Tag: Dave Thomas

Rizpah: The Influence of Faithfulness

• Lesson 9 for the week of November 20 to November 27

Leading Question: Is it possible for a woman to rouse a king’s conscience? Key Passages: 2 Samuel 3:6-12, A concubine of Saul, David’s enemy 2 Samuel 21:1-14, Rizpah reminds David of his duty to deceased...

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Joab: David’s Weak Strong Man

• Lesson 8 for the week of November 13 to November 20

Leading Question: When you have a relative working for you and the relative gets you into trouble by his bad behavior, what do you do with the relative? Key Passages: 2 Samuel 2-3, Blood feud,...

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Abiathar: The Priest

• Lesson 7 for the week of November 6 to November 13

Leading Question: Does one last mistake, overshadow forever a life that otherwise was marked by faithfulness? Key Passages: 1 Samuel 21:1-9, Ahimelech, Abiathar’s father, gives holy bread to David 1 Samuel 22, Abiathar escapes the...

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Uriah: Faith of a Foreigner

• Lesson 6 for the week of October 30 to November 6

Leading Question: When a leader commits a great mistake, can we still trust him or her? Key Passage: 2 Samuel 11 Questions: A Man After God’s Own Heart? When God rejected Saul, Samuel said that...

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Abigail: No Victim of Circumstances

• Lesson 5 for the week of October 23 to October 30

Leading Question: If your spouse does something really foolish, what is your obligation to protect him or her? Key Passage: 1 Samuel 25 Thoughts: Protecting your spouse. From a modern perspective, we might wonder how...

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Jonathan: Born for Greatness

• Lesson 4 for the week of October 16 to October 23

Leading Question: Does the Lord always choose the best man to be his leader? Key Passages: 1 Samuel 14, Jonathan takes risks for Israel, the people rescue him from Saul 1 Samuel 18-20 Jonathan in...

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Hannah: Learning to Be Someone

• Lesson 3 for the week of October 9 to October 16

Leading Question: Does it work to bargain with the Lord when we want something very badly? Key Passage: 1 Samuel 1-2, Baby Samuel brings joy to childless Hannah Questions: Bargaining with the Lord. Hannah made...

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Caleb: Living With the Wait

• Lesson 2 for the week of October 2 to October 9

Leading Question: How does one stand for the Lord when everyone else falls away? Key Passages: Numbers 13-14, From twelve spies down to two, Caleb and Joshua Joshua 14, Caleb asks for the toughest part...

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Appendix B: The Worst Story in the Old Testament: Judges 19-21

• Introduction

Appendix B: “Who Can Change the Mind of God?” Commentary on conditional prophecy (Jeremiah 26): By Alden Thompson, “Who Can Change the Mind of God?” Signs of the Times, Feb. 1992, 25-27. God is in...

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Appendix A: Commentary on the ninth command

• Introduction

Appendix A, on truth-telling: Commentary on the ninth command, Alden Thompson, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” Signs of the Times, November 1988, 20-22. Published as “When the Truth Is a Lie,”...

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Story and History

• Lesson 1 for the week of September 25 to October 2

Leading Question: “Do stories make truth more believable?” Key Passages: Genesis 39:6-12, Joseph and Potipher’s wife 1 Samuel 24:1-6, David allows Saul to escape from the cave Job 1-2, God and Satan in dialogue over righteous...

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John’s Letter to the Chosen Lady

• Lesson 12 for the week of September 11 to September 19

Observations for discussion and questions: The text of 2 John has been translated directly from the Greek in order to get a more literal rendition. Notice that the same sort of style regarding densities of...

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Important Themes in First John

• Lesson 11 for the week of September 5 to September 12

Observations for discussion and questions: The Godhead: The clearest examples of triadic formulation of the Godhead are found in Matt 28:19 and 2 Cor 3:14, but even there we do not have any attempt to...

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Confidence

• Lesson 10 for the week of August 29 to September 5

Observations for discussion and questions: The overall unity of this passage may be seen in the density of recurrences of the clause we know that. The subunit of 5:14-17 defined by the recurrences of the...

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