There are few questions that have arisen over the course of human history that have caused more controversy than, "Who is Jesus?" As you well know, there is a wide variety of opinions on this matter, but not for Paul. The gospel he preached has as much to do with who Jesus is as it does with what He did. By the second verse of this letter, he's already begun to clarify who this Person is who is his Lord, and there's not a hint of doubt in his tone as he writes. For him, Jesus is the promised Son of David and the divine Son of God, and he spends no time at all trying to explain how He could be both of these things at once. Maybe such unwavering faith came easily for Paul because he actually saw Jesus in His resurrected glory and heard Him say, "I am Jesus, the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting" (Ac 22:8). Or maybe his unwavering confidence came from his "out of body" experience (2Co 12:2-4) which I assume took place when he apparently died and was resuscitated after being stoned at Lystra (Ac 14:19,20). Seeing the glories of heaven with your own "eyes" must settle many theological questions. You'd think that after an experience like that, one would be inclined to simply believe. But few of us have had experiences like his, yet God still calls us to believe and surrender our lives with unwavering trust like we see in Paul. How can that happen? How can we believe so completely without first seeing the resurrected Jesus with our own eyes? Let's find out.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

Paul died with dreams of future ministry still burning in his heart. Old age had not "aged" his spirit at ail. As we read this letter to the Romans, we know something Paul didn't when he wrote it. We know he would be arrested when he traveled to Jerusalem (Ro 15:30-32; Ac 21). He would arrive in Rome not as a missionary on his way west to Spain (Ro 15:24,25), but in chains. He would be released after some years, but then re-arrested and executed. He was certainly no younger than 55 when he wrote this letter to Rome, and no younger than 64 when he was executed (67 A.D.), but to the very end he writes like a young man, full of zeal and interest in life, full of big plans and dreams for the future. Nothing is dying inside of Paul, it's just getting stronger. Undoubtedly, he too had to cope with declining energy and, frankly, the effects from years of physical abuse (2Co 11:23-33). He himself provides a perfect illustration of a truth he taught to the Corinthian church, "...though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day" (2Co 4:16). Aging is a physical process that can't be halted, but "old" is an attitude.

Today as we return to Paul's opening statement about himself, we will again hear him tell us he's a "slave of Christ," "called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God." But in this study we're going to look at a particular gift God gives those who, like Paul, embrace these three attitudes. And the gift is this: a heart full of dreams.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

God designs people differently and places them in a wide variety of ministries (1 Co 12:5), but regardless of what kind of ministry a person does, some become spiritually fruitful while others stall and make little progress. And the difference between the two doesn't seem to depend on talent or natural gifting. Those who become very fruitful are not necessarily the ones you or I would have picked. Highly talented people might accomplish little over a lifetime while someone who appears much less talented might go on to accomplish remarkable things. So, what determines fruitfulness must have more to do with attitudes than abilities, at least in the spiritual world. That's why God told the prophet Samuel that what He sees when He looks at a person is their heart, but what we humans see is the outward appearance (1 Sa 16;7).

And it was his heart that made Paul such an effective minister. It takes no more than the first verse of his letter to the Romans for him to let us see three life-changing attitudes that explain why he was so effective. Were any one of those attitudes missing Paul would not have become the great apostle that we know. Today as we examine the attitudes he reveals to us we need to be careful to avoid a common danger. Most of us admire him but think to ourselves, "I could never be like Paul; he was a great apostle." But God isn't asking us to do what Paul did. He's asking us to have the same attitude Paul had, and then to joyfully be what He's made us to be.Because when these three attitudes converge in anyone, unusual fruitfulness results.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

 And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well! 

Far from living by the principle of "an eye for an eye," Joseph generously offered total forgiveness to his brothers. When he was younger, they had threatened to kill him and then decided to sell him into slavery instead (37:18-28). Yet when they moved to Egypt during a famine, he welcomed their families and provided for them as the nation's governor. But after their father died, the fear again rose up that Joseph would seek revenge. Perhaps he had only treated them kindly to spare their father's feelings while he was still alive. So to protect themselves from this imagined danger they sent a representative to beg for their lives, hoping Joseph would merely enslave them rather than kill them. But in his reply to their plea Joseph revealed three powerful attitudes which had totally released him from bitterness. Few people have had a greater right to be bitter than Joseph, yet, obviously, he had somehow discovered an antidote for the toxic poison of unforgiveness. Though his brothers believed he would never forgive their betrayal, the truth was he did. He emotionally released it and moved on. We would all do well to learn how he did this, and thankfully, he revealed his secret. Now we too can follow in his footsteps if we'll let these same attitudes be in us.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

In the last hours of his life, Jacob prophesied over each of his 12 sons, but his words were actually being addressed to the future tribes which would arise from each of them. Through Jacob spiritual decisions were being announced, affecting millions of people who hadn't even been born yet. To some he explained why they would be passed over as leaders of the emerging nation. Others were surprised to learn they had been selected to lead. Some were promised exceptional abundance. And some were even allowed to glimpse 400 years into the future to see what life would be like for them. It was an amazing moment in which God spoke through Jacob. But as wonderful as this display of divine knowledge is, it also brings a troubling note. It appears that future generations were helplessly destined to live out the consequences of their ancestors' decisions—particularly for those whose ancestors made bad choices. The thought that they were helplessly left to suffer God's judgment for crimes they didn't commit is frightening and depressing. Today we'll look more closely at this subject which might be characterized as "spiritual genetics." Apparently, it's possible to inherit blessings or curses from our parents just as we inherit the color of our eyes or the shape of our noses. And most importantly, we'll discover that through Jesus Christ any generation has the potential to reorient itself and inherit a blessing.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

Anyone who lives long enough will experience the strange phenomenon called "grief." Sooner or later we all lose someone close to us, and when that happens, we're likely to discover powerful forces have taken control of us whether we welcome them or not. Our emotions go on a rollercoaster ride, our thinking becomes cloudy, and even our bodies respond in ways that can be frightening. There's no way to stop the process of grief since its powers are far greater than our will, but we can cope with it much better if we understand what's happening and receive God's comfort while we're going through it. Even when handled well, grief takes time; if it's not handled well, it can go on indefinitely. That's why we need to study Joseph's grief. We can learn some valuable lessons from his example which can help minimize our own grief or make us more helpful when others suffer.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

It's only natural to evaluate a person's potential based on the obvious resources he/she possesses. The more money, talent, good looks, education, intelligence or social standing he/she has the more we expect him/her to succeed in life. And often this proves to be true. In the world these are the things that tend to make us successful. But when we turn to spiritual matters, these benefits can quickly become obstacles. We can find ourselves trying to serve God using the world's resources. Ironically, it seems when we enter the spiritual arena, it's the people who lack such resources and advantages that frequently take the lead. In Jacob's blessing of his grandsons we see this strange twist of circumstances once again. A person with no apparent reason to be favored receives God's blessing in measures beyond someone who seemed to have a rightful claim on it. Just as had happened over the past two generations, a younger son took the blessing from his older brother. In this study we'll try to understand why this happened and then apply what we learn to us today.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

When Jacob arrived in Egypt, he was not a happy man. For at least the past 22 years he had been walking through a dark valley of despair. So when he was introduced to Pharaoh and asked how old he was, he responded by expressing discouragement. He said his life had been unpleasant, and he expected to die early. Yet he didn't die right away. In fact, God kept him alive for another 17 years, and by the end of those years, his attitude had changed remarkably. Now he spoke tenderly of God's goodness because these last years changed the way he viewed his life. They were a joyful time of recognizing God's faithfulness. God had not let him die on a sour note but had set a limit on the darkness, bringing him at last into a new day, full of victory. What we see happen to Jacob is not an exceptional display of God's kindness but is in fact an essential part of His nature. He does allow dark valleys to come, but He will never leave us in those valleys. It's important to Him that each of us comes to the moment when we joyfully declare His faithfulness, realizing He has not allowed our enemies to triumph over us (Ps 3:3). As David said in the Psalms, though our weeping may last for the night, we can be confident a shout of joy will come in the morning (Ps 30:5). In God there will always be a morning.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

When father and son were at last together again after 22 years, the first thing Jacob must have asked Joseph was, "I thought you had been killed by a wild animal. What happened to you? How did you end up in Egypt?" Joseph's answer would determine the future of that family. Knowing Joseph as we do it's certain he neither lied nor hid information from his father. When asked, he surely revealed the horrible betrayal he and his father suffered at the hands of his brothers. This information alone would have hit Jacob like a blow to the stomach. It easily could have alienated him permanently from his sons and thrown him back into depression, disintegrating what was left of an already troubled family. But this is not what happened, and we have to ask the question, "Why? Why didn't Jacob turn in hatred against his sons?" The answer must lie largely with Joseph. He must have helped his father process the terrible truth he told him. Ironically, the only person who could save the family was the one who had been hurt most deeply by it. Only he had the right to beg his father for mercy for his brothers or help him process the pain of betrayal.

Many of us are in families or friendships which have disintegrated because of an outrageous betrayal of trust. Something has been done or said that stabbed the relationship in the heart like a knife so that it seems there is now no hope that love could ever flow there again. Yet, as we observe Joseph's role in the healing of his family, we see how damaged relationships, even those that seem doomed, can be restored by God. 

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.

Whenever God sows a seed, He has a harvest in mind. No farmer, least of all God, plants a seed without expecting it to reproduce itself many times. So if we allow ourselves to become a seed in God's hand, we too can expect our lives to produce a harvest for God. In fact, the Bible tells us that when He is in control of this process, we will see results that are "exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us..." (Eph 3:20). In other words, God loves to bring extraordinary results from meager human efforts, because, when such miracles occur, everyone's attention is diverted away from the work we've done, to the obvious miracle He's done. This proves to people that He exists and may actually draw them to believe in God and one day have the faith that brings eternal life.

In this lesson we'll identify the "seed" Jacob planted when he took his family to Egypt; next we'll examine two of Jesus' parables about seeds, and then we'll consider four things God requires in order for us to become His "seeds" which produce a miracle harvest, and finally we'll see the size of Jacob's harvest.

To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation, email us at [email protected] and ask for your copy at no charge! 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.