The goal of our preaching is a “good conscience.” Our conscience is designed to help guide us to do what is right. Whether or not it does this depends on how it is trained. To accomplish this goal, we need to understand more about the conscience. There are at least six different types of conscience addressed in the New Testament. We will consider them here.

You may be questioning the title. After all, there was no Christmas in the first-century church. Yet the observance of Christmas is widespread today. Is that compatible with what we read about the early church? And does it matter? The commonly held view of Christmas is that it is a celebration of the birth of Christ. We are going to take the commonly held view of Christmas and see if it fits into the New Testament.

The term “legalism” has a strong negative connotation for many. It is not found in the Bible, but it has been coined to describe a certain approach to the Bible. Legalism is associated with the idea of strictness, narrow-mindedness, and being judgmental. Yet there is more to legalism than the popular concept.

Jesus told Pilate He came to “testify to the truth” (John 18:37). Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). This may not have been a sincere inquiry, but it is a vitally important question. God is the ultimate source of truth (Hebrews 6:18), and truth is found in His word (Psalm 119:160; John 17:17). It is critical that we understand that truth is contained in the Scriptures. Yet simply acknowledging this is not enough. There are certain things we must DO with truth.

God’s people are to practice contentment. Like Paul, we need to practice this in every circumstance. However, we need to understand what contentment is. Many claim contentment but are really immature, disobedient, cowardly, lazy, or apathetic instead. In this lesson, we are going to consider what the Bible says about contentment – what it is and is not.

Jesus taught His disciples about the need to forgive those who sin against them. Yet it is not always easy to do this, especially when the sin is habitual – seven times a day (Luke 17:4) or seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). However, as the Lord’s disciples, we must be willing to forgive others as He has forgiven us. What does this forgiveness look like?

Paul began this chapter by telling Timothy of his role in making disciples (v. 2). He mentioned three “occupations” that illustrated Timothy’s work as a preacher. Two of these were directly related to the work of making disciples (soldier and farmer). In a related passage, Paul mentioned another related “occupation” – a shepherd (1 Corinthians 9:7). The work of making disciples is ongoing. We do it by doing the work of the farmer, the shepherd, and the soldier.

God created the world, and it operates according to the rules He established. This includes times of “seedtime and harvest” (Genesis 8:22). The outcome of the harvest depends (in part) on what was planted, when it was planted, and how it was done. This illustration of sowing and reaping is used throughout the Bible. As we consider some passages that describe sowing and reaping, we learn about what we are to do, what we are to avoid, and what the consequences are of our choices.

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the togetherness of brethren in the early church. Shortly after the church was established, the first Christians were meeting and eating together. Many churches today host “fellowship meals” – meals hosted by a congregation and conducted as part of the church’s work. But was Luke describing a church-sponsored meal? If not, are these meals at least authorized?

It is good and necessary to revisit certain topics from time to time. We do not want to “drift away” from what we have learned previously (Hebrews 2:1). Some topics are so foundational that they affect what we believe, teach, and practice (individually and collectively). The topic of bible authority is one of these foundational topics. We will take another look at it here, perhaps in a different way to help reinforce the concept for us.