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Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Scott Risley

Luke 13:1-5

Jesus was approached with the question, "Why do bad things happen?" There are many explanations for the problem of evil: 1) divine retribution (almost everything has a spiritual cause); 2) eastern monism (the suffering world is unreal); and 3) naturalism (everything can be explained by cause and effect within a closed system). Jesus rejects these three explanations. The Biblical view is that everything can be explained by cause and effect within an open system. God created a perfect world with no evil. The perfection of this world was broken when humanity rebelled against God. The Biblical view displays the love of God, calls us to fight evil, and assures us that evil is temporary.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 13:1-5","passageabreviated": "Luke 13:1-5","passagetiny": "Luke 13:1-5","teacher": "Scott Risley","teachingDate": "03/3...

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The Great Battle of Our Age

Scott Risley

Luke 11:14-26

We learn about Satan versus God's kingdom and the battle we are in to fight for God's kingdom. This is a battle of truth versus lies. Satan will try to convince non-Christians he doesn't exist; he attacks Christians by tempting them and accusing them towards themselves, God, others, and their ministry?all to distract them from the mission. God calls on us to remember His truth and to present it in love, to pray for people, to pray against Satan, and to persevere through this spiritual warfare.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 11:14-26","passageabreviated": "Luke 11:14-26","passagetiny": "Luke 11:14-26","teacher": "Scott Risley","teachingDate":...

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Creation and the Uniqueness of Humanity

Jim Leffel

Genesis 1:1-2:7

Part 3 of the Creation account is presented from Genesis 1 and 2. God created man in His own image. So what does it mean to be a human? Humans are unique because of their morality, spirituality, freedom, rationality, and sexuality.

Keywords

{"passage": "Genesis 1:1-2:7","passageabreviated": "Gen 1:1-2:7","passagetiny": "Gen 1:1-2:7","teacher": "Jim Leffel","teachingDate": "02...

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Parable of the Soils

Conrad Hilario

Matthew 13:6

Jesus tells his disciples a parable, or a story, about a sower and four different soils the sower plants his seeds on. Jesus explains to the disciples that the sower is God, the seed is his Word and the varying soils are the different ways humans choose to respond to God's Word. Jesus explains further the type of listener that each of soils reflects: 1) forgetful, 2) superficial, 3) distracted, and 4) responsive. The hearer can, at any moment, change his/her heart back towards God.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 8:1-18","passageabreviated": "Luke 8:1-18","passagetiny": "Luke 8:1-18","teacher": "Conrad Hilario","teachingDate": "12...

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Who Do You Say That I Am?

Gary DeLashmutt

Matthew 16:13-19

The identity of Jesus is something that was called into question during the years of his ministry on this Earth as well as in our present day. Our response to Jesus' question "Who do you say that I am?," affects the trajectory of our life on this Earth and the next, in the same way that the apostles' responses affected their own lives. When we decide in faith to recognize Jesus as the son of God, we obtain four key privileges: membership in Christ's church, victory over death, helping others to faith in Jesus, and an unchanging basis of spiritual truth and ethics.

Keywords

{"passage": "Matthew 16:13-19","passageabreviated": "Matt 16:13-19","passagetiny": "Matt 16:13-19","teacher": "Gary DeLashmutt","teaching...

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Jesus' First Teachings

Dennis McCallum

Isaiah 61:1-2

Jesus' first declaration that He is the fulfillment of ancient messianic prophecies and His teaching is followed by miraculous acts of healing and exorcism, challenging the naturalist to consider the existence of the supernatural. Supernatural claims in the Bible are compared to those of other world religions, showing Biblical miracles to be astoundingly unique, indicating that Jesus' miracles are symbolic of his deity. Skeptics are invited to approach God with a desire to be convinced of the supernatural, and with an expectation that the same God who created the universe will answer by bringing the miraculous into their own lives.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 4:14-44","passageabreviated": "Luke 4:14-44","passagetiny": "Luke 4:14-44","teacher": "Dennis McCallum","teachingDate":...

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Encountering God's Enemy

Conrad Hilario

1 Corinthians 15:45

Jesus provides an example of how to use the Word of God as a weapon against Satan. Jesus models dependence on God while Satan operates under autonomy, pragmatism, and pride. Jesus is our perfect substitute who offers us a victorious alternative in responding to temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 4:1-14","passageabreviated": "Luke 4:1-14","passagetiny": "Luke 4:1-14","teacher": "Conrad Hilario","teachingDate": "09...

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The King Arrives!

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 2:1-12

An introduction of Jesus to the world and an analysis of the surrounding historical detail and circumstances during the birth of Christ. King Herod, who was aware of Jesus' birth, commanded a group of Magi to tell him where the Messiah was so he could go and worship Him, though his plan was to kill Him. This is compared to pseudo-seeking the truth about God, defined as stating that one is seeking the truth but in practice ignoring the evidence that is presented. The Magi, who were not Jews at all, came to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, demonstrating God's power to work through any means to reach real seekers of the truth about Jesus.

Keywords

{"passage": "Luke 2:1-52","passageabreviated": "Luke 2:1-52","passagetiny": "Luke 2:1-52","teacher": "Dennis McCallum","teachingDate": "0...

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Honing Your Spiritual Discernment

Conrad Hilario

Proverbs 11:14

Solomon was called the wisest man who ever lived and for good reason. He displayed an understanding of humans and an ability to judge truth from falsehood. This attribute of discernment is vital for our spiritual growth and effectiveness. In order to grow in our discernment, we must learn how to correctly interpret Scripture and begin learning how human nature works. In order to gain wisdom here, we must lean against the imbalances of seeing people in either an overly positive or overly negative light. This workshop then discusses several practical ways in which we can hone our own discernment.

Keywords

{"passage": "1 Kings 3:16-27","passageabreviated": "1 Kgs 3:16-27","passagetiny": "1King 3:16-27","teacher": "Conrad Hilario","teachingDa...

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