Lesson for 12/27

Hey all, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! The Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Matthew 23: 2-12 and Mark 12:38-44. Its titled "A Generous Gift" The lesson begins with Jesus speaking to the crowds and the disciples. "² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, ³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice." - The point being brought out here is, there are often people in high places, spiritual places, or areas of teaching and influence, who are hypocrites  - No one is perfect, but these people are practicing lawlessness. Jesus tells the people that we are to respect and observe what we are being told, due to their position; but not the works they are doing. I like how Jesus sums up in verse 9:  "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ" We are all children of the Most High, we look up and serve the true Living God! Verse 10 explains how God's Son Jesus is our instructor. We gain so much knowledge, wisdom, and understanding by simply reading and living as Jesus commanded. May we continue to learn and fellowship together as Christians; but never neglect personal time to study and receive vital and life changing lessons and instruction! 

Jumping to Mark 12,
"...And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, (1 Penny). ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”


To Summarize, your greatest gift to God is the one where you give your all! Not referring to just finances, but all of YOU! No if, but WE ARE blessed with some sort of gift or talent that we should be giving God 100% of. Be willing and excited to carry out and live a life of righteousness. Don't be a hypocrite in high places = which is where ever God has placed you in authority. Someone is ALWAYS looking up to you. May we bless God, by blessing others with what God has blessed us with! ;)
In the name of Jesus, stay blessed all!

Lesson for 12/20

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Exodus 13:13-15 then goes to Luke 2:22-32. Its titled "Dedication of the Firstborn" The lesson takes us back to when the Israelites were being exiled from Egypt. To give a background, in the previous chapter (12),  Pharaoh reluctantly refuses to free God's people from slavery. Moses warns Pharaoh and the people of that time that God will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt; because He is God! (Exo. 12:12) God said "they must have blood on their door, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (12:13) --- Today's lesson God uses Moses to to instruct the people of that time to "redeem every firstborn among your sons." The following scriptures go on to say - ¹⁴ “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons." In life today, just as God delivered the Israelites from bondage, He delivers us; ranging from sickness, heartache, financial issues, depression, travels, and many other things we may not even see. We are redeemed; Luke 2 begins to explain how. The birth of God's Son, Jesus. He is our redeemer! The ultimate sacrifice for everyone! We are made holy, pure and clean through the blood sacrifice of Jesus. As John 3:16 reminds us, that "For God so loved the world that He gave His only, begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life!"  May we dedicate our lives to reflect the first born of God! Let us sacrifice our fleshly desires, pride, and anger and live to please our Heavenly Father.

** For a deeper revelation, check out the promise that was fulfilled for Simeon in verses 25-32 of Luke Ch 2!**

To God be the glory for the birth of His Son Jesus!

Thanks for reading!

Florida move

Hey all,

Some of you may already know - I have accepted a management position in Florida. In the midst of moving, I am having a hard time locating my Sunday school topic book. If I may, as mentioned in the "Our Daily Bread" - A Hunger for God was today's topic. Pondering on the title alone should give us as believers something to look at in our own lives. Do you hunger or strive to learn more about our Heavenly Father and His Son? Its a joy and excitement in itself to study and obtain wisdom from God. He wants us to have a zeal and passion to want to serve Him; God is not one to force Himself on us, but loves and draws those closer, whom seeks.

As a young man, I have witnessed God's favor, grace, and mercy in my life. All of us have; The question is, will we give Him the credit He so much deserves?

Keep Faith, and I pray everyone experiences a powerful, strong relationship with God, through His Son Jesus, whom is our intercessor.

Don't hunger for money, Don't hunger for fame, food, power, wealth, and success, but hunger for God - Seek Him First, and everything else will be added to you! I am a living testimony.

Stay blessed all!

Lesson for 12/6

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Exodus 20:8 -16. It’s titled, the Lord’s day. The book of Exodus highlights Israel’s exile or departure from Egypt. This Old Testament scripture tonight starts off with a familiar verse 8 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Sabbath = Sunday) This was a commandment that God gave not only to the people of that day, but also to us today. The next verses dive into how God created the Heavens, Earth, the sea, and everything in it within 6 days, but on that 7^th day He rested. God tells Moses to “Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. Society today has adopted a mindset of greed, we fail to attend church or fulfill this law due to jobs and the love of money. In biblical times the penalty would be death (Verse 15) for working on the Sabbath; but due to the sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Son; we are saved by grace. As believers today, we are expected to recognize and set aside time on Sunday for worship, rest, and constant mediation on God’s word. And although the penalty is no longer physical death for not keeping this commandment, look at it is a form of spiritual death – if you don’t rest or eat, your body will die. Same for your Spirit, if you don’t meditate or feed it with God’s word – your relationship with Him will slowly diminish.

Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it Holy! Keep faith and God bless!

Lesson for 11/29

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 18:1-11. Its titled "Teaching God's Word. As we begin to read the scriptures - Paul is yet again traveling and preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Over the course of the previous lessons we can see the zeal and passion Paul has for bringing people closer to God, through Jesus Christ. Verse 4 brings out how "each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. Once Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul spent ALL of his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. Verse 6 says "but when they oppressed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, "Your blood is upon your own heads - I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles" (Non Jews) - Then Paul left. At times in our lives today, what we have to offer is not always valued. We may find ourselves putting forth the best effort we know how, and still get mocked by the people around us; whether on the job, school, or even church. But take a look at what God says to Paul in verse 9! "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, "Don't be afraid! Speak out! Don't be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack or harm you, for many people in this city belong to me." So Paul stays there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God! What encouragement this is for us! Despite the adversity we may face - let us understand that we should not be afraid. God does not give us a Spirit of fear, but of love and Faith! If what you are doing is of God, and is making a positive impact on where ever God has placed you, then you will prevail! Verse 10 again says, " For I am with you, and no one will attach or harm you..." Keeping that scripture in mind when things appear tough or don't look good - is a blessing in itself. The end of verse 10 says " for many people in this city belong to me" - One tactic of the enemy is to make you feel alone, that no one understands you and everyone is against your decisions; but God has people that belong to Him! Meaning there is someone that He has purposely aligned in your life to be that stone of encouragement! To support your decisions, to help you along the way! They are often right under our noses; willing, ready, and prayed up! So that we all can do like Paul did in verse 11! He stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God. What ever ministry, outreach, gospel, purpose or mission you have; stick with it! No matter how bad things may initially appear, take this lesson to heart and trust that God is always with you!

Thanks for reading, God bless!

Lesson for 11/22

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 17:1-4, 10-12, 22-25, 28. "Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens" - The lesson focuses still on Paul and Silas's journeys as they continue to spread the gospel. In Acts 17 they begin their preaching work in Thessalonica, where Paul is "³ explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” ⁴ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women." - They were explaining the importance, the sacrifice and how important it was for Jesus to die for our sins, and be raised; as He was the greatest sacrifice on behalf of mankind. John 3:16 reminds us, that "for God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." That was the disciples mission! To draw people closer to God, through His Son Jesus. Its our mission today too. The publication skips around with the scriptures - I always encourage to read the entire chapter for yourself. The verses I am being led to focus on today are verses 28-33. Paul is telling the men of Athens. For “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”³² Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went out from their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

These last verses speak so much volume, the disciples are telling them (and us) that God commands everyone to repent. He has appointed His Son Jesus, who sits at His right side (Like 22:69) to carry out His Will. As believers today, those who are actively seeking to carry out the purpose God has for them; to spread the good news of His Son, there will be hard times. Verse 32 brings out how some of the people mocked them and their preachings; that will happen, but to God be the glory, there will still be people that we will reach, encourage, love, and more importantly, save!

Thanks for reading! Stay blessed all!

Lesson for 11/15

Hey all, the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 16, 1-5, 8-15. Its titled Ready, Set, Go!" This lesson simply brings out in the first 5 verses how Paul meets a young disciple by the name of Timothy. They began to travel and teach - verse 5 says " So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day. As they continued their outreach in ministry, verse 9 says - "that night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "come over to Macedonia and help us" - Verse 10, "So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there." 

God often reveals things and calls us to certain places to do His work. The man in Paul's vision represents a need that needs to be fulfilled. Today we can see that in our communities, churches, homes, our friends, families and co-workers are in need. We all have a job to do, and can do something to help! Some of us are even being called to travel to other areas to make an impact there! One key thing in verse 10, it says - "having concluded what God" - They didn't just jump up and move to an unknown area, this implies they had to discern, think and pray - and once God gave them the answer, they DECIDED to leave for Macedonia. - As believers today, God gives us a choice. When He makes the answer known to you, its then up to you to fulfill and embrace that mission. Don't miss the opportunity, but pray and ask for clarity on what you feel God is preparing you for. Don't let Him pass you by!
As you continue to read, you will see the events that transpired while they were there in Macedonia preaching the Good News of God and His Son Jesus.  I recommend reading the entire Acts 16:1-40. Very encouraging.
Ready, Set, Go! - Be active and realize that our missions are to fulfill God's Will.
May we also keep Paris in prayer.
God bless!

The Keep God First Schedule

The Keep God First Schedule

As Christians we often find it difficult to truly keep God first. We get wrapped up in our day to day schedules. We find ourselves busy or overwhelmed with work, school, families and other commitments we may have. A lot of us pray, attend church every Sunday and maybe even bible study each week. We often believe or are led to believe that this is sufficient; giving God only 2-3 hours once or twice a week.  As it is not, quite frankly if anything, it should be the other way around. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV) says:  ^“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

The below schedule, in my opinion, will help focus, encourage, and motivate those with a GENIUNE zeal and passion to serve God in a better way. This schedule is just to provide an example; you should do what you are led to do.

Time	Monday	Tuesday		Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Wake-up	Prayer	Prayer		Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer
Mid/Eve	Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry		Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry		Church
Night	1 on 1	Friend		1 on 1	1 on 1	1 on 1	Family

The time column doesn’t have numeric values because this should be personal, and a time should be selected based off of what works best between you and God.

-        -  The morning wakeup prayer, held each day, will help you as you start your morning. (Instead of me quoting one verse, READ Matthew 6:1-34) This explains how to pray a genuine prayer, and for us to not worry, but “seek God and his kingdom first, and everything will be added to us.”

-         -  The Mid-day or evening devotion/meditation should also be daily, perhaps on lunch break, for some sort of reading. I.E daily bread, daily devotion, reflection. - 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (While reading your devotional, you never know who may be watching and may want to read along with or after you.)

-        -  I recommend a time be set at night, for just you and God;  quiet time, alone time – For whatever you want to bring to Him. Pray, read, meditate, relax and let go! 1 one 1 time. Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

-        -  Not only 1 on 1 time, but also take a day or two out of the week to study or pray with someone else. Friend, Co-worker, family worship night.

These are just minor examples of what can be done to give God the Glory He so much deserves. Remember to keep faith, and pray – in the name of Jesus!   John 3:16 – For God SO LOVED the world that He gave his only begotten Son, whosoever beleiveth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Lesson for 11/8

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 15:1-12. Its titled "God Makes No Distinction" The lesson starts with "certain men" from Judea causing controversy in the church, saying "unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved" Verse 2 brings out how Paul and Barnabas disagreed with this notion and are sent to Jerusalem to talk to the apostles and elders concerning this. Along the way, Paul, Barnabas, and a few others stopped to visit believers in surrounding areas; they shared how Gentiles were being converted and saved. Verse 4 brings out, when they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed and reported everything God had done through them. To deviate from the lesson for a bit,  its good to share what God has done THROUGH you, not only what He's done FOR you. How did someone else see God's glory from the assistance you provided them or the positive news you shared? Back to verse 5, it states "Some of the believers that belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, "The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses" As a background, the reason the few were so adamant on circumcision is because in the book of Genesis, ch. 17 verse 14 - God tells Abraham that "any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” - but as we know from previous lessons and through faith, that we have been given grace, through God's Son, Jesus Christ. The final verses perfectly summarize this lesson. "God knows people's hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles (non Jews, that means us, our neighbors, co-workers, friends, - all believers) by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did us" Peter then continues by saying "He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts through faith." Verse 10, Peter asks the Pharisees, why are they challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a such an unbearable law, that even them nor their ancestors could keep. To God be the glory, for its by the grace of His Son Jesus, that we are saved. We are able to choose! We can repent and learn from our mistakes! May we not persecute each other with judgmental words, but rebuke in love, and continually encourage that we are saved by grace! God loves each and every one of us equally and wishes no one to perish.

Stay blessed and thanks for reading.

Lesson for Nov 1

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 12:1-11 verses. Its titled "Prayer works!" Each of us at some given point and time have witnessed the power of prayer. Whether praying for a healing in our body, or in school to pass an exam; a job that will provide, or the lost family member that has renewed their faith. We all can testify that prayer does indeed work! In the lesson we find the early church, still being persecuted, not only by the Jewish religious authorities, but now King Herod Agrippa. It starts of by noting King Herod laying violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.  Verse 2 "He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword." - Keep that verse in mind! As verse 3 brings out, King Herod was a people pleaser, to maintain his self image, he took note of how the Jewish majority reacted to James' beheading with excitement. He then proceeded to arrest Peter during the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To quickly elaborate, this feast was where Jews were to eat unleavened bread for seven days in remembrance of how they left Egypt so quickly that the dough in their bread didn't have time to rise. (Exodus 34:18) - So, Peter is imprisoned and guarded by four squads of soldiers to be kept until after Passover. Verse 5 says "while Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently; without ceasing, to God for him." The night before Herod was planning to bring Peter out before the people, an Angel of the Lord appeared, tapped Peter on the shoulder and told him to wake up and get up quickly. Instantly, the chains that had him bounded, fell off his wrists.(6-7)    The Angel then in verse 8 instructs Peter to get dressed and to follow him. By this time, Peter thinks he is having a vision, or dreaming - (I probably would too) - but verse 10 brings out how they passed the guards, and the gate leading into the city opened on its own. As they were walking the Angel then departed from Peter. Verse 11 reveals how Peter finally comes to himself and is now sure that the Lord has sent His angel to rescue him! Prayer works! - Peter's church family prayed UNCEASINGLY. Could you image how they must've felt after what happened to James in verse 3. They surely prayed for the safety of Peter. God's act was sovereign when he delivered Peter from prison. The continuous prayers of the church were heard by God, and God performed a miracle in response to their prayers. What a lesson for all of us today! - No matter how things may look, keep faith, trust, and genuinely pray to God, in Jesus' name. God has his Angels of protection around each of us! Stay blessed all, and never forget the divine power of prayer!

Thanks for reading.

Lesson for 10/25

Hey all, the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 11:1-18. Its titled "Trusting the Spirit. As you begin to read you will see how this lesson dips very much into the lesson from last week. Its starts off where Peter is returning to Jerusalem and is questioned why he went to visit non Jews. Peter then in verses 5-14 explains his vision, the same one we discussed in last weeks lesson. "What God has made clean, you must not call profane" If I may, often times as believers we either accuse or are continually being reminded of our pasts. We may find it hard to forgive and forget - but what God is telling Peter in his vision is a lesson for us. Those with a rocky past or who are in the process of getting their life on track have been restored and made clean - we should not judge or isolate our selves from them, but inspire, motivate and encourage them to keep pressing upward. Tonight lesson concludes with the Holy Spirit falling upon the Gentiles, just as it previously fell upon the disciples.They were baptized by the Holy Spirit, the comforter. Verse 17 wraps it up saying "If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?" 18 "When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life" - What this means friends, is not only the Jews of that time, but everyone from then to now that repents and believes that God raised Jesus from the dead, shall inherit everlasting life! His Spirit lives within us!

Trust the Spirit! Keep faith and praying.

Thanks.

Lesson for 10/18

Greetings all, I give honor to God, to Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. Tomorrow's Sunday school lesson comes from Acts 10:24-38. "Peter Takes a Risk" Before beginning the scripture set for tonight - let us delve into a few prior verses to provide clarity and understanding. Acts 10:1-23 explain how Cornelius, an an officer in the army. 2"He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.^"  An Angel of God appears to him in a vision saying "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God." He is then instructed to send men to go find Peter. As you continue to read, you will see that, literally the next day Peter had a vision. Peter's vision ties deeply into tonight's scripture and reveals how God can bring two totally different people together, for His glory! The lesson begins at verse 24 - Peter and the group sent, were heading back to Cornelius' house. Once they arrive verse 25 says that Cornelius met Peter. and fell down at his feet. and worshiped him. But Peter took him up, saying Stand up; I myself also am a man. As they being to talk, Peter mentions, its against the law for a Jew to associate or visit a Gentile (non Jew). - Peter then says in the latter part of verse 28..;"but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean." This was Peter's vision! Going back to verse 14   “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
¹⁵ The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Peter was unsure, why he was being told this at the time of his vision; but as they continued to talk, Peter uses this moment to share what God has done. Verse 34-35 ^"Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." Peter then began to preach the Good News of Jesus, and how God anointed his Son with the Holy Spirit and was always with Him. Just as God was with Jesus, He is also with us! Remember - No matter your race, gender, age, ethnicity, educational background, or Spiritual level. God wants, accepts and draws those who genuinely have a zeal and passion to serve Him!

Thanks for reading. God loves you, and I love you all too!