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February 18, 2024: The Christian and Civil Authorities
BIBLICAL BASIS: Understanding the Christian's Responsibility to the Government
PRINTED TEXT: Romans 13:1-14
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Daniel 1:1-14; I Thessalonians 4:10-12; I Peter 2:12-16
DEVOTIONAL READING: I Timothy 2:1-4
KEY VERSE: For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God (Romans 13:1).
CENTRAL TRUTH: God has ordained governmental authorities for our good.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify some obligations a Christian owes government authorities.
LESSON OUTLINE:
I. The Issue of Inappropriate Resistance (Romans 13:1-4)
II. The Issue of Rightful Subjection (Romans 13:5-7)
III. The Issue of Appropriate Obedience (Romans 13:8-14)
February 11, 2024: The Life of a Christian
BIBLICAL BASIS: Understanding the Role of Service to God and Others
PRINTED TEXT: Romans 12:1-13
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 22:24-27; Acts 2:42-47; 9:36-42; 2 Corinthians 9:7, 8; 1 Peter 4:7-11
DEVOTIONAL READING: 1 Peter 2:11-20
KEY VERSE: And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD? (1 Chronicles 29:5).
CENTRAL TRUTH: God's grace obligates us to offer our lives in worship.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list three ways they can be more diligent in service to God or others.
LESSON OUTLINE:
I. A Life of Consecration (Romans 12:1, 2)
II. A Life of Cooperation (Romans 12:3-8)
III. A Life of Service (Romans 12:9-13)
February 1, 2024: A Lost Son Restored
Read Luke 15:11-24.
“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.” (v. 24).
As heartrending and scary as our experience was (see yesterday’s devotional), it doesn’t compare to the sadness and heartbreak caused by a son who wanders away from God and ruins his life through sinful actions and addictions. Many years ago, the devil deceived a young pastor who showed a lot of promise for ministry, and caused him to leave the pastorate and turn from his faith. His mother, heartbroken, prayed faithfully for him until she died. I know the son of a pastor who, turning away from a call that God had placed upon his heart, set his sights on the wealth of this world. Both of these can be restored!
Jim Cymbala, author of Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, tells about his wayward daughter, Chrissy. She had been expelled from a Bible college, was concealing an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, had completely turned her back on her family, and they did not know where she was. All they and their church could do was pray. But God knew where Chrissy was and how to get her attention. Miraculously, she went home, prayed to victory, and was restored to her family. Today, she and her husband are pastoring a church in Chicago.
Like the prodigal’s father in today’s verse, the Cymbala family rejoiced that the lost one had come home. (SEH)
Let’s keep praying for the prodigals – God can restore them
February 7, 2024: A Gospel For All
BIBLICAL BASIS: Understanding the Plan of Salvation
PRINTED TEXT: Romans 10:1-17
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Joshua 24:1-28; Nehemiah 9:1-38; Psalm 51:1-17; Romans 10:1-21
DEVOTIONAL READING: Luke 18:9-14
KEY VERSE: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9).
CENTRAL TRUTH: The steps to salvation are simple and plain so all may be saved.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to clearly explain how a person can know Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
LESSON OUTLINE:
I. The Person (Romans 10:1-7)
II. The Plan (Romans 10:8-13)
III. The Proclamation (Romans 10:14-21)
January 17, 2024: A Tested Man
Read Job 2:3-10.
A Tested Man
"So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord,
and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown" (v. 7).
Sometimes, life doesn’t seem fair! Job has lost his wealth and children, and now God has allowed Satan to attack Job physically. Let’s look closely and see what nuggets of wisdom we can find in this passage today.
God knows what is going on in Job’s life, yet He allows it: painful boils, coupled with the scorn and anger of his wife's rejection, leave Job struggling for relief. Some scholars suggest one of Job’s trials was that Job’s wife was spared. Instead of comforting and ministering to him through his trials, she chose to find fault and tell him to curse God and die. Look at Job’s response to her. Job understood God is sovereign. When his wife scorned him and challenged his belief in God, Job responded courteously, realizing she was also grieving. Job extended to her both compassion and truth. Job's response to affliction demonstrated his faith and spiritual integrity. (LeeAnn Davison)
In the midst of tribulation, stand by me;
in the midst of tribulation, stand by me.
When the hosts of hell assail, and my strength begins to fail,
thou who never lost a battle, stand by me. (stand by me)
--- Charles Albert Tindley
God often chooses to allow things we cannot understand for reasons of His own.
January 21, 2024: More Than Conquerors
BIBLICAL BASIS: Understanding the Victory We Have Over Circumstances of Life
PRINTED TEXT: Romans 8:26-39
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Psalms 37:23-29; 46:1-11; Ephesians 1:13-23
DEVOTIONAL READING: Job 19:23-29
KEY VERSE: In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us (Romans 8:37).
CENTRAL TRUTH: God's grace enables us to have victory over all of life's difficulties.
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this class my students should be able to identify at least one problem in their life in which they will trust God for victory.
LESSON OUTLINE:
I. The Help of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:24-27)
II. The Promise for the Believer (Romans 8:28-32)
III. The Power to Conquer (Romans 8:33-39)