Heritage Bible Church

1. An Extraordinary Enemy 31:22-55 2. An Expected Enmity 32:1-23 3. An Existential Exchange 32:24-32 4. An Eye-Opening Encounter 33:1-20 Next Week's Reading: Genesis 32-33

Today our venue is James 3:13-4:6. Everything we do will be exegetically driven, which means that we draw it from the words God inspired, but we will not be handling every detail of the text. That means we need to know about the context. In short, James 3 is about the tongue and the sins of the tongue. James 3:6, 8: And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. . . . 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. James didn't deal with the tongue directly because your tongue is only an instrument of your heart. You will never cease to gossip or to be bitter toward someone, or to say careless and hurtful things by just deciding not to do it any more. You can only tame your tongue and make your speech glorify God and spread His grace by filling your heart with good treasures (Matthew 12:34-37). No one can cause you to say wicked things unless you are letting those wicked things ferment in your heart already. To control your tongue requires choosing wisdom which only God can provide. We're going to major on that today, with special emphasis on relationships. 1 - The Pervasive Pondering (3:13) 2 - The Pesky Problem (3:14-16) 3 - The Peace Principle (3:17-18) 4 - The Pesky Predicament (4:1-4) 5 - The Greater Grace (4:5-6)

1. Sons a Plenty 30:1-24 2. Sheep that are Patchy 30:25-43 3. Scandal of Privacy 31:1-21 Next Week's Reading: 30-31

Access the full class notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pf3eIzLNA-rA3ROe0V95siVNzls6acLrkwLgpfTIL3I/edit?usp=sharing

It Ain't Gonna Reign No More is my theological homophonic pun on the title of a catchy 1920's nonsense song that sold over 2 million copies. If you look it up online and play it (only about a minute long), I can almost guarantee you will get an earworm. We saw last time, from Romans 6:1-11, that by dint of your identification with Christ once you trust in His finished work on the cross to atone for your sin and give you new life, you have a new identity. Now sin is no longer your master, Jesus is your Master. In verse 11, the word consider is connected to the same root word as logic. The core meaning is to determine by a mathematical process, to reckon or calculate. From that basic idea come the more common meanings and uses: to count, take account of, to evaluate, estimate, look upon as, consider, to give careful thought to a matter, think (about), consider, ponder, let one's mind dwell on, believe, be of the opinion. How do you consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God? Based upon knowing that you have been baptized into His death and knowing that your old man was crucified with Him, 1) Consider yourself dead to sin (verse 11). 2) Present yourself to God (verse 13). Three commands in the next three verses shape what to do. They're followed by some wonderful explanations, which we will survey. Here's an outline based upon the structure and nuances of the passage. 1 - Do Not Keep On Letting Sin Reign (12) 2 - Do Not Keep On Presenting (13a) 3 - Urgently Present Yourselves To God (13b) 4 - For You Are Under Grace (14) 5 - Here Is What I Mean (15-23)

1 - Jacob Arrives in Haran (1-8) 2 - A Happy Family Reunion (9-14) 3 - Jacob Works 7 Years for Rachel (15-20) 4 - Jacob is Deceived and Works 7 More Years for Rachel (21-30) 5 - Jacob and the Unloved Leah's First 4 sons (31-35)

Today we will continue to build our understanding of how we function and how God works to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Many people act as if being a Christian is defined by conforming to acceptable standards of behavior, getting along with others, and not getting in trouble. I'm all for those things, but to be a Christian is something far more profound. 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 1 Peter 1:3, 22–23: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, . . . Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. Today we will explore a foundational passage on what it means to be born again. It's in the book of Romans, which is the inspired treatise on the meaning and significance of the gospel. Our passage occupies a crucial place in the flow of the argument. The section at the core of the book of Romans is where we are headed: Sanctification: The Demonstration of God's Righteousness (6:1–8:39). Perspectives: 1 - You have died to sin 2 - You have been baptized into Christ's death 3 - You have "newness of life" in Christ 4 - You share in the life of the risen Christ 5 - You are crucified with Christ 6 - You are freed from sin 7 - You are commanded to act on all these facts

Access the full class notes here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pf3eIzLNA-rA3ROe0V95siVNzls6acLrkwLgpfTIL3I/edit?usp=sharing