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MAR. 27: ENCOURAGED

March 21, 2022

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: I Thessalonians 3:4-13    

The enemy of our soul — Satan — uses many tools to attack the believer, i.e., lies, temptations and, maybe above all, discouragement. In fact, though Satan has limited knowledge, he does know that to discourage God’s people is to deter God’s work. Satan first isolates us from other believers, attacks the gospel itself, causing doubt and fear that leads to discouragement. And once discouraged, God’s people become spiritually paralyzed. How can we overcome Satan’s “ministry of discouragement?”

DISTRESSED (I  Thessalonians 3:4-5). Paul longed to see his fellow believers in Thessalonica (I Thessalonians 2:17-20). But for many reasons his visit was delayed. Paul rightly assigned blame for this delay on Satan. This put Paul in great distress. He knew that his fellow believers would face suffering for their commitment to Jesus Christ and His gospel. He also knew that Satan might tempt them to abandon the gospel (I Thessalonians 3:5). Isolated from each other, both Paul and the Thessalonians were in great spiritual danger and distress. [Read more…]

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MAR. 27: A LIFE OF LOVE

March 21, 2022

By Chuck Williams
Interim Pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFocal Passage: John 15:9-17

Some things for me are hard to believe. It’s hard for me to believe that I grew up in a home where the telephone was attached to the wall. Hard for me to believe that when I changed channels on the television I had to get up from the couch and walk over to it. Hard to believe that I rarely got to see Bonanza because it played from 6:30-7:30 on Sunday night. It’s hard for me to believe I actually survived!!

Please indulge my sarcasm, but on a serious note, what is really  hard to believe is that Jesus chose me, became my friend, loved me and laid down His life for me. How is that magnificent love manifested? We discover how in John 15:9-17.

Obedient love — This love was to be the number one mark of a believer. It was not to be whimsical, mystical, or purely emotional.  Obedience to His commands would be the natural flow of a believer. It is the thermometer showing  how hot or cold our passion for Jesus ran. [Read more…]

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MAR. 20: CONFRONTED

March 14, 2022

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: I Thessalonians 2:13-20    

The boldness and courage of the Ukrainian people are currently being challenged. Only time will tell where this challenge leads. One Ukrainian mother was reported to have said that the Ukrainian people would fight for their freedom and for democracy “to their last blood.”

The question arises: are we as courageous and as bold in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ? We do not fight for souls with bullets and guns, but with prayer, grace, love, courage and boldness. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

MAR. 20: A LIFE OF TRUST

March 14, 2022

By Chuck Williams
Interim Pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFocal Passage: John 13:36-14:6

One of the most popular performances at a circus is the flying trapeze. As the daredevils swing and turn through the air into the arms of the ‘catcher’ the crowd wonders, “Will they slip and fall to the ground?” Why is the ‘flyer’ willing to do such a dangerous act? Answer: The flyer trusts the catcher to hold him in his grip.

In these verses, in essence, Jesus is saying to His perplexed disciples, “I know what I am telling you is difficult to comprehend, but trust Me, I have a grip on this.”

Even our best promises can falter and fail. Jesus had said, “You can’t go where I am going.” Peter, full of emotional fervor, boasted, “I will lay down my life for your sake.” But the Lord knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter. Peter had always been there with Him and for Him, but He also knew Peter was making a promise he couldn’t keep. [Read more…]

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MARCH 13: SHARED

March 7, 2022

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: I Thessalonians 2:1-12    

What if you found a treasure that would make you both rich and that would change the world? But it wouldn’t make you rich unless you set free that gift to change the world. This is the gospel (II Corinthians 4:7). The gospel lavishes on us the riches of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, but it must also be shared in order to have its greatest impact on us and the world. 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 reminds us of the keys to sharing the gospel. [Read more…]

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MARCH 13: A LIFE OF LOYALTY

March 7, 2022

By Chuck Williams
Interim pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Focal Passage: John 13:21-27, 31-35 

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeThe worst betrayal (vv. 21-27).Loyalty in times of crisis is one of the greatest gifts a person can give someone. Disloyalty in times of crisis makes a wound that hurts like no other, causes grief beyond comprehension, and can linger a lifetime.

The Emperor of Rome, Julius Caesar knew about such treachery. Some of his closest colleagues had secretly become sinister conspirators. One of those was a very close confidant named Marcus Junus Brutus whom he loved as a son. 

The Senatorial conspirators with knives drawn, suddenly attacked Caesar. Historians say initially he fought them off but when Brutus emerged from the group with knife in hand, he slumped in his chair and asked this very famous question “Et tu Brute?”, which translated means — “And you too, Brutus?” This Latin phrase is now seen as the epitome of betrayal. [Read more…]

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MARCH 6: COMMENDED

March 1, 2022

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Focal Passage: I Thessalonians 1:1-10    

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleHave you ever filled out a job application? More than likely you needed a list of references. You would select those who know you best, trusted people, friends, or co-workers. These references would vouch for your character and work ethic. As the Apostle Paul begins writing 1 Thessalonians, he introduces two of his co-workers, Silvanus and Timothy, vouching for their spiritual credentials, emphasizing those spiritual characteristics that vouch for spiritual maturity and genuine faith.

Partnership, I Thessalonians 1:1. Paul introduces Silvanus and Timothy as gospel partners. They were not only partners with the believers at Thessalonica, but partners with “God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 1). Further, the currency of this partnership was “grace” and “peace.” In essence, Paul wanted to make sure that we understand that gospel partnership is an essential characteristic that recommends us to God, the Church, and the world. Though different in giftings and aptitudes, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy were not adversaries, but gospel partners.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Explore the Bible, Sunday School Lessons

MARCH 6: A LIFE OF HUMBLE SERVICE

March 1, 2022

By Chuck Williams
Interim pastor, First Baptist Church, Milan

Focal Passage: John 13:3-10, 14-16

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeElon Musk, the world’s most famous inventor and entrepreneur, sarcastically remarked, “I don’t want to brag, but I am the best at humility.”  This tongue-in-cheek remark garnered him lots of laughs but also produced a window into the human soul.  

For many of us, it is our hope that our ‘humble service’ will be spot-lighted. Being a servant of Christ is not about recognition, platforming, networking or titles. He profoundly stated that He didn’t come to be served and waited on; He came to serve sacrificially (Matthew 20:28).

Let’s see what “spiritual” looks like in these verses. [Read more…]

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FEB. 27: CONFESSION MADE

February 21, 2022

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleFocal Passage: Daniel 9:4-19

We do not like being honest. Even the most honest person in the world has a difficult time in being honest about their own sinfulness. We are honest with God when we confess our sins and His Lordship over all things (Romans 10:9-13). Put simply, to confess is to agree with God. When we confess our sins, we are agreeing with Him as to who we are apart from Christ. To confess that Jesus is Lord is to agree with God that He alone is Master and Lord of all things.

After seeing several remarkable visions concerning the future, Daniel is given a vision of God’s mercy and grace. Jeremiah (25:11-12) and Daniel (9:1-2) are envisioning the end of the Jews’ 70 year-long exile. Daniel repents of his sin and that of his people, confessing the Lordship of God over all things.    [Read more…]

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FEB. 27: THE PITFALL OF GUILT AND GRUDGES

February 21, 2022

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeBy Kenny Bruce
Pastor Emeritus, Leawood East Baptist Church, Memphis

Focal Passage: Genesis 50:15-21 

When we see our lives from God’s perspective, His providence shines through the events that seem tangled or meaningless.

1. Providence revealed (vv. 18-19). After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid Joseph was holding a grudge against them and would punish them for the suffering they had caused him when they sold him as a slave years earlier (v. 15). That fear led them to tell Joseph that their father had commanded that he forgive their wrongdoing. Whether or not Jacob said that, they knew that the final wishes of their dying father would have a tremendous impact on Joseph.

Joseph shed tears because he knew firsthand of his father’s desires that his family stay united, and it crushed him that his brothers still feared him. He wanted to relate to them on their level in a familial relationship. It certainly grieved him that his brothers did not trust in his forgiveness. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Bible Studies for Life, Sunday School Lessons

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