Category: Christian Essentials

Week 37 Giving The first Christians were very generous givers. They sold their property and possessions to give to others (Acts 2:45). They shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). In fact, no one among them had financial needs because of their generosity to one another (Acts 4:34-35; 6:1). Financial generosity is an important practice of…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 37 Giving

Week 36 Praise The habit of praise The first Christians were devoted to “praising God” (Acts 2:47). When you think of essential habits in a Christian’s life, what comes to mind? Prayer, reading God’s word, going to church? Indeed, these are all important. But the NT constantly commands us to be praising God. Christians are…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 36 Praise

Week 35 Prayer Why does God want us to pray? The first Christians were devoted to “prayer” (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4). We are also commanded to be devoted to prayer (Luke 18:1; Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; 1 Thess 5:17). A very important question is why does God want us to pray? Because there…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 35 Prayer

Week 34 Friendship They were devoted to Christian fellowship The first Christians were devoted to “the fellowship” (Acts 2:42). Our word “fellowship” comes from the Greek word koinōnia. It means to SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH OTHERS. The passage goes on to describe what fellowship and sharing meant to them. First, they shared their possessions (Acts…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 34 Friendship

Week 33 Sunday Worship What is the church and what does it do? The word “church” in the NT comes from the Greek word ecclesia. It basically means a gathering of people with shared beliefs. The word “church” is used in two ways in the NT. It refers to the world-wide church of all believers…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 33 Sunday Worship

Week 32 God Times Why spend time with God? A God Time is: a conversation with God by talking to Him in prayer and listening to Him in Scripture. Why should we spend time doing this? The best answer may surprise you. The most important reason to spend time with God is to bless Him!…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 32 God Times

Week 31 God’s Will for Your Bad Emotions II: Reveal & Resolve God’s desire for you to resolve your painful emotions God created you with the ability to suppress painful emotions to temporarily protect your life and others from them. But He only meant suppression to be a temporary help. How do you know that?…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 31 God’s Will for your Bad Emotions II: Reveal & Resolve

Week 30 God’s Will for Your Bad Emotions I: Recognize & Rebel Painful and sinful emotions like anger, worry, and discouragement plague many Christians. How can we be free of them? The Psalms give us examples of godly men who were willing to recognize bad emotions, talk to God about them, and have God’s truth…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 30 God’s Will for your Bad Emotions I: Recognize & Rebel

Week 29 God’s Purposes for Your Good Emotions Common but unbiblical views on the place of emotions in the Christian life Unfortunately, there is a strong bias in Christianity against the God-given value of emotions. This has led to several unbiblical attitudes toward them. First, it is common to deny that the fruits of the…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 29 God’s Purposes for Your Good Emotions

Week 28 The Spirit’s Control The power of the Spirit’s control When God’s Spirit controls us we will have “self-control” (Gal 5:23; 2 Tim 1:7). The Spirit’s self-control is really the Spirit’s control. God wants His Spirit to constantly control you. Again, God did not come to live in you just to take up space.…… Continue reading CE 1 YEAR: 28 The Spirit’s Control