Concordia Adult Bible Class

Struggles in life can quickly melt into the hopelessness of despair. Even the apostle Paul struggled with this feeling. But even in despair, his comfort was in Christ.

Shame makes us want to conceal what we should be willing to reveal. Adam and Eve, when they fall into sin, are immediately ashamed and physically seek to cover ourselves. When we are tempted to hide, we must rest in the reality that we cannot hide from God, for He knows everything about us, and still loves us.

Anger is everywhere! But anger is also dangerous because it leads us to try to solve the problems with face by our own means instead of by God’s guidance. Moses, in his anger, disobeys God and it costs him dearly. What might your anger cost you?

Packed calendars and piles of responsibilities can cause stressed hearts. The apostle Paul reminds us that even when we can’t change our circumstances, we can change our focus. We can focus on what brings us peace instead of what stresses us out.

News stories cause it. Politicians peddle in it. There is fear everywhere. When the Israelites wind up surrounded by an enemy force, they are terrified. But the prophet Elisha knows that no matter how much fear there may be around us, we have God with us – and His love can drive out our fear.

When writing to the church at Corinth, Paul assumes that there will be unbelievers in their midst and so encourages them to consider them. Do we consider those who have doubts and questions when we are worshiping each weekend?

It is always difficult to share your faith with a family member who does not believe. As we seek to share God’s love with those who we love most, it is not just about our words, but about our lifestyles.

Matthew, also called Levi, works as a tax collector. Matthew also, after he is called by Jesus, shares Jesus with his fellow tax collectors. How can we share our faith around our office in appropriate ways?

When Abram is called by God to go to a place he does not know, he follows God’s prompting, and becomes a blessing to the whole world. God can often call us out of our comfort zones to share Him with people we do not know, but He does know – and love.

When Abram is called by God to go to a place he does not know, he follows God’s prompting, and becomes a blessing to the whole world. God can often call us out of our comfort zones to share Him with people we do not know, but He does know – and love.

When the shepherds look up to the heavens, they see an angel with good news. So often, we let a slow downward slide happen in our lives as we compromise our values and integrity, or we look only at the next crisis in front of us. At these moments, we need to look up to heaven to hear its message, call, and promises and to put things into perspective.

When Gabriel appears to Mary, he turns her whole world upside down. He makes her question what she thought she knew – like the fact that a virgin cannot have a child! What things do we think we know that we too need to take a second look at? Things like: “There’s no way I can take a break.” “There’s no way that I can be generous during the holiday season.” “There’s no way that I can have faith in a God I cannot see.” Taking a look at our presuppositions may just lead to us to look at our lives differently!

As Christians, we are saved saints! Yet, we still struggle with sin. This is an ongoing tension we have inside of ourselves until we die. Living in this tension requires God’s forgiveness and grace!

The kingdom of God came with Christ, but we do not feel or see its full effects. It is here now, but it is not yet fully realized. We see this tension come out especially clearly in the healing stories in the Gospels. Although Jesus heals some people, He does not heal all people. We see some amazing things now, but we are still waiting for the amazing things that are yet to come.

There is a doctrine known as the hypostatic union in Christ. Simply put, there is only one Jesus, but this Jesus has two natures: He is God and He is man. Paul explains this well as he points to Jesus’ human characteristics, like His death on a cross, while also asserting His divinity, saying that the very fullness of God dwells in Christ.

The doctrine of the Trinity says that there is only one God, yet He is three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From the opening pages of Scripture we see all three persons present. God is creating. The Spirit is hovering. And Jesus is the Word who is spoken.

Righteousness doesn't come from our good works... it comes from Jesus' work on the cross!

Giving is not just about a portion of our lives, but about all of our lives. Jesus gave all of Himself to us. We, now are called to give all of ourselves to others. When we give of what God has given us, the impact on the lives of others can be huge.

Many people give out of guilt. The apostle Paul says we should give with joy! The only way we can do this is if we first realized just how joyfully generous God has been to us. When we see His joyful generosity, that encourages us to be joyfully generous ourselves.

Giving starts with God. He was the first giver in history when He gave Eve to Adam and Adam to Eve. From that original gift, we continually re-gift – we give of what God has first given us.