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What is the purpose of guilt? What should a Christian do who no longer feels remorse when they sin? What if they can't let go of guilt even when God already has? These questions and more are answered as Wade and Jonathan discuss "The Guilt Gauge."
How are we when we get something in our heads that we want to do? Are we able to listen to advice if we are misguided? Brother Greg Gay returns to the podcast to answer this question an many others in a Bible study about King David from 2 Samuel 24:21-24.
What do we know about Haggai? In the time of Haggai, God’s people were living through a period of nation shaking events, and they were really struggling to adjust in a Godly way. They were coming home from a 70 year exile to a land that had been destroyed, and they had a lot of challenges in adjusting to their “new normal.” This is something we can certainly relate to.
Haggai deals with procrastination, misplaced priorities, complacency, dealing with mistakes, and discouragement. Those are all problems that are real for us too. This book doesn’t just apply to the people of Haggai’s day; it’s meant for ALL followers of God throughout all time.
Extra Notes from Bryce:
I want to take a quick look at the kind of man and follower of God that Haggai was. First, He had FOCUS (and stuck to his purpose). This book is totally unlike any of the other prophets. It’s short and to the point, he dates all his work, and there's really no spectacular figurative language like some of the prophets; Haggai’s focus was to preach God’s word and get the temple rebuilt. Second, He always gave God the credit (beyond a shadow of a doubt). 26 times in 38 verses he makes it clear his words came from God himself. He gave God the glory and the credit where it was due. Third, As a leader he was hands on (led by example). Like we read in Ezra 5:1-2 HE WAS THERE helping these people rebuild. He wasn’t a passive leader but he got on the front lines and helped get the job done. Those are the kind of leaders we respect and the kind of leaders the church needs. He also made those around him better. He was the teammate everyone wants. He didn’t put anyone down… He CHALLENGED them when they were in the wrong with God and needed correcting, but he built people up. And we all need friends to correct us when we’re out of line. Proverbs 27:6 says that the wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. That it’s better to have your friend give you some stern correction than people hype you up in doing what’s wrong. And after Haggai’s rather harsh prophesying at times, the people were motivated to work and to live for God. And Ultimately, he did what God told him and GOT THE JOB DONE. Ezra 6:14-15 says that they actually finished this second temple! Which never would have got done without Haggai’s preaching. Haggai was told what to do by God, and he DID it and stayed till the job was done. He persevered.
When we think of the Gospels, we think of the Savior sent from God, Jesus Christ. The Gospels
reveal that God Himself came in the form of a man to save mankind from their sins. But we often overlook the "Pavior" sent from God, John the Baptist. John is the Pavior in that he paved the way for Jesus to come into the world. He is the connecting link from the Old Testament and New Testament, the first prophet to come after 400 years of revelatory silence. It may be said that to truly understand and appreciate the life of Jesus, we must first understand the role and work of John as he prepared the way for Christ.
What do you know about the book of Proverbs? If you’re like me, it can be a collection of little quotes or sayings that fit nicely on an inspirational calendar. This is, however, a far greater use for this book. The purpose of the Proverbs is to teach wisdom, the outcome of which is “justice, judgment and equity”. It takes wisdom to unravel some of the difficult sayings of the wise. Therefore, the more we understand the ways of wisdom in Proverbs, the more it will be unlocked to us to learn more. Join Jamie Thomson and me as we discuss the "Beginning of Wisdom" in Proverbs.
If you had a conversation with someone who had never heard about Jesus before, what would you tell them? Where would you begin and where would you want to go? It may be easy to think that “this will never happen to me” but the life of Bradley Ballard serves as an inspirational reminder that not all evangelists start out as paid preachers. With the experience of over a decade of planting churches in three different countries, Bradley’s ability to talk to nonbelievers and sow the seeds of the gospel in their heart is a precious talent that he wants to share with you.
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