Introduction

• II Kings 14:25

You can’t hide from God!

• Jonah 1:1-10, 17; 2:1, 10; 3:1-2 – Jonah tried to escape God’s command but could not.
• Romans 10:9, 10; Acts 2:38 – God has commands for us today. We cannot run and hide from them!
• Psalms 139:1-12 – God knows even our thoughts. There is no hiding from Him! He knows everything about us.
• Ecclesiastes 12:14
• Matthew 12:36
• Hebrews 4:12
• If we can’t hide anything from God, how can we cope with that?
  • Romans 3:10
  • The only option is to throw ourselves on his mercy.
  • I John 1:9

God’s word works.

• Jonah 3:1-10 – This is possibly the most successful instance of preaching anywhere in the Bible!
• Jonah’s message was simple and negative.
• Luke 10:27-29 – When the Bible message is simple, leave it simple!
• Matthew 12:41
• There are negative elements to God’s message. We cannot try to hide it or take the teeth out of that message.
• Matthew 7:13
• We do ourselves and others no favors to pretend that hell is not real.

God expects us to love souls.

• Jonah 4:1-11
• The Assyrians were a brutal and merciless people. Israel held a deep-seated resentment against them.
• God wants us to love everyone’s souls!
• Luke 9:59-62
• Luke 23:34 – If Jesus could have this attitude toward His murderers, can’t we love others also?

• Why does the United States celebrate Thanksgiving?
• Is Thanksgiving a religious holiday?
• What are the top three things you are thankful for?
• Is it always easy to be thankful?
  • Philippians 4:6-7; Jonah 2:1, 9-10
• Who is to be thankful?
  • Hebrews 12:28-29; Colossians 3:14-17; 2:6-7; Philippians 4:4-7
• What should we be thankful for?
  • Ephesians 5:17-21 – Be thankful for everything!
• When should we be thankful?
  • I Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Always!
• Where should we show our thankfulness?
  • Psalms 35:18; 95:1-3; Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:15-17; Philippians 4:6
• Why should we be a thankful people?
  • I John 4:19; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-8; I Corinthians 15:57; II Corinthians 9:15 – Because of God’s love for us!
• What is the danger if we are not a thankful people?
  • Psalms 28:7-9; Romans 1:18-25

Introduction

• Romans 8:28-32

One another

• James 5:15-16 – Brethren can help us when we sin! Confession is good for us.
• Romans 15:14
• Galatians 6:1-2 – We must know about each other’s sins in order to help with them! We need to drop the mask of perfection and admit our faults.
  • I John 5:11

Scripture

• Romans 15:4
• II Timothy 3:14-17 – Timothy had both learned the scriptures and become convinced.

Sufferings

• Hebrews 10:32-34
• Romans 5:3-4 – Persecution brings about perseverance.
• Matthew 5:10-12 – Blessed are you when you are persecuted.
• Revelation 2:8-11 – Be faithful until death!
  • This doesn’t just mean being faithful until the end of your life. Be faithful even if it costs you your life.

Children (Romans 9-11)

• Romans 9:1-5 – It became apparent that the Jews were refusing Christ, which caused great sadness to Paul. Paul refers to their “adoption as sons,” which was through the lineage of Abraham in their case. In verse 5, “the fathers” refers to the patriarchs, through whom which Christ had an earthly lineage (Genesis 22:18).
• Romans 9:6-8 - The fact that many Jews did not accept Jesus did not mean God failed. All people who are descended from physical Israel are not part of spiritual Israel. The promise of God’s blessing is available to more people than just the physical descendants of Israel. See Galatians 3:28-29. Note the quote in verse 7 – “through Isaac your descendants will be named” (compare Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:18). It took more than just descendancy through Abraham to be a child of God. God was choosing a particular branch of the family tree. The Jews would not want to think of the Ishmaelites as children of God! In a spiritual sense, God was choosing those who were of the promise, which was more than just physical lineage.
• Romans 9:9-13 – God chose which branch of the family tree He would bring Jesus through. Calvinists sometimes misuse this passage, interpreting it to mean unconditional election on God’s part. The quote in Romans 9:13 is from Malachi 1:2.
• Romans 9:14-16 – Paul quotes Exodus 33:19 to illustrate that God has the authority to make these decisions.
• Romans 9:17-18 – God demanded things of Pharaoh that He knew Pharaoh did not want to do. See Exodus 9:11-17, 34-35; 10:1. God could have annihilated Pharaoh but did not because He had His own purposes. The same message from God can harden some people and cause others to repent. See also Romans 10:11-12. It was God’s choice on how to setup the plan of salvation. Thankfully, it is available to all!
• Romans 9:19-21 – God can do what He wants. Who are we to question His ways?
• Romans 9:22-26 – God can decide the criteria for salvation versus destruction. Lest the Jews counter that they were God’s chosen people, the writer quotes Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 1:10, indicating that salvation for Gentiles was always part of God’s plan.
• Romans 9:27-29 – The writer is quoting from Isaiah 10:22-23; 1:9. He is reminding the Jews that God could have also wiped them out just like Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Romans 9:30-33 – The Jews generally rejected Jesus, believing that they could be righteous according to the law. They failed to attain righteousness through the law, though, because they were trying to be saved by good works rather than by faith. In verse 33, the writer quotes from Isaiah 28:16. We must be careful to not make the same mistake, thinking that we can be saved by some way other than submission to God. We can’t invent our own way to be saved.

Why should I read the Bible?

• Exodus 24:3, 7
• Joshua 1:8
• Judges 2:7-10, 20-21 – They had stopped reading and didn’t know the Lord.
• II Kings 17:13-14; 22:8-11; 23:1-3
• Ezra 7:6, 10 – Ezra had set his heart to study and teach others.
• Nehemiah 8:1-8, 13-18; 9:3 – The people stood up to hear the word of God! They understood what they were hearing and realized they should be observing the feast of booths, so they did.
• Luke 4:16
• I Timothy 4:13

How do I form a habit?

• Engineer your environment.
  • Psalms 119:14-16
• Attach it to an existing habit.
  • Mark 6:17-20
• Short and small is okay.
  • Matthew 7:28

How do I involve the kids?

• Joshua 8:30-35 – The scriptures were read before everyone, including the children.
  • You might be surprised what children pick up on!
• Read aloud.
• Audio Bibles:
  • Word of Promise
  • Dwell
• Bible storybooks as you see fit
• II Timothy 3:15

How do I get the most out of it?

• Summarize as you read.
• Keep a journal.
• Listen to a sermon or class about that book online
• Start early!

Let’s read