Heritage Baptist Church of Frankfort IL

At the conclusion of his section on the collection for the Jerusalem church, Paul gives several principles related to giving in general and some of the blessing of giving to others.

Paul gives instructions to the church for the collection and sending of their offering to Jerusalem. By his instructions Paul leaves the church an example of how to make the gathering and distributing of offerings honest. Churches want to be above reproach when it comes to the collecting, counting, and distributing of funds.

God has given us so many temporal and spiritual blessings. We often fail to acknowledge the gifts God has given. The world is known for its unthankfulness, but believers often fail to acknowledge the good from God's hand.

The crucifixion for many believers can be a too familiar event. They don't pay attention to the details because they have heard it so many times. John give us a view of the cross that reminds the believer that His work of salvation was finished.

Jesus' arrest leads to a series of trials and interrogations. John only considers the interrogation of Annas when dealing with the religious trials. At the same time John gives the interrogation in the courtyard of Peter. While Jesus is faithfully facing His death, Peter fails to stand against the lowliest elements of society. John goes back and forth between the two men. The Lord restores Peter later but this story highlights the faithfulness of Jesus and the oft failure of His followers.

The Apostle starts a section in which he challenges the gather offerings for the church at Jerusalem. The Corinthians had promised before to start the process. Now Paul moves them along to reflect the grace given to them by showing that grace to others.

This lesson focuses on long-term issues that do not seem to have a solution. We can be discontent with what God has permanently allowed to be a part of our lives.

This familiar passage is often ignored by preachers, because everyone seems to have some knowledge of the story. However, it is important for believers to look at this passage with new eyes. We can often miss the details and ignore the reason the story was given in the Scripture.

Arrests are often chaotic and the one arrested has no real control over what happens. John records Jesus' arrest, but notes that Jesus is the one who controls His arrest. As revealed in the story, He is God and only allows what He has determined.

Worry is something that everyone does. However, the Bible is clear that our worry is sin. It often comes as the result of failing to accept God's providence and plan.