Take the initiative.

• Nehemiah 1:2-4; 2:5, 15-18
• Nehemiah’s leadership was contagious!
• Nehemiah was 1,000 miles from the problem, but he traveled to go help.

Keep learning God’s truth.

• II Peter 1:8, 5
• Titus 1:9
• Deuteronomy 17:18-20 – Leaders had to know the law!
• Luke 8:9 – Disciples were asking questions and learning!
• Luke 11:1 – Teach us to pray! The disciples wanted to learn how to pray properly.
• Luke 6:39-40

Demonstrate the proper behavior.

• I Timothy 4:12 – Lead by example.
• I Corinthians 11:1 – Paul said for them to imitate him.
• Do I hold myself to the standard I require of others?
• Can others see my behavior and look to me as a proper example?

Grow my communication skills.

• Proverbs 15:1-2, 28 – The righteous ponder how to answer.
• Proverbs 29:20
• James 3:2
• It takes practice to build this skill.

Be willing to change myself.

• John 3:1-3, 9-10 – Nicodemus came to Jesus by night.
• John 7:13, 48-52
• John 19:38-40 – Nicodemus showed respect for Jesus in public, which was quite a dangerous thing for him to do!
• Nicodemus was willing to change!

Conclusion

• Nothing will happen unless you take the initiative!

Imprisoned in Caesarea (Acts 24-26), continued:

Agrippa (Acts 26), continued:

• Our role is to plan the seed, no matter how long it takes someone to convert.

Taken to Rome (Acts 27-28)

Sailing from city to city (Acts 27:1-13)

Everyone survives the shipwreck (Acts 27:14-44)

• God knows when and how to answer prayer!

The island of Malta (Acts 28:1-10)

• Thanks to the shipwreck, the gospel was spread to Malta.

Paul in Rome (Acts 28:11-31)

• Acts 28:13 – Paul sailed past Mount Vesuvius about 10-20 years before it erupted.

Introduction

• Zephaniah 1:1

Idols distract us.

• Zephaniah 1:4-5
• You don’t have to make a statue to be guilty of idolatry.
• Colossians 3:5 – Greed is idolatry!
• Idols are anything that distract us from God.
• Zephaniah 1:6
• When I am worried or happy or insecure, do I seek God or something else?
• Zephaniah 2:1
• Zephaniah 3:1
• We must not be distracted with things of the earth.

Laziness is deadly.

• Zephaniah 1:12
• II Peter 3:3-7
• Zephaniah 1:13-17 – Punishment is coming. Don’t get complacent!
• We must see our sin and decide to change!

God always wins.

• Zephaniah 2:8-11 – This happens today – people taunting Christians.
• Zephaniah 2:13-15 – Ninevah, the largest city in the world would fall by God’s hand. World powers are no problem for God, so we can’t be scared of them as Christians.
• Acts 4:3-5, 13-15, 19, 24-28 – The powerful people thought they had Jesus taken care of. The quote here is from Psalm 2. God in heaven laughs at the attempts of powerful people. Take courage!

Introduction

• Mark 9:33-37 – The disciples discuss who will be the greatest.
• Matthew 20:20-28
• Luke 22:24-27 – The greatest is the one who serves.
• John 13:1-17 – Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. These were the same people who would forsake Him on the cross! He commanded them to wash each other’s feet – to serve each other.
• Philippians 2:5-8
• Greatness will only come to those that serve others.

How to become a servant

• Deny self / crucify self (Luke 9:23; Galatians 2:20)
  • We must first desire discipleship. God doesn’t force anyone to serve Him.
• Make Christ Lord of your life (I Peter 3:15)
• Remove pride, humble self (I Peter 5:5-6)
• Esteem others better (Philippians 2:3)
• Seek out ways to serve others (Galatians 5:13)

Ways we can serve

• Doing good works (Titus 2:14; 3:1, 8, 14)
• Practicing hospitality (Romans 12:13)
• Encouraging others (I Thessalonians 5:11, 14)
• Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
• Pray for the needs of others (Colossians 1:9-12; James 5:16)
• Share our blessings with others (Hebrews 13:16)
• Teaching the gospel to the lost (I Corinthians 9:19-22)
• Serve in the local church (Romans 16:1-2)
  • Greet people, send cards, clean building, mow grass, teach a Bible class, provide a ride, lead singing, give a talk, lead a prayer, make visits, etc.

Servant Song by Matthew Bassford

Conclusion

• Matthew 25:21 – “Well done good and faithful servant.”

[Due to technical issues, we had to make do with a backup recording system. Sorry for the lower audio quality on this lesson! -MRW]

Introduction

• II Chronicles 34:15 – The book of the law of God was lost in the house of God! It was lost for probably 60 years.
• 20 million Bibles are sold in the United States every year. How many are read?
• Ignorance just means lack of knowledge.
• George Gallup described America as a nation of Biblical illiterates.
• Satan’s greatest weapon is man’s ignorance of scriptures.
• Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
• Matthew 4:4 – Man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

How do we prevent Biblical ignorance?

• I Peter 2:1-3
• Colossians 2:6-8, 18-19
• I Timothy 4:6-8
• Psalm 1:1-2
• Ephesians 5:17
• I Timothy 2:3-4; 4:13 – Give attention to reading!
• II Timothy 2:15
• Everyone can understand God’s word if they take the time to study!

Are we destroyed for lack of knowledge?

• Do you know the books of the Bible?
• Be careful about being too dependent on a Bible app.
• Hebrews 5:11-14 – They had become lazy about God’s word. We can have this problem also!
• Have we walked away from God’s pattern and just continued to drift because we didn’t study?
• II Peter 3:15-18 – If we don’t grow, we’ll forget and go backwards!
• Can you teach someone the plan of salvation from the scripture? If not, make up your mind to learn!
• Can you explain why we don’t use instrumental music in worship?
• Can you teach what the New Testament says about baptism?
• Matthew 19:3-6
• II Peter 1:3
• Matthew 22:24-33 - Jesus said, “Have you not read?” He expects us to read and study! See Exodus 3:6.
• What does God say about civil authority?
  • Unless it contradicts God’s commands, we are to submit to civil authority.
• Where do we go when we die?