Would you like to be successful? You know, of course, that book stores and the Internet have all sorts of "How to" instructions? How to be happy. How to be content. How to be more efficient. How to get rich. How to lose weight. How to buy land with no money down. Of all the books to consult, why not first look to God and what He says in the Bible? Our lessons this new quarter continue from the journey we have taken in Exodus with the Hebrews and Moses to the land God promised Abraham. Moses has now died and our lesson this week tells Moses' successor, Joshua, how he can be a successful leader for God. It is a powerful lesson for personal and evangelistic success. So let's plunge into our study of the Bible!...
How many times have other Christians told you that something was a "gray" area or that the matter was "complicated?" I'm often suspicious that comments like that are an attempt to avoid admitting that some activity is sinful. My go-to text, Deuteronomy 4:2, essentially says that something is either wrong in God's sight or is some unauthorized rule that humans have created. That narrows the "gray" areas. However, when Jesus equated lust with adultery and anger with murder (Matt 5:21-22, 27-28), He complicated our understanding of Deuteronomy 4:2. Our study this week is about two "gray" stories. Let's dive in and see if Scripture sharpens our understanding of the "gray!"...
How do you approach problems in your life? Have you ever thought about "consecrating" yourself as a solution to a problem? We will follow the Israelites as they are about to begin the conquest of the land promised to them. Their first hurdle is crossing a river at flood stage. The second hurdle is conquering a walled city. What would you do to overcome these serious obstacles? Let's jump into our study of Joshua to see how they prepared to overcome these problems!...
Do you love it when a reasonable and logical plan of action comes together in success? I do. In our study of the Bible we have been looking at some difficult to understand plans of action. Before crossing the Jordan God told the people to consecrate themselves instead of preparing for war. They crossed the Jordan when it was flooding, even though they had no need to cross immediately. The ark led during the crossing of the Jordan, rather than the soldiers. In their next adventure in conquest, the directions become even more bizarre. Let's dive into our study of Joshua and find lessons for our life in the way God leads His people!...
Are you surprised that one of our lessons on Joshua contains almost no readings from Joshua? That is our situation this week! Why is that? When my wife and I moved to the Virginia Beach area, she pointed out that we were now a prime target in a nuclear war because the world's largest naval base, and home to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, is here in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Frankly, I felt safer here than when we lived in the Washington, D.C. area. Terrorists would target a civilian area like Washington, D.C., not a military area like the Atlantic Fleet. Professional soldiers fight other soldiers, they do not target women and children, right? And that is the reason why we need context to explain what we are reading in Joshua. Let's plunge into our study of the Bible!...
In Joshua chapter 6 God destroyed the walled city of Jericho. The people watched as God collapsed the massive walls. It was an absolutely glorious victory for the Israelites. Previous to that they crossed over the flooded Jordan when God turned it into dry land. Now the next target city is Ai. If you were one of the Israelites would you feel great confidence because of these recent successes? I would. But something very negative turns success into defeat. We will study that in this lesson and see what we can learn if we want to live a successful life. Let's dive into our study of the Bible!...
Introduction: Top American universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, Emory, and William & Mary all started out as religious institutions. Harvard and Yale were intended to train members of the clergy. Today, no one considers Harvard, Yale, or Princeton religious schools. What happened? They lost sight of their religious goals. One of the things I love about Regent University is that year after year our religious goals are constantly being reinforced. Is this a problem for Christian families? Do very religious parents find that the next generation loses its religious focus? How can that be prevented? Our study this week gives us some important clues. Let's jump into our study of the Bible!...
