free bible study

Fresh Another Chance Podcast: Holding On to Your First Love

Have you ever fallen way from your love of God?

Seriously, it could have been for a season, or it could be right now.

In any case, the Spirit of our Lord desires that you return to being crazy in love with Him!

In the podcast you’ll  hear more from my good friend Jeff Langskov (swimmingmonk.com). We look at the Church of Ephesis, as described in the Book of Revelation.

Despite the fact that this church had been founded by the Apostle Paul, pastored by Timothy and eventually the Apostle John, and attended by Mary the mother of Jesus, they had fallen from their first love–the very loved that saved them!

What a message to us.

Below are the notes that I shared with my men’s group on this subject. I hope you’ll find them useful.

The podcast is available most anywhere (including here).

The Seven Churches in Revelation
Ephesus: Staying Tight with Your First Love

 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent (Revelation 2:1-5 NKJV).
  —————–

God Wants Us

 – Regarding His followers, Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

– Jesus also said, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing (Luke 15:4-5).

– Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).


The Devil Wants Us Too

– Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made (Genesis 3:1).

– Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour
(1 Peter 5:8).

 

When restoring one who has fallen away, be gentle

– Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted (Galatians 6:1).


God’s Desires Our Heart

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm…” (Joel 2:12-13).

Bible Study: Take Up Your Cross — what’s it mean and how do we do that?

This is a recent study I shared with my gathering of men from around the world (via Zoom).  It speaks to the day in which we live wherein so many are following ideologies and “isms” that have absolutely NO eternal value.

Hope you enjoy and are blessed!
———————–

Following Jesus

“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Jesus speaking in Mark 8:34-36).

Taking Up Your Cross: what Jesus didn’t mean
Many people interpret “cross” as some burden they must carry in their personal lives: an illness, a bad relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness. Such an interpretation is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

What did Jesus mean?

In Jesus’ day, the Romans forced convicted criminals to carry their own instruments of execution, crosses, to the place of their crucifixion.
“Take up your cross and follow Me” is a call to absolutely surrender to God’s will.

But practically, how do we do this?

We all have responsibilities, demands, and even delights.  But for all intents and purposes, how do we really live this Christian life?
A wonderful template for living like a genuine Follower of Jesus is found in Romans 12:9-17.
Take some time to meditate on this passage; each verse speaks volumes. As you do, ask yourself if you’re practicing each principle. If not, why? Is there some personal repentance that needs to take place?  I would also highly encourage you to pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill you is such a way that you are indeed able to walk in each of these wonderful attributes.

– Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good (v. 9).
– Be affectionate to one another with brotherly love, give preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (v. 10, 11).
– Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, continue steadfastly in prayer (v. 12).
– Distribute to the needs of the saints, be given to hospitality (v. 13).
– Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (v. 14).
– Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (v. 15).
– Be of the same mind toward one another.  Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion (v. 16).
– Repay no one evil for evil (v. 17).

 

Bible Study: Being a Disciplined Disciple – Training to Triumph

As I was preparing for the men’s Bible Study I oversee I know I heard God say he wanted me to prepare a study on discipline.

So, I launched into research on the consequences of sin and disobeying God’s Word.

It seemed like the study was going nowhere.

True, there ARE consequences to our sin (and sometimes harsh consequences), but the Lord was not interested in talking to my men about that.

Instead He wanted to discuss self-control, self-restraint, and preparation.  The kind of stuff that builds character.

The kind of stuff that will make us a more effective soldier on the battlefield during the challenging times.

With that in mind, here’s what I’ve put together for my guys. It’s longer than most of our studies (I like to get the men in and out in an hour) so we’ll likely dig into this one for a couple weeks.

Please feel free to use this for your personal study, or to share with a group of friends!

————-

Discipline: Training to Triumph!

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it  (Hebrews 12:11 NIV).

As disciples of The Messiah, God calls us to be disciplined in order to build character into our lives and train us to be effective messengers of the Gospel.
This study is designed to enlighten, encourage, and equip us to be the mighty men our Father desires us to become.

                                                                                                       —————-

Discipline Through the Hard Times
– Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?(Hebrews 12:7).
– Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3).

Question: How has God used various forms of personal hardship to build your character?

 

Testing our Faith, Building Perseverance
– Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,  whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).
– …we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance (Romans 5:3).
– Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring (2 Thessalonians 1:4).

Questions: How have “trials of many kinds” tested your faith?  How were you able to endure those trials?
Why is perseverance an important element to our faith?

Discipline through Temptation
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,  he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it
(1 Corinthians 10:13).

Discipline: The Follow Through
– Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:22-24).

Question: How do we become men who apply the Word of God into all aspects of our lives?


Discipline: Training to Slay Giants
David had undergone years of hard discipline and training prior to facing off and slaying Goliath. This account from 2ndSamuel is meant to encourage and equip us for all of the battles we may face:
King Saul says to young David: “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine” (2 Samuel 17:33-37).

Questions: What positive discipline was instilled into your life even prior to coming to know Jesus as Savior?
Were there poor disciplinary traits that God had to remove once you yielded your heart to Him?
What Goliaths are attempting to stand in the way of the plan God has for your life?