Lesson Highlights Archives - Page 35 of 41

Lesson Highlight: "walk"
Lesson Highlight: "walk"

Lesson Highlight: "walk"

In "Doctrinal Discussion" Dr. Glenn McClure writes concerning the Christian walk:

We need to walk in love which is the essence of our walk (Eph. 5:2).

We need to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7), knowing that God’s way will not always be accepted by this world.

We need to walk in the light (1 John 1:7).

We need to walk with integrity (Rom. 13:13).

Most importantly, we need to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4); that is, we need to walk in Christ (Col. 2:6), the one who has given us physical, spiritual, and eternal life.

Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 26.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-24T09:00:13+00:00December 24th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: Christian life, faith, integrity, light, love|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "if thou canst"
Lesson Highlight: "if thou canst"

Lesson Highlight: "if thou canst"

In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:

Verses 22-24 are the crux of this story. The man asked Jesus for help “if you can do anything.” The Greek text includes a small aside at the beginning of this verse (to ei dun), which carries the force of “As to your ‘if you can’ — everything is possible to him that believeth.” It is almost as though Jesus had said, in our vernacular, “If I can! The very idea!” He was saying, “I not only can do something, but I can even do everything you need to have done. The ‘if ’ is not on my part. The ‘if ’ is yours. I can if you can believe. ‘All things are possible to him that believeth.’ ”
The word for believe (pisteuonti) is a present active participle in the dative case, and it means “to the believing one” or “to the one whose defining characteristic is that he believes.” The father answered, “I believe,” in the present active indicative. He was saying, “I do now believe.”

Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 22.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-23T09:00:02+00:00December 23rd, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: faith, prayer|0 Comments

Do you fear becoming stained by the world?
Do you fear becoming stained by the world?

Do you fear becoming stained by the world?

In "God's Word for Today" David Fry writes:

When Jesus touched the leper, rather than becoming unclean, the leper was cleansed. This tells us that Jesus cannot be contaminated with sin or disease. As the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, God likewise has “not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7). Believers do not have to fear contamination as long as they are living confidently in Jesus Christ.

Discussion: How has the church at times avoided ministering to people in need because the church fears the "stain" of the people's sin and worldliness?
Discussion: How does 2 Timothy 1:7 give you confidence, in place of fear, to live and serve in the midst of an unholy world?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 30.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-23T09:00:01+00:00December 23rd, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: fear, world, worldliness|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "no room"
Lesson Highlight: "no room"

Lesson Highlight: "no room"

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7)
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:

When Jesus was born, there was no room in the inn (kataluma — literally, lodging, inn, or guest house). The inn was likely an eastern khan which is like a series of open-ended rooms or stalls opening into a common courtyard where the animals were kept. There was no room in the khan, so it was in the common courtyard where Jesus was born. There was no privacy even at this event for this weary, wayworn family. The fact that there was no room in the inn is typical of what was to happen to Jesus all through His life. The room reserved for Him, says Barclay, was on a cross. “He sought an entry to the overcrowded hearts of men; He could not find it; and still His search — and His rejection — go on.”

Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 16.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-18T09:00:22+00:00December 18th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: christmas, heart, love|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "shepherds"
Lesson Highlight: "shepherds"

Lesson Highlight: "shepherds"

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." (Luke 2:8)
In "God's Word for Today", David Fry writes:

The shepherds’ first reaction was fear but it ended with rejoicing. What happened between the moment of fear and their time of rejoicing was their obedience. Of course, one can hardly imagine disobeying such a magnificent manifestation of God’s will. It was not merely hearing the message from the angelic host that persuaded them to seek the Messiah, but also witnessing the great rejoicing of the angels. Soon they too would rejoice. It wasn’t what was happening in the heavens that caused the shepherds to rejoice, but what God was doing on earth, in a manger in Bethlehem. Unlike Mary who kept quiet, the shepherds loudly praised
God for His coming.
The grandeur of Luke 2 is that Caesar Augustus, emperor of one of the greatest empires in history, gave way to a baby in a manger and a moment around which all of history revolves. Caesar had his earthly glory, but Christ received heavenly glory. Ancient rulers sought to be viewed as divine by their subjects, yet the true God became man to be subject to human suffering. Human emperors sought power over humanity; God sought humility among men. The difference is love. The miracle of love is a God who has all power and superiority, yet humbles Himself to become one of us.

Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 18.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-16T09:00:39+00:00December 16th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: christmas, humility, love, power, shepherds|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "quickened"
Lesson Highlight: "quickened"

Lesson Highlight: "quickened"

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13)
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes,

Colossians 2:13 says two things about our sins. One, being dead (nekrous ontas) uses the present participle “being” to describe our deadness as a continual state of existence. We not only died by sinning once, but we were in a state of deadness brought on by continual sinning and by the nature of sin in our lives. The second thing Paul said is that he quickened [us] together with him. Quickened (sunezoopoiesen — aorist active indicative) means “He made us alive together with Him.” We were dead, but now we are alive.

Discussion: What is the significance of being "made ... alive together with Him"?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 10.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-11T09:00:20+00:00December 11th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: alive, dead, quickened, sin|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "nailing it to his cross"
Lesson Highlight: "nailing it to his cross"

Lesson Highlight: "nailing it to his cross"

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. (Colossians 2:14)
In "Biblical Perspective", Dr. Gayle Woods writes:

Paul was comparing the practice of one who forgives a large debt by wiping his ledger sheet clean with what God does for us. ...The ordinances (God’s law) had been broken many times by each of us. Each time we broke His law, another mark was put on our ledger sheet. Jesus came to this world to provide salvation, full and free. ...Jesus not only erased all the transgressions that had been listed against us on our ledger of life, but He then nailed the blank document to His cross as a public testimony that we were totally forgiven of all our actions against Him and His law.

Discussion: Since we are totally forgiven by Christ, how should we feel? How should we think? How should we act?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 12.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-10T09:00:52+00:00December 10th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: cross, debt, salvation, sin|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "funerals in Israel"
Lesson Highlight: "funerals in Israel"

Lesson Highlight: "funerals in Israel"

In "Biblical Perspective" Dr. Gayle Woods writes:

A funeral in Israel was a special event that lasted thirty days. As a funeral procession moved along, it was led by hired mourners who wailed loudly in an effort to make an adequate public display of sorrow. The procession was followed by friends and relatives. This particular funeral was that of the only son of a widow, making it an even more tragic event. Many of the city showed their sympathy for the widow by joining the procession. The man who had died was probably the sole provider for the widow. It was wonderful to have sympathetic friends, but soon they would be gone, and she would be left to fight for survival in a day in which it was very difficult for women to find employment. The possibility that she would soon be reduced to begging was great.

Discussion: Do you think the elaborate display of sorrow made the grieving easier or more difficult on the bereaved?
Discussion: From your experiences of loss, imagine the pain and distress of this widow.
Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, pages 10-11.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-09T09:00:57+00:00December 9th, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: death, funeral, grief, resurrection|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "compassion"
Lesson Highlight: "compassion"

Lesson Highlight: "compassion"

"And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things." (Mark 6:34)
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes:

It is interesting to note that Jesus was as interested in the physical needs of His followers as He was in their spiritual needs. Not only did He want His disciples to have a time to rest and recuperate, but He also wanted to take care of the multitude’s need for food. And He did. In fact, when they handed out the multiplied thousands of pieces of fish, everybody ate. And the Bible says they were filled (echortasth san, v. 42). This word means not merely that they were full, but that they were satisfied with food. This demonstrates that before you can satisfy people with spiritual food, you sometimes have to satisfy their physical needs. Satisfying physical needs will not always definitely lead to satisfaction spiritually, but it sometimes helps. Later on, after this passage, Jesus chided this same crowd for the fact that they followed Him for the loaves and the fish, but were not truly seeking the spiritual food they so desperately needed. (See John 6:26, 27.)

Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 4.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-03T09:00:49+00:00December 3rd, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: compassion, needs|0 Comments

Lesson Highlight: "rest"
Lesson Highlight: "rest"

Lesson Highlight: "rest"

"And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat" (Mark 6:31)
In "Biblical Perspective" Dr. Gayle Woods writes:

In Jesus Only, Vance Havner said, “We need to come apart and rest awhile, and if we don’t come apart, we will come apart — we’ll go to pieces!” Stress can destroy a person’s life physically and spiritually. Headaches, heart problems, and stomach problems are just a few symptoms of this concern. Burnout is a problem for those who are in some form of Christian ministry. Whether a person is overworked or if life situations bring a lot of stress, it is essential that proper rest, relaxation, and nutrition be maintained in order to preserve good health. Jesus the Great Physician was concerned about the physical well-being of His disciples as well as their spiritual well-being. The disciples and Jesus clearly were overworked and overcommitted. The demands of the people upon their ministry were too great. A balance was needed, and the Doctor prescribed a short vacation.

Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 5.

Herald & Banner Press2015-12-02T09:00:59+00:00December 2nd, 2015|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: rest, stress|0 Comments