The Three Spheres of Blessing. - The lesson on October 1, 2006 studied the three spheres of blessing found in scripture. It’s important that students of right division understand the particular calling for each body of believers and the blessings that are unique to each group. The three spheres are 1) on Earth, 2) the Heavens, and 3) the Heavenlies (super heavens). The Earth entails what was promised to Abraham and his decedents with the Nation of Israel.
The True Meaning of Christmas. It seems Christmas comes around earlier every year if we follow the retail establishment as to when they place their holiday decorations up in the stores. It seems this year they didn’t even wait until after Thanksgiving to bring out the jolly decorations to get us in a buying mood early. Why it went from Halloween to Christmas in one night (which is why we love Thanksgiving because they don’t know how to market family time for being thankful).
The Mystery of Godliness. In 1 Timothy 3:16, Paul acknowledged that without controversy, great is the Mystery of Godliness. The lesson on January 28, 2007 looked at the six conditions of this mystery. First, God was manifested in the flesh. God became a sinless man to save man from sin. Second, He was justified in the spirit. The greek word for Justified is “dikaioo” which means to set forth as righteous, to justify. Christ does just that for everyone who accepts Him as savior. Third, He was seen of Angles.
The L.U.C.K. of Christ. Maewyn Succat had Good News… and it has nothing to do with good luck. Who is Maewyn Succat? Well you might know him as Saint Patrick. On March 17, each year many people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green clothes, drinking green beer, participating in parades, dyeing rivers green, and thanking the luck of the Irish. Who is Saint Patrick and why is there a holiday to honor him ? What about the Luck of the Irish? Well, the word “luck” does not occur anywhere in scripture. This is evidence that nowhere in the Bible does it give place to “luck”.
Memorial and Remembrance. The lesson on May 27, 2007 takes time to recognize Memorial Day in America honoring those that have died in service of the United States of America. If you look up the word “Memorial” in scripture, you find many passages speaking of remembering something, whether it is a person or an event. Basically memorial is tied to remembrance and is important in the growth of our Christianity. There a many examples in scripture where you find stories that tell of the Lord’s desire to keep reminding the generations of Israel of how God had saved their nation.
Be Ready, Be Specific. The lesson on August 12, 2007 started with the scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” and looked at several examples in scripture where someone was called upon to respond to a question.
The Love of Christ in Heavenly Places - In the study on “The Hope of the Church of the One Body” we looked at the phrase “foundation of the world”. In doing so we discovered that this phrase occurs ten times in scripture. Seven of them are used with the words “from or since the foundation of the world”. We found that all seven of these references pertain to Israel and the calling they have in Abraham. There are three occurrences where these words appear together with a different time emphasis when it says “before the foundation of the world”.
A Good Foundation - Many lessons from history show that at any time, any where, calamity can strike… and tragedy occurs. Whether it be acts of war, acts of terrorism, or even personal calamity… there will be casualties for those who are not ready in the face of the enemy. As a Christian soldier, you must ask yourself is your foundation on rock or sand ? In the face of life’s challenges, are you ready to stand? God has provided us with the way to build a foundation that is sure… one that is built on Christ Jesus.
Be Ye Thankful. In the Colossians study, we saw that the Apostle Paul was expressing that we be thankful for everything the God the Father has done for us in His son Christ Jesus. We often take that for granted and forget that we should be thankful. What is being thankful mean? Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary contains the greatest number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume. Webster considered "education useless without the Bible". Noah Webster believed that the Bible and Christianity played important roles in the lives of a free people and its government.
We believe the passage in Acts 28:28-31 is when the Apostle Paul declares to the Jewish leadership that the final opportunity for their acceptance of Jesus as Christ is over. From that point on the message for the plan of salvation is now authorized to be sent from the Gentiles, apart from Israel. Prior to this point in scripture, salvation was always either through or with the Jew. At this point the nation of Israel has been put on hold but will be still receive the promises and blessings made to them through Abraham in the future (when Elijah restores the revealed plan of God).
1There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Ambassador for Christ. An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. Ambassadors are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country. In everyday usage it applies to the ranking government representative stationed in a foreign capital. The host country typically allows the ambassador control of specific territory called an embassy, whose territory, staff, and even vehicles are generally afforded diplomatic immunity in the host country.
The Old and New Nature. The lesson on October 5, 2008 was the second part of the lesson given on September 21 on being an Ambassador for Christ. This lesson covers the Old and New nature which is what we find within us when we become Christians.
A Really Scary Story. In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul tells us of a really scary situation for us. In Ephesians 2:11-12, we are told that we are considered to be uncircumcised, without Christ, aliens from Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God. This sounds really bad! What does all this mean! Why is circumcision important? When was I without Christ? Should I become Jewish? What covenants of promise were made? I would think I have hope, but in what? I really would like to have God on my side, isn’t he?
The Providence of God. The lesson on December 7, 2008 covered a topic about the providence of God. Providence is made up of two words: “pro” meaning “before”, and “video” meaning “to see”. One of the attributes of God is being omniscient which is where he gets his providence but he still has given us free choice in the matter. If you looked up the definition of PROVIDENCE in the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, you would see this “The act of providing or preparing for future use...” God’s providence is simply broken down into these three: 1.
