Bible Studies for Life Archives - Baptist & Reflector

JAN. 26: WHY AM I SUFFERING?

January 20, 2020

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Job 11:13-16; 23:8-12; John 9:1-3

Two lessons ago, we established that pain and suffering can ultimately be traced back to sin, specifically the original sin in the Garden of Eden. It is easy, then, to assume all pain and suffering comes from specific sin in a person’s life. This is the driving force behind the questions, “Why am I suffering? What have I done to deserve this?”

The Bible is filled with numerous examples of persons who endured suffering without a specific cause or result of sin. Sometimes suffering has a direct cause in sin; however it is wrong to assume that a person’s suffering is the result of something sinful he has done. The poster child for this is a man named Job. An entire book of the Bible is written to establish that not all suffering is a direct result of sin. [Read more…]

JAN. 19: HOW CAN GOD USE ME WHEN OTHERS SUFFER?

January 13, 2020

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Isaiah 58:3-11

The life of Jesus gives the perfect example of One who was used to help others in their suffering. He is our model in all things, especially in care and concern for the hurting. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus explains that He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be concerned and give our lives in serving others, especially those in need.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah shares God’s direct word to a religious yet disobedient nation. There was no lack of sacrifices, rituals, and religious acts among the people. In the minds of the people, one of the most valued of the righteous acts was the discipline of fasting. There was a sense of pride in their denial of food to the body and an anticipation of the applause and blessing of God for their devotion. [Read more…]

JAN. 12: WHY DOES SUFFERING EXIST?

January 7, 2020

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 8:18-25

In this life, there are few things that are universally experienced by every person. Among those universal experiences are pain and suffering. Whether sickness or disease, by unintentional or purposeful actions, life is filled with pain and suffering. Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have tribulation.”

A second universal experience connected to pain and suffering is the obvious question, “Why?” This question haunts the cancer patient, the couple who recently lost their teenage son in a car accident, and the community devastated by a tornado. Why pain? Why suffering? Why death? Often, the greatest challenge is felt by the believer who trusts in Jesus, prays for healing and deliverance, and yet sees his loved one succumb to disease and slip away in death. [Read more…]

JAN. 5: WHAT PROOF DOES MY TESTIMONY OFFER?

December 30, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Acts 26:2-5, 12-18, 24-26

Everyone loves a good story. There is something about a personal story that draws you into the life of another. It may be the struggle and hardship of a particular time in life. It may be the drama and change that made all the difference in a situation. It may be the lessons learned and the transformation that has occurred. In the Christian’s life, we call that type of personal story a testimony. [Read more…]

DEC. 29: AREN’T ALL RELIGIONS THE SAME?

December 23, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Isaiah 44:6-11; John 14:5-7

A common expression says, “All rivers flow into the sea.” The meaning is clear. There are many streams, but, ultimately, they all end the same place. This thinking has been applied in the world to all religions being roads to the same destination — heaven. In fact, it is popular in today’s tolerant, all-inclusive culture to affirm coexistence and the belief that all religions are basically the same. [Read more…]

DEC. 22: IS JESUS GOD?

December 16, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-35

Merry Christmas!

This is the week we have looked forward to throughout the year. The retail stores began decorating for this season well before Thanksgiving. Christmas presents have been bought and wrapped in many homes for weeks. In fact, most church and community Christmas events have come and gone. All that remains is the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Each year, we are reminded of the hustle and bustle of Christmas. The excessive spending and the constant activity of the season can cause one to miss the true meaning of the season. On this Sunday before Christmas, may we slow down and focus on the One whose birth we celebrate. Let us remember Jesus and worship Him as the literal, physical, and eternal Son of God. [Read more…]

DEC. 15: DOES ABSOLUTE TRUTH EXIST?

December 9, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: John 1:14-18; 8:30-32; 18:36-38

When my older daughter was in high school, one of her assignments was a debate on absolute truth. She had the side in favor of absolute truth.

In order to make the argument for absolute truth, she had to first establish there is one God who is Lord of all, maker of all and above all. Once established, the one true God is absolute truth and what He says is absolute truth. Apart from God, there is no absolute truth. In Him, there is absolute truth. [Read more…]

DEC. 8: IS THERE A GOD?

December 2, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Psalm 19:1-6; 111:7-10

I remember as a boy walking to the deer stand on cold, clear mornings, well before the sun began to dawn. On those nights, away from the lights of town, the stars filled the sky with an occasional shooting star passing in sight. Those were times of wonder and awe as I looked into the vastness of space. I could see the visible wonders of the universe and knew in my heart there is a God who created it all.

Many years have passed since those carefree days of discovery. Yet, through these years, my wonder and awe of the creative power of God has grown. As pictures from telescopes and space voyages reveal, the universe is much larger than we can see or grasp. With hundreds of millions of stars in our galaxy alone, the next nearest to our sun being 4.2 light years away, truly we can proclaim with the Psalmist in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.”

The universe, the sun, the stars and all creation are examples of what scholars call “General Revelation.” They give a witness to every person on the planet that there is a God. They do not use words or language, their voice is not heard, but the message is loud and clear. There is a God who is majestic, caring, creative, detail oriented and dependable. [Read more…]

DEC. 1: DO WE NEED TO DEFEND OUR FAITH?

November 25, 2019

By Tim Frank
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage

Focal Passage: Jude 1-4, 20-25

My wife is a software engineer with a company in Southern California. Every day she works diligently, searching through hundreds of lines of computer code, looking for errors in the code. Her job is to make sure the code is not corrupted; corruption would cause a complete breakdown of the system. A complete breakdown is called a computer crash.

Jude, the brother of James and half-brother of Jesus, challenges all Christians to work diligently to defend the faith from corruption. He uses strong language as he exhorts believers to contend earnestly for the faith that has been delivered to the saints. He calls for followers of Jesus to fight with all their might to keep error and falsehood from creeping into the doctrines of the church. [Read more…]

NOV. 24: LIVING IN GRATITUDE

November 18, 2019

By Jerry Price
Retired Pastor, Spring Hill

Focal Passage: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

“A party of pioneers on the Oregon Trail suffered for weeks from a scarcity of water and grass for their animals. Most of the wagons had broken down, causing endless delays in the stifling heat. A feeling of fretfulness and futility prevailed. Optimism and cheer were gone. Courage was in limited supply.

“One night the leaders called a meeting to air complaints. When they gathered around the campfire, one man stood up and said, ‘Before we commence our grief session, don’t you think we should at least first thank God that He has brought us this far with no loss of life, with no serious trouble from the Indians and that we have enough strength left to finish our journey?’ [Read more…]

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