word, family conflicts do not need to become major events. Transition God’s plan for dealing with family conflicts involves five essential steps. Last week we looked at the […]
Thomas Jefferson, one of the great men of history, could not accept the miraculous elements in the Bible. He edited his own special version of the Bible in which all references to the supernatural were deleted. Jefferson, in editing the Gospels, confined himself solely to the moral teachings of Jesus. The closing words in Jefferson’s […]
Colossians 3 is addressed to the local church at Colosse and to local churches in general. It was to help them and us prevent and resolve conflicts. Though the message is not limited to the family, it certainly has a powerful application for the family. For this reason, we are going to study it with […]
Holiness is not a very popular topic these days. The media does not talk about it. Best-selling books do not mention it. It is not the theme of any songs on the radio. Even in religious circles, holiness is seldom mentioned. Preachers avoid the topic. Modern worship songs rarely note it. Few Christians understand it, […]
Mark was very poor at spelling. On examination day he was stumped by many difficult words. Softly the tempter whispered, “Look at Jane’s paper; she’s an honour student and always gets them right!” Mark heeded the suggestion and copied several answers. The teacher noticed his actions and was greatly surprised, for she had always thought […]