Exodus 30 The Altar of Incense
Exodus 31 The Sabbath
Exodus 32 The Golden Calf
Friday, February 28, 2025
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Life of Paul - His Ministry of Writing by Inspiration Begins with the Letter to the Congregations of Galatia
Introduction to the Life of Paul
Possible Date: 48-57 A.D. (49)
- Some would say, 53 (early in the year) Galatians was written from Antioch (in Syria) after Paul rebukes Peter for separating himself from Gentile converts but before the start of the third missionary journey.
Scripture: Book of Galatians
NOTE: There are various possibilities for the date of writing the book of Galatians.
#Paul
NOTE: There are various possibilities for the date of writing the book of Galatians.
#Apostle Paul
#Galatians
Some believe this is Paul's first letter written. If not, it certainly was one of the early ones. Some would place it on the 3rd Preaching tour.
Paul wrote Galatians - Galatians 1:1-2
§ Purpose: To verify his apostleship and the gospel of justification by faith in Christ
§ Theme: Stand fast in the liberty of the gospel
§ Brief Outline:
1. Defense of his apostleship - Galatians 1:1-2:21
2. Defense of the gospel of justification by faith - Galatians 3:1-4:31
3. The call to stand fast in the liberty of the gospel - Galatians 5:1-6:18
Chronology of Acts and the Epistles
| Event | Reference | Year (AD) |
|---|---|---|
| Descent of the Holy Spirit | Acts 2:1-13 | 30 |
| Setting Up of the Church | Acts 2:40-47 | 30 |
First Persecutions (Illustration) | Acts 4:1-22; 5:21-42; 7:1-60 | 35 |
| Philip at Samaria | Acts 8:4-13 | 35 |
Conversion of Saul (Illustration) | Acts 9:1-9 | 36 |
| First Gentile Converted | Acts 10:1-48 | 40 |
| Founding of Church at Antioch | Acts 11:19-30 | 43 |
| Writing of Matthew's Gospel | Matthew | 43 |
| James Killed by Herod | Acts 12:1-25 | 45 |
| Paul's Call | Acts 13:1-3 | 47 |
His First Missionary Journey Begun (Map) | Acts 13:4-14:28 | 48 |
| Council at Jerusalem | Acts 15:6-35 | 50 |
Second Missionary Journey Begun (Map) | Acts 15:39-18:22 | 51 |
| Writing of I Thessalonians | I Thessalonians | 52 |
| Writing of II Thessalonians | II Thessalonians | 53 |
Third Missionary Journey Begun (Map) | Acts 18:23-21:17 | 54 |
| Writing of I Corinthians | I Corinthians | 57 |
| Writing of Galatians | Galatians | 57 |
| Writing of II Corinthians | II Corinthians | 58 |
| Writing of Romans | Romans | 58 |
| Writing of Luke's Gospel | Luke | 59 |
| Paul's Arrest at Jerusalem | Acts 21:26-22:29 | 58 |
| Paul at Caesarea | Acts 23:23-26:32 | 59 |
| Paul Starts for Rome | Acts 27:1-2 | 60 |
| Paul Reaches Rome | Acts 28:11-16a | 61 |
| Paul's Imprisonment at Rome | Acts 28:16-31 | 62 |
| Paul Writes Ephesians | Ephesians | 62 |
| Paul Writes Philippians | Philippians | 62 |
| Paul Writes Colossians | Colossians | 62 |
| Paul Writes Philemon | Philemon | 62 |
| James Writes his Epistle | James | 62 |
| I Peter Written | I Peter | 63 |
| Acts Written | Acts | 63 |
| Paul is Acquitted | - | 63 |
| Paul Visits Various Places | - | 63 |
| Paul Writes Hebrews | Hebrews | 63 |
| Paul Writes I Timothy | I Timothy | 63 |
| Paul Writes Titus | Titus | 63 |
| Writing of Mark's Gospel | Mark | 64 |
| II Peter Written | II Peter | 65 |
| Paul's Second Imprisonment at Rome | - | 65 |
| II Timothy Written | II Timothy | 66 |
| Martyrdom of Paul | - | 66 |
| Destruction of Jerusalem | - | 71 |
| Jude's Epistle Written | Jude | 75 |
| Writing of John's Gospel | John | 85 |
| Writing of John's Three Epistles | I John; II John; III John | 90 |
| John's Visions at Patmos | Revelation 1:9 | 96 |
| Revelation Written | Revelation | 97 |
| Death of John | - | 100 |
Consideration for the Chronology of Paul’s Writings
1st
Missionary Journey (45-47 AD)
- No books were written in the Bible
Jerusalem
Conference (48-50 AD)
- Galatians (Various Dates from 48-57 AD) Personally lean toward 49-50 AD
2nd
Missionary Journey (51-54 AD)
- 1 Thessalonians (50-51 AD) Written from
Corinth
- 2 Thessalonians (51-52 AD) Written from Corinth
3rd
Missionary Journey (54-58 AD)
- 1 Corinthians (55-56
AD) Written
from Ephesus
- 2 Corinthians (56-57
AD) Written
from Macedonia
- Romans (56-58 AD) Written from Corinth
First
Roman Imprisonment (61-63 AD)
- Colossians (61-63 AD) Written from Rome
- Philemon (61-63 AD) Written from Rome
- Ephesians (61-63 AD) Written from Rome
- Philippians (61-63 AD) Written from Rome
Between
First & Second Imprisonment (63-67 AD)
- 1 Timothy (63-66 AD) Possibly written
from Macedonia
- Titus (63-66 AD) Possibly written from Ephesus
Second
Roman Imprisonment (68 AD)
- 2 Timothy (64-67 AD) Written
from Rome
Many believed that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. If he did, that would
bring the total number of Pauline books to 14 of the New Testament writings.
Other Resources:
Monday, February 24, 2025
Exodus 19-21
The Law and the Land
Having delivered his people from Egypt, God continued to guide them. When they reached Mt. Sinai, God spoke to them and gave them the Ten Commandments to shape their worship and their relationships. This would set them apart to be his special people, "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." But the people disobeyed God's ways and had to spend forty years wandering in the wilderness before reaching the border of the Promised Land. Moses was allowed to see it but not go in. Joshua led the people across the Jordan River and into the land God had promised them. God was with them every step of the way.
Having delivered his people from Egypt, God continued to guide them. When they reached Mt. Sinai, God spoke to them and gave them the Ten Commandments to shape their worship and their relationships. This would set them apart to be his special people, "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." But the people disobeyed God's ways and had to spend forty years wandering in the wilderness before reaching the border of the Promised Land. Moses was allowed to see it but not go in. Joshua led the people across the Jordan River and into the land God had promised them. God was with them every step of the way.
Purpose: To see how God wants his people to live and act as those called to be holy and live in close relationship with him.
Exodus 19
Exodus 20
Exodus 21
Not taking the LORD’s name is vain
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. (Exodus 20.7; Deuteronomy 5.11 ESV)
Untwisting Scripture: Taking the LORD’s name in vain edition
Exodus 20:1-26 The Obedience chapter
Humor
The teacher smiled at her Sunday school group and exclaimed, "All right, class, all those who want to go to Heaven raise your hands." Everybody in the class had a hand raised, except one boy. "Don't you want to go to Heaven?" asked the teacher. "I can't ma'am. My mom wants me to come straight home."
Why Didn't Cain Please God?
Q: Why didn't Cain please God?
A: Because he just wasn't Able.
Quotes
I had rather do and not promise than promise and not do. --Arthur Warwick
"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." --Friedrich Engels (1820 - 1895); German philosopher.
If any man should ask me what is the first, second, and third part of being a Christian, I must answer "Action!" -- Thomas Brooks
A passion to obey Christ is born out of our relationship with him. The more we love him, the more we want him to be a part of our affairs. -- Calvin Miller in "A Hunger for the Holy"
When a person's faith seems to collapse without warning, one can be sure it has been the result of inner conflicts--the termites of disobedience. Quinton J. Everest
Nothing shall be lost that is done for God or in obedience to Him. John Owen
Today, we are overboard on 'belief' but bankrupt on obedience.
Somebody is waiting on the other side of your obedience. Tim Storey
Wicked men obey from fear; good men, from love. -Aristotle
You cannot train a horse with shouts and expect it to obey a whisper. Dagobert D. Runes
Exodus 20:1-26 The "Obedience" Chapter
Genesis 22:18 ...and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
Genesis 26:5 ...because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws."
Exodus 5:2 Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go."
Exodus 12:24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.
Exodus 19:5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
Exodus 24:7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."
Exodus 34:11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
Matthew 19:17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
Matthew 28:20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark 1:27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."
Luke 11:28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
John 14:15 [ Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit ] "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
Acts 7:39 "But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Romans 6:16
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:17
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
James 1:25
Ephesians 2:1-2
Colossians 3:6
Sin is more than a breaking of God's laws, it is a breaking of His heart
THE SLIDE RULE
A father took his two sons, ages seven and five to the playground. The seven-year-old was very proud as he was able to read the sign with all the rules to his brother. "Do not jump on the merry-go-round when in motion." "Go down the slide while sitting only." "Only one child on a swing at a time." There were about twenty rules and the boys promised to obey them all, if the father would trust them and let them play without standing by. They said that they were too old to be watched and their friends would tease them calling them babies if Dad stayed. He made them promise to be good and obey the rules, and left them.
When it was time to get the children, the father decided to watch them at a distance for a while to see how reliable they were in following his instructions. He found that they obeyed most of the printed instructions. That is, all but one. They would get on the tall semicircular slide and go down head first or backward. Angrily, he picked up the children and took them over to the posted regulations and made his seven-year-old read them aloud again. Then he asked them what they had to say for themselves. The five-year-old answered immediately:
"Don't be silly Dad, you're the one who told us there's no use for a slide rule anymore."
Some of you younger readers will be asking, "What's a slide rule?" I have to admit that I often used one in college rather than a calculator (primarily because it cost over $100 to get a calculator that would do logarithms!). Of course, I also typed my term papers on a portable typewriter, and was thrilled when "Pong" was invented! (you younger readers may need to talk to your parents to fully understand today's message)
Things have changed. There isn't much use for a slide rule anymore, any more than we need an abacus to count. Some things don't change, though. Numbers are the same, whether they are calculated on a slide rule or a scientific calculator.
It's much the same way in religion. Our methods of teaching people may change. We may use television or radio (or e-mail!), methods that were unheard of 100 years ago. But the message cannot change. It must be God's Word.
"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because 'All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.' " (1 Peter 1:22-25a)
WHAT ABOUT DISOBEDIENCE?
"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:1-2, NKJV)
The word "disobedience" does not elicit strong reactions in the nominal Christian environment. It appears to be viewed casually, as though it were not a serious circumstance. The Word of God, however, is unusually clear on the subject of disobedience. Our text identifies it as the area in which the devil himself is found "the prince of the power of the air." Those who are disobedient are individuals in whom Satan works. They are also people who live in synch with a cursed world. Disobedience is found in the realm of spiritual death the place of insensitivity to God, Who is the source of life.
If obedience is a favorable response to Divine requirements, disobedience is an unfavorable response. If obedience is accepting heavenly benefits, disobedience is rejecting them. If obedience is submission to God, disobedience is rebellion against Him. Those who obey do what God requires of them. Those who disobey refuse to do what God requires of them. Disobedience is an act of insurrection, a reaction of hostility toward the Lord of all. It is never right, nor is it excusable.
Scripture apprizes us that s single act of disobedience made many people sinners (Rom 5:19). That act of disobedience--Adam's sin--is appropriately called the "offense" (Rom 5:15,17,18,20). It was an offense, crime, transgression, and affront to the Lord. If a single act of disobedience could thrust an entire race into spiritual darkness and disgrace, how terrible is our involvement in disobedience!
The wrath of God will come upon "the children of disobedience" (Col 3:6), i.e., those who insist on disobeying the Lord. With alarming clarity, the Spirit informs us of the return of the Lord Jesus. "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The judgment of God all such is affirmed: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess 1:8-9).
There will come temptations to disobey God to refuse to yield to His will. Satan will energetically attempt to influence you to ignore His commandments and count the words of His Son as inconsequential. There is abundant grace to enable you to resist his attempts, and obey the Lord from your heart. I implore you to culture a life of obedience of instant response to the Lord. It will bring great benefits to you now, and a place with the Lord in the world to come.
FOLLOWING GOD'S DIRECTIONS
"Follow all the directions the Lord has given you. Then life will go well for you... " Deuteronomy 5:33 (GW)
WHAT GOD PROMISES IF WE OBEY HIM
"God blesses those who obey him." Proverbs 16:20 (LB)
"God saves those who obey him." Psalm 7:10 (GN)
"The Lord watches over those who obey him." Psalm 33:18 (GN)
"The Lord takes care of those who obey him." Psalm 37:18 (GN)
"You help all those who obey you." Psalm 7:9 (NL T)
"God gives us what we ask for because we obey His commands." 1 John 3:22 (NCV)
"Always obey the Lord and you will be happy." Proverbs 28:14 (GN)
"Keep God's laws and you will live longer." Proverbs 19:16 (GN)
"Those who obey the Lord lack nothing good." Psalm 34:10 (GN)
"Those who obey him have all they need." Psalm 34:9 (GN)
You will...
"...live in perfect freedom." Psalm 119:45 (GN)
"...have greater wisdom." Psalm 119:100 (GN)
"...dwell in security and Peace" Proverbs 1:33 (NAB)
"...be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8 (GN)
"...be great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19 (NCV)
"...be rewarded." Proverbs 13:13 (NCV)
OTHER PROMISES
Proverbs 19:23 (GN), Proverbs 10:2 7 (GN), Psalm 25:14 (GN), Psalm 128:1 (GN),Psalm 106:3 (GN), Luke 11:28 (NIV), Psalm 111:10 (NLT), John 15:7 (LB)
HOW TO RECEIVE GOD'S PROMISES
1. OBEY GOD IMMEDIATELY
"I will quickly obey your commands." Psalm 119:32 (NCV)
"Without delay I hurry to obey your commands." Psalm 119:60 (GN)
2. OBEY GOD COMPLETELY
"Lord, you gave your orders to be obeyed completely." Psalm 119:4 (NCV)
"...Your job is not to decide whether God's law is right or wrong, but to obey it." James 4:11c (LB)
"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own." Proverbs 3:5 (Mes)
3. OBEY GOD JOYFULLY
"Obey him gladly." Psalm 100:2b (LB)
"I enjoy obeying your commands." Psalm 119:16 (NCV)
"I find pleasure in obeying your commands..." Psalm 119:47 (GN)
"Loving God means doing what he tells us to do..." 1 John 5:3 (LB)
4. OBEY GOD CONTINUALLY
"I am determined to obey you until I die." Psalm 119:112 (LB)
"Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey." Psalm 119:33 (LB)
"We must be sure to obey the truth we have learned already." Philippians 3:16 (NLT)
"Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord' but they still won't enter heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father." Matthew 7:21 (NLT)
2 Thessalonians 1:8
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
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