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 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.
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January 2007 Summary
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Date/Teacher
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Audio Format Available
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January 7, 2007
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Leland Maples - The Sign of the Prophet Johah
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January 14, 2007
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No Audio Lesson Given - Snow Day
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January 21, 2007
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Derek McCammon - Timothy Study Part 3
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January 28, 2007
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William Champion - The Mystery of Godliness
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Lesson Handout
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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. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but
the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.“ Some Christians debate whether or not the story of Jonah is real or was it an allegory that
accomplished Gods purpose through a story. Some Christians would say the story was real but argue whether or not it was a whale that swallowed
Jonah or just a big fish. Isn’t it interesting the Christ gave one sign to the nation of Israel and he used the story of Jonah in that He said it was
representative of the resurrection. Could it be that Jonah died in the whales belly and God raised Jonah up when he was vomited back by the whale on
the third day. It is evident when you read Jonah 2:1-10 that Jonah prayed out of the fishes belly... and in verse 2 he said “... I cried by reason of mine
affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.” Didn’t the Lord go and preach to the angels in hell
during the time before His resurrection? (1 Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;”)   Click here to listen now. You may also want to hear
more lessons by Leland Maples here.
 Timothy Study - Part 3. The lesson on January 21, 2007 picked up the audio series on Timothy
with lesson three in the series. The study covers 1 Timothy 1:1-11. The first lesson covered the
people we are dealing with in Ephesus. Timothy and Paul. Paul is a preacher, apostle, and an
teacher to the Gentiles. This wasn’t so in the Acts period when Paul met Timothy (this is when
Timothy became one of Paul’s converts as explained in Acts 16:1-5) Timothy was a devout believer
from being raised by his mother Lois, and grandmother Eunice which were Jews that believed in
Christ. Timothy’s father was a Greek and this was considered a problem in his testimony to the Jews because he wasn’t
circumcised (Paul took care of that when he circumcised him in Acts 16:3). In Acts chapters 19 & 20, we learn that
Timothy is now the head of the church at Ephesus which is what ties into 1 Timothy 1:3 “ As I besought thee to abide still
at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine”. We see in
verse 10 that Paul warns Timothy “For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for
liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” Paul talks about good
doctrine in 1 Timothy 4:6 “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” Further, in chapter 6,
verse 3 he warns “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;” Doctrine is incredibly important. Doctrine teaches us practical
truths but more importantly it teaches us what is truth for today (dispensational teaching). What we find in 1 Timothy
chapter 1 is practical teaching (after all, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus are written to Timothy and Titus which are pastoral
leaders of their churches). We see that the doctrinal teaching has changed from before when Paul was there in Acts
20:17-27 and Timothy now is responsible to administer the new doctrine. The lesson continues through verse 10 of chapter one. Click here to listen now. You may also want to review all the audio lessons on the Timothy series.
 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. Angels were actively part of Israel’s history, and they witnessed
and aided the Lord as He was here in the flesh. Fourth, He was preached unto the Gentiles. This
was a major issue in the New Testament because the preaching of Christ to the Gentiles (or Nations
) was not permitted throughout the Gospels (Matt 10:5-6, 15:22-27) and up until Acts 9. This is when Gentiles were
preached salvation along with faithful Abraham as foretold in the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:21). It wasn’t until Acts 28:28
however, that the Gentiles would be addressed apart from any national calling of Israel when Paul then delivered a new revelation called “The Mystery” (Ephesians 3:9). Fifth, He was believed on in the world. This belief was done
individually… not nationally! Individual Jews and Gentiles believed on Christ as Savior but Israel as a nation did not. Israel will believe in the future when Elijah returns and restores all things (Malachi 4:5-6). In the mean time, every person,
irrespective of nationality (Col 3:11), has access to eternal life by believing on Christ Jesus as Savior. And finally, the
Sixth item listed is that He was raised up into Glory. Christ Jesus is located far above all principalities and powers in the
heavens where He sits as mediator between God and man. Have you accepted Him as your mediator?   Click here to listen now. You may also want to download the handout as well. 
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Audio Lessons for this Month
