Practical Bible Teaching

The resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of the house of Israel have something important to teach the Church.

Owning and using a Love Cover requires that we see things differently from the norm.

When I could not give the exact time and date of my salvation, I was made to feel as if I had never truly been born again. That is utter nonsense and something I hope you have not experienced.

These two words go to the heart of the gospel. The two words do not mean what we usually take them to mean.

Murder, adultery, drunkenness, lying, stealing are not sins, but symptoms.

There is something significant about Moses and Elijah and their disappearing act on the Mount  of Transfiguration.

In one of his most famous lines, Yoda manages to utter the heart of the gospel.

God, in His magnanimous all-inclusive love has included you in the divine dance.

Is it wrong to brag? If not, then what should we brag about?

Why does Christianity have so many branches?  Differentiation and variety have been markers of Christianity since the very beginning. Apparently, there has never been a united Christianity.

John the Baptist had no idea what he was saying when he first saw Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River. What did the Jews who heard him think?

May your heart be softened so that a bruised reed you will not break.

It is a strange idea to consider suffering to be a gift.

Joseph, the foster father of Jesus was declared to a righteous man even though he did not follow the letter of the law. What are we to make of that?

Having patience doesn't mean you learn to wait. We ALL wait. It's HOW we wait that reveals the patience or impatience of our character.

What are the three monkeys really telling us?

While many will point to terrors in the world as being a sign of Christ's soon return, Jesus said these signs meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Our guilt and debt for sin has been canceled. Once we realize the truth of that, we will have peace in our world.

When will the temple be rebuilt in Jerusalem?

Skepticism and cynicism often accompany any talk of a future resurrection of humans. The idea of living again after one has died goes against the rational mind. However, for Christians, belief in the resurrection of the body is part of the foundation of our faith.

There has never been anything like this covenant before, because it completely eliminates any responsibility on our part.

Being right with God has nothing to do with us or our behavior, but it has everything to do with Him.

Systemic racism is nothing new. Prejudice is nothing new. That fact, however, does not make it acceptable. Jesus was confronted by those for whom racism was a way of life. How did He deal with the problem?

The downward spiral into which the mullygrubs sends us can be stopped if we will recall one of the great promises ever given to the people of God.

Parables were stories that Jesus told to help His audience better understand concepts about Himself and the kingdome of God. They were never meant for the church to build doctrines of separation between believers.

To say that a desire is just a wish that something might happen cannot be appled to God and His purposes for mankind.

These 18 minutes may just cause you to change your mind.

What does God want from us?  What kind of sacrifice is pleasing to the Lord? Must it be painful for us to offer our sacrifice?

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Is everything really a vanity and a chasing after wind?

God's life preserver has nothing to do with escaping what is to come. He has designed everything for you to be able to survive the Great Tribulation, not run from it.

Jesus is not simply a historical figure who lived some 2000 years ago. He is the exact representation of God. Anything you believe about God must be found in Jesus, or it is a faulty concept.

Spiritual heart surgery is more necessary than one might believe. The recovery rate and extended life as a result makes it all worthwhile.

Have you ever become angry over the way you were treated at a restaurant or grocery store or some other place of business? How we respond or react to our disappointment will reveal much about our character.

In our country, where freedom is cherished, exalted and honored, there are still multitudes who are enslaved. Any form of legalism is dangerous to the life of faith. It is a mistake, then, to think that we need laws, rules and regulations to make sure that a Christian remains a Christian.

2000 pigs were not able to contain what a single individual had held within his being. (a little longer than usual due to a beautiful five-minute hymn at the end.)

What does God think of you and what you do? Are you constantly looking over your shoulder to see if you are about to be struck by a lightning bolt? In this brief  (16 min.) encouraging message, you will discover something that many people are afraid to believe. I hope you will find something here to make you smile from the inside out.

What is the difference between unbelief and a lack of faith? Does God require you to have faith in order for you to be healed? Is God obligated to perform according to your faith?

What does it take to be converted? How can we aid the process for someone to be converted to our beliefs? Should we even be trying? The apostle Paul gives us much understanding as we consider his life and teachings.

Have you lost hope? Has the world situation with all its uncertainty caused you to feel lost? Are you not sure of what it is that you are feeling in this time? This is common, but not necessary. There is a bigger picture than what we see directly in front of our eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus is the focal point of the Christian faith. Many in the course of history have tried to disprove the fact of Jesus being raised from the dead. If the resurrection did not happen as told, then our faith is useless and we are fools.

Division in our society is more marked today than ever before. Christians should not be a part of this division, but we are. Do we just accept this as that’s the way it will always be? Is there anything that can be done about this?

The Bible shows us that Jesus has done all that we need in order to be right with God. There is nothing we can add to "IT IS FINISHED!"

Bad stuff happens to both good people and bad people. We often want to know why it happened, what caused it; but that is not what we need to know. There is something far more important for us to understand about our struggles in this life.

The story of the Transfiguration of Jesus is much more than just the glorification and approval of Jesus. It contains a valuable lesson for our understanding of the Bible.

Confession, according to its usage in the Bible, is a part of the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God is marked by a great variety of colors. It is likened to the facets on a cut diamond—no one single facet shows off the beauty and integrity of the diamond.

Have you ever been given an ABSOLUTE guarantee that the product or service you purchased will perform EXACTLY as promised? No. We get a guarantee that it will perform as promised or our money back, but there is no way the guarantee can cover any and all possibilities of failure from the moment of purchase. You are guaranteed that you will be satisfied—even if that means EVENTUALLY. God's guarantee is not like that.

1 Cor. 13 describes what love looks like. Since God is love, then we can gain an understanding of how God deals with us by applying these qualities to our image of the Father. One of those qualities in the love chapter is that love never ends. If God’s love never ends, then at what point of your rebellion will God finally give up and say, "That's it!! You're done!"

How is convincing someone they are a sinner considered to be good news? Does the gospel of Jesus really require that we convince someone that if they don’t repent, they are going to hell? Listen to find out what Jesus said was the good news.

Behold the man! We mainly focus on the divine nature of Christ. What about the humanity of Christ? How should we view that?

Life would be much simpler if we only had to do things once, but that just isn't the way things work. EXCEPT concerning what Christ has accomplished for us, as us, on our behalf.

Decision-making does not have to be a gut-wrenching experience. We do ourselves a disservice by not practicing the simple steps outlined for us in Paul's letter to the Philippians.

I apologize for the technical difficulties. We used a new iPhone 13 to record, and there are some sound glitches which I have no idea how they got there or what to do about them. The old phone had video difficulties out of the box, which we never got fixed. Now I've got audio difficulties out of the box. HELP!!!

"intercessor, advocate and pray" are each words that have taken on religious meanings quite apart from their original intent. Nonetheless, Jesus fulfills every aspect of each of them. Learn how these words are used and it may change the way you view your trials.

Jesus is/was a contradiction to everything the Jews held dear. He is also a contradiction to every thing religion holds dear. He is SO MUCH MORE than all we can imagine.

The doctrines of GRACE are once again being maligned by those who do not understand. May this episode help someone to come to a better understanding of what God has done and is doing.

The story of Zaccheus gives us clues about how to share the gospel. Jesus accepted Zaccheus before little Zack believed and repented.

We do not need to prove others wrong in order to prove that we are right. Let the powers that be hear your truth without criticizing or antagonizing.

Shall we receive good from God and not evil? (Job 2:10) A difficult concept for us to wrap our minds around.

What is your image or concept of God? Is He the angry old man in the sky throwing down lightning bolts on those who do not obey Him?

Our inheritance in the Lord is both a NOW and NOT YET reality.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Why? Didn't they already know how to pray? Wasn't prayer a part of normal Jewish life? There is much to learn from the answer Jesus gave them.

Some misguided people think that God wants us to know that He is angry with us for what we have done; but that is simply not true. The most famous verse in the Bible says otherwise.

Unity is not uniformity and uniformity does not necessarily produce unity. In our diversity, though, we can still be unified.

Many are looking for a singularly wicked individual they can identify as the antichrist. John may give us a different way of looking.

Humans have always attempted to put God in a box or a building through their theology or their architecture. The One who created the universe will not be limited by our thoughts or our buildings.

BEATIFIC VISION is the ability to see God. It has not been a common experience to this point, but God is changing that in this day. As we begin to see more clearly, we will see people who need to be loved rather than to feel condemned. We will see beyond their behavior or the way they look, and we will see them as God sees them.

20/20 vision is perfect natural vision, but it is not PERFECT vision. Being able to see as God sees will elevate your vision far above any man-made measurement.

When God asks questions, it is not because He doesn't know the answer. He is asking for our benefit—maybe to make us think a little deeper. This episode is also available as a video blog post: https://practicalbibleteaching.wordpress.com/2021/06/06/three-questions/

This podcast was captured from the video, warts and all. We had some technical difficulties, which caused comments that I left in the audio. Hope it doesn't distract too much. Thank you for listening.

What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit? Certainly not to make us look silly.

Philip left a powerful revival in Samaria to go into the desert, because the Lord told him to. His obedience led to one of the longest revivals in history. We, too, can be led by the Holy Spirit in the same fashion.

The kingdom of heaven is not something in the far-off future for which we eagerly wait.