Podcast
Life Lessons with Dr. Steve Schell
Hosted by Steve Schell · EN
Pastor Steve Schell comprehensively teaches through entire books of the Bible pulling out the deep, eternal truths in each section of Scripture without skipping over challenging passages. These sermons will help foster true discipleship for the committed Christian, both young and old.
53episodes
Episodes
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Ep 35 Potter and Clay, Ro 9:19-21
2d ago00:35:56Tap to summarizeIn the middle of an explanation about why so many Jews were rejecting the gospel Paul echoes one of the deepest questions that comes out of the human heart: "God, why did You make me like this?" For some reason most of us are displeased with what we see when we look at ourselves. This is true whether we're focusing on our physical appearance, our intelligence, our career path or even our spiritual gifting and call to serve Him. Something perverse in us always wishes we were like someone else. We consider what they do to be a great success but what we do to have little meaning or to be altogether a failure. We initially blame ourselves for this and set about to try harder, but as time passes, we discover there's a deeper root to the problem. We discover God has made us certain ways, and the more we struggle to change, the more apparent that truth becomes. I'm forced to admit I've been made a certain way, and there's no escaping it. And that's when Paul's words in these verses become so healing. He stops us in our tracks and asks, "...who are you, 0 man, who answers back to God... does not the Potter have the right over the clay to make... one vessel for honor and another for common use?" His words heal us because they go right to the root of the problem. It's only after we finally submit to the Potter that we find joy and become an honored vessel. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 34 Trusting God's Heart, Ro 9:19-20
5d ago00:53:40Tap to summarizeGod plays by the same rules He sets for us. When He created and ordered the universe, He established not only physical laws; He also established moral laws. And His moral laws are absolute and unchanging because they express His unchanging character. God isn't simply asking us to behave a certain way. He's asking us to become like Him. This means that right and wrong are standards which apply not merely to us, but to God Himself. He is not above His own moral laws, but, of course, He has a vastly different perspective from ours. Some people when reading this passage assume Paul is warning us that we dare not question God on matters of justice. After all, they say, He is God, so He can do anything He wants, and the way in which they say this seems to mean He can't be held to the same moral standards to which He holds everybody else. But if that were true, He would be a tyrant. Tyrants are people who do what they want because they have so much power no one can stop them. Tyrants answer to no standards at all beyond their own desires. But the Bible pictures God very differently. It reveals a deity completely consistent with His own standards because they express His eternal character. So let's listen again to Paul's words and this time hear him call us to trust God, to drop our defenses and rest in His arms even when we don't understand what He is doing. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep33 Softening Hard Hearts, Ro 9:14-18
5d ago00:53:53Tap to summarizeThe Bible clearly teaches that God is good, and there is nothing evil in Him at all (Jas 1:17), so when we come across a passage that seems to suggest He is responsible for hardening a person's heart, we naturally find the idea troubling. It reopens the question of God's character. Is He pure goodness, or does He have a dark side? Could He be responsible for causing a person's stubborn disobedience, or is it our own choices that cause this? We need an answer because these two views of Him actually represent two different Gods. Can I trust that everything He does is good? Can I run to Him with any problem and assume His will is to save and restore? The statement that "He hardens whom He desires" raises this troubling issue. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 32 Sovereign or Savior, Ro 9:6-13
1w ago00:50:27Tap to summarizeDoes God love all humans and want to save them, or does He love certain ones and hate others? This portion of chapter nine which we are reading today is a central passage to which people will turn to "prove" that God chooses who will or will not be saved. According to that doctrine, the most important truth to emphasize about God is His sovereignty, meaning His control of everything. It is assumed that if humans have any choice in the matter of their eternal destiny, then God isn't totally sovereign. So repentance is renounced as a basis for salvation because it involves the human will making a choice. Even faith in Christ is discounted. This doctrine says faith is something God gives to a person only after He regenerates them, meaning after He places His Holy Spirit inside them. Those who teach this say it is wrong to think a person can choose to believe the gospel. We don't choose God; He chooses us, they say. This makes grace all the sweeter, they say. And on what basis, you might ask, does God choose one person but not another? The answer, they say, is found in this passage of Romans. After all, God loved Jacob but hated Esau before the twins were born or had "done anything good or bad" (v11). So there you have it, they say, the decision of who will or will not be saved is determined by God before we are born. And if you take this passage out of its context, you can indeed make it say that. But the God you end up with is very different from the loving Father Jesus reveals to us. And the conclusion you draw is very different from Paul's own conclusion at the end of the chapter (vs30-33). Though all of this may sound like a pointless theological debate, what's at stake is nothing less than the character of God. These two views of Him are so different they really present two different Gods. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 31 Unreasonable Love, Ro 9:1-5
2w ago00:49:58Tap to summarizePaul opens this new section of his letter to the Romans with a revelation about himself so shocking he feels the need to assure them he is not lying or self-deceived. He says, "I am telling the truth in Christ," meaning he is conscious that Jesus will judge the truthfulness of what he is saying (Gal 1:20). Then he adds that both his human conscience and the Holy Spirit within him bear witness it's true. And what is this revelation about himself that needs such confirmation for us to believe it? It is that he lives in a constant state of grief over Judaism's widespread rejection of Christ. He says his compassion for his brethren is so strong it led him to do the unthinkable. There had been times when he tried to bargain with God on their behalf asking that whatever curse had fallen on Judaism be transferred to him so they would again be given mercy. If it could be done (which it can't), he would have willingly forfeited his own eternal life in order to save his "brothers," his "kinsmen according to the flesh." His literal words are, "For I was praying myself to be accursed (anathema) from Christ on behalf of my brothers...." Knowing how confident he was of eternal life (Ac 9:3-8; 2Co 12:1-4; Php 1:21-24), the thought that he would even consider such an exchange Is breathtaking. Few of us love even family members to this degree, let alone our persecutors. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 30 Answering Doubts, Ro 8:31-39
2w ago00:51:10Tap to summarizePaul pictures someone in Rome responding to his gospel this way: "As I listen to you, I hear you assuring me that God has provided all the resources I need to live a life that pleases God, but I'm such a weak person, and the forces that want to pull me away from Him are so strong that I don't feel confident that I'll make it to heaven. Paul, you sound so sure of your salvation. You talk like you already have it. Why are you so confident?" In this magnificent passage Paul tells us why he's so confident and why we should be too. He shows us how to answer the doubts that come to erode the inner certainty that we are, and will stay, saved. Whether these doubts arise from the devil or our own flesh, every Christian remains painfully aware that we continue to sin and wonders whether God's patience with us has run out. And we also wonder how we would respond if faced with severe persecution. So nagging doubts try to pursue us. Have I sinned so much that when I stand before Him at the judgment He will find me guilty? Am I so weak that sooner or later the hardships of persecution will break down my resolve until I deny Him? Is it possible that someday I might encounter demonic forces powerful enough to tear me away from Him? In these nine verses Paul raises and answers six questions that sooner or later every Christian will ask. He tells us what to say when the winds of self-doubt and condemnation blow. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
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Ep 29 Foreknown, Ro 8:28-30
3w ago00:39:40Tap to summarizeIn these verses and in the chapters ahead of us, Paul shows us the mind of God. It's as though he had lifted us up into the heavenlies to observe the world from the perspective of eternity. As we read, time drops away, and all history lies before us, and we watch as God sets into motion His plan to save broken, sinful people and transform them until they become like His Son. Before we ever existed, God knew us. He saw who would repent and come to Him by faith and who would not. And for those He knew would come He laid out a plan for their lives... before they were born. This concept of God's foreknowledge is confusing for many. There are those who assume it to mean God even decided who will and who won't repent and believe, which, if that were true, would mean that humans have no part to play in deciding their eternal destiny. Some are chosen for heaven, and the rest are abandoned to an eternity apart from God. But one need only read carefully what Paul says in these chapters of Romans (9-11) to see that God never takes that freedom away. In fact, He remains always ready to forgive and restore even those who stubbornly reject Him (Ro 9:30-32; 10:3; 9-13; 11:19-23, 32). But though God does not take away our freedom to choose Him, neither does He stand by passively and merely watch as our lives unfold. He is actively at work in our lives long before a prayer of surrender is ever prayed. He sets His grace upon us even before we've been conceived in the womb. You might say we who are "foreknown" have always belonged to Him. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 28 Chosen and Called, Ro 8:28-33
3w ago00:43:59Tap to summarizeThe word "elect" sounds cold and doctrinal, and it certainly has been used that way. The way some people use the term it refers to those few, happy, dare I say "lucky" souls who have been arbitrarily picked by God for salvation based on absolutely nothing in their lives. Those who teach this type of election say it is a wonderfully comforting doctrine that assures the "elect" that they did nothing to earn their salvation. But the picture of God it presents is very different from the Person we see when we look at Jesus or listen to His passionate calls to come to Him to be saved. The God He shows us is a loving God who longs to save all who will come to Him. On this episode, from a passage containing many important theological terms, we're going to look at two: we'll focus on the word which is translated here as "elect" and then on the word "called." When we're done, we'll find a beautiful and remarkable picture of God emerges–not a God who arbitrarily chooses to save one and ignore another, but a great-saving, promise-keeping God who loved us before the worlds were made. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep27 Creation Groans, Ro 8:17-28
4w ago00:55:27Tap to summarizeThe road to the promised land travels through a wilderness of suffering. And there’s no getting away from that reality. We aren’t in heaven yet. This planet is still cursed, and our bodies are still dying, so indeed suffering in one form or another comes to all of us – not because we’ve done something wrong, or because God has failed to protect us, but simply because we aren’t home yet. We’re travelers, sojourners, strangers dwelling for a season in a harsh land and enduring along with everyone else the sufferings of that troubled place. Yes, God provides much protection, but He gives us no promise we won’t suffer, in fact we’re assured we will. In these last few chapters of Romans (6-8), Paul has been teaching on the spiritual realities that take place inside a person, but here at the end of this discussion he turns our attention outward and shows us the fallen world in which we live. He wants us to face reality boldly. Though glorious changes take place inside every believer and an amazing future is waiting for us all, we still wake up day after day in the “wilderness” of this present age, so he needs to teach us some foundational truths so we can walk this path victoriously. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
Transcribe →Ep 26 Heirs of God, Ro 8:14-29
Jun 2501:00:35Tap to summarizeGod had a special goal in mind when He created the human race. It was no accident that we were made "in His image" (Ge 1:26,27), rational, spiritual beings who exist forever after begin conceived, persons who share enough of His personhood to interact with Him as friends. His great, loving heart wanted a bigger family–not because He needed us, as though somehow He were incomplete without us, but simply because He desired to share His love more broadly. After all, the fellowship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one of perfect unity and love, so He wasn't lonely. Yet His most essential characteristic is love, and love rejoices to love more, to delight in the unique beauty of each person and let them delight in Him. To receive a free copy of Dr. Steve Schell's book Understanding Romans, email us at info@lifelessonspublishing.com and ask for your copy at no charge. The book has all the notes from each sermon in this series. Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge. And if you would like to receive a copy of Pastor Steve's newest book Study Verse by Verse: Revelation at no charge, we are still giving this book out as well!
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