JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL - ACTS 15:36-16:5 - ACTIONS AND RESULTS

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Explore the Bible Curriculum p.47

ACTS 15:36-16:5 – ACTIONS AND RESULTS

Acts 15:36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. 39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 40 And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

ACTION: Paul and Barnabas disagreed about taking John Mark with them to visit cities in which they had previously preached the Gospel.

RESULT: Barnabas took John Mark with him, and Paul chose Silas to journey with him. Thus creating two teams of missionaries and covering more ground.

Acts 15:41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

ACTION: Paul and Silas traveled through Syria and Cilicia.

RESULT: The churches were “confirmed” or strengthened. In other words, discipleship was a part of Paul’s ministry as well as evangelism.  The two are interdependent.

Acts 16:1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

ACTION: Paul and Silas traveled on to Derbe and Lystra.

RESULT: Paul chose to take Timothy under his wing and had him join him and Silas on the journey. As we know, much later in His ministry, Paul wrote two letters to the younger man, Timothy, to encourage him in his own ministry. These two letters are included in the New Testament.

Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

ACTION: Paul, Silas, and now Timothy explained the requirements set forth for Gentile believers as decided by the elders in Jerusalem.

RESULT: The churches were “established” which can be translated strengthened (same word used for the strengthening of the lame man’s legs outside the temple earlier in Acts).

Susan: The key that connects these actions and results is the goal of revisiting the churches for the purpose of discipleship. Although their goal was not evangelism on this trip, evangelism resulted as the young believers were discipled and began to evangelize as well.

Susie: Evangelism (leading people to the Lord) results in the need to disciple (teach) new believers which in turn leads to the newer believers evangelizing.

Susan: It’s a concentric circle . . .

Susie: . . . a ripple effect.

Susan: Evangelism and discipleship work in concert with one another. They go hand and hand.

Susie: We cannot focus on either evangelism or discipleship. It cannot be either/or but must be both/and.

Susan: They are two sides of the same coin—the Gospel.

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL - LUKE 2:29-30, 38

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Explore the Bible curriculum, p.41

Evaluate Your Emotional Response to Luke 2:29

Bonus: Simeon and Anna’s reactions compared

Luke 2:29-30 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation . . .

Susan: Simeon felt amazement, wonderment, and pure joy as he held his Savior.

Susie: There may be a feeling of relief as well. We do not know his age, but Simeon had been waiting to see the Messiah as the Lord had promised him for a long time.

Susan: Simeon could be content because everything he had ever been taught about and dreamed of was encapsulated in that human baby. He was holding the fulfilment of every dream and desire he had had for the nation of Israel in his arms. He could move on to the next chapter of living because he saw and held in his arms the living reality of everything he had been taught as a Jew.

Susie: By the power of the Holy Spirit, Simeon knew deep in his soul that this particular baby was the promised Messiah. After four hundred years, God broke His silence with the cry of His only begotten Son.

Susan: For me, realizing that God wanted me to be His child and Himself to be my parent, was humbling. I was speechless at the reality that Jesus was more interested in a relationship with me than His other titles as King of kings and Lord of lords. Having a Lord who desires what is best for me is beyond amazing. I felt wonderment and awe that the God of the Universe could love me that much.

Susie: Overwhelmed is the best description of how I felt when I realized I could come to Jesus just as I was, no need to “fake it till you make it.” As the baby Jesus rested in the arms of Simeon, the elderly man realized that he could truly rest in Jesus. Joyful, energetic, but relaxed in trusting Him would describe my emotions when I first came to know Jesus.

Luke 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Susie: Simeon was at complete peace and ready to leave this earth for his heavenly home, but Anna had a different reaction.

Susan: Anna had the same attitude of complete thanksgiving that Simeon had expressed. However, she was not ready to graduate to Heaven. Instead, she went and told everyone who would listen that the Messiah had finally come. The prophetess became an evangelist. She had a new zeal.

Susie: At the age of at least 84 years (maybe more), Anna found renewed strength when she realized the Messiah, the Son of God, had arrived. 

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL – Acts 15:9

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Explore the Bible Curriculum – Winter 2017/2018

Session 3 – p.31

Reflect on Acts 15:9

Acts 15:9 (KJV) And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Acts 15:9 (NIV) NIV He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Susie: Peter had just described that the Lord called him to witness to a Roman soldier named Cornelius, a gentile, and his entire household. Upon their surrender to the gospel message, the Lord filled them with His Holy Spirit just as He had the Jewish believers. His point here was that God did not treat the Gentile believers differently, as another translation puts it, He made “no distinction” between Jewish and Gentile believers. They were equal. I thought to myself, do we discriminate or see other believers as different? Do we see black believers differently than white? Poor differently than middle class? Well-dressed differently than those in shorts and a T-shirt? Those who lift their hands differently than those who bow their heads? Susan has yet another perspective.

Susan: God made clear to me that there was no distinction between able-bodied people and those with physical challenges. I was complaining to God about being stuck in the limitations of my earth-suit and that people who did not have an earth-suit like mine seemed to have it so much easier and were so much further ahead of me in their careers. The Lord said that no physically sound person or physically challenged person were ahead or behind one another from God’s perspective. He told me that the fact of the matter was that neither the most elite athlete nor the most profoundly physically challenged person were fit for Heaven in their current earth-suit. They were fit for earth and earth only. I had to shut my mouth and say, “Yes, Sir.” However, it is still difficult at times to remember that there is no inequality the able-bodied person and myself as far as the Lord God is concerned.

In light of this verse, are there attitudes we need to change in order to more effectively present the gospel message and reflect the love of Jesus in our worship services or in our day to day lives? 

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOOL - ACTS 14:15 - INTENTIONAL SHARING

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Explore the Bible Curriculum – Winter 2017/2018

Session 2 – p.27

INTENTIONAL SHARING

Acts 14:15 (VOICE) Paul and Barnabas (shouting): Friends! No! No! Don’t do this! We’re just humans like all of you! We’re not here to be worshiped! We’re here to bring you good news—good news that you should turn from these worthless forms of worship and instead serve the living God, the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that they contain.

Susan: Paul was saying, “Gentlemen, we are mere men like you, nothing worthy of worship. Good News! We are here to introduce you to the one true living and authentic God who created the heavens, the earth, the sky, the sea, and everything in them!”

Susie: Susan and I point others to the living God via our website and blogs and try to be sure to include a concise gospel message frequently no matter what book(s) of the Bible we are studying.

Susan: Also, we hope to enjoy opportunities to at churches, conferences, and retreats to share our testimonies and proclaim God’s word to encourage fellow believers and to point seekers toward the one true God.

Susie: Personally, I want to more frequently share a verbal witness on a one on one basis as I go about doing everyday things—grocery shopping, picking up mail, pumping gas, etc.

INTENTIONAL WAYS TO SHARE

THE GOOD NEWS

·      When you open a conversation by remarking about the weather, segue to the fact that God controls the weather. Progress to the ability to know the all-powerful Creator.

·      In the doctors waiting area, strike up conversation with another patient. Really listen to their concerns with compassion. Express confidence in God’s ability to see you through and offer to pray with them. Possible move toward gospel presentation: “I sure am glad I know the Great Physician. Do you know Him? If not, please let me introduce you.”

·      Waiting in check-out line. Strike up a conversation with person behind you. Praise the Lord for an answered prayer. Their response will let you know if they are a brother or sister in Christ. If they do not seem to be, share in a nutshell. Perhaps carry a gospel tract or your own testimony on a small card to give to them. Put the name and address of your church on the back.

·      At the grocery store the other day, a lady just walked up and handed me a business card that said, “You are loved. Love in, fear out. God is in control. Trust Him. Worrying about tomorrow will take away today’s peace.” That was a nice thing, but I would put the church’s name and address or a link to a website that has a gospel presentation.

·      Take a new neighbor some baked goods and ask if they have a church home in the area yet. If not, invite them to your church. If they say they are not believers, ask them if you may tell them why you are a believer.

Other places to share:

·      Laundromat

·      Playground or indoor play area

·      Breakroom at work

Brainstorm your own ideas. Then get out there and share! We have found that simply smiling at passersby instead of keeping your head down can open up a conversation. Be in a constant attitude of prayer for opportunities to share the gospel. That is a prayer God wants to answer!

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL - COMPARE ACTS 2:23-26 TO ACTS 13:26-39

JEWELS FROM SUNDAY SCHOOL

Explore the Bible Curriculum – Winter 2017-18

Session 1, Page 14

Compare Acts 2:23-36

to

Acts 13:26-39

We have highlighted similar statements in yellow and those things less similar in fuchsia.  Our comments are found below the passages.

Acts 2:23-36 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Acts 13:26-39 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Peter spoke to Jews from various places who were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost right after the Holy Spirit had come upon the believers and enabled them to be understood by everyone who spoke other languages. Paul spoke to Jews in a synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia. Both taught that the Jewish leaders had turned Jesus over to be crucified by those who did not believe in God but that this was prophesied, or as Peter put it “with God’s full knowledge.” They both taught that, as prophesied by David, the Messiah’s body did not see corruption because God raised Him from the dead. Peter uses the first-person plural “we” when speaking of being witnesses of the resurrected Christ. Paul, who saw Jesus much later than the others, stated “And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people,” speaking of the apostles and other disciples who had followed Jesus during his ministry on earth. Peter accuses the Jews dwelling in Jerusalem of being complicit in Jesus’s death. Paul tells the Jews in Antioch of Pisidia that the message of salvation is sent to them. Peter emphasized that Jesus was Lord and Christ (Messiah or Anointed One). Paul held Jesus up as the One who preached forgiveness of sins.