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ScriptureStream episodes
- Toward Spiritual Maturity, Part 5
- Christian graces, continued:
- Brotherly kindness - Proverbs 31:26
- Love - what should we love?
- God - Matthew 22:37
- Our spouse - Ephesians 5:25
- Our brethren - Galatians 5:13
- Our children - Titus 2:3-5
- Our parents - Ephesians 6:1-2
- Not the world - I John 2:15
- Wisdom: Proverbs 4:6
- Truth - Proverbs 23:23
- Enemies: Matthew 5:44
- Not money: I Timothy 6:10
- Prayer
- What prayer is
- How often to pray - Luke 18:1-8
- Example of those who prayed
- Abraham - Genesis 12:7-8
- Jacob - Genesis 32:9-12
- Moses - Exodus 32:11-13
- Jesus - Matthew 14:23
- Paul - Ephesians 3:14-21
- Peter - Acts 9:40
- Cornelius - Acts 10:1-2
- Who should we pray for?
- Elders
- Enemies - Matthew 5:44
- Civil authorities - I timothy 2:1-3
- Those who preach the gospel - Acts 12:5
- The church - James 5:16
- What should we pray for?
- Food/necessities - Matthew 6:11
- Spiritual strength in others - Ephesians 3:14-19
- Forgiveness of sins - Matthew 6:12
- Deliverance from temptation - Matthew 6:13
- To ease suffering - James 5:13
- Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding - James 1:5-7
- Unity
- Peace - I Timothy 2:1-2
- Laborers in God’s harvest - Matthew 9:38
- To whom are we to pray?
- God - John 16:23
- To whom do we not pray?
- Anyone else (Mary, angels, dead saints, etc.)!
- We can pray to Jesus: Acts 7:59
30 min - 30 min
- Musical Worship, Part 1
- God authorized singing.
- Matthew 26:30
- Arguments and questions
- Instruments are just aids, like pitch pipes or song books.
- Instruments are an addition, not just an aid.
- When God authorizes an action, then any non-sinful methods or aids that fall under the umbrella of completing that action are also authorized.
- The Greek word psallo includes instruments.
- No, it doesn’t, and it never did.
- Psallo only meant “sing” in the New Testament.
- What is the history of instrumental music in worship?
- In the beginning, there was none.
- AD 670 - first organ in a Roman Catholic church
- Late 1200s - organs became generally accepted
- 1500s - organs were found in nearly ever important Roman Catholic church
- Late 1500s - instruments absent from “reformed” churches
- Who changed?
30 min - The Holy Spirit, Part 1
The person of the Holy Spirit
- The Bible does not contradict itself (I Corinthians 14:33. This implies that not all the perspectives on the Holy Spirit that men come up with are going to be true.
- Person: a conscious being that possesses individuality and identity.
- Individual: a distinct and undivided being.
- Being: a living and existing thing.
- The oneness doctrine: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all different manifestations of the same being.
- Isaiah 9:6 is often used as a prooftext for this belief.
- Passages that show the Holy Spirit executes judment: Acts 5
- In John 16:13-14, Jesus uses masculine personal pronouns to refer to the Holy Spirit, which indicates that the Holy Spirit is an individual person.
- The Holy Spirit is a distinct person from Father and the Son (Luke 3:22.
- Actions in which the Holy Spirit is shown to have fellowship with Christ and the Father: Ephesians 4
- The Holy Spirit is deity (Acts 5:1-4.
30 min - The Fear of Flying
- Why we fly
- To reach our Savior
- Christianity is all about Christ; Christ is all about excellence (Colossians 3:1).
- We lose our lives (Matthew 16:24-25).
- To reach our potential
- We should not settle for anything less than our best (Philippians 3:12-16).
- Our “best”so far isn’t enough (Romans 3:23).
- Jesus saves us to change us (Romans 12:1).
- God helps diligent motivated seekers find His path (Hebrews 11:6).
- Why we fear
- Too challenging.
- God’s big blessings require a big effort (I Timothy 4:10).
- What we should fear is losing our birthright because we were not brave enough to claim it (Hebrews 4:1-3).
- Too different
- Getting comfortable in our successes is a reason for change, not inertia (Deuteronomy 32:11).
- God pushes us to excel, but He is there to catch us when we falter.
- Jesus says, “Come”
- It’s possible: Jesus wouldn’t ask something of us we could not deliver (Matthew 14:28-29).
- It’s taxing: Jesus will put you to work if you come to Him (Mark 1:17).
- It’s costly: He calls it “a pearl of great price” with reason (Matthew 13:45-46).
- It’s rewarding: The rest He provides (Matthew 11:28) is worth the effort.
- Jesus will save
- We rob ourselves of “walk on water” moments because we doubt His power to see us through (Matthew 14:30-31).
- Jesus will pick us up so we can try again (Philippians 1:6).
- Jesus can calm the sea
- Jesus may remove our problem, or he may just empower us to deal with it (Philippians 1:12-14).
- Either way, no storm can separate us from Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).
- He will shake our house for us today if we ask.
30 min - The Fear of Failure
- A failure vs. a person who fails
- The question is not whether we will fail, but how we will respond when we fail.
- Will failing be a stumbling block or a stepping sone (Proverbs 24:16)?
- Real failure is when you abandon your post.
- The one talent man (Matthew 25:24-30) assured his own failure by not pursuing success.
- Wicked: God considers inaction to be as evil as inappropriate actions.
- Slothful: Excuses for passivity are often just cloaks for laziness (Proverbs 22:13).
- Real failure is when you abandon your post.
- Paul had a stewardship entrusted to him (I Corinthians 9:16-17), and he was determined to be faithful in it.
- He knew from the beginning how much he would suffer for the Lord (Acts 9:16).
- He learned to endure, even appreciate, his “thorns” (II Corinthians 12:7-10).
- Are you willing to “take the shot”?
- Real failure is when you hedge your efforts.
- Demas was willing to be a “fellow worker” with Paul (Philemon 1:24).
- He “loved this present world” (II Timothy 4:9) and abandoned him.
- Was it the lust of the eye? The lust of the flesh? The pride of life? (I John 2:16)
- Whatever it was, it wasn’t his “first love” (Revelation 2:4-5).
- The widow (Luke 21:1-4).
- Her commitment to God’s work did not depend on her circumstances.
- Jesus cared about the hearts of the people, not the rocks of the temple.
- Are you committed or just involved?
- Real failure is when you “surrender to your past”.
- Judas did not see the significance of his betrayal until too late (Matthew 27:3-5).
- He could have been brought to repentance (II Corinthians 7:9-10).
- Instead he was driven to despair.
- If Jesus forgives us, we must find a way to forgive ourselves.
- “God is greater than our heart” (I John 3:20).
- Peter did not see the significance of his betrayal untill too late (Matthew 26:69-75).
- He trusted in Jesus, not himself (Matthew 14:28-32).
30 min - The Fear of Being Alone
- Lonely feelings vs. loneliness
- Loneliness is an obsession, not a feeling.
- “Finding someone” does not cure loneliness; it merely masks symptoms temporarily.
- Treating lonely feeling is easy and fulfilling, but it is not a long-term cure.
- God offers a real cure; are you brave enough to take it?
- God doesn’t want us to be alone.
- We need the strength fellowship provides (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.
- That fellowship must be on His terms.
- The greatest loneliness is isolation from God (Psalm 42:1-3.
- To cure loneliness …
- Think future, not present.
- Lonely ones pick comfort over security.
- The rich fool (Luke 12:16-21 thought he was planning ahead; he was really just planning to “eat, drink, and be merry”.
- No relationship is worth putting your soul at risk (I Corinthians 15:33.
- Lonely ones pick encouragement over growth.
- “You’re okay the way you are” is not always what a lonely person needs to say.
- Nor is it what he/she needs to hear (Revelation 3:19.
- Think others, not self.
- Loneliness is not “my problem, your fault”.
- Waiting for others to fix our loneliness is selfish, prideful, and doomed to failure (Proverbs 18:1.
- We need to put ourselves on the other end of Matthew 20:26
- Trade doubts for faith.
- We serve a God of mountains and valleys (I Kings 20:23.
- Trust God means accepting His will (Philippians 4:12-13.
30 min - 30 min
- The Fear of the Dark
- Darkness is …
- Where the devil reigns
- The “domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13.
- The world is dark because “the prince of darkness” rules over it (John 12:31.
- All who live under his reign are his slaves (I John 5:19.
- Demon possession was unique to the 1st century, but spiritual warfare has always been (II Kings 6:17.
- If God’s angels carry out His will on earth (Hebrews 1:14.
- They are everywhere, promoting “the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:1-3.
- Where sin abounds
- Most people prefer Satan’s darkness to God’s light (John 3:19-20.
- Where we learn of hell
- Being separated permanently from God’s light will be the worst part of hell (Matthew 25:30.
- Banish darkness by …
- Recognizing light
- God provides an alternative to darkness (Isaiah 9:2.
- Through faith we can see the light (Acts 26:18.
- Embracing light
- Our initial choice must be followed by a continual choice (Ephesians 5:8.
- Becoming light
- We are driving to share the light of Jesus (Ephesians 5:11-13.
- It is our duty to take the battle to Satan (Romans 13:12.
- Failure to do so shows a lack of light in ourhearts (Matthew 6:22-23.
30 min - The Fear of the Future
- The future is God’s
- We fear the future because we cannot control it. (James 4:13-16
- Christians turn the future over to God. (Proverbs 23:17-18
- God is not focused on life’s minutia, nor should we be. (Matthew 6:31-32
- God focuses on eternity. (I Timothy 6:18-19
- We are clay in His hands. (Jeremiah 18:1-6.
- If we turn out wrong, it is because we are pressing toward our idea of the future and not God’s (Romans 9:20
- Will we have the faith and humility to accept His plan, or insist on our own? (Jeremiah 29:11
- Are we grabbers or givers?
- Ecclesiastes 11:1
- The people of this world are afraid to let go of control they don’t really have.
- We give God our present (Psalms 112:5-9
- We also give God our future.
- If Abraham was willing to offer up Isaac (Genesis 22:12, we can bend our vision of the future to serve His purposes.
- Are we campers or claimers?
- Israel chose the wilderness because they feared the future would be worse (Numbers 13-14.
- Are we as dissatisfied with the status quo as God is? (II Chronicles 5:1-4
- Are we waiters or walkers?
- The time is now to seize your destiny.
- The Jordan didn’t stop flowing until the priests stepped into the river (Joshua 3:14-16.
- The most hazardous time to walk may be the most crucial (Ezekiel 13:5.
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…
and additional resources for Bible study.