The Fall of the Human Race

Dennis McCallum

Genesis 3:1-17

Before the fall, the world was complete and good. Satan entered the Garden of Eden and distorted the word of and casting suspicion on God, tricking Eve into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This caused alienation: psychological, theological, sociological, and ecological. Now, humans have the opportunity to be reunited with God through trust.

The Nature of the Human Race

Dennis McCallum

Genesis 2:15-25

Two more characteristics of humans are described: 1) unity and diversity, and 2) being shameless, uninhibited, and free. These ideas relate to the way people view sex, marriage, peace, and anxiety. Because of the choice to eat from the tree in the garden, the previously healthy versions of these have been distorted. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represented autonomy and self rule, while the tree of life represented union with God, which can be regained in Christ.

Four Great Ways to Get Spiritually Deceived

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 11:1-21

Paul highlights four ways we can get deceived as Christians: 1) assuming everyone speaking positively about Jesus is from God; 2) paying primary attention to the experience from the messenger; 3) accept spiritual justifications for financial greed; and 4) follow leaders who want to run the lives of those they're leading. As Christians, we should ask God for spiritual discernment and sensitivity so we can spot false deceivers of God's Truth within our community.

Spiritually Compromised Relationships

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 6:11-7:3

Paul urges the Corinthians to abstain from relationships that involve compromise to their commitment and witness for Christ. Common forms of spiritual compromise include forbidden religious practices, romantic relationships, business relationships, and family or friends. God's solution to these types of compromised relationships is to remember who we are in Christ. As we learn to build deep and healthy relationships with other committed Christians, we can spare ourselves misery by avoiding getting entangled in compromised relationships.

Temptation

Jim Leffel

Deuteronomy 6:13

After Jesus' baptism, he went into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. Satan offered him food, tried to force him into testing God, and promised him all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would worship him. Jesus denied Satan every time, creating a model for his disciples to follow. There will always be things that tempt us away from God, and Satan makes them sound legitimate, but God's provision and timing are always best. The decision we face is whether to trust in God and follow Him or be pulled away from doing so.

Prayer

Dennis McCallum

Luke 11

Communicating with God through prayer is a relational, subordinate, and dependent process that Jesus modeled. Within times of prayer, we should recognize and praise God for who He is. From there, God is able to help us intercede for others, remind us of His mission for us and even help protect us from temptation in spiritual warfare. Christians who have effective prayer lives have learned the relational communication needed between God and themselves.

The God of All Comfort

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Have you ever gone through a difficult time and wondered why God isn't comforting you? The truth is that God loves us enough to bring us into situations that go beyond our own strength so that we abandon self-dependence and discover more deeply what it means to trust in him. We can't control how much we suffer, but we can look to God's comfort in Paul's life and see how we can respond to God during suffering.