Biography Introduction Lesson 1 Ridin Ready Lesson 2 Ridin Obedient Lesson 3 Ridin Faithful Lesson 4 Ridin Bold Lesson 5 Ridin Courageous 2 3 6 12 20 28 34 WRITER: Robbie Horne 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 Blake Tilton Copyright 2014 www.vbs.bogardpress.org 1-800-264-2482 LAYOUT DESIGNERS: Kyle Elkins Cindy Butler, Ashley Elkins CONTENT EDITORS: Terry McKellar, Carolyn Burks Deby Turrentine, Joni Curtis PRINT PRODUCTION: Charles Easley COVER DESIGN: Jeff Allen
Dr. Robbie Horne is the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church, Mabelvale, AR. Robbie is married to Pam (Clift) Horne. Robbie has two children, Jacquelyn and Clint, and two grandchildren, Cody Dale Beene and Hadley Grace Horne. Robbie is a 1970 graduate of Benton High School in Benton, AR. After serving three years in the United States Army, Robbie enrolled in the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, AR, where he earned a bachelors and a masters degree in theology. In 2010, Robbie reached a long-term goal when he earned a doctor s degree in theology from Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute in Benton, AR. Robbie is an instructor at CABBI and teaches Hermeneutics, Ethics, Church Epistles and Leadership. Robbie enjoys the Arkansas Razorbacks, reading, writing, talking, teaching, playing the guitar and spending quality time with his dog Max. Email: robbiehorne@sbcglobal.net 2
Introduction It is always a privilege to study the Word of God. A good way to learn the principles of the Bible is to study Bible characters. This is what we are going to do in Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! We will study Gideon and learn the importance of being ready to serve God. Gideon was tired of the Midianites and their cruel abuse. God noticed and sent His angel to talk with Gideon. The angel called Gideon a mighty man of valour (Judges 6:12) before Gideon ever drew a sword against the Midianites. Gideon, no doubt, was ready to serve God. We will study Ruth and learn the importance of obeying God. Ruth could have returned to her own people, the Moabites, but Ruth chose to stay with Naomi, her mother-in-law. In fact, Ruth told Naomi, Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God (Ruth 1:16). Ruth obeyed God and He blessed her with a godly husband and healthy baby boy. We will study Nehemiah and learn the importance of being faithful. Against the odds, against enemies, even when Nehemiah had to change strategies, he inspired the citizens of Jerusalem to rebuild the city s walls and finish the work God wanted them to do (Nehemiah 6:15). Nehemiah teaches us that being faithful to God means we finish what we start. We will study the apostle Peter and learn the importance of being bold. Peter, a Jew, opened the way to the Gentiles. In a dream, God told Peter, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (Acts 10:15). Peter faced his own prejudice, and the prejudice of his fellow countrymen and boldly took the gospel to a Gentile named Cornelius. We will study Esther and will learn the importance of being courageous. Esther faced a distressing dilemma: she had to place her life on the line to save her people from the death decree of her husband, King Ahasuerus (Esther 3:13). Esther courageously decided to enter the throne room and plead for the lives of her people, even if it put her own life in jeopardy (Esther 4:16). 3
Introduction This is adult material. Yes, we will follow the format of Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! Yes, we will be on a cattle drive. Yes, the teacher will be a wagon master. And yes, the students will be buckaroos. This, of course, is all in fun, because learning should be fun. However, this is still adult material. There will not be any up and out of the seat activities. There will, however, after each lesson, be a Campfire Discussion, an adult discussion, which is very important to understanding and applying each lesson. When the wagon master covers the lesson material and begins the Campfire Discussion, try not to sit back and listen to the opinions of others. Jump into the discussion, buckaroo, and see how enjoyable discussing Bible principles can be. This is your time and if you participate, you will find discussing the Bible a lot more fun than punching thumbtacks in Styrofoam cups. The adult lessons for Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! has an aim: students will follow God s trail in life by serving, following, living for, sharing and standing with their Savior, Jesus Christ. The aim, of course, is applicable to all ages. Children and adults should be ridin ready, obedient, faithful, bold and courageous. There is, however, a subtle but prevalent aim in the adult material revival! There is, in the writer s opinion, a great need for revival among the Lord s churches. Gideon, Ruth, Nehemiah, Peter and Esther, inspirational Bible characters, loved God and shared their faith with their families and with their friends. This is an example we cannot overlook. Consequently, there is an element of revival in Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! Hopefully, adult buckaroos, God will stir your hearts as you ride with Jesus on Cross Canyon Trail. We all, of course, like to eat. There will be a chuck wagon available with snacks. Since you are big boys and girls, you can decide whether you want to enjoy snack time with the kids, or if you want to provide your own snacks and eat in the privacy 4
Introduction of your classroom. Keep in mind, however, that you may miss a blessing if you attend Bible school and do not interact with the kids. The choice, of course, is yours. Enjoy Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! Hopefully, this five day Bible study will inspire you and revive you. Spending time in God s Word is always important to children of God. As you begin your cattle drive on Cross Canyon Trail, consider the impact the Bible has had on the lives of adults and children for thousands of years. To illustrate the impact of the Word of God, pay close attention to the inspiring words of Dr. Henry Van Dyke, an American author, educator and minister who shared God s Word with the world. Born in the East and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is a servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the peasant that he is a son of God. Children listen to its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables of life (Henry Van Dyke 1852-1933, Bible Illustrator, Parsons Technology, Index 414-434). Study hard, listen to your wagon master, work on your crafts, and enjoy learning about the inspiring Bible characters found in Cross Canyon Trail Ridin Strong with Jesus! 5
Bible Account: Gideon Is Ready To Serve (Judges 6:1-16, 36-40) Lesson Purpose: Students will always be ready to serve the Lord. Introduction Welcome, buckaroos, to Cross Canyon Trail. This week we will learn to be ridin strong with Jesus. It does not matter if we are male or female, young or old, Jesus wants us to be ridin strong with Him. As we scout out the week s study, the first step is readiness. After seven years, Gideon was ready to break away from the oppressive rule of the Midianites and serve the Lord. How do we know Gideon was ready to serve the Lord? He was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep the Midianites from seeing him. Gideon was tired of the Midianites stealing his wheat and he was determined not to let it happen again (Judges 6:11). It was time, Gideon thought, to break away from the cruel, stingy Midianites. God noticed Gideon s readiness and sent His angel to have a little talk with Gideon. The angel of the Lord said, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour (verse 12). Gideon, of course, tested the Lord and God did not take offense (verses 36-40). When Gideon saw that God was indeed with him, his 6
Lesson 1 Ridin Ready readiness was channeled toward overcoming and defeating the Midianites. There is an old story about a farmer who woke up in the middle of the night because his clock went on a rampage. At midnight, instead of chiming twelve times, the clock chimed seventeen times. The farmer woke up everyone in the house and went from room to room, shouting, Wake up! Get ready! It s later than it has ever been before. It is imperative that we are ready to serve and ready for the return of Jesus. Almost two thousand years ago, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign (Matthew 16:1). Jesus replied, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (verses 2, 3). We are not that far removed from the scribes and Pharisees. We know the old saying, Red sky at night, shepherd s delight Red sky in morning, shepherd s warning. We see weather approaching on Doppler radar. We watch trends to see when to invest our money and sell our stocks. We live in the information age. We are aware of our times, aren t we? We may think the world will keep on going, as it always has, but God, at this moment, may be saying to Jesus, Son, go bring my people home. We must realize that there is a time fixed in the mind of God when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36). Like Gideon more than three thousand years ago, we must be ready to serve so that we will be ready for the return of Jesus. Ridin' Ready in Dangerous Times Jesus, speaking of the last days, said, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). Iniquity comes from a Greek word that means contempt for and violation of law. Iniquity abounds when love is lacking. We look at society today and we see violence. Murders are commonplace. Gangs kill randomly for no good reason. Drive-by shootings are not rare 7
Lesson 1 Ridin Ready occurrences. Shootings on the campuses of America s high schools and colleges have become commonplace. Several years ago on Christmas day in Little Rock, Arkansas a man killed his brother over a piece of pumpkin pie. Iniquity is abounding, is increasing, and love is dwindling, and this equals dangerous times. In the book of Judges, Israel s dark age, every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 17:6). Like Israel, doing what we want regardless of how it affects others, leads to a total disrespect for authority. When authority leaves, danger rushes in. Look at what is going on around us! See where we are! Look at the contempt for and violation of law! See iniquity on the increase! See love on the decrease! See more and more danger slipping in every day! Perilous times are here (2 Timothy 3:1). What we must do is serve the Lord and be ridin ready so that we will be ready when Jesus returns. Ridin' Ready when others Fall Away The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians and us, Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Falling away is not limited to Christians. Falling away does not necessarily mean that Christians will turn away from God and church in droves. Falling away does mean that the world in general, as a whole, will turn away from the morals and influence of God. This is the falling away. And we see it today. There will, according to the apostle Paul, come a time when people will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3, 4). Fables comes from the Greek word muthos, where we get the word myth. Sadly, there are people, even some so-called Bible scholars, who claim miracles never happened. They postulate that Moses crossed a Reed Sea, not the Red Sea. They downplay the miracles of Jesus, say they never happened, and claim that miracles are just stories that 8
Lesson 1 Ridin Ready teach moral truths. In other words, when Jesus fed five thousand people with five barley loaves, and two small fishes (John 6:9), it really did not happen. Pseudoscholars say all Jesus did was teach a moral lesson on feeding the hungry. If the miracles of the Bible are only myths, then we are mythtaken, mythified, and mytherable. But we are not mistaken, we are not mystified, and we are not miserable. The Bible is true! The miracles are real! And it does not matter what false teachers caught up in the falling away say or write. The truth is if we do not take the Bible literally, as inerrant from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation, we are caught up in the falling away (1 Timothy 4:1, 2). No wonder our nation is in trouble! We have allowed false teachers politicians? to downplay the Word of God, and by doing so, we have weakened the foundation of society. No wonder there are murders in the streets of cities large and small. Our nation has turned away from the Bible. Our nation has turned away from the morals and influence of God. Like Gideon, we should serve God when others do not. We should be ready for the return of Jesus when others are not. We should be ridin ready when others do not. Ridin' Ready when others Do Not Care We are living in the last days and in perilous times (2 Timothy 3:1). Furthermore, in the last days some will have a form of godliness but will deny the power of godliness (verse 5). Many lessons can be taught from 2 Timothy 3:1-5, but as we are ridin ready for the coming of the Lord, consider two important things: the time element in the last days, and the words having a form of godliness. In the last days, some Christians will just go through the motions of faith. This means they are apathetic, that they have a lack of feeling, a lack of emotion, a lack of interest and a lack of concern. If we are apathetic, we are not ridin ready. It is sad but true that churches may be affected with apathy. Too many worship services begin at 11 o clock sharp and end at 12 o clock dull. It seems preachers are not excited and as a result 9
Lesson 1 Ridin Ready church members are not excited. It seems we look for reasons not to attend church, instead of reasons to attend church. And what do we blame the apathy on? We may blame it on television, NASCAR, waterskiing, fishing, hunting, the Super Bowl, basketball, football, baseball or anything. Several years ago two pastors met on Monday morning for breakfast. One of the pastors shared how his church had gone to a summer schedule, meaning the church had canceled Sunday night services during the summer months. His pastor friend asked him, Are you comfortable with not having evening services in the summer? The pastor replied, No, I m not, but my church is so close to the lake that most of my people go fishing and skiing on Sunday afternoon and evening. Apathy allows us to do things we normally would not do. Canceling Sunday evening services is not a remedy for apathy. The truth is churches are not too close to the lake, they are just not close enough to God. When we are apathetic, we are not ridin ready, and we are not close to Jesus. We cannot force people to do what they do not want to do. We cannot force people to sing, if they do not have a song. We cannot force people to witness, if they do not have a testimony. When the apostle Peter gave up the ministry and went back to fishing, Jesus did not give Peter a lecture on how to feed sheep, which was Peter s job. Jesus simply asked him three times, Lovest thou me? (John 21:15-17). It was not obligation that brought Peter back into the ministry. It was his love for Jesus, and our love for Jesus is the issue today. Do we love Jesus? If we love Jesus, really love Jesus, apathy will not be a problem in our lives. The apostle Paul and his fellow-helpers endured many trials. What kept Paul and his friends going? Paul answered the question when he wrote, For the love of Christ constraineth us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Constraineth means to compel, to hold us together, and to keep one going. If you asked Paul, Your ministry has been hard. You have endured many trials. What keeps you and your fellow-helpers going? Paul could have answered, Our love for Christ compels us, holds us together and keeps us going. 10
Lesson 1 Ridin Ready What do we see in our lives and in our churches today? Enthusiasm or apathy? Ridin ready means we care when others do not. Ridin ready means we are like Gideon, that we have reached a point in our lives that we want God to move in a powerful way and use us to serve Him. Conclusion Are we ridin ready today? Are we able, by our willingness to be used of God, to discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:3). Do we see that iniquity has increased and love has dwindled? Do we see our nation has moved away from the morals and influence of God and is moving toward a great falling away? Do we see the lack of feeling, a lack of emotion, a lack of interest and a lack of concern among Christians? If we do not see these things, more than likely we are not ridin ready. Take the old farmer s advice! Wake up! Get ready! It s later than it has ever been before. Campfire discussion Jesus commanded us to love one another (John 13:34, 35). When iniquity abounds, love dwindles. Discuss what the Lord s churches can do to increase love and decrease iniquity. The falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3) is not limited to Christians. The falling away also applies to the world turning away from the morals and influence of God. Discuss ways Christians can influence their churches, their communities and their government to a more Bible-oriented mentality. Our love for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14) motivates us to serve Christ. Discuss what apathetic attitudes tell us about our relationships with Jesus. Furthermore, how can we overcome apathetic attitudes? 11