In this lesson, we’re looking at the first of the seven churches address in Revelation 1-3: Ephesus. Ephesus was the “mother” church in Asia minor. They were the ones who were on guard against false teaching and did so well. The problem was that their love for truth was elevated above their love for God. Jesus calls them to humble themselves and remember their first love.

In this lesson, we’re beginning a new series on Revelation 1-3. This lesson seeks to accomplish two things: 1. Discuss how to approach apocalyptic literature in Scripture (there are two basic things to understand: 1. The goal, which is to “pull back the curtain” and show what is really going on from God’s perspective; and 2. The method, which is imagery that seems to belong in a fantasy novel but is really rooted in the rest of the biblical story). The other thing this lesson will do is establish who is doing the reviewing of the seven churches (found chapters 2-3) and why.

In this lesson, we are looking at the story of Jonah. I think everyone is familiar with most of this story (ch.1-3). The issue is that the story keeps going into chapter 4, which really has the heart of the story of Jonah. That you and are do not like that God is merciful and gracious to our enemies. The book of Jonah invites us to realize that this is in fact a good thing because we are his enemies.

Bedtime Stories - Hide and Seek by Providence Youth Ministry Podcast

In this lesson, we are looking at 1 Samuel 17, which is the account of David and Goliath. This may be the most well-known story in the Bible and it has created a whole category of story (the “underdog” stories, such as U.S. colonies v. Britain, U.S. hockey team v. Russia, etc). In this lesson, we’ll see that although the story is well known, it is often misunderstood. This is not a story to motivate us to fight our personal giants but rather a story showing us that we need someone to fight our giant for us.

In this lesson, we are looking at Joshua 6 and the “battle” of Jericho. The ironic thing about this text is that the “battle” is only two verses long, whereas the instructions take up most of the chapter. It seems like the writer was using slow-motion to capture the wrong points. But actually he’s simply emphasizing obedience over action. I’m going to propose that we often revolt against God’s plan due to fear or because we have a better plan. Both of which are caused by the same belief: that we know better than God. The point of this story is to show that God is capable of single-handedly carrying out his plan of deliverance. We, like the Israelites, are called to die to our natural reactions and be obedient to his plan, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.

In this lesson, we are looking at the Exodus narrative (technically the first 15 chapters of Exodus). We’re going to see three things: 1. God is the triumphant king, 2. God is justly responding to Pharaoh’s wickedness, and 3. God is merciful (we see this most clearly in the Passover lamb). The point I’m going to stress at the end is that this was THE event for the Old Testament; it impacted everything from their calendar to the way they lived their life. How much more should the cross impact our lives?

Bedtime Stories – Rags To Riches by Providence Youth Ministry Podcast

In this lesson, we are looking at Genesis 22 (but really chapters 12-22), which tell the story of Abraham and culminate in the sacrifice of Isaac. Throughout Abraham’s story we see two repeating themes: 1. Abraham is disobedient whenever the possibility of an heir is on the line (examples: saying that Sarah is his sister so he’ll be alive to propagate; sleeping with Hagar to get an heir) and 2. God’s reaffirmation of his promises to Abraham. All of this comes together when God calls Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He pits the two things Abraham values most in an epic showdown to see who will be the MVT (Most Valuable Thing) in Abraham’s life. We’ll conclude looking at why Jesus deserves to be the MVT in the lives of the students.

In this lesson, we are looking at Genesis 6-9, which tells the story of Noah and the flood. This is the most genocidal passage in all of the Old Testament that is often hidden behind cute storybook imagery. And at first glance it should be a troubling account because God has promised to redeem humanity, and now that things have gotten worse, he’s destroying it. So in this lesson we look at the emotion of God in this passage (he is sadden because he cares about his creation, not angry and vindictive), the character of God (that he is not fair but he is faithful) and our response to God (faith).