• To study the Bible regularly, frequently, and diligently. (I Timothy 4:13
• To pray often and fervently. (I Thessalonians 5:17
• To teach the word more (Matthew 28:20
• To give liberally and willingly.
• To have fellowship in all scriptural functions of the congregation when possible.
• To love my brethren and work in unity with them in all things in the Lord. (Romans 12:18
• To serve in such a way as to cause the congregation to grow; not to live so as to hold it back.
• To keep self pure in manner of living.
• To keep church pure.
• To become more Christ-like day by day.
• Summed up: to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. (II Peter 3:18

• Hebrews 7:12 - With Jesus now our high priest, it is clear that a new law must be in place.
• Hebrews 7:14. This verse is also instructive on the power of the silence of the scriptures. God spoke nothing about a priest from the tribe of Judah, so a priest from that tribe was not permitted under the Old Law. This principle has broad application in many areas of the New Law, especially in the work of the church and how we are to worship God.
• Hebrews 7:25 - Under the Old Law, the high priest was responsible for making intercession for the people before God. As our new high priest, Jesus now carries out this function.
• Hebrews 7:28 - “made perfect forever”: Jesus was always sinless, but He was not perfect in the sense of being complete until He completed His mission on earth.

[Sorry, no audio for this lesson. Sadly, the microphone died in the middle of class.]

• Galatians

• From the apostle Paul (Galatians 1:1

• To the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:2

• They were deserting God and going to a different gospel (Galatians 1:6-9!

• Galatians 5:1-13 - In what sense are Christians free?

• In this context, Christians are free from the law of Moses.

• Galatians 5:16-17 - Contrast between the flesh and the spirit.

• Galatians 5 - Is “spirit” here talking about man’s spiritual nature or the Holy Spirit?

• People disagree on this.

• If this is talking about a man’s spirit, is the passage teaching that a human’s spirit is allowed to follow its own path (cf. Jeremiah 10:23? No!

• If this is talking about the Holy Spirit, is the passage teaching that a human’s spirit is not involved in serving God (cf. Romans 1:9? No!

• Does a spiritually-minded person follow the Holy Spirit-inspired scripture? Yes!

• The Holy Spirit often uses the word “fruit” figuratively to mean the effect that God’s word has in one’s life. It might be a quality that is developed or an action that is taken.

• Lamentations 3:40

• Have I lived more righteously?

• Romans 6:12-13 - We need to use our bodies in righteous ways to serve God.

• I Timothy 6:11

• Have I gotten better about reading the Bible?

• Luke 10:38-42 - It is important to make God a priority in our lives.

• Bible reading has a long term positive impact on us.

• Deuteronomy 17:18-20 - God’s rules for Bible study for rulers. They were to write their own copy of the law and read it all the days of their lives. This was to help the king fear God and keep him humble.

• Have I increased my prayers?

• Daniel 6:10 - Daniel refused to stop praying, even when the king passed a law against it.

• Romans 12:12 - Pray without ceasing.

• James 5:13

• Have I done better in sharing the gospel?

• Mark 12:41-44 - God considers one’s abilities and not just the amount that he serves.

• I Corinthians 3:6 - God causes the growth. We don’t have to do everything ourselves - just what we can!

• Hebrews 6:18 - The two immutable things were God’s veracity and the oath that He made.
• Hebrews 6:19 - The hope we have in Christ keeps us from drifting in our faith, thus hope is our anchor.
• Hebrews 7:1. Melchizedek helped to set the stage for the coming of a new high priest, Jesus.
• Hebrews 7:3 - The popular view on this verse is that it is figuratively referring to Melchizedek being outside the genealogy of Abraham. An alternative view of this is that Melchizedek was deity in the form of a man. Whatever the identity of Melchizedek, his priesthood was superior to the priesthood of Levi.