It wasn’t just a miracle – it was a sign.

In John 2, Jesus attended a wedding. And at this wedding He performed His first recorded miracle (turning water into wine). So, what was this miracle really about? As we’ll see, it pointed forward to the cross – even if no one knew it at the time.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) Why did Jesus tell Mary that His ‘hour had not come?’

B) In what way(s) did this miracle point forward to Calvary?

C) How is John 2 a ‘bookend’ with John 19?

web: www.fpcgulfport.org

John the Baptist had one job.

John came to prepare people to meet Jesus. Specifically, he would ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah had foretold. But the people wouldn’t listen. John would be a voice crying in the wilderness. He would be misunderstood, and eventually killed. And the same would happen to the Messiah.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) Why was John ‘baptizing’ people? What kind of baptism was this?

B) Why did John say ‘behold the Lamb’ when he saw Jesus approach?

C) What’s the difference between ‘appeasement’ and ‘atonement?’

Web: www.fpcgulfport.org

Christianity: rooted in history, backed by eyewitnesses.

In John 1, the author skips the greetings and goes straight to the heart of the matter: he and others saw, heard, and observed the Messiah. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” he declared. In today’s study, we’ll consider the historical facts that support our faith.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) Why did John refer to Jesus as ‘the Word?’

B) In what way is Jesus also ‘the light’ that came into the world?

C) What are the implications of Christ’s incarnation to you and I?

website: www.fpcgulfport.org

Jericho had massive walls. It didn’t matter.

There are no walls that can deter God’s Wrath. And there is no army that can stop those who serve Him. In Joshua 6, we will study both points in one of the most famous (and faith-building) passages in Scripture.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) How big was Jericho’s outer wall? Did it have an inner wall as well?

B) What tool or weapon was used to bring the walls down?

C) What can we learn from the battle at Jericho that applies to us?

web: www.fpcgulfport.org

No. Other. Name.

As he felt the Sanhedrin’s angry gaze, Peter stood firm. There’s no other name, there’s no other door, there’s no other way by which fallen sinners can be reconciled to God. Not two. Not ten. Just one, Peter declared. Jesus Christ is the singular means of salvation.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What are the implications of this statement to other religions?

B) What were the implications to Peter’s original audience?

C) What sort of opposition does such an exclusive claim create?

web: www.fpcgulfport.org

The world is trying to remake you in its image.

Will you let it?

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul reminds his readers that the world is intent on creating worldly people. That’s what it does. It wants to conform you and I to its own priorities. However, Paul tells Christians that we are NOT to be conformed – instead, we are to be transformed through the ‘renewing of our minds.’

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) Why is conformity bad (and dangerous)?

B) How does transformation occur?

C) What does it mean to ‘renew’ your mind in God’s Word?

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

Genesis started in a GARDEN.

It ended in a COFFIN.

In Genesis 1, things were looking great. God had created the world, and said that all He had created was good. But things got dark in Genesis 3.

Following man’s sin in Genesis 3, a roller coaster of depravity followed. In Genesis 4, Cain killed his brother, and things didn’t improve through the end of the book.In today’s sermon, we will consider Genesis 50 (the final words of the last chapter).

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What does Genesis tell us about mankind?

B) What does Genesis tell us about God?

C) How does Genesis set the stage for the rest of Scripture?

Website: www.fpcgulfport.org

Can God bring good out of the worst things? In Genesis 45:1-15, Joseph finally reveals himself to the brothers who sold him into slavery. Dr. Toby Holt unfolds the meaning of "providence" — God's hand at work even through hardship and evil. After years of slavery and prison, Joseph stands as second-in-command of Egypt, with his brothers at his mercy. He could have taken revenge. Instead he weeps, embraces them, and explains that God had sent him ahead to preserve their lives through the famine. Providence is God working all things — even the sins of others — toward good.

Questions this study answers:

1. What is "providence"? God's sovereign hand guiding all events — even painful ones — toward His good purposes. Nothing in Joseph's suffering was outside God's plan.

2. Why didn't Joseph take revenge? Because he saw God's hand behind his brothers' sin. He chose forgiveness and reconciliation over bitterness.

3. What was God's purpose in Joseph's suffering? To preserve many lives through the coming famine, and to display His faithfulness. God meant for good what others meant for evil.

"...do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves… for God sent me before you to preserve life." — Genesis 45:5 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

Where is God when life seems unfair? In Genesis 40, Joseph sits in an Egyptian prison for a crime he never committed — yet "God was with him." Dr. Toby Holt shows how God works in the dark seasons when life seems most unfair. Falsely accused and forgotten, Joseph meets Pharaoh's imprisoned cupbearer and baker, and God enables him to interpret their dreams: one restored, one executed. Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him — but he forgets, and Joseph waits two more years. The delay was not abandonment.

Questions this study answers:

1. What were the dreams about? The cupbearer's three branches and the baker's three baskets each pointed to three days — restoration for one, death for the other. Joseph interpreted both by God's help.

2. Was Joseph treated fairly? No. He was imprisoned unjustly and then forgotten. Yet "God was with him" through it all.

3. What do we learn from Joseph's long wait? That God's timing is not ours, and apparent delays are not abandonment. God was working even when Joseph saw nothing.

"Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." — Genesis 40:23 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.

Why did Joseph's brothers hate him?

In Genesis 37, Joseph's brothers hate him enough to sell him into slavery. Dr. Toby Holt asks where God is when calamity strikes — even though God's name never appears in the chapter. Jacob plays favorites with a special coat, and the brothers' jealousy turns to hatred when Joseph shares his dreams of ruling over them. They plot to kill him, then sell him to traders bound for Egypt, and deceive their father with a blood-stained coat. Though God seems absent, His fingerprints are over every event.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why did the brothers hate Joseph? Out of jealousy — over their father's favoritism and Joseph's dreams of leadership. Their envy hardened into hatred.

2. Where was God in this betrayal? Present and sovereign, even though unseen. His hand was guiding events toward a greater purpose.

3. Where is God when our circumstances grow dark? Right there, working behind the scenes. As with Joseph, God can be at work even when He seems silent. "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit… We shall see what will become of his dreams." — Genesis 37:20 (NKJV)

Dr. Toby Holt is President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Find more verse-by-verse Bible teaching at newgeneva.org; support this ministry at newgeneva.org/give.