Godly Success: Success in Politics (Randy)

How does God view success when it comes to the political sphere? We live in charged times, and it is difficult to know what God wants from us as we wrestle with the issues of our day. This is not new, though. The Pharisees and Herodians tried to trap Jesus by asking him politically charged questions 2000 year ago: Specifically, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" By studying the famous passage in Mark 12:13-17), we will try to make sense of how we should view and engage with politics today.

Listen to Success in Politics

Teacher's Notes

Godly Success: The Soul of Life (Chris)

Artificial Intelligence has been headline news, and new technology is imitating humans more closely than ever before.  Predictions abound about how A.I. will "disrupt" the world.  Lost in the fanfare is a simple but critical truth: computers have no soul.  There are essential characteristics of being human -- including faith, awe, and wonder -- that a machine never can replicate or replace.  As we continue our series on Godly Success, we consider what it means to be created in God's image.  Our model is Ruth, ancestor of Jesus.  How does her story of courage, sacrifice, and love reveal God and illustrate Godly Success?

Listen to The Soul of Life
Handout

Godly Success: Seeking Guidance (Randy)

Answering the question, “What does God view as a successful life?” invariably leads to the twin topics of guidance and divine will. Specifically, our desire to serve God impels us to ask him for guidance on his will for our lives. But what does the Bible say about seeking God’s guidance, and how do we go about doing it? Using Psalm 25 and Ephesians 2:9-10 as our Scriptural references, we will focus on these questions and discuss the profound implications of God’s grace and Christ’s saving action on the direction we should go.

Listen to Seeking Guidance

Godly Success: God's Own Heart (King David) (Chris)

King David is one of the most important and fascinating figures in the Bible.  On the one hand, he is described as “a man after God’s own heart.”  (What more could be said of anyone!)  On the other hand, he was a serial sinner who violated multiple Commandments and made repeated mistakes in every area.  How can we understand this seeming contradiction?  Our lesson looks at an obscure but marvelous episode in David’s life (2 Samuel 9) showing his radical humility and generosity.  These traits made David beloved to God — “successful” — and placed him at the head of Jesus’ own family tree. 

Listen to God's Own Heart (King David)
Handout