Blog

Fall 2016

The sovereignty of God The Bible clearly teaches the sovereignty of God, the theme of this quarter’s lessons. Believing in that sovereignty is not difficult when life is going well. What often leaves us perplexed (and sometimes annoyed or even angry) are the turmoils and tragedies of daily life. These can cause us to wonder, “Is God really sovereign? If so, then why do nations wage genocide? Why do people flaunt wickedness with impunity? Why do families continue to disintegrate?” Troubling Times We take care to note that many portions of the Bible that proclaim God’s sovereignty were recorded during periods of great turmoil and tragedy. The prophet Isaiah, for example, carried out his ministry during a time when God’s people were confronted by the seemingly invincible Assyrian empire. God’s sovereignty? Nice in theory, perhaps; but that idea can be hard to embrace when Assyrian troops are overrunning your territory! […]

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Summer 2016

Toward a new creation Following a series of parables, the master teacher made this comparison: “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old” (Matthew 13:52). The lessons for this quarter draw from both the Old and New Testaments to highlight truths that form a crucial part of the Bible’s message. At first glance, the books of Zephaniah and Romans, the two sources for this quarter’s lessons, would seem to have little in common. A closer look, however, will reveal a number of important similarities. These similarities highlight humanity’s sinful condition and its desperate need for the “new creation” that Jesus came to bring about. The Human Condition Neither the prophet Zephaniah nor the apostle Paul minces words about the reality of God’s wrath. Zephaniah predicted a coming […]

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