Articles for tag: Obedience

Discovery Questions for August 16, 2020

Study Questions for Groups By Michael C. Mack 1. What struggles have you faced over the last week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the first two people to read Judges 2:10-19 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Ask the third helper to retell the story in their own words. Remind them to keep it simple. 2. What one word would you use to describe this summary of the Israelites during the time of the judges? (Give participants a few moments to think.) 3. Let’s look more closely at a few details: • Why

August 3, 2020

Stuart Powell

Devotionals

Building God’s House

By Stuart Powell During the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem, Solomon received a message from Yahweh God: As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel (1 Kings 6:11-13). David designed the temple, Solomon built it, but God conceived the faith upon which Solomon’s temple stood. That temple in Jerusalem was one of a multitude built throughout

August 3, 2020

Discovery Questions for August 9, 2020

Study Questions for Groups 1. How did you show kindness to someone this past week? 2. What struggles have you faced over the last week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the readers to read Joshua 24:1, 14-28, 31 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. (Option: Read Joshua 24:1-31.) Ask the third person to retell the story in their own words as if telling it to a group of kids at Vacation Bible School. 3. What key terms do you see in this passage? 4. Let’s look more closely at some of the details:

July 7, 2020

Discovery Questions for July 12, 2020

(These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for July 12, 2020: “Perfect Love Living in Me” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. Name one thing for which you are grateful today. 2. What challenges did you encounter last week as you sought to walk in obedience to God’s Word? • Did you share God’s love with anyone this past week? If so, tell us more about it! Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to read 1 John 3:24 one after the

June 15, 2020

Discovery Questions for June 21, 2020

(These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for June 21, 2020: “Perfect Love in Light” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. Name one thing for which you are thankful right now. 2. What challenges did you have trusting in God’s absolute power and control over all things this past week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to read 1 John 1:5–2:11 one after the other (preferably from different Bible versions). Ask the third person to summarize (not interpret) the passage. (About 60

June 8, 2020

Discovery Questions for June 14, 2020

Study Questions for Groups (These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for June 14, 2020: “See Him All Around” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. What are two things for which you are thankful right now? 2. In the difficult or challenging circumstances you faced this past week, how were you comforted? – In what ways were you a comfort in the misery of others? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the first two to read Job 38:16-41 one after the other (preferably from different

June 1, 2020

Mission & Evangelism

Ask the Lord . . . to Send Workers!

By Michael C. Mack We planned the articles for our August 2020 issue on March 20, the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 916 points and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the nation’s largest city was “now the epicenter of this crisis” in the U.S., with 5,151 coronavirus cases and 29 deaths at that point. We were a nation looking for some sense of hope in the midst of a crisis we didn’t even understand. People’s anxiety was palpable and pessimism itself took on pandemic proportions. On that day, publisher Jerry Harris and I talked on

June 1, 2020

Discovery Questions for June 7, 2020

Study Questions for Groups (These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for June 7, 2020: “The Look of True Friendship” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. In what ways were you like Job this past week, by being thankful and able to praise God through hard times? 2. What difficult or challenging circumstances did you or people around you encounter? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to read Job 16:1-5, 15-21 one after the other (preferably from different Bible versions). Then ask

May 3, 2020

Discovery Questions for May 10, 2020

(These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for May 10, 2020: “His Treasured Possession.” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. What challenges did you face this past week? 2. Over the last seven days, what impact on people around you did you make simply by living a holy life? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to each read Deuteronomy 4:29-40 in turn (possibly from different Bible versions) and then ask the group what they observe in the passage. What captured their attention?

April 19, 2020

Discovery Questions for April 26, 2020

(These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for April 26, 2020: “His Chosen People.” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.) By Leigh Mackenzie 1. In what specific ways over the last week did you testify to someone about the things Jesus has done in your life? 2. What are you most grateful for this week? Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to each read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 in turn (possibly from different Bible versions) and then ask the group what they observe in the passage. What captured

January 22, 2019

Salvation Theology & Bible

Meaning of the Cross

By Randy Gordon What does the cross mean to you? The question is simple enough, but I fear few of us give it much thought. Maybe it’s because we see the cross in so many places. We see it on necklaces, bracelets, and pendants. We see it painted on the sides of train cars. We see it on the roadside after terrible auto accidents. We might even hang it on the wall of our home. Christians have embraced the cross, but in Jesus’ day, the cross represented capital punishment. In fact, execution on a cross was the Romans’ primary form

March 19, 2018

Mark Scott

Lesson for March 25, 2018: Keep My Statutes and Ordinances (2 Chronicles 7:12-22)

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. 9–12 (March 4–25, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Praise should not be divorced from obedience. To praise God and then not obey God is hypocrisy. That was the problem on Palm Sunday. On Sunday the crowd said, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9), but by Friday the same crowd said, “Let him be crucified!”

February 26, 2018

Mark Scott

Family & Relationships Marriage

Lesson for March 4, 2018: The Lord Will Provide (Genesis 22:1-3, 6-14)

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. 9–12 (March 4–25, 2018) of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott First there was Knowing God by J. I. Packer (1993). Then there was Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King (1990). In this series of lessons we will emphasize Acknowledging God. To acknowledge means “to recognize authority or status; to take notice; or to express gratitude.” In acknowledging God we express gratitude

February 14, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

A Command for Valentine’s Day

By Mark A. Taylor Sweetheart dinners, couples retreats, and sermons about love are all great, as long as they move us beyond the frivolous expressions typical of our culture”s shallow take on deep issues. When it comes to marriage, God has spoken. His command comes three times in Paul”s epistles, twice within a few phrases of each other. “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” Paul tells the Ephesians. “Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (5:25-28). To the Colossians, the apostle puts it this way: “Husbands, love

December 12, 2016

Christian Living

Almighty Favored

By Jennifer Johnson I write a lot of small group Bible study curriculum, and in the process I work with many different churches, different pastors, and different perspectives. One of my favorite clients is a preacher in Atlanta who leans toward the “spirit-filled” side of the spectrum and often talks to his congregation about God”s favor. He encourages his church members to pray for God”s favor in their families, their business dealings, and their health. Sometimes I question the theology of those prayers. Sometimes I question whether I am brave enough to pray them. In the Old Testament we see

December 9, 2016

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

I Could Totally/Never Do That!

By Jennifer Johnson Two mistakes are easy to make when reading B.J. Leonard“s story. The first is to think you could never do what he did””give up your dream house in the suburbs to move into the inner city with your wife and three young kids. The second is to believe you could totally do what he did because you”ve romanticized it as a sequel to The Blind Side. B.J., his wife, Mary, and his daughters aren”t reaching out to urban Decatur, IL, because it”s easy, but they”re also not doing it to experience the warm fuzzy feelings of “saving”

March 10, 2016

Church Leadership

Lessons from Limestone

By LeAnne Blackmore For the past 16 years my husband, Ron, and I have led, taught, cast vision, and ministered to many in our city megachurch, First Christian Church, Johnson City, Tennessee. From college ministry to missions, greeter to elder, we have stepped into roles as variegated as the fall foliage on the Blue Ridge Parkway. By man”s standards, we experienced great successes and toyed with the temptation to take the credit. But God, in his grace, also allowed us to face colossal failures. In merging the two extremes, and through immersing ourselves in the Word, a mutual mind-set surfaced.

March 7, 2016

Church Leadership

Are You Sure It”s Time to Move On?

By Susan Lawrence Sometimes we think we”re done. It”s time to move on. We”re ready to be finished with a season because we”re exhausted or we see a better offer. Things aren”t going well, or things are going exceptionally well. For whatever reason, we assess (or rationalize) that God is prompting us to take a step away from where we are and move on to something else. When this is the case, and we”re ready to go, it”s hard when we sense God saying, “Wait just a minute.” It happened to Simon in Luke 5. Simon and other fishermen had

March 5, 2016