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By David Watson

Benchley, October 26, 2011

• Signs of confirmation
• Judges 6:33-40 – Gideon asks God for signs of confirmation.
• Matthew 12:38-40 – Jesus refuses to give a sign to the scribes and Pharisees.
• Luke 23:8-9 – Jesus would not perform a sign for Herod.
• John 20:24-29 – Thomas investigates the proof of Jesus’ crucifixion.
• Exodus 4:1-5 – God gives signs to Moses.
• Choosing the 300 (Judges 7:1-8)
• God reduced the size of Gideon’s army to prevent pride.
• The battle and aftermath (Judges 7:9-8:23)

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, October 23, 2011

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By David Watson

Benchley, October 23, 2011

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, October 23, 2011

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By David Watson

Benchley, October 19, 2011

• Hebrews 11:32
• The period of the judges was roughly 1380-1050 BC.
• Judges 2:7-19 – summary of the period of the judges
• Judges 17:6 – Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The people were not relying on God!
• Israel calls for help.
• Judges 6:1-10 – The Midianites afflict the Israelites.
• The angel visits Gideon.
• Judges 6:11-24
• Gideon s. Baal
• Judges 6:25-32 – God gives Gideon his first mission: cutting down his father’s idol.

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By Caleb Anderson

Benchley, October 16, 2011

• I Corinthians 1:17-29
• “It contradicts science!”
• Genesis 1
• I Corinthians 15:3-4
• Job 38:2-38 – There is much about the world that we don’t understand.
• “It violates what we know is right!”
• Romans 1:24-27 – Homosexuality must be put away.
• I Timothy 2:11-15 – Women must be in subjection.
• “It values gullibility and a lack of intelligence!”
• John 20:29
• Hebrews 11:1-3
• I Peter 3:15 – We must have a reason for our faith!
• “It forbids things that aren’t evil!”
• Romans 1:28-2:2
• Matthew 19:9
• I Corinthians 15:13-19
• Romans 2:12; I Timothy 1:8-11 – God’s word defines good and evil.
• “It preys on the crushed and the hopeless!”
• Matthew 11:28-30
• Acts 2:36-39
• Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
• “It is egocentric!”
• Ephesians 1:3-6
• Romans 8:26-30
• Ephesians 2:4-10 – It is not anything special about us – God sent Jesus to die for all of us!
• Luke 15:4-7
• “I am the Way!”
• John 14:6
• I Corinthians 1:25-2:16

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By David Wtason

Benchley, October 16, 2011

• Genesis 30:22-24
• Joseph maintained his faith:
• In the face of temptation
• Genesis 39:6-12 – Joseph escapes from Potiphar’s wife
• II Peter 2:4-11
• Proverbs 1:10
• Over the long haul
• Acts 7:9-15
• Genesis 37:23-24,28,36; 39:2-3,20-21; 41:1,14-16,51-52; 50:19-21
• Hebrews 11:13; 4:9-11; 12:3
• At the time of death
• Hebrews 11:22; Genesis 5:22-26 – Joseph knew God would fulfill His promises even after his death.
• I Corinthians 15:35,42-44 – We don’t know all the details of the afterlife.

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By David Watson

Benchley, October 16, 2011

• Genesis 1:27; 2:20-24 – God creates man and woman.
• I Corinthians 6:9-10 – Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• Arguments for a genetic link
• Study #1 – Simon LeVay: “A difference in hypothalamus structure between heterosexual and homosexual men exists.”
• Problems:
• AIDS may have skewed results
• Orientations were uncertain
• INAH-3 may be irrelevant
• No proven cause-effect
• Hasn’t been repeated
• Study #2 – Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard
• Problems:
• Skewed sample
• Weak results
• Hasn’t been repeated
• Study #3 – Dean Hamer, et. al.
• Problems
• No control group
• Xq28 absent on some homosexuals
• Xq28 present on some heterosexuals
• Xq28 may be irrelevant
• Skewed sample
• Bad math
• Hasn’t been repeated
• Arguments against a genetic link
• Genetics don’t dictate behavior
• James 1:13-15 – God does not tempt anyone Himself.
• Ephesians 4:19
• A “gay gene” would soon disappear
• Genesis 6:19 – How would a “gay gene” be carried on? Those who had it would tend to not reproduce.
• Many homosexuals have changed (I Corinthians 6:11)
• There is a strong correlation between environmental influences and homosexuality (Genesis 18:32; 19:4-5).
• What about homosexuality in animals? Titus 1:12; II Peter 2:12; Jude 2:10
• The bottom line
• Genesis 19:7; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; I Corinthians 6:9; I Timothy 1:10
• Romans 1:24-27

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By David Watson

Benchley, October 12, 2011

• Mark 16:9-20 – Some argue that this section uses different words and phrases than are used elsewhere in Mark. Others criticize this as a very weak argument for the omission of these verses. Some also argue that the language does show that Mark wrote it. The majority of old manuscripts (with the exception of the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) include these verses.
• Mark 16:17 – This is specifically referring to the apostles, although it may also refer to those who believed and had been given spiritual gifts by the apostles. It certainly does not refer to all believers up to the present time, as we know from other passages.
• Conclusions: points to remember
• The Gospel of Action
• This was written to a people under persecution. It shows why people should risk persecution to follow Jesus. Mark concentrates on the miracles of Jesus to show His power.
• Less is more
• Mark gives a much shorter telling of the story than the other gospels. He is brief in his writing and skips details in order to get to the main point quickly.
• Jesus is Lord

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By Aaron O’Neal

Benchley, October 9, 2011

• Acts 17:16-34 – The Athenians desired to constantly hear new things.
• What are we spending our time on?
• Do we desire to hear new things? II Timothy 4:3-6
• Do we thing of ourselves as wise? Romans 1:22
• The Bible teaches us that God is wise. I Corinthians 1:20-25
• When the Bible speaks about man being wise, it speaks of following His word and winning souls!
• Proverbs 11:30; II Timothy 3:15
• Ecclesiastes 12:13 – True wisdom = following God
• Who is wise in this passage (Acts 17:21)?
• Those that spent their time in nothing but to learn new things?
• Paul who was seeking to save souls? (Acts 17:34)
• “New things”
• When we start talking about new things today we are talking about man’s wisdom, not God’s. I Corinthians 13:10
• Conclusions
• If we want to be wise, we should spend our time seeking to save souls.
• Increase in knowledge of God’s word (Hebrews 5:12).
• We should always search the scripture for truth (Acts 17:11).