Lesson for 9/27

Hey everyone, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow is titled, "Stand up; Speak up" comes from Acts the 7th Chapter, the publication skips around starting with verses 2-4, 8-10, 17, 33-34, 45-47, then ends with verse 53. I recommend reading the entire book, Acts, 7:1-60 NIV to really get the depth of what Stephen, one of the first deacons of the early church, is trying to bring across. He was a wise man and spoke very well; He loved to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, and performed many miracles in Jesus' name. The lesson today starts off with verse 1,  Stephen is asked by a high priest of the Sanhedrin council "Are these charges true?' Immediately, Stephen goes into preaching, in an instant he brings up account after account of how God has expressed faithfulness to the Israelites in the past. As you read the verses, you will be encouraged to see that even today, God blesses those who truly rely and put their faith in Him; not putting matters in to their own hands. He is sovereign, He is Good!- but what we often overlook at times is God is also fair and just! We can't just repeatably sin and do any and everything, not expecting any form of punishment. In verse 39 Stephen tries to remind them: ³⁹ “But our ancestors refused to obey Him. Instead, they rejected Him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. ⁴⁰ They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him! ⁴¹ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. ⁴² But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars....." God turned away from them..Now jumping ahead to verse 51, Stephen is telling the council:

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” Then in verses 54-60: it brings out how furious the Sanhedrin members became with what was all said. The members took Stephen out, and stoned him to death. THE MOST POWERFUL verses in the lesson to me are the last two.  "⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep." Despite the persecution, the adversity, the anger, the hurt, the pain that he faced - he STILL prayed for the people who were killing him. What a reflection, what encouragement for us today as we continue to strive and endure! Would we today, die for what we believe in? Will we spread God's word, and proclaim the name of His son Jesus? -  Yes! God bless you. Thanks for reading.

Sunday school lesson 9/20

Hey all the lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 5:27-29, 33-42. It's titled, "Empowered to speak" Very important scripture set, we are often silenced or we are afraid to speak up in certain situations - but verse 29 brings out that "we must obey God rather than human authority" if something is not right, speak up! Everything we do in Jesus name, should be to glorify God! Try it, trust God and you to will rejoice as the disciples did in verses 41 and 42! Pleasing Him is such a great feeling! 

Stay blessed all!

Lesson 9/13 Be Generous

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 4:34 - 5:10. Its titled "Be Generous" Although today's lesson starts at verse 34, as you read your bible, start at verse 32. I believe 32 and 33 are key scriptures, the NIV says "³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all" - I can teach a lesson off of just this right here! These two scriptures are vital to our Christian faith! When you are in one heart and one mind, with the people around you and everyone is in tune with doing God's Will, looking out for each other, sharing and praying together in Jesus name, God's Spirit can't help but be in the midst! The lesson focuses on the Church during the time of the Apostles, but it also reflects today in our lives. As you begin verses 34-37, it teaches us a lesson in generosity. It brings out how people of that time looked out for each other. When someone was in need, the members of the group came together to meet that need - people such as Barnabas in verse 37,  sold land and houses and gave the proceeds to upbuild the kingdom. 
Now, verses 1-10 of Acts ch 5 gives us a lesson in deception - As you read these, carefully consider whats taking place. Ananias and his wife sold a piece of property. It would have been perfectly fine for them to keep a portion  of the funds from the sale and give the church a portion. But the issue arose when they weren't truthful with the Church leaders about the gift. When the Bible says in verse 4 NIV - "⁴ Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”" Its implied that due to pride they claimed to have offered the most, they said told they gave their all, but in reality they giving less/holding back - with the illusion of full donation or pure generosity; playing with God. As harsh as the lesson ends, it is to teach us a valuable lesson, and that's to watch out and not fall into the pitfalls of greed, pride and hypocrisy. We are to indulge in genuine sharing, generosity and  loving fellowship with each other. 

Keep Faith and To God be the Glory!

Thanks,

Colin W.

Sunday School lesson 9/6

Hey all the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 4:23-31. "Help to be strong" In this lesson we learn about how Jesus' disciples prayed for boldness to speak the truth of the Gospel. "If the Roman authorities had been willing to crucify Jesus, wouldn't they just be committed to getting rid of His followers?" At this time, the disciples were afraid and began to pray. In this faith walk, we often are faced with situations and trails that do indeed scare us at times. We turn to our left and right only to discover that we can't solely rely on our self or our peers - but we have to sincerely pray like the disciples did. Then just watch, as God comforted the disciples in verse 31 of Acts 4 - He will do the same for us! Then we are to rise up and tell somebody else what God has done! Declare the good news, as the disciples did! We are Christians!  Stay blessed all, in Jesus name!