General Theme for the Week: Insight from Eavesdropping on a Psalmist's Prayer

Today's Lesson: Leaders Beware! On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Wendy Korbusieski discuss the following questions:

God measures leadership differently than the way we do. How does our evaluation of leaders differ from God's evaluation of leaders?

Why is it important to evaluate a leader based on how he treats marginalized groups?

When God convenes a heavenly court about how judges and leaders are carrying out His plan, do you think this is a positive or negative thing?

The reading for the day is Psalm 82.

General Theme for the Week: Important Insights About Sin

Today's Lesson: The Sin Problem: Everybody Has It

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Jay Rivenbark discuss the following questions:

Scripture teaches us that every person, including priests and ministers, has a sin issue. Why is it so hard to consider that God's leaders are also common men who must be cleansed from sin?

Perhaps we accept the principal that every man is a sinner. However, do we view the sins of others as being greater than our own sins? Do we view the sins of our leaders as being less than our sins? Why?

The reading for the day is Leviticus 8.

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General Theme for the Week: Important Insights About Sin

Today's Lesson: What Sacrifices Teach us about God

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Jay Rivenbark discuss the following:

What do these instructions teach us about God?

He is worthy of precision. The importance of an occasion is reflected in the pump and ceremony, and through how much attention to detail we give to it. The holiness of God is reflected by how much importance was placed up on sacrificial rituals.

The wages of sin is death. the holiness of God is also reflected in the cost of sin. When a man looked into the eyes of an innocent animal and slaughtered that animal, he received a vivid object lesson on the wages of sin. Romans 6:23 (NLT): For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The reading for the day is Leviticus 7.

General Theme for the Week: Important Insights About Sin

Today's Lesson: Church Rituals: Reflecting the Seriousness of Sin

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Jay Rivenbark discuss the following questions:

How might some church rituals portray God as distant and untouchable?

How might some church rituals, portray God as approachable but lenient?

Why is it important to hold both the perspective of God's holiness and the perspective of God's love simultaneously in order to have a balanced view of God?

The reading for the day is Leviticus 6.

General Theme for the Week: Important Insights About Sin

Today's Lesson: Can Sin Defile Places?

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Jay Rivenbark discuss the following questions:

What do you think the difference is between the motive behind a sin and the act of sin?

Do we still have sins of which we were unaware, and sins of omission?

Does the idea of an unintentional sin create a hyper-guilt complex in modern believers?

The reading for the day is Leviticus 5.

General Theme for the Week: Important Insights About Sin

Today's Lesson: Can Sin Defile Places?

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Jay Rivenbark discuss the following questions:

Do you think that sin still defiles particular places?

How might our personal sin affect the church?

How might our personal sin affect government locations?

How might our personal sin affect our home?

The reading for the day is Leviticus 4.

General Theme for the Week: The Christian Message is Relevant

Today's Lesson: A Relevant Message for Hurting People

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions:

How does the Gospel reach and lift up "outsiders"?

What are the different conditions of captivity that can be created by sin? (E.g. financial, relational, broken families, etc.)

How does the Gospel help those who are without light, without insight, and without hope?

How does the Gospel lift the burdens that are created by sin?

The reading for the day is Luke 4.

General Theme for the Week: The Christian Message is Relevant

Today's Lesson: God is Doing Something!

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions:

Again, so often we read this text during the season of Christmas and miss the insights that can come from reflecting on the passage's deeper meanings. what do you think it was like to recognize that God was suddenly doing something radical to move along His plan for mankind?

Jesus was not just a historical character, this was God in the flesh! What does that incredible truth mean to you?

Why is it important that we emphasize that the coming of Jesus meant that men should repent, be baptized, and live right? Is that message still relevant for today?

The reading for the day is Luke 3.

General Theme for the Week: The Christian Message is Relevant

Today's Lesson: Four Goals to Live Like Jesus in Everyday Life

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss the following questions:

If growing in wisdom implies continuing to be educated in the Scripture, does that mean that everybody has to go to Bible school? What does continuing to grow in wisdom look like in the local church?

How do believers prepare and thrive as they move into different seasons of life (high school, college, marriage, parenting, mentoring, retirement year, etc.)?

What is the relationship between having favor with God and having favor with others?

The reading for the day is Luke 2.

General Theme for the Week: The Christian Message is Relevant

Today's Lesson: Jesus is Lord, He is God, and He is King!

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss the following question:

Sometimes we overlook the implications of the birth of Jesus because we usually think about this account during Christmas time. Talk about the incredible meaning of these three concepts surrounding the birth of Jesus.

1. He is the Son of the Most High God.
2. He was Lord even in Mary's womb.
3. His birth set forth God's end-time Kingdom, which will never end. The reading for the day is Luke 1.