Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 12:1-33 — Intro: Leadership Lessons These chapters record the beginning of the end. With the death of Solomon, the nation’s glory begins to fade. 1st Kings covers about 125 years of history: 40 years of Solomon’s reign, & about 85 years for the divided kingdom of Israel & Judah. Only 5 kings reigned in Judah during that period, while 8 kings reigned in Israel, & all of them were wicked. 2nd Kings then takes

Leviticus 15:1-33 — and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.” Or, it be sliced another way: DISCHARGE FROM INFECTIONS! (1-15); & NORMAL FUNCTIONS OF THE BODY! (16-30) Regarding normal functions of the body, this brings about ceremonial uncleanness not moral uncleanness. There was also a contrast going on here of Pagan Religions! Pagan Religions typically

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 — to heaven when they die? Are we any different from animals; we all are born, live, & then go to the grave…so what’s the difference? Life, death, time & eternity, make up the ingredients of our brief experience in this world. www (1-15) told us, What a wonderful plan God has for your life. ​​​​​​​It says our life has: tremendous timing & a perfect purpose...in everything. (vs.1 every purpose, vs.11 everything) Verse16 now screams,

Ezekiel 15:1-8 — threadlike plant part attached to support); etc. Here the focus is specifically on the wood of the Vine! Q: Describe for me what the wood of the grapevine looks like? [show grapevine wood] THE WOOD OF THE VINE! (1-8) THE PARABLE! (1-5) The Vine…a symbol of Israel. Is.5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. The Vine symbolized prosperity, blessing, & happiness in the nation. The Vine had one

Malachi 1:1-14 — During Nehemiah’s day. The Jews had been back in the land for 1000 yrs. The book – Malachi has more verses “spoken by the Lord”(1st person) directly to Israel, at a whopping “47”! (That is out of only 55 verses total!) That is the highest % in the whole bible! Talk about straight talks from God! The book is written as a “verbal tennis match” w/back-n-forth volleys. (Jim Townsend; Minor Prophets, pg.98) See my highlighted

Matthew 24:32-51 — discussed till the end of chapter...I would like to change that to the rapture is not discussed here. [the prob of hearing something taught growing up 1 way, too many times, is that when you see it your brain reverts back to that] Wrap up this chapter w/5 Practical Lessons taught thru 5 Illustrations. A lesson from... a Tree. Noah. a Thief. a Wise Servant. an Evil Servant. God’s great book of nature is full of illustrations for those who have eyes to perceive them. A

Mark 14:27-42 — resurrection [home of Jairus], and the fellowship of His sufferings [Garden of Gethsemane]. Deeply distressed – “being in the grip of a shuddering horror in the face of the dreadful prospect before him.” (LKGNT) Heb.5:7,8 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned

Mark 4:21-34 — subjects. At His return He will fully consummate His reign. Jesus’ current status as cosmic king is invisible. It is the task of the church to give visible witness to the invisible kingdom. LIGHT SHINING (21-25) Parable of the Lamp Big Idea: The Good News that Jesus brought us is not to be kept to ourselves, but to be shared w/others. The River Jordan supplies two large lakes. Sea of Galilee (full of fish/plant life) & the Dead Sea (nothing living in

John 18:1-14 — Arielle; In info booth after service. CCCM has a ministry “Widows Helping Widows” - Weekend Retreat @ Hot Springs. Women who have lost their spouse. Share experiences. Steps of grief. Janie Alfred Speaker. Jan 22-24; $115 (can’t afford let me know) Details on Bulletin Board. Wed Night: Invite you, message entitled “What If” [A personal challenge to Christians in 2010] New Years Eve’s, Eve, Wed night 7pm, not Thursday night. I

John 18:15-40 — from Peter; a Priest; & a Pilate. From this point on Jesus is no longer free. He becomes the property of the state, railroaded through the most fallacious, unfair, disorderly, illegal trials in the history of jurisprudence. (Swindoll, John; pg.52) 6 trials (3 Jewish & 3 Roman) - the charge in the Jewish trials is blasphemy; the trials in the Roman courts is treason. Prayer: Praise God 1 failure doesn’t make a flop! TRIALS & DENIALS! PETER! (15-18; 25-27) As we talked

John 4:31-54 — & pita Jesus teaches them a vital lesson about another kind of food. Jesus is saying, “you should concentrate not on our picnic, but on those people coming across the fields of Sychar, led by the woman I was talking to. PEOPLE! (34,35) (34) The Samaritan woman needed water. The disciples, already quenched from water, needed food. The sinners greatest need it the free gift of salvation. The believers greatest need is to understand & do & finish the will of God. (35)

Acts 3:1-11 — religiously too busy! They were on their way to prayer. Never too busy for individuals…just like their Master showed them. Never too busy in ministry for prayer! And their prayer times were very important to their culture. Ps.55:17 “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.” According to one Talmudic source (B’rakhot 26b) the 3 prayer services were instituted after the fall of the 1st Temple to replace the

Hebrews 12:4-11 — & get them into shape & condition; yet we get nervous or upset when God does the same for their/our spiritual lives. 
 The writer here gives us 7 reminders regarding Gods loving parental discipline: DON’T FORGET IT (5a) Yes, many have forgotten today the importance of disciplining children. Parents seem too distracted & too exhausted to protect & care for their children in this way. The ancient world found it incomprehensible that a father could possibly

Hebrews 2:1-18 — home before dark.” Have you drifted away from your early faith? Or from your fidelity to God? Consistent reading? Serious & passionate prayer times? Church attendance? Giving? Fellowship? Communion? Witnessing? BUT WE SEE JESUS (5-9) This Psalm exalts the dignity of man. Vs.5 should read “You have made him a little lower than God.” We are the greatest of God’s creations, for we are made in the image of God. Why are we so messed up/mixed up today? Modern

James 3:13-18 — well-educated king, he recognized that he lacked the wisdom which only God could provide. (11,12) A 1000 years later James is writing on this same subject. He counseled his listeners, follow Solomon’s lead...Ask for it! (1:5) Remember from vs.1 there are 2 basic tools all “teachers” use to communicate...their tongue & their lives! Last week we dealt with the tongue see Slides #2-5. This week we deal with Wisdom Slide #6. Wisdom in the

1 Peter 3:7-12 — Him. The hindering of prayers is a form of God’s “fatherly discipline”. He does not stop loving us, but He is apparently not interested in communing w/us about other things, when such serious sin is going on. In Mt.5 if a believer is worshiping God & remembers he wronged someone, Jesus says go immediately & deal with it, then come back to worship. To take the time to develop & maintain a good marriage is God’s will! Husbands recap: [1]Know your wife

1 Samuel 13:1-23 — INTRO: Rick & Lorraine Deleon - Divorce Care. Dominic Gomez & team(50+ folks) - building homes in Valle Verde, Mexicali, México. Wed Night, Sharing our Faith Series - This week: Finding your style in sharing your faith. #1 Imp of Discipleship; #2 Testimony(4 part: my story, His, ours, theirs). SAUL’S

1 Samuel 25:1-44 — didn’t always obey Samuel when he was alive, but sure were careful to honor him when he died. Such is human nature. Samuel put the concerns of God ahead of the politics of the hour. Saul prepared a public monument for himself at Carmel(15:12); Samuel, who truly deserved recognition, humbly asked to be laid to rest at his own home. And so goes the spiritual conscience of the nation; the spokesman for God; the anointer of kings! NABAL, RETURNS EVIL FOR GOOD! (2-11) Nabal -

1 Samuel 30:1-31 — thought was given to the material loss they had sustained. Instead every men was overcome w/grief over the loss of loving relationships. Life’s true values lie in our relationships w/1 another, not in our possessions. Lk.12:15 Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. A crisis does not make a person; it shows what a person is made of! (Warren Weisrbe) Like his men, David wept

2 Samuel 22:1-28 — stronghold, matsada (Masada). Shield - magen (small shield, protects from attack) [Magen David Adom; like Red Cross] [Star/shield of David] Red Cross; Red Crystal(diamond w/star of David); Red Crescent; Red Lion w/sun/sword(Iran). From Deut.15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Stronghold-Prov.18:12 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous