Junior High Quarterly

Transcription

1 Baptist Training Course Junior High Quarterly Prepared by John Cooper Vol. 79, No. 2 ISSUED MARCH, 2014 SPRING QUARTER Outlines by Don Price EDITOR IN CHIEF: Larry E. Clements larryclements@bogardpress.org BUSINESS MANAGER: Wayne Sewell wsewell@bogardpress.org PRODUCTION EDITOR: Sally McInvale ADULT EDITOR: Jim Jones CHILDREN S EDITOR: Libby Gill ILLUSTRATOR: Connie Spears GRAPHIC ARTISTS: Shawn Blase Jeff Allen Greg Hilterbrand LAYOUT DESIGNERS: Kyle Elkins Cindy Butler Ashley Elkins CONTENT EDITORS: Terry McKellar Deby Turrentine Carolyn Burks Joni Curtis PRINT PRODUCTION: Charles Easley COVER DESIGN: Jeff Allen Copyright 2014 Bogard Press 4605 N. State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIPS Quarterly Aim: To show how Christians are to interact with one another. CONTENTS Lesson 1, March 2, 2014 Love One Another Lesson 2, March 9, 2014 Do Not Judge One Another Lesson 3, March 16, 2014 Forgive One Another Lesson 4, March 23, 2014 Be Kind One to Another Lesson 5, March 30, 2014 Do Not Wrong One Another Lesson 6, April 6, 2014 Admonish One Another Lesson 7, April 13, 2014 Bear One Another s Burdens Lesson 8, April 20, 2014 Comfort One Another Lesson 9, April 27, 2014 Speak Not Evil One of Another Lesson 10, May 4, 2014 Submitting Yourselves One to Another Lesson 11, May 11, 2014 Have Fellowship One with Another Lesson 12, May 18, 2014 Teaching and Admonishing One Another Lesson 13, May 25, 2014 Use Hospitality One to Another

2 About the Writer Brother John Cooper has been the pastor of Stamps- Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Stamps, AR, since He also has served as a faculty member at Louisiana Mis sion ary Baptist Institute and Seminary in Minden, LA, since He received his Masters of Theology degree from LMBIS. Brother Cooper was born and raised in Fort Smith, AR, where he was saved and baptized at Massard MBC. He surrendered to preach in 1997 at Liberty MBC in Shreveport, LA. He has been the pastor of Hope MBC in Heflin, LA, and Landmark MBC in West Monroe, LA, as well as associate pastor of Liberty MBC in Shreveport and missionary helper at Landmark MBC in Stonewall, LA. He is married to the former Cynthia Dart of Van Buren, AR. They have a daughter, Hilary. jdcooper20@bellsouth.net

3 LESSON 1, March 2, 2014 Love One Another APPLICATION To show that loving one another is not only possible but commanded. SCRIPTURES TO READ Text: Romans 13:8-10. Related Scripture: Leviticus 19:18; Proverbs 10:12; Matthew 5:43-48; 22:37-40; John 13:34; 15:12; 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:14; Ephesians 5:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; James 2:8; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 2:5; 3:10, 11, 22. Devotional Reading: A Reminder of God s Love in Sending His Son for Man s Sins, 1 John 4:7-21. Introduction The New Testament carries the phrase one another in about thirtynine verses, the vast majority of which speak about the way Christians are to interact with each other. That is the theme for this quarterly, which contains such lessons about forgiveness, bearing one another s burdens, kindness, fellowship and comforting. Jesus said that the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). That love, if it is the love of Christ flowing through us, will lead us to treat one another in such a manner that will cause the lost world to desire to have what we have. We are to be witnesses with our mouths, but we also can be witnesses with our lives. In fact, we must be witnesses with the way we live because hateful, backbiting, surly Christians turn off unbelievers. They can get this attitude in the world. Christians who behave properly toward each other not only enhance their testimonies among the lost but also bring honor and glory to God (Matt. 5:14-16). They also live peaceably with all others, which is the kind of life everybody should want (Rom. 12:18). It all starts with love, a command Jesus gave for 3

4 His children to obey (John 13:34; 15:12). We must fulfill this command first and foremost. 1. Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law (Romans 13:8, 10) Twice in Romans 13:8, 10 the apostle Paul declares that love fulfills the Law. When we love, we don t have any problems with the laws of the land or the rules that parents give. When we love as the Lord commands us to love, we will want to do right, we will want to live right and we will want to treat others right. In the previous verses leading up to the Text, Paul said Christians were to pay their debts, which included taxes owed to the government. Paul also said we are to owe nobody anything but love. That is what everyone needs. Love is the foundation of the Christian faith. If it were not for the love of God, there would not be such a thing as Christians (John 3:16). But God s love sent His Son because, among other things, God is love (1 John 4:7, 8). Jesus said the one great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matt. 22:37). Then the second commandment is to love thy neighbour as thyself (verse 39). When we properly love our neighbors, not just those who live next door but everybody we come into contact with (Luke 10:29-37), then, we will not be willing to do them harm. We will not gossip about them; we will not maliciously lie about them; we will not desire to do anything to them that we wouldn t want done to us. Point To Ponder: Do you have enemies? There likely is someone at school or in your neighborhood who you don t like. Maybe it s a personality clash or perhaps you have had words with that person. It is your duty to love him and to handle that person in the same gentle way you would want to be treated. Is that possible? Why or why not? Discuss. 2. Love Makes It Unnecessary To Remember the Law (Romans 13:9) It has been said that the Old Testament contains five hundred thirty-eight sins to commit and 613 laws to break. To commit one of those sins violates God s standards. To break one of the six hundred thirteen laws infringes upon God s and man s principles. Can you imagine carrying around a notebook of eleven hundred fifty-one sins and laws? A person would literally have to consult the notebook before taking a step! Or, a person could love as God unconditionally loved the world and would not have to worry about remembering every little 4

5 point of the Law. When we walk in love, we don t have to be concerned whether we are offending our brother or sister in Christ. If we do everything in love, then we will not be offensive. It is interesting that Paul, in writing about loving one another, specifically went to the five commandments that govern our walk with others. Turn to Exodus 20 and read the Ten Commandments. The first four deal directly with our relationships with God; the fifth concerns our relationships with our parents, and the final five speak to our relationships with others: Thou shalt not kill, steal, commit adultery, bear false witness or covet. These five laws are written on our hearts. We know it is wrong to steal or kill. Even modern society, where everything seems justified, frowns upon adultery. If we did not know it was wrong to covet, but we love each other as we should, we would never covet. The characteristics of love surpass these commandments. If we love, as Paul eloquently wrote about in 1 Corinthians 13, we will be patient, kind, without envy, depleted of pride, arrogance and rudeness, seeking the good of others and not irritable or resentful (1 Cor. 13:4, 5). If we really have these traits of love, we will not need the Law to tell us what we should be doing. Point To Ponder: Did you know you can kill without ever murdering someone physically? Yes, you can kill a person s reputation by talking bad about him. Harmful words can ruin people s lives to the extent that some have committed suicide as a result. With the abundance of social media, it is even more important to watch how we communicate. Teenagers are especially vulnerable to attacks from their peers. 3. Love Works No Evil (Romans 13:9) Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself is the second great commandment (Matt. 22:39), but it may be the most difficult commandment to keep. Man naturally loves himself. Some people may not like themselves very much. They may not like their size, their grades or their plight in life; yet, they still have the innate love for themselves. Love will not allow us to maliciously tease those who are overweight, wear glasses or braces or have some other physical malady that makes them different from us. Malicious teasing is evil and should never be dismissed as just having fun. Read what happened to some little children who were teasing a bald-headed prophet named Elisha (2 Kings 2:23, 24). You may have heard the old saying, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me. That is not true. Words can do irreparable damage. Always consider the feelings of others (Phil. 2:4). 5

6 The word comprehended means to sum up. Paul said all of the Law could be summed up by simply saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (verse 9). A lawyer asked Jesus, Who is my neighbour? in Luke 10. Jesus answered with the parable of the good Samaritan, who found a Jew beaten and robbed on the side of the road and helped him (Luke 10:30-36). The Jews and Samaritans didn t like one another because the Jews looked upon Samaritans as half-breeds. Yet, this Samaritan helped this Jewish man. The question as to who are our neighbors was answered in that we are to help everyone because all with whom we come into contact are our neighbors. Every schoolmate, every church friend or acquaintance, every family member simply stated, everybody is to be loved by us. We are not to plot evil against anyone. Point To Ponder: Love will not even let you work evil when it comes to getting even. Love is bigger than that. Though others may do you wrong, the love of God working in you will not allow you to seek revenge. Remember Romans 12:19. Application Love is more than a feeling; it is an action. When you love, it can be seen in the way you act. Those actions will be guided by the words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Take the test of love: can you say you really love those who are in class with you or in the whole church with you? If not, then ask the Lord to help you love others more each day. 6