Work of Art

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Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9:3 (ESV)

As Jesus and his disciples are walking, Jesus saw a man who had been blind since birth and he focused his attention on this man. This man who was an outcast of the community, someone who was ignored or pitied at most, becomes the focal point of attention in the life of Jesus. The disciples obviously noticed the attention of Jesus being focused on this man and asked the question that was at the forefront of everyone’s mind. They wanted to know who had sinned (this man or his parents) that he would be resigned to a life of begging and hardship. The disciples wanted to know the causal effect that brought this man into the world blind. The question is not a bad question, but the assumption made in the question are what Jesus brings to light. The assumption is that either this man or his parents had surely sinned and offended the Holy God to receive such a poor state in this life. The answer Jesus gives is somewhat staggering to their ears (and to modern ears). Neither the man nor his parents sinned. It was not a punishment that this man was born blind. The answer is that this man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This man was a piece of art designed, conceived, and birthed by the Creator of the universe for a special purpose… to display the works of God!

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Lesson 2 – Happiness

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Ecclesiastes in the Spring of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the Gospel-centered life in the Bible Series – Ecclesiastes: Life in the Light of Eternity.

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Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26

Big Idea

“The more we try to find lasting satisfaction in the many offerings of happiness in this world, the more we find we instead need to look somewhere else entirely.”

Just as the Preacher is teaching us that “all is vanity,” so too is the ability to fully explore all that is in this section!

1:12-18 & 2:12-17 Wise living is better than being foolish, but still vanity.
2:1-11 Vanity of indulging in pleasures, acquiring possessions, and achieving success.
2:18-26 Hard work going for nothing

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find until after death.”

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Lesson 1: Wisdom

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series on Ecclesiastes in the Spring of 2025. The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the Gospel-centered life in the Bible Series – Ecclesiastes: Life in the Light of Eternity.

View Ecclesiastes Lesson Series

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Preacher (v. 1)

Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Author

  • The author is anonymous and simply calls himself the Preacher, “one that speaks to an assembly”; an ecclesiastes in Greek.
  • Although there is debate on the authorship, Jewish and Christian tradition generally ascribe authorship to Solomon.

Purpose

  • There are wide and varied interpretations of the book. Some see this as a statement of pessimism, while others see it as optimistic. Some see heterodoxy, while others see orthodoxy.
  • As a genuine wisdom teacher, the Preacher has a gift for penetrating observation and for stating things in a profound and challenging manner that spur the listener on to deeper thought and reflection.
  • This means that the Preacher invites us to come to God more indirectly than what we are used to. (Reference to Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon)
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Refreshed Hearts

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For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Philemon 7 (ESV)

This is a tremendous testimony from Paul about the outworking of the Holy Spirit in the life of one man. A man that was known for his love and faith toward Jesus and all the saints. Paul is in prison and has only heard stories about the love and faith of Philemon. Here is a man whose reputation preceded him and his godly character went before him. His character and reputation was such that even though Paul had never met him in person, he felt as though he knew him through the testimonies of those who had been refreshed by Philemon. It’s a lovely picture of love and faith. A picture that needs to be not only admired and commended, but replicated in our own hearts.

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Merciful Neighbor

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But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:29 (ESV)

Here is a lawyer who has asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Not because he was sincere in his question, but for the sole reason to test Jesus. He was seeking to put Jesus to the test and determine if he had the right doctrine and religious understanding. Jesus answers the lawyer by asking him to provide a summary of the law, which the lawyer easily does by restating the phrase to love God and love people. Jesus simple answer in response is then, “do this.” This response cut the lawyer deeply, as he was obviously not living up to this standard. We see this in his next question to Jesus, where he asks for further understanding of who was his neighbor. It is a seemingly innocent question on the surface, but it is a question that reveals the true bent of the lawyer’s heart. He was obviously excluding some people from his list of neighbors and wanted Jesus to clarify and justify his list.

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Treasure and Ponder

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But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Luke 2:19 (ESV)

There are two different occasions in Luke chapter 2, where the heart of Mary is revealed to us, and we are able to see a glimpse of the special relationship she had with her son, the Son. Mary was given the announcement of her coming pregnancy and birth of a son by an angel. To which, she simply inquired about how this was to be and then accepted her role in the eternal story of God. For the most part, I think we just take for granted that Mary accepted this role without hesitation and never questioned. We see her as submissive and obedient, which she was. She gave herself to the will of the Lord and set aside her reputation and standing among her people for the glory of the coming Christ. May’s heart had a special compartment that she took advantage of and her story encourages me to do the same. Mary’s skill was to treasure up all she was seeing the Lord work in her life. She treasured them up and pondered them. She gained encouragement and strength through the persistent and intentional work of God in the life of Jesus.

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Desperate People: Naomi & Ruth

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This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class series titled, “Desperate People of the Bible.” The lessons are meant to be a mix of teaching and interactive discussion in the group. This is an outline of my presentation that guided the teaching and discussion. It was adapted from the ESV Bible Study Series – Ruth and Esther: A 12-Week Study.

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Desolate Context

  • Ruth 1:1 “In the days when the judges ruled”
  • Judges 2:6-10 Death of Joshua
  • Judges 2:11-15 Abandoned the Lord
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Cold Love

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And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

Matthew 24:12 (ESV)

Our world is continuing its journey of descent into lawlessness. Little by little we are pulled further along the path toward lawlessness. You can see it every day when you read or listen to the news. You can see it both locally, regionally, nationally, and on a global scale. We are all offended at the notion of our descent, and we all want to point the finger and shift the blame to some person or group of people that we deem inferior or antagonistic. We rarely look in the mirror and see our own responsibility with the daily decisions we make. Each choice we make that is not rooted in love is a step further along the path of lawlessness. The further we walk down the path the more our love grows cold. The more our love grows cold, the more we embrace lawlessness. Until one day we wake up and see how distant we are from the pure love of Christ.

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Morning Hope

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Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:5b (ESV)

Hope is such a beautiful thing and yet it is often the one thing we forget about in the midst of trials, hardships, and sufferings. When we are struggling, it often feels like we are alone in the dark, isolated from the rest of the world. We are apt to just sit in our pain and bemoan our situation, letting the roots of despair take hold. The darkness often feels so incredibly strong and oppressive. So much so that we lose hope. We lose hope in ever seeing and experiencing relief. We begin to believe that our weeping will not just tarry for the night, but that the night may never end. Yet, the Psalmist reminds us that the night will not always be as it is. Morning will come. And the coming of the morning brings joy. Joy and hope in the Lord.

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Life Again

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Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?

Psalm 85:6 (ESV)

Revive us. Bring life to us. Cause us to live once again. Psalm 85 is a prayer to the Lord to once again bring revival to the people of God. A prayer to our steadfast and faithful God to once again meet with us, to be among us, and to restore us again. This psalm calls for us to remember the past restorations that our God has brought into our lives. It challenges us to not get caught in the trap of saying, “What have you done for me lately?” We are to be in a position of truly understanding that our prayer for restoration, our prayer for revival, will not go unanswered because the faithfulness of the Lord in our past is the true indicator of his faithfulness to us in the future. What we need is a humble assessment of our spiritual state and a humble awareness of our proclivity to give sin power in our life. We need to feel, know, and long for the Lord to revive us again… and again… and again. Why? That we may rejoice in Him. That we may find true joy in Christ alone.

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