Posts by Billy Arnold (Page 7)
How to Read Your Bible (Part 2)
Scroll to the end for a full explanation of the previous tip. Today’s Focus—Tip #2: Choose the location of where to read When I say “location,” what I really mean is, “Where should I start in the Bible?” The Bible has 66 books—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. There are multiple subsections of the Bible as well. The 39 books of the Old Testament are divided into… The Pentateuch & the Law: the first 5…
Getting Ready for This Sunday
John 6:1-15: Jesus Feeds 5000 When I was a little boy, I grew up in a Sunday School class and went every summer to Vacation Bible School. Those days certainly impacted my life in a huge way, and I am so grateful for the teachers and leaders who led me. Often we don’t remember details about those Sunday School days, but I do remember this one. We learned the story of how Jesus fed 5000 people (actually, because of the…
How to Read Your Bible (Part 1)
One of the best practices in a growing disciple’s life is the habit of reading God’s Word personally on your own. There is everything good about a Bible study group with people, or listening to a sermon out of scripture. But none of this replaces the value of you personally sitting down in a quiet place and reading God’s Word, then reflecting on it—in other words, letting God speak to you. For several weeks I am walking you through some…
The Only Way to Be Set Free
I want to give examples to our church family on how to build a lifelong habit of reading and absorbing the Scripture on your own. Over these few weeks I’m showing you how I read the Bible each morning; maybe you will be able to develop a similar pattern. This is just an example of my devotional thoughts—not so you can use my devotional, but so you could instead cultivate your own time with God. Currently, I am reading every…
Do You Really Want to Get Well?
If I walked into a hospital room (which somehow sounds strange in our new world of COVID-19 restrictions!) and asked the sick patient if they really wanted to get well from the illness that hospitalized them, I am pretty sure they would give me a sarcastic response. “Why do you think I am here? Of course I am looking for a cure!” The story I am teaching this Sunday is from John 5:1-15. I ask you to read ahead before…
Is There a Reward for Hard Work?
Psalm 127 Last week I told you I wanted to share a few weeks of personal devotion time with you—not to show you what I have learned while reading the Bible, but to encourage each of us to learn how to have our own personal time with God, letting him speak to you. As an example this week, here is a simple devotional that I had a few days ago, and what God showed me. Psalm 127:1 ”Unless the Lord…
True Worship: The Woman at the Well
This coming Sunday, February 7, we are looking at the next story in our “Book of Jesus” series: the famous story of the Samaritan woman at the well. You can find the story in John 4:1-42. In every story we study this winter from John, we find Jesus revealing something new about himself. This story is no different. To help shape your thoughts, I want you to think about what it means to worship God. For most of us, worship…
Developing Your Own Devotional Guide
Hearing God Speak to You Every Day One of my greatest desires for our church family is for each of you who calls LifeWay Church home to develop the life-long habit of picking up your Bible personally every morning (or evening, or during your noon lunch break) and listening to God speak to you. To borrow a phrase from youth director Kevin P: “If you want to hear God speak, then open your Bible. If you want to hear God…
“For God So Loved the World…”
“For God so loved the world…” I would guess that for many of you, if I gave you this opening line, you could finish it for me. You might be able to tell me where to find it in the Bible. Many of you have seen this famous verse on a billboard signs at stadium events, or even painted on the uniforms of a famous football player. If I ask you to think a little deeper, you probably could tell…
Where Have We Been, and Where Are We Going Next?
LifeWay Church Sunday Teaching: The Book of Jesus In September 2020, LifeWay began a journey of study that we have called, “The Book of Jesus.” The intent of this journey is to highlight how God’s story—as written in all of the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament—is completely centered around Jesus. I want to remind you today where we have been and where we are now, and share a little look ahead into where we are going—and how you can and…
Ambassadors into a New Administration
Praying for the new presidential administration as a follower of Christ—and a citizen of this country I don’t need to remind you of the chaos in our country right now. Many of us have varying opinions about how things could be, should be, should have been, etc. I have seen this coming like a storm for about 5 years now, in a direct way. I have always, as a pastor, cringed some during election times. About 3 years ago I…
How Am I Reacting to the National News Right Now?
I went to bed last night and then woke up this morning, like so many of you, pretty heavy-hearted about the state of our nation, state, region and world. Much like many of you, I certainly have reflected on the state of affairs and my reaction to them. These words reflect some of my sentiments: Frustration. Embarrassment. Shame. Anger. No surprise to most of you, I am a pretty conservative person, personally and politically. But having friends around the world…
Entering LifeWay Church Through One of Three Doors
Someone I have known a long time asked me the other day, “Is your church meeting yet?” It’s not an uncommon question these days. I even had a local pastor friend ask me the same question when I saw him at Costco. In turn, he told me what his church is doing in these unprecedented days. Here’s my answer to both them, and a reminder to you: Our church has never closed! Yes, indeed—we are open, and will remain open…
Can Things Be New in the New Year?
Most everyone is ready to turn the calendar over to 2021. But we also know well that just turning over a date does not make all things new. I don’t mean to be a downer. But here’s what I do know about making all things new: it doesn’t come from turning over a calendar page, or watching the clock strike midnight on December 31. It comes from a life in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the…
Proclaiming to the World Who He Is
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen you salvation which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:29 The passage above is the amazing proclamation of a man named Simeon. Luke chapter 2 tells his story. Read Simeon’s words in Luke 2 for yourself over the Christmas weekend. This elderly man had…
Do You Know Him as King?
The Wise Men in the Christmas story had a question. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2) We know these historical figures well. Many of us have the wise men in our Nativity sets, on our desks or even in our front yards. Who were these guys, really? How do they really play into the storyline of God’s gift of Jesus to the world? What did their question really mean? Let’s consider it…
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a classic Christmas song that is solemn and powerful. It was written 1200 years ago during the Middle Ages, in a religious monastery. The first lyrics were in Latin: Veni, veni, Emmanuel. Musically played and sung in a minor key, it’s almost as if the darkness of night is brought to life when you hear and sing this song. You can almost feel a longing and anticipation that light will eventually come, even though…
Did You Know Jesus Came for All Nations?
When you picture Jesus in your mind’s eye, what do you see? I asked this question last week. This week holds the next challenging question: Is Jesus a cultural figure for only one part of the world? This Sunday we will study Isaiah 49, a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah—the birth of Jesus. It is a prophetic passage that tells us who the Messiah is, and who in the world his message is really for. The passage talks…
Give Thanks? How?
Give thanks???? How? In the middle of this world mess? One of the famous true stories that emerged out of the World War II years is of Corrie Ten Boom. Some of you have been inspired by her most famous biographical book, The Hiding Place, or by the movie of the same title. For those who are not familiar, let me give you a highly condensed overview. Corrie Ten Boom’s parents were dedicated Christ followers in the Netherlands when Germany…
Did You Know?
2020 Advent & Christmas Season Sermons at LifeWay What comes to mind when you think about Jesus? What picture or image or even famous painting comes into your head? Images are extremely powerful and lasting. In every one of our lives there will be a few powerful images that emerge from our past experiences that we can never shake—some of them extremely positive, and some, in the opposite way, highly terrifying. What is the image that you see when I…
One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus
I know by now you have all heard of our state government’s recent shutdown of indoor restaurants, workout centers, and public gatherings as we move closer to the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This, of course, concerns me for the sake of the many local businesses and the families it affects. I am certainly concerned as well about the spread of COVID-19 and increasing infections. But I am here to address what this means for us here at LifeWay Church, and…
Partnering With the World
Are you ready for your commitment? This whole week we have focused on ways that we are invited by the Almighty God of the universe to partner with him in his work. A Christian leader a while back famously said, “Find out what God is doing, and then join him.” The beauty of this truth is that we actually do get to join God in his incredible work. He offers this partnership to his people (you and me), but are…
A Quick Word from Billy about the GIC
A decade ago, LifeWay Church felt led by God to make a major shift in the reason for our existence. We committed to remaking ourselves into becoming… An equipping and sending church A going church A Great Commission church A missions church In 2012, we started what has become the most important week in the life of our church calendar: the GLOBAL IMPACT CELEBRATION (GIC). Since 2012, for every GIC we have invited guest missionary workers from around the world…
A Test
Today I am giving you a test on “The Book of Jesus”! A test?! A test of what? Well, it’s a test of your theology and doctrine. Everyone’s life is built on theology and doctrine. You may wonder why I say this, because so many people don’t really have a belief in God and a trust in scripture. Do even those people have a theology and doctrine in their life? The answer: yes—as everyone believes in something. Everyone has a “god”…
Remember
This fall I have walked us, Sunday by Sunday, through the major theological and doctrinal truths of scripture that point us toward the story of Jesus. This Sunday, November 1, we will focus in on one of the most significant and historically memorable events in the Old Testament out of the book of Exodus: the Passover. Why the Passover story in a series called, “The Book of Jesus”? Because you cannot fully grasp the central truth of Jesus Christ until…