Concordia Adult Bible Class

Matthew, also called Levi, works as a tax collector. Matthew also, after he is called by Jesus, shares Jesus with his fellow tax collectors. How can we share our faith around our office in appropriate ways?

When Abram is called by God to go to a place he does not know, he follows God’s prompting, and becomes a blessing to the whole world. God can often call us out of our comfort zones to share Him with people we do not know, but He does know – and love.

When Abram is called by God to go to a place he does not know, he follows God’s prompting, and becomes a blessing to the whole world. God can often call us out of our comfort zones to share Him with people we do not know, but He does know – and love.

When the shepherds look up to the heavens, they see an angel with good news. So often, we let a slow downward slide happen in our lives as we compromise our values and integrity, or we look only at the next crisis in front of us. At these moments, we need to look up to heaven to hear its message, call, and promises and to put things into perspective.

When Gabriel appears to Mary, he turns her whole world upside down. He makes her question what she thought she knew – like the fact that a virgin cannot have a child! What things do we think we know that we too need to take a second look at? Things like: “There’s no way I can take a break.” “There’s no way that I can be generous during the holiday season.” “There’s no way that I can have faith in a God I cannot see.” Taking a look at our presuppositions may just lead to us to look at our lives differently!

As Christians, we are saved saints! Yet, we still struggle with sin. This is an ongoing tension we have inside of ourselves until we die. Living in this tension requires God’s forgiveness and grace!

The kingdom of God came with Christ, but we do not feel or see its full effects. It is here now, but it is not yet fully realized. We see this tension come out especially clearly in the healing stories in the Gospels. Although Jesus heals some people, He does not heal all people. We see some amazing things now, but we are still waiting for the amazing things that are yet to come.

There is a doctrine known as the hypostatic union in Christ. Simply put, there is only one Jesus, but this Jesus has two natures: He is God and He is man. Paul explains this well as he points to Jesus’ human characteristics, like His death on a cross, while also asserting His divinity, saying that the very fullness of God dwells in Christ.

The doctrine of the Trinity says that there is only one God, yet He is three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From the opening pages of Scripture we see all three persons present. God is creating. The Spirit is hovering. And Jesus is the Word who is spoken.

Righteousness doesn’t come from our good works... it comes from Jesus’ work on the cross!