A Servant's Wisdom in Controversy

Jim Leffel

2 Timothy 3:6

The apostle Paul encourages the Ephesian church to have tact and discernment in how they met together. Paul wants the Ephesian women to be lights of God in their culture so he asks them to dress conservatively to fit in. He also wants them to be less vocal because they have fallen prey to false teachers. Outside of this passage, Paul talked about other female leaders that he holds in high esteem.

Paul's First Journey (Part 1)

Dennis McCallum

Acts 13:1-49

Paul begins his first missionary journey, starting with the church at Antioch. Led by the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas set out to tell others areas about Jesus, including locations such as Cyprus, Salamis, Paphos, Perga and more. This is the first recorded missionary journey, and flies in the face of the postmodern thought that the account of the history and truth are arbitrary as God divinely orchestrated His plan to send broken people to tell others about the love of Jesus Christ. Throughout all of Paul and Barnabas' journey, they were led by the Holy Spirit and encountered much resistance and even flagrant persecution. The same principles for Christians today should stand. As we go and tell others about the love of Christ, we should depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance and expect resistance in a world that is resistant to God's revealed truth through His Word.

Our Pride and Joy

Jeff Gordon

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20

The Thessalonians accepted Paul's words as the very Word of God which continued to work in them after he left. As a result, they were persecuted because they were transformed by the Word and lived to serve rather than to be served. Paul intensely longed to see them because he loved them and they were his pride and joy. What is your view of God's Word and what is your pride and joy?\r\n

A Servant's Love

Jim Leffel

1 John 3:18-19

Paul tells us about what real servant love is all about. Real love is sacrificial towards others and not self promoting. We can spend our lives caught up in our own accomplishments, or in theological debate; but Paul tells us that God wants our focus to be on sacrificial love.

The Servant's Heart

Jeff Gordon

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

The Thessalonians accepted Paul's words as the very Word of God which continued to work in them after he left. As a result, they were persecuted because they were transformed by the Word and lived to serve rather than to be served. Paul intensely longed to see them because he loved them and they were his pride and joy. What is your view of God's Word and what is your pride and joy?

Grace and Peace

Jeff Gordon

1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

An introduction to 1 Thessalonians describing the importance of God's grace and peace. This passage encapsulates Paul's top priorities and he thanks God for their work of faith, labor of love and endurance of hope. Paul assures them that God loves them and has been seeking them; he reminds them that he brought the gospel to them with power, a transformed life and great concern. Will we respond to God's grace and peace and allow Him to transform our lives?

The Power of the Gospel to Spread

Gary DeLashmutt

Colossians 1:1-8

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Colossae, a church he's never met, around 60 AD while imprisoned in Rome. He begins the letter by thanking God for their faith, hope, and love that overflows from the power of the gospel and continues to spread as they understand more and more about it. The gospel refers to the good news that Jesus Christ wants a personal relationship with each person and made it available through his death on the cross. As we deepen in our understanding and appreciation of the gospel, we will begin to see our lives being transformed as well.

Breaching Culture

Dennis McCallum

Acts 8:1-38

The message of Jesus Christ is continuing to spread in the early church, as God uses Philip to bring a sorcerer named Simon to faith in Jesus. However, there is a delay in Simon receiving the Holy Spirit until the arrival of Peter and John, in order that the issues of racism and prejudice would be silenced. Later, Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch and tells him about the good news of Jesus Christ. Both of these stories show the miraculous reality of Christ's love as the Gospel penetrates and breaks through cross-cultural barriers. As Christians, we should reject racism and look to see how the loving message of the Gospel can be reached to all types of people, which accurately reflects God's deep heart for all people.

The Gospel, the Cup and the Ransom

Jim Leffel

Mark 10:32-45

Many feel uncomfortable about the fact that God's forgiveness requires a sacrifice. The Bible presents the reality that forgiveness always requires a volitional choice for innocents to die in the place of the guilty. Ultimately, God's love and justice meet at the cross.