Monday, February 18, 2008

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 21 March 2, 2008

The Holy Spirit is Active in the Early Church
Part 1
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: Acts 2:1-17, 22-24, 32-47
Optional: Acts 1:12-14
Memory Verse: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      BACKGROUND The Feast of Pentecost is the second major feast of the Jews. Remember when Paul was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost? It came 50 days or 7 weeks after Passover. It is also called the Feast of Weeks. It was originally a harvest festival of the First Fruits and the wheat harvest. People offered freewill offerings as God had blessed them. See Deuteronomy 16:1-17, Leviticus23:15-21, Exodus 23:16. Later it also came to be associated with the day that the Law was given. Word received: I gave you the First Fruits when I gave you My Son and the Holy Spirit to start the church. Do we, adults and children, give the first fruits of our lives to the Lord? Do we put him first or give him the leftovers?
      The other two great Feasts were Passover in the spring and in the fall, with the last harvest, the Feast of Ingathering or The Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. Then they gathered in their fruit, grapes and olives. The first two (Passover and Pentecost) are now also major Christian celebrations. We can look forward to the time when the third one (The Feast of Booths) will also have its Christian fulfillment.
      Setting: This really happened . It is reliable history. Read Acts 1:12-14. After Jesus' ascension to the Father to sit at His right hand, many of Jesus' followers (120) returned to the upper room of the house where some of them were staying. Notice the emphasis on their unity as they obediently waited! They were "all together in one place" "in one accord" (vs.14)
      Now look at 2:1. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place". A word received: That is the work I want my Spirit to do in you: to be of one accord in me. Word received: I intended for each one of you to support one another and I still want that for you. Pray for each other, care for each other. You are much stronger in a community than by yourselves.
      "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing, mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2) Word received: Listen for the wind of My Spirit. My Spirit is blowing through the church. Are you ready? Next "there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them." (2:3) Word received: The fire of My Spirit is for all---all whose hearts are ready. Pray for hearts made ready by My Word and Spirit. PRAYER: Lord, we pray for ourselves and the children. Set our hearts on fire for you by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, baptize us again with your Holy Spirit and with fire! (Stop and pray. You have to ask.)
      "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4) Now look at James 3:6-8. "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." A word received: You can choose the fire of hell or the fire of my Spirit. You cannot on your own tame the tongue, but with the help and power of my Spirit your tongue can be brought under my control.
      Pause and reflect on how much your tongue (your speech) is under the control of the Holy Spirit. Offer your words and thoughts to Jesus and ask him to bring your tongue under the control of his Holy Spirit. Many see the day of Pentecost as a reversal of the Tower of Babel.
      Look at the map and see where all those Jews from many countries had come from--and not just around the Mediterranean Sea either. Reflect of God's timing when the maximum number of people could hear and respond to this event. Think about how widespread the Good News abut Jesus would be spread when they went home! "And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:5) A word received: You have men and women from many nations dwelling among you. Do you see them or are they invisible to you. Come to me; let me show you how to seek them out. I will guide you by my Spirit.
      Drawn by the sound like a mighty wind, crowds gathered and were puzzled to hear these people from the upper room speaking in their own languages, telling them the "mighty works of God" Some said, What does this mean? Others said They're drunk! Since they were all Jews at this point, probably the might deeds of God would have been things they already knew about as works of God. How could all these ordinary Galileans speak in all those languages?
      NOTE; There are two kinds of tongues in the New Testament. 1.) There are "tongues"/languages the speaker doesn't know that are recognized by others as a language they know, as in this example. At Christ Church, this has happened twice, both involving Akemi Hio and Japanese. Once in a prayer meeting she asked for prayer and Dn. Hy Bryant prayed for her in tongues and she told him it was Japanese. (He didn't know it.) The second time was in a Women's Aglow meeting where she was the speaker. During worship someone gave a message in "tongues" but no one interpreted it and we were all uneasy. When Akemi got up to speak she said it was like a Psalm in Court Japanese!
2.) The other kind is a Spirit-given prayer language that the speaker doesn't know. If someone else is given the interpretation, it is a form of prophecy. If no one knows, then it is for a person's private prayer to God and is spoken quietly or silently to God. Paul corrects the Corinthian church about their misuse of the latter kind.
      Then Peter (vs.14) is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and boldness, the same Peter who had recently denied knowing Jesus when a maid asked him! The first thing Peter says is that they are not drunk. It's too early! (9 a.m.). He begins with the prophecy of Joel which they are seeing fulfilled. Word received: My word is available to you too, to live out. I want to work among you now as I prophesied through Joel. Trust Me, receive Me. Receive and act on what I have for you now.
      Then Peter begins to tell them about Jesus, God's plan and their sin. Then he emphasizes Jesus' resurrection and King David's prophecy which is about Jesus and his resurrection. (vs.22). David is dead and buried (and so are the leaders and founders of all religions--except Jesus!) Word received: Speak My gospel in as many ways as you can. You can never say it too many times. Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. We have good new to share. Jesus has conquered sin and death and "death has been swallowed up in victory". "O death were is your sting? The sting of death is sin…but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
      Peter's punch line is that Jesus has not only been raised from the dead but "we are witnesses" (vs.32). In 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 Paul tells about all who witnessed Jesus' resurrection appearances, "most of whom are still alive!" Then Peter says that Jesus in now seated on the throne in heaven at the right hand (best place) of God and has just poured out his Holy Spirit which you see and hear! (Verse 34 in another fulfilled prophecy by David.) Have you ever seen God at work?
      In verses 33-40 Peter repeats and explains more of the Gospel. as Peter concludes with "God has made him both Lord and Christ (Messiah)-- whom you crucified, "the truth gets through to them and they are "cut to the heart" and cry out for help. Word received: Only when people are cut to the heart can I get in. It's a spiritual surgery and you must be willing to allow it to happen. This is serious work. Every child of mine is worth My Son's death. My Son's sacrifice can never be measured. It means that much to Me.
       NOTE: on "cut to the heart". It is essentially the same as "circumcision of the heart" in Deuteronomy 30:6 and Romans 2:29.
      Peter's answer to "what shall we do?" is in verse 38, our Memory Verse. It is both invitation and a challenge. Read it aloud together. About 3,000 responded! Word received: When you receive the Holy Spirit you will be filled with My light. It will cut you to the heart, but it will also fill you with joy and comfort and peace. It is only through the Holy Spirit that the words of the Bible come to life.
      When we as individual Christians or the church don't talk about sin and the need for repentance, we are not being kind but closing off the path to life. In the Prayer Book, page 332, just before Communion, are several verses that comfort us from the "Comforter", the Holy Spirit. If we truly repent and turn to Jesus we will receive his forgiveness and his life. (Insert "comfortable words)
       How did the church nurture these baby Christians and help them to grow? See verses 42-47. 1.) They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship. (They hung out with them.) 2.) They shared in the "breaking of bread" (Eucharist) and in the prayers. 3.) They shared everything with each other and spent time together in each others homes and ate together. 4.) There were signs and wonders that God did through the apostles and were filled with praise to God. 5.) They also worshipped together in the temple. Word received: I want you to bring people in by witnessing to My love and then worshipping Me by giving glory to me.

Teaching Ideas for Lesson 21
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
      Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
      Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
       1. On the Day of Pentecost God fulfilled the promise and prophecy about the pouring out of his Holy Spirit on his people who turned back to him. God is faithful to his promises. We can trust him.
       2. God want us to have a very close relationship with him, by knowing Jesus, his Son, and receiving his Holy Spirit.
       3. God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to the early church to guide them and help them witness to others about Jesus.
       4. God wants to give us the same Holy Spirit today.
       5. God wants us to ask for his Spirit, and be ready to receive what he has for us. Pray now and ask God to make you ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Then ask Jesus to baptize you with his Spirit. (if you already did this, ask for more.)

Saturday, February 9, 2008

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 20 February 17, 2008

Praying for the Holy Spirit
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:37-38; Mark 1:4, 7-8
Memory Verse: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      First, a reminder of who the Holy Spirit is. "He", not "it", is God himself, on of the three persons of the one God, the Trinity. He, the Holy Spirit, is God's personal power at work, not impersonal power or "the Force". When we receive God's power it is to do God's work and will, not our own.
      Second, BEFORE we can ask for the Holy Spirit we have to do what comes first. Look at Acts 2:37-38 when the people listening to Peter were "cut to the heart", (strongly convicted of their sins). He told them they had to "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins: and (then) you shall receive the Holy Spirit."
      Repentance has always been the key to salvation in the Old Testament as well as the New. For example, Jeremiah 36:3b says "so that everyone may turn from his evel ways and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin."
             ***********************
      Look at Mark 1:4, 7-8. John's calling was to prepare people for Jesus' coming by calling them to a baptism of repentance for their sin. That is always the first step. John expressed how much greater Jesus was by saying he wasn't even worthy to do a slave's work of untying the dusty sandals of Jesus. Then John said Jesus was the one who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit. We ask him to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. There is NO OTHER NAME by which we can be saved. [Baptize is a work from the cloth dying industry. You immerse the cloth in the dye and it comes up a different color, saturated with dye.] Word received: John came to prepare you for Me. You have another opportunity now. Respond, repent, come to Me and receive what I have for you. Don't be afraid. I will never leave you. What I say is true, you can trust Me.
      God had promised in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) that someday he would pour out his Spirit on all his people instead of just a few people for special jobs. Isaiah 44:3 " for I will pour water on the thirsty land, I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendents." Joel 2:28 " I will pour out my Spirit on all people." Then Jesus tells his disciples that he will pour out his Spirit soon. See John 14:16 and Luke 24:49. Then again in Acts 1:4-5, just before his ascension to heaven, he tells them to wait for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. Waiting on God and for God is not usually a passive activity, but active. The disciples, 120 of them, men and women, met together daily and prayed and waited. This kind of waiting is like a waiter in a restaurant. He is both waiting to see what is needed and is busy serving his customers. He gives them his attention and is available for them.
      Jesus did not answer their questions about when God was going to do things. The
Father's timing is under HIS control and that is not where he wants our attention. Jesus
said in Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the
earth." Word received: I want you to have My power so that you can be My witness. You
need the help of My Holy Spirit -- the helper -- to be an effective witness of what I have done.
I have not left you orphans; I have given you a Spirit of adoption by whom you can cry out,
"Abba, Father."
(From Romans 8:15)
      In Acts 1:4-8 we have Jesus' promise and his command. Word received: This is why I give My Spirit to you, so you can share My love with others and they will be drawn back to me. After Peter told the people what to do, after they had seen and heard what was happening to the apostles and disciples, about 3,000 (!) people repented, were baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Word received: This is how it happened in My church early on. It can happen to you too. Choose life!
      Have you made the choice to ask for more of God's Holy Spirit??
      In a few minutes we are going to pray for each other to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This may be for the first time or you may be asking for more of the Holy Spirit, a re-filling. (As Dwight L. Moody once said, "I leak.")
      But first, some words from the Lord, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Romans 8:16). A word received: Seek my Holy Spirit; invite him in. I want every one of your to know that you are a child of my father.
"Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:17) A word received: Don't be afraid. "I have not given you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (From 2 Timothy 1:7) These are all blessings from my Holy Spirit. With my Holy Spirit in you with his power you need not be afraid. There is no height nor depth nor anything that can separate you from my love. I will always love you: come to me, let me fill you up.

Prayer: Lord, please show me what you are asking of me.

Teaching Ideas for Lesson 20
      Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
      Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
      Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
      1.God the Father planned, even in Old Testament times to fill all His people with His Holy Spirit, in his timing.
      2. Before we are ready to receive God's Holy Spirit, we must repent, receive Jesus and receive his forgiveness.
      3. Ask Jesus to baptize you with His Holy Spirit. If you already have, ask for more. There is always more.
      4. Jesus wants to baptize us with the Holy Spirit so we can be active witnesses to his love and be given power to obey and follow him.
      If you have received Jesus and his Holy Spirit, you are a child of God and He loves you!
      5. When God tells us to "wait on him", it doesn't mean do nothing! It means have our attention on him and be available to him (like a waiter in a restaurant.)

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 19 February 10, 2008

Jesus is Baptized and Anointed by the Holy Spirit for Ministry
Theme: The Holy Spirit
Theme Verse: "'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the LORD of Hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Readings: Matthew 3:11-4:1; John 3:34
Optional: Isaiah 11: 1-5
Memory Verse: "And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.' " Luke 3:21b-22 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      John the Baptist was sent by God to preach a baptism of repentance from sin to prepare the way for God's Son, Jesus. But John always pointed to the one who would follow him who was greater and would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He would also winnow the harvest of the people who would come, into wheat and chaff. He would come both as Savior and as Judge.
      "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew 3:11) A word received: I want to pour out my Holy Spirit on you and in you. I want you to be filled with the fire of my love for you. Come to me -- let me fill you up. (Matthew 3:11 and Revelation 3:16) Word received: I do not want My people to be lukewarm when it comes to My word and witnessing for Me, I want them to be on fire for Me!
      The purpose of Jesus' coming was to save all who would respond with belief in him and not to condemn the world. (John 3:16). But his very presence and message would sift (winnow) people's hearts and separate them into those who would accept him and those who would reject him. "His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:12) A word received: The wheat will be gathered to me, the chaff will be burned. Look to me, turn to me, accept me as Lord and Savior. I do not desire the death of any man. Do not be chaff. Be wheat, lead fruitful lives. The choice is ours! The other choice we make is whether we will follow Jesus and be "fishers of men" so they will know the truth that can make them free.
      "But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry." Word received: I AM coming. I AM coming again. Be expectant; don't give up or give in. When you receive My Holy Spirit you will be able to get through it all until I come again.
      John's reaction to Jesus coming to him for baptism was a protest, saying that it should be the other way around! What Jesus' answer "it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" means is that "righteousness" refers to God's will and plan. Even though John didn't understand, he was a witness to what God was doing. (See John 1:32-33) Since Jesus was fully human (as well as fully divine), yet without sin, what was this purpose of God? 1) It was to anoint Jesus with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit for his ministry. (Jesus had always had the Holy Spirit.), and 2) to reveal Jesus to God's people, Israel. "John came baptizing that he (Jesus) might be revealed to Israel." (John 1:31) 3) Jesus is also a model for us to follow his example. We need repentance.
      Look again at verse 15. Word received: Do you see how My Son agreed to become a man to fulfill My promise to you? I love you enough to send My only Son. Are you willing to accept My love? What are you willing to give after I gave My Son?
      After Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water of the river Jordan,
"heaven opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is My Son, whom I love; with him I AM well pleased.'" Matthew 3:16-17) God spoke words of love, and of affirmation, identifying who Jesus was. But it is not clear whether anyone besides John and Jesus heard what was said and saw "heaven opened". In John 1:32 John says he too saw the Holy Spirit as a dove descend and remain on Jesus and twice calls him "the Lamb of God". John says God the Father told him that the one on whom the Spirit remains is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. (Here we see the Trinity in action together.)
       Word received: My Son was and still is obedient. Will you be obedient to Me? I want you to be obedient to Me. I love you so much.
       Now reread the Memory Verse. Word received: I love you but you need to come to Me, listen to Me, and obey Me just like My Son Jesus did. I was and am pleased with him. I want to be pleased with you. You need to come to Me, listen to Me, and obey Me.
      Now look at John 3:34 " For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure." Word received: God gives His Son the Spirit without limit so we can know him better. Jesus was without sin so there was no obstacle in him to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Word received: I do not use an eye- dropper or a teaspoon to distribute my Holy Spirit. I pour out pools of living water. PRAYER: Lord, enlarge my capacity to receive your Holy Spirit. We pray that out of us will flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-39)
      Jesus promised us in John 16:7, "unless I go away, the Counselor (Holy Spirit) will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you." This is what the prophet Joel promised that God would do someday. (We at Christ Church have seen and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst but there is ALWAYS MORE.)
      Isaiah 42:1 speaks of the Spirit God will pour out on His "My Servant"…My chosen, in whom My Soul delights. God describes the Spirit that will be upon the "Branch" , the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2. "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

Word for teachers: I want you to reveal Jesus to those around you by your words and deeds; I sent John to do that; I have called you to do that.
      Have you listened for the call? Have you responded?

Teaching Ideas for Lesson 19
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.
      Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
      Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:

      1.God wants to give us his Holy Spirit just as he did his Son, Jesus.
      2. God wants to fill us with his Holy Spirit. He wants us to come to him and ask.
      3. God's Spirit will equip you to live in the world in a way that is pleasing to God and to
tell others (witness) about God's love for us in Jesus.
      4. God's Holy Spirit will enable us to hear and discern God's voice and give us strength to obey him. (Have you listened to God's call to you?)
      5. Remember how much God loves you and that he sent his Son for you.