Archives for September 2014

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Walking in the Light

1 John 1 WHY DID HE WRITE 1 John? One of the great things about the writings of John is that he always tells you exactly why he's writing. He doesn't leave you guessing. He wants you to know why his writings exist. The Gospel of John was written so that people would believe. John 20 30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not ...

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Faith and Practice - Titus 2

Titus 2 In Titus we see the inseparable link between faith and practice. The behaviors listed below are in conformity to what is required of leaders and in direct contrast to the behavior of the false teachers mentioned in Titus. Right doctrine leads to right behavior. The root of this behavior is the gospel and we are to teach it with authority. Men Sober Minded D...

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Leading Well

Titus 1 Before I started attending Hutto Bible Church, I had no idea what a church elder is or what their responsibilities are. When I was younger and heard the term "elder", images of old, wise-looking indigenous men from National Geographic magazines came to mind. My understanding of a tribal elder was a man that was probably a fierce warrior when he was younger, an e...

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Spiritual Junk Food

1 Timohty 4 What is the attraction of junk food? We know it is named accurately - junk. We know it is going to make us feel bad after eating it. We know that it is going to have a poor impact on our health. We know it has little to no nutritional value. So what is it that gives us the desire to eat it? o It is cheapo It tastes goodo It doesn't take up much of our timeo...

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Unpacking God's Word

2 Timothy 3 Have you ever noticed that there are certain Bible verses which people tend to like to put on their walls or refrigerator? Usually they pick inspiring verses about God's love for us, and His grace He pours on us. Others pick verses about God's plans to prosper us. Today we're looking at some verses, which fall more on the other end of the spectrum. While Go...

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How to Persevere

2 Timothy 2 Paul writes Timothy as his own life is about to come to an abrupt end under the decree of CaesarNero. Paul's main emphasis throughout this letter is simply: "Don't give up and don't give in." He wants Timothy to finish well and avoid the trap that so many fall into, including the trusted companion Demas who, "in love with this present world, has deserted me....

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Encouraging and Challenging Those who are Doing Ministry Well

2 Timothy 1 I used to participate in a "ToastMasters" club. It's a club for people who want to improve their public speaking ability. One of its key tenets is "evaluate everything" -- after every opportunity anyone had to speak, even the smallest opportunities, we tried to give encouraging, constructive, meaningful advice about how they did and what they could improve. ...

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Honor in the Church Family

1 Timothy 5 In this passage, the Holy Spirit teaches us through Pal about the roles and relationships that are good and proper in the church. These are things we should have learned growing up, but many of us missed the lesson, or weren't taught properly, or just drift from what we know is right. So, once again, God's Word provides the standard by which we can measure ...

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Be the example

1 Timothy 4 New International Version (NIV) 1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God creat...

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How Godly Women Should Dress

1 Timothy 2 "Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness-with good works" 1 Timothy 2:9-10 Uh oh Quickly let me explain why this isn't exactly what it seems. In first century Roman culture something resembling mo...

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Grace

1 Timothy 1 Paul's letter to Timothy in chapter 1 touches on a few points that needed to be addressed then as much as they do now. Through our readings this year it has stuck out to me that things have not changed much even though 1900+ years have passed. We are all sinners, imperfect, and all fall short. We struggle, get confused, can become lost and stray away from ti...

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A Little Self Examination

2 Corinthians 13 Paul makes a final appeal at the conclusion to this second letter to the Corinthian Church, "Examine Yourselves". The appeal follows a stern warning: "On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier, or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me." And later: "This is why I write these things when I am a...

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What in the world are we complaining about?

2 Corinthians 11 Oh man! I don't know about you, but this chapter of scripture really speaks to me well it kind of smacks me in the face. You see, I often find myself complaining about the stupidest things. And really what on earth do we have to complain about??? Seriously, the everyday things that stress us out and cause us to be in a bad mood are usually just minor ...

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Bracing for Battle

2 Corinthians 10 In 2 Cor 10, Paul changes tone and topic. It will take more than one chapter to fully develop, but he clearly is expecting a difficult encounter with some of the believers in Corinth (we'll see in the next chapter that it is over a need to confront false teachers). He's appealing to them not to make it contentious but plainly wants them to know that th...

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Am I cheerful?

2 Corinthians 9 Paul encourages the Corinthian church about their ministry and sends brothers of the faith (Titus and two other men, referenced in 2 Cor 8:16-24). He wants the church to be ready and to demonstrate to the Macedonians that they are ready, willing and able to provide financially for the church in Jerusalem. Verse 7 is a great verse to consider right now d...

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A New Economy

2 Corinthians 8 What an appropriate passage for this week! If you read the chapters leading up to this chapter, Paul is making the case that we are to live in a different economy than the rest of the world. Our economy recognizes that our being poured out now - Paul's affliction, anguish, death, and being perplexed, persecuted, struck down, delivered over to death, beat...

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God is Holy & We are His Family | 2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 7 Therefore, since we have these promises... - 2 Corinthians 7:1 Anytime you're reading the Bible and you see the word, "Therefore," if you want to understand what you're about to read you must check to see what the "therefore" is there for. What is about to follow is a direct follow up to what came before. If we look at the verses which came right be...

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