ScriptureStream

ScriptureStream

By Mark WatsonSociety & CultureReligion & SpiritualityChristianityPhilosophy
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ScriptureStream episodes

  • Where Do I Draw the Line?
    Sin distorts, deceives, destroys, and dominates
    • Luke 4:10-11 – Distorts God’s law
    • Genesis 3:1-6 – Deceives us into thinking we can get away with sin.
    • Romans 3:23 – Destroys our relationship with God.
    • Dominates us where one sin may turn into two and lead us down the path of the wicked.
      • Will it give Satan a foothold?

      • David: II Samuel 11:1-4

        • David had multiple changes to say no.

          • v1 – Didn’t go to war.

          • v2 – When he saw her bathing.

          • v3 – When he inquired.

          • v4 – When she arrived.

          • Joseph: Genesis 39:6-12

            • Joseph said no immediately and repeatedly.

            • When she cornered him, he resisted.

            • He FLED!

            • The repercussions

              • David: II Samuel 11:5-15; 12:19

                • Deceived Uriah into thinking that Bathsheba’s child is his own.

                • Murdered Uriah to cover up the sin of fornication.

                • The death of David and Bathsheba’s child.

                • Joseph: Genesis 41:37-41

                  • Went to prison.

                  • Interpreted the dreams of the baker and cupbearer.

                  • Interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and because the second most powerful man in Egypt.

                    Will it bring reproach upon me?

                    • I Timothy 3:1-2

                      • Reproach – not arrested, blameless, unrebukable

                      • Blameless

                      • When people look at us, they should see someone worthy of the benefit of the doubt.

                      • How to be blameless?

                        • Psalms 119:1-8 – Follow the law of God
                          • Are we asking the question wrongly?

                          • Minimum requirement

                            • How much can I put in and be pleasing to God?

                            • Will 70% work?

                            • What’s the least I have to do?

                            • Maximum permission

                              • How much can I get out of the world and still be pleasing to God?

                              • Two examples

                                • Daniel: Daniel 1:8-21

                                  • Didn’t want to risk eating and contaminating his body with the king’s food.

                                  • Gave the minimum to the king and gave everything to God.

                                  • Israelite man: Numbers 15:32-36

                                    • No work on the Sabbath

                                    • How do you define work?

                                    • A man was gathering wood.

                                    • What happened to him?

                                    • The presumptuous sin.

                                    • What’s his mindset?

                                    • What does it mean to be presumptuous?

                                      What attitude should we have?

                                      • To glorify God

                                        • I Corinthians 10:31

                                        • I Peter 1:14-15

                                        • Colossians 3:17

                                        • We need to draw lines, so we do not allow our minds to become corrupt.

                                          • II Corinthians 10:3-5

                                          • Matthew 5:27-28

                                          • James 1:12-15

                                            Summary
                                            30 min
                                          • Put on the New Self, Part 4
                                            Examples
                                            Let’s say you want to do a better job of loving your spouse (Ephesians 5:22-33). List some ideas that would help in that endeavor.

                                            • Create good habits and stop bad ones

                                              • Weekend habits that involve both of you.

                                              • Listen first. Talk after thinking.

                                              • Patience.

                                              • Get involved.

                                              • Let’s say you want to stop gossiping (Romans 1:29). Let’s list more ideas to help with this.

                                                • Think of yourself as a new person.

                                                  • “I’m the kind of person who first thinks if this is good.”

                                                  • “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t encourage gossip.”

                                                  • Shape your environment so it will help shape you.

                                                    • If there is a particular avenue where you are tempted to gossip, limit or remove it.

                                                    • Create good habits and stop bad ones.

                                                      • Go straight to the person involved instead of talking about them.

                                                      • I Corinthians 13:4-7

                                                      • Don’t rejoice in unrighteousness.

                                                      • Proverbs 10:12

                                                        Put on … purity
                                                        • Romans 13:12-14; Ephesians 4:19-24; 5:3 – Which of these passages were written to Christians? All of them!
                                                        • We need to admit how much of a temptation and problem this is, even among religious people.
                                                          • 30 min
                                                        • Bible 101: Getting Started Using a Bible
                                                          • Nehemiah 8:1-8 – When these people needed a spiritual revival, they went back to the word of God.
                                                            • What is the Bible?

                                                            • A collection of 66 books

                                                              • The word “Bible” comes from the Latin “Biblia” which simply means “books.”

                                                              • Written over 1500 years

                                                              • 40 different authors

                                                              • Inspired by God

                                                                • II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21

                                                                • Apologetics Press: Behold the Word of God (PDF)

                                                                • Different styles and genres

                                                                • Two major parts:

                                                                  • Old Testament, 39 books (Genesis – Malachi)
                                                                    • History of creation and God’s dealings with man, specifically following the nation of Israel.
                                                                    • New Testament, 27 books (Matthew – Revelation)
                                                                      • Story of Jesus and the inspired people who carried His message to the world after His crucifixion.
                                                                        • How do I find my way around?
                                                                        • Parts of a Bible reference: book, chapter, and verse
                                                                        • There are five books with only one chapter: Obadiah, Philemon, II John, III John, and Jude
                                                                          • Which translation is best?

                                                                          • Old Testament: Hebrew (some Aramaic)

                                                                          • New Testament: Greek

                                                                          • Example of translation issues:

                                                                            • II John 1:12 – Greek: stoma pros stoma (mouth to mouth)

                                                                            • Translation philosophy: word-for-word vs thought-for-thought

                                                                              • Example: Romans 13:4

                                                                              • Recommended word-for-word translations:

                                                                                • NASB-1995 (New American Standard Bible, 1995 edition)

                                                                                • ESV (English Standard Version)

                                                                                • NKJV (New King James Version)

                                                                                • KJV (King James Version)

                                                                                  Which type of Bible should I use?

                                                                                  • Arrangement of the text

                                                                                    • Verse-by-verse

                                                                                    • Paragraph

                                                                                    • Journaling or wide-margin Bibles

                                                                                    • Daily reading Bibles

                                                                                    • Parallel Bible

                                                                                    • Extra material added

                                                                                      • Maps

                                                                                      • Concordance

                                                                                      • Reference Bible

                                                                                      • Study Bible

                                                                                      • Devotional Bible

                                                                                      • Children’s Bible

                                                                                      • Features

                                                                                        • Red-letter

                                                                                        • Large print

                                                                                        • Cover

                                                                                        • Paper

                                                                                        • Foreword/preface

                                                                                        • Italics

                                                                                        • SMALL CAPS

                                                                                        • A reference Bible is the primary workhorse. If you only get one Bible, get a reference Bible.

                                                                                        • Other types of Bibles are helpful for particular purposes or types of study.

                                                                                          Now what?

                                                                                          • Get a Bible!

                                                                                            • Get a good translation as a reference Bible.

                                                                                            • Christianbook.com

                                                                                            • Read it!

                                                                                              • Fivedaybiblereading.com

                                                                                              • Study and apply it!

                                                                                                • Local church

                                                                                                • Benchley.org – What does the Bible say?

                                                                                                  30 min
                                                                                                • Christian Attitudes, Part 2

                                                                                                  • Review of last week

                                                                                                    • Importance of attitudes

                                                                                                    • God always wanted our hearts

                                                                                                    • Evolution of law

                                                                                                    • Love your neighbor – but who exactly is my neighbor?

                                                                                                      • Love God, love your neighbor

                                                                                                        • James 1:12 – Love God! The crown of life is promised to those who love Him.

                                                                                                        • I John 3:17 – Love your neighbor. It’s not stated directly, but is clearly there.

                                                                                                        • I John 4:21

                                                                                                        • Specific laws under Old Covenant: Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18

                                                                                                        • Luke 10:25-37 – parable of the good Samaritan

                                                                                                        • Sermon on the mount

                                                                                                          • Matthew 5-7

                                                                                                          • Beatitudes: A progression of attitudes > salvation

                                                                                                          • Admonitions: Jesus amplifies points of law.

                                                                                                            • States the “understood”

                                                                                                            • Goes to the root law

                                                                                                            • Reveals attitudes in which law is based

                                                                                                            • Poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3)

                                                                                                              • Is that an attitude? Matthew 18:1-3; Micah 6:8; Revelation 3:17-18

                                                                                                                • Yes! Poor in spirit means humility before God.

                                                                                                                • What will it motivate one to do?

                                                                                                                  • Recognize need for God’s guidance

                                                                                                                  • Know that one has found rock bottom

                                                                                                                  • Naaman Syndrome (II Kings 5)

                                                                                                                    • In haughtiness – form of worship

                                                                                                                    • In humility – extreme shows of dedication

                                                                                                                    • Those who mourn (Matthew 5:4)

                                                                                                                      • Why do they mourn?

                                                                                                                      • II Corinthians 7:9-10

                                                                                                                      • Some translations: sorrow = grief

                                                                                                                      • The meek (gentle) (Matthew 5:5)

                                                                                                                        • Power under total control

                                                                                                                          • Not imposing

                                                                                                                          • Moses

                                                                                                                          • Jesus – John 18:22-23

                                                                                                                          • Proverbs 25:8, 15

                                                                                                                          • James 3:13

                                                                                                                            30 min
                                                                                                                          • “So That We Do Not Drift Away”

                                                                                                                            • Hebrews 2:1-4

                                                                                                                            • “By signs and wonders and by various miracles”

                                                                                                                              • Mark 16:20

                                                                                                                              • Virtually every person believes that miracles happen, even if they do not believe in God. The Big Bang would have violated the laws of physics, so if it happened, it constituted a miracle!

                                                                                                                              • The same problem exists for the origin of life. The law of biogenesis would have to be broken. Life would have had to come from non-life.

                                                                                                                              • David Hume reasoned that because miracles are rare, they have little evidence. Wise people don’t believe in things with little evidence.

                                                                                                                              • Norman Geisler rebutted Hume’s argument by pointing out that rarity of events is not the issue. Rare things happen constantly!

                                                                                                                              • Exodus 14:21-28 – How do we know this happened?

                                                                                                                              • Acts 2:22-24 – It would be pretty hard to fake this!

                                                                                                                              • Acts 13:6-12 – Paul’s miracle proved his words were from God. The proconsul was amazed at the teaching (not the miracle itself!).

                                                                                                                              • “Word spoken through angels … just”

                                                                                                                                • Hebrews 1:1-2

                                                                                                                                • Hebrews 10:28-29

                                                                                                                                • Psalms 51:4

                                                                                                                                • “How shall we escape it we neglect so great a salvation?”

                                                                                                                                  • Hebrews 2:1
                                                                                                                                    • 30 min
                                                                                                                                  • Put on the New Self, Part 3
                                                                                                                                    How to change (continued)
                                                                                                                                    Shape your environment so it will help shape you. (continued)
                                                                                                                                    • I Corinthians 15:33
                                                                                                                                    • Ephesians 4:17; 5:1-2
                                                                                                                                    • I Peter 4:1-5
                                                                                                                                      • Create good habits and stop bad ones.

                                                                                                                                      • Serving God is a way of life – not a one-time action.

                                                                                                                                        • Ephesians 2:2, 10; 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15 – Notice the term walk. This is a figure for way of life.

                                                                                                                                        • Romans 6:4, 13-16 – After baptism, a Christian is to walk in newness of life. We are slaves for obedience. We’re not a slave for a day. We are to submit to God from now on.

                                                                                                                                        • Colossians 1:10; 2:6; 3:7; 4:5 – Walking

                                                                                                                                        • Remember to shape your environment to make good habits easier and bad habits harder.

                                                                                                                                          • Daniel 6:10 – Daniel had a well-engrained prayer habit. He had a place just for praying.

                                                                                                                                          • Deuteronomy 17:18-19 – Israel’s kings were to read God’s law everyday.

                                                                                                                                          • We tend to do what’s easy and convenient. We must reduce the friction for good habits and make the bad habits harder and inconvenient.

                                                                                                                                            Examples:
                                                                                                                                            Let’s say you want to do a better job of loving your spouse (Ephesians 5:22-33). List some ideas that would help in that endeavor:

                                                                                                                                            • Think of yourself as a new person.

                                                                                                                                              • “I am the kind of person that thinks of her first.”

                                                                                                                                              • Shape your environment so it will help shape you.

                                                                                                                                                • Have a career that allows time for family.

                                                                                                                                                • Shrug of bad advice about marriage from those who do not fear God.

                                                                                                                                                • Watch how strong couples interact and love each other.

                                                                                                                                                  30 min
                                                                                                                                                • The Cold, Hard Truth: Lessons from All That Ice
                                                                                                                                                  God is strong; we are weak.
                                                                                                                                                  • Job 38:1-5, 22-30, 33-37
                                                                                                                                                  • Psalms 147:1, 7, 10, 15-19
                                                                                                                                                  • God says something and it happens! His word has tremendous power.
                                                                                                                                                  • God used His word to give us laws. The elements must obey, but we have a choice.
                                                                                                                                                    • Count your (basic) blessings.
                                                                                                                                                    • I Kings 17:10-12 – This woman was pretty desperate at this point!
                                                                                                                                                    • Philippians 4:11-12
                                                                                                                                                    • II Corinthians 11:23-27
                                                                                                                                                    • I Timothy 6:8 – Are we content with food and clothing?
                                                                                                                                                      • It’s wise to be prepared.
                                                                                                                                                      • Matthew 25:1-13
                                                                                                                                                        • 30 min
                                                                                                                                                      • Put on the New Self, Part 2
                                                                                                                                                        What happens if I don’t put on the new self? (continued)
                                                                                                                                                        It allows spiritual laziness to continue.
                                                                                                                                                        • II Peter 1:5
                                                                                                                                                          • It implies that some sins are okay.
                                                                                                                                                          • John 9:28-34 – Is it possible for members of local churches to have this sinful attitude?
                                                                                                                                                          • I John 3:7 – The one who practices righteousness is righteous! Wearing a label doesn’t make you righteous.
                                                                                                                                                            • How to change
                                                                                                                                                            Think of yourself as a new person.
                                                                                                                                                            • Ephesians 4:23-24
                                                                                                                                                            • Romans 6:2, 11
                                                                                                                                                            • Colossians 3:2-3
                                                                                                                                                              • Shape your environment so it will help shape you.
                                                                                                                                                              • Deuteronomy 6:6-9
                                                                                                                                                              • Proverbs 5:8; 7:7-8, 25
                                                                                                                                                                • 30 min
                                                                                                                                                              • Christian Attitudes, Part 1

                                                                                                                                                                • The core of a person’s conduct is a person’s attitude.

                                                                                                                                                                  • Coaches know this and key on it.

                                                                                                                                                                  • Motivational speakers are all about attitude.

                                                                                                                                                                  • Our attitudes are important to God – and should be important to us.

                                                                                                                                                                    • They drive our actions.
                                                                                                                                                                      • Our attitude is the engine that drives us.
                                                                                                                                                                      • Change attitude to change action.

                                                                                                                                                                      • Attitude is not the only thing – Christianity is not all attitude.

                                                                                                                                                                        • Does God want our hearts or our obedience?

                                                                                                                                                                          • He wants our hearts first and the obedience that follows!

                                                                                                                                                                          • How about under the Mosaic Law? Circumcision of the heart:

                                                                                                                                                                            • Obedience: Leviticus 26:1-2, 14-16; Deuteronomy 27:9-10; 28:58-63

                                                                                                                                                                            • Attitude (hearts): Jeremiah 9:24; Leviticus 26:40-43; Numbers 15:38-40; Deuteronomy 4:7-9, 29-31, 39-40

                                                                                                                                                                              • God wants hearts that are devoted to Him.

                                                                                                                                                                              • Poetry: Proverbs 21:3; Psalms 119:2, 7, 10-11, 32, 34, 36, 58, 69, 80, 111-112, 145

                                                                                                                                                                                • It is better to live righteously than to sacrifice!

                                                                                                                                                                                • Prophecy: Isaiah 1:13-20; Joel 2:12-13; Deuteronomy 13:1; Jeremiah 3:7-10

                                                                                                                                                                                • Law: Deuteronomy 10:14-22; 13:1-4; 30:6-14

                                                                                                                                                                                • New Testament: Romans 10:13; Mark 12:28-34

                                                                                                                                                                                • What happened to the heart?

                                                                                                                                                                                  • Levitical jurisprudence – Deuteronomy 16:18-20; 17:8-13

                                                                                                                                                                                    • God gave the Levites leeway.

                                                                                                                                                                                    • The Pharisees ran with it!

                                                                                                                                                                                    • Leviticus 19:18 – Case in point.

                                                                                                                                                                                      • Matthew 5:43
                                                                                                                                                                                        • 30 min

                                                                                                                                                                                      About ScriptureStream

                                                                                                                                                                                      From the publisher's feed

                                                                                                                                                                                      Just the gospel, plainly spoken. ScriptureStream compiles lessons presented at the Benchley church of Christ, located just north of Bryan, TX. Visit ScriptureStream.com for full notes on each lesson…