Hot or Cold: ✔ | Lukewarm: ✖ | Revelation 3:14-22 Bible Study (Slideshow+)
How Do You Like Your Coffee? Many like coffee hot. Many like coffee cold (e.g, iced coffee). Yet, I suspect very few enjoy it lukewarm. If tasted, many […]
Month: July 2019
![If We're Following Christ, Christ Comes First | Mk 8:34-38 Sermon [Video, Text]](https://catchforchrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/crosswalk-300x300-300x245.jpg)
If We’re Following Christ, Christ Comes First | Mk 8:34-38 Bible Study [Slideshow+]
On the road of life, how tempting is it to type in our own GPS coordinates, head to where we want to go, and then ask God for traveling mercies? If we claim to follow Christ, however, we must let Jesus take the wheel. Following Jesus means we must be willing to “lose” our lives (metaphorically or even literally) for Christ. We must be ride-or-die.
If We’re Following Christ, Christ Comes First | Mk 8:34-38 Sermon [Video, Text]
After Peter’s great messianic confession and great messianic misunderstanding, Jesus clarifies the nature of His Messiahship and the nature of Christian discipleship. Anyone who wants to follow (behind) Him, must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow. His followers must deny their self-centered desires, be willing to endure persecution/shame/death, and dedicate their lives to Him and the Gospel
Prison to Praise, Suffering to Salvation | Acts 16:16-34 Commentary
Paul frees a slave girl from spiritual bondage only to be thrown into physical bondage. Ironically, this leads to his jailer being set free from his spiritual bondage. Spreading the Gospel can lead to persecution and suffering. Yet, suffering can lead to salvation.
![Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) Bible Study [Slideshow+]](https://catchforchrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Tower-of-Babel-Screenshot-Bible-Study-326x245.png)
Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) Bible Study [Slideshow+]
This intriguing account, structured chiastically, tells how God disinherits and scatters peoples across the earth and assigned members of His divine council to govern each nation (cf. Dt 32:8-9, ESV) — before taking Israel as His special inheritance (cf. the Call of Abraham in Genesis 12f.) to establish His Kingdom.
![Psalm 82 & The Divine Council Bible Study [Slideshow+]](https://catchforchrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ps82-326x245.jpeg)
Psalm 82 & The Divine Council Bible Study [Slideshow+]
In Psalm 82, God (Elohim, singular) stands in the divine assembly of elohim (plural)– lesser, created, divine/spiritual beings. At least some of these elohim are condemned by God for not exercising justice when governing the nations. They were supposed to govern justly concerning the poor, needy, fatherless, powerless – but they didn’t do their job. Therefore God says these disobedient elohim will die like mortals. Then the Psalmist prays that the LORD manifests His justice over all the nations – for they’re all, ultimately, the LORD’s inheritance.
![Divine Directions: Negative & Positive | Acts 16:9-15 Sunday School Lesson [Slideshow+]](https://catchforchrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/God-opens-and-closes-doors-326x245.jpg)
Divine Directions: Negative & Positive | Acts 16:9-15 Sunday School Lesson [Slideshow+]
In this account, Paul and his companions are prevented from traveling to certain areas in Asia. Instead, through a dream, they are directed to the Roman colony, Philippi, in the region of Macdeonia. There, apparently, the Gospel is spread for the first time in Europe. They meet Lydia, a God-fearing woman of some means. She becomes a believer and puts her faith into action.
![Trust in the LORD With ALL Your Heart | Proverbs 1:7, 3:5-6, 21:2 Bible Study [Slideshow+]](https://catchforchrist.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/My-way-versus-Gods-way-326x245.jpg)
Trust in the LORD With ALL Your Heart | Proverbs 1:7, 3:5-6, 21:2 Bible Study [Slideshow+]
The fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge and wisdom. We must acknowledge that we creatures lack the knowledge and wisdom of the Creator. Thus, it only makes sense to follow the Creator of life’s instructions for life. We are to trust in the LORD entirely and exclusively, not in our feeble understanding. In everything we do, we are to submit to Him, and He will make our paths straight (morally). Let us not rely on our own moral compass and ethical judgments, for it is the LORD who is the ultimate Judge.
Peter’s Angelic Jailbreak | Acts 12:1-19 Commentary
In this angelic rescue, Peter is passive; God is active. Echoing language and themes of Passover, the account emphasizes human recognition of divine rescue. Being a witness for Christ may result in persecution and even death. But God is able to preserve us for His purpose – if He so chooses — Just as He did at the First Passover. Let’s not be surprised if/when He does