There is much disagreement about what God demands, permits, and forbids. We can determine what authority God has granted us to act individually or as a church, but it all hinges on how we interpret the information God has communicated to us in His word.

As you will see in the following lessons, whether it concerns our personal moral behavior or how we work and worship as a church, there is no special code for understanding God. God communicates to us the very same way we communicate to each other. If that is the case, then we need to pay close attention both to what He says and to what He does not.

1. By What Authority
2. By What Authority, Part 2
3. By What Authority, Part 3
4. By What Authority, Part 4
5. By What Authority, Part 5
6. By What Authority, Part 6
7. By What Authority, Part 7
8. By What Authority, Part 8
9. By What Authority, Part 9
10. By What Authority, Part 10

With increasing volume and frequency, many challenge the idea that the Bible is direct revelation from God. Can we have confidence that it is? What about differences between texts in different manuscripts? Why do we have all of these different translations?

We can trust the scriptures. Here is why:

1. Why I Trust the Scriptures, Part 1
2. Why I Trust the Scriptures, Part 2
3. Why I Trust the Scriptures, Part 3
4. Why I Trust the Scriptures, Part 4
5. Why I Trust the Scriptures, Part 5

Detractors routinely deride Christians as duped simpletons. Unfortunately, too many of us hand them fuel for that fire.

In contrast, the Bible is full of examples, encouragements, even outright commands to think, to meditate:

Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
—Psalm 119:27 NKJV

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord … .
—Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
—Matthew 22:42 NKJV

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
—Philippians 4:8 NKJV

Here is a series of lessons that encourage us to give more and deeper thought to God, His word, and our service to Him:

1. Renewing Your Mind
2. Thinking about God
3. Thinking about Truth
4. Thinking about Wisdom
5. With All Your Mind

It underlies many of the legacy hymns we sing, and it crops up in our social media feeds: Calvinism. John Calvin and his Institutes of the Christian Religion may be the greatest influences on Protestant thought, second only to Martin Luther himself. This constant barrage of Calvinist thought has a tendancy to seep into the church and color our understanding of the truth.

The following series of lessons examines the doctrines of John Calvin and the arguments modern proponents, such as John Piper, make to defend them. Then we look at what the Bible has to say:

1. On the Other Hand
2. Why Calvinism?
3. Our Sovereign Lord, Part 1
4. Our Sovereign Lord, Part 2
5. Depraved, but Not Totally
6. Depraved, but Not Totally, Part 2
7. Election, but Not Unconditional
8. Election, but Not Unconditional, Part 2
9. Limited Atonement
10. Calvin and Christ's Righteousness
11. Resistible Grace
12. The Security of the Saints

The book of Isaiah contains a series of Servant Songs, songs that prophesy of the role and character of the coming Messiah, all fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.

1. The Servant Songs, Part 1
2. The Servant Songs, Part 2
3. The Servant Songs, Part 3
4. The Servant Songs, Part 4