Christian Education
This page contains the content of Christian Education post. It is one of the ways we use to extend the teaching ministry of the Church to our members, our friends and the world. It is a supplement to the teaching that goes on in classrooms, meetings, and other gatherings of the Church where Christian theology, doctrine, and instruction is taught. We are welcomed and encouraged to comment on any of the messages by clicking the “SS Preview” link you want to comment on, going to the bottom of the page and filling in and Submitting the Reply at the end of the message. Most of the post will have audio playback so you can listen to as well as read them. We hope you are blessed, enlighten and inspired through our Christian Education forums and invite you to join us at any of our meetings.
15
Feb '18
SS Preview Feb. 18, 2018
15
Feb '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The February unit is entitled “Self-controlled, Upright, and Godly Faith” and looks at passages from the books of Acts, James, and 1 Timothy emphasizing the importance of faith authenticated by works and faith that helps to transform lives. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faithful Disciples or Looking for Help”.
In all the bible, I only know of five instances where someone who was dead came back to life that didn’t involve Jesus Himself. One involving Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-22) and two involving Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-35; 13:20-21) both prophets in the Old Testament. The other two involved the Apostle Paul (Acts 20:9-10) and the Apostle Peter which is in our lesson today. Tabitha ( or Dorcas) was a highly respected and well-loved disciple who lived in Joppa. She was kind, worked with her hands to make coats and garments and did many good deed and helped others.
If you recall, Joppa was where Peter was staying when he received the vision and call to go preach to Cornelius and the gentiles. He was in Joppa, because Joppa was near to Lydda where Peter had come to minster to the saints that were there. While in Lydda, Peter healed a man who had been cripple for 8 years and the news spread and many became believers. After Tabitha died, messengers were sent to Lydda to ask Peter to come quickly to Joppa.
The exact reason for them sending for Peter is unclear. Maybe they wanted Peter to say a few words at her funeral and comfort them in some matter being new to the faith. Maybe they needed some reassurance after someone who was so unselfish and loving could be taken away from them. In any case, I don’t believe they had any hope of Peter raising her from the dead. Likewise, I doubt if Peter went to Joppa with the intent to raise Tabitha from the dead. Regardless of the circumstances that brought Peter and Tabitha together it provided an opportune time for God to use them as a witness for His kingdom. There is no other record of Peter raising anyone else.
While the scripture reports that many believed after this, God does not want our faith to rely on miracles beyond what He has already done. Some miracles were and are necessary for God to prove himself and His power. Beyond that, God wants us to take Him at His word. Both Tabitha and Peter were faithful disciples of Jesus and both of them spend much of their time helping others. They both represent fine examples for us to follow because they represent the unselfish, caring and giving nature of Jesus Himself.
When we or someone very close to us dies, odds are there will be no one to bring us back like the four individuals beside Jesus did for five different people. However, we have God’s word and promise He will bring us back at an appointed time. The question is whether or not we have faith to believe it. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
08
Feb '18
SS Preview Feb. 11, 2018
08
Feb '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The February unit is entitled “Self-controlled, Upright, and Godly Faith” and looks at passages from the books of Acts, James, and 1 Timothy emphasizing the importance of faith authenticated by works and faith that helps to transform lives. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “A Disciplined Faith”.
One of the major characteristics that separates mankind from the rest of the animal species on earth is our ability to use words to communicate. In this respect man is like God. The bible teaches us that God used words to frame the world. So, we know that words have power depending upon who speaks them. Even our Lord Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Our words also have power. They bring into existence things that are not by placing things into motion. These things are the thoughts and ideas that cause people to do and think one thing or another. This is why James cautions us to be very careful with our words.
James begins this chapter by saying that “people offend or stumble in many ways”. I believe what James means is that we don’t always get things right which can result in harm to someone or something. But not getting something right and sin is not necessarily the same thing. Our intentions may be good and noble but the result may not turn out to be as we intended. This is an example of an offense or stumble which may have caused harm, but the intent to harm was never there. Another example may be a car accident in which people are harmed or even killed. The reason for the accident may be that the person was weary from working or not getting enough sleep and had a momentary lapse in concentration. That is an offense or stubble because people were harmed, but would we call what happened a sin on the part of the driver? So, in many ways we can harm someone, but in word should not be one.
Words lead to actions and actions lead to all kinds of things. Most actions are preceded by or influenced by words. Therefore, James says if we can control our words, we can control ourselves and control others to a certain degree. Words define us and proceed from the heart. It is by them we will be justified or condemned – see Matt 1237. Words that intend to tear down or harm and words that build up and help shouldn’t come from the same tongue. And this is what James is saying to his readers. Be extremely careful and think about what you say, because words have power to set things in motion and to move people and things from one point to another. There may be some offenses that may be unavoidable, but the ones caused by words are the result of us not realizing the power of words to do good or evil and not exercising the divine call for us to use them with restraint, prudence, and love toward the person they are spoken to for good.
Don’t let your words or even the words of others control you, but God has given us the power to control our words. Just think what would happen if God didn’t control His words. His words can create universes and just as easily destroy them. Let’s learn to be like our Father and control our words. Because if we do that, James says that is the mark of perfection. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
01
Feb '18
SS Preview February 4, 2018
01
Feb '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The February unit is entitled “Self-controlled, Upright, and Godly Faith” and looks at passages from the books of Acts, James, and 1 Timothy emphasizing the importance of faith authenticated by works and faith that helps to transform lives. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faith Without Works Is Dead”.
It’s not enough to “talk the talk”, but for something to be real and genuine one must “walk what one talks”. This is essentially what James is saying to his readers in chapter 2 of his epistle. This James is the brother of our Lord Jesus and was the leader of the Judean church. It is said he was an ardent man of prayer and was also one of the early martyrs of the Church. He wrote at a time when Christianity was just beginning and most of his audience were Jewish converts. Life was already difficult and to profess faith in Christ didn’t make things any easier.
James wanted his young believers to understand that faith is more than what one says and more about what one does. When I was growing up as a young boy, there were always those boys who seemed to be “bad” because of what they said, how they said things, what they wore, who they hung around and so on. But if they were confronted by someone who was not intimidated by what they saw and heard, we discovered they were mostly show and little fight. They didn’t live up to their own hype and their actions did not back up their words. James warns us not to be like these boys were.
First, we don’t have to boast about anything. We only need to confess our faith in Christ. Secondly, confessing faith in Christ means we have accepted His teaching as our way of life. Thirdly, for our confession to be alive and real, our words and our way of life should mirror each other. It is therefore important to understand we are not saved by our works, yet our works are evidence of our faith and salvation. We don’t need to work to be saved, but we work because we are saved.
So, wherever there is a lack of works, there will also be a lack of and dead faith. Likewise, wherever you see works, you will see living and real faith. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
26
Jan '18
SS Preview Jan. 28, 2018
26
Jan '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The January unit is entitled “A Living Faith in God” and it explores examples of faith from the book of Daniel that provide models of sincerity, obedience, boldness, and strength. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “A Strong Faith”.
Sometimes in life, we may be confronted with things that seem unbearable. We can be hurt or troubled by an event or situation so intensely that we can find it difficult continue beyond a certain point. This is the situation Daniel found himself in as he experienced the visions God gave him. What he saw and understood was so overwhelming, that he got physically weak to the point he felt the life leaving out of him. But each time he reached a low point, he received a touch to reassure him and served to strengthen him so that he could go on. Because of the prophetic nature of his visions, Daniel’s help came from an unnatural heavenly source.
While such help can’t be ruled out, it is most likely most of our help will come from those who know, love and care about us. And although the help may come from someone in our natural world, it is God’s method of giving and sending us what we need when we need it. Sometimes we will be on the receiving end of that help and at other times we may need to be on the giving side. Sometimes our faith will need to strengthen and sometimes we will need to help strengthen the faith of others. After seeing the visions, Daniel’s faith needed to be strengthen. After his faith was strengthen, he was able to record his visions in order to strengthen our faith through his prophetic writings.
Daniel fasted and prayed three weeks before receiving this vision. The purpose of his mourning was to establish a clear line of communication between himself and God. It may be necessary for us to minimize the distractions of life and deny ourselves in order to establish a sincere and better line of communication with God. When we are intense and sincere about receiving an answer from God, God will know and will send us an appropriate response. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
18
Jan '18
SS Preview Jan. 21, 2018
18
Jan '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The January unit is entitled “A Living Faith in God” and it explores examples of faith from the book of Daniel that provide models of sincerity, obedience, boldness, and strength. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “A Prayer For An Obedient Faith”.
The road or path to recovery begins with the acknowledgement of a problem. Salvation begins with the acknowledgement of the need and desire to be saved. As Christians, we acknowledge the fact the we are incapable of saving ourselves by our own power. We believe however that God is able to deliver the salvation we need and desire. Daniel also believed God was able to deliver the salvation Israel needed to restore their nation from the devastation of their defeat, exile and captivity.
After discovering the length of time of their captivity according to the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, Daniel began his appeal to God for deliverance. Israel had become a laughing stock of a people and was on the verge of losing their national identity. So Daniel began his petition by confessing the reason Israel needed restoration was because of their unfaithfulness to God’s law given to them by Moses and the prophets. After confessing their guilt for their situation, he appealed to God’s mercy and love for His people. Additionally, He appealed to God to do it for His name’s sake that is associated with Jerusalem, Mt. Zion and His people.
While in the midst of his supplication (a sincere appeal or request to God), Daniel received a visit from Gabriel to enlighten him and give him instruction and information regarding his petition and the future of Israel. Just as God answered Daniel, God will answer us when we follow Daniel’s example. We must confess or own up to our responsibility for our situation and shortcomings of faithfulness with sincere regret and repentance. We must appeal to God’s mercy and love for us to act on own behalf. We should keep in mind that God desires to help and do good things for His people and has no pleasure in seeing us suffer. While we may not receive a visit from an angel, we can look for an answer to our prayers and appeals for help.
God went on to use Daniel to proclaim important prophesies concerning the end times, the Messiah and the restoration of Israel. When we are sincere, repentant and obedient, God is able to also use us to carry out His will for His people. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
11
Jan '18
SS Preview Jan. 14, 2018
11
Jan '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The January unit is entitled “A Living Faith in God” and it explores examples of faith from the book of Daniel that provide models of sincerity, obedience, boldness, and strength. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “A Bold Faith”.
Today’s lesson, just as last Sunday’s lesson, invites us to examine our own motivations and reasons for our actions for the sake of Christ. Last week the emphasis was on sincerity. This week we’re examining boldness. The refusal to eat the king’s meat was an act of boldness as well as sincerity. Refusal to bow down to anything or anyone other than God under the threat of death is an even bolder act. Boldness is the ability to pursue or take a course of action knowing that action involves the risk of losing something important, especially one’s own life or liberty.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, erected an image of gold and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it at the playing of some music. The three Jewish friends of Daniel who was in last Sunday’s lesson refused to follow the King’s command knowing the consequence for such refusal was to be place in the furnace of fire. They did it not just to defy the king, but in order to remain true and sincere to their faith. Upon learning of their refusal to bow, the king had them brought before him and offered them another opportunity to comply with his command. Their bold and courageous reply to the king was that their God is able to deliver them from the fire, but even if He doesn’t, they still would not bow.
So the king order the heat of the furnace to be increased seven times and commanded that Daniel’s companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, be bound and thrown into the furnace. But to the king’s amazement and surprise the fire had no effect on them and a fourth person appeared in the fire with them whom the king described as a son of the gods. The king ordered them to come out and acknowledged the power of their God to change the king’s command. Furthermore, he decreed that if anyone spoke against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego they would be cut to pieces and their property destroyed.
As we said last week, there are no guarantees that things are going to turn out the way we like or want because we are sincere or bold or courageous in our faith. However, we must continue to believe that regardless of the circumstances and what happens as a result of remaining true to our faith, the God we serve will more that make up for anything we had to endure for His sake. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
04
Jan '18
SS Preview Jan. 7, 2018
04
Jan '18
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The January unit in the Quarter is entitled “A Living Faith in God” and it explores faith from the book of Daniel that provide models of sincerity, obedience, boldness, and strength. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “A Sincere Faith”.
When someone is sincere about something there are no hidden or ulterior reasons for what they are doing or for their behavior. Today’s lesson invites us to examine our own motivations and reasons for our actions for the sake of Christ. After their captivity, some of the finer Jewish young men were taken to serve in the king’s court. They Babylonians did things that were different from their Jewish upbringing including eating foods forbidden to them by God. It is tempting to compromise one’s beliefs and standard and go along with something your faith and beliefs tell you not to do or do in order to get along and avoid any trouble or inconvenience.
When asked to partake of food and drink that was forbidden by their faith, Daniel and 3 other Hebrew young men respectfully asked to be given an alternative and see if the alternative would be as good as what they were being asked to eat and drink. God never commands us to do or not do anything just for the sake of doing so, but He always has a reason that is in our best interest. The food they were forbidden to eat was not as good for them as what God had permitted them to eat. After the end of 10 days, the Jewish young men appeared better than those who ate the royal food and drink. They were captives in a foreign land forced to serve others against their will. They could have easily said “what does it matter and who cares what we do?” But their faith was sincere. It didn’t matter to them who was looking or what others thought. Their relationship with God mattered deeply and sincerely to them and it was the only motivation they had for refusing to eat and drink the royal food and drink.
Jesus motivation for doing what He did was to please the Father. That should also be our motivation for saying and doing what we do in the name of Christ. Not to please the pastor or our spouse or parents or children or friends or church members or anything one else. Things turned out well for Daniel and the others for taking a stand for their faith this time. Later, as we will find out, when they took a stand, things got a little rough. However, when one is sincere, there are no guarantees that things are going to turn out the way you like or want. We must believe that regardless of the circumstances and what happens as a result of remaining true to our faith, the God we serve will more that make up for anything we have to endure for His sake. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
28
Dec '17
SS Preview Dec. 31, 2017
28
Dec '17
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The December unit in the Quarter is entitled “The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ” and it reveals what the early leaders proclaimed about living our faith in Christ. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faith to Unite” and is the last one in the December quarter.
It is believed that Paul wrote this Epistle during his final imprisonment in Rome while under house arrest along with his letters to Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. This portion of the letter is important because of its emphasis on oneness and unity. The Church, or body of Christ, may be seen as a single unit like a person’s body. Every part of that body is joined and fits perfectly together in order for it to function properly. This is also how Paul sees the Church.
He begins this portion of the letter by calling on the members of the Church to live up to the manner and way of life that being a Christian calls for. He understood how important it is for those who have not yet accepted Christ as Lord and Savior to see Christ living in the Church. He calls on us to demonstrate the love of Christ in the way we interact with one another. He reminds us of our common calling in our common hope that unifies us as one body. He lifts up what some call the seven ones: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God. He tells us that God has equipped the body with individual roles such as apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers in order to help the members of the body to reach the spiritual perfection like that of Christ.
Finally in this lesson, Paul employs us to be rooted and grounded in these things by not allowing ourselves to be influenced by pretenders and deceivers but allow love to abound in all things so we can grow in Christ. Love is what nourish and empowers the Church. All things should be done and received in love. Just as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Church, we should love and care about one another. Being united in Faith, Hope and Love are the key ingredients in a growing and maturing body of believers. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
21
Dec '17
SS Preview Dec. 24, 2017
21
Dec '17
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The December unit in the Quarter is entitled “The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ” and it reveals what the early leaders proclaimed about living our faith in Christ. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faithful Seekers of the King”. “Ask and it shall be given, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door shall be opened”. These are the words of Jesus found in what is also known as the “Sermon on the Mount”.
Jesus is letting everyone know that salvation requires some effort on the part of those who would have it. Some things like education can be free. But because it is paid for and the way made for one to receive the education doesn’t mean a person will receive it. There are things that must be done on the part of the one who hopes to get the education. There are many mysteries and questions concerning life, death and the world in which we live that remain unanswered. Christians believe that God has the answers to all questions involving these things. But in order to receive the answers to these difficult questions from God, a person must search and seek Him out.
In our lesson today, some men were seeking answers to a strange phenomenon that they saw in their own land. An unusual star appeared unto them and they sought to know the meaning of its appearance. Their research and inquiries led them to conclude the star’s appearance was a sign of the birth of the one who would be King of the Jews. They then followed the star to confirm what they believed about it which brought them to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, they beheld the child, worshipped Him and presented Him with gifts. Their questions were answered once they beheld the King. The important thing to remember about all this is that they had serious questions about the star they seen and their faith would not allow them to give up on finding those answers which led them to the King.
Like them, if we are serious about knowing the mysteries of life, death and this world, we must continue to seek the face of Jesus Christ, the one who was and is born King of not only the Jews, but King of Kings and Lord of Lord. Because our faith leads us to believe that all the answers to all of the questions are in Him and lead to Him. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
14
Dec '17
SS Preview Dec. 17, 2017
14
Dec '17
Greeting Members and Friends
It time once again for our weekly Sunday School preview so thanks for joining me and welcome back. The Winter Quarter entitled “Faith In Action” explores faith as both belief and action. The December unit in the Quarter is entitled “The Early Church Proclaims Faith in Christ” and it reveals what the early leaders proclaimed about living our faith in Christ. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Faith to Persevere”.
Perseverance is the ability to continue with a mission, goal or task in the face of resistance. Perseverance is another key component of faith. Perseverance does not allow believers to give up and abandon their faith despite many factors that may encourage them to do so. As we said last week, since we walk by faith and not by sight, it is important to have the ability to continue on even when we can’t see the next step or phase of our journey. Today’s lesson allows us to see perseverance in action as Paul and Barnabas encounter stiff resistance to their efforts to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ on their first missionary journey. The resistance proved too much for Mark as he departed and left them to return to Antioch.
Prior to coming to Lystra, they had been run out of two cities for preaching and teaching the gospel. When they arrived in the next city called Lystra, Paul encountered a man who had been lame since birth who Paul discerned had faith to be healed. When the people saw that Paul had led this man to his healing, they thought Paul and Barnabas were gods and were about to make a sacrifice for them. But they quickly explained to them that they were mere men and that this man was healed to help them turn away from idols and believe in the living God.
After that, Jews from the previous cities who were responsible for running the apostles out of those cities came to Lystra and nearly stoned Paul to death leaving him for dead outside the city. But Paul recovered and he and Barnabas went to another city and preached there. Then they went back to all the places they had gone to encourage those who had believed not to give up and then they returned to Antioch where they had started. So, despite being met with hostility, they persevered from town to town and city to city until their journey was completed.
Our journey won’t be completed until we draw out last breath on this earth. “Be faithful until death” the Lord says and He will give us a crown of life. This type of faithfulness requires determined perseverance to never give up and never quit. You can get a better understanding of this lesson by reading the daily SS readings found in your SS book which can also be accessed through our website and mobile app. Well, that’s all for this week’s preview. Be sure to join us in Sunday School this week for a fuller discussion of this lesson and the general topic of Faith In Action. So, until then
Grace and peace
Pastor Jordan
