Displaying 61 - 90 of 237 in total
Ephesians 4 - Say only what helps
The second half of Ephesians 4 looks at some practical ways to pursue the unity that has formed a substantial theme of the book so far.There's an interesting comment o...
Ephesians 4 - One God and father
The theme of unity is again in the foreground.This chapter starts with an exploration of the reason for and mechanism of unity: love. This emphasis is expressed explic...
Ephesians 3 - Plan of the mystery
Ephesians 3 continues Paul's effervescent enthusiasm for a gospel of inclusion.Even while taking some diversions to obliquely reference his own calling and situation, ...
Ephesians 2 - Part of this dwelling
The New Testament claims Jesus broke down walls of hostility that divide us as people - what walls might still exist today?We continue our steady meander through Ephes...
Ephesians 2 - We are God’s masterpiece
Ephesians 2 opens with a succinct but thorough outline of the gracious gift of salvation.This is such a clear description of the idea that God saves us by his grace an...
Ephesians 1 - Pray without ceasing
Paul turns to prayer as he continues to introduce this epistle.There are two prayer sections in Ephesians (1:15-23 and 3:14-21), and we notice they have a lot in commo...
Ephesians 1 - United with Christ
Ephesians opens with an encouraging summary of Christian hope.Paul seems keen to introduce themes of unity, redemption, Spirit, and inheritance. Each of these are like...
Acts 19 - Great is Artemis of the Ephesians
Acts 19 tells a 3rd-party perspective to prepare us for studying Paul's letter to the Ephesians.There are a number of anecdotes recorded about Paul in the city of Ephe...
Revelation 21 - Wipe every tear
We turn to the end of Revelation to wrap up this season.Exploring (nominally) the "3 angels messages" of Revelation 14 has been hard work at times this season, and we ...
Matthew 16 - Get behind me Satan!
What if the mark of the beast is something that we might have in varying degrees?Thinking about "marks" in general leads us to wonder what it might mean for somebody t...
Job 1 - Accuse God of doing wrong
Sparked by a midweek conversation, we explore the book of Job as apocalyptic literature.There are a surprising number of connections and similarities between Job and t...
John 11 - Destroy our temple
Language like "Satan's deceptions" often implies that salvation is somehow about expertise or technical knowledge.The lesson jumps straight into some well-worn Adventi...
Daniel 10 - Prince of Persia
Babylon was already archaic by the time Revelation was written, so how do we understand it today?It is interesting that Babylon is invoked in Revelation to represent g...
Exodus 20 - Earth, sea, and everything
Sabbath, Creation, and the End seem to deserve a bit of untangling.The lesson this week sets out to discuss Sabbath and issues of worship in the End Times described by...
Revelation 14 - Worship Him who made
Does worshiping "Him who made the heavens and earth" require a particular understanding of how creation happened?There is a wide variety of Christian pictures of the "...
Daniel 8 - How long?
Does prophetic time have room for measurement uncertainty?The Adventist church has a deep penchant for timekeeping, most vividly on display in our 7th day Sabbath focu...
Daniel 7 - Judgement in favour
How "infinite, minute, exact, and detailed" really are the heavenly records of Judgement?This combination of adjectives is striking, and goes straight to the core of a...
Genesis 21 - Do not be afraid
What does it mean to "fear God" when so many angelic messages start with "do not be afraid"?The angel in Revelation 14 who shouts "fear God" is unique in the Bible, be...
Revelation 14 - Fear God
We finally reach the core "Three Angel's Messages"!This section of Revelation 14 has seemed fairly scary to many throughout history, but the Adventist Sabbath School l...
Revelation 14 - Another angel came
How many angels are there in Revelation 14?While this passage is often referred to as the "Three Angels' Messages", we're looking at the second half of the chapter whi...
Numbers 22 - The donkey saw the angel
Messages from angels are not proof of superiority.This season will focus on the Angels Messages in Revelation 14, and we begin by acknowledging a few reservations abou...
Revelation 22 - Bringing my reward
Thinking about the "Rewards of Faithfulness" leads to an exploration of motivation.At first, "rewards" seems to be difficult to isolate from a merit-based picture of o...
Nehemiah 4 - The builders had a sword
Tough times call us to seek our own survival, but also to lean on the Lord.We turn to the story of Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem after the exile, which presents a fasc...
Luke 12 - Life is not measured
We can't take wealth with us after death, so where should it go?Yet again we find a tension between "responsible financial planning" (ie saving for retirement) and "go...
Joshua 7 - I took them
Beware of covetousness - and watch out for genocide?Coveting is called out in the Ten Commandments, and certainly fits in the broader theme of stewardship for this sea...
1 Timothy 5 - Worse than unbelievers
How does responsible financial planning fit with "building treasure in heaven"?A tension seems to exist between being a good and responsible steward of our resources (...
Matthew 25 - The least of these
"Helping the poor is not just an option."We resonate with this sentence from the Sabbath School lesson, and explore the famous parable of sheep and goats. The Christia...
Mark 8 - What will you gain?
How do we "lay up Treasure in Heaven"?There seem to be a variety of ways to think of this concept, and we notice a few that don't work so well for us. The contrast in ...
Deuteronomy 15 - They will not rule
Is debt more about stewardship or exploitation?
2 Corinthians 9 - A person who gives generously
How can offerings fit into the habits of generosity?