Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell

4 - God's Hidden Kingdom

Why does God seem to hide His kingdom? Why does He do things in such subtle ways? You would think if God really wanted to save people, He would be dramatic and do things no one could question. 

As we look at the birth of John the Baptist and later Jesus' ministry, we see how Jesus conducted Himself and the way He organized things, and it left John the Baptist frustrated and questioning whether Jesus was the Messiah. All of this is to bring us to the place to ask ourselves: am I disappointed in Jesus? Because He is a clear person with clear values. And He does things completely different than we would expect.

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

3 - Christ in You

Last time we saw Mary receive the miracle of a supernatural conception. She became pregnant with the Son of God. Suddenly Jesus was living inside her, and the effect that His presence had on her and the circumstances surrounding her is a dramatic illustration of what all Christians can expect. After all, when a person believes in Jesus Christ, He also comes to live inside of him/her (Jn. 14:20, 23; Gal. 4:19; Col. 1:27). We carry Christ inside us in a different way, but like Mary our lives will be deeply impacted by this reality.

Unfortunately, there is an unbalanced teaching prevalent today that once a person becomes a Christian everything in life should go smoothly. Along with that is the teaching that when a person is truly in the will of God everything should proceed without hardship. Though this teaching has no real Biblical support it creates false expectations in people which, when unmet, leave them disappointed and alienated from God. There is no event in history which is more surely in the will of God than the incarnation and birth of His Son. It is the essential first step toward the salvation of believing humans. So, one would expect that God would arrange circumstances for Mary so that she faced little suffering as she fulfilled her appointed service. But that was not the case. In actuality, Mary faced an appalling list of heart-breaking events. It seemed that the presence of Christ in her ignited opposition everywhere she went. And yet God was always faithful to guide and provide for her as she needed it.

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

 

2 - Receiving a Miracle

It's true that the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ are unique events in history, so we might tend to assume there is nothing in these accounts that common believers like us can seek to put into practice in our own lives. But though we are reading about a very special miracle of God, the principles which are at work in Elizabeth and Mary, as they receive by faith what God has promised, are truths which should guide any of us as we seek to receive even the simplest miracles God wants to do in our lives.

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

 

1 - Hearts of the Fathers

The angel Gabriel explains that John the Baptist will become a prophet who restores many people to spiritual health. Quoting from the prophecy of Malachi, the angel states that when true repentance and faith comes to Israel there will be a marked transformation in the attitudes of men toward children. Though this is obviously a positive thing to have happen, it is surprising that men's attitudes toward fatherhood would become such an important sign to God. To understand why God would focus on this particular sign, we must first recognize the role He intended men to play in their families. After reading Deuteronomy 6:1-25 you'll see that God puts the primary responsibility for the spiritual formation of their children on the fathers. Of course, mothers have a great role to play in this as well (Prov. 1:8; 6:20), but when men refuse their part in this role it is a sign of spiritual decline. When men become spiritually complacent or ignorant, they tend to pass this duty off onto women and then proceed to teach by modeling how to live for the pleasures of this life and how to rely on self rather than God. On the other hand, after being revived, men once again take their responsibility to teach their children about God. After all, people who are right with God long to teach their children about God.

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

 

13 - Persevering in Prayer

After having encouraged the Ephesian Church to resist the devil by putting on the armor of God, Paul reminds them that their protection is incomplete unless they make prayer for one another a regular part of their lives. Most of us know that God wants us to pray, but when it comes to our actual practice of praying we may struggle with inconsistency because of nagging questions in the back of our minds. Last episode, we tried to address the question, "Does prayer really make a difference?" Some religious teaching would lead us to a fatalistic view of God's will which takes away our hope that prayer can actually change a situation for the better. Today, we will try to understand some of the reasons why the Lord asks us to persevere in prayer. This is a subject that also raises doubts. If God heard my prayer the first time and nothing apparently happened, what is the point in continuing to pray about that matter?

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

 

 

12 - Prayer

We are to be people who pray. What is prayer, and what does it accomplish? Does prayer really change things? Pastor Steve will address these questions in this episode on prayer. 

11 - The Armor of God

Paul has been talking to us about the theme that we are IN Christ. We are now covered and enveloped in Christ. One more important dimension of being in Christ is being able to stand against the devil's schemes. 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

10 - Freedom and Dignity

What Paul is doing in this passage in Ephesians is giving instruction on the attitude of the heart. His ultimate goal for us is to stay free. A person who is in bondage inside cannot be free. People often look to have a change of circumstances. Paul starts by saying, "No, let God change you in the circumstance, and that will transform the situation." He starts inside us; we want the externals changed.

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

9 - Honoring Parents

In these verses Paul continues on the theme of Christian's expressing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives by submitting to one another. We have just finished seeing how Paul applies this to husbands and wives in marriage (5:22-33), and now, in the verses before us, he focuses on the attitude which parents and children have toward each other. Because he only uses four verses to make his point, it would be easy for us to skim by this passage and not really see its impact on our lives. But, if we'll stop and look more closely, we 11 find principles that make a great difference in all of our lives. After all, it says if we will honor our father and mother that "things will go well with us and that we may live long on the earth." That's a promise worth reaching for.

 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!

 

 

8 - Freeing the Heart - Soul Ties

Something real happens in marriage in which a husband and wife are joined together. There is a deep psychological and emotional tie that forms. Something connects that is deep and normally permanent between husband and wife. It is a tie of the soul, a tie that is intended to form between these two people. But this same tie can form where it is inappropriate, when a tie forms for someone with whom we should not have it. 

To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon. 

Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. 

And check us out on Instagram as well!