May 24, 2021
May 30 | Application
God is omnipresent and inescapable. The trouble is, we can be oblivious and distractable. The problem isn’t God’s availability, but our awareness.
Articles for tag: Jacob
August 3, 2020
Lesson for August 9, 2020: Serve the Lord (Joshua 24:1, 14-28, 31)
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 the August 2020 issue of Christian Standard + The Lookout. (Subscribe to our print edition.) ________ Lesson Aim: Be strong and courageous; serve the Lord faithfully. ________ By Mark Scott T.S. Eliot wrote, “For those who serve the greater cause may make the cause serve them.” A remarkable deception of the enemy is in duping believers into thinking they deserve God to serve them (cf. Luke 17:10). But everything good
March 18, 2019
Lesson for March 24, 2019: God Blesses Those Who Forgive (Joseph)
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. 3 (weeks 9-12; March 3–24, 2019) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ Lesson Text: Genesis 45:1-15; 50:15-21 Lesson Aim: Seek the blessing of healing, which comes through forgiveness ______ By Mark Scott “When deep injury is done to us, we never recover until we forgive. . . . Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future” (Mary Karen Read, last journal entry before being
December 28, 2015
Lesson for January 3, 2016: A Bride Worth Waiting For (Genesis 29:15″“30)
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the December 27 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (English Standard Version). Who has not known the agony of waiting? Waiting seems like forever. But a laser focus on a strong goal helps us endure any
December 17, 2014
Why I”m Hoping to Lose
By Jim Tune In his memoir Report to Greco, Nikos Kazantzakis reflects on his early years as a searching, God-haunted man needing direction from God. One summer the young Kazantzakis climbed Mount Athos to visit a monastery. There he met Father Makarios, an old monk with a reputation for deep wisdom. In one remarkable exchange, the young Kazantzakis asked the monk, “Do you still wrestle with the devil?” “Not any longer, my child,” Father Makarios replied. “I have grown old, and he has grown old with me. He doesn”t have the strength.” The young man assumed that the battle must
October 21, 2013
Lesson for October 27, 2013: The Blessing Passes to Jacob (Genesis 27, 28; 32:22-30; 35:9-15)
By Sam E. Stone Last week”s lesson concluded with Isaac becoming extremely prosperous (Genesis 26:13). He and his family moved south toward Beersheba, where his father Abraham had lived. Genesis 27 describes how Jacob tricked his father into giving him the special blessing that normally would have gone to his elder brother, Esau (27:1-40). When Esau learned of Jacob”s deception he cried, “Isn”t he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he”s taken my blessing!” (v. 36). Esau planned to kill him after his father died. When his mother, Rebekah, learned
January 16, 2012
Lesson for Jan. 22, 2012: Joseph Transmits Abraham”s Promise (Genesis 50)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Joseph is one of the most outstanding figures in the Old Testament. His life teaches us that the actions of evil people cannot really hurt us as long as we stay true to God and do what he wants us to do. Joseph experienced at least five major temptations during his life: favoritism in the home (Genesis 37:3, 4); bitterness as a slave (39:1); immorality in secret (39:6-12); discouragement at obstacles (39:13-20); and revenge at opportunity
Practice God’s Presence While You Walk
A workout walk on a lonely canyon road becomes an unexpected spiritual discipline—learning to notice God, release burdens, love others well, and cling to him in ordinary, gritty moments.
