A. Man’s relationship to the Almighty (1 John 2:3; John 12:48)
B. Self-deception (1 John 2:4; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 1:6,8,10; Titus 1:11,16)
C. Perfected love of God (1 John 2:5; Matthew 5:43-48)
II. Do you abide in Him?
A. Walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6; John 8:12; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1-2)
B. The old commandment, made new (1 John 2:7-8; John 13:34-35)
III. The Danger of Darkness
A. Is it possible to follow Christ while in darkness? (1 John 2:9; John 8:12; Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:5)
B. Our love of man (1 John 2:10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a; John 15:9-10; 13:34; Philippians 2:3)
C. Hatred causes blindness (1 John 2:11)
A. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) – opinions and politics have no place in the pulpit
B. God’s Word produces salvation (Romans 1:16; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:22)
C. God’s Word is God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
D. God’s Word must be proclaimed (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
E. The danger of false doctrine (1 Timothy 6:3-5; Titus 1:10-11)
II. Respect for God’s family
A. The church is God’s family, and we must all love and respect each other as family (1 Timothy 5:1-2)
B. Encouraging each other to live godly lives (Titus 2:1-6)
III. Respect for God’s lifestyle
A. “Be an example” (1 Timothy 4:12-16)
1. v.13 – the preacher’s focus should be on study, encouragement, and preaching
2. v.14-15 – he should use his talents (and improve them as far as possible) under the eldership’s authority (2 Timothy 2:15)
3. v.16 – he needs to watch himself and what he preaches so that he can be saved, and those who follow his example and preaching can be saved as well
B. “Be a pattern of good works” (Titus 2:7-8)
C. Don’t get involved in things that hinder the church
1. Do not “share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22)
2. “Youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22)
3. “Foolish and ignorant disputes” (2 Timothy 2:23, 16; 1 Timothy 4:7; Titus 3:9)
4. “Love of money” (1 Timothy 6:9-11)
I. A family dispute over inheritance (Luke 12:13-15)
A. The man’s demand – not a request! (12:13)
B. Jesus’ concern was not for the physical (12:14)
C. Neither should our concern be primary for the physical! (12:15; Ecclesiastes 5:10)
II. The farmer’s fortune (Luke 12:16-19)
A. The rich get richer (12:16)
B. The farmer’s focus on self (12:17-19)
C. His thoughts resulted in self-centered actions (12:18)
D. Your soul’s satisfaction cannot be purchased (12:19)
III. God’s warning (Luke 12:20-21)
A. “Fool” (12:20)
B. “Then what?” (12:20)
C. This man’s greed resulted in his condemnation (12:21; Ecclesiastes 5:13)
A. Mary Magdalene had already visited once (John 20:1)
B. The others were concerned about the stone (16:1-4)
C. The angel in the tomb (16:5)
II. The angel’s pronouncement (16:6-8)
A. “He is risen!” (16:6; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20)
B. “As He said to you” (16:7; 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 14:28)
C. The shock of this news (16:8)
III. The appearances of Jesus (16:9-14)
A. Mary Magdalene (16:9-11)
B. The disciples on the road to Emmaus (16:12-13)
C. The apostles (16:14)
IV. The Great Commission (16:15-18)
A. What makes the Great Commission so great?
1. The message preached – the gospel (16:15)
2. The reach of the message – “all the world”… “every creature” (16:15)
3. The simplicity of submission (16:16)
B. The gift of the Holy Spirit (16:17-18; Acts 2:38)
V. The ascension of Jesus; obedience of the apostles (16:19-20)
A. “Sat down at the right hand of God” (16:19; Colossians 3:1-4)
B. “They went out and preached everywhere” (16:20; Acts)
C. The word confirmed with miracles (16:20; 1 Corinthians 13:8-13; James 1:25)
A. Is any man’s standard infallible? Could all agree on the same standard, if such were devised by man? (Proverbs 12:15; 14:12)
B. Devastation is caused by man’s imperfect standards (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
C. Without God’s standard, we cannot know good or evil (Romans 7:7)
II. The reality of free will
A. God created all things—including man—“very good” (Genesis 1:26-27, 31), and gave man the freedom to stay that way (Genesis 2:16-17)
B. Man chose to disobey (Genesis 3:6)
C. The choice remains today (Revelation 22:17)
III. Evil, pain, and suffering are caused by poor choices
A. Sometimes our own bad decisions (Prov. 11:19; 1 Pet. 4:15)
B. Sometimes the sinful choices of others (Romans 5:15; Jeremiah 25:10-11)
C. Natural disasters (Genesis 6:5; 3:17-19)
IV. Suffering can be beneficial
A. God can use even painful situations for our good (Romans 8:28)
B. Suffering may be a form of discipline (Hebrews 12:6, 11)
C. Suffering leads to greater reliance upon God (Ps. 119:71)
D. Suffering helps us to focus on eternity (2 Cor. 4:17)
A. Jesus had predicted this (Mark 14:27-31)
B. Peter denied being a follower three times (Mark 14:66-72)
II. “Not my problem” (Pilate)
A. Pilate marveled that Jesus refused to defend Himself against false accusations (Mark 15:1-5)
B. He saw that Jesus was not guilty (Mark 15:6-14)
C. Pilate had no backbone and refused to do what was right (Mark 15:15; Matthew 27:24)
III. Hatred (chief priests and the crowd)
A. Envy of the chief priests (Mark 15:10)
B. Bloodlust of the crowd (Mark 15:11, 15)
IV. Mockery (soldiers, passersby, and scribes)
A. A parody of worship (Mark 15:16-26)
B. Made fun of His words (Mark 15:29-30)
C. Denied His power (Mark 15:31-32)
V. “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” (the centurion)
A. Prophecy fulfilled (Mark 15:27-28)
B. Scripture cited (Mark 15:33-34; Psalm 22:1)
C. Power recognized (Mark 15:37-39)
VI. Love (the women and Joseph of Arimathea)
A. The women who had ministered to Him in Galilee (Mark 15:40-41, 47)
B. The secret disciple (John 19:38) who took courage (Mark 15:42-46)
A. The creation of man (Genesis 1:26-27)
B. All things were good when created (Genesis 1:31)
C. The fall of man (Genesis 3:1-15; Ezekiel 18:20; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23)
II. “In the beginning was the Word…” (John 1:1)
A. The Deity of Jesus is declared (John 1:1)
B. “And the Word became flesh…” (John 1:14) – God became man! The Creator became the creation!
C. “…the form of God…equal with God…coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7)
III. Why did the Word become flesh?
A. He came to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk 19:10)
B. He came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)
C. He came “to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
D. He came to taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:8 “even the death of the cross”)
E. He came to be “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:7-9)
F. This was all a part of God’s plan “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:3-4; Ephesians 3:11)
I. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)
A. God is light (James 1:17; Gen. 1:3; 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9)
B. Darkness is the realm of Satan (Ephesians 6:11-12; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 5:8)
II. Six “if” statements
A. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:6; Matthew 6:2,5,16; Galatians 2:11-13)
B. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7; Matthew 26:28)
C. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8; Gal. 6:3; James 1:22)
D. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9)
E. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10; Romans 3:23)
F. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1b)
III. What we have as a result of walking in God’s light
A. Fellowship (1 John 1:7)
B. Cleansing (1 John 1:7,9; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20)
C. Forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
D. An Advocate who appeases (1 John 2:1-2; 4:9-10)
I. The parable of persistence delivered in contrasts (11:5-8)
A. A request made at an inconvenient time (cf. Psalm 74:16)
B. The request initially denied (cf. 1 Peter 3:12)
C. The reluctance of the friend (cf. 1 John 5:14-15)
II. Our responsibility in prayer (11:9-13)
A. Ask (James 1:5-8)
B. Seek (Deuteronomy 4:29; Matthew 6:33)
C. Knock (Matthew 9:37-38; Galatians 6:10)
D. The contrast between evil men and God (11:11-13)
III. Praying for the Holy Spirit (11:13)
A. The Bible is its own best interpreter!
B. The Holy Spirit stands for the “good things” He does (Matthew 7:11)
C. The background of Jesus’ words is Joel 2:28-32, looking forward to Pentecost (John 16:7-8; Mark 9:1; Acts 1:8; 2:4; 8:16-19)
A. Jesus (Matthew 13:37-43, 47-50; 25:31-46)
B. John (1 John 4:17)
C. Peter (2 Peter 3:7)
D. Paul (2 Corinthians 5:10)
E. The Hebrews writer (6:1-2; 9:27-28)
II. Degress of reward
A. Eternal reward (Revelation 2:7, 10; 3:5, 21; Philippians 3:12-14)
B. Rewarded for what we have done (Luke 19:12-26)
C. Increased joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; Philippians 4:1)
III. Degrees of punishment
A. Vengeance awaits “those who do not know” and “do not obey” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9)
B. Jesus speaks of such degrees (Matthew 10:14-15; 11:20-24)
C. Many stripes vs. few stripes (Luke 12:42-48)
D. “Worse punishment” (Hebrews 10:26-31)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
ConcerningJesus.com 