Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Not all sermons are humdingers. Some bible classes could also be used for general anesthesia. There are lessons that make watching paint dry seem more entertaining. That doesn’t however mean we can’t get something out of them.  Greek philosopher Plutarch is credited with saying, “ Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who talk badly. ”  So, what are some ways we can make the less-than-ideal lesson one we get something out of? 1. Ask questions   Even if the teacher isn't letting you, you can still come up with your own questions for you to study. I know I have gotten some good learning just trying to figure out what some folks have said. Check out if what the person has said is true is a good practice, even for good lessons (Acts 17:11) 2. Consider the source   If a Bible class has any Bible in it, it has real learning potential. Read the scripture and see what you can pull from them on your own. 3. Exercise patience  ...

    In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back.       I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

  When Abraham hears about God’s plans for the destruction of Sodom, he is rightly concerned. His favorite nephew, one he practical raised, is among those that are to be swept away. Not only that, Abraham worries about the other righteous men there. Surely God won’t destroy them too? Abraham came near and said, "Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Genesis 18:23    So he haggles with God. How many does it take before you call it off? 50? 45? 40? 30? 10? God, who owes nothing to Abraham, seemly patiently waits for him to come down to his final number the minimum righteous men you would need to save a city.   It’s not enough.   Not that God wouldn’t do it, there were not enough people to be found even among Lot’s own family to save wicked Sodom. Even after Abraham tries to make it is as few as he thought possible, It wasn’t enough   I notice a similar trend in church work. Gospel meeting, VBS’s, other events on...

  If you think learning is weighted to the side of the instructor you probably are not going to learn much no matter how good the instruction is.   We say it like this, ‘I didn’t get anything out of that sermons’ or ‘the teacher is too boring to keep my attention’, or ‘that person just can’t relate to the audience’. They are all are ways of saying the same thing. The failure to learn is not the fault of the learner   However, let’s consider this scripture: A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding . Proverbs 14:6   Notice the difference?   Those that are quick to judge the process never seem to find anything at all. But for those wanting to learn, there is plenty to find. If we are too busy judging the lesson, it removes the possibility of getting the lesson (James 4:11).   Don’t think I’m saying there are not needed improvement in our teaching, there absolutely are! What I’m...

  There are the things we want to know and the things we need to know. Maybe we are a bit nosy, wanting to know more, or it could be it's just curiosity. The disciples were that way too.   In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus is spending the forty days proving himself and preparing the disciples for their coming mission. He has promised them shortly the Holy Spirit will guide them in what they will need to know.   Yet they want to know more. So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" Acts 1:6    Jesus response was direct, “ It is not for you to know ”.   They as Jews were naturally curious about the fate of their homeland, but that wasn’t what they needed to be concerned with. God had a plan for Israel (Romans 11:25-27) and he would be taking care of that. They needed to focus on the task that was before them.   Sometimes Bible students fall...

Crimson Tide I know some of you bleed this... What item was used to determine which of the twins brother, Perez or Zerah was older? A scarlet thread A red rag A blood stained cloak A wine colored birthmark Who was spared because of a red cord hanging in her window? Deborah Rahab Sari Regina What number seal released the red horse and rider in Revelation? 1 2 3 4 What ruler mixed the blood of Gentiles with his sacrifices? Ahab Manasseh Pilate Zedekiah The woman with a bleeding disorder interrupted what man's attempt to have Jesus heal his daughter? Levi Cornelius Titus Jarius What flowed from the side of Jesus when he was pierced after his crucifixion? Blood only Water only Nothing Blood & Water The Field of Blood where Judas died and was buried was known as what in the native language? Golgotha Taila Kum Akeldama Gehenna What book contains the quote "(sins) are red like crimson, they shall become like wool'? Romans 1s...

  The Principia, is a three-volume series of mathematical proofs by Isaac Newton about his laws of gravity and motion. It’s what we base calculus on.  The Principia is one of the greatest works in the history of science and has been studied by legions of scientists, mathematicians, and professors for the last three centuries.    If anything were wrong with it surely someone would have noticed the mistake by now!   That’s exactly what Robert Garisto thought.  Garisto was a student working on a paper for a history of science class, when he noticed that Newton had mistakenly plugged the wrong number into an equation to find the mass of the Earth (Newton had used 10.5 seconds in his write-up, but 11 in the actual problem).  Garisto didn't think much of the error when he found it -- he assumed it had been put in there intentionally by his instructor, and that spotting it was part of the assignment.  It wasn’t, the instructor didn’t even...

Monday Morning Scattershooting while wondering why they call it a Fiat? Probably because if you get mad enough, you can throw one.    I always thought that Bible class numbers are a more accurate measure of the health of a church than worship attendance. I think it was Ira North that said “ as the Bible class goes, so goes the church ”.  But even those numbers can be off if we don’t make Bible class a priority in the church.  I've seen lots of churches that have poor class number because they don’t really make the classes worth attending. I’m focusing on adult Bible classes since if the adults come then the children will as well. [*] Here are some things that might help to fix that:              1. It’s all about the options.     If you only give folks a choice between one type of class and not coming, more people will take that choice to not come.  More classes make for smaller cla...