Sunday School Lessons
October 20 2024
Holding on to Hope
1 Peter 1
PDF Read MoreOne of the most excruciating ministry moments a pastor faces involves presiding over a funeral of a suicide victim. The family grieves because they lost something precious— their loved one. They grieve even more because they see the suicide as a needless loss, something entirely preventable. They are ridden with guilt. We wonder how a person gets so low and so empty, that he or she would lose all sense of dignity and self-worth. The answer lies in the loss of hope.
October 13 2024
Practicing Holiness in a Pagan Habitat
James 5
PDF Read MoreIt is said an overly confident believer once quipped to A.W. Tozer that the Christian faith was making unprecedented inroads into the pagan world, to which Tozer similarly replied, “Winning them to what? To true discipleship or cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To a despising of the world’s treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total committal to Christ? Of course the answer to all these questions is no.”
October 6 2024
What is Your Life?
James 4
PDF Read More
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever shall appear to be God’s will I will do.” Is your life so in tune with heaven, you would be willing to commit to a life principle affirming your utter surrender to doing whatever God desired you to do? The title of this lesson is an obvious allusion to James’ rhetorical question. After setting the record straight to those who attempt to plan out their lives apart from God’s involvement, James asks a question and then answers, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (v. 14).
September 29 2024
The Most Unruly Member in the Church
James 3
PDF Read More
King Solomon said, “Where no wood
is, there the fire goeth out: so where
there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth
(Prov. 26:20). An accurate paraphrase
might be, “without wood, a fire won’t
burn, and without a gossip, there is no
controversy.” The wise king was simply
revealing the power of ungodly words. Nowhere in Scripture is there a more
concentrated effort to reveal the harm
unholy speech wreaks on the body of
Christ than James three
September 22 2024
Wanted: Faith Alive and not Dead
James 2
PDF Read More
Suppose you had a headache and went to the medicine cabinet to look for some relief. Among other things there you find a bottle of medicine which has a great reputation for relieving headaches. Scanning the instructions, you know precisely how much to take, when to take the medicine, and the expected results. Suppose further that you know this medicine is very good medicine; you believe the label; and, not least, you wholeheartedly accept the claim that if you took the medicine, your headache would go way.
September 15 2024
How to be Transformed by Trouble
James 1
PDF Read More
The great missionary, William Carey, once said, “I have God, and his Word is sure … and though the superstition of the heathen were a million times worse than they are, if I were deserted by all, and persecuted by all, yet my hope, fixed on that sure Word, would rise superior to all obstructions.… I shall come out of all trials as gold purified by fire.” No matter what came his way, he held firmly to God’s promises, “I shall come out of all trials as gold purified by fire.”
September 8 2024
How to Build a Better Life
Hebrews 13
PDF Read More
The renowned artist, Michelangelo, left in his will, the following words, “I die in the faith of Jesus Christ, and in the firm hope of a better life.” Everybody desires a better life. The question is, what does a better life look like according to the Bible? In addition, once we understand what the Bible means by a better life, how do we go about building it?
September 1 2024
The Christian’s Marathon
Hebrews 12
PDF Read More
The notable Bible commentator, William Barclay, once said, “It would be a great thing to die knowing that we had never transgressed the rules of honor in the race of life.” Barclay was alluding to the words of the author of Hebrews, “let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (v.1c). Life is surely a race, but it is more; it is a marathon.
August 25 2024
Living by Faith
Hebrews 11
PDF Read More
Hebrews 11 takes us on a tour through a museum of Old Testament heroes of our spiritual heritage—what many have called the “Hall of Faith.” Faith after all is the operative principle of the Christian life (10:38). This noteworthy collage of men and women is composed of those whom we expect to make the cut on a list like this, men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
August 18 2024
Looking Back to Calvary
Hebrews 10
PDF Read More
The great preacher, J. Vernon McGee once said, “If you want to know if God hates sin, look at the cross. If you want to know if God will punish sin, look at the Darling of His heart enduring the tortures of its penalty.” The author of Hebrews simply cannot get enough of the cross of Jesus. On every page He alludes in some way to the dying Savior. Early on, he concluded the dangerous absurdity you and I embrace if we hope to escape Divine judgment by neglecting so great a salvation in Jesus (2:3). Calvary’s cross became an altar where we behold the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. Looking back to a skull-shaped hill, we see Jesus dying for everybody else—dying for you and me.
August 11 2024
The Greater Tabernacle
Hebrews 9
PDF Read More
Our modern life continues to produce complications for our everyday living. Even with the latest technological gadget which promises the easier, more effective results, still we remain complicated. Perhaps no place more illustrates our cultural confusion than a traffic sign at an intersection of busy expressways near Chicago: “To Make a Left Turn Make Two Right Turns.”
August 4 2024
The New Covenant
Hebrews 8
PDF Read MoreRay Stedman, an influential pastor of a former generation, once said of the old and new covenants in Scripture, “The Old Covenant can be summarized this way: Everything coming from me, nothing from God. The New Covenant may be summarized this way: Nothing coming from me, everything from God.” This makes perfect sense if we take the Hebrews author’s words at face value. He writes, “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises”(Heb. 8:6).
July 28 2024
Melchizedek Who?
Hebrews 7
PDF Read More
Heroes are a staple of growing up. American children buy baseball trading cards and swap them among themselves. On the other hand, while children in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox neighborhoods cannot indulge in secular heroes, they collect and trade rabbi cards just as passionately. It seems that no matter the culture, heroes are somehow a significant element. The Bible is filled with heroes.
July 21 2024
Moving on to Spiritual Maturity
Hebrews 6
PDF Read More
What is spiritual maturity? Should every Christian strive for it? Is maturity like aging, which comes whether or not one pursues it? What responsibility does the believer have in making sure he or she is maturing spiritually? What standard would be sufficient to use to gauge genuine maturity? In other words, would I know maturity if I saw it? Is the church responsible for the spiritual growth of individual Christians? If so, what part does it play?
July 14 2024
Our Heavenly High Priest
Hebrews 5
PDF Read MoreChapter five compares and contrasts the earthly priesthood of Aaron with the heavenly priesthood of a mysterious character named Melchizedek. And, while he develops Melchizedek’s character more fully in chapter seven, he is introduced in this chapter as representing a higher order of priest than Aaron.
July 7 2024
The Believer’s Eternal Security
Hebrews 4
PDF Read More
A.W. Tozer once said, “We want security in this life and eternal security in the world above!… That is a kind of definition of our modern day Christian fundamentalism.” He was right; too often Christians take for granted the wonderful security we have in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, some Christians struggle with security in their relationship with the Lord. Doubt appears to reign in people’s hearts.
June 30 2024
Where on Earth Does God Live?
Hebrews 3
PDF Read More
We often speak of the church building as God’s house. At times we want a solemn atmosphere so we ask people to respect the “Lord’s house” by being quiet. At other times, we desire to create a basic respect for church property, so we insist that certain activities should not be held in the “Lord’s house.” For example, we may have a policy which states, “there is to be no dancing in the Lord’s house.”
June 23 2024
How Great Our Salvation
Hebrews 2
PDF Read More
The Apostle Peter opens his first letter with a powerful statement about the greatness of our salvation, the greatness of which he insisted “the prophets have enquired and searched diligently” and which the “angels desire to look into” (1 Pet. 1 10, 12). The author of Hebrews is no less certain concerning the greatness of our redemption in Jesus Christ.
June 16 2024
O What a Savior!
Hebrews 1
PDF Read MoreHebrews may be the most neglected book in the New Testament. Its language is lofty and sometimes highly technical. It repeatedly speaks of Old Testament sacrifices, Levitical priests, and has an entire chapter on a strange, mysterious person named Melchizedek, king of Salem (chapter 7). Also, it contains some passages extremely difficult to understand (e.g. 6:1-6). Plus it does not even state explicitly the author’s name! (refer to the Introduction to Hebrews for help with this question). Because of these reasons and more, Christians tend to move on to easier, more familiar passages of the Bible.
June 9 2024
The Gospel on Display
Philemon
PDF Read More
In another letter, Paul makes an incredible statement about the Christian. He writes, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God” (2 Cor. 3:2-3). The believer is a letter to be read by “all men.” In other words, our lives are the embodiment of the Gospel, the message of Jesus Himself on full display.
June 2 2024
This is Your Life!
Titus 3
PDF Read More
The television series, Dragnet, transitioned from a radio drama to a T.V. show in 1951 and became an instant hit. The series spawned several movies and newly created series in 1989. Sergeant Joe Friday’s famous line captured pop culture everywhere and is still embedded in our collective sub-conscience, “Just the facts ma’am.” Paul is wrapping up his final thoughts to Titus on the Christian life. He could theologize about many things. However, Paul is concerned to summarize the Christian life. In essence, he wants Titus to know the spiritual facts and just the spiritual facts.
May 26 2024
Beautifying the Gospel
Titus 2
The Apostle Paul used a phrase elsewhere describing the Gospel and those who share it as beautiful (Rom. 10:15). The words, “How beautiful are the feet” are plainly a figurative expression of this beauty heaven beholds. In Isaiah (52:7) it reads, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!” The image is a reference to the inhabitants of a besieged city looking out for the messengers of peace to bring “good news” of a coming deliverance
May 19 2024
The Christian Leader’s Profile
Titus 1
Like Timothy, Titus had a hard assignment. He was responsible to “set in order the things that are wanting” (v. 5). Crete was the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, and a key location for wealth and commerce in the ancient world. After Paul’s Rome imprisonment, he visited there. Undoubtedly, this was when Paul appointed Titus bishop at the Cretan church.
May 12 2024
Going Home!
2 Timothy 4
G.K. Chesterton once said, “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” When Paul was writing to Timothy, he had long ago learned this lesson. He confessed to the Philippians, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” (Phil. 1:23-24). How could he display so much confidence? Simple—for the Apostle, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21).
May 5 2024
Dedicated Servants for
Dangerous Times
2 Timothy 3
In the spring of 1988, the evening news reported on a skydiving photographer who fell to his death. He made his jump together with other skydivers and filmed the group as each opened his parachute. Immediately after the final skydiver pulled his cord, the video went berserk. Apparently, the cameraman was so excited about the film; he jumped out of the plane without his parachute. Not until he reached for the ripcord did he realize he was free falling without a parachute. As one commentator noted, “Until that point, the jump probably seemed exciting—perhaps even fun. However, carelessness struck its deadly blow. Trust remained in a parachute he had never buckled on.
April 28 2024
Pictures of the Christian Life
2 Timothy 2
Pictures with images of the Lord Jesus
commonly hang in people’s homes and in
some church buildings. But no literal portrait
of Jesus exists. What we can be sure of,
however, is the likeness of the Son of God
who makes us free can be seen in the lives of
His followers. The New Testament often calls
us to live like Jesus and act like Jesus. Our
lives as believers should imitate His.Similarly, Paul revealed several pictures of
the Christian to Timothy as a way to instruct
him on how to live the Christian life and how
to respond to difficult times. We have many of
those pictures in 2 Timothy 2.
April 21 2024
Enduring Hardship
2 Timothy 1
The missionary, Hudson Taylor, once asked during
an excruciating time in his life, “What circumstances
could have rendered the Word of God sweeter and the
presence of God so real, the help of God so precious?”
The missionary, Hudson Taylor, once asked during
an excruciating time in his life, “What circumstances
could have rendered the Word of God sweeter and the
presence of God so real, the help of God so precious?”
Not a single person is immune to hardship, pain,
trial and suffering. Another missionary, Adoniram
Judson, endured indescribable hardships trying
to reach Burma for Christ. He spent seven years in
deplorable conditions including imprisonment for
almost two years. His body was literally covered with
scars from being tortured.
Sunday April 14 2024
How to Stay Close to God
1 Timothy 6
PDF Read More
A.W. Tozer once confessed it was the blessing from the Lord he sought and not the Lord. He wanted what God could give him but not God Himself. And, then all that changed. He wanted God more than what God could give. Tozer insisted such a change in perspective is the basic teaching of the deeper Christian life. He once said, “It is the willingness to let Jesus Christ Himself be glorified in us and through us. It is the willingness to quit trying to use the Lord for our ends and to let Him work in us for His glory.”
Sunday April 7 2024
The Church as God’s Family
1 Timothy 5
Someone rightly said, “if you are born once, you are born into the devil’s family; if you are born twice, you are born into God’s family.” The Bible makes it clear that all those who receive Christ as Lord and Savior, are members of God’s family, born “children of God” (John 1:12). Nor is this just an invisible family into which we are born. Instead there is a visible, physical expression of God’s spiritual family. We know this expression as the church, the body of Christ.
Sunday March 31 2024
The Gospel Explained
1 Corinthians 15
The journey we have taken through 1 Corinthians reveals a never ending set of problems the congregation faced. Some wrongly think the early church was a community of angelic men and women who knew nothing of the problems of the modern church. Paul’s correspondence to the Corinthians explodes that myth
Sunday March 24 2024
Basic Training in Godliness
1 Timothy 4
PDF Read More
The armed forces of the United States are the greatest military on earth. One of the secrets is the simple art of basic training. All enlisted men enter each branch of the military through a carefully constructed “boot camp.” Good soldiers, we believe, must have a good beginning. No training is more significant than basic training. No less is true for the disciple of Jesus Christ
Sunday March 17 2024
Moral Behavior for Model
Believers
1 Timothy 3
PDF Read More
Let’s face it: the world expects those who call themselves Christians to demonstrate different behavior than everyone else. Why? Several reasons are apparent, but one reason clearly stands taller than all the rest. A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. And since His sinless life stands virtually without dissent even from hardened atheists, those who claim Christ is Lord over their life should act like He really is Lord over their life. In short, Christians should look like Jesus in their behavior.
Sunday March 10 2024
What Does a Godly Woman
Look Like
1 Timothy 2
PDF Read More
The Christian church through its long history is filled with dedicated men who were chiefly influenced by godly women. For example, consider from the Biblical record characters like Moses, Samuel, and Timothy. Think of the powerful influence of men like Augustine, John Newton, and Charles and John Wesley. These men were products of godly women
Sunday March 3 2024
Caring for Young Christians
1 Timothy 1
Nothing is more exciting than the birth of a new baby. Excitement and love flood your house. Mom and dad spend hours watching their new baby sleep and eat, which is about all a newborn does. When bedtime arrives, excitement and love fill your home. At bedtime it’s perfectly normal to peek and make sure the baby is safe. It really takes a lot of special, and deliberate care
Sunday February 25 2024
How to Stay Close to God
2 Thessalonians 3
Someone once said, “Faith never means gullibility. The man who believes everything is as far from God as the man who refuses to believe anything.” The Thessalonians were in danger of believing almost anything. As we have seen, their obsession with end time events cost them sober reflection on sound doctrine. Paul had to straighten out their crooked theology. On the other hand, today we live in an unprecedented age of skepticism. Men question belief in just about everything. Still the Apostle’s word rings as true for us as for the Thessalonians of the first century.
Sunday February 18 2024
God and Second Chances
2 Thessalonians 2
The church fails new converts if she does not teach new Christians Bible prophecy. Why? One fundamental reason is, because prophecy makes up a substantial portion of Biblical revelation. According to one source, there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament alone, regarding the Second Coming of Christ.
Sunday February 11 2024
The Christian’s Encouragement
During Tough Times
2 Thessalonians 1
The Apostle Paul answered many doctrinal questions the church at Thessalonica had in his first letter. Nevertheless, while questions were answered, all problems were not solved. Correct doctrine remains a foundational plank for healthy body life in a church. Unfortunately, people—even Christian people—remain sinners and consequently do not always put into practice what they routinely preach. Thus, the Apostle Paul perceives the continued struggle the Thessalonian believers experienced and penned a second letter to them.
Sunday February 4 2024
Practical Principles for
Last Days Living
1 Thessalonians 5
A.W. Tozer once said, “What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God. Health and wealth and friends and hiding places will all be swept away and we shall have only God.”
Sunday January 28 2024
How to Live Until Jesus Comes
1 Thessalonians 4
Several years ago, Baptist Press spoke of a pastor in Mississippi who was preaching on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. After quoting Matthew 24:27, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be,” a large light bulb fell from its socket in the ceiling and shattered on the floor in front of the pulpit. The people were suddenly shaken by the broken light bulb. The pastor held his composure, looked up to the congregation and said, “His coming will be just as sudden, and unexpected, and devastating to dreams that are not Christ-centered.”