Introduction

• Matthew 5:21-22 – Our anger can cause us to go to hell if we don’t get it under control.
• Mark 3:1-5 – Jesus showed anger and did not sin.
• Psalms 78:49-50
• Ephesians 4:26-32

Develop some helpful habits to get you through the moments of rage.

Slow down.

• James 1:19
• Titus 1:7

Be quiet (for now).

• Ecclesiastes 3:7
• Proverbs 12:18

Remember that you can’t fix every problem right now.

• I Peter 2:19
• Genesis 3:17-18

In the long-term, lay aside the old self and put on the new self.

• Ephesians 4:22-24
• Colossians 3:8-10

Change the entire way you think.

• Luke 23:33
• Hebrews 12:2
• Philippians 2:4 – Start out other-oriented.
• Look for positive – not negative.
• Romans 15:1-3

Build spiritual muscle over time.

• Philippians 4:8-9, 11 – Dwell on good things. We must learn these things!

Take the eternal view.

• Colossians 3:1-2

Numbers 5

• Numbers 5:16-28 – Special rules for a man who suspects his wife of adultery.
  • Leviticus 20:10 – Rules for the man regarding adultery. Adultery was a sin for both parties.

Numbers 6

• Numbers 6:1-21 – The Nazirite vow.
  • “Nazirite” is a transliteration that means “separation.”
  • Three main restrictions:
    • Stay away from grapes.
    • Don’t cut your hair.
    • Don’t go near a dead person.
  • Other mentions of Nazirite vows:
    • Judges 13:5 – Samson was under a Nazirite vow from birth.
    • I Samuel 1:11
    • Amos 2:11-12
    • Acts 21:23-26 – A vow, but probably not a Nazirite vow.

Numbers 7

• Twelve days of offerings.
  • There is much repetition here, possibly because the text was used as a ledger for each tribe to keep track of what they needed to do.

Numbers 8

• Numbers 8:5-13 – Cleansing of the Levites.
  • See Hebrews 7:26-27
• Numbers 8:14 – The Levites belonged to God!
• Numbers 8:23-26 – The Levites served from age 25-50.

Numbers 9

• Numbers 9:1-14 – The first Passover feast outside of Egypt is celebrated.
• Numbers 9:15-23 – God lead them by the pillars of cloud and fire.

Numbers 10

• Numbers 10:10 – Orders would be relayed by the silver trumpets.

Introduction

• I Thessalonians 4:13-17

The day of the Lord will come.

• I Thessalonians 5:1-3
• This fact greatly impacts our lives!
• We need to prepare for this.
• II Peter 3:10
• We don’t know when this will happen.

Wake up!

• I Thessalonians 5:4-8
• We are children of light – not of darkness.
• We must not be spiritually asleep.
• Sober here is in a spiritual sense – be rational and clearminded.
• I Peter 5:8
• Romans 13:11-14
• I Thessalonians 1:2; 4:1
• II Thessalonians 3:11

We will live together with Him.

• I Thessalonians 5:9-10
• II Thessalonians 2:13-17 – What does it mean that they were chosen? God had planned to save people through Jesus before the creation of the universe.
• Acts 17:1-2
• I Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11 – The end of the world should be a day of rejoicing for Christians.

Introduction

• Why are we here? Why are you and I here on the Earth at this point in time?
• Matthew 5:16

An individual’s “circle of influence”

• No one else has the same circle of influence that you do.
• How do these verses apply?
  • Mark 12:28-31 – People see how we treat other people.
  • I Corinthians 10:23-27
  • Galatians 5:13-14
  • Hebrews 13:1-2
  • Matthew 7:12-14
  • Philippians 2:3-5
  • Romans 15:1-2
  • Galatians 6:9-10 – “Do good to all people …”
  • Galatians 3:12-14 – Forgive one another.
  • Isaiah 1:17
  • Romans 13:8-10
  • I Thessalonians 3:12
  • Job 6:14
  • James 1:27
  • Zechariah 7:8-10
  • Matthew 22:36-40
  • II Peter 1:5-8
  • Luke 6:27-37
  • Romans 12:16-18 – Try to be at peace with all men.
  • Psalms 82:3-4
  • Luke 3:11
  • Matthew 5:13-16
• What responsibility do we have to our circle of influence?

Talking to “Bob”

• How would you approach a co-worker who was always angry?

Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

• God is the Creator. This has tremendous moral implications!
• If there is no God, there is no objective basis for morality.
• ”The Despair of Atheism”
• “An Open Letter to the Scientific Community”

Isaiah 59:2

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

• Our sins separate us from God!

Matthew 1:21

“She will bear a Son; and you call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

• Jesus would come and save us from our sins. He came to earth and showed us how to live perfectly, without sin.

Matthew 22:37

“And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”

• The meaning of life is to serve and glorify God.

Mark 9:31

“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’”

• Jesus would be the sacrifice for our sins.

II Corinthians 5:10

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompenses for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

• We will all have to give account to God for what we had done while on earth.