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February 2002 Summary
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Date/Teacher
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Audio Format Available
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02-03-2002
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Derek McCammon - Unity Through Division
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02-10-2002
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William Champion - Spoiled Philosophy
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(click here for the handout)
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02-17-2002
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Derek McCammon - The Mind of Christ
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02-24-2002
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William Champion - Christian Olympics
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(click here for the handout)
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 Why is it that unity can only be achieved by division
? As God created different administrations to deal with man, He demonstrated how he gave mankind specific callings to keep. It started with Adam who was given the responsiblity to keep the garden.
As it turns out, Adam did not keep it and the result was the fall... and sin... and death. Other administrations came along and in every dispensation,
man was given something to keep. Today, we’re in the administration of The Mystery, and in this calling we are to keep our conversation, conduct, and
walk worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Not only in that gospel, but our walk is to be worthy of the Lord, the Gospel of Christ, and our Calling. The fruit
should bear witness of the root. As depicted in the balance achieved on a scale, where one side represents the calling and all the spiritual blessings
that go with it, and the other side represents our walk with the commitment to keep what has been set before us as our faith obedience. Right division
is where we learn to keep what is specifically given to us. By learning our calling, we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit. Only out of
division can we achieve this unity... by the calling out of God’s people. There are too many instances today where Christians give up biblical doctrine applicable to our calling today, in order to
avoid conflict and achieve worldly unity. In fact, we should endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit, in the bond of peace
by sticking to the word of rightly divided which will rankle some people as indicated in Philippians 1:27-30.   Click here to listen to the lesson on 02-03-2002.
 Spoiled Philosophy.
When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, the book of Acts tells of his encounter with Philosophers in Acts 17:18-21(KJV) ”Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to
be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine,
whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their
time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)” Today, Christians are faced with
the same issues when dealing with modern thinking. Whether at school or in the work place, there
are plenty of “new things” that modern philosophers propogate to advance their “wisdom”. There
are two types of wisdom we can attain: 1) Earthly or Worldly Wisdom, and 2) Heavenly Wisdom. The lesson on 02-10-2002 teaches how to identify the difference between worldly or heavenly wisdom in order to avoid
philosophy and vain deceit, the tradition of men, and the rudiments of the world. The real pursuit of wisdom is to center on Christ and the Word of God. Click here to listen. The lesson also includes a handout,  click here to download.
 The Mind of Christ.
The Christians ultimate weapon to tackle all the issues of life is contained in the mind of Christ. God has provided us a way to deal with the issues of life yet do we take
advantage of it? “Let this mind be in you...” This is the key to every issue we face. Philippians 2:1-4
identifies the mindset with four motives for Christian living that have corresponding duties in the walk that is worthy of God: 1) Consolation... be like minded, 2) Comfort of love... having the same
love, 3) Fellowship of the spirit... be of one accord, and 4) Tender mercies and compassion... be of one mind. If we walk with a walk that is worthy of Him, then we will do all things without
murmurings and disputings. However, we see in Phil 2:3 that there are two enemies to this mindset
.. two foes that capture our thoughts: 1) Strife, and 2) Vain Glory. Stife will manifest itself in the flesh as well as in
“preaching” among Christians who take truth out of context. Vain Glory will show up as a hollow opinion which is an
opinion based on nothing. This is contrary to a position based on the Word of God, rightly divided. We are to love not the
world, neither are we to love the things that are in the world and we should esteem others better than ourselves. This is
how we can defeat Strife and Vain Glory. The ultimate weapon is to put on the mind of Christ. Click here to listen to the lesson for 02-17-2002.
The Christian Olympics.  From February 8 to 24, 2002, Salt Lake City will have hosted the XIX Olympic Winter Games. With 78 events and nearly 2,400 athletes, it will be the largest Winter Games ever. The
Modern (Summer) Olympics have been held every four years since 1896. The last summer games were held in Sydney, Austrailia in 2000. In those games there were 199
NOCs (Nations), 10,651 athletes (4,069 women, 6,582 men), and 300 events. Although the ancient Games were staged in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC through 393 AD, it took
1503 years for the Olympics to return. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The Olympics demonstrate many athletes who have dedicated their lives
to being “swifter, stronger, faster”. As Christian’s, do we demonstrate the same qualities in our Christian walk? Do we
run the race set before us with the determination we should? Do we rejoice as a strong man prepared to run a race? As
we run the Christian race, what should our motto be? What is the Christian Charter? What about the Christian Olympic Torch? How about the Christian Olympic Rings? The lesson on 02-24-2002 uses the Olympic analogy to discuss the race that is set before us for Christ. As Hebrews 12:1-4 (KJV) says “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”. Click here to listen to the lesson of the week. Be sure and download the handout to read while you listen.
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Audio Lessons for this Month
