I don’t know about where you live, but where I live it seems like a lot of people are feeling pretty hopeless about their futures. Everywhere they look bad things are happening, and they don’t feel like they have any control over their own lives and their own futures. According to Tara Parker-Pope of the … Continue reading –>
While I became a literature evangelist in 1990, it just occurred to me, that it has now been 20 years since I first became a Bible Worker in the Owasso-Claremore district of the Oklahoma Seventh-day Adventist Conference in 1993. A lot of water has passed under the bridge and through the baptisteries since then, and over time I would like to share some … Continue reading –>
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” John 10:14, NIV The Bible was written at a time when society was primarily agrarian. Prophets spoke in terms the people could relate to. Images of farm and field were easily understood, because these were snapshots of daily life. The seasons … Continue reading –>
Sandy and Yolande love working as Global Mission pioneers in the western highlands of Madagascar. The couple learned their new dialect while working in the fields with the villagers among whom they live. Sammy helped the people plant and harvest their crops, and Yolande braided the women’s hair. Then the couple invited their new friends … Continue reading –>
“The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.” Zechariah 9:16 NIV [Thought questions for Heaven's Best Gift June 19,2013] 1. Welcome to the celebration. Have you ever felt awe over the way the Bible weaves the … Continue reading –>
Read Zechariah 14. How are we to understand that which is being said there? In the last chapter of his book, Zechariah describes a day when all unrepentant nations will gather themselves against Jerusalem. At the last moment, the Lord will intervene by liberating His people and establishing His eternal kingdom on earth. After all who … Continue reading –>
For centuries both Jewish and Christian readers of the Bible have found in Zechariah’s book numerous references to the Messiah and messianic times. Christians, of course, have understood that these passages apply to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: the triumphant yet peaceful King (Zech. 9:9), the One who was pierced (Zech. 12:10), the … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Zechariah has some wonderful Messianic prophecies that point to Jesus and affirm our faith in Him. [Teaching plan for Heaven's Best Gift June 17, 2013] 1. Have a volunteer read Zechariah 8:16,17. A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is. B. Why is it … Continue reading –>
Zechariah chapters 12-14 reveal several things that could have happened had Israel been faithful to God. First, the Lord would have brought total victory over the powers of evil and the hostile nations that had tried to oppose His plan of salvation (Zech. 12:1-9). Although Jerusalem was to be God’s instrument toward this triumph, the victory itself … Continue reading –>
Read Zechariah 9:9. How does the New Testament apply this to Jesus? See Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9-10, Luke 19:38, John 12:13-15. Jesus’ triumphal entry consisted of the future King riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. In the Bible, rejoicing and shouting for joy especially is associated with the celebration of God as King (Psalms 47, 96, 98). This gentle Ruler will bring righteousness, salvation, … Continue reading –>
Beginning with chapter 8, the book of Zechariah takes a radical turn. A series of messages sent from the Lord tells the future of the world and the role of God’s people in it. Some of the passages from these chapters are not easy to understand, but the ultimate future is clearly positive. Read Zechariah 8. What … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Zechariah 8, Zech. 9:9, 12:1-10, 13:7-9, 14, Matt. 21:9, John 19:37. Memory Text: “The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown” (Zechariah 9:16, NIV). Key Thought: Zechariah has some wonderful Messianic prophecies that point to Jesus and affirm our faith in … Continue reading –>
“Satan knows that those who ask God for pardon and grace will obtain it; therefore he presents their sins before them to discourage them. Against those who are trying to obey God, he is constantly seeking occasion for complaint. Even their best and most acceptable service he seeks to make appear corrupt. By countless devices, … Continue reading –>
What’s happened to me? Solomoni [sohl-oh-MOH-nee] asked himself. He was still a teenager, but he knew that he had messed up his life. He had disobeyed his parents and joined a gang of teenagers who stole and used drugs. God has condemned me for what I’ve done, he thought. I’m lost. There’s no hope for me; I have … Continue reading –>
“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’” Zechariah 7:9-10, NIV An oft-recurring theme with the Minor Prophets and echoed again with Zechariah is the plight … Continue reading –>
” ‘ “In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,” declares the Lord Almighty.’ ” Zechariah 3:10 NIV [Thought questions for Visions of Hope June 12, 2013] 1. We have this hope. How do you think Zechariah would feel to hear us lustily singing the … Continue reading –>