But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 Come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 28: 28-30 What do these two passages say? What do we learn about God and Jesus from these passages? Living a life for Christ is all about relationships. When we look…
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Spending Time With God
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35 Read the following passages and then answer the following questions. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “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 complete, equipped for every good work.” Psalm 119: 103-105, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a…
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Love One Another
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12. God is invisible in nature. We, as humans, like to see and touch who we are communicating with. It can be hard for some to go to God and converse with Him, to take the time and spend it with Him. As we build our relationship with God, we will love other believers; by his Spirit, and the communications of his love, and by his gracious…
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Depending On God
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5 Read the following passages of scripture. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I,…
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Loved By God
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:8-10 “As the Father…
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Meeting With God
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me? “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. …
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Embracing Relationships
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 What does the passage above mean to you? What does this teach you about following Jesus? This past week we have touched on three kinds of relationships. All of these relationships are interdependent with one another. ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you(abide), that you also love one another(connect). By this, all men will know (share) that you’re My disciples if you’ve loved…
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As a Jesus Follower – Abide
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” John 8:28-29 Today, we will read the Scripture passages from John 8:28-29; 14:10-11, 15:5, 19; and 17:3. Read it a few times, slowly and carefully. So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just…
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The Seven I AM’s
I Am the Bread of Life. John 6:35; I Am the Light of the World. John 8:12; I Am the Gate. John 10:9; I Am the Good Shepherd. John 10:11; I Am the Resurrection and the Life. John 11:25-26; I Am the Way, and the Truth and the Life. John 14:6; I Am the True Vine. John 15:1 Jesus’s seven I AM’s statement. Many times we need to go back to a truth ( more truths than one) and have to study, meditate on it numerous times before it sticks. Let’s review all of these I AM’s. Bread Of Life Apart from Jesus, there is no true satisfaction. There are…
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What We Produce
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5 Read John 15:1-11. Who is the true Vine? Who is the Gardener? Who are the branches? Jesus is the true vine and God the Father is the gardener. We are the branches. This is the second time in the I AM statements that Jesus tells us what we are. The first one was in the Light of the World. Jesus is the light of the world, and so are we (Matthew 5:14). WE are connected to the Vine –…