Author: Chiasochris

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Perfect Servant,
Savior of the world, Messianic King
and the Son of God, before Acts
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity and
to Philippians Unity of the Spirit;
before Paul’s pastoral letters and
then pursing maturity in Hebrews
and practical Christianity in James.

Next, we continue into 1st Peter;
where apostle writes to scattered
Jewish Christians who are under-
going intense persecution for their
faith. He reminds his readers that
God has given them the privilege
of being born again. Therefore,
they shouldn’t be surprised when
suffering comes their way; they
should expect it, prepare for it,
and respond to it correctly.
He also encourages them to imitate
Christ through a submissive spirit
toward one another. If they do,
God will richly reward them
when the trials of life are over.

Whilst Peter’s first letter taught
his readers to persevere through
external trials with hope, his second
letter teaches the same audience
to oppose internal spiritual struggle
with the knowledge of the truth.
Peter warns against apostasy
within the church, moral perversion
and the denial of Christ’s return.
He exhorts his readers to grow
in grace and knowledge that
come through Jesus Christ,
thereby gaining strength to
resist error and avoid heresy.

We’ll cover the two letters of Peter
over one weekend in two divisions:-
1 Peter: Encouraging Afflicted
2 Peter: Growing in the Faith
Lookout for them to be encouraged
& be steadfast in difficult situations

 

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Perfect Servant,
Savior of the world, Messianic King
and the Son of God, before Acts
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity and
to Philippians Unity of the Spirit;
before Paul’s pastoral letters and
then pursing maturity in Hebrews.

Next, we continue into James:
where the apostle shows how faith
integrates with everyday practical
experience by stressing that true
faith produces doers of the Word.
For James, a faith that produces
no change in a person’s life is
really no faith at all. True faith will
bear fruit in actions and deeds.
James offer many tests for genuine
faith: It endures trials, obey Word,
harbours no prejudice, controls
the tongue, is separated from
the world and resists the devil.

We’ll cover the letter of James
over one weekend in two divisions:-
Jas 1-3: Faith Tested & Displayed
Jas 3-5: Faith Proved & Rewarded
Lookout for it to better understand
right Christian Behaviour and the
issue of the Testing of Faith; and
be embolden in difficult situations.

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Perfect Servant, Savior of the world, Messianic King
and the Son of God, before Acts
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity and
to Philippians Unity of the Spirit;
before Paul’s pastoral letters.

Next, we continue into Hebrews:
Jewish believers were tempted
to renounce their newfound faith
and return to Judaism to escape
persecution. The writer of Hebrews
appeals to them to pursue maturity
based on Christ’s superiority
to the Jewish religious system.
Christ is better than Moses
for Moses was created by Him;
He is better than Aaron for His
sacrifice never need be repeated;
He is better than the Law, for
He mediates a better covenant.
More is to be gained by suffering
for Christ than by reverting
to a system He came to fulfill.

We’ll cover the letter to Hebrews
over two weekends in 4 divisions:-
H1-4: Christ > Angels & Moses
H5-7: Christ Better than Priesthood
H8-10: Christ Better than Old Cov
H11-13: Superiority of Faith
Lookout for it to better understand
the sufficiency & superiority of
Christ; and be strengthened in
your faith esp in difficult situations.

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible. In the Gospels,
Jesus is being presented as
the obedient Servant in Mark,
the Savior of the world in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity; and
to Philippians the Call to Unity.

Next, we go to the pastoral letters:
Timothy, a young disciple Paul
discovered on his 2nd missionary
journey (Act 16:1) enjoyed a unique
relationship with the apostle.
Referred to as his “own son in
the faith”, Timothy ministered
side by side with Paul as a
missionary, and later received
the challenging assignment of
pastoring the church at Ephesus.
Paul’s first letter to him resembles
a manual for building church
leadership. More generally, it is
a rich mine of principles for anyone
who wishes to have a spiritual
impact in the lives of others.

2 Timothy: Paul’s life is drawing
to a lonely close in a Roman prison
as he writes to encourage Timothy
who now faces new challenges
as pastor of the church in Ephesus.
Paul advises Timothy to remain
solidly grounded in Christian
service and to endure suffering.
He lay down principles for those
pursuing ministry of discipleship.
Underlying each theme is the
importance of God’s Word
as the foundation for living.

Philemon: On the run after
committing a wrong against
his master, Onesimus the slave
sought refuge among the masses
in the city of Rome. There he
crosses Paul’s path and converts
to faith in Jesus Christ. Though
he shows his gratitude by serving
Paul, he still must reconcile with
his master Philemon. Paul writes
this letter to Philemon asking
him to forgive Onesimus and to
accept him as a brother in Christ.

Titus lived in Crete, the largest
island in the Mediterranean, and
worked among a people who
collectively had one of the worst
reputations in the world. Paul had
left Titus to oversee the growth of
the church there & now writes to
encourage him in that difficult task.
To promote sound teaching and
offset false doctrines, Titus is told
to appoint & train spiritual leaders
as elders. Paul’s letter is a summary
of Christian doctrine emphasising
holy living and encourages all
to live worthy of the gospel.

We’ll cover Paul’s letters to Timothy
over two weekends & his letters to
Philemon & Titus in one weekend.
Lookout for them to understand
the need to persevere in service; the importance of reconciliation
and to live worthy of the gospel.
Blessings/chris

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Servant in Mark,
the Perfect Son of Man in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of second coming,
and the Corinthians to live Rightly.

Next, we continue into Romans.
Although Paul had not founded
the church in Rome, he had heard
of their exemplary faith & service
and intended to visit them. Thus
the letter to the Romans served to
introduce both Paul & his message.
Writing from Corinth on his third
missionary journey, Paul sets forth
the Doctrines of the Christian
faith, life in the Spirit, unity in
the body and God’s redemptive
program for both Jew and Gentile.

We’ll cover Paul’s letters to Romans
over two weekends in 5 divisions:-
R1-3: Problems of Unrighteousness
R4-5: Provision of Righteousness
R6-8: Pursuit of Righteousness
R9-11: Program of Righteousness
R12-16: Practice of Righteousness
Lookout for it to better understand
the doctrine & practice of our faith.
Blessings/chris

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Servant in Mark,
the Perfect Son of Man in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of second coming,
the Corinthians to live Rightly and
to the Romans Justification by Faith

Next, we continue into Ephesians,
who had unlimited spiritual wealth
at their disposal, yet they lived as
spiritual paupers. So Paul wrote
to encourage them to claim their
heavenly resources & draw on them
for their earthly walk. In the 1st half
of his letter, the apostle outlines
the heavenly wealth – adoption,
redemption, inheritance & power.
In 2nd half, he shows the practical
applications of those doctrines.
Paul made it clear – believers are
not to have merely an earthly view
for God has given to us His riches.

We cover Paul’s letter to Ephesians
over one weekend in 2 divisions:-
Eph 1-3: Christian’s Wealth
Eph 4-6: Christian’s Walk
Lookout for it to better understand
the purpose of the church and
be strengthened in your faith.
Blessings/chris

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Servant in Mark,
the Savior of the world in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith &
Ephesians living as Body of Christ.

Next, we continue into Colossians.
Paul is imprisoned in Rome when
he receives word that heretical
doctrines are threatening the
church at Colosse. To refute the
spiritually lethal combination of
eastern mysticism and Jewish
legalism, Paul reestablishes the
truth of the gospel & demonstrates
the supremacy of Christ. As Lord
of all, Jesus Christ is the giver
of salvation and sufficient for
every need. Since Christ is all in all,
Paul encourages the Colossians
to pursue a godly lifestyle befitting
those who are risen with Christ.

We cover Paul’s letter to Colossians
over one weekend in 2 divisions:-
Col 1-2: What Christ Has Done
Col3-4: What Christians Should Do
Lookout for it to better understand
that Christians have everything
they need in Christ and hence
be strengthened in your faith.
Blessings/chris

We have been Chronologically
covering the Bible phase by phase.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Servant in Mark,
the Savior of the world in Luke,
Israel’s Messianic King in Matthew
and the Son of God in John gospel.
We have also covered Acts which
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Paul urges the Galatians to
live by Faith alone, Thessalonians
to Serve ahead of Second Coming,
to Corinthians to Live Rightly,
to Romans Justification by Faith,
Ephesians living as Body of Christ
and to Colossians Doctrinal Purity.

Next, we continue into Philippians.
Paul is now a prisoner in Rome.
In spite of difficult circumstances,
he remains joyful and writes to
commend the Philippians for their
faithfulness and to challenge them
to make Christ the center of their
experience. Jesus’ life & ministry,
described in P2:6-11, is the life
pattern believers should follow
so that their faith might become
evident to others.Paul recognises
that divisions sometimes exist
among believers but is confident
that unity will be restored as they
imitate the servanthood of Christ.

We cover Paul’s letter to Philippians
over one weekend in 2 divisions:-
Phil 1-2: Rejoice In God’s Will
Phil 3-4: Resting In God’s Peace
Lookout for it to better understand
that True Joy comes from having
relationship with Jesus Christ. And
hence be strengthened in your faith
especially in difficult circumstances
Blessings/chris