Theology &amp; Bible

Lesson for June 9, 2019: Living in Him (Ephesians 5:1-15)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Live as children of light seeking what pleases the Lord as wise not unwise ones. ______ By Mark Scott Charles Caleb Colton is credited as having said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” (though others said similar things dating back as far as the time of Marcus Aurelius).

May 27, 2019

Lesson for June 2, 2019: Rooted in Him (Ephesians 3:8-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Approach God with freedom and confidence in the power of Christ rooted in love. ______ By Mark Scott The discipleship program “Rooted” originated in Africa and is growing in popularity among American churches. The prison epistles (our study through the bulk of the summer months) stress what it is

May 22, 2019

The Lookout’s Reading Plan to Improve Biblical Literacy

Christian Standard’s sister publication The Lookout offers a daily Bible reading plan to walk you through the entire Bible in one year. The Daily Reading Plan can be found for free at lookoutmag.com/resources, or you can connect to the plan using the You Version Bible App. In the app, simply go to Plans and search for “The Lookout.” The plan provides a selection of Scripture reading for 6 days per week. Subscribers to The Lookout will find the Bible Reading Plan in the print magazine, with a small accompanying daily devotional. These can also be found in the free digital

May 22, 2019

An Opportunity to Build Biblical Literacy

By Mark E. Moore Biblical illiteracy is not a problem to be solved, it’s an opportunity to be embraced. According to a 2016 survey by Barna, 80 percent of people in the church want to know the Bible better. If the church could develop a quick and comprehensive solution for this, imagine the impact it would make. Furthermore, 60 percent of the people who say they want to know the Bible don’t attend church. So, providing access to biblical training might be one of the most attractional strategies for church growth. Research has repeatedly confirmed that Scripture has the power

May 22, 2019

What Core 52 Is Doing for Us

By Dale Reeves How desperate are you to know God’s Word, what he wants to say to you, and what he wants you to do about it? “I don’t just want to read God’s Word weekly. I am implementing changes in my life—sometimes daily—as a result of reading Core 52.” “When we’re out of town during the week, we love staying on track by reading the same Scriptures many others at Christ’s Church are reading.” “Even in the midst of my busy lifestyle, I am staying committed to a daily reading of God’s Word. The practical action steps each week

May 22, 2019

Doctrinal Issues & Debates Theology & Bible

We Believe Jesus Is Lord

By John Caldwell The first song I ever learned was “Jesus Loves Me.” The first Bible verse I memorized was John 3:16. I preached my first sermon on that same text; it lasted 10 minutes. When I began my ministry with the infant Kingsway Christian Church, my first sermon was simply entitled “Jesus.” When I retired from that ministry 36 years later, my sermon was “It’s Still Jesus.” If you call me a “Jesus freak,” I’ll consider it a badge of honor. But who is this Jesus? The answer to that question is more important than anything else. Jesus raised

May 22, 2019

Taking the First Bite Out of Biblical Illiteracy

By Jim Eichenberger A lot has changed in the past 100 years, but biblical illiteracy is still a problem. And at the heart of this problem, in many instances, is society’s lack of respect for the Bible’s authority. Today the challenge to biblical authority comes as radical individualism—what the Bible says to me. How God speaks to my heart. But 100-plus years ago, the challenge came from an academic elite that questioned not only the Bible but also anything supernatural. Today the Bible can mean anything depending upon the reader. Back then the Bible meant nothing because it was seen

May 20, 2019

Lesson for May 26, 2019: Alive in Him (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 5 (weeks 21-24; May 26–June 16, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Give thanks for God’s great love, rich in mercy making us alive with Christ. ______ By Mark Scott Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are known as “the prison epistles” because they were written from prison (either Caesarea or Rome, Acts 24-26 or 28). Ephesians is known as “the queen

May 13, 2019

Lesson for May 19, 2019: Trust Jesus in Suffering (Mark 13:9-20)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 17-20; April 28–May 19, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Trust Jesus’ strength to carry you through suffering. ______ Suffering is caused by a variety of things, including our poor choices, the poor choices of others, and creation being out of sorts with its Creator. Ultimately all suffering is caused by the devil (Genesis 3) and overseen by a

May 6, 2019

Lesson for May 12, 2019: Trust Jesus with Your Soul (Mark 8:27-38)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 17-20; April 28–May 19, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Trust Jesus’ authority to save you. ______ As part of a larger poem, William Ross Wallace wrote, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” A fitting tribute to mothers. But what about the God who rocks the whole world? Can we trust our

April 29, 2019

Lesson for May 5, 2019: Trust Jesus in Need (Mark 5:25-34)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 17-20; April 28–May 19, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Trust Jesus’ ability to take care of you. ______ Jesus’ care for women was tender and counter-cultural. His “heart was touched by their grief” (Matthew 8:14-17; 15:21-28; 26:6-13; Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; 12:41-44; Luke 7:36-50; 8:1-3; John 4:7-45; 7:53–8:11; 20:1, 2, 11-18). That is certainly evident in our text today

April 25, 2019

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Communion Commotion

From After Class Podcast A kerfuffle at First Church of Christ these last few months shows no signs of abating. During a study on Communion in the early church, the congregation learned that first-century Christians took Communion as part of a community meal at their regular gatherings. First Church, which is committed to restoring the New Testament pattern of worship, now has a potluck each Sunday after church. At about the midpoint of the meal, participants pause to remember the body and blood of Christ by sharing broken bread and the fruit of the vine. Though it has been well

April 22, 2019

Lesson for April 28, 2019: Trust Jesus in a Storm (Mark 4:35-41)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 17-20; April 28–May 19, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Trust Jesus’ power to protect you. ______ If Jesus can conquer death (last week’s lesson) then he can certainly calm a storm. And not just figurative, metaphoric, or spiritual storms, but real, physical, honest-to-goodness storms. When sin entered the world, creation experienced a separation from its creator (Genesis 3:17b-19;

April 19, 2019

Wrestling with Scripture

I Began Preaching on Problematic Bible Passages to Help People Grow Deeper in Their Convictions and Biblical Understanding By Ryan Rasmussen Do you ever put off hard things? You know theyâ™re important and often necessary . . . but theyâ™re hard. Some time ago, I realized I was doing this with my preaching. Itâ™s not that I was shortchanging the process. I wasnâ™t âborrowingâ sermons from famous preachers or recycling old manuscripts. Honestly, I didnâ™t notice my tendency until reading something in Mark 4. After Jesus preached the parable of the sower, his followers asked why he often taught

April 15, 2019

Lesson for April 21, 2019: Follow the Risen One (Mark 16:1-11)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13-16; March 31–April 21, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Believe the startling reality of Christ’s resurrection. ______ Clark Pinnock said, “The biggest objection to Christianity is that it seems too good to be true.” But it is true. Christ has been raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20). That fact alone compels us to follow the Risen One.

April 8, 2019

Lesson for April 14, 2019: Follow the Miraculous One (Mark 8:14-26)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13-16; March 31–April 21, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Let Christ’s miracles move you to believe he is God’s Son. ______ Miraculous events make up 31 percent of Mark’s Gospel. With only two discourses in the book, the accent is clearly on the deeds of Jesus. Jesus is portrayed as no mere slight-of-hand magician but as a true

April 1, 2019

Lesson for April 7, 2019: Follow the Intriguing Teacher (Mark 4:24-34)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13-16; March 31–April 21, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Listen thoughtfully to Christ’s teaching and respond with growing faith. ______ Jesus really was a master teacher. Of course, it was his identity as the Son of God that made his words most important. But also outstanding was the variety of his supporting material. In the preaching of Jesus

March 26, 2019

New Testament Theology & Bible

The Radical Request

By Halee Wood During Jesus’ early ministry, many of his followers were ecstatic. Who wouldn’t have been? The vibe, the miracles, the fact that he was hanging out with sinners. Some of these people had been made to feel like complete failures by the legalistic Pharisees, yet Jesus was loving, healing, and spending time with them! Jesus eventually began to say radical things that made many people feel seriously uncomfortable. In John 6, he said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. . . . For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real

March 25, 2019

Lesson for March 31, 2019: Follow the One with Authority (Mark 1:16-28)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 4 (weeks 13-16; March 31–April 21, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Aim: Recognize Christ’s authority and his call on your life. ______ By Mark Scott Today we begin an eight-week series from the Gospel of Mark. This series will lead up to and beyond Easter. The first four lessons emphasize following Jesus. The last four lessons emphasize trusting Jesus. Since we

March 21, 2019