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JUNE 15: GOD’S GLORY

June 9, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 19:1-11

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleIn May of 1995 I went on a mission trip to Canada with a group of Tennessee BSU students. During a brief sightseeing time we visited Lake Louise where a friend and I rode up the mountain on the ski lift. As we viewed the beautiful landscape, I remember wondering how anyone could deny the existence of God. 

The psalmist came to a similar conclusion as he proclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). He went on to confirm that both day and night speak to us and teach us about God without ever saying a word (Psalm 19:2-3)! [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 15: RAHAB: A FAITH NOT HELD BACK BY FEAR

June 9, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: Joshua 2:1-4a, 8-14; 6:22-25

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeIt is wrong to lie (Exodus 20:16; Colossians 3:9), or is it (Exodus 1:15-21; Joshua 2)? The life and faith of Rahab tests this question. Some would say that lying is permissible in a variety of very specific and unusual cases. It might better be called discretion. For example:

We lie to protect feelings:  “I loved your solo,” when it was terrible.

We lie to protect others (called an altruistic deception): “No,” you tell the Nazi soldiers, “we’re not hiding any Jews in our house.” Corrie ten Boom used this ‘protecting lie’ to hide and smuggle to freedom many Jews in WWII. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 8: GOD’S TRUTH

June 2, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: Psalm 119:1-16

Sunday School Lessons explore the biblePsalm 119 opens with reminder that obedience to the Word of God is the key to happiness. More than owning a copy of the Bible or simply reading it, we must do what it says! While some people tend to dismiss the requirement of obedience as legalism, the psalmist reminds us that living according to God’s decrees and instructions flows not from a desire to earn His favor, but from seeking Him with all your heart (Psalm 119:1-2). 

The legalist views God like the man in the Parable of the Talents who buried his money in the ground because he viewed his master as a shrewd and harsh taskmaster (Matthew 25:24-25). The motivation of the legalist fails to ask, “How may I serve Him?” and chafes under the weight of “How can I finally satisfy Him?” Yet even when the work remains incomplete, he takes great pride in his accomplishments “for God.” [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 8: JOSHUA: A FAITH ROOTED IN GOD’S WORD

June 2, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-9; 16-18

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeWe often think that the stability of God’s work and Word rests on certain people in the Church. As a pastor, I have often said, “If brother so and so goes on to glory or leaves the Church what will we do?” To a degree, the work of the Lord does depend on good and godly people. Thank God for faithful believers. 

But when Joshua took the reins of leadership after the death of Moses, God had to repeat to Joshua this massive true: “Moses my servant is dead?” Why did God remind him of what he already knew, even though Joshua had been, if you will, a pall-bearer at Moses’ funeral (Deuteronomy 34)?  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 1: GOD’S WISDOM

May 26, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleThe Book of Psalms begins with the contrast of two life paths; one leads to happiness, the other leads to ruin. The psalmist clarified that the pathway to happiness consists in part of actively avoiding the pathway to ruin. In our walking, standing, and sitting (all of our waking hours) we must avoid the wicked, sinners, and mockers (Psalm1:1) who champion godlessness. 

However, it is not sufficient merely to avoid evil people. Christian Fundamentalists have often been critiqued for their frequent recitations of what Christians must NOT do. If all we do is avoid sin, we have accomplished nothing more than sitting on the fence of moral neutrality.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

JUNE 1: NOAH: A FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD

May 26, 2025

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor • Inglewood Baptist Church • Nashville

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe taproot of righteous living for God is a righteous standing before God. Noah possessed both. He found favor with God that gave him a righteous standing before God that enabled him to live faithfully in ways that pleased God. Noah’s faith in God produced a very large boat on dry ground for the saving of his family and a new start for humanity. 

Genesis 6:5-9: A right relationship with God produces a living faith 

Genesis 6:5-9 compares the unrighteousness of the world and the fact that Noah found favor with God. Amid an unrighteous world, Noah trusted God and it was counted as righteousness. What kind of faith did Noah possess that found favor with God?  [Read more…]

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MAY 25: BE ENCOURAGED

May 19, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: II Peter 3:8-18 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleMy family has an elderly friend who will soon be with Jesus. One thing is for sure — there will be no deathbed confession. Why? Ms. Jean has been confessing her faith in Jesus for decades. Whether you were family, friend, home health nurse, or total stranger, she would tell you about her faith in Christ, and that she was ready to go home. 

Have you ever met someone who was banking on their deathbed confession? Several years ago, I witnessed to a young father and then asked him what he thought about the truths I had shared.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

MAY 25: GOD’S HAND IN FACING OPPOSITION

May 19, 2025

By Mike Dawson
Retired Tennessee pastor

Focal Passage: II Kings 6:8-12, 15-24

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThis is the final lesson in the series Elisha: Seeing the Hand of God at Work. And what an exciting series it’s been! The prophet Elisha’s story often parallels our Lord Jesus Christ’s. Elisha and Jesus both did hard work in their early years. Both had similar forerunners — Elijah and John the Baptist were ‘men of the wild.’ The school of the prophets led by Elisha was somewhat like Christ’s chosen apostles. Both Elisha and the Lord Jesus dealt with kings; both performed many (some very similar) miracles; both helped women struggling with life issues. The words of both were prophetic and powerful. Both were mocked. And the graves of both the crucified Jesus and the dead Elisha included a restoration to life! (Read II Kings 13:20-21.)  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

MAY 18: GOD’S HAND IN RESTORING LIVES

May 12, 2025

By Mike Dawson
Retired Tennessee pastor

Focal Passage: II Kings 5:1-3; 10-19a 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeToday’s lesson, God’s Hand in Restoring Lives, could also be called The Gospel According to Elisha. Remember that the prophet Elisha is often referred to as a “type” of Christ: many events in Elisha’s life are similar to events in our Lord’s life. But none paint any clearer picture of the Gospel than our focal passage, 

II Kings 5:1-3; 10-19a. It’s from the story of Naaman the leper and his restorative encounter with Elisha. Three characters that are in nearly every Gospel encounter emerge in our text: the sinner, the soul-winner, and the Savior.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

MAY 11: BE EQUIPPED

May 5, 2025

By Troy Rust
Associational mission strategist • Holston Baptist Association

Focal Passage: II Peter 1:3-8, 16-21 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleWhen you are sending your child away on a trip, you may ask, “Do you have everything you need?” What if the question was broadened to address your life as a whole? Typically, we would answer the question with several items from our wish list, which may include some critically important things. 

Yet when we consider the true definition of “need,” we realize that most if not all the items on our list technically qualify as wants. Even many of the things that are perceived as needs are actually created needs, like your cell phone. All but the last forty years of humanity survived without one!  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

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