TMS Week 23b: Give Generously – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

God is not our heavenly slot machine or Ponzi scheme.

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TMS Week 23a: Give Generously, Proverbs 3:9-10

We are almost through Series D in The Topical Memory System!  It would be a good time review.  In fact, the book calls for us to complete the topic and reference quiz on page 55, writing out the topics and references for Series A-C in a simple worksheet (Series A uses the Wheel Illustration, Series B...

TMS Week 22b: Serve Others – 2 Corinthians 4:5

This week in The Topical Memory System, we are considering the call to be disciples of Jesus Christ by serving others.  On Monday, we saw that Jesus himself set the example of coming not to be served but to serve (Mk 10:45).  Today, we are reminded yet again that the purpose of our faith is not...

TMS Week 22a: Serve Others – Mark 10:45

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee came up to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."  And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"  And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your...

TMS Challenge: Week 21b, Be Steadfast: Hebrews 12:3

There is a reason God speaks in Scripture about the Spiritual life being a battle.  Battles are hard.  Soldiers are forced to push their bodies and minds to the limits of their abilities.  The enemy is fierce, and from our limited perspective where we are unable to see the entire battlespace, it may often look...

TMS Challenge: Week 21a – Be Steadfast, 1 Corinthians 15:58

This week in The Topical Memory System, we are asked to read and meditate upon the verses leading up to our memory verse, starting in 1 Corinthians 15:50.  This section of Scripture includes key promises to the faithful about the eternal future. Behold!  I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall...

TMS Challenge: Week 20b, Separate from the World – Romans 12:2

There are many ways to shape metal.  One is through casting: heating it to liquid and then pouring into a mold.  The metal conforms to the shape of the mold, and once cooled can be removed so that it looks just like the last piece that was cast in that same mold.  It is a...

TMS Challenge: Week 20 – Separate from the World – 1 John 2:15-16

Welcome to week 20 of the Topical Memory System.  20 weeks, 40 verses - this is quite a milestone! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus admonishes us not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth, but in heaven (Mt 6:19).  Later, he rebukes Peter for having his mind not on the things of God but...

TMS Challenge: Week 19b – Put Christ First, Luke 9:23

Salvation is offered as a free gift.  Discipleship costs everything. One way to tell the true Gospel from a false one is where it finds its center.  What does it offer?  The true Gospel offers only identity with Christ, to share not only in his eternal glory, but in his temporal suffering.  The false prophet...