Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, February 15, 2012

• Matthew 19:16-17; Ephesians 5:9 – How can we know who or what is good? God is the basis for what is good. He decides what is good and informs us through His word.
• Examples of firm “goodness” include Jesus cleansing the temple (Matthew 21) and rebuking the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23). How does this compare to our modern culture’s view of “goodness,” especially goodness in religion?
• A good religious person will find truth and follow it sincerely.
• Matthew 7:17-19; Luke 6:35; I Timothy 6:18 – Is a Christian’s life characterized by simply abstaining from sinful activities? Certainly not! We must go out and do good!
• Matthew 7:13 – Many people tend to do what is easy instead of what is good.
• In what way does Tabitha serve as an example of “good words” (Acts 9:36-39)? Her service was a way of life, not just an isolated instance or two of goodness.
• III John 1 – What can we learn from one man who was evil (Diotrephes) and two who were good (Gaius and Demetrius)?
• Being prideful and making it difficult for others to serve God is certainly not good.
• Walking in truth and helping others as Gaius and Demetrius did is the kind of goodness we should emulate.
• What are the practical benefits or results of a Christian being truly good?
• I Timothy 2:15 – We silence the ignorance of foolish men.
• Earthly relationships are more pleasant and peaceful because people appreciate our goodness.
• It glorifies God.
• It gives self respect.
• It helps others.

Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, February 8, 2012

• What do these passages teach us about the kindness of God?
• Romans 11:20-23 – Reception of God’s kindness is conditional on our behavior.
• Ephesians 2:4-7 – God showed His kindness by sending Jesus to die for us.
• Titus 3:4-5 – God’s kindness is evident in His mercy on us even in our sin.
• I Peter 2:1-3 – We taste the kindness of God through His word.
• Luke 6:31-35 – Our kindness is not to be based on whether or not we have been shown kindness.
• Our kindness is based on:
• How we want other people to treat us
• God’s example of kindness to ungrateful and evil men
• Acts 24:4; 27:3; 28:2 – What sort of things do kind people do? They go out of their way to be patient and helpful to others.
• Colossians 3:12-13; Ephesians 4:32 – Christians are instructed to be kind. How do we obey that instruction? By considering others’ needs before our own and by adjusting our attitude. We should think about God. This is something that takes practice!
• Christians don’t just react. They do what’s right!
• What are some things that keep us from being kind?
• Grouchiness
• Selfishness
• Holding a grudge
• Pride
• Ignorance
• Bad company
• What are the practical benefits of being kind?
• Better influence on those around us

Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, February 1, 2012

• We all must develop patience through practice.
• We need God’s patience.
• I Corinthians 13:4 – “Love is patient”
• God is the ultimate example of patience. (Romans 2:4; I Peter 3:20) Without God’s patience, we’d all be lost!
• God is patient with us; we should be patient with others. The next time we have trouble being patient with others, we must remember how patient God has been with us. (I Timothy 1:16)
• I Thessalonians 5:14 – “be patient with everyone”
• II Timothy 4:2 – Preach the word “with great patience”
• Hebrews 6:11-15; James 5:7-11 – great examples of patience in the Bible
• Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 1:11; 3:12-13 – commands to be patient

Podcast: Download

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).

Podcast: Download

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.

Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, January 11, 2012

• 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; 17:26 – 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 – Love is an action. (Luke 10:30-37; Romans 13:8-10)
• Matthew 16:26; I Corinthians 9:27; Ephesians 5:28-30 – 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.

By David Watson

Benchley, January 4, 2012

[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; Acts 26:9)? 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; John 4:24)? 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.