Genesis 6:9 – 7:24 The writer of Genesis calls Noah righteous and blameless. Noah’s righteousness was not sinlessness but rather obedience to God’s commands. Pastor Dave asserted that we, who know we are saved by grace not works, often fail to take God’s commands...
Genesis 6:1-8 Yesterday Pastor Dave explained three different interpretations of who the “sons of God” were, and he concluded that we cannot say dogmatically which, if any, is correct. My small group frequently comes to the same conclusion as we study Revelation and consider...
Genesis 4:1-26 As Pastor Shannon stressed yesterday, we humans downplay, underestimate, or flat-out fail to recognize sin, especially in ourselves. It is not a pleasant topic, after all. It’s depressing to realize that sin is not just something I do now and then; it’s who I am...
Genesis 2:4-25 So many people live in despair today, believing their lives are accidental and pointless. Does that describe anyone who is part of your life, even tangentially? Pray that he (or she) will discover that he is made in God’s image, quickened to life by God’s own...
Genesis 2:1-3 Spend time before the Lord considering how you typically view the Sabbath Is it simply a day to rest and rejuvenate for the work week ahead? Is it a day to pay your religious dues? Is the Sabbath a topic you avoid because it brings to mind competing lists of Dos and...
Genesis 1:1-31 In introducing Genesis, Pastor Dave stressed his desire to focus on the things God wants to teach us about Himself and avoid being sidetracked by debates such as evolution vs. creationism. I identified with his concern because my small group is studying Revelation, which also...
All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. (1 Peter 1:24-25, quoting Isaiah 40:7-8) For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having...
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)Solus Christus (Christ Alone) Meditate on the cross of Christ: The sovereign King of the universe, wrapped in human flesh, bearing and destroying all human sin from a motive of love; the source and definition of life that death could in no way hold. Next to the...
Introduction to the Protestant Reformation + Sola Gratia (Grace Alone) One of the fruits of the Protestant Reformation was the translation of the Bible into the everyday languages of the people. Try to imagine yourself as an average Christian in Europe 500 years ago. You are illiterate, and...
Rejoice always,pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Thanksgiving I am in Tulsa, OK, with my sister after the death of her husband last Thursday. This time of grief so close to...