born again

The Taming of the Shrewd Tongue – James 3:1-13

/ Bob

Words have power. Whoever first said, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” did not consider the horribly destructive force our words can unleash. The tongue is so small and yet so big in it’s potential for harm . . . and for good.

James describes this concept using words with powerful imagery. Comparing the tongue to a bit in a horse’s mouth, a rudder on a ship, and a spark that ignites a forest fire, he makes it very clear that the tongue is something that must be controlled.

However, he then gives us one of the most frightening statements in the Bible. This tongue – this beast – cannot be controlled by humans. But Praise God, it can be controlled by God’s Spirit within us. The mouth is only saying what overflows from the heart and God is in the heart transplant business. In fact, He gives us a DNA transplant – in Him we are new creations. (2 Cor. 5:7)

But the regeneration of the heart is not the end but rather the beginning of the process of sanctification that continues throughout the remainder of our lives here on this earth. We must continually be transformed through the renewing of our minds. (Rom. 12:1-2)

Only then can our tongues be tamed. Only then can our speech reflect the Godliness that we want to see revealed in our lives. Only then can we know that what we say will “give grace to those who hear.” (Eph. 4:29)

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 24, 2023. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is The Making of Authentic Faith. You can find printed and digital versions of this series online at:

gc2press.org/the-making-of-authentic-faith-james-study-guide/ .

Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast

Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

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What Is Salvation? ~ Part 2

/ Bob

Far too many Christians rest comfortably on the fact that they are saved without giving serious thought as to what that means. From what are we saved? To what are we saved? To what extent does our salvation affect our daily lives? What does it mean to be born again? Why is Jesus so important in salvation? What are the various aspects of salvation and when do we experience the different aspects of salvation? Is salvation intended to make us better people? When we are saved, can we do whatever we want? Is salvation at “get out of jail free” card?

In this session we discuss these questions and move on to discuss the concept of The Age of Accountability and the Security of the Believer. In other words, we deal with questions concerning the beginning of salvation, the personal position at the point of salvation and the guarantee of salvation until the return of Jesus.

Finally we ask, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3) Furthermore, how shall our families, our friends, our community, our state, our nation, and our world escape if we as Christians neglect the salvation which is the ONLY answer to the perils so prevalent in our world.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, February 12, 2023. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions entitled Living the Agape Life – a Bible study curriculum developed by Bob Young with input from the members of the Agape Life Class. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com .

Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast

Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

What Is Salvation? ~ Part 1

/ Bob

Far too many Christians rest comfortably on the fact that they are saved without giving serious thought as to what that means. From what are we saved? To what are we saved? To what extent does our salvation affect our daily lives? What does it mean to be born again? Why is Jesus so important in salvation? What are the various aspects of salvation and when do we experience the different aspects of salvation? Is salvation intended to make us better people? When we are saved, can we do whatever we want? Is salvation at “get out of jail free” card?

In this session we discuss these questions and many more. After all, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:3)

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, February 5, 2023. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions entitled Living the Agape Life – a Bible study curriculum developed by Bob Young with input from the members of the Agape Life Class. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com .

Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast

Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

Email – fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

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