Text: Daniel 6 Some Will Want to Harm Us Do not be surprised if the world hates you (1 John 3:13) Persecution will be a reality (2 Timothy 3:12) Keep Your Behavior Excellent Keep behavior excellent because some will try to slander you (1 Peter 2:12) We must not suffer as an evildoer, but as [...]

Text: Acts 24:1 Paul’s example shows us how to deal with false charges and persecution The Charges Causes division (Acts 24:5) — those who depart from the truth are the ones who cause the division, not the faithful (Jude 19) Opposes the government (Acts 24:5) — Christians are to submit to the government (Romans 13:1), [...]

Text: Ezra 7:6-10 Why was God with Ezra? He Set His Heart Ezra was able to please God because he made a conscious decision to do so Pleasing God does not happen by accident (Matthew 7:13-14) We must make a daily choice to follow God or not (Luke 9:23) He Studied the Law He was [...]

Text: 2 Kings 5 What can we learn from the people involved in this account? The Servant Girl (v. 2-3) She was concerned for the well-being of others She wanted to be a good servant She had faith in God She spoke up The King of Israel (v. 6-7) He at least knew the limits [...]

Text: 1 Kings 16:29-33 “Ahab… did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him” (v. 30) — What did Ahab do to earn this infamous recognition? He Failed to Learn from His Father’s Sins (v. 30; Ezekiel 18:14-17) Sin Was a Trivial Thing to Him (v. 31; Isaiah 59:2; [...]

Text: John 21:15-19 Forget Past Mistakes – Peter made his share of mistakes, but he could not let them hinder his service to Christ in the future Feed the Flock – teach & lead others in the way of Christ Endure Persecution – Peter would eventually suffer death for his faith, he needed to be [...]

Text: Genesis 3:13; 4:10 No Sin is Hidden from God God knew their sin even though they tried to hide from Him (Genesis 3:8) or deny it (Genesis 4:9) We cannot hide anything from Him (Hebrews 4:13) We are Responsible for Our Actions Adam and Eve both tried to shift the blame for their sin [...]

Text: John 11 Nature of Miracles True miracles cannot be faked, attributed to coincidence, or be just an unlikely event True miracles are undeniable – Even Jesus’ enemies acknowledged the legitimacy of His miracle (v. 47-48) Miracles were performed to produce faith (v. 45; John 20:30-31) God Allows Human Suffering Jesus knew Lazarus was sick [...]

Text: Luke 17:32 The Value of OT Examples – Romans 15:4 The Story of Lot’s Wife – Genesis 13:12; 18:20-21; 19:15-17, 24-26) Why Was She Punished? Disobedience (Genesis 19:17) Possible Motives that We Must Guard Ourselves From: Being too close to the people of the world (James 4:4) Being too attached to the riches of [...]

Text: Acts 5:1-11 The Background (Acts 4:34-37) Lesson about Money We are free to use it as we see fit (Acts 5:4) But our use of money must be guided by divine principles In matters of liberty, we must not pass judgment against others (Romans 14:4,10) Their Sin – Lied to the Holy Spirit (v. [...]