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?

2 Implications of Following Jesus

Gary DeLashmutt

John 21:18-23

Jesus concludes his interaction with Peter with two main lessons: 1) following Jesus means giving up being the solo director or your life; and 2) we are not to compare our own lot with other believers. Comparison is lethal to relationships and the New Testament highlights a few ways to transform this tendency. To have a healthy focus, we should compare what we have been given to what we actually deserve from God.

When Faith Breaks Down: The Golden Calf

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 32:1-34:7

After being rescued from Egypt, the Israelites begin their new journey out of slavery, led by Moses. When Moses goes up to the mountain to meet with God and is gone longer than perhaps expected, the faith of the Israelites breaks down. In the trial of waiting on God, they gave up and decided to melt all of their plundered gold into a golden calf to worship instead. While we may think the Israelites are blind fools, our faith also can break down in a similar way. We are often called to wait on God at different points in our life and are tempted with other things that may want to take center stage above God and become an idol in our lives. Will we too make a golden calf when we don't hear an immediate answer from the Lord?

The Plagues

Dennis McCallum

Exodus 10:16-29

In the first 9 plagues, God demonstrated that He is the only true God in contrast to the false Egyptian gods. Moses and Aaron speak to the Pharaoh with messages from God before each plague eventually ending in Pharaoh never wanting to see them again. A naturalistic explanation has been put forth to explain the plagues. However the plagues were given as God's justice to display Yahweh as the only God to the Israelites and Egyptians.

The Good Shepherd

Jim Leffel

John 10:1-17

Jesus teaches he is a good shepherd and his people are like sheep. The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep and calls the sheep to listen and follow. The question we have to answer is whose voice are we listening to? We have many options for what we will prioritize in life. Do we prioritize what God has called us to? God said he has called us to an abundant life but often we think our plans are better.\r\n

Deliverance from Envy

Gary DeLashmutt

Psalms 73:1-28

Envy is all about getting other people to see how great we are or viewing ourselves as greater than other people. Instead of grabbing at what we want from God, God instead, hands us something we don't deserve. This is the grace of God and it is a real joy; it comes with a unique role that God has given us to tell others about how great He is.

Old Testament Lessons for the New Testament Church

Jim Leffel

Exodus 11:1-12:51

The Bible claims divided loyalties have always been present in the human heart. Paul appeals to the Old Testament account of the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt to point the New Testament Church away from idols and back to Christ.

The Fiery Furnace

Jeff Gordon

Daniel 3:1-30

King Nebuchadnezzar built a statue and demanded that all bow down in worship to it or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down. The Lord met them in the furnace and rescued them. This story teaches us to act now when presented with God's truth and to be unapologetic for our faith in God. As we are faithful to Him, the Lord meets us where we are and rescues us.\r\n