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Grade 4-5
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2017 FALL
God exalts the weak and humbles the proud.
(1 Samuel 2:7-8) (Philippians 2:8-9) Our ways are not God's ways. (1 Samuel 8-10) Israel demanded a king. (Psalm 25:4) Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; The Israelites demanded a king, so Samuel anointed Saul. It wasn't wrong of the Israelites to want a king; God intended for a king to rule over them, but the Israelites had rejected God. They didn't trust God to rule over them. God had a plan to one day send His Son, Jesus, to rule over the entire world. Jesus would be their perfect King and would bring them peace and salvation. Obey God with all your heart. (1 Samuel 14-16) God rejected Saul as King (Deuteronomy 5:32) You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. God's message to Saul was to obey. But Saul did not obey God. Samuel told Saul he would not last as king. God rejected Saul as king, but He had a plan to Jesus, His Son and our perfect King, to rule over His people forever. Salvation comes the Lord God. (1 Samuel 16-17) David and Goliath (Psalm 27:1) The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? The Israelites were up against their toughest enemies, the Philistines. They didn't stand a chance against Goliath, the mighty Philistine warrior. God gave David power to defeat Goliath. David reminds us of Jesus, who came to save us from our greatest enemies: sin and death. When we look to Jesus, the ultimate hero, he gives us salvation and eternal life. Trust God no matter what. (1 Samuel 18-19) (Psalm 138:8) The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. (Psalm 59) But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. 17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. God's faithful hesed love for His people (1 Samuel 20) (Ephesians 2:10) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Jonathan was a true friend to David. Everyone could use a friend like that. Jonathan's life give us a glimpse of Jesus, the mighty friend of sinners. He gave up His position in heaven to come down to us, gave up His life to save us, and intercedes for us before God. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Love one another as I have loved you. (1 Samuel 23-24) 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord's anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way. 8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. (Romans 12:21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Proverbs 25:21-22; Romans 12:20-21) Do good and share with others with what God has given. (1 Samuel 30) David defeats the Amalekites. (Hebrews 13:16) And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day.19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines. The Torah had forbidden necromancy (Deut. 18:9-12). Thank God in good times and bad. (1 Samuel 31; 2 Samuel 5-6; 1 Chronicles 13-16) David worships God. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Chronicles 16) 16:8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! 34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 35 Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. God made David a promise. He told David that every future king of Israel would come from David's family, and David's kingdom would last forever. God keep His promise by sending His Son, Jesus, to be one of David's descendants. Jesus is our King who will never die; He will rule over God's people forever. Absalom (2 Samuel 14:25-15:37; 17-18; Psalm 63) (Leviticus 19:11) Wisdom is more valuable than riches or power. (1 Kings 4:35-28) Solomon asked for wisdom. (Proverbs 3:5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. King Solomon could have asked for earthly treasures, but he asked for wisdom to lead God's people. God created people to do His will. Jesus provided the ultimate example by completely trusting God with His life. Jesus wanted to carry out God's plan, and He trusted God to take care of the rest. Jesus ultimately surrendered His own life to die on the cross for our sins so that God could bring us back to Himself. (1 Kings 4-10) (1 Samuel 12:24) (1 Kings 8:54-61) (2 Chronicles 6:14) The temple Solomon built was a temporary dwelling place, and because God is holy, only the priests could approach God, and only if they followed specific instructions. Ordinary people had no direct access to the living God. Jesus changed all that. By His death on the cross, Jesus took away our sin. We can approach God intimately and individually when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior. (1 Kings 11-12) (Psalm 86:11) King Solomon's sin led to the division of Israel. God divided Israel into two kingdoms. Jeroboam led the northern tribes away from God, and Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled over the southern tribes. Every king failed at leading God's people well. God's people needed a better king, a perfect king. Through David's family, God would bring His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be king over God's people forever. Jesus would lead the people perfectly back to God. |
Honor God (Exodus 19:3-5; 20:1-5, 7; Acts 19:13-17; Matthew 19:13-15, 16-30)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all you mind and all your strength.
(Matthew 19) With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
(Matthew 6) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Philippians 2:9-11) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Rest and Worship (Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-15; Mark 16:2-6; Acts 20:7)
Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.
Creation rest; God's deliverance from Egyptian slavery; Sign of the covenant at Mount Sinai; Worshipping God.
(Matthew 11:25-30) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Hebrews 4:1-11)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all you mind and all your strength.
(Matthew 19) With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
(Matthew 6) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Philippians 2:9-11) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Rest and Worship (Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-15; Mark 16:2-6; Acts 20:7)
Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.
Creation rest; God's deliverance from Egyptian slavery; Sign of the covenant at Mount Sinai; Worshipping God.
(Matthew 11:25-30) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Hebrews 4:1-11)
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JESUS' LIFE AND MINISTRY
Jesus teaches Nicodemus (John 3; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Numbers 21:4-9; John 9:39, 7:50-52, 19:38-40) The work of the Spirit, the work of the Son, the work of God himself, and the place of faith. Contrast judgement, light, moral and spiritual darkness. (John 3:15) “Everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life." Born of the Spirit. To see the kingdom of God was to participate in the kingdom at the end of the age, to experience eternal, resurrection life. The kingdom, God's saving transforming reign, inaugurated in the person, works and message of Jesus. Regeneration is required before the end of the world in order to enter the kingdom. To be born again or to be born from above, that is, to become children of God, to be born of God by believing in the name of the incarnate Word. Jesus expected Nicodemus to grasp the significance of the new birth out of his background as a distinguished teacher of Scripture. Participation in the resurrection life of the new order, new birth was a requirement for entrance into the kingdom. Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4) A well of living water springing up from within for eternal life. (Philemon 6) I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ. Jews and Samaritans by history and religion. The woman in shame and isolation. Jesus promises living water, by the Spirit giving eternal life. Not that Abraham built an altar on Mount Gerizim, rather the object of the Samaritans' worship is not known to them. To worship the Father in spirit and in truth in and through the person and ministry of Jesus as God revealed. My food is to do the will of him who sent and to finish his work (Deuteronomy 8:3). The Samaritans heard for themselves, and judged the witness to be true. Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man (Mark 2:1-12) Some men came, brining to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Jesus said, "Which is easier: to say tot his paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sin." (2 Corinthians 9:8) (Matthew 9:1-8, 9-13; Mark 2:1-12, 13-17; Luke 5:1-11, 12-26, 27-32) Jesus shows how he can cleanse physical ailments as well as restore people to a walk with God. The Lord has power to heal. A group of men try to bring a paralyzed man to Jesus for healing. Jesus declares the man's sins to be forgiven. Is it easier to declare sins are forgiven or tell a paralytic to get up and walk? ... so that they can know the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins. The paralyzed man gets up and walks to show the power to forgive sin. The crowd praises God. Jesus Calls Levi and Eats with Sinners (Luke 5:27-32) The call to repentance of a tax collector. Levi responds to the invitation, leaving his vocation and financial security. Levi then throws Jesus a great feast. (Romans 5:8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Matthew 9:1-8, 9-13; Mark 2:1-12, 13-17; Luke 5:1-11, 12-26, 27-32) Jesus reaches out to those suffering physical limitations and those perceived as social outcasts. A healthy person does not seek a physician; the sick do. Repentance is a change of direction that shows a difference by coming into the grace God offers them. Salvation and healing for sinners in restoring their relationship to God. (Ephesians 5:7-14; 4:30-5:2) The Seventh Sign: Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:25-26) 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Jesus gives life. It will end in resurrection from the dead, and that God's glory may be revealed so God's Son may be glorified through it. Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. Four days between Lazarus' death and resurrection, Jesus powerfully demonstrates himself to be the resurrection and the life, and establishing the faith of his disciples, some Jewish onlookers, and the Bethany family. Those who are Jesus' friends and who fall 'asleep' will one day be awakened by him who is the resurrection and the life. From an abstract belief in what takes place on the last day, to a personalized belief in Jesus as Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. He not only raises the dead on the last day but is himself the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in him will immediately possess eternal life. The same sin and death, the same unbelief, that prompted his outrage, also generated Jesus' grief. (John 11-12) Jesus is God's Son and our Savior. (Isaiah 53:5-6; Matthew 16:13-16; 1 John 4:14-15) (1 John 4:15) "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God." Jesus fulfilled prophecies of the coming Savior throughout the Old Testament. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled God's plan of redemption that God planned from the beginning of the world. (Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52-53; John 1:1; 8:56-58) Jesus traded His life for our sins (Matthew 27:1-50; 28:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:15-21; Hebrews 4:14-16) (2 Corinthians 5:21) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus was, and is, God the Son -- one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave His life willingly. It was not taken from Him by His enemies. As the Lamb of God, He gave His life for our sins. Jesus died in our place. he traded His life for our sins. He is alive now! He conquered death. The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:1-12, 13-35, 36-53) Two disciples were going to a village called Emmaus from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. Jesus appears but they were kept from recognizing him. "Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, powerful in word and dee before God and all the people. The rulers crucified him; but we had hoped that he he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. The women went to the tomb but didn't find his body. They old us that they had seen angels, who said he was alive. Our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said." ... "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself... When Jesus was at the table with them, then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. (John 20:31) But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (Acts 9:1-19) (Hebrews 1:1-4) God has spoken to us in his Son, who, as heir of all things, has sat down at the right hand of the Father, having made purification for sins and become superior to the angels, reflecting in the process the same, natures, and role of Son. Knowing the Son of God is through that God raise him from the dead to be the center of his promise and plan. |
miracles and restorationThe purpose of Bible miracles, lead not simply to cognitive belief, but to worship, to awe and wonder. Jesus used miraculous power to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and raise the dead.
We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the order. The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger, and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power. Jesus' miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming. (Timothy Keller, The Reason for God p.99) the Reality of the Resurrection"If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead."
If the resurrection is true it meant we can't live our lives any way we want. It also meant we don't have to be afraid of anything. It changes everything. (Timothy Keller, The Reason for God p.210) the word of godThe person of Jesus Christ; speech by God as God's decrees, personally speaking directly to people; speech through humans as in prophets; and the Bible in written form.
The Christian faith requires belief in the Bible. Exegesis is the original intent of the words of the Bible, then and there. The true meaning of the biblical text for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken. Hermeneutics also seeks the contemporary relevance of the text's meaning in the here and now. prophecyForth-telling
Foretelling prediction of what is to come. Apocalyptic literature God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisedom, justice, and truth. nothing happens except through him and by his will.
incommunicable Attributes of god and timeIncommunicable attributes of God are those attributes of God that are less shared by us, or less communicated with others. God has existed for all eternity, but we have not. God is everywhere present but we are present only in one place at one time.
God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time equally vividly, yet God sees events in time and acts in time. To be infinite is to be unlimited, and time does not limit God. God is timeless in his own being. God sees all time equally vividly. God sees events in time and acts in time. We will always exist in time. God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places. God is present everywhere. God does not have spatial dimensions. God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times. PrayerPrayer is personal communication with God.
Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving.
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creation[under construction]
Genesis 1-2, 3 Veritas Apologetics (Albert Mohler, The Briefing) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God created the entire universe out of nothing; it was originally very good; and he created it to glorify himself. Animals and man were both created on the sixth day. Death was introduced as part of the curse of the fall. (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology p.262-309, 439-450,) worldviews(Kenneth Richard Samples, A World of Difference)
we can be saved only by faith in jesus christ and in his substitionary atoning death on the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-9, "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of god -- not by works, so that no one can boast.")
What is heaven?
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