Concordia Adult Bible Class

When people get excited about something, they will often speak of “getting stoked up,” like embers in a fire. God wants us to get stoked up about the different vocations he has for us. We can look at these vocations like spokes in a wheel – we need to faithfully live out several vocations at once to make our life roll forward. For the next two weeks, we will talk about getting spoked up! That is, we will discover what spokes God has placed in the wheel of our vocations. We begin with our two primary vocations – seeking God’s kingdom and sharing God’s kingdom.

Crafting a personal purpose statement helps bring clarity to the ways in which God has gifted you to live for Him. Writing it down allows you to revisit your purpose statement time and time again and discern whether or not you are being faithful to God’s purpose for your life. When God comes to Habakkuk and asks him to write down a revelation, the Hebrew word for “revelation” in verse 3 is chazown. The chazown that God wants Habakkuk to write down has to do with righteousness before God. What chazown is God asking you to write down?

Our unique chazowns are rooted in the spiritual gifts God has given us. In order to discern our spiritual gifts, we need to ask what we love, what upsets us when it is not done or done incorrectly, what our past experiences are, and be familiar with the areas in which we have consistently been affirmed.

Far too many people drift through their lives aimlessly, not knowing what they will do next. Or, when they do make plans, they do not make them with God in mind. When you reach the last day of your life, will you be where God has designed you to be? Or, will you simply live and die without purpose?

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully.” 8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the worker

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. 11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kin

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appe

All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks

As Christians, how do we live in a world filled with so much depravity? How do we work with those who share radically different worldviews from us? Paul argues that, without compromising our core convictions, we can gladly enter into the lives of unbelievers, seeking by any moral means possible to bring to them the message of the gospel.

“It seems like everyone I know is getting cancer.” A dear lady said this to me a year ago after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. She prayed for healing. It did not come. Why is it that Jesus heals so many people in the Bible, but so many of our prayers for healing go unanswered? How do we trust Christ even when our prayers for healing aren’t answered as we might like them to be?

“Children are a gift from the Lord” (Psalm 127:3 NLT). Yet, with children also comes heavy responsibility. The call of Scripture is clear: We are to raise our children in the faith and, when they stray, we are to exercise patience and seek gentle restoration.

Many people struggle with long-lasting and lingering temptations. Whether we are tempted by alcohol, food, anger, resentment, or sexual indiscretion, we all face some type of temptation. Jesus models how to overcome temptation: through Scripture, the power of God, and consolation from others.

“What does God want me to do?” “Where does God want me to go?” “What does God want me to be?” These big questions about life’s direction do not have easy answers. What’s more, when we approach God in prayer about large life decisions, heaven can sometimes seem strangely silent. Yet, even when we don’t know what to do, we are given this admonition: “When we do not know what to do, we are to fix our eyes upon You”

He only looked like a child. But to Herod, he was so much more. He was a threat to his title as “King of the Jews.” Herod desires to kill this child, but his plot is foiled. Some wise men from the east desire to worship this child, and they are blessed. Jesus is King! Will we respond with rebellion like Herod or worship like the wise men when we meet Him face to face?

Lego Board Games are games you build yourself! And as you build them, you also try to beat your opponents. In Matthew 2, we are introduced to Herod the Great. Herod was known as quite a builder. He was the one who expanded the temple in Jerusalem to an untold splendor. He was the one who built fortresses such as the Herodium and even built a whole new city – the Caesarea Maritima. But Herod was also paranoid that someone would seek to take his power and prestige. So when some Magi from the east come inquiring about “a King of the Jews,” Herod becomes immediately jealous, believing that someone is trying to steal his throne. Sadly, during Christmas, our penchant for jealousy often comes out as we compare ourselves to those who more than us. Are we satisfied with what we do – and do not – have?

Pillow pets are exactly what their name implies – they are pets, but they are also pillows. By simply unfolding it, your child can turn his stuffed animal into a pillow on which to sleep. Around the holidays, a pillow pet sounds nice, doesn’t it? After all, this season is so busy and tiring. Who couldn’t use a nap? In Isaiah 8, the prophet speaks of a dark, tiring, and stressful time. He foretells a coming Assyrian invasion. But then, in chapter 9, Isaiah breaks out in a chorus of hope: “The people living in darkness have seen a great light” (verse 2). He further promises a coming Messiah who, among other things, will be the “Prince of Peace” (verse 6). Jesus, even when we are stressed and in need of rest, stills our souls with His peace.

They won “The Toy of the Year” for 2011. Sing-A-Ma-Jigs can talk, sing, and harmonize with each other! If you collect the whole family, they will always sing in perfect harmony. If only our families were as harmonious. But the truth is, our families are often filled with stress and strife, especially around the holidays. During the first Christmas, Joseph encountered a major family problem – his fiancé Mary turned up pregnant and he knew he was not the father! Yet, because of Joseph’s trust in God, he stayed with Mary and saw their marriage through. Do we trust in God to see us through difficult times and reconcile our broken relationships?

The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ron Suskind has just published a book titled Confidence Men, detailing the Obama administration’s confidence – and confusion – as they seek to handle some of our day’s biggest issues. If there was a “confidence man” in the first century, it was Paul. In his former life as a Pharisee, he was confident in his own ability, morality, and spirituality. But now he has shifted his confidence to Christ. Where is your confidence?

The phrase “cop an attitude” usually carries with it a negative connotation. But in Philippians 2, Paul calls us to cop the same attitude as Christ! We are to imitate His humility, His servant-spirit, and His obedience. For when we cop Christ’s attitude, we are pointing others toward Christ Himself so that the knees and the tongues of others can bow can confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!