A. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say! (James 1:19)
B. A dangerous muscle (James 3:2-8)
C. How do you use your words? (Ephesians 4:29)
D. It matters now, and eternally! (Matthew 12:36)
II. The time that you spend
A. Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-41)
B. How many hours per week do you spend with Jesus and His people? (Hebrews 10:25)
C. What do you do with your time when you are not here? (2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 5:15-16)
III. The opportunities you are given
A. Opportunities for service (Galatians 6:10)
B. “I’ll do it later”…really? (James 4:13-17)
C. Opportunities for obedience (2 Corinthians 6:1-2; Acts 22:16)
I. A prayer request (3:1-2), a prayer rendered (3:3-5)
A. For evangelism (3:1; Eph. 6:19-20)
B. For deliverance from evil men (3:2; 1 Tim. 2:1-2)
C. Expressing trust in God (3:3)
D. To continue in the faith (3:4-5; 1 Cor. 15:58)
II. The precept of withdrawal (3:6-15)
A. Discipline for the undisciplined (3:6)
B. Applies to freeloaders (3:7-12), sexual sin (1 Cor. 5), strife-stirrers (Romans 16:17), anyone who refuses to repent (Matthew 18:15-18)
C. Don’t give up (3:13)
D. The purpose of discipline: restoration (3:14-15; 2 Cor. 2:6-8; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20)
III. The presence of the Lord (3:16-18)
A. The peace of the Lord (3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23)
B. The personal touch of the apostle (3:17)
C. The grace of Jesus (3:18; Romans 5:21)
A. A moral man who was hindered by his possessions
B. The Lord’s assessment of this man shocked the disciples
C. What hinders us from taking up our cross and following Jesus fully? The things we have? The people who surround us?
II. The twelve (10:32-45)
A. The third time Jesus tries to prepare His followers for His impending death (10:32-34)
B. Jesus’ life was focused on the cross; how focused are we on the great love of Jesus?
C. James and John ask for priority in the kingdom (10:35-45)
D. The cup and the baptism – these terms do not refer to the Lord’s Supper and water baptism, but represents suffering (“Take this cup away from Me” in Gethsemane, 14:36)
E. Ultimately, service means more to Jesus than status
III. Blind Bartimaeus (10:46-52)
A. A man who believed in the power of the Lord to heal
B. Was told, “Go your way, your faith has made you well”
C. What is faith? It is more than mere belief, but a decision to follow Jesus
A. Jonah is called to preach to Nineveh (1:1-2)
B. Jonah tried to run away from God (1:3-16)
C. Jonah and the great fish (1:17-2:10)
D. Jonah’s second chance – he goes (3:1-4)
E. Nineveh’s repentance (3:5-10)
F. Jonah’s displeasure with his success (4:1-5)
II. The object lesson
A. Jonah’s gratitude (4:6)
B. Jonah’s misery (4:7-8)
C. God’s question (4:9-11)
III. Lessons for us today
A. The contrast between man’s vindictiveness and God’s compassion (John 8:2-11)
B. The love of God (John 3:16; Mark 16:15; Romans 5:8)
C. The longsuffering of God (Hebrews 12:6, 11)
D. The mercy of God (2 Peter 3:9)
A. David (2 Samuel 23:2)
B. Paul (1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16)
C. Peter (2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:16)
II. Can we trust it?
A. The unity of the Bible
B. The brevity of the Bible
C. Scientific foreknowledge (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Genesis 15:5; Leviticus 17:11; 13:45-46)
D. Archaeological discoveries
III. Inspiration makes the Bible profitable
A. For doctrine [teaching] (John 12:48)
B. For reproof [evidence] (Hebrews 11:1; Romans 10:17; Acts 17:2-4)
C. For correction [straightening up again] (Hebrews 4:12; 12:11)
D. For instruction in righteousness (Proverbs 1:7; 10:17; Matthew 5:6)
A. The Pharisees’ “testing” question (Mark 10:1-2; cf. Matthew 19:3)
B. Jesus answers with a question (Mark 10:3)
C. The Pharisees’ answer (Mark 10:4; cf. Deut. 24:1-4)
II. Jesus shows God’s original intent
A. “From the beginning it was not so” (Mark 10:5; cf. Matthew 19:8)
B. God’s intent from the beginning (Mark 10:6-9; cf. Matthew 19:4-6)
III. Back to the question of divorce
A. Divorce regulated through the Law “because of the hardness of your heart” (Mark 10:5; cf. Matthew 19:8)
B. One exception for acceptable divorce and subsequent marriage: fornication (Matthew 19:9)
C. Jesus acknowledges the difficulty of this doctrine but that does not change the truth of it (Matthew 19:10-12)
IV. God’s view of children
A. Jesus took time for children (Mark 10:13-14)
B. Jesus touted the trusting nature of children (Mark 10:15)
C. Jesus touched to bless children (Mark 10:16)
D. Should we not view our children in the same way as we “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4)?
A. For mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:14-16)
B. For peace (Philippians 4:6-7)
C. For forgiveness (1 John 1:8-10; Psalm 51)
II. Our circumstances call for specific prayers
A. When illness befalls us (James 5:13-16)
B. When facing persecution (Acts 12:12; Acts 16:25)
C. When making important decisions (Luke 6:12-13; Acts 6:1-6)
D. When preparing for and engaging in a new work (Nehemiah 2:1-5; Acts 13:2-3)
A. From the beginning (Ephesians 1:3-6)
B. Through sanctification by the Spirit (2 Timothy 2:19-21)
C. Through belief in the truth (John 3:36)
II. Called (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15)
A. By the soul-saving gospel (Romans 1:16)
B. For the obtaining of the glory of Jesus (1 Peter 5:10)
C. Hold to the apostolic traditions (1 Peter 1:13-16)
III. Comforted (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)
A. The love of Jesus and the Father (Romans 5:6-8)
B. Everlasting consolation (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
C. Good hope (Acts 24:15; Galatians 5:5; Titus 1:2)
D. Established for every good word and work (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
A. A proof of prophecy (Ezekiel 24:1-2; 2 Kings 25:1-4; Jeremiah 52:4-5)
B. The objects of the parable allude to the people’s own self-confident proverb (Ezekiel 24:3-5; 11:3)
C. Punishment was to come to the entire city (Ezekiel 24:6-12; Jeremiah 6:15; Leviticus 17:13)
D. God’s longsuffering had reached its limit (Ezekiel 24:13-14; Jeremiah 6:16)
II. Application
A. The people who were supposed to follow God had become a “rebellious house” (Ezekiel 24:3; 1 Peter 1:13-16; 4:3)
B. God offers cleansing (Ezekiel 24:13; 1 John 1:7-10)
C. God’s longsuffering has its limits (Ezekiel 24:13-14; 2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 3:8)
A. Temporary in nature (Galatians 3:19, 24)
B. Carnal in practice (Hebrews 9:8-10)
C. National in scope (Leviticus 26:46; Psalm 78:5)
II. The need for change
A. The fault found in the people under the first covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13; Acts 15:10)
B. Jesus abrogated the first covenant (Hebrews 10:9; Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15; Romans 7:1-6)
III. The New Covenant—the gospel of Christ
A. Eternal in nature (Hebrews 13:20)
B. Spiritual in practice (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:5, 9)
C. Universal in scope (Galatians 3:28; Romans 1:16-17)
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)
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