Podcast: Download

By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, May 13, 2012

• James is the writer, but God is the author of the book. We do not know for sure which James is the writer.
• James 1:1 – There are differing views on exactly who this book is written to. It could have een written to either Jews or Jews and Gentiles. This book contains general instruction for everyday life as a Christian.
• James 1:15 – When one is tempted and decides to sin, he has sinned even if circumstances prevent him from carrying out his intention.
• James 1:17 – God will consistently bless those who do His will just as He punishes those who sin against Him.

Podcast: Download

By Larry Dickens

Benchley, March 4, 2012

• There are two parts to faith:
• That God is (Genesis 1:1; Psalms 86:8-10; 19:1-3; John 10:37-38; 14:11)
• God is a rewarder (Matthew 16:8-10; 6:28-31; Psalms 37:25-26; Acts 27:25; I John 5:10; Hebrews 11:6)
• Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:5-6; Colossians 1:10; I Thessalonians 4:1; Romans 8:5-8)
• Without faith, sin reigns (John 16:8-9; II Thessalonians 2:11-12; Genesis 3:1-5; Hebrews 11:7-8; Genesis 39:9; Daniel 1:8; Hebrews 11:24-26; Numbers 20:12; John 8:24)
• Without faith, prayers go unanswered (Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9-13; James 1:6-8)
• Without faith, good (and great) things become impossible (Hebrews 11:5-6; Matthew 14:30-31; Mark 11:22-23)
• Without faith, there is no courage (II Peter 1:5; Mark 4:36-40; I Samuel 17:8-11,36-37; Daniel 3:16-17)
• Without faith, there is no basis for hope (Hebrews 11:6; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 6:11-12,17-19; John 4:34-39; I Peter 1:8-9; Hebrews 11:39)

Podcast: Download

By Tim Stevens

Benchley, September 25, 2011

• I John 2:15-17
• James 4:4 – Do not be a friend of the world.
• Matthew 6:24 – We can’t serve God and the world.
• I John 5:17; I John 3:4 – Definition of sin.
• Proverbs 6:16-19 – Things the Lord hates.
• Ephesians 5:11 – Expose the works of darkness.
• God calls me to perfection.
• Psalms 139:23-24
• I Peter 2:21
• Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2 – Sin separates us from God.
• Ephesians 1:3-4; I John 2:1-2 – Jesus came to save us when we sin.
• I John 1:7-10 – Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin.
• His grace and forgiveness keeps me perfect.
• Proverbs 14:9 – Fools mock at sin.
• Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death.
• Romans 6:1-2 – Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
• Titus 2:11-14 – Jesus came to redeem us from every lawless deed.
• Ephesians 1:7
• God seeks my progress.
• Romans 6:12-14 – Don’t let sin reign over you.

Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, August 28, 2011

• Romans 5:1-11 – God helped the helpless.
• God has given us hope of salvation through the death of His son. He helped us even while we were still dead in our sins.
• II Corinthians 5:18-21 – God took the first step by offering Jesus on our behalf.
• Romans 5:12-19 – Adam vs. Jesus: Follow Jesus!
• Adam introduced sin and death, but Jesus brought the gift of life. Adam’s action led to condemnation, but Jesus’ action led to justification.
• Ephesians 2:12; I John 1:8-10 – Our outlook is indeed bleak without Jesus.
• Romans 5:20-21 – Grace reigns!
• Romans 3:20; 7:7
• Rmans 5:2 – We should rejoice in our salvation!

Podcast: Download

By Luke Stevens

Benchley, June 19, 2011

• Ecclesiastes 3 – God shows us the need for balance and the cycles that exist in our lives.
• Acceptable prayer
  • In faith – James 1:6-8
  • For God’s will to be done – II Corinthians 12:7
  • Through Jesus – John 14:13; I Timothy 2:5
  • For rules, brethren, the lost, sick, suffering, material necessities, enemies, forgiveness – James 5:16; Romans 10:1; John 17:20-21; James 5:13-14; III John 1-2
• The alien sinner should quit praying for salvation.
  • Saul, Cornelius – Acts 9:10-12; 22:12-16; 10:1-14; 11:13-14
  • No Sinner’s Prayer – There is no such prayer in the Bible!
  • Must truly call on the name of the Lord – Romans 10:13-17
• People should quit praying for the kingdom to come.
  • Jesus prayed for it to come. Matthew 6:10
  • It would come during the lifetime of those with Jesus. Mark 9:1
  • It has already come. Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:9
• Persistent, sinning Christians
  • John 9:31,16,24; Proverbs 28:9; Psalms 66:17-18
• The unforgiving
  • Matthew 5:23-24; 6:12,14-15; 18:21-35
• The hypocritical member
  • Matthew 6:5-8; Mark 12:40

Podcast: Download

By Jesse Larue

Benchley, June 12, 2011

• Overview of work in Ramstein Germany
• Exodus 21:1-6 – rules for slaves under the old law, including how a slave could choose to serve his master permanently
  • This would have been a painful procedure for the slave.
• We need to be committed to God.
  • James 4:13-15 – This is a decision we must make today.
  • Joshua 24:15 – Joshua chose that day to serve the Lord.
• Romans 6:16-18 – God has released us from slavery to sin.
• Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 9:14
• I Peter 1:13-14 – God brought us near by Jesus’ blood.
• Colossians 2:6ff
• John 6:60-69 – Who else could we go to besides God?
• We will always be slaves to something. It is better to be a slave to God than to sin.

By David Watson

Benchley, June 1, 2011

[Sorry, no audio for this lesson due to technical difficulties.]

• Mark 9:35 – We are not to try to compete with each other to be first. We are to show humility. This applies even to elders, deacons, and preachers, who are to be servants. We are all ultimately merely servants of God.
• Mark 9:38-40 – This does not authorize any kind of “independent religion,” i.e. “I can be in fellowship without being a member of the church or practicing ‘traditional’ worship.” We must all obey the same commandments from God.
• Mark 9:43-48 – We must do whatever it takes to remove sin from our lives. The message here is figurative, but we must sometimes take drastic measures to get away from sin.
• Mark 9:49 – This could be referring to the purifying effect of persecution.

Podcast: Download

By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, May 22, 2011

• Acts 17:22-31
• Balance the contrast
  • Psalms 19:12-13
    • Presumptuous sins
    • Secret sins
      • Secret from others?
      • Secret as to consequences?
      • Unknown sins? – This is the balance for presumptuous sins.
  • Luke 16:9-11
    • True riches
    • Unrighteous mammon
      • Sinful things?
      • Material possssions? – This is the balance for true riches.
  • Acts 17:30
    • Calls to repentance
    • Winked at
      • Did not know?
      • Did not charge the sin?
      • Did not call to repentance? – This is the balance.
• Now:
  • Sounds forth
  • Universal call to repentance
• Times past:
  • Suffered to walk in own ways
  • Gave them up
  • No universal call to repentance
• Acts 14:16; Romans 1;24,26,28
• Repent
  • Matthew 3:2; Acts 4:17; Mark 1:15; 6:12; Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 8:22; 26:20; Revelation 2:5,16,21; 3:3,19

Podcast: Download

By David Watson

Benchley, March 20, 2011

• I Timothy 4:8 – Godliness is profitable now and in the future.
• A mess
  • II Samuel 11:2-15; 12:14 – the mess created by David’s sin with Bathsheba
  • Hebrews 12:15-17 – Esau lost his blessing and birthright.
• A guilty conscience
  • Genesis 42:21-22; 50:15 – the guilt of Joseph’s brothers after selling him into slavery
  • Matthew 27:3-5 – the guilt of Judas after betraying Jesus
  • Acts 24:16 – Paul tried to avoid guilt the rest of his life.
• A ruined conscience
  • I timothy 4:2; Titus 1:15 – We are born with pure hearts, but it is possible to ruin our consciences with sin.
  • Ephesians 4:17-19 – Sin hardens our heart.
• Bad habits
  • Acts 8:9-24 – Even after being converted, Simon is tempted by the power of the apostles’ spiritual gifts.
  • Hebrews 10:25 – Skipping the assembly can become a habit.
• Effect on others
  • Galatians 2:11-13 – Peter carried others away in his hypocrisy.

Podcast: Download

By Jesse Jenkins

Benchley, March 13, 2011

• All have sinned.  Romans 3:10-12, 23
  • This leaves us with four possibilities:
    • No escape – not compatible witht he love of God
    • Saved in sin – not compatible with the justice of God
    • Lived so righteously that merits forgiveness – not possible
    • God imputes righteousness – Romans 4:6-8
• This has two possibilities:
  • God imputes righteousness without respect to what one does.
  • God imputes righteousness with respect to what one does.
• This leaves two possibilities:
  • Man lives so good that God counts him righteous because he has merited forgiveness.
  • Because of man’s faith in Christ, God forgives him, i.e. imputes righteousness, to him.  Romans 4:6-8; Psalms 32:1-2
• This has two possibilities:
  • God counts man righteous even though he is not truly righteous.
  • God counts man righteous because God imputes righteousness unto him, forgives him, does not impute sin unto him.
• This leaves us one possibility:
  • Man is not saved by his own righteousness, but by the mercy of God.
• Imputed righteousness does not mean that Christ’s personal righteousness is accounted as mine.  It does mean that my unrighteousness has been seen and forgiven, as made possible by the sinless life and death of Christ and by my complete trust and reliance upon Him!
• Thus, God’s amazing grace is seen:
  • In giving the gospel
  • In His continued forgiveness to those who walk in the light (I John 1:7)
• If we walk in the steps of that faith of Abraham, God will not impute sin unto us; rather He will forgive us – impute righteousness unto us.  And being forgiven, we will be righteous by the grace of God.