Doing God's Work God's Way

Ryan Lowery
Nehemiah 5:1-19

According to the Bible, God values love above anything else. Love is essential to carry out God's work, but it can often be difficult and require sacrifice. Often, God allows difficult circumstances to bring up areas of character weakness where we have neglected the ethic of love. In order to be effective Christian workers, we need to follow Nehemiah's example of fighting to ensure that God's work is carried out with love as the guiding principle.

Babylon The Great

Doug Patch
Revelation 18

John elaborates on Babylon, now as a second personality. Besides the harlot that was described in the previous chapter, Babylon is now described as The Great. Babylon now represents a drive within humanity to create a God-tight society, or a society focused on materialism. Materialism is described as dangerous because of its seductive affect on individuals and society, and it is run by Satan. Individuals will need to recognize how they relate to the material world (a list of probing questions is included), and then choose how to respond to this knowledge.

Letters to the Churches Part 2

Scott Risley
Revelation 2:12-3:5

We compare three early churches who were all struggling with compromising their loyalty to God for things of the world. The church of Pergamum had been suffering faithfully, but drifting into compromise through idol worship and sexual immorality. The church in Thyatira was doing a lot of good things but they were highly compromised; even allowing a false teacher to rise to prominence. The church in Sardis wasn't even trying to be faithful to God at all. God cares more about our faithfulness than our works. Do you trust God's promises enough to take a stand against compromise?

Living in a Hostile World

Conrad Hilario
John 15:18-16:33

The world system, or kosmos, is critiqued and drawn out in the topic of materialism and hedonism. It is used as Satan's tool to oppose believers and distract people from their relationship with God, and we are taught how to escape its grasp and focus on how Jesus overcame it.

Eros and Agape-Based Relationships

Jim Leffel
1 Thessalonians 3:11-4:12

Agape is a Greek word that refers to the unique love of God demonstrated in Christ and practiced by His people. This often runs in contrast to eros, which refers instead to the kind of erotic love so valued by our culture. Under God's paradigm of agape love, sexual ethics exist to protect people from hurting themselves and their families. Brian Gardner spoke about his victory over sex addiction.

Battling the Lion

Scott Risley
Ephesians 6:10-17

Peter describes how to resist Satan. Spiritual warfare is a battle of truth between God and Satan. Believers resist Satan by putting on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the peace that comes from the Good News, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Satan's tactics involve accusations against God (doubt), against other people (division), and against believers and their efforts to serve God. Believers resist Satan in the strength of God's power and the truth of Scripture.

The Hunting Lion

Scott Risley
1 Peter 5:8-9

Peter warns his audience about God's enemy: Satan. Satan is a magnificent created being whose pride led to his fall. Satan works in two main ways. First, he guards his turf (non-Christians) by accusing God, distorting God's message, distraction or bribery. Second, he attacks Christians by persecution, opposing any effort to serve God, temptation, and accusation.

The Cost of Discipleship

Ryan Lowery
Luke 14:27-33

While God's love is a free gift, it is a costly decision to be a disciple. It requires following Christ over comfort and possessions. It also means choosing God over certain familial obligations. Finally, being a disciple requires a denial of distractions that hinder our focus or pull us off course.

Temptation

Ryan Lowery
Luke 3:21-4:14

The Bible teaches that Satan tempted Adam into rebelling against God, which caused sin to enter the world. The logic of Satan is built on the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. Where Adam failed to refute Satan's lies, Jesus was able to refute them with God's Word. Believers should follow the example of Jesus in refuting temptation.