[Thought questions for Jesus in Jerusalem June 16, 2015] 1. The last week. With what emotional armor did Jesus face the trials and rewards of the last week of His earthly life? Could He have confronted them with dignity if He’d had any spark of worldly desire within Him? All of the world spun in suspension, as it were, … Continue reading –>
Read Luke 20:20-26. How do we take what Jesus taught here and apply it to our own situation in whatever country we live? During the time of Jesus, taxation by Rome was a volatile issue. Around A.D. 6, according to Josephus, Judas the Galilean, a revolutionary leader, declared that paying taxes to Caesar was treason … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : A theoretical knowledge of Christ will not do us any good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life, His love, His grace must be assimulated. [Lesson plan for Jesus in Jerusalem June 15, 2015] 1. Have a volunteer read Luke 19:33-40. a. Ask class members … Continue reading –>
The parable of the wicked vinedressers (Luke 20:9-19) gives us a lesson in redemptive history. The center of that history is God and His continual love for erring sinners. Although the parable was specifically addressed to the Jewish leaders of His time (they knew He had spoken this parable against them [vs. 19, NKJV]), it … Continue reading –>
It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves (Luke 19:46). After the triumphal entry, during which Jesus wept over Jerusalem, the first thing He did was to go to the temple. Read Luke 19:45-48, Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-19. What important lessons can we take … Continue reading –>
He was born in Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth. He taught, preached, and healed throughout Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and Perea. But one city held His constant focus: Jerusalem. Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to the city (Luke 9:51, NKJV). His entry into the city marked the most dramatic and crucial week in … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 19:28-40, Zech. 9:9, Luke 19:45-48, Matt. 21:12-17,Luke 20:9-26. Memory Text: Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it (Luke 19:41, NKJV). The last week of Jesus’ earthly life unfolded in Jerusalem. What tumultuous events marked that week too: the triumphal entry; Jesus weeping over … Continue reading –>
[Thought questions for The Kingdom of God, June 13, 2015] 1. Coming from all points. At our church’s General Conference Session starting July 2, will the stream of people coming from all points of the world resemble in any way the scene described in Luke 13:20? How does it make you feel to realize that we are … Continue reading –>
Mongolia Abba: Abba, a young man living in a village in northern Mongolia, felt powerless to change the downward spiral of his life. Then his friend introduced him to God. Here he shares his personal testimony. Before I became a Christian I lived a really worldly life. I drank; I smoked; and I stole things … Continue reading –>
Of the poor in spirit Jesus says, Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is not, as Christ’s hearers had hoped, a temporal and earthly dominion. Christ was opening to men the spiritual kingdom of His love, His grace, His righteousness. The ensign of the Messiah’s reign is distinguished by the likeness of the … Continue reading –>
Standing before Pilate under intense pressure, Christ stands calm and self-controlled. Unknown to the courtroom is a divine power, a focused mission and ministry they have never seen nor can they comprehend. Standing before worldly power, Jesus Christ unequivocally states to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 1:1-8. What important truths about the kingdom of God are being expressed here? The kingdom of God was foremost in the mind of Luke as he wrote a sequel to his Gospel, in the form of a brief history of the early church. In the opening lines of that historical account, the book … Continue reading –>
