Life of Christ Lesson 46: The Worry Rule {Christ Teaches on Anxiety}
This lesson on Matthew 6:25-34 (from the Lord's "Sermon on the Mount") is on the subject of WORRY! Oh dear. With the current Coronavirus Pandemic upon us, this is an extremely important message from the Lord Jesus for all of us to hear and adhere!!
In His words of wisdom, the Lord tells His followers that to worry about earthly matters demonstrates three things: 1. distrust of our Father's Providence, 2. distrust of our Father's Promises, and 3. doubt in our Father's Protection.
What do we do when circumstances arise that appear to be potential situations for worry (anxiety)? We discuss 6 reasons why Christians should NOT worry in the midst of storms (or any time). Listen and sleep well tonight.
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1:09:36
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1:09:36
Life of Christ Lesson 45: The Treasure Rule {A Serious Message about Materialism}
From Matthew 6:19-24 (part of "The Sermon on the Mount"), the Lord taught how Kingdom citizens are to have the right perspective on earthly "treasures," which are merely temporary, as compared to heavenly "treasures," which last forever. The Christian is to set his affection on things above, "For where your heart is, there shall your heart be also".
In this lesson, we discuss how the Christian is to have a single focus and a solitary Master, "For no man can serve two masters . . . ye cannot serve God and mammon [money/material things". This is a serious message for our day of vast materialism!
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1:09:13
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1:09:13
Life of Christ Lesson 44: How to Pray Effectively - Part II
To be effective in our prayer lives so God is honored and pleased by our prayers, we need to fulfill certain Christian "responsibilities". In this second lesson on the Lord's "Perfect Prayer Pattern" from His "Sermon on the Mount". Whereas the first three petitions of the Lord's prayer pattern deal with exalting God, His name, His Kingdom, and His will, the last three petitions (6:11-13) have to do with us (the believers). We discuss these petitions under the headings of (1) or present provision, (2) for past pardon, and (3) for future protection (from temptation and evil).
We also discuss the closing doxology of the prayer ("For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen"), as well as the postscript on the subject of forgiveness found in verses 14 and 15. That postscript has upset a lot of Christians over the centuries, for they think Jesus was saying a person's salvational forgiveness is conditional upon his own forgiveness of others. That is not what He was teaching, and we explain the meaning of those verses in this lesson.
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59:42
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59:42
Life of Christ Lesson 43: How to Pray Effectively - Part I
Prayer is perhaps the single greatest activity in which the human soul can engage, for in prayer we come face-to-face with God. Prayer is our golden opportunity to give God the opportunity to manifest His power, majesty, love, and providence to His beloved children. Although prayer is one of the most vital aspects of the Christian life, most of us feel it is the area in which we are the weakest. The disciples of Christ obviously felt this way, too, which is why they asked Him to teach them to pray. Thus, He gave them instruction and guidance for proper, effective prayer in Matthew 6:7-15 (part of "The Sermon on the Mount").
First, Jesus spoke about the errors of ineffective prayer (vanity prayers, valueless prayers, and verbose prayers), before He then taught about the essentials for effect prayer (having right relationships, with God and others; having right responsibilities, and making right requests - which is discussed in Part II of this study).
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1:01:51
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1:01:51
Life of Christ Lesson 42: Beware of Religious Hypocrisy!
In Matthew 6:1-18, the Lord Jesus (in His "Sermon on the Mount) continued to emphasize true, heart righteousness by contrasting it with false, hypocritical "righteousness" in the realm of three practical, religious activities: (1) giving, (2) praying, and (3) fasting. His words about giving deal with a person's righteousness as it acts toward others; His words about prayer deal with righteousness as it acts toward God, and His words regarding fasting discuss heart righteousness in relation to oneself.
In this study, we discuss the sins of silent cowardice, selfish complacency, and showy conduct. We learn where the term "blowing your own trumpet" (or "sounding your own horn") originated. We discuss "silent hands" and "secret closets" and the four ways people approach religious responsibilities (only two of which earn God's praise, not the praise of others or the praise of self).
The Caldwell Commentaries dive deep into the Bible to reveal the amazing truths God has shared with mankind about HIStory, salvation in Christ, and the future! Be prepared for some spiritual heartburn!
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