Faith Works Summer Devotions

Ephesians 4:1-16

Sergey Rakhuba joins Jay Strother and Brian Ball to discuss the work and ministry of Mission Eurasia throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union.

Leon Drennan joins Pastor Jay Strother and Brian Ball to discuss Biblical Leadership

Fady Al-Hagal joins Jay Strother and Brian Ball to discuss the nations and ethnic groups represented in middle-Tennessee, and opportunities for ministry in and among those groups.

Steve Ortiz, professor of Archaeology discusses archaeological discoveries and how they relate to the accuracy and historicity of scripture with Jay Strother and Brian Ball.

Jay Strother and Brian Ball discuss "Progressive Christianity" with special guest Alisa Childers.

Jay Strother and Brian Ball discuss "Fostering a Biblical Worldview in Our Children" With special guest Rian Gerber.

Background of 1st JOHN: 1. Who: John, the “beloved disciple” of Jesus who writes with a pastor’s heart to his “little children” and “beloved” ones in the faith. 2. When: Around AD 90. Outside of Revelation 1, The New Testament is silent about John’s later years, but early Christian tradition is consistent that John left Jerusalem where he was a pillar of the church (Acts 8:14, Gal. 2:9) shortly before the destruction of the city by the Romans in AD 70. He ministered in and around Ephesus (see the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3). It was likely written after the Gospel of John. 3. Whom: Well established believers in Asia Minor with whom John had a close personal relationship. They were grounded in sound doctrine (2:7, 18-27, 3:11). 4. What: On the threshold of severe persecution breaking out throughout the Roman Empire against Christians under Domitian (AD 95), John writes to them as a mature spiritual father out of loving concern for his spiritual children. It is possibly a sermon in letter form. J

Background of the Book of 1st Peter: 1. Who: Peter, one of the disciples, among Jesus’ inner circle. We see his faith in the proclamation of who Jesus is (Matt 16:16) while not fully understanding what Jesus came to do. Certainly his betrayal is well known, but so is his restoration. Throughout Acts we see his leadership in the church and furthering of the faith. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down before Nero’s death, about A.D. 66. 2. When: A.D. 64, The reference to Babylon in 5:13 is almost certainly Rome as few people were in Babylon in these days, and Peter spent his final years in Rome. 3. Whom: Gentile Christians in Asia minor, to cities that extend beyond the ministry covered in Acts. 4. What: Facing increasing persecution, Peter wanted to encourage and reassure these believers to remain steady in the faith and count it a privilege to share in Christ’s sufferings. 5. WHY: To withstand attacks on the church from outside the church. We who persevere should be full of hope. We will en

From Galatians to 2nd Timothy, what’s Paul been up to? The second half of Acts! 1. Wrote Galatians in ~48 AD, corresponding toward the Apostolic Council in Acts 15 2. Goes on the Second Missionary Journey (with Silas) from Antioch to Syria, Cilicia, southern Galatia, Macedonia, notably Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea; and then on to Achaia, notably Athens and Corinth (Acts 15:36–18:22); wrote 1-2 Thessalonians 3. Goes on the Third Missionary Journey from Antioch to Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus, Macedonia, Greece (Acts 18:23–21:17) 4. Winters in Corinth, writes Romans, and is arrested (Acts 21:27–36; 22:22–29) 5. Imprisoned and transferred to Caesarea (Acts 23:23–24, 33–34) 6. Voyage to Rome and is shipwrecked (Acts 27:1–2; Acts 27:39–28:10) 7. Under house arrest, he arrives in Rome and writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon 8. Released from prison, he writes 1 Timothy from Macedonia (see 1 Tim. 1:3) and Titus from Nicopolis (Titus 3:12); he is rearrested in Rome (2 Tim. 1:16–17) 9. Writes 2 Ti

“There is no saying what may happen when people begin to study the letter to the Romans. So let those who have read thus far be prepared for the consequences of reading farther: you have been warned!” – NT Scholar F.F. Bruce Background of the Book of ROMANS: PAUL, dictating to his scribe, Tertius (16:22). Paul is in the seaport of Cenchrea (16:1) at Corinth at the end of his third missionary journey (after the writing of 2 Corinthians). He has finished an important stage of his missionary work; “from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ” (15:19). This geography includes all the churches he had planted on his famous mission journeys (Acts 13-20) in south Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe), and in the Roman provinces of Asia (Ephesus), Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica) and Achaia (Corinth). · Paul is ready for his next challenge: he plans to go back to Jerusalem to bring a collection for the mother church there (hopefully healing some of th

Background of the Book of JAMES: 1. Who: James, the Lord’s brother. Four men are named James in the NT: James, the father of Judas (not Iscariot); James, son of Alphaeus, called “James the less” and one of the disciples”; James, son of Zebedee and brother of John, one of Jesus’ intimate disciples but martyred around AD 44 (Acts 12:2); and James the Lord’s brother, the most likely to have written the epistle. He was among the believers awaiting the Spirit at Pentecost and a central figure in the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council. 2. When: James may have been the earliest writing in the New Testament, probably in 46-49 AD, especially since it does not mention anything of the Jerusalem Council of 49 AD 3. Whom: “The twelve tribes scattered abroad”, so Hebrew Christians scattered outside of Palestine, and expressions in the letter fit an originally Jewish leadership. 4. What: The characteristics of true faith. The purpose of the work is practical rather than doctrinal or apologetic as James challenges the believers to ex

Background of the Book of ACTS: 1. Who: Luke, a Gentile Physician who “writes with the compassion and warmth of a family doctor.” The “we” portions of Acts (16:1-17; 20:5-21:18, 27:1-28:16) subtly reveal that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was with Paul during both of his Roman imprisonments as Paul’s “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14, Philemon 24, 2 Tim. 4:11), evidence of Luke’s loyalty even in the face of personal danger. Luke is the only Gentile contributor to the New Testament. Church tradition tells us that Luke was from Syrian Antioch, remained unmarried, and died at 84 years old. 2. When: Luke likely wrote during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome, during the mid-to-late 60s. Luke’s abrupt ending that ends with Paul awaiting trial in Rome leads many to believe it was completed prior to Paul’s trial (AD 62). In addition, it gives no hint of the persecution under Nero (64), Paul’s death (68) or the destruction of Jerusalem (70). 3. Whom: Luke’s carefully written gospel was presented to “the mo

Background of the Gospel of John: 1. Who: John, brother of James, who together form the “sons of thunder”, a slight contrast to the gentle physician Luke. Father was Zebedee. Mother was Salome who served Jesus and was present at His crucifixion (Mark 15:40-41).  John evidently started among the Galilean followers of John the Baptist who were called to follow Jesus (1:91-51) and were later called to be His disciples. John was among the twelve selected to be apostles (Luke 6:12-16). After Christ’s ascension, John became a “pilar” of the church along with James and Peter (Gal 2:9). He is mentioned three times in Acts (Acts 3:1, 4:13, 8:14), each time in association with Peter. Tradition says John went to Ephesus and was eventually exiled to Patmos by the Romans for a time (Rev 1:9). 2. When: John was written after the last synoptic gospel (66-68), and with his 3 epistles and Revelation written after this gospel, so that writing probably occurred between 68-90 AD. 3. Whom: John writes to everyone, possibly t

Background of the Gospel of LUKE: 1. Who: Luke, a Gentile Physician who “writes with the compassion and warmth of a family doctor” as he carefully documents the life of Jesus. The “we” portions of Acts (16:1-17; 20:5-21:18, 27:1-28:16) subtly reveal that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was with Paul during both of his Roman imprisonments as Paul’s “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14, Philemon 24, 2 Tim. 4:11), evidence of Luke’s loyalty even in the face of personal danger. Luke is the only Gentile contributor to the New Testament. Church tradition tells us that Luke was from Syrian Antioch, remained unmarried, and died at 84 years old. 2. When: Luke wasn’t an eyewitness of the events in his gospel, but he relied on the testimony of eyewitnesses and written sources (1:1-4). It’s highly likely that during Paul’s 2- year imprisonment in Caesarea Philippi that Luke gathered information from eyewitnesses for his gospel, especially from Mary, mother of Jesus. Luke likely wrote during Paul’s first imprisonme

Background of the Gospel of Matthew: 1. Matthew, while not chronologically the first written. Is the first gospel presented in the New Testament as it serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It was composed by Matthew the apostle in AD 60-65. The gospel was written by a Jew, about a Jew, for Jews. 2. Mark’s Kingdom of God is replaced with Kingdom of Heaven in the Jew’s deference to the name of God being unspoken. 3. Matthew’s key idea is Jesus as King, starting from the genealogy carrying through the entire text. Matthew’s key term is “fulfilled”, as Jesus’ life and ministry are shown as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies time and again. 4. Matthew’s Story: · While Mark was a deserter during Paul’s mission journeys, Matthew was even less popular: he was tax collector in Capernaum for the Roman government – essentially a traitor to his own people in many eyes. Tax collectors would extract extra money from their own people to fund a lavish lifestyle. · He responded quickly to Jesus’ call

Background of the Gospel of Mark: 1. Mark is the shortest, simplest, and earliest of the four Gospels. It was composed by John Mark in AD 55-65 to a Roman audience using primarily Peter’s firsthand accounts and reflecting his own action-oriented personality. 2. Mark uses the “historic present tense” 151 times and the word “immediately” 42 times! 3. Mark’s Story: · Mark’s mother Mary had a large house in Jerusalem that was used as a meeting place for believers (Acts 12:12). Peter was at this house often, because the servant girl recognized his voice at the gate (12:13). · Many scholars believe that John Mark anonymously writes about himself as the “rich young ruler” (10:17-22) and as the “young man” who flees without his garment in the Garden of Gethsemane (14:51-52). · Barnabas was John Mark’s cousin (Col. 4:10), but Peter might have been the person who led him to Christ (1 Peter 5:13). · Barnabas and Saul took Mark along with them on their first mission journey (Acts 13:5) but for some reason, Mark turned ba

The New Testament has arrived! After 400 years of prophetic silence, voices call to God’s people, announcing the arrival of the promised Messiah. From our Read Through the Bible book: “The inspired explanation of this scene comes from the Apostle Paul: “When the completion of time came God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal 4:4). Everything is ready. The announcement of the King’s birth comes first to the virgin Mary and then to Joseph, her betrothed. Jesus’ genealogies show that He descends from Adam (as we all do), but through his adoptive father’s lineage He is David’s royal heir as well. He is fully human; He is also fully God: “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us” (Jn 1:14). Jesus grows up in obscurity; then He begins His ministry by being baptized by John.”

Congratulations! This is our final week in the OLD TESTAMENT. We are still in act 2, scene 9, which is set in the period after the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon. This week watch for at least four key themes: 1. God honoring leadership 2. Return to covenant faithfulness 3. Religious identity 4. God's sovereign care for His people

New Scene! Scene 9: In this scene the world’s superpowers shift again. The Persians rise and grant the Israelite captives permission to return home. Ezra and Nehemiah become great leaders. No Davidic king reigns, but the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi speak for God. The second temple is built. Jerusalem gets new walls. God’s people (now called Jews) resolve to live by His laws. Esther acts bravely, keeping the Jews from extinction. World history will unfold as Daniel prophesied: Persia will fall to the Greeks; the Greeks will give way to Rome. Act 2 ends with us longing for the curtain to rise on the next scene.