Bible Lessons

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December 04, 2019

Declared Legally Dead as He Sat Before the Judge The title above was also the title of an article published in the New York Times on October 11, 2013. Written by John Schwartz, it tells about a man named Donald Miller Jr., a man who was declared legally dead in 1994. He had vanished from his home eight years earlier. Miller, age 61, told Hancock County Probate Court Judge Allan Davis that he disappeared in the 1980s because he was an alcoholic and had lost his job. His ex-wife claimed that he had vanished because he owed $26,000 in overdue child support payments. Miller lived in Florida and Georgia before returning to Ohio around 2005. He said his parents told him about his “death” when he came back to the state. So Miller went to court to ask the Probate Judge to reverse the 1994 ruling that declared him legally dead. He wanted to obtain a driver’s license and reinstate his Social Security number. But Judge Davis turned down his request, citing a three-year l

November 14, 2019

When Should We Pray? In Ephesians 6:18, Paul wrote, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” When should we pray? Paul said that Christians ought to pray “at all times.” In other words, we should pray ALWAYS, in EVERY SEASON, and on EVERY OCCASION. When should we pray? Now! And always! Without ceasing! Prayer is that important. We ought to be doing it all the time because we certainly need it all the time to be strong and maintain our great relationship with the Lord. Earlier in Ephesians 6:10ff, Paul wrote about all kinds of things we need in order to be strong: the BELT of truth, the BREASTPLATE of righteousness, the BOOTS of the gospel of peace, the SHIELD of faith, the HELMET of salvation, and the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Then notice in v18 he saves PRAYER for LAST. Is it because prayer is to be our last resort? Af

October 02, 2019

Do Not Grow Weary Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous Polish composer-pianist, was once scheduled to perform at a great American concert hall for a high-society extravaganza. In the audience was a mother with her fidgety nine-year-old son. Weary of waiting, the boy slipped away from her side, strangely drawn to the Steinway on the stage. Without much notice from the audience, he sat down at the stool and began playing C hopsticks . The roar of the crowd turned to shouts as hundreds yelled, “ Get that boy away from there! ” When Paderewski heard the uproar backstage, he grabbed his coat and rushed over behind the boy. Reaching around him from behind, the master began to improvise a countermelody to Chopsticks . As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy's ear, “ Keep going. Don ’ t quit, son ; d on ’ t stop . You’re doing great. Just keep on going.” That’s kind of what Paul wrote to the Philippians. You’ve read and heard

September 10, 2019

My Father is the Pilot A preacher was once travelling by airplane when the “Fasten Your Seat Belts” sign began to flash. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened.” As the preacher looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice on the intercom said, “We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.” And then the storm broke . . . The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if were about to crash. The preacher confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of t

August 21, 2019

Room for More in the Family of God In Luke 19:10 , Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Similarly, Paul told Timothy, “ This is a faithful/trustworthy saying, and it deserves full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). It was 2000 years ago that our Lord came to give His life to save sinners, but there are still so many remaining who need salvation. In Christ’s parable of the great supper, the servant went into the streets of the city and brought back many people. But then he reported back to his master, “Lord, what y ou commanded has been done , and yet still there is room for more” (Luke 14:22). God is still a God of abundant love and amazing grace , and t here is still room for more in the f amily of God! And certainly we know there is still plenty of room in this our Pontotoc C hurch F amily for many more to come to Christ! The Great Commission is recorded for us in Matthew 28

August 01, 2019

An Inconvenient Map App The following is from an article I once found on Forbes.com: Embarrassing defects in Apple ‘s new Maps app may be inconvenient for some , but for others in Australia they could be deadly. Police in the city of Mildura, Victoria are warning motorists to be careful when using the iOS 6 service in the area, because the app incorrectly lists Mildura as being in the middle of Murray Sunset National Park. The flaw has consequently lead several motorists to become stranded in the Australian Outback. Sunset National Park is not a typical park with barbecue cookouts and babbling brooks, but more than 3,000 square miles of Australian bush that contains poisonous snakes and insects, has very little water or mobile reception, and has recently seen temperatures of 115 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s also about 43 miles away from the real Mildura. Google Maps shows Mildura as being to the northwest of the park . This is a “potentially life-threatening issu