Everyday Truth with Kurt Skelly

Malachi 1:1 Asking God questions is one thing; questioning God is something different altogether! Join us today for the first episode in our series from the book of Malachi. Together we will learn how dangerous ministry becomes when it becomes mechanical and robotic. And we will discover that the a very dangerous place to be is the place where we can no longer see ourselves accurately.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 ...and He calls it salvation! Did you know that salvation is so much more than the day on which you trusted Jesus as your Savior? It is God's master plan to make you ultimately like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation will not be complete until your whole body, soul, and spirit are found in the very likeness of the perfect Son of God. He's working on you now, and He won't stop until He's done!

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 When you trusted Jesus as you Savior, the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life! His work is to use the Word of God to help you become progressively more like the Lord Jesus Himself. That's why the Bible talks so  much about yielding to the Spirit, being filled with the Spirit, being controlled by Him, not grieving Him, and not quenching Him. Keep the fire burning! Learn how today!   

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18 Some of the most convicting verses in all the Bible are really short! Today we examine three that are short, but incredibly powerful and important. In fact, the Bible tells us they are the will of God for our lives. It doesn't get more important than that!

1 Thessalonians 5:14 Effective organizations have team members that challenge each other to be their best. Great ball teams are like that; so are great churches. And the wonderful news is that God has provided four very specific ways that church members can help other church members. Do we know what they are? Are we practicing them in our own churches?

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 While the title sounds admittedly self-serving, it is nonetheless an important topic to consider--and one that the Bible clearly explains. What does it mean when the Bible says we are to "know them which labor among us," and we are to "esteem them highly"? After all, wouldn't such behavior unnecessarily give leaders a big ego and feed the seeds of narcissism?

1 Thessalonians 5:7-11 You don't really think about this words in terms of protection, but that's exactly what Paul calls them. Faith and love are like a breastplate, and hope is like a helmet. So how exactly do they keep us from danger? And how do we put them on? Listen!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 "What's wrong with that?" you might ask. After all, I've heard that napping can actually increase one's productivity. And while that might be true for someone physically, it is spiritually destructive. I'm afraid that a spiritual slumber has descended upon 21st century Christianity, dulling our thinking about the soon return of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 Many people confuse the Second Coming of Jesus with the Rapture. They are not the same event, and it is important that we understand why. Learn three easy prepositions to help differentiate the comings of the Lord to this world.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-15 Admittedly that's bad grammar, but I hope you get the point! What was such an important topic that the Apostle Paul said that no Christian should be ignorant of it? (And, unfortunately, many are!) Be sure that you're one of the ones "in the know." 

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Maybe you've heard the statement that "pastors live in glass houses." And I guess that's true; but did you know that all Christians live in a glass house? Our behavior and our attitudes are constantly being scrutinized by a skeptical world. Do they match our profession? Learn a couple of ways that will certainly make them notice Christ!

1 Thessalonians 4:11 Dangers of love? It almost sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? But if we do not effectively guard our love, it can produce imbalance in our churches and relationships. Listen to the three ways (we'll cover two of them today) by which we need to guard our love.

1 Thessalonians 4:8-10 I suppose we've all had good and bad teacher in our educational careers. In fact, you can probably picture some of them right now! But one teacher surpasses every other by far... and his subject matter is as deep as it gets. Paul was so convinced of this truth, he gladly stepped aside and allowed the teacher to take the microphone.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 God's will regarding holiness, and specifically moral purity, is outlined in 1 Thessalonians 3 with the simple reiteration of the word "that." You might be surprised that holy behavior goes way deeper than just saying no to impurity--although it does start there!

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 For the believer, motive is everything. The way he walks, the commandments he keeps, the will of God he obeys--all of it finds context in the motivation of pleasing the Lord. Why do I do what I do? Even those touchy "thou shalt not" areas of our life find meaning and renewed incentive in the simple question, "Am I seeking to please the Lord?"