Two are Better Than One

Welcome to Week Twenty-Eight of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at Luke 15:11-32. This is a wonderful and familiar story to all, the Prodigal Son. These verses follow immediately after those of last week, where we looked at the love of the Father seeking after a lost sheep. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son were all spoken to the same audience, and largely delivered for the same purpose. That said, there is great application to everyone, and I challenge you to dig deeper and resist the temptation to look at these parables through the lens of past experience or tradition. The Word is alive and constantly able to speak to us in magnificent ways, so let’s dive in and let the Spirit speak to us through this wonderful parable.   In last week’s study, we tossed around the thought of what heaven might be like and the joy seen in heaven when a sinner repents. This is a natural reaction when we consider the relentless love of the Father and h...

Welcome to Week Twenty-Seven of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at Luke 15:1-10. This is a beautiful parable of Jesus explaining how the shepherd will leave the 99 to look for the lost sheep, and the woman who has lost a coin will search everywhere for it. It is a beautiful story because it gives us a portrait of the love our Lord has for the lost and how He desires for all to come to repentance. I think this perspective is critical if we are to get a glimpse of who God really is and what He ultimately wants for all mankind. A few questions/thoughts that come to mind: ·        The religious leaders wouldn’t associate with “sinners;” what does this tell you about their character and how they saw their own source of righteousness? ·        Who were the “sinners” Jesus was associating with? ·        Why did Jesus choose to dine with people that were so reviled by the religious lead...

Welcome to Week Twenty-Six of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at Matthew 20: 1-16, but you should actually start reading in Matthew 19:16 and read through the end of the chapter. You will note that chapter 20 picks up right where chapter 19 left off, meaning this was one series of interactions between Jesus, His disciples, and the people around them. It should really be one long chapter to preserve the context of this dialogue. At any rate, we find Jesus once again discussing His kingdom and what is necessary to be saved. I think one of the prevailing themes of this dialogue is the sovereignty of God, which we encounter throughout the scriptures. As you read through these verses, consider what Jesus is getting at and how radical these concepts were to this audience. These ideas are every bit as radical today as they were then. As always, I welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you all Sunday evening at 7:30 pm. About Zoom:   We will use Zoom for this...

Welcome to Week Twenty-Five of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at Luke 11:1-13. This passage is about prayer and includes the “Lord’s Prayer,” along with our parable for this week, the persistent friend. And we’ll throw in the dialogue of the verses that follow, since these go right along with the parable. We discussed prayer last week as well, looking at the Pharisee and the tax collector and their respective prayers. Last week was more focused on the heart condition of the person praying while this week we also examine how persistence may pay off, and what or why the Lord desires for us to pray. It should be an interesting conversation! As always, I welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you all Sunday evening at 7:30 pm. About Zoom:   We will use Zoom for this Bible study. If you are using a computer, just type in www.zoom.com and select “Join a Meeting” at the top of the page, then enter the meeting ID: 696 778 0839. If you are using a phone, i...

Welcome to Week Twenty-Three of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at the parable of the unrighteous judge and the relentless widow. Last week we opened our study with a question about God’s sovereignty. We will somewhat continue that conversation this week as we discuss a parable that Jesus told to teach us to be persistent in our prayers. Another angle on this to consider the dynamic between turning over an issue to God vs. continuing to petition God. Which is it? Do we pray over it and then turn it over to God? Or do we keep praying? Related to this is the power of our prayers and God’s will. Do our prayers really work to change God’s mind? If not, why are we told to pray at all? It seems there are many things to think about this week! As always, I welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you all Sunday evening at 7:30 pm. John MacArthur article on God's Absolute Sovereignty:  https://www.gty.org/library/Articles/A167/Gods-Absolute-Sovereignty  ...

Welcome to Week Twenty-one of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31. This story comes on the heals of a contentious exchange between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. Specifically, Jesus was teaching about the dangers associated with loving money and material possessions, and he drew a stark contrast between actions that glorify the individual and those that spring from a contrite heart. These were words the Pharisees did not want to hear and provide the context for the story of the rich man and Lazarus. As always, we need to place ourselves in the time and culture of the audience and try to understand the meaning of the events that take place. Although I have read this story many times before, when we try to understand the context and thinking of the Jewish leaders during this time, the story comes to life in a new way. So, we will discuss these things and also life after death during our study Sunday nig...

Welcome to Week Twenty of our Bible study! This week we will be looking at the parable of the banquet, found in Luke 14:15-24 and Matthew 22:1-14. Once again, we find Jesus speaking about the end times and who will enter into His kingdom. Obviously, that was a topic of interest to those around Him during that time and it certainly is today as well. Some believe that these two passages are parallel, meaning they are slightly different versions of the same parable by Jesus. The author of the book we are following believes they are separate because the accounts have a few specific differences. I am not inclined to debate either side, rather we will focus on the main idea of both parables, which is who will find their way into the Kingdom of God and who will not. This parable follows the sentiment from last week, which was “enter through the narrow door.” So that is what we will discuss this week. As always, I welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you all Sunday evening at ...