Genesis 3:21
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Genesis 4:4-5
4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
Hebrews 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 10:16
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
Let me share a little something with you. There was a time when I wanted to hear God’s voice.. and couldn’t. Many years ago, before Christ, I was at a particularly low point in my life. I won’t go into details because it’s not integral to today’s lesson, except for this one little part: I prayed. I prayed to God. That prayer went something like: “God. I always talk to you, but you never talk back.” I was desperate. I needed help. More help than I could fathom coming from a human source. I needed divine intervention. I went on to pray: “God, if you ever let me hear your voice, I’m yours… all the way.” I didn’t hear anything. No thunder, no lightning, no voice from heaven, nothing.. for seven more years.
Then one day, I was playing dominoes and drinking vodka with a friend of mine and He invited my wife to church. My wife is a PK: a ‘Preacher’s Kid’ and even though we weren’t living ‘saved’ (nothing about me was ‘saved’ at this juncture in my life), she was ‘comfortable’ going to church (another lesson for another day). When she came home that day after ‘church’, she was ‘walking on air’. There was a visible difference in her countenance. She gushed about how much she liked it and how different it was than other churches we had visited. To make a long story short, about 3 weeks later I found myself sitting on a folding chair, in little room, in little store front church with 4 or 5 guys I didn’t know and bible that I had been given years earlier. Monday night was Men’s Brotherhood’ night and I had been invited to come. That’s when it started…
I’m sitting there with my bible open to the third chapter of John and the pastor is talking and… the words began to leap from the pages. I’m listening and reading and all of a sudden, it’s as though the bible and the preacher are speaking to me about me… I was having an experience. I was hearing God. I was caught; hook, line and sinker. I came back the next night for Ladies’ Missions and the next night for Prayer Service and the next night and the next…. I didn’t have a choice really. I had never experienced anything so wonderful, so dynamic, so moving as … hearing God. I had been waiting for a long time, all my life really and for at least the last seven years particularly. That prayer, so many years ago, so many miles away had never left me. When I heard His voice, I was His.
Not long after beginning this journey, I did what a lot of new believers do: I purposed to ‘read the bible’ cover to cover (I still haven’t made it yet… may be this year). When I got to Genesis, chapter four, I read the passage above and asked God a question about the passage: Why was Abel’s offering accepted and Cain’s not? You have to take my word for what happened next. Three days later, sometime before day, while still asleep, I had a dream unlike any I’d ever had before, an epiphany. I was suddenly in ‘the Garden’, yes ‘that’ Garden, watching as God made clothes from animal skins, ‘covering’ for Adam and Eve, to cover their ‘shame’. And I heard a voice, a loud voice from ‘somewhere’ say: “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin”. Trust me, I was only at Genesis 4, I hadn’t made it to Hebrews yet. Something ‘broke’ inside me that morning. When my wife woke up she discovered me; kneeling on the side of the bed, bawling. Not weeping, not just crying. Bawling, I couldn’t stop. I haven’t ever been the same since.
Beloved, Isaiah 53 represents (in my mind) the clearest, most succinct explanation of the Gospel in the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Right here, all parties are represented: God, Jesus and us: you and I. Please take note of the position each party takes in this prophetic look forward at the Cross. God punishes Jesus because of our sin. Jesus willingly accepts that suffering and punishment. We do nothing.. Nothing except, assume that He got what He deserved. Wander aimlessly away from the scene, like sheep, while He was healing us. It wasn’t enough that He died for us, but He suffered. And on that long road, that ‘Via Dolorosa’ meaning ‘the way of suffering’, Jesus healed, saved, delivered humanity. With the stripes He suffered during the beating ordered by Pilate, Jesus healed –ism and –itis, every malady, every virus, all sickness, all disease was dealt with in those moments. Then, with the burden of the Cross, down that long road to Golgotha, He bore our weakness, our infirmity, our sin. On the Cross, He bore our ‘shame’. Suspended between heaven and earth, the ultimate sacrifice, the propitiation (look it up) to God for our sins, our transgressions. Then, with His final breath, He spoke these words: ‘It is Finished” . In the Aramic, “Tetelestai” meaning “Paid in full”. The price for our rebellion, our disobedience, our sin then, now and forever more settled with God by the crucifixion of Christ. Glory! It’s feeling like Easter up in here!
Isaiah 53 ends by showing us how satisfied God is with what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. He exalts Him. He rewards Him richly. A picture of the Resurrection. God raises Jesus from the grave and exalts Him above all principalities and powers. Gives Him a name above any other and…. He makes a place for us; you and I, in His Kingdom. A place where you cannot be accused, cannot be shamed, won’t ever get sick, want for nothing… the whole deal. In God’s Presence… eternally. Beloved, what we know is not all there is to know. What I have to say is not all there is to say. What we’ve seen is not all there is to see. It has not entered into our hearts, we cannot imagine, really, what God has accomplished for us, His Church, through Christ. I’ll close with theses simple words: Love never fails
Blessings,
.wb
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
epiph·a·ny
noun \i-ˈpi-fə-nē\
plural epiph·a·nies
Definition of EPIPHANY
2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 23, 2011: Light for the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:1-7)
1 Peter 2:7
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
Isaiah 49:6
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
“Do the right thing. Even if no one else will.” Have you ever heard this expression? Have you ever been in this position? Ever been in a real confrontation, where you had to be the lone voice for truth? How did that work out for you? We are called to be a ‘light’ to the unsaved. Sometimes, our best witness is our lives, our character, the way we carry ourselves, especially in the company of the unsaved, the un-churched. I’m not talking about the ‘upright’, uptight, super spiritual thing that some of us can fall into. I’m talking about making a quality decision in mixed company. Speaking the truth and standing your ground. There are any number of ways this occurs, but when we do it, people take notice. Imagine the school kid who doesn’t take the bait when tempted to make a poor choice. Imagine the shopper who calls it to the clerk’s attention if they are under charged for an item at a store. There are so many opportunities to do the wrong thing instead of right thing, but when we make a good choice, people notice. And when we make quality choices over an extended period of time, not only will others take notice, but they will testify to it. And when they testify to your witness, the Kingdom of God is proclaimed in them. They are ‘preaching’, if you will, the ‘Christ’ they see in you. We live in a time where many call attention to themselves, only to bring shame to themselves and to the Church when the spot light gets too revealing. All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. However, If we believers will carry ourselves with quietness and dignity, the people around us will take notice and sometimes, they will be affected toward the Kingdom for surely they will have seen ‘Christ’ in you.
Blessings,
.wb
1 Timothy 2:1-2
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
Isaiah 49:6
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
“Do the right thing. Even if no one else will.” Have you ever heard this expression? Have you ever been in this position? Ever been in a real confrontation, where you had to be the lone voice for truth? How did that work out for you? We are called to be a ‘light’ to the unsaved. Sometimes, our best witness is our lives, our character, the way we carry ourselves, especially in the company of the unsaved, the un-churched. I’m not talking about the ‘upright’, uptight, super spiritual thing that some of us can fall into. I’m talking about making a quality decision in mixed company. Speaking the truth and standing your ground. There are any number of ways this occurs, but when we do it, people take notice. Imagine the school kid who doesn’t take the bait when tempted to make a poor choice. Imagine the shopper who calls it to the clerk’s attention if they are under charged for an item at a store. There are so many opportunities to do the wrong thing instead of right thing, but when we make a good choice, people notice. And when we make quality choices over an extended period of time, not only will others take notice, but they will testify to it. And when they testify to your witness, the Kingdom of God is proclaimed in them. They are ‘preaching’, if you will, the ‘Christ’ they see in you. We live in a time where many call attention to themselves, only to bring shame to themselves and to the Church when the spot light gets too revealing. All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. However, If we believers will carry ourselves with quietness and dignity, the people around us will take notice and sometimes, they will be affected toward the Kingdom for surely they will have seen ‘Christ’ in you.
Blessings,
.wb
1 Timothy 2:1-2
1I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 16, 2011: Reassurance for God's People (Isaiah 48:12-22)
Romans 10:14
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
2 Corinthians 6:17
Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate”, says the Lord.
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:
John 12:25
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Isaiah 48:20
Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
There is no greater admonition for the believer than the admonition from the verse above. Flee Babylon! Flee the world! Flee worldly lusts, eschew the temptations that come your way. Pay attention though, to the part of the verse that exhorts us to announce or proclaim this warning with ‘shouts of joy’. What! How do these two things go together? A warning? Shouted or proclaimed with joy? A paradox of the Gospel for sure. But I get it. You see, The Proclaimer knows what it’s like on the other side. He’s been to the mountaintop. He’s seen the promise. He doesn’t want you to miss out, to live below your privileges. As Christians, we have the unique perspective of living in two worlds concurrently: the temporal and the spiritual. God wants to bless our temporal from the spiritual, but we have to have a heart and mind for Him and Him alone. He wants us to leave Sodom and not look back. Leave Egypt. Leave Babylon. Let it go.
When we let it go, really let the world go and seek the Rest that God has for us, Peace that is greater than our ability to comprehend will be the result. Peace in the face of the many challenges we face day to day, Peace like a river. Joy unspeakable and full of Glory! Heaven on Earth. And not in small measures. He’ll give you Peace and Joy, Love and Patience, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Compassion pressed down, shaken together and running over. Run from Babylon beloved. God’s got something special waiting on you on the other side. You ain’t seen nothing yet! Go git yo hat and come on!
Blessings,
.wb
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 9, 2011: Salvation for God’s People (Isaiah 45:14-25)
Isaiah 45:14
…They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’”
John 3:8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Acts 10:34
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Eric is my witness, or I am his. We were having lunch Friday afternoon at a local fast food restaurant and as is our custom, we were discussing the Sunday School Lesson. In fact, we were discussing this Sunday School lesson. A young man came in, ordered his food and quietly sat and ate his lunch. He was a few tables over from us… just one of the customers. When he finished his lunch, he passed by our table on his way to the restroom and said “I want to yell at you when I get back”. When he returned he introduced himself and asked what were we discussing. When we told him, a big grin came over his face and he began to tell us that he ‘just knew’ that we were ‘God’s peoples’ and he just wanted in. Eric asked whether he was a Christian and David began down a familiar path: yes, he was raised in church by a praying grandmother, but had strayed away to do his own thing. Now hold on. This wasn’t just a regular ‘guy’. He was one of ‘dem’. C’mon, you know who ‘dem ‘ is. You don’t hang around wit' ‘dem’ folks. In fact, when you see ‘dem’ coming, you cross the street, you don’t even make eye contact. You know, it’s ‘dem’. David (his real name) smelled of smoke, and told us that after he left there he was going across the street to buy some beer. But, while he looked like one of ‘dem’, from his heart, he spoke like one of ‘us’. After talking to him for a few minutes, we offered to pray for him. He gladly accepted. We started praying, really praying for him, but you know what? We weren’t praying hard enough for him. He took over the prayer and really, really stepped it up a notch. In fact, a couple of notches. Whoa! For Real! He prayed for Grandma, mom, sisters, brothers, cousins… his old girl friend. Head down, eyes closed tight, repenting over and over to God (“I’m sorry Lord, I’m sorry”) for his behavior and praying Heaven right down to Earth. Right down to the dining area right in the middle of Golden Chicken! Really! Afterwards, David asked us where we held church. He wanted to come to ‘our’ church. When we couldn’t get him to accept that we didn’t run a church, we finally had to tell him to meet us next week at Golden Chicken… for church. Same time, same place. I hope he remembers and I hope he shows up.
Beloved, how does this story relate to today’s lesson? God’s vision for mankind is so vast, so high, so wide, so deep. He loves people you or I would like not to. Truly, He is long suffering, not willing that any should perish. This is how it’s supposed to work. I’m thankful that the Father saw fit, found us worthy to send David our way. Keep him in your prayers. Along with that, remember: whatever your situation, whatever you’ve been through, what ever you’re going through. Whatever your problem, whatever the burden; God is with you. He’s willing and able to meet you where you are, wherever that is and be what you need Him to be to make you whole. Behold, He stands at the door and knocks…
♪ Jesus loves me, this I know… ♪
Blessings
.wb
Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Luke 14:23
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
…They will bow down before you
and plead with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other;
there is no other god.’”
John 3:8
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Acts 10:34
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Eric is my witness, or I am his. We were having lunch Friday afternoon at a local fast food restaurant and as is our custom, we were discussing the Sunday School Lesson. In fact, we were discussing this Sunday School lesson. A young man came in, ordered his food and quietly sat and ate his lunch. He was a few tables over from us… just one of the customers. When he finished his lunch, he passed by our table on his way to the restroom and said “I want to yell at you when I get back”. When he returned he introduced himself and asked what were we discussing. When we told him, a big grin came over his face and he began to tell us that he ‘just knew’ that we were ‘God’s peoples’ and he just wanted in. Eric asked whether he was a Christian and David began down a familiar path: yes, he was raised in church by a praying grandmother, but had strayed away to do his own thing. Now hold on. This wasn’t just a regular ‘guy’. He was one of ‘dem’. C’mon, you know who ‘dem ‘ is. You don’t hang around wit' ‘dem’ folks. In fact, when you see ‘dem’ coming, you cross the street, you don’t even make eye contact. You know, it’s ‘dem’. David (his real name) smelled of smoke, and told us that after he left there he was going across the street to buy some beer. But, while he looked like one of ‘dem’, from his heart, he spoke like one of ‘us’. After talking to him for a few minutes, we offered to pray for him. He gladly accepted. We started praying, really praying for him, but you know what? We weren’t praying hard enough for him. He took over the prayer and really, really stepped it up a notch. In fact, a couple of notches. Whoa! For Real! He prayed for Grandma, mom, sisters, brothers, cousins… his old girl friend. Head down, eyes closed tight, repenting over and over to God (“I’m sorry Lord, I’m sorry”) for his behavior and praying Heaven right down to Earth. Right down to the dining area right in the middle of Golden Chicken! Really! Afterwards, David asked us where we held church. He wanted to come to ‘our’ church. When we couldn’t get him to accept that we didn’t run a church, we finally had to tell him to meet us next week at Golden Chicken… for church. Same time, same place. I hope he remembers and I hope he shows up.
Beloved, how does this story relate to today’s lesson? God’s vision for mankind is so vast, so high, so wide, so deep. He loves people you or I would like not to. Truly, He is long suffering, not willing that any should perish. This is how it’s supposed to work. I’m thankful that the Father saw fit, found us worthy to send David our way. Keep him in your prayers. Along with that, remember: whatever your situation, whatever you’ve been through, what ever you’re going through. Whatever your problem, whatever the burden; God is with you. He’s willing and able to meet you where you are, wherever that is and be what you need Him to be to make you whole. Behold, He stands at the door and knocks…
♪ Jesus loves me, this I know… ♪
Blessings
.wb
Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Luke 14:23
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. 2, 2011: God Is Our Redeemer (Isaiah 44:21-28)
Isaiah 44:24
24 “This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the LORD,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
Isaiah 44:28
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
Cyrus the Great was the ancient king of Persia who delivered Israel from Babylonian captivity. The mention of Cyrus here in Isaiah is unusual in that the prophecy of his deliverance of Israel predates His actual life and reign by some 150 years. Remarkable! Before the Israel went into captivity, God was already ‘speaking them out of captivity. These last several chapters of Isaiah that we’ve read over the last several weeks were written during the time before the Babylonian captivity. Israel had fallen into sin and followed after false idols and God’s judgment was on the way. But even before that eventual judgment, God was sending prophetic words of comfort and hope. And he was preparing a deliverer.
Beloved, the same holds true for us today. God has spoken and prepared our deliverance. Not only has He prepared our deliverance, but He has given it to us in the precious, precious gift of His son, Jesus Christ. Whatever it is that you’ve been through, Jesus will fix it. Whatever the unforeseen circumstance awaits you, Jesus will be with you. The beauty of God’s gift to the world is that even if you don’t yet know Him (Jesus), you are known by Him and loved by Him. Wherever you are in this journey, Jesus is watching. For as long as you have breath in your body, Jesus is working on your behalf. Are you unlovable? Unlikable? Have you done the unthinkable? Or suffered the unimaginable? Jesus loves you more than you can comprehend or understand. And His solution to your impossible? I don’t have the words to convey, but believe me, one way or another, His deliverance for you is so complete and so spot on, that when it comes (wait on it), when it comes you will be changed. Changed completely and …eternally. Good News Beloved! You’re not going to stay where you are. Help is on the way!
Blessings,
.wb
Psalm 107:2
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so
24 “This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the LORD,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,
Isaiah 44:28
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’
Cyrus the Great was the ancient king of Persia who delivered Israel from Babylonian captivity. The mention of Cyrus here in Isaiah is unusual in that the prophecy of his deliverance of Israel predates His actual life and reign by some 150 years. Remarkable! Before the Israel went into captivity, God was already ‘speaking them out of captivity. These last several chapters of Isaiah that we’ve read over the last several weeks were written during the time before the Babylonian captivity. Israel had fallen into sin and followed after false idols and God’s judgment was on the way. But even before that eventual judgment, God was sending prophetic words of comfort and hope. And he was preparing a deliverer.
Beloved, the same holds true for us today. God has spoken and prepared our deliverance. Not only has He prepared our deliverance, but He has given it to us in the precious, precious gift of His son, Jesus Christ. Whatever it is that you’ve been through, Jesus will fix it. Whatever the unforeseen circumstance awaits you, Jesus will be with you. The beauty of God’s gift to the world is that even if you don’t yet know Him (Jesus), you are known by Him and loved by Him. Wherever you are in this journey, Jesus is watching. For as long as you have breath in your body, Jesus is working on your behalf. Are you unlovable? Unlikable? Have you done the unthinkable? Or suffered the unimaginable? Jesus loves you more than you can comprehend or understand. And His solution to your impossible? I don’t have the words to convey, but believe me, one way or another, His deliverance for you is so complete and so spot on, that when it comes (wait on it), when it comes you will be changed. Changed completely and …eternally. Good News Beloved! You’re not going to stay where you are. Help is on the way!
Blessings,
.wb
Psalm 107:2
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 26, 2010: God Is with Us (Isaiah 43:1-7, 10-12)
Psalm 40:7
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
Isaiah 29:18
In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Hebrews 10:7
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’”
I attended a service at a local Messianic Church some years ago and had the wonderful opportunity to experience a very Jewish flavoring of the presentation of the Gospel. One part of the service included a reading from the Torah, the Old Testament. This involved the unrolling of an actual scroll to the selected place in Scripture from which the minister was to read. The scroll is read through it’s entirety from the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through to the end of that year. At year’s end, the scroll is rewound (as it were) and the process is started all over again.
It’s interesting that, in our culture, we celebrate the birth of Christ very near the end of our year. It’s as if God, Himself, at the time of Jesus’ birth, ‘rolled up the scroll’ on human history and started over. Closed the Book and started anew. From Heaven, God pressed ‘RESET’. Isn’t that good news? And isn’t it fitting that in the Gentile cultures, we celebrate the two events so closely together? There was no hope for you or I until Christ came. Just saying. I know this sounds like a New Years message; my apologies for being a week late. No, this is not the New Years lesson, this is the New Hope message, the New Life message (Hallelujah). Blessings to you and yours as we celebrate the new life we’ve been given in Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Blessings,
.wb
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.
Isaiah 29:18
In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Hebrews 10:7
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’”
I attended a service at a local Messianic Church some years ago and had the wonderful opportunity to experience a very Jewish flavoring of the presentation of the Gospel. One part of the service included a reading from the Torah, the Old Testament. This involved the unrolling of an actual scroll to the selected place in Scripture from which the minister was to read. The scroll is read through it’s entirety from the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through to the end of that year. At year’s end, the scroll is rewound (as it were) and the process is started all over again.
It’s interesting that, in our culture, we celebrate the birth of Christ very near the end of our year. It’s as if God, Himself, at the time of Jesus’ birth, ‘rolled up the scroll’ on human history and started over. Closed the Book and started anew. From Heaven, God pressed ‘RESET’. Isn’t that good news? And isn’t it fitting that in the Gentile cultures, we celebrate the two events so closely together? There was no hope for you or I until Christ came. Just saying. I know this sounds like a New Years message; my apologies for being a week late. No, this is not the New Years lesson, this is the New Hope message, the New Life message (Hallelujah). Blessings to you and yours as we celebrate the new life we’ve been given in Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Blessings,
.wb
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 19, 2010: A Child Is Born (Isaiah 9:6, 7; 11:1-8; Matthew 1:21-23)
Isaiah 11:6-8
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
Isaiah 11:9
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
Romans 8:19-21
19For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].
20For the creation (nature) was subjected to [a]frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it--[yet] with the hope(A)
21That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption [and gain an entrance] into the glorious freedom of God's children.
And So It Has Begun
The verses from Isaiah 11:6-8 describe a scene that defies the imagination. Lions and lambs abiding together, sandboxes with children and snakes. How will this be? The beasts mentioned here are among the most frightening on Earth but, something has happened here. They have been changed from the inside out. Their natural instincts have been changed. Changed at the sub-atomic level. You could almost say ‘Born Again’.. couldn’t you? Sure you could. That’s how it happens for us. Born again, changed from the inside out, transformed by the renewing of our minds, by the cleansing, regenerative power of the Word of God. A nature so changed and so dissimilar from what you used to be, that sometimes even you are amazed by it. But there’s more.
Once changed, things around you begin to change. They’re supposed to. Your environment begins to be affected by you. And why not? After all, the most dynamic force in all existence now dwells in you. It’s as though Niagara Falls were gushing out of your being. The roar would be deafening. Everything around you would be wet. Soaked. His Presence in you changes everything: inside and out.
Here’s the Good News. All of Creation is waiting. Waiting for Him. Waiting for Him in you. When the Heavenly Chorus heralded the birth of the baby Jesus, they understood that His birth marked the beginning of the restoration of all that is, all of creation, all of it. All of it! Everything! Everywhere! And you’re a part of that. Look up Beloved. Our Redemption is drawing near!
Merry Christmas!
.wb
Luke 2:13-14
13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
2 Corinthians 4:7
7However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
Isaiah 11:9
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
Romans 8:19-21
19For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship].
20For the creation (nature) was subjected to [a]frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it--[yet] with the hope(A)
21That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption [and gain an entrance] into the glorious freedom of God's children.
And So It Has Begun
The verses from Isaiah 11:6-8 describe a scene that defies the imagination. Lions and lambs abiding together, sandboxes with children and snakes. How will this be? The beasts mentioned here are among the most frightening on Earth but, something has happened here. They have been changed from the inside out. Their natural instincts have been changed. Changed at the sub-atomic level. You could almost say ‘Born Again’.. couldn’t you? Sure you could. That’s how it happens for us. Born again, changed from the inside out, transformed by the renewing of our minds, by the cleansing, regenerative power of the Word of God. A nature so changed and so dissimilar from what you used to be, that sometimes even you are amazed by it. But there’s more.
Once changed, things around you begin to change. They’re supposed to. Your environment begins to be affected by you. And why not? After all, the most dynamic force in all existence now dwells in you. It’s as though Niagara Falls were gushing out of your being. The roar would be deafening. Everything around you would be wet. Soaked. His Presence in you changes everything: inside and out.
Here’s the Good News. All of Creation is waiting. Waiting for Him. Waiting for Him in you. When the Heavenly Chorus heralded the birth of the baby Jesus, they understood that His birth marked the beginning of the restoration of all that is, all of creation, all of it. All of it! Everything! Everywhere! And you’re a part of that. Look up Beloved. Our Redemption is drawing near!
Merry Christmas!
.wb
Luke 2:13-14
13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
2 Corinthians 4:7
7However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
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