Free to Serve

Sermon Study Guide: John 13:31-38

Just before his betrayal and crucifixion, as they celebrated the passover together, Jesus gave his disciples the command of a lifetime.  His words to the disciples on that fateful night have never been more relevant to our relationship with the church and to God. My prayer is that as you study this text, you'll agree that to truly love God we must love his people—the church.

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Sermon Study Guide: John 13:21-30

This is an interesting and difficult passage. Why would Jesus be so troubled that Judas would betray him? Was it merely Jesus contemplating his upcoming death, or was the Lord troubled that he'd be betrayed by one of his own disciples? I think it's both. Jesus loved Judas and was hurt to see him fall away.

As you read this passage, be thinking about your own life, acts of betrayal you have committed and acts of betrayal you have received. Where does the gospel fit into all of this? At the end of the day, we know that Jesus understands betrayal better than we ever will and, not only that, he has the only answer.

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Sermon Study Guide: John 13:1-20

Jesus humbled himself by washing the feet of his disciples. The Lord of Glory took off his clothes, put on a towel, and washed the smelly feet of his sinful disciples. And yet, as scandalous as this act of foot washing is, it's nothing when compared to the humility Jesus displayed when the Son of God took on flesh and died on the cross. 

This great truth should lead us to think seriously about how we serve God and our neighbors and the church. I pray the attached Sermon Study Guide would be of use to you as you seek to heed Jesus' command to humble serve.

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Sermon Study Guide: John 12:44-50

In one short paragraph, we find a summary of all of Jesus' teaching in John 1-12. I pray that this study guide would press you deeper into God's Word, especially as you revel in the fact that Jesus is the Light, the Lord, and the Lamb.

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Sermon Study Guide: John 12:36-43

Finally, another sermon study guide! I pray this helps you dig deeper into one of the most difficult NT passages. More than that, I pray it helps you throw aside anything that would keep you from loving the glory that comes from God most of all.

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Sermon Study Guides -- 2 Timothy

Here are two sermon study guides from 2 Timothy. Together, they cover 3:10-4:8. At the heart of this long text is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 

What an important verse this is for the believer! We are to be a people of the Book--constantly turning to God's Word for wisdom, strength, and power. Without the Bible we would have nothing to preach, nothing to say, and nowhere to go for the hope we need to survive. If these verses are true, we cannot be too Word-centered.

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Sermon Study Guide - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

We don't talk about false teaching nearly as much as the Bible does. From Jesus' prophecies about the end times in Matthew 24 to nearly all of Paul's epistles, false teaching is a reality we are warned against. 

This is certainly the case in 2 Timothy. Not only should we be on the lookout for false teachers, we should be tending to our own heart, making sure that we are spiritually mature. 

I pray that this study guide through 2 Timothy 3:1-9 is of help to you.

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Sermon Study Guide: 2 Timothy 2:14-26

It's childish to think a new day demands a new message. And yet that's exactly what we see today as immature Christians shave off parts of the gospel message to make it more palatable to an unbelieving world. Every generation has its false teachers--those who change, ignore, subtract from, or add to the gospel with the hope of being more effective. 

In this week's sermon study guide, we are give sound instruction from Paul about what false teaching is and how we are called to resist it.

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Sermon Study Guide: 2 Timothy 2:1-13

As Christians we are a called not merely to be concerned about our own generation, but the one to follow. Writing from death row, Paul urged Timothy to entrust the gospel into the hands of faithfu man. Here is a pattern not just for church leaders (raise up elders!) but for all of us (give the gospel away, especially to those who will share it with others).

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Sermon Study Guide - 2 Timothy 1:1-2

Last Sunday we began a nine-part series through 2 Timothy. If studying Samuel in 12 weeks was a little bit like jumping from mountain peak to mountain peak, where every passage screams, "Jesus is the king we need?" studying 2 Timothy in 9 weeks is like being in the brush at the base of the mountain where every verse cries out, "Follow this king to the very end."

So here we go. This Fall we are in 2 Timothy. May God's Word grow you in amazing ways!

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