What was the Purpose of Lazarus’ Sickness?
John 11:4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”
John 11:14 So he (Jesus) told them (the Disciples) plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come let’s go see him.”
***The fact that Jesus tells his disciples that they will really believe, causes me to believe there are levels of faith. The disciples had faith in Jesus, but the upcoming event that they would soon witness would kick their faith to a much higher level.***
2. John 11:21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you would have been here my brother would not have died. 22. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
John 11: 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
John 11: 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises at the last day.”
***Martha seemed perturbed with Jesus. Obviously, Jesus could have healed her brother. She pretty much blamed Jesus for Lazarus not being alive. In her mind, her brother’s life on this earth was over. Yet, astoundingly, she utters a glitter of hope in verse 22 with the words:
But even now.***
Jesus continues to use this time to predict the soon-to-be-miracle and to proclaim his own glory.
John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never, ever die. Do you believe this Martha?”
Now Martha proclaims her supreme faith in Jesus.
John 11:27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
3. John 11:38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.
John 11:39b But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible..”
John 11:40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”
***This entire event was orchestrated to help people have faith in Jesus and to see His glory and God’s glory.***
John 11:41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
***WOW!! Surely everyone believed in Jesus now! OOPS…
John 11:45 Many of the people who were still with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
***Some of these people did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, so this awesome miracle went right by them.***
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Saturday, February 9, 2019
WHAT ABOUT LOVE?
WHAT ABOUT LOVE?
***Part ONE
A Volunteer will read 1Corinthians 13:1-3. Plainly, without love, we gain NOTHING.
Core Scripture for this Lesson:
I Corinthians 13:4-7; 4. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5. or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
DISCUSSION
How do we obtain this love?
***Part TWO
As we live our American Christian lives, we can easily get caught up in wrong attitudes, selfish purposes, and non-Biblical mindsets. Thus, I will pose questions to myself…and I ask you to do likewise.
Do I use my wealth well? Do I misuse my wealth?
I am self-reliant? Am I so independent that I don’t recognize God as my provider?
Do I feel superior to others? Do I feel inferior to others?
Am I trapped by guilt? Does guilt keep me from efficiently serving God?
Is my identity…my career? my family? my education (and/or intellect)? my friends? my position in the church? my position in the community? my position in society? other?
Do I love well?
DISCUSSION
Do any of the questions stick out to you? Which one(s)? Elaborate.
What does scripture say?
Philippians 4:19 Matthew 6:19-20 and 24-34 I John 1:9
***WRAPUP
Dr Kelvin Elko is an inspirational speaker who focuses on team building. In the world of sports, he has 21 championships at the college and pro level. He has succinct, meaningful inspirational messages.
In one of his messages, Dr. Elko tell us to say out loud, “There are some things I can control and some things I can’t control.” I found myself saying this as I recently attempted to get a DVD player working at PAYH. It was out of my control. We finally got a needed cord from our Visual-Aids Expert and all was good. But, this little line helped. Dr. Elko continues to speak of an interview that took place decades ago. Marlo Thomas interviewed Paul McCartney. At that moment, the Beatles were falling apart and Paul’s life was in disarray. He mentioned that he would really like to talk to his mother. Paul’s mother was a nurse who had died ten years previous to that interview. As he went to sleep that night, he had the desire of talking to his mother on his mind. After he went to sleep, he had a dream. Paul McCartney clearly saw his mother at the foot of his bed. She told Paul, “Let it be.” He got up at 2:00 AM and wrote the song Let It Be. Also, he married one of the studio back-up singers that helped record the song. From that point forward, things turned around for Paul.
REFLECTION
Are there tasks, people, worries in our life that we need to LET IT BE.
Philippians 4:6-7; Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will receive God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
***Part ONE
A Volunteer will read 1Corinthians 13:1-3. Plainly, without love, we gain NOTHING.
Core Scripture for this Lesson:
I Corinthians 13:4-7; 4. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5. or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
DISCUSSION
How do we obtain this love?
***Part TWO
As we live our American Christian lives, we can easily get caught up in wrong attitudes, selfish purposes, and non-Biblical mindsets. Thus, I will pose questions to myself…and I ask you to do likewise.
Do I use my wealth well? Do I misuse my wealth?
I am self-reliant? Am I so independent that I don’t recognize God as my provider?
Do I feel superior to others? Do I feel inferior to others?
Am I trapped by guilt? Does guilt keep me from efficiently serving God?
Is my identity…my career? my family? my education (and/or intellect)? my friends? my position in the church? my position in the community? my position in society? other?
Do I love well?
DISCUSSION
Do any of the questions stick out to you? Which one(s)? Elaborate.
What does scripture say?
Philippians 4:19 Matthew 6:19-20 and 24-34 I John 1:9
***WRAPUP
Dr Kelvin Elko is an inspirational speaker who focuses on team building. In the world of sports, he has 21 championships at the college and pro level. He has succinct, meaningful inspirational messages.
In one of his messages, Dr. Elko tell us to say out loud, “There are some things I can control and some things I can’t control.” I found myself saying this as I recently attempted to get a DVD player working at PAYH. It was out of my control. We finally got a needed cord from our Visual-Aids Expert and all was good. But, this little line helped. Dr. Elko continues to speak of an interview that took place decades ago. Marlo Thomas interviewed Paul McCartney. At that moment, the Beatles were falling apart and Paul’s life was in disarray. He mentioned that he would really like to talk to his mother. Paul’s mother was a nurse who had died ten years previous to that interview. As he went to sleep that night, he had the desire of talking to his mother on his mind. After he went to sleep, he had a dream. Paul McCartney clearly saw his mother at the foot of his bed. She told Paul, “Let it be.” He got up at 2:00 AM and wrote the song Let It Be. Also, he married one of the studio back-up singers that helped record the song. From that point forward, things turned around for Paul.
REFLECTION
Are there tasks, people, worries in our life that we need to LET IT BE.
Philippians 4:6-7; Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will receive God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
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