God will be the focus of this study. Of course we will learn about many other historical characters as we crisscross the pages of Scripture, but God is the Hero of this story. The Bible is His book and it is One Big Story. We will begin our study of this One Big Story in the beginning—the very beginning—when God created man and woman in His own image. God made man in His image so that man would be able to know God and communicate with Him. It is God’s desire to know everyone personally. That’s why He created us!
Part 3 of Series…The Life of Jesus according to the Book of Matthew
We are continuing our study through 2 Timothy and considering the concept of exhortation. Paul is exhorting Timothy to fulfill the work of the ministry. In this study, we’ll look first at the motivation for fulfilling the work of the ministry. Next we’ll consider the mandate to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” Finally we’ll spend some time considering the reasons or purposes behind this encouragement.
As we continue our study through 2 Timothy—Live truth. Pass it on.—we’re going to take some time today to consider the true essence of the Bible. We believe that the Bible was breathed out by God—in other words, it is the verbal plenary inspiration of God. That means that “every word found in the Bible is given to us by God (verbal), everything in the Bible is authoritative (plenary), and every word is also divinely directed (inspired).” We cannot pick and choose what we want to believe. We believe the Bible in its entirety or not at all!
Part 2 of Series…The Life of Jesus according to the Book of Matthew
When writing to the church at Corinth, Paul said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Was Paul a perfect example of Christ? Was Paul able to surpass the example of Jesus in the marathon that his life became? No! But we can say without hesitation that Paul was one of—if not the greatest champion of the faith. Again, he is simply saying, “Do whatever I do, as I attempt to emulate Jesus!” In this passage in 2 Timothy 3, Paul is asking Timothy to remember the way he had lived his life before him and emulate his example.
Part 1 of Series…The Life of Jesus according to the Book of Matthew
In this passage, Paul is still addressing the issue of false teachers in the church at Ephesus. These false teachers had “the appearance of godliness”—meaning that they knew how to walk and talk like Christians, but their hearts were far from God. While this text is specifically referring to the false teachers in the church at Ephesus, we are able to take this list of scathing characteristics and examine ourselves in order to reveal the condition of our hearts as well.