ScriptureStream

By Mark WatsonSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Philosophy

ScriptureStream episodes

June 10, 2015Sprinting Through the Old Testament, Part 11
Exile, Return and Rebuilding (Daniel, Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah)
Lamentations 1:1-3
The remnant returns:
1st return
Ezra 2:1-67
538 -535 BC
Large group led by Sheshbazzar/Zerubbabel and others
2nd return
Ezra 7:28-8:20
458 BC
Large group led by Ezra
3rd return
Nehemiah 2:5-11
445 BC
Nehemiah (group unknown)
When things aren’t right
Daniel 1:8
God is faithful
Deportations:
1st
Jeremiah 25:11-12
605 BC
2nd
Jeremiah 29:10
597 BC
3rd
II Chronicles 36:21
586 BC
Cyrus Cylinder
Getting motivated to work
Rebuilding the temple (Ezra 4-6)
536 BC – Work starts; adversaries discourage
520 BC – Haggai and Zechariah encourage; work resumes
516 BC – Finished
Ezra 3:10
Nehemiah 4:1-6 – Nehemiah pushes ahead with the work despite adversaries
Nehemiah 6:14-16
Rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3-6)
445 BC – 1st month (Nisan) – Nehemiah asks permission to go to Jerusalem
445 BC – (month unknown) – Wall to half its height
445 BC – 6th month (Elul) – finished in 52 days
30 min
June 07, 2015The Ways Jesus Loves Me
Ephesians 5:1-2
Demanding love
Mark 10:17-22 – Jesus demanded sacrifice from the man.
Matthew 10:32-33, 16, 22, 25, 28, 34-36; 11:1 – Jesus demanded much from His 12 apostles.
Tough love
Matthew 23:37 – The people needed tough love from Jesus
Acts 9:3-16 – Paul’s conversion
Don’t let anyone soften Jesus’ love – it should cut us deeply!
Love does not mean the absence of rebuke.
Unpopular love
Luke 7:34-50 – Jesus loves even the most lowly people.
Patient love
Matthew 14:30-31; 16:21-23; John 13:8-10; Luke 22:31-32, 50-51, 60-62; John 21:15-22 – Jesus had patient love for Peter through all his mistakes.
Sacrificial love
John 1:29; 10:11; 15:13; 19:1-3, 16-18, 28-30 – Jesus gave Himself for us.
Personal love
Galatians 2:20
30 min
June 07, 2015Word of the Day, Part 4: Lead and Follow
Lead and follow, continued:
Hebrew words, continued:
יָצָא yatsa
To go or bear out; break out; bring forth, out or up
Psalms 68:6; Numbers 27:17
נָהַג nahag
To drive forth a person, an animal or chariot, that is, lead or carry away
Isaiah 49:10; Deuteronomy 4:27
New Testament
Like in Old Testament, multiple terms
Not always translated “lead”
Man root word
ἄγω ag****ō: to bear, bring, carry, lead
Mark 13:11 (KJV)
Romans 2:4
Other Greek words from ἄγω ag****ō:
ἀνάγω anag****ō: to lead up, Matthew 4:1
ἀπάγω apag****ō: to lead away, Mark 14:44
περιάγω periag****ō: to lead about, I Corinthians 9:5
εἰσάγω eisag****ō: to be led into, Acts 21:37
ἐξάγω exag****ō: to be led out, John 10:3
συναπάγω sunapag****ō; being led away with II Peter 3:17 (KJV)
Specific words vs. ideas of leading
Concepts of leadership abundant
Usage:
Leading is noted as:
Who is leading (actor)
Who or what is being led (object)
How it is done (method or guide)
Destination
Who leads?
God leads
Isaiah 48:17
II Corinthians 2:14
His appointed leaders lead
Isaiah 63:11-12 (KJV)
Psalms 78:70-72
Civil authorities lead
Romans 13:1
Individuals lead
Proverbs 12:26
What individuals lead?
Leadership qualities, skills, traits
Integrity – Hebrews 13:8
Courage – John 18:4-6
Focus – Colossians 3:2
Vision – Philippians 3:14
Service – Matthew 20:25-28
Communication – Ephesians 4:29
Competence – II Timothy 2:15
Confidence
Commitment
Stable/sober
Engagement
30 min
June 03, 2015Sprinting Through the Old Testament, Part 10
Divided kingdom and defeat (I Kings 12 – II Kings 25; II Chronicles 10-36)
I Kings 12:12
Roughly 20 kings each, most of them bad. Israel had only bad kings.
Israel conquered in 732 BC.
Judah conquered in 586 BC.
I Kings 12:26-33 – Jeroboam’s first act as king was to lead the people away from God.
II Chronicles 11:14-16 – Jeroboam’s error ran off all the good people. Israel was left with people who were not focused on serving God.
You choose your own path
II Kings 16:3 – Ahaz
II Chronicles 18:1 – Hezekiah
II Kings 21:1 – Manasseh
II Kings 21:19-21 – Amon
II Kings 22:1-2; 23:25 – Josiah
II Kings 23:32, 37 – Josiah’s sons
The faith of your parents can only take you so far. You have to develop your own faith!
God is faithful
Deuteronomy 28:58-63
II Kings 19:30
Hezekiah’s tunnel
II Kings 20:20
Samaritans
II Kings 17:6, 24
30 min
May 31, 2015Characteristics of a Christian
Colossians 1:1-12
Colossians 1:9
It’s good to pray for all Christians everywhere, but it’s also good to pray for specific Christians in specific situations
II Peter 3:18 – We know it is also God’s desire that all men would be filled with the knowledge of His will. This is something that takes time. We cannot put our studying off on the preacher – we have to do our own studying. II Timothy 2:15
We obtain knowledge through study, but we must apply it with wisdom and understanding.
Colossians 1:10
It is possible to walk worthy of the Lord. Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27
Titus 2:11-14 – We must deny worldly lusts and live righteously.
Christians are better than non-Christians, not because of anything personal, but because they are blood-bought citizens of God’s kingdom.
The Christian is too good to act and live like people in the world.
Keep increasing in knowledge! II Peter 1:10-11
Colossians 1:11-12
We are to do these things with joy and thanksgiving.
We should be thankful to live on a higher plane, above earthly pleasures that can’t compare to the spiritual riches we have in God.
A Christian
Prays for others
Desires to be filled with knowledge of God’s will
In wisdom and understanding
Walks worthy of the Lord
Is fruitful in every good work
Is strengthened in the gospel’s power
Gives thanks to God for being partaker in the inheritance of the saints of light
30 min
May 31, 2015The Singularity of Christ’s Church and Why it Matters
Acts 20:28
In the Bible, there is only one church
Several passages refer to the church in singular
Matthew 16:18
Ephesians 4:4; 1:22
We also know this because of what the word church means
Ephesians 5:23-30
Hebrews 12:22-24
Why it matters
So we understand the singularity of Christ’s doctrine
Ephesians 4:4-6
John 17:20-21
Acts 2:38
So we understand that our loyalty is to Christ
Acts 11:19-26
I Corinthians 1:9-15
Matthew 23:8-10 – The Bible says nothing about clergy/laity distinctions. Religious titles are forbidden.
I Corinthians 3:4-11, 21-4:1
I Corinthians 4:17
I Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 5:24
Ephesians 4:4-6 – There is one Lord, one faith, one church, and one baptism.
30 min
May 31, 20154 Simple Steps to Become More Like Jesus this Week
I John 2:1-6
Jesus cared about people
Matthew 23:37
Luke 19:1-10 – Zaccheus
Paul
II Corinthians 11:28
What you can do this week
Spend 15 minutes thinking about others. Luke 6:43-45
Jesus prayed
Luke 6:12-13; 5:16
Paul imitated Jesus in this
Philippians 1:9-10; Colossians 1:9 – Paul often prayed for others
Ephesians 6:19-20; I Thessalonians 5:25 – Paul asked others to pray for him
II Thessalonians 1:11 – Paul believed that prayer worked and that one should pray “always”
What you can do this week
Pray for:
Government and leaders – I Timothy 2:1-2
Other Christians – Ephesians 3:14-19
Ourselves – Luke 18:13
Jesus served
Mark 10:43-45 – Jesus came to serve
John 13:5-17 – Jesus washes the apostles’ feet
Paul imitated Jesus in this
Romans 1:14 – Paul viewed himself as a servant
I Corinthians 9:16-23
What can you do this week?
Do some act of service for someone!
Jesus sacrificed for the will of the Father
I Peter 2:21; John 15:13 – Jesus is the quintessential example of sacrifice
Paul imitated Jesus in this
Philippians 3:4-8 – Paul sacrificed much to be a Christian
II Corinthians 12:15
What you can do this week:
Replace something earthly with something spiritual.
30 min
May 27, 2015Sprinting Through the Old Testament, Part 9
I Samuel 9 – I Kings 11; I Chronicles 1 – II Chronicles 9; Psalms; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Solomon
United Kingdom
Saul, David, and Solomon each ruled for 40 years. The united kingdom lasted for 120 years.
Summary of events
Saul: disobedient and insecure
David: warrior and pet; sins but repents; deeply loves God
Solomon: God-given wisdom and wealth; allowed wives to turn him from God
The more blessings, the more potential …
I Kings 3:12-14; 10:14, 23-24, 27
Do we have any blessings in America, and what potential is unlocked with those blessings?
God’s blessings can be revoked!
I Samuel 15:26-28
I Chronicles 28:7-9
I Kings 9:1-9
James 5:19-20
Solomon’s wisdom and sin
I Kings 3:5, 9, 12, 28 … 11:1-4
30 min
May 24, 2015What Hinders Me From Being Baptized?
Acts 8
Acts 8:5-8, 12 – Many in Samaria were receptive to God’s Word.
Acts 8:26-38 – The eunuch is baptized after Philip teaches him.
“What hinders me from being baptized?”
Lack of faith
Acts 8:37; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:12; Hebrews 11:6
Unwilling to repent
Acts 2:38; Ephesians 4:17-29
Influence of family/friends
Matthew 10:32-39; Luke 16:25-31
Pride
II Kings 5:9-14 – Naaman
30 min
May 24, 2015True Worship of God
I Kings 12:24-33 – Jeroboam devises his own way of worshiping by leads the people into idolatry.
Many Israelites believed they could worship the one true God through the golden calf. Many people still believe God can be worshipped this way through bowing down to images of the cross or other things.
I Corinthians 10:11
Genesis 4:3-7
Hebrews 11:4 – Abel offered worship by faith – not by guess!
Leviticus 10:1 – Nadab and Abihu sinned in how they worshipped.
John 4:20-22 – The Samaritans were still practicing Jeroboam’s sins.
It matters how we worship God!
I Corinthians 14:14-15 – Our worship must be with spirit and understanding.
Ephesians 5:19
Colossians 3:16
30 min

About ScriptureStream

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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…

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