Venice church of Christ

How marvelous is our sense of hearing? How do music and language connect us to God and one another? What happens when we do not hear God? Hearing | The Senses Outline | Conversation

How do light and sight testify to God our Creator? What do we really "see"? How might we prove "blind"? How can we walk in the light and avoid the darkness? Sight | The Senses Outline | Conversation

What did Peter emphasize as he concluded his first letter? How can we stand firm in the grace of God? Stand Firm | 1 Peter 5:6-14 | The First Letter of Peter Outline | Conversation And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prow...

What are deacons all about? How can we all serve the Lord Jesus Christ? Aspiring to Be a Deacon | Aspiring to Service | Outline | Conversation

What are elders all about? Why should men aspire to be elders? Aspiring to Be an Elder | Aspiring to Service | Outline | Conversation

What would Paul say to exhort Christians who had no need to be reminded of how to serve God and love one another? Paul's answer is 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28. Blameless on the Day of the Lord | 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians Outline | Conversation Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labor among you and preside over you in the Lord and adm...

Who are these "elders" Peter addressed? What should they be doing? What should the youth do? In what would Peter have all Christians "dress"? Elders and Youth | 1 Peter 5:1-5 | The First Letter of Peter | Outline | Conversation So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: Give a shepherd’s care t...

What is known about the "times and seasons" of the Day of the Lord? How should Christians live between now and the end? The Awake | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians Outline | Conversation Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the...

What was causing consternation among the Christians of Thessalonica? How did Paul comfort them in their grief? What is the ultimate hope of the Christian? The Asleep | 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians | Outline | Conversation Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who hav...

What did Paul want reinforced for the Thessalonian Christians? How can we best follow Jesus' commands, love one another, and aspire to live quietly? Do So More and More | 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians | Outline | Conversation Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must...

How was Paul encouraged by the news he received about the Thessalonian Christians? What did Paul pray for Jesus to do for the Thessalonian Christians? Good News of Your Faith | 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians | Outline | Conversation But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters, for a short time (in presence, not in affection) we became all the mor...

How could Paul consider himself as an infant, a nursing mother of children, and a father toward the Thessalonian Christians? How can we imitate Paul in these ways? A Nursing Mother of Children | 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians Outline | Conversation For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters, about our coming to you – it has not proven to be purposeless. But al...

Why did Paul write to the Thessalonians? Do we have any kind of similar witness to the Thessalonians? Turning to God from Idols | 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 | Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians | Outline | Conversation From Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace to you! We thank God always for all of you as w...

Should Christians expect persecution? Is every difficulty or trial evidence of persecution? What should Christians do when persecuted? Time for Judgment | 1 Peter 4:12-19 | The First Letter of Peter | Outline | Conversation Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in the degree that you have share...

What can we know, and what remains ambiguous or unrevealed, about Junia, Phoebe, and Priscilla? How should we grapple with Paul's affection for and commendation of Junia, Phoebe, and Priscilla? Junia, Phoebe, and Priscilla | The Cloud of Witnesses | Outline | Conversation Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, so that you may welcome her in the Lord in...

What do we know, and what is left unrevealed, about Bathsheba bat Eliam? How does the way we characterize the wife of Uriah tell us about ourselves? How was Bathsheba vindicated? Bathsheba | The Cloud of Witnesses Outline | Conversation

How are Leah and Rachel portrayed in the Bible? Was Rachel that great? How was Leah vindicated? Leah and Rachel | The Cloud of Witnesses | Outline | Conversation

How is Rebekah characterized in Genesis? What can we gain from her story? Rebekah | The Cloud of Witnesses Further Thoughts | Conversation

How does Hagar well represent the kind of people most often left unseen and unheard? What does it mean for God to be the One who saw and heard Hagar? Hagar | The Cloud of Witnesses Outline | Conversation

How is Sarah the mother of the faithful? What is Peter doing with his citation of Genesis 18:12 in 1 Peter 3:6? Sarah | The Cloud of Witnesses | Outline | Conversation

How should Christians live in light of Jesus' imminent return? How can Christians glorify God in Christ in their lives? Working in the Kingdom | 1 Peter 4:7-11 | The First Letter of Peter | Outline | Conversation For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude...

What possible ways might people reconstruct after deconstruction? How can Christians reconstruct in a healthy and God honoring way? How can Christians support others going through seasons of deconstruction and reconstruction? Reconstruction | Deconstruction and Reconstruction | Outline | Conversation

What does deconstruction look like? What perils may attend to deconstruction? Are such perils only when we deconstruct? The Experience and Peril of Deconstruction | Deconstruction and Reconstruction | Outline | Conversation

What is "deconstruction," and why are so many critical of it? Why does deconstruction prove necessary? How might we prove guilty of hearing but not doing what Jesus said? The Necessity of Deconstruction | Deconstruction and Reconstruction | Outline | Conversation "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and...

How should Christians look to Jesus to guide their lives? What kind of reaction should Christians expect from people they know in the world? In whom do Christians put all trust? Ceasing From Sin | 1 Peter 4:1-6 | The First Letter of Peter | Outline | Conversation So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh ha...