Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category
The Medicine for the Disease of Self-Deception
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study, Church
Matthew 7 is one of the most terrifying texts in the entire Bible: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your [...]
Be a Conduit, not a Cul-de-sac
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
The blessing of God doesn’t end with you. We want it to. We want to be blessed for our own sake. But we’re not. Think about Abraham. Here was a man who was greatly blessed by God. God Himself promised it to be so: “I will make you into a great nation, I will bless [...]
If You Were Squeezed, What Would Come Out?
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
We get squeezed in certain times of life. Sometimes the squeezing is more dramatic than others. Our job is deleted. We should have been prepared. We should have had more savings. We should have had a better resume. Squeeze. Tighter. Parenting is harder than we thought it would be. We are daily stressed because of [...]
What is Satan REALLY Saying in Genesis 3?
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made” (Genesis 3:1). Really? When you look at what serpent, or Satan, said to Eve, it doesn’t seem THAT cunning. In seems in fact pretty straight forward. But read between the lines with me. Satan is saying something [...]
One Caution in Reading the Bible Through in a Year
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
In some ways, the seasons of Nashville have fit the chronological reading plan of Scripture I’m following this year. For the last three months, it’s been blisteringly hot. Pretty dry. These are the dog days of summer. Concurrently, the read the Bible in a year plan has had me in the minor prophets. And Jeremiah. [...]
Spurgeon on the Prodigal Son
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
Beautiful: This poor young man, in his hungry, faint, and wretched state, having come a very long way, had not much heart in him. His hunger had taken all energy out of him, and he was so conscious of his guilt that he had hardly the courage to face his father; so his father gives [...]
The Irony of Hating Your Family
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
My, oh my, but Jesus sounds mean in Luke 14:26-27: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” Apart from the meanness, this seems to contradict what we find, among other places, in Paul’s [...]
Hospitality: An Essential Quality for Church Leaders
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
There are a couple of texts that describe the essential qualities for elders in the New Testament. In 1 Timothy 3:1-13, the list appears back to back with a list for qualifications for deacons. The two lists are pretty similar to each other. And on both lists, there are some of the attributes one might [...]
Build the Temple?!?!? Are You Serious?
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
The Book of Haggai is tucked away in that back part of the Old Testament that tends to gather dust. We don’t often have time for these minor prophets, what with their doom and gloom and locusts and all. But perhaps there’s still something there for us. Maybe… The message this prophet delivered to the [...]
The Living Message of Jeremiah
Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study
Jeremiah was given the dubious task of being the prophet who would foretell, and live through, the judgment and subsequent exile of the people of God. The temple would be destroyed. Jerusalem ransacked. People starving in the streets. This is not a glamorous prophetic assignment. But it got worse for Jeremiah: – He was not [...]