Theology &amp; Bible

Lesson for December 10, 2017: Faith to Discern (Acts 13:1-12)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 50″“53 (December 10-31, 2017) ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ In this Advent month, our lesson today celebrates the coming of the gospel to the nations. The tidings of great joy would come to the island of Cyprus. A proconsul would receive the Christ of Christmas and a sorcerer would cry, “Bah, humbug!” In both cases great discernment would be necessary to understand

November 29, 2017

Lesson for December 3, 2017: Faith in Jesus (Acts 3:11-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 46″“49 ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Jesus said to his disciples, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). The disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Few things in the Bible are as important as faith in Jesus. Our lessons for this quarter focus on faith””the faith proclaimed by the early church, the example of faith evident in the life of

November 21, 2017

Lesson for November 26, 2017: Remembering the Covenant (1 Corinthians 11:23-34)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in issue no. 46″“49 ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ This past Thursday we remembered to thank God for the countless blessings we have. Today we pause to remember Christ”s sacrifice, which inaugurated the new covenant””a subject we have been studying for three months. The special way we do this is by participating in the Lord”s Supper, or Communion.Â Marshall Leggett said that our lesson text

November 16, 2017

New Testament Theology & Bible

Incarnation and Resurrection

By Teresa D. Welch Strips of cloth, angels, a man named Joseph, a bed, spices, an angel”s “do not be afraid” message, and a group rushing to tell others the good news. In the context of December, with decorated trees and carolers singing “fa-la-la-la-la,” you most likely associated those items with the story found in Luke 2: “And she [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed in him a manager” (v. 7). But these elements of the Christmas story also appear in a different story about Christ. The story of Christmas reminds

November 13, 2017

Lesson for November 19, 2017: Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 12:14, 15, 18-29)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the November 12, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Technically a covenant (or testament) is not a book; it is an agreement in a relationship. And relationships change due more to people than events. This in no way denigrates the event of the cross, which signaled the change of covenant (Hebrews 9:16). But is the cross the key to the covenant shift or

November 9, 2017

New Testament Theology & Bible

Unnoticed Hero

By Jessi HollandÂ With a daughter off at college and a son in the Navy, a mother with an empty nest started on an unexpected journey. Ruth Anne Shattuck offered to teach eighth-grade boys with her husband, Dan, at Chapel Rock Christian Church in Indianapolis. Soon after, they were asked to serve as sponsors on the church”s first youth mission trip to Portugal. The year was 1989.Â “I was so ready to do this,” Ruth Anne said. “I”d been on a plane. I felt so prepared. I felt like the Lord wanted me to go on this particular trip.”Â Â But

November 6, 2017

Lesson for November 12, 2017: Promise of a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:27-34)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the November 5, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ The Bible has a love/hate relationship with old and new. On the one hand, God”s people were to ask for the ancient paths and old ways (Jeremiah 6:16), and even Jesus said that the old wine was best (Luke 5:39). On the other hand, Paul taught that if anyone is in Christ he is

October 30, 2017

Lesson for November 5, 2017: Faithful God, Unfaithful People (Numbers 25:10-13; 1 Samuel 2:30-36)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the October 29, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ In this Thanksgiving month we continue our study of our covenant with God. This month we will study how God”s people did or did not keep the covenant, how God planned to initiate a new covenant, how Jesus is the mediator of that new covenant, and how Communion reminds us of that new covenant.

October 25, 2017

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Discerning the Body

By Marsha Relyea MilesÂ If you were to worship with tribal Jesus followers in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, you might find yourself sitting on a rough-hewn log rather than a comfortable pew or chair. The typical church building has a thatched roof, woven bamboo walls, a dirt floor, and “windows” that are open to the jungle (no glass or screen); the church is graced with calls of tropical birds and shaded by giant palms and lush foliage.Â Â Imagine this setting . . . the sultry, equatorial breeze wafts in, carrying with it the sweetness of exquisite rainforest flowers.

October 23, 2017

Lesson for October 29, 2017: God’s Covenant with the Returned Exiles (Nehemiah 9:32-38; 10:28, 29)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the October 22, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ More than 500 years had passed since the events of last week”s lesson. The 10 northern tribes had been taken captive by Assyria (722 BC), and the two southern tribes had been taken captive by Babylon (586 BC). But God raised up Cyrus to send the exiles home (Isaiah 45:1). They came home in

October 16, 2017

Lesson for October 22, 2017: God’s Covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:1-6, 8-10, 12-16)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the October 15, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ In Florence, Italy stands the magnificent marble statue of King David. Michelangelo completed it in 1504, and it stands 17 feet high on top of its base. It is ginormous. But King David himself was taller still in regard to God”s covenant with his people. Five hundred years had passed since the events in

October 11, 2017

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Ordinary Sacredness

By Mandy Smith We know Jesus instituted the Lord”s Supper during the Passover feast, which Jews have celebrated for generations. Passover is an annual festival remembering God”s salvation of his people from slavery in Egypt. Like all celebrations of annual holidays, it takes much preparation and is a turning point of the calendar. So, as good Jews, Jesus and his disciples prepared and celebrated this feast together. But Jesus knew this Passover would be different from all he”d celebrated before, because he knew his death was imminent. The food is a central part of the Passover feast, but so are

October 9, 2017

Lesson for October 15, 2017: Obeying God’s Law (Exodus 20:18-26)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the October 8, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Obedience is not Testament specific. Both the Old and New Testaments call God”s people to obey. The Old Testament contains at least 613 commands to obey. The New Testament contains well over 1,000 commands to obey. Obedience is a response to redemption (Exodus 20:2). Obedience helps us learn the mind of God (John 7:17).

October 2, 2017

Lesson for October 8, 2017: God’s Covenant with Israel (Exodus 19:16-25)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the October 1, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ We live in a world of contrasts. Light and dark; good and evil; Jerusalem and Babylon; the bride and the harlot; in and out; deep and wide; forward and backward; over and under. In our text today the contrast is between “down and up.” God came down and Moses went up. Exodus 19 is

September 25, 2017

Lesson for October 1, 2017: God’s Covenant with Abram (Genesis 15:1-6, 17-21)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the September 24, 2017. issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ God made covenants regarding creation (rainbow), about days (Sabbath), in bodies (circumcision), and within the spiritual parts of bodies (heart)””all last month”s lessons. But he also made covenants with individuals (Abram and David) and with groups of people (ancient Israel and post-exilic Israel)””this month”s lessons. The God of the Bible loves to work an

September 20, 2017

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Come to the Table

By Mandy Smith The phrase “come to the table” can mean gathering to find understanding, as in meeting to discuss how to solve a problem or end a disagreement. Lawyers “come to the table” to reconcile quarreling spouses. Warring nations “come to the table” to discuss how to end the fighting. We often think of reconciliation in these legal and political ways. But what if the table were not in an office or a war room? What if, instead of a conference or strategy table, it was a dinner table, groaning under the weight of a sumptuous feast? We often

September 18, 2017

Lesson for September 24, 2017: Spirit-Filled Heart (Ezekiel 36:22-32)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the September 17, 2017, issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ A chiasm (or chiasmus) is a literary device named after the Greek letter “chi,” which looks like an “X.” A chiasm is a crosswise arrangement writing style of words or concepts that repeats things in reverse order to achieve memory and emphasis. The main idea occurs at the point at which the lines cross.

September 11, 2017

Lesson for September 17, 2017: Sabbath Observance (Exodus 31:12-18)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the September 10, 2017, issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ God is dead serious about rest. He did it (Genesis 2:2). He commanded his people to do it (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-17). He gave it to the land and animals (v. 14; Leviticus 25:1-7). He gives it to his followers now (Matthew 11:28-30) and eternally (Hebrews 4:9, 10). Heaven is a rest of sorts

September 4, 2017

Lesson for September 10, 2017: Circumcision (Genesis 17:1-14)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teachesÂ preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the September 3, 2017, issue ofÂ The LookoutÂ magazine, and is also available online atÂ www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark ScottÂ Cutting a Covenant A covenant is “cut”””literally. In fact, the Greek word for circumcision actually means “cut around.” Choosing a rainbow as a sign (last week”s lesson) is one thing, but circumcision? It does seem like an odd sign for a covenant, but maybe it is more profound than first thought. There are several

August 28, 2017