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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, January 29, 2012

• Prayer is one of the greatest privileges that God has given His children. (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25)
• He speaks to us through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).
• His children speak to Him through His Son. (I Timothy 2:5)
• “The Man, Jesus Christ” made this possible.
• He is mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6) by means of death (Hebrews 9:15).
• Elements of acceptable prayer
• To Deity (Colossians 1:3; John 15:16; I John 5:11-15)
• Through our mediator, the MAN Jesus (I Timothy 2:5)
• In faith (James 1:6-7)
• If it be God’s will (I John 5:14)
• With the spirit and understanding (I Corinthians 14:15)
• With the right motives (James 4:3)
• Be forgiving (Mark 11:25-26)
• Be a doer of His will (I John 3:22)
• Pray frequently
• Romans 12:12 – Continue instant in prayer.
• Ephesians 6:18 – Pray always.
• I Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray without ceasing.
• Luke 11:1-8 – Be importunate in prayer.
• But how and whose prayer is answered?
• How?
• We can only know that which is revealed.
• In spiritual things (Luke 23:34; Acts 2:36-38)
• In physical things (James 5:17-18; I Kings 18:41-46)
• Whose?
• I Peter 3:12 – If one is not a Christian, he is void of all spiritual blessings, including prayer and hope of eternal life.

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By David Watson

Benchley, January 29, 2012

• Matthew 13:3-23 – parable of the sower, or of the soils
• Do I make the effort to understand the Word?
• It is out responsibility to make an effort to understand God’s Word.
• Acts 17:1-4 – Many were persuaded after listening to Paul.
• Acts 17:5-8 – The wrong attitude to God’s Word is on display.
• Acts 17:10-12 – The people of Berea show the proper attitude.
• Acts 17:30-31 – What is our attitude to these kinds of passages about what we must do?
• Do I let the word take root?
• Matthew 13:20-21
• I Timothy 4:15-16 – We must always move forward in our faith.
• Colossians 2:5 – Paul rejoiced in the steadfastness of their faith.
• Do I let the world and wealth choke the world?
• Luke 12:15-21 – the dangers of preoccupation with wealth
• Do I hear the Word, understand it, and bear fruit?
• John 6:66-68 – Peter’s confession of faith
• Romans 3:23-24 – We all need God’s grace
• Romans 6:3-4 – If we are going to be good soil, we must be receptive to the fact that we must be baptized so that we can walk in newness of life.

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, January 29, 2012

• Hebrews 9:15-17 – The writer here is comparing old and new covenants – not the testaments. The translation in the King James Version obscures the meaning of this passage somewhat, but other translations make it clearer.
• Testament:
• Testator
• Gift
• Heirs
• Conditions
• Death of testator
• Executor
• Probated
• When conditions met and the gift received, it is not reversible.
• Covenant:
• Covenant maker
• Mediator
• Death of sacrifice
• Relationsip established
• Must continue in the conditions of the covenant to maintain this relationship.
• In this text:
• There is a covenant maker.
• There is a mediator.
• There is a blood sacrifice.
• There is a relationship established.
• This relationship must be maintained to be blessed under the conditions of the covenant.

Everyone is invited to the Spring Study Series–a chance to open up the Bible and turn our thoughts to spiritual truths!

Click the flyer below to download the printable PDF version.  For a map to the church building, click here. We hope to see you there!

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By David Watson

Benchley, January 25, 2012

• Peace with God
• Acts 10:36; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:11-22 – Peace with God is the restored relationship we have with God through forgiveness of sins.
• If we want peace with God, we can only have that through Jesus Christ. (Acts 10:34-36)
• Peace with self (conscience)
• John 14:27; 16:33; Philippians 4:6-9 – True peace with self only comes as a result of true peace with God. A clean conscience is a blessing from God.
• I Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8; I Timothy 1:15 – Did the apostle Paul have peace with self? Yes. We must recognize the difference between a guilty conscience and regret.
• Peace with self does not require spiritual amnesia. It requires current service to God and humility from past sins.
• Peace with people
• Romans 12:18; Colossians 3:12-15 – To what extent can and should we achieve peace with others? We must achieve peace with others to the extent that it depends on us (and we can do so within God’s law).

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, January 22, 2012

• Everything that one has is the result of a gift.
• Life – Genesis 2:7; Job 12:9-10
• Abilities – Psalms 23:1; James 1:17
• This calls for us to be grateful and a giving people.
• Why give?
• God needs nothing that we have. Acts 17:27; Psalms 50:10-12
• 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; Colossians 3:6)
• Our giving is to be:
• I Corinthians 16:2
• Regular
• Personal – every one of you
• As prospered
• II Corinthians 8:8,12; 9:6-7
• 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.”

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By David Watson

Benchley, January 22, 2012

• Galatians 6:1; James 1:26 – 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; Galatians 1:6-9 – 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 49:5-10,15 – Only God can save us.
• Ephesians 2:13-18 – Jesus is our path to redemption.
• Acts 17:22-31

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, January 23, 2012

• Hebrews 9:1-5 – Under the New Covenant, all Christians are priests (I Peter 2:6). Jesus is our high priest.
• Hebrews 9:7 – See Leviticus 16:12-15. The high priest went into the Holy of Holies one day a year, but he went in three times on that day.
• Hebrews 9:10 – The “time of reformation” was the time when the New Covenant was put into place and the Old Covenant was done away with.

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By David Watson

Benchley, January 18, 2012

• 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) and the jailer (Acts 16:33-34)?
• They had been baptized into Christ! They now experienced the joy of salvation.
• Psalms 51:8-14
• Matthew 13:44; 16:26
• What was Paul’s circumstance when he was inspired to write Philippians (Philippians 1:7,13-14,17)?
• 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; John 16:20-22
• If others see a Christian being truly joyful, it has a good influence on them.

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By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, Nauary 15, 2012

• II Corinthians 113:5-6 – 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.