Bible Commentaries

Matthew 14:22-36 — them (ch.8). This one, He tests them being out of the boat. Do you think that obedience to God always brings smooth sailing? No! Sometimes obedience places you right in a storm. [i.e. every storm is not of the devil] Example: Acts 4. Pete & John, obediently preaching & teaching. Result? Jailed. STORM PRAYERS (23-25) Be assured, If He has brought you into the middle of a storm...He cares for you & He prays for you. (23) We now are on the sea of humanity as He

Matthew 21:1-22 — dignitary to get that treatment. He came on with 2 other guys & they sat in the not so prestigious front row. People started pointing & whispering something about him. I asked a gal who is it, she said the president (Fatmir Sejdiu/Fat-Meer Said-you). 4 months before Kosovo’s Independence, here was the president. He did get to drive right up to the plane & board...but I felt bad...I felt he deserved so much more. This morning we look at Jesus’ not so triumphal entry. He deserved

Matthew 24:1-14 — future. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​God has placed w/in us an interest in the future, an awareness that life as we know it is not going to continue indefinitely. Jerry Vines, Mark, pg.249. I don’t claim to know how to unravel everything in the end times. As G.K.Chesterton said, It is only the fool who tries to get the heavens inside his head, & not unnaturally his head bursts. The wise man is content to get his head inside

Matthew 26:31-56 — adversity, God calls opportunity. Warren Wiersbe ~ Peter missed many important opportunities… ​​​​​​​Peter boasted when he should have listened (32-35) Peter slept when he should have prayed (36-46) Peter fought when he should have surrendered (47-56) Peter followed when he should have fled for safety (57-75) But, when the opportunity came to repent, he wept. PROPHECY OF JESUS (31-35) Prophecy ~ Prayer ~ Persecution ​​​​​​​I

Matthew 26:57-75 — were citing Jn.2:19 (early in Jesus ministry). But of course context is important. Jn.2:19-22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them. (63)

Mark 10:1-12 — found another woman more attractive. The liberal view was the more popular. Divorce was tragically even more common then than today. [slide: rock, paper, scissors] The issue was the interpretation of one phrase some uncleanness in Deut.24:1. When a man takes a wife & marries her, & it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, & sends her out of his house. Now,

Mark 14:43-52 — Garden of disobedience & sin. In Gethsemane we have the last Adam & it became a Garden of obedience & submission Chief priests, Scribes, & the elders (i.e. the Sanhedrin) were able to issue A Warrant for His Arrest. Judas, one of the twelve (43) – Which made the crime more heinous. Judas, Seller of the Savior. Turning inJesus. The one who would commit suicide, 1st commits homicide & an attempted deicide (an attempt on the life of God, if that were possible). Judas brought

Mark 7:1-23 — water & find the smallest gnat, but somehow miss the camel. They were majoring on minors, straining out a gnat, while minoring on majors, swallowing a camel. And being so busy with small details, they never dealt with the important matters. (Lev.11:4,23 both were forbidden as food) This was not a matter of personal hygiene but of religious ritual. They ate w/their hands so of course they’d wash up before a meal, but this was dealing with their prescribed ceremonial washing! (3)

Luke 14:25-35 — entreating me not to go; & my children plucking at my skirts should seek to pull me the other way, I must unclasp my mother, I must push to the very ground my father, & put aside my children, for I must follow Christ!” (Spurgeon At His Best; #6.415.) The stress in Matthews account(10:37) is on the priority of love: [Hate = to love less] “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy

Luke 16:14-31 — death. A global study reveals an overwhelming wealth gap! I was sent this article(by Todd Cernetic) that was reported and written by Thomas Kostigen for MarketWatch. The 3 richest people in the world: Bill Gates(53 bill); Warren Buffett(46 bill); & Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helú(37.6 bill) - have more money than the poorest 48 nations combined. The richest 2% of the world's population owns more than half of the world's household wealth. Assets of just $2,200

Romans 12:14-21 — you wont fudge on numbers. Or, Slide#6 A neighbor that thinks the best place for his dog’s potty spot...is your front lawn! Enemies are a fact of life. But praise God...He gave us a set of R.O.E.’s 1ST RULE OF ENGAGEMENT! (14)Bless those who persecute you; bless & do not curse Now, I would have liked a little warm up command here Paul. Like, “Pray once in awhile” or, “smile on occasion” would have been nice. Bless don’t curse.

Romans 12:4-13 — Love’s Many Faces! Overview: 2 Weeks ago regarding vs.1-3 our Title was What you believe must determine how you behave! [2 weeks ago] Our relationship with The Lord(vs.1,2); Our relationship with Ourselves(vs.3); [Today] Our relationship w/The Church(4-13); [Next Week] Our relationship w/Our Enemies (14-21) Outline: Unity in Diversity(4,5); Gifts Many Facets(6-8); Love’s Many Faces(9-13). UNITY IN DIVERSITY! (4,5) What would happen if one or more parts of your body stopped functioning

Romans 13:8-14 — interpreted this verse to mean Christians should never borrow money (not for mortgages, car loans, not for anything). Jesus wasn’t against borrowing, Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. Mt.5:42 Granted we have rampant credit abuse in our culture today. Easy credit, constant advertising, living above our means, & living on the assumption “I’ll make more money in the future, therefore I’ll buy on credit now,

Romans 6:15-23 — a slave being lead to death - vs.16) Again, under grace cannot possibly mean license to sin. The protest once again...Certainly not! God forbid! THE NEW OBLIGATIONS! (16-18) (16) Who will you present yourself to obey? Joshua 24:14,15(msg) So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped on the far side of The River (the Euphrates) and in Egypt. You, worship God. If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose

1 Corinthians 11:1-16 — observed. One of the biggest problems in the Corinthian church was disorder in the public meetings: Some of the women were assuming more freedom than they should have(11:1-16); There was disorder at the Lord’s Supper(11:17-34); and There was confusion in the use of the spiritual gifts(12-14). The church had been greatly enriched with spiritual gifts, but they were sadly lacking in spiritual graces. (WarrenWiersbe; Outlines of the NT) So, this next

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 — League Baseball combined. Worldwide sex industry sales for 2006 are reported to be 97 billion. Perspective? Microsoft, who sells the operating system used on most of the computers in the world(think all of India & China)reported sales of 44.8 billion in 2006. The porn industry made more last year than: “Microsoft, Google, Amazon, E-bay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, & Earth Link”...combined. Pornography is scarring lives, destroying marriages(lying/trust issues, hurt,

2 Corinthians 6:1-18 — would do well to pray for our ministry: From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth, From the laziness that is content with half-truths, From the arrogance that thinks it knows all the truth, O God of truth, deliver us, deliver me! (4,5) These verses dismantle any who think of ministry as “cush/cushy”! Patience = Endurance Inner Struggles – In tribulations [afflictions/pressures/things that press in on us); In needs [hardships/painful discomforts of

1 Peter 2:18-25 — in our own days. Nevertheless, slavery in the ancient world could still be miserable, even deadly, especially if a master didn’t appreciate his slave’s faith in Christ. Slaves were considered a social class. Somewhere between 25-40% of the population of the day. Many ways to become a slave: as a spoil of war; children of slaves automatically became property of their masters; you could sell yourself into slavery to fulfill debt or other obligations. Slavery in the ancient

1 Samuel 17:1-58 — fighting machine. And an armor bearer w/a full-sized shield to ward off any arrows. Israel’s response? Dismayed & greatly afraid. DAVID, A GENUINE GIANT! (12-58) ​​​​​​​40 DAYS OF PURPOSE! (12-27) Enter David...the real giant of the story! Just as the Spirit-filled David came to rescue the Spirit-emptied Saul in ch.16, so we now see the faith-filled David coming to save the cowering faith-less Saul in 17:12. (Charles

2 Samuel 8:1-18 — greater temptation when everything goes well for us than when everything goes wrong. Success is much more brutal to the depraved mind than failure! David will show us, “How to Handle Success”! DAVID’S CAMPAIGNS! (1-14) THE PHILISTINES! (1) David captures their largest city. Metheg Ammah = Gath (lit. The Bridle of the Mother City) What a bridle is in the management of a horse, that was Metheg to the land of Philistia. By subduing that metropolis, David