Introduction

• Judges 2:10
• What can we do to prepare our children to know God?

Read and discuss the Bible regularly at home.

• Romans 10:17
• Proverbs 1:7 – We must be humble enough to hear God’s wisdom.
• II Timothy 3:1-2
• James 4:4 – Teach children it is not their job to always fit in.
• It is your job to teach your children these important truths.
• Take the lead in setting aside time and making this a priority in your family.

Joyfully put God first in our lives and schedules.

• Mark 4:18-19
• What are we teaching kids if everyone’s lives revolve around the kids’ activities?
• II Timothy 4:10 – Demas loved the present world and deserted Paul. Will our children desert the Lord one day?
• II Timothy 3:10
• Psalms 95:6-7

SHOW them what it looks like to serve God.

• I Corinthians 4:14-17 – They saw Paul’s example. That was a big part of his teaching.
• James 5:16 – Do I confess my wrongs? Do I apologize?
• Ephesians 6:1-3 – Don’t let modern culture convince you the word “no” is wrong.
• Mark 10:21 – Why did Jesus make this man sad? Because He loved him and told the man what he needed to hear, even though it made him sad.
• Proverbs 3:21
• We need to call on our kids when they are in the wrong.
• We need to love them enough to be firm!
• Colossians 3:15-16 – Christians are to be thankful people. Are we teaching our kids to be grumpy, grouchy people?

Luke 12

How to study

• Context
• Word definitions
  • Dictionaries
  • Textual
• Study with an open mind, objective thinking

Hostility

• Jesus didn’t avoid it. See Matthew 23; John 10.
• Sometimes it is appropriate to argue in an environment where people are getting hostile.

Luke 12:1 – Leaven of hypocrisy

• Hypocrisy, like leaven, spreads – Galatians 2:13

Luke 12:4-7 – Fear, stand in awe of – priorities

• We must have our priorities right and fear God rather than man.

Luke 12:8-9 – Confess – not pre-baptism confession

• Confession is not a one-time act – it is a continuous lifestyle.
• Confession means speaking the same thing as someone else.

Luke 12:10 – The unforgivable sin

• See Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28-30.
• Blasphemy means to speak against someone.
• In the first century, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit meant seeing Jesus work a miracle, admitting He did it, then saying He did it because He had a demon.
• See I Timothy 1:13; II Peter 3:9; I John 5:16-17.
• Any sin I am unwilling to repent of will not be forgiven.

Introduction

• “Dealing with Babes” – Greg Gwin
• I Corinthians 3:1-2

Deepen your love for God and others.

• Matthew 22:36-40
• John 21:15-17 – Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him. Love is important!
• I John 4:19 – God loved us first.
• Hopefully, our love for our spouse continues to grow after the wedding day.
• Our love for God helps us be more like Him.
  • Luke 10:33
• We don’t want to stay a spiritual baby forever. We must continue to grow.
• I Thessalonians 4:9-10

Become more fluent in God’s Word.

• I Peter 2:2-3
• The Bible grows with us as we mature.
• If we don’t keep up with our Bible study, we get rusty.
• Hebrews 5:12-14
• Colossians 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

Continue to repent and grow.

• Acts 17:1-3
• I Thessalonians 1:3-10; 3:2
• II Thessalonians 1:3-4 – They started from scratch, but months later, they were growing!
• I John 2:1-2
• Philippians 1:9 – Don’t stand still. Keep growing!
• II Peter 3:18
• II Peter 1:5-7

A note about Bible language and euphemisms.

• I Corinthians 7:1
• Genesis 16:2, 4
• Hebrews 13:4

This is a blessing from God! Don’t let the devil steal it!

• Genesis 1:27, 31 – Male and female = very good
• Genesis 2:24 (I Corinthians 6:16) – “they shall become one flesh”
• Song of Solomon 4:1-11; 5:10-16 – The joy of marital love!
• Hebrews 13:4 – “the marriage bed is to be undefiled”

What makes this wonderful is that it’s part of a complete relationship.

• II Samuel 13:1-2, 14-15 – Lust and sex are not necessarily associated with true love.
• Genesis 29:30-35 – The bed can be empty and bitter when it’s not part of a true, loving relationship.
• In this class we’ve studied: companionship, love, respect, communication, forgiveness, etc. Now we’re talking about physical intimacy. If any one of these pieces of the puzzle are missing or minimized, the rest don’t fit together as well. As per usual God’s way is the best way.

This is very important to make the marriage happy and to limit Satan’s temptations.

• I Corinthians 7:1-5
  • Mutual obligation
  • “Do not deprive one another”
  • Satan uses that to make headway! This is not a joke!
• Proverbs 5:15-19
  • Sandwiched between warnings about adultery.
  • The imagery here (“cistern … well … fountain”) is a poetic way of referring to marital sex.
• Luke 6:31 – “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

Guard your mind.

• Genesis 39:6-7 – Lust of the eyes is not limited to men.
• II Samuel 11:2-4 – One thing leads to another.

Introduction

• God used a question and answer rhetorical technique in Malachi to make His point with Israel.

“How have you loved us?” (Malachi 1:2)

• Malachi 1:1-5
• God punished Edom because of their disobedience but blessed Israel.
• Deuteronomy 4:7
• The audacity of even asking this question is amazing!
• I Peter 1:10 – God has done so much to love us for thousands of years!

“How have we despised Your name? … How have we defiled You?” (Malachi 1:6-7)

• Malachi 1:6-8 – Would you offer this level of sacrifice to even a human ruler?
• Do we offer sorry, insincere worship to God?

“For what reason?” (Malachi 2:14) [God no longer accepted their worship.]

• Malachi 2:13-16
• God is looking at the whole picture of our lives. What we do affects our fellowship with God.
• I Peter 3:7
• I John 4:20-21 – Love God and your neighbors all the time.

“How have we wearied Him? … What have we spoken against You?” (Malachi 2:17; 3:13)

• Malachi 2:17; 3:13-15
• They were not worshiping God well.
• They were looking at serving God as being transactional: If I do this for God, He will do this for me.
• Psalms 73:3, 24-26

“How shall we return? … How have we robbed you?” (Malachi 3:7-8)

• Malachi 3:7-12
• We must be aware of the power of self-deception.
  • Galatians 5:20 – Am I guilty of jealousy?
  • Romans 1:29 – Am I guilty of gossip?
• Notice the word “rob”:
  • Luke 17:7-10
  • God looked at offerings and tithes as things owed to Him. To not give them was robbing Him.