Tanglewood Bible Fellowship

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #1: Water Into Wine   Take This To Heart Through the 1st Sign of the Gospel of John Changing Water into Wine: Our Lord Jesus Demonstrated His Supernatural Power over Creation/Chemistry And in a Way that Honored Both His Human Mother and His Heavenly Father True Biblical Disciples of Jesus Should Realize Doing the “Right Thing” Must Be Done the Right...

Rome Sweet Rome (or “There’s No Place Like Rome”) The Israel to Italy Trek Concludes (in a Timeframe/after Events Arranged by God’s Providence) with Paul Safely in Rome Waiting for His Appeal To Come before the Emperor v11-16 Take This To Heart Even Though Being a Christian Often Involves Being Part of a Misunderstood and Marginalized Minority Group, Believers are to Live and Share Our Faith

God’s Miracle Man on Malta Unique Apostolic Miracles: A Foundational Part of the NT Church Many of the events recorded in the Book of Acts are descriptive not prescriptive. This is true because the book describes a UNIQUE period and UNIQUE persons. The Apostles had a UNIQUE foundational place in Church History-which cannot be reproduced, but… …the ULTIMATE Apostolic miracle was the production of t...

When God Doesn’t Get Us Out of Storms… Paul’s Vexing Voyage to Rome 27:1-28:10 Phase 1: Before the Shipwreck (27:1-26)      From Caesarea to Myra v1-5      From Myra to Fair Havens in Crete v6-8      Heading for Phoenix, a Perfect Storm Overtakes the Ship v9-26 Phase 2: The Shipwreck (27:27-44)      Escape by the Sailors Blocked v27-32      Final Meal on Board v33-38      The Ship Runs Aground Off...

The “Reason” Isn’t Necessarily the Real Reason Paul’s Final Defense in Caesarea v 1-23 Rather than being a violent threat to Rome or to Jerusalem, the REAL reason so many Jewish VIPs hate me is because I believe in and proclaim the truth that Jesus really has been resurrected from the dead v1-8 I was a violent threat against Christianity before my conversion v9-18 Now, I am dedicated to sharing Ch...

Wisdom from the Word about Waiting Paul’s years in Caesarea, including his two appearances before Governor Festus were part of the providential process of God’s timing by which he would arrive in Rome Godly Patience Comes by Resting in God’s Providence Waiting (doing “nothing”) is a major part of life under the sun. DVP believers can and should refuse to be constantly frustrated about this (after...

For Christians, Our Lives Aren’t Just about Us …Ultimately They are About Him Bottom Line: This status quo continued for a period of two years, until Governor Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Wanting to make points with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, he left Paul imprisoned… (and the story continues see Acts 25-28)   Take This To Heart For Christians, Our Lives Aren’t Just about U...

Some Conspiracy Theories are Actually True An Inside Look: The Conspiracy to Murder Paul v12-15 …a plot was organized and men bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. They went to the Chief Priests and Elders and said, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul…giv...

Keeping the Faith (and Love) in a Hurricane of Hatred Today in the real world/when when trying to share the Good News, if nothing else “comes to mind” tell your story…really His story in you (your testimony as to how you came to trust in Christ)…and then (I would say) 1: close with John 3:16 and 2: ask the leading question “Does that make sense to you?” And yet, as Paul experiences in this passage...

Looking Back and Looking Forward Final Phases of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey   1 Gospel, 28 Chapters/27 Years, 12 Apostles: Described in 1 Sentence The Book of Acts = JESUS IS ALIVE AS HEAD OF HIS BRIDE  J esus Ascends  E stablishment of the Church S alvation of a Lame Beggar U nleashing of Persecution S in in the Church I mpact of Deacons S tephen’s Stoning  A broad with Philip (Samaria...

Acts 20:17-38 A Snapshot of a Great Christian Life Paul’s Farewell to the Leaders of Ephesus Bible Fellowship Reveals Key Truths about Excellence in the Christian Walk Take This To Heart If consistency was easy, everybody would be consistent… …but be consistent even though it is hard! If you want to be better than average in anything, including in the Christian life, you must do certain things “av...

IYNTK about Easter (Information You Need to Know) The word “Easter” was derived from the proto-Germanic word meaning “to rise.” This is seen in the contemporary German cognate “ööst-” and the English word “east,” the direction from which the sun rises in the morning. It is not true that the word was derived from the pagan goddess Oestar or from the Babylonian goddess...

True Spirituality is Relational Not Just Ritual Paul’s Ministry in Ephesus Focused on the “Preaching” of the Gospel and the “Teaching” of the Word Take This To Heart As our Lord Jesus said: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Salvation and spiritual growth are relational not mechanical. The ministry of the Word calls for personal reception of truth in a way that is transforma...

Acts 19:1-5 From Fuzzy to Focused Paul connects the dots between John the Baptizing Jew and Jesus and emphasizes the fact that “saving repentance” is of the very essence of “saving faith” John preached a baptism (as a sign) of repentance (metanoeo) = as he told people to believe (pisteuo) in the coming Messiah who in fact is Jesus of Nazareth Take This To Heart Faith is ART and it is Only as Good...

The NT Church Is Not a “One Man” Team Take This To Heart The Apostle Paul Wasn’t a ONE MAN Team…Neither are World-Class Christians Like James Mitchell, Janice Skinner, Eric Ward and Olga Pollock. God’s Design is for All of His “Draft Picks” to Play Our Positions and Work Positively with our Teammates to Score Points for the Kingdom/Contribute to His Game Plan: Living the Great Commission.

Acts 18:12-22 One Key Characteristic of Spiritual Greatness One Key Characteristic of “Spiritual Greatness” is Faithfulness Through the Ups/Downs, the Joys/Sorrows, the Good/Bad of Life. Regardless of the Madness Around Them, Faithful Believers Keep on Trusting/Obeying and Serving the LORD Resting in the Fact That God Works Through the Mundane as Well as Through the Miraculous, Through Both Supern...

Rebooting Our Study of the Book of Acts Getting Back on the Wagon Where We Got Off of It We took a break from this series after we studied 18:1-11 on 12/6/15 The How Can We Keep Track of the Storyline of the Book of Acts? Memory Aid = Jesus Is Alive As Head Of His Bride The Bottom Line of Our Last Study of Acts (and Today’s Reboot): Routine Faithfulness Isn’t Routine, Easy or Automatic

When the World is Falling Apart Rather Than Panic, Pray/Plan and Persevere Week 4: A Modern Case Study: Every Parent’s Nightmare Kyle and Jen Porter “Why Us?” Replaced by “Yes Us and Many Others!” Facing Every Parent’s Nightmare in Faith The Testimony of Two Believers Who Refuse to Panic and Who Choose to Pray, Plan and Persevere In the Depths to Deep Pain/Horrific Loss. Fact: There are Some Scars...

The Book of Habakkuk God Honors Honest Questions from His Kids Take This To Heart God Honors Honest Questions from His Kids…and Gives Us Sufficient Light/Truth That We Can Trust Him in the Worst of Earthly Circumstances The Book of Habakkuk is God Telling Us: An accurate conception of the LORD’s Person/Program allows believers to trust humbly and persistently in His design of and providential cont...

Psalm 73 What in the World is Going On? So Often Good People Suffer and Bad People Prosper! Take This To Heart The Now Does (and Cannot) Make Sense Apart From the Not Yet Those Who Have Trusted in the Crucified/Risen Savior for Eternal Life Should Reject an Earthbound Perspective and Deal with the Distressing Realities around Us Now in Light of the Certain, Eternal Realities We Have in our Lord Je...

Psalm 11 If the Foundations are Destroyed What Can the Righteous Do? Take This To Heart As we walk by faith and not by sight, there is one key question we answer in the way we think about ourselves, our world and our God: Am I the LORD’s Supervisor or am I the LORD’s Servant? “When we can’t trace His hand…trust His heart.”

2016 Here We Come The POGs of TBF with Some New Twists for the New Year Purpose: Matthew 28:19-20 Make Disciples (of Jesus not of Brad or Ginny or James or Olga or Even Ron) Objectives: Ephesians 4:11-16 The Church Gathered: Edification The Church Scattered: Evangelism Goals/Functions: Acts 2:42-47 Bible Study, Fellowship, Worship, Prayers…and Evangelism/World Missions Our Concept of Ministry Incl...

Great Christmas Songs Teach Great Theological Truth about Christ The Bottom Line: Following the example of Jesus, believers should freely submit ourselves to a lifestyle of servanthood to the glory of God even though this will involve giving up certain rights/privileges. Believers Need/The Bible Teaches Theology AND Practicality Theology without Practicality = Dry Orthodoxy Practicality without Th...

Acts 18:1-11 Routine Faithfulness Isn’t Routine/Automatic   Practical Principles God Works Not Just Through Miracles But Also Thru Mundane Events Wisdom + Work is the SOP for Christian Living/Ministry Rather than Allowing the Faithless to Freak Us Out, We Should Actively Appreciate Those Who Truly Believe in Christ and Who Walk with Him Final Practical Principle We Must Lean Upon the LORD/See...