Paul has good advice for Timothy on pastoring a church. One of the most important parts of being an effective pastor is having a godly support team. Different churches have different names for them, but in the translation we’re using, the words bishop and deacon are used. Their functions and qualifications differ, but the bottom…
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Once more, David passes on an opportunity to take out Saul, because David refuses to touch God’s anointed, even though he knows that Saul is unjustly after his blood. David knows that God has promised to give the throne to him, and he won’t force the issue by taking matters into his own hands. Have…
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I’m going to focus on chapter 9:22-24 today. “It is all the same. That is why I say, ‘He destroys both the man of integrity and the wicked.’ When a sudden disaster brings death, he makes fun of the despair of innocent people. The earth is handed over to the wicked. He covers the faces…
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Some background might be in order before we start 1 Timothy. Up to this point, Paul’s letters have been directed at specific churches. Beginning now with 1 Timothy, Paul’s letters are now directed at individuals. There are two letters to Timothy, a letter to Titus, and one to Philemon. Like Paul, Timothy and Titus were…
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Well, the man whom two books of the Old Testament are named after had died, and his passing was dealt with in less than one full verse. Samuel is gone, and notably the entire nation came together to mourn him. To the very end, he had the respect of the people. They knew he was…
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I’m pretty sure that if Bildad was my friend, that friendship would’ve ended with this speech of his. He starts off by saying, in essence, “Are you through yet? You are talking nonsense.” Granted, I’m not in Job’s position right now, but I was, to a lesser extent a couple years ago. I’ll get to…
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Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica that they shouldn’t panic when people come around saying that Jesus had already returned. Yes, Jesus is coming back, to be sure. And it will be a very good thing when He does, but there are some things that must happen before that takes place. And then Paul…
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In chapter 23, we saw the Saul was still after David, and he almost had him, but God intervened with the report of the Philistines attacking the land. And then in chapter 24, we saw that David had the perfect opportunity to take Saul out, but David spared Saul’s life because Saul was God anointed…
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Oh my goodness. Job’s despair is palpable in these two chapters, isn’t it? His physical pain is unbearable, but that’s only part of the pain he is suffering. His spirit is broken, too. He had to sit and listen as his so-called friend said that he must have done something to deserve the calamities that…
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Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea. The translation we’re using this week is the Good News Translation. Chapter…
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