“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thess. 3:12, NIV). Jesus prayed to His Father that His followers would “be one as we are one” (John 17:22, NIV). Summarize what Jesus was saying here, focusing specifically on the role of love needed in order to achieve this oneness. … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: Family members struggle with sinful, fallen natures. We need to allow the grace of Christ to make family unity a living experience. May 18, 2019 1. Have a volunteer read John 17:19-22. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is. What is the key … Continue reading –>
What illustration does Paul use to describe the new unity that exists between peoples in Christ? How has Christ made “one” out of “two”? Eph. 2:11-22; see also Gal. 3:28. The cross of Christ removes the barriers that separate people from each other. Walls separated worshipers in the Jewish temple, men from women, and Jews from Gentiles. Describing … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 33:12-14, Ruth 1:16-18, John 17:21-26, Gal. 3:28, Eph. 2:11-22, Eph. 5:21-6:9. Memory Text: “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21, NKJV). Family life represents different seasons of life for … Continue reading –>
A Strange Light By Andrew McChesney Ruth Jereh sang heartily as she walked home from the bar in her hometown, Mazabuka, in southern Zambia. It was Friday evening, and she had spent the entire day drinking beer. Suddenly a blinding light appeared in front of her. The light hung in space, and Ruth stared at … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: The Royal Love Song “Marriage has received Christ’s blessing, and it is to be regarded as a sacred institution. True religion is not to counterwork the Lord’s plans. God ordained that man and woman should be united in holy wedlock, to raise up families that, crowned with honor, would be symbols of the … Continue reading –>
God had a special purpose in creating humankind as male and female (Gen. 1:26-28). While each bears His image, the joining of gender opposites in the “one flesh” of marriage reflects the unity within the Godhead in a special way. The union of male and female also provides for procreation of a new life, an original … Continue reading –>
Read Song of Solomon 4:8-5:1. Song of Solomon 4:16 and Song of Sol. 5:1 form the very center of this book and describe, as it were, its climax as the marriage between Solomon and the Shulamite is consummated. To what is Solomon referring in the following passages? Song of Sol. 4:12, Song of Sol. 4:16; Song of Sol. 5:1; Song of Sol. 8:8-10. In … Continue reading –>
This week’s lesson from the Song of Solomon reminded me of a passage in Song of Solomon, chapter 5, that could be compared to Jesus knocking on the heart’s door of the church of Laodicea. Most of us are familiar with this passage in Revelation: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you … Continue reading –>
Many have seen a “return to Eden” theme in the Song of Solomon. Though the couple described is not the first man and woman, the poem calls to mind the earliest garden. God’s plan that they be “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24-25) is portrayed throughout in delicate metaphors and symbols. How does the Song of Solomon present a commitment … Continue reading –>
Hymn 656, “O Perfect Love” brings all the elements of Sunday’s study together, as do Hymn 657, “O God, From Whom Mankind” and Hymn 658, “Heavenly Father, Hear Our Prayer”. These hymns continue throughout the week. In following God’s instructions in the Bible, we are able to portray the picture drawn in Hymn 655, “Happy the Home” and continue … Continue reading –>
Solomon knew about love. Didn’t he? This week’s lesson looks back several thousand years to the romantic life of King Solomon. Yes, there was romantic love back then. Lots of it. What does that say about marriage today? Is there room–plenty of room–for unmarried men and women to search for the best possible marriage partner? … Continue reading –>
