In a Nutshell 6-6-10
I started the lesson on Sunday by talking about two incredible creatures in nature. The first was the chameleon. The chameleon is incredible because of its ability to mimic its surroundings. The chameleon can change colors and blend in to its environment. In the picture above there is a chameleon but it camouflages itself so well that you can’t see it. It’s in the middle to the left. If you still can’t see it the picture at the bottom may help. The second incredible creature I mentioned was the caterpillar. The caterpillar is incredible because it transforms into a butterfly. After eating for a while, the caterpillar will get into a cocoon and emerge a completely different thing: a butterfly. Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 5-23-10
On Sunday we finished the fourth section of Romans by studying chapter 11. In this chapter Paul looks at God’s Sovereign Plan of Redemption in Time. I told the students that Paul switches back and forth from the past to the present to the future in this chapter. In verse 1 he uses the present tense when he says “I am.” He then moves to the past when referring to Elijah in verse 2. He fast-forwards back to the present in verses 5-8 when he says, “at the present time,” and, “down to this very day.” In verse 26 he uses the future tense when he says, “will be.” I told the students that studying this chapter is almost like stepping into a time machine with Paul. It’s like a Biblical Back to the Future. This time machine gives us an understanding of God’s redemptive plan in time. Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 5-16-10
This week we studied Romans 9:30-10:21. Paul began his line of thinking for this section in 9:1. He has been trying to show that God has not rejected Israel. Many were thinking that He had. What Paul is saying is that the exact opposite is true. God hasn’t rejected Israel, Israel has rejected God. Paul talks about two kinds of people in this section. We went through the passage and compared these groups. We charted it out like this.
In a Nutshell 5-9-10
Because of the recent suicides in our community, I decided to spend this week talking about the subject of suicide and why some choose it. We started by considering a quote from philosopher Blaise Pascal.
“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end…. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.” Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 5-2-10
Last week we saw in Romans 9 that God’s plan for His children involved election. This week we learned in Romans 10 that God’s plan for His children involves evangelism. Unfortunately, history shows that many who believed in election did not evangelize. They thought that if God were in control then He would bring the elect to salvation without their help. They shirked their responsibility to preach the gospel. I find it interesting that immediately after Paul teaches the Roman church about election he tells them that they are still responsible to evangelize. He asks, “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 4-25-10
Election: Part of God’s Amazing Plan (Romans 9)
I began on Sunday by reminding the students that the book of Romans is all about the gospel. In 1:16-17 Paul says this letter is about the gospel and everything he has said so far has been about it. This chapter is no different from the others. It is also about the gospel. But it gives us more insight into the inner workings of the gospel. I told the students that the gospel is like an onion. It has layers. In chapter 3:21ff Paul talks about the first layer. It’s the layer we see the most. This is the decision layer. It’s when a person decides to place their faith in Jesus or not. In 5:12 Paul reveals the second layer. This layer shows us that our sin problem was inherited from Adam. We were dead in sin even before we could do wrong. Chapter 9 reveals the core of the onion. It shows us that God elected certain individuals to be saved. It shows that a person’s decision to accept the gospel is contingent on what God decided before the foundation of the world.
In a Nutshell 4-18-10
In the Late 90’s the Fox channel debuted a show called Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. The show featured a masked magician who gave away the secrets behind many common illusions. After seeing the explanation behind the illusion, you end up feeling kind of stupid for having been tricked so easily. Last Sunday I wanted the lesson to act like the masked magician. The title of the lesson was “Satan’s biggest tricks as revealed in Proverbs.” I wanted to share with the students how Satan tricks us as we struggle in sanctification. My prayer is that after the students see the inner workings of Satan’s tricks they will be less likely to fall for them.
In a Nutshell 3-28-10
This week we got to the midway point of the book of Romans. We discussed Romans 8:15-39. One of my goals was to use the truths in this text to get the students excited for the PWT (Praise and Worship Time) scheduled for Sunday evening. I started by reviewing some of last weeks material about walking by the Spirit. In verse 14 Paul says those who walk by the Spirit are children of God. He then says that if you are a child of God there are 7 things that are true about you. The title of this lesson was, If you are a child of God then… Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 3-21-10
This week we completed the second half of our focus on progressive sanctification in Romans 8:9-14. We began by reviewing what sanctification means. Some of the basic definitions given are ‘to be set apart’ or ‘to be holy’. I told the students that it means we are set apart from sin unto God. Since I am married I am holy to my wife. That means I am set apart from all others (forsaking all others) unto her. I told the students that the definition for progressive sanctification is growth towards greater godliness or becoming more like Jesus. That means that it is a process. I Pet 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” This verse likens sanctification to the growth of a baby. My son Jack is 7 months old now. When we first brought him home from the hospital he was tiny and weighed less than 8 pounds. Now he weighs over 16 pounds. He grew but it didn’t happen over night. Over 7 months he ate, exercised, and slept to double his weight. Read the rest of this entry »
In a Nutshell 3-14-10
This week we studied Romans 8:5-8 and learned more about Sanctification. I started by showing a video of confessions from people who struggle with sin. Some of the people struggled with gluttony, others with drunkenness, and others with sexual immorality and pornography. I told the students that not everyone struggles with the same sin. We all struggle with sin, but each one of us has a different sin that gets the best of us. I reminded them that we feel like Paul described himself in 7:15-24. We know what is right but we seem to do the wrong thing. We want to do the right thing but we find ourselves doing the wrong thing. In disgust, we say we are wretched and cry out to God to help us win this fight with the flesh. All believers want to win against the flesh and so we must find out how we can defeat the flesh in the great tug of war. Fortunately, God has told us how to do that. These verses give us the next step in defeating the flesh in the great tug of war. Read the rest of this entry »
