ScriptureStream

ScriptureStream

By Mark WatsonSociety & CultureReligion & SpiritualityChristianityPhilosophy
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ScriptureStream episodes

  • Giving

    • Everything that one has is the result of a gift.

    • Life - Genesis 2:7

    • Abilities - Psalms 23:1

    • This calls for us to be grateful and a giving people.

    • Why give?

    • God needs nothing that we have. Acts 17:27

    • But we need to give - need the blessing God bestows for service.

    • To have a correct view of God’s attitude toward giving, we must carefully consider what He has said:

    • Honors God (Proverbs 3:9

    • Is a mark of righteousness (Proverbs 21:25-26

    • Is a grace (II Corinthians 8:7

    • Failure to give robs God (Malachi 3:8

    • God hates covetousness (Psalms 10:3

    • Our giving is to be:

    • I Corinthians 16:2

    • Regular

    • Personal - every one of you

    • As prospered

    • II Corinthians 8:8

    • Because of love

    • Willingly, not because of pressure

    • Bountifully, not sparingly

    • Planned and purposed

    • Not grudgingly

    • The gift that takes care of it all

    • II Corinthians 8:5 - “They first gave their own selves to the Lord.”

      30 min
    • "I'm Spiritual But Not Religious"

      • Galatians 6:1 - how the words “spiritual” and “religious” are used in the Bible.

      • What must we do?

      • Honor God instead of self.

      • Colossians 2:20-23 - the danger of self-made religion

      • Find the true religion.

      • Mark 7:1-9

      • Many are fed up with the hypocrisy of many organized religions. Their reaction should be to find true religion.

      • I Corinthians 14:37 - We must be careful to not follow anything except the Bible.

      • I Timothy 4:1-6 - how to be a good servant of God

      • II Timothy 4:3-4

      • Realize that we cannot save ourselves.

      • Psalms 49:5-10 - Only God can save us.

      • Ephesians 2:13-18 - Jesus is our path to redemption.

      • Acts 17:22-31

        30 min
      • The Fruit of the Spirit, Part 3: Joy

        • Here’s the main point the Bible will teach us about joy:

        • A Christian’s joy emanates from the saved relationship - its hope of heaven plus any current blessings.

        • I Peter 1:8

        • What can we learn about the source of joy from passages such as Hebrews 10:32-36?

        • Acts 22:4-5

        • “knowing that you have a better possession and an abiding one”

        • What was it that elicited the rejoicing on the part of the Ethiopian man (Acts 8:38-39?

        • They had been baptized into Christ! They now experienced the joy of salvation.

        • Psalms 51:8-14

        • Matthew 13:44

        • What was Paul’s circumstance when he was inspired to write Philippians (Philippians 1:7?

        • He was in prison.

        • What can we learn about joy from the book of Philippians?

        • Joy comes from:

        • Being saved

        • Being in fellowship with other saved people

        • Being able to get others saved

        • What does the Bible mean when it describes people who were, for instance, “continually filled with joy” (Acts 13:52?

        • Continual joy is the long term attitude of joy that is not threatened by the ups and downs of life.

        • Hebrews 12:11

        • If others see a Christian being truly joyful, it has a good influence on them.

          30 min
        • Examining Ourselves
          • II Corinthians 13:5-6 - the importance of examining ourselves
          • When we examine ourselves, we must try to see ourselves from God’s perspective. It is too easy to compare ourselves to someone who is not serving God as they should and feel superior to them.
          • It is difficult to get people to examine themselves because often they are afraid of what they might find.
          • Many refuse to truly examine themselves for fear of hurting their personal pride.
          • Apostasy is gradual. We must examine ourselves continually to make sure we are not drifting.
          • If all we do is “hold our own” with our faith, we will end up the same way as the one talent man in Matthew 25.
          • Signs of apostasy:
            • Loss of spiritual appetite.
            • An aversion to straightforward Bible teaching.
              • 30 min
            • Spiritual Planning

              • Acts 2:22-23 - the plan that God made for our salvation

              • Planning is a way to use blessings and fulfill responsibilities wisely.

              • I Chronicles 28:10-11 - examples of planning

              • Matthew 16:26 - Shouldn’t we make plans to take care of our soul?

              • Excuses we made for not planning:

              • “Planning takes the future for granted.” (James 4:13-15

              • Planning should be done with the right attitude.

              • “Planning is not as good as doing.”

              • Planning helps us to do well.

              • “We need to live by faith.” (II Corinthians 5:6

              • Planning does not prevent us from walking by faith.

              • What can you start planning?

              • Plan to get the most out of Bible classes and sermons. Ezra 7:10

              • Plan to read the Bible. Matthew 19:3-4

              • Plan to reach out to someone by the end of April. John 1:29

              • Plan to teach a kids’ Bible class. Ecclesiastes 12:1

                30 min
              • Hebrews 8:1-13
                • Hebrews 8:6 - This verse sums up the point of the writer of the entire book of Hebrews.
                • Hebrews 8:8.
                • Hebrews 8:11 - Under the New Covenant, people would know the Lord before being in the kingdom. Under the Old Covenant, people were born into the covenant relationship and then taught about God. It is impossible to serve God without knowing Him.
                • Hebrews 8:13, the first covenant was made obsolete and it gradually disappeared.
                  • 30 min
                • Fruit of the Spirit, Part 2: Love

                  • Deity is the perfect example of love.

                  • Love is an action.

                  • Galatians 5:22 - The fruit of the Spirit is love.

                  • I Corinthians 13:1-8 - the Holy Spirit’s description of love

                  • John 13:34-35 - Jesus was to be the example to the apostles of how to love. He is our example, too.

                  • I John 4:7-11 - Learning about God and His love for us helps us understand love and motivates us to love others.

                  • Notice two points in the way God loved mankind:

                  • He took the initiative.

                  • He solved our problem at His own expense.

                  • Matthew 22:35-40 - Jesus enumerates the two greatest commandments:

                  • Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

                  • Love your neighbor as yourself.

                  • I John 3:16-18

                  • Matthew 16:26 - We ought to demonstrate appropriate love for self by doing what we need to for our souls.

                  • All of our earthly relationships benefit greatly when we demonstrate true love.

                    30 min
                  • Day By Day Resolutions
                    • To study the Bible regularly, frequently, and diligently. (I Timothy 4:13
                    • To pray often and fervently. (I Thessalonians 5:17
                    • To teach the word more (Matthew 28:20
                    • To give liberally and willingly.
                    • To have fellowship in all scriptural functions of the congregation when possible.
                    • To love my brethren and work in unity with them in all things in the Lord. (Romans 12:18
                    • To serve in such a way as to cause the congregation to grow; not to live so as to hold it back.
                    • To keep self pure in manner of living.
                    • To keep church pure.
                    • To become more Christ-like day by day.
                    • Summed up: to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. (II Peter 3:18
                      • 30 min
                    • Hebrews 7:5-28
                      • Hebrews 7:12 - With Jesus now our high priest, it is clear that a new law must be in place.
                      • Hebrews 7:14. This verse is also instructive on the power of the silence of the scriptures. God spoke nothing about a priest from the tribe of Judah, so a priest from that tribe was not permitted under the Old Law. This principle has broad application in many areas of the New Law, especially in the work of the church and how we are to worship God.
                      • Hebrews 7:25 - Under the Old Law, the high priest was responsible for making intercession for the people before God. As our new high priest, Jesus now carries out this function.
                      • Hebrews 7:28 - “made perfect forever”: Jesus was always sinless, but He was not perfect in the sense of being complete until He completed His mission on earth.
                        • 30 min
                      • Fruit of the Spirit, Part 1

                        [Sorry, no audio for this lesson. Sadly, the microphone died in the middle of class.]

                        • Galatians

                        • From the apostle Paul (Galatians 1:1

                        • To the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:2

                        • They were deserting God and going to a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-9!

                        • Galatians 5:1-13 - In what sense are Christians free?

                        • In this context, Christians are free from the law of Moses.

                        • Galatians 5:16-17 - Contrast between the flesh and the spirit.

                        • Galatians 5 - Is “spirit” here talking about man’s spiritual nature or the Holy Spirit?

                        • People disagree on this.

                        • If this is talking about a man’s spirit, is the passage teaching that a human’s spirit is allowed to follow its own path (cf. Jeremiah 10:23? No!

                        • If this is talking about the Holy Spirit, is the passage teaching that a human’s spirit is not involved in serving God (cf. Romans 1:9? No!

                        • Does a spiritually-minded person follow the Holy Spirit-inspired scripture? Yes!

                        • The Holy Spirit often uses the word “fruit” figuratively to mean the effect that God’s word has in one’s life. It might be a quality that is developed or an action that is taken.

                          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…