Adult Bible Class March, April, May 2018 SPRING QUARTER For Adults Ages 26 & Up
Vol. CIV No. 2 Adult Bible Class SPRING QUARTER March, April, May 2018 Editorial... 2 Acknowledging God UNIT I: Follow in My Ways Mar. 4 The Lord Will Provide Gen. 22:1-14... 4 Mar. 11 A Prayer of Dedication II Chron. 6:12-21... 9 Mar. 18 Worshipping in God s Temple II Chron. 7:1-9... 14 Mar. 25 Seeking His Face II Chron. 7:12-22... 19 UNIT II: All Glory and Honor Apr. 1 He Has Risen (Easter) Luke 24:1-12, 30-35... 24 Apr. 8 Appearance of the Risen Lord John 21:1-14... 29 Apr. 15 Follow Me John 21:15-25... 34 Apr. 22 The Lord God Almighty Rev. 4:1-6, 8-11... 39 Apr. 29 Blessing, Glory, and Honor Forever Rev. 5:6-14... 43 UNIT III: Give Praise to God May 6 Giving from a Generous Heart Exod. 35:20-29; II Cor. 9:6-8... 47 May 13 Bringing Firstfruits Lev. 23:9-14, 22... 51 May 20 Remembering with Joy Lev. 25:1-12... 55 May 27 Rejoicing in Restoration Ps. 34:1-10; Heb. 2:17-18... 59 Paragraphs on Places and People... 63 Daily Bible Readings... 64 Editor in Chief: Todd Williams Edited and published quarterly by THE INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF THE GOSPEL WORKER SOCIETY UNION GOSPEL PRESS DIVISION Rev. W. B. Musselman, Founder Price: $2.50 per quarter* $10.00 per year* *shipping and handling extra ISBN 978-1-59843-693-8 Lessons based on International Sunday School Lessons; the International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright 2014 by the Committee on the Uniform Series and used with permission. Edited and published quarterly by The Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press Division, 2000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44109-5812. Mailing address: P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101-1059. www.uniongospelpress.com
EDITORIAL In All Your Ways JOHN LODY The book of Proverbs encourages us to trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (3:5-6). This well-known passage sets before us a proposition based on faith; namely, that the Lord will faithfully guide our lives according to His supreme wisdom if we trust Him implicitly in everything we do. It also tells us that this level of trust necessarily involves letting go of any dependence on our own limited understanding and instead placing all our dependence on God alone to guide us. Along with this proposition, we must also acknowledge certain essential biblical qualifications that pertain to this promise. First, our trust in God s guidance does not give us a license to live foolishly, ignoring the real circumstances that surround us and throwing prudence and good sense to the wind while adopting the pretense that we are thus trusting fully in the Lord. We must remember that God takes no pleasure in fools (cf. Eccles. 5:4). If we misunderstand God s Word and misuse it as the basis for choosing a path that leads us to disgrace and folly, that is not a failure of God s promise. God s promise does not mean that we can pick a verse that seems to support our personal desires and think that 2 this will guarantee us God s blessing and ultimate success. It does mean that when we are faced with a choice that is clearly and explicitly addressed in God s Word, we may boldly follow His Word, regardless of what conventional human understanding would seem to endorse and regardless of apparent obstacles and worldly opposition. For example, a Christian who feels reluctant to teach a Sunday school class should not feel justified in refusing merely because he happens to come across James 3:1 in his morning devotions. On the other hand, a person who is ordered by his employer to lie to customers can be confident in respectfully and humbly refusing to do so, no matter what consequences he may suffer because of such a refusal. Here is where the power of God s promise of guidance and blessing actually applies: God will bless anyone who faithfully obeys His Word, especially if that obedience costs him something. The special challenge presented to us by our Bible lessons this quarter is applying the principle of Proverbs 3:5-6 to every area of our daily lives, that is, to all our ways. It is not enough to honor God in some areas of life while keeping others as the sovereign domain of our own preferences and desires. The Holy Spirit is in the business of extending true holiness into every
aspect of our existence as He labors to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Specifically, this challenge often applies to us as we find ourselves under various earthly authorities, especially in terms of our gainful employment. Paul s following words are especially poignant: Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free (Eph. 6:5-8). Since we as Christians are called to be servants in everything we do (cf. I Cor. 7:22), no matter what our social station, this challenge is completely unavoidable. It is a constant battle to resist the temptation to do only enough to get by, to measure ourselves only by what others can actually see us doing. But this is not true Christian service. It is especially challenging if we happen to work alongside those who follow the prevailing worldly outlook on work that says to do only as much as you have to and as little as you can get away with. In such an environment, the Christian servant faces more than just temptation. He also faces potential hostility from those who may resent having their own poor caliber of service exposed by comparison. But even in this we can claim God s promise that when we choose to honor Him to our own detriment, He will be faithful to guide us and bless us, glorifying Himself through us. We are called to serve in everything. Our finite human masters are limited to measuring our service by what they can see, but our Heavenly Father sees not only what is visible to other humans but also the very deepest recesses of our souls! This principle is so basic and essential to the Christian life that Paul repeated the same admonition in another letter, saying, Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God (Col. 3:22). Acknowledging God in all our ways is not a call to serve as if God were watching; it is a call to serve because God is watching! Thus, it is a call to live and serve in harmony with what is true and what is real. When we do otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves and wasting the time God has graciously given us to serve and glorify Him, which is our chief purpose in life. As King Solomon, the wisest of earthly men, has written, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with [all] thy might (Eccles. 9:10). Adult Bible Class 3
LESSON 1 MARCH 4, 2018 Scripture Lesson Text GEN. 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt A bra-ham, and said unto him, A braham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son I saac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Mo-ri ah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And A bra-ham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and I saac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day A braham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And A bra-ham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And A bra-ham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon I saac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And I saac spake unto A braham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And A bra-ham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and A bra-ham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound I saac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And A bra-ham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, A bra-ham, A bra-ham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And A bra-ham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and A bra-ham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And A bra-ham called the name of that place Je-ho vah ji reh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. NOTES 4
The Lord Will Provide Lesson: Genesis 22:1-14 Read: Genesis 22:1-24 TIME: 2050 B.C. PLACES: Beersheba; Moriah GOLDEN TEXT Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together (Genesis 22:8). Lesson Exposition This week we begin a new series of lessons titled Acknowledging God. In these lessons, we will examine Scriptures that point to God s greatness and our proper response to Him. GOD S COMMAND TO ABRA- HAM Gen. 22:1-2 The events of Genesis 22 occurred after these things (vs. 1), referring to the events of chapter 21. Foremost among those events was the birth of Isaac (vss.1-7). Against this backdrop, the events of Genesis 22 seem all the more striking. We are told that God did tempt Abraham (vs. 1). The word tempt does not mean God tempted Abraham to do wrong. That would be impossible since God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man (Jas. 1:13). The word tempt here means to test or to prove. God wanted to test Abraham to determine his level of obedience (cf. Gen. 22:12). In one sense this test must have been a supreme test of faith for Abraham since it involved Isaac, the son of promise, for whom he had waited so long. God s command to Abraham must have astounded him. God told him to take his son Isaac and offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains in the land of Moriah. Had he heard God correctly? Isaac was the miracle son God had promised to give Abraham and Sarah in their old age (Gen. 17:16-22; 18:9-15). Isaac, not Ishmael, was the son through whom God would fulfill His promise to make Abraham a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3; 17:16-21; 21:12). How could God fulfill His promise through Isaac if Abraham sacrificed him? ABRAHAM S OBEDIENCE TO GOD Gen. 22:3-10 The journey (Gen. 22:3-4). Abraham showed his obedient faith by starting on the journey with his son Isaac, two of his servants, and wood for the burnt offering. The distance from Beersheba (21:32) to Mount Moriah (near Jerusalem) was about fifty miles. After three days of travel, he saw the place God had identified as the site of the offering. Many scholars believe Adult Bible Class 5