January blessed us with a guest teacher. Leland Maples from Odessa Texas, was in town to attend the Northside Bible Church Men’s Retreat and stayed over to lead on Jan 23rd. The Scripture reading for this lesson is 1 Tim 4:1-5 "4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. KJV". Listen as Leland gives the lesson.
Are You Comfortable? Leland Maples is the guest speaker this week and presented the lesson on 04-01 which asks the question "Are You Comfortable"? Leland goes on to point out that most of the people called to do God's work were moved from doing what was "comfortable" to what was “uncomfortable” for Christ's sake. As an example, the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee of the Pharisee's but his calling was to be the Apostle unto the Gentiles.
The attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC has caused many people to ask the question “Is this the End Times?” There is much uncertainty and unrest in the world but one thing is certain... Christ Jesus and His Word. It’s in His word where the student of scripture who rightly divides the word of truth, will ask the question and go to the Bible to search for the answer. What you will find is that there are specific events that must occur in order prior to the Lord’s return.
The Greatest Story Ever Told. There are two days every year in the world when we are reminded that God become flesh and rose from the dead. Christmas and Easter may be full of commercialism but the testimony is still there... Christ Jesus was born of a virgin, and arose after His crucifixion a risen Saviour. Why? We’re reminded in 2 Cor 5:21 (KJV) “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” When the elders of Israel refused to accept who he was, they asked for a sign.
Priorities. Leland Maples of LOOPS Ministries delivered a lesson on priorities. Leland shared his recent fight with lung cancer and the insights this gave him into setting proper priorities. Everybody has responsibilities in their lives that change over time. From being a student to becoming a parent, responsibilities change. Yet we need to keep in mind that responsibilities are not priorities. Our priorities need to dictate which responsibilities come first.
Fret Not. The scripture in Psalms 37:1-8 specifies three “fret-nots” that provide us direction in how our walk should not be afflicted with stress. “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity...Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” In addition to the “fret-nots”, the passage instructs us in the right direction.
The lesson on May 1, 2005 was entitled "Do the Work of an Evangelist" and the scripture reading was in 2 Timothy 4:5 KJV. "5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." This lesson was taught by Leland Maples of the LOOPS ministry.
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah. The lesson on January 7, 2007 was given by Leland Maples who was visiting and shared an update from his LOOPS Ministry. He also gave a lesson on Matthew 12:38-40 (KJV) “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
Christ’s Prayer in the Garden. The lesson on March 25, 2007 was given by Leland Maples of the LOOPS Ministry and the lesson covers Matthew 26:36 “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.” He took three individuals with him as we see in verse 37 “And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.” Jesus was saying a prayer to his father. What was he praying?
Repentance - Godly versus Worldly. The lesson on April 15, 2007 was provided by Leland Maples of the LOOPS Ministry who gave an update on LOOPS as well as a study on 2 Corinthians 7:9-11. In this passage, Paul was dealing with two different types of sorrows and two different types of repentance which lead to two different results. We see a very personal example of these when comparing Peter and Judas. Mark 14:27-31 tells of the time where Jesus was telling the apostles that they will all deny him this very night.
When Man Does Right in His Own Eyes. The lesson on July 15, 2007 was given by Leland Maples of the LOOPS Organization (Loved Ones Of Prisoners). What happens when men decide to do right? There are plenty of scriptures that talks about men doing what’s right, in their own eyes. In the history of Israel, you go from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into Egypt. Moses was selected to bring Israel out of Egypt and Joshua took them into the promised land. After Joshua died, you come to the time of the judges.
Almost Obedient. The lesson on March 2, 2008 was given by Leland Maples of the LOOPS Ministry. Leland visited Northside Bible Church and provided the lesson from Luke 5:1-10 (KJV) . This passage in scripture details Jesus Christ borrowing Peter’s fishing boat so He could minister to the crowd that had come to hear him speak. As it says in Luke 5:1-3 “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Praise and Worship. The lesson on February 15, 2009 was given by guest teacher Leland Maples from the LOOPS Ministry based out of Odessa, Texas. Leland gives a quick update on Odessa before jumping into the lesson on praise and worship. There are changes taking place in modern evangelical churches today with regards to praise and worship. Praise appears 248 times in the bible. Worship appears 108 times. There is a bible study principal regarding the aspect of “first mention” and Leland thought it would be good to look up in scripture where these words were first used.
The Beginning of the End. Leland Maples was the guest teacher on July 12, 2009 and he started by saying he wanted to talk to us because if he taught and preached, it would be lost since we are far beyond help. The topic “The Beginning of the End” is not about prophecy in the Bible, but rather, it is about the United States of America. The scripture reading was Ecclesiastes 1:9-12 “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new?
Sunday, April 25, 2010 Leland Maples was the guest teacher. Leland and Linda Maples run the LOOP's Ministry in Texas. LOOPS (Loved Ones Of PrisonerS), Inc. is a non-denominational, non-profit, religious organization dedicated to the support and restoration of prisoners and their families through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sunday September 5th, the lesson was given by Leland Maples who was visiting for Labor Day weekend. The scripture reading was in Numbers 20: 7-12 KJV which says "7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. 12 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." This lesson tells the story of how God did not let Moses take the children of Israel into the promised land because he did not obey God's word. This is a great story to hear Leland explain the holiness of God's word. Be sure and listen now.
The lesson on March 6, 2011 was provided by Leland Maples who spoke on "Redeeming the Time". Leland refered to Ephesians 5:16 KJV "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." First we received an update on the LOOPS Ministry prior to getting into the lesson. If we went back to the beginning of time, we find a day is measured by a day and the evening. The month is measured by the rotation of the sun, as well as the year. Science can measure time by these elements but God is the only one that can measure a week. There are so many time savers now a days...
Leland Maples runs the LOOP's Ministries (Loved Ones Of Prisoners) and leads a Thursday night bible study held in the Rec Room at Life Change Baptist Church in Odessa Texas. The Rec Room message on Thursday, March 17, 2011 was a testimony by Steve Southern who is an ex-inmate who now serves the Lord in many ways. Steve in an area manager for Key Energy, which is a large oil field firm and has provided jobs for many men coming out of prison. Steve is a long time friend of the REC-Room and continues to minister in prison.
The lesson on July 17, 2011 was entitled "Contemporary Christians" and was given by guest teacher Leland Maples of the LOOPs Ministry. Leland looked at Obadiah who was part of King Ahab's court. Most like to read of the fight Elijah has with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel but Leland takes the time to consider Obadiah and how his behavior reflects that of contemporary christians today. The scripture reading was from 1 Kings 18:1-19 KJV "1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. 2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. 6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. 7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? 8 And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
