Blessed & Bearded's Biblical Blog

5 ways to improve your preaching by Pastor Matthew Everhard. Be a Bible expositor. Book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, line by line, word by word. The bible is more interesting than anything you have to say.  Write out your sermon completely in the manuscript then ditch it when you reach the pulpit. This will force you to think through what you're going to say. This also makes you speak to the people from the heart. Preach with your Bible open AND in your hand while you're preaching. This is practical and symbolic; it shows the people that you're teaching the text and is shows the church that the church is a bible-believing church.  Drop the tech. Tech usually detracts from the teaching. Use it ONLY when it's absolutely necessary. You, preacher, should be able to command and keep the attention and ear of the people via your words alone. Your zealous preaching is more powerful than PowerPoint.  Quit imitating your favorite preachers. You

If someone were to ask you what Ephesians was about how would you respond?      Summaries:      Ch 1 is the glorious inheritance we, the saints, have in Jesus     Ch 2 explains how we get these spiritual blessing and what the Church is     Ch 3 is expounding Ch 1 and 2 where he explains how Jew and Gentile are brought into the Church      Ch 4 is how both parties are being brought together in unity by the HS     Ch 5 (and the first part of 6) is living out all that Jesus has done for us in unity and love in the church, family, and employment Now, what do y’all think this last bit of ch 6 is about?      Its always struck me odd how Paul suddenly shifts gears to discuss Satan right at the end of the letter; a letter all about     Christ no less;     I believe Ch 6 is about how we use the immeasurable riches Jesus brought us to defend ourselves (and our joy) in God in the midst of temptation or spiritual attack. It is not directly about Satan, and his tactics, but r

5:22-24 5:22  Women, how fully committed are you to be to the Lord? Totally.  Given this, how committed are you to be to your husband? Totally. 5:23  So, given this verse, do y’all think it ever acceptable to go against your husband?  Yes.  When/why? When/if he leads you away from the Lord.  So Paul here is saying that you are a believer- already submitted to the Lord now be submissive to your husband; for just as Jesus is your leader your husband is as well.  5:24 Now given all that we just said, how do you submit in everything to your husband? Here Paul says that in the spiritual matters the wife is to defer to her husband because He is head of her; as Jesus is the Church. The Church may not like/agree with how the Christ is leading her but we trust His steady hand and loving eye to lead us through the storm because our hope is in Him.  In a likewise manner, perhaps you are in a season of spiritual drought; here you are to trust in God’s hand w

4:32-5:2 So last week Jacob did this verse; and I gotta step on his toes a bit because of 5:1 demands that I do.  So according to 4:32 what are we to do? Be kind, tenderhearted.  To whom? One another. And how is that kindness to be the best/most manifest? In forgiving one another.  Ok so being kind is best shown in forgiving. But what tenderhearted mean? Soft-hearted, as opposed to hard-hearted.  Which as we know from last week’s lesson hard-heartedness is caused by what (4:18)? Ignorance of Christ; because they have not learned of Him.  The eyes of their heart aren’t enlightened (1:18).  Its almost as if Paul is extending his metaphor of “enlightened eyes” here. So our eyes are enlightened/opened making them sensitive/vulnerable/tender. As if before they were literally hard-hearted like brink not soft or vulnerable/unable to feel anything.   Which is a re-enactment of what?  God forgiving us in Christ.  IE God’s forgiveness to us who are