Background Passage: Ephesians 4:17-32
Lesson Passage: Ephesians 4:17-32

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
1. Satisfied with Jesus (Eph. 4:17-19)
2. Saved, Saved! (Eph. 4:20-24)
3. Since I Have Been Redeemed (Eph. 4:25-29)
4. Search Me, O God (Eph. 4:30-32)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Believers are to have a lifestyle that is obviously Christian.

LIFE GOAL
To help adults live in ways that show they are Christians

Background Passage: Ephesians 2:1-10
Lesson Passage: Ephesians 2:1-10

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
1. The Depth of Our Sin (Eph. 2:1-3)
2. The Power of God’s Grace (Eph. 2:4-7)
3. The Place of Our Works (Eph. 2:8-10)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Believers experience the power of God in salvation.

LIFE GOAL
To help adults teach others how they can receive salvation

Background Passage: 1 Corinthians 5:1–6:20
Lesson Passages: 1 Corinthians 6:1-9a,11,13b-20

LESSON PASSAGES OUTLINE
1. To Help Your Church (1 Cor. 6:1-6)
2. To Exhibit Your Salvation (1 Cor. 6:7-9a,11)
3. To Maintain Your Godliness (1 Cor. 6:13b-17)
4. To Safeguard Your Well-Being (1 Cor. 6:18-20)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
We are to practice Christian morality because such behavior has a positive impact on our churches and our lives.

LIFE GOAL
To help adults practice
Christian morality

Background Passage: Exodus 5:1–10:29
Lesson Passages: Exodus 5:1-3; 6:6-8; 7:1-5

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
1. People Who Worship the Lord (Ex. 5:1-3)
2. People Who Belong to the Lord (Ex. 6:6-8)
3. People Who Bear Witness of the Lord (Ex. 7:1-5)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
God redeems people so they can worship Him, live in right relationship with Him, and testify of His salvation.

LIFE GOAL
To help adults appreciate God’s purposes in redeeming people

2 Peter 3:8-9

3:8. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

This is a message that is being written to a group of believers who are growing a little complacent. They are letting some of the doubts of the world creep in, and having their patience stretched. Their minds need to be stirred up. Take time to remember the words of the prophets of old, the words of the apostles, the commandments, even the words of the savior himself.

It’s easy to say to ourselves that God spoke to early, ancient people, but they are long dead and the world keeps plugging along without much change. Seasons come and go, years come and go, and miracles seem to not happen anymore. Where are the things promised, When is the last days going to be? Don’t rush things. The earth was created long ago, and was designed to endure for a long, long time. In fact the promise is that seasons will continue for as long as it takes. the earth will continue, just as it has, preserved, until God destroys it with fire, when he comes to judge all people.

Read More…

Andrew Murray

VII.

Philippians 2: 5-8.–”Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.”

All are familiar with this wonderful passage. Paul is speaking about one
of the most simple, practical things in daily life,–humility; and in
connection with that, he gives us a wonderful exhibition of divine truth.
In this chapter we have the eternal Godhead of Jesus–He was in the form of
God, and one with God. We have His incarnation–He came down, and was found
in the likeness of man. We have his death with the atonement–He became
obedient unto death. We have His exaltation–God hath highly exalted Him.
We have the glory of His Kingdom,–that every knee shall bow, and every
tongue confess Him. And in what connection? Is it a theological study?
No. Is it a description of what Christ is? No; it is in connection with a
simple, downright call to a life of humility in our intercourse with each
other. Our life on earth is linked to all the eternal glory of the Godhead
as revealed in the exaltation of Jesus. The very looking to Jesus, the
very bowing of the knee to Jesus, ought to be inseparably connected with a
spirit of the very deepest humility. Consider the humility of Jesus. First
of all, that humility is our salvation; then, that humility is just the
salvation we need; and again, that humility is the salvation which the Holy
Spirit will give us.

Humility is the salvation that Christ brings. That is our first thought. We
often have very vague,–I might also say visionary–ideas of what Christ
is; we love the person of Christ, but that which makes up Christ, which
actually constitutes Him the Christ, that we do not know or love. If we
love Christ above everything, we must love humility above everything, for
humility is the very essence of His life and glory, and the salvation He
brings. Just think of it. Where did it begin? Is there humility in heaven?
You know there is, for they cast their crowns before the throne of God and
the Lamb. But is there humility on the throne of God? Yes, what was it but
heavenly humility that made Jesus on the throne willing to say: “I will go
down to be a servant, and to die for man; I will go and live as the meek
and lowly Lamb of God?” Jesus brought humility from heaven to us. It
was humility that brought Him to earth, or He never would have come. In
accordance with this, just as Christ became a man in this divine humility,
so His whole life was marked by it. He might have chosen another form in
which to appear; He might have come in the form of a king, but He chose the
form of a servant. He made Himself of no reputation; He emptied Himself;
He chose the form of a servant. He said: “The Son of Man is not come to be
ministered unto, to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom
for many.” And you know, in the last night, He took the place of a slave,
and girded Himself with a towel, and went to wash the feet of Peter and the
other disciples. Beloved, the life of Jesus upon earth was a life of the
deepest humility. It was this gave His life its worth and beauty in God’s
sight. And then His death–possibly you haven’t thought of it much in this
connection–but His death was an exhibition of unparalleled humility. “He
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.” My Lord Christ took a low place all the time of His walk upon
earth; He took a very low place when He began to wash the disciples’ feet;
but when He went to Calvary, He took the lowest place there was to be found
in the universe of God, the very lowest, and He let sin, and the curse of
sin, and the wrath of God, cover Him. He took the place of a guilty sinner,
that He might bear our load, that He might serve us in saving us from our
wretchedness, that He might by His precious blood win deliverance for us,
that He might by that blood wash us from our stain and our guilt.

We are in danger of thinking about Christ, as God, as man, as the
atonement, as the Saviour, and as exalted upon the throne, and we form an
image of Christ, while the real Christ, that which is the very heart of His
character, remains unknown. What is the real Christ? Divine humility, bowed
down into the very depths for our salvation. The humility of Jesus is our
salvation. We read, “He humbled Himself, therefore God hath highly exalted
Him.” The secret of His exaltation to the throne is this: He humbled
Himself before God and man. Humility is the Christ of God, and now in
Heaven, to-day, that Christ, the Man of humility, is on the throne of God.
What do I see? A Lamb standing, as it had been slain, on the throne; in
the glory He is still the meek and gentle Lamb of God. His humility is the
badge He wears there. You often use that name–the Lamb of God–and you use
it in connection with the blood of the sacrifice. You sing the praise of
the Lamb, and you put your trust in the blood of the Lamb. Praise God for
the blood. You never can trust that too much. But I am afraid you forget
that the word “Lamb” must mean to us two things: it must mean not only a
sacrifice, the shedding of blood, but it must mean to us the meekness of
God, incarnate upon earth, the meekness of God represented in the meekness
and gentleness of a little Lamb.

But the salvation that Christ brought is not only a salvation that flows
out of humility; it also leads to humility. We must understand that this
is not only the salvation which Christ brought; but that it is exactly the
salvation which you and I need. What is the cause of all the wretchedness
of man? Primarily pride; man seeking his own will and his own glory. Yes,
pride is the root of every sin, and so the Lamb of God comes to us in our
pride, and brings us salvation from it. We need above everything to be
saved from our pride and our self-will. It is good to be saved from the
sins of stealing, murdering, and every other evil; but a man needs above
all to be saved from what is the root of all sin, his self-will and
his pride. It is not until man begins to feel that this is exactly the
salvation he needs, that he really can understand what Christ is, and
that he can accept Him as his salvation. This is the salvation that we as
Christians and believers specially need. We know the sad story of Peter and
John; what their self-will and pride brought upon them. They needed to be
saved from nothing except themselves, and that is the lesson which we must
learn, if we are to enter the life of rest. And how can we enter that life,
and dwell there in the bosom of the Lamb of God, if pride rules? Have we
not often heard complaints of how much there is of pride in the Church of
Christ? What is the cause of all the division, and strife, and envying,
that is often found even among God’s saints? Why is it that often in a
family there is bitterness–it may be only for half an hour, or half a day;
but what is the cause of hard judgments and hasty words? What is the cause
of estrangement between friends? What is the cause of evil speaking? What
is the cause of selfishness and indifference to the feelings of others?
Simply this: the pride of man. He lifts himself up, and he claims the right
to have his opinions and judgments as he pleases. The salvation we need
is indeed humility, because it is only through humility that we can be
restored to our right relation to God.

“Waiting upon God,”–that is the only true expression for the real relation
of the creature to God; to be nothing before God. What is the essential
idea of a creature made by God? It is this: to be a vessel in which He can
pour out His fullness, in which He can exhibit His life, His goodness, His
power, and His love. A vessel must be empty if it is to be filled, and if
we are to be filled with the life of God we must be utterly empty of
self. This is the glory of God, that He is to fill all things, and more
especially His redeemed people. And as this is the glory of the creature,
so this is the only redemption, and the only glory of every redeemed soul,
to be empty and as nothing before God; to wait upon Him, and to let God be
all in all.

Humility has a prominent place in almost every epistle of the New
Testament. Paul says: “Walk with all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The nearer you get to God, and
the fuller of God, the lowlier you will be; and equally before God and man,
you will love to bow very low. We know of Peter’s early self-confidence;
but in his epistles what a different language he speaks! He wrote there:
“Let the younger be subject to the elder, and all of you be subject one to
another; humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt
you in His own time.” He understood, and he dared to preach, humility to
all. It is indeed the salvation we need. What is it that prevents people
from coming to that entire surrender that we speak of? Simply that they
dare not abandon themselves, and trust themselves, to God; that they are
not willing to be nothing, to give up their wishes, and their will, and
their honor to Christ. Shall we not accept the salvation that Jesus
offers? He gave up His own will; He gave up His own honor; He gave up any
confidence in Himself; He lived dependent upon God as a servant whom the
Father had sent. There is the salvation we need, the Spirit of humility
that was in Christ.

What is it that often disturbs our hearts, and our peace? It is pride
seeking to be something. And God’s decree is irreversible, “God resisteth
the proud; He gives grace only to the humble.” How often Jesus had to speak
to his disciples about it! You will find repeatedly in the Gospel those
simple words: “He that humbleth Himself shall be exalted; he that exalteth
himself shall be humbled.” He taught His disciples: “He that would be
chiefest among you, let him be the servant of all.” This should be our one
cry before God: “Let the power of the Holy Ghost come upon me, with the
humility of Jesus, that I may take the place that He took.” Brother, do you
want a better place than Jesus had? Are you seeking a higher place than
Jesus? Or will you say: “Down, down, as deep as ever I can go. By the help
of God I will be nothing before God; I will be where Jesus was.”

And now comes the third thought,–This is the salvation the Holy Ghost
brings. You know what a change took place in those disciples. Let us praise
God for it; the Holy Spirit means this: the life, the disposition, the
temper, and the inclinations of Jesus, brought down from heaven into our
hearts. That is the Holy Ghost. He has His mighty workings to bestow as
gifts; but the fullness of the Holy Ghost is this: Jesus Christ in His
humility coming to dwell in us. When Christ was teaching His disciples, all
His instructions may have helped in the way of preparation, breaking them
down, and making them conscious of what was wrong, and awakening desire;
but the instruction could not do it, and all their love to Jesus and their
desire to please Him could not do it, until the Holy Ghost came. That is
the promise Christ gave. He says, in connection with the coming of the Holy
Ghost: “I will come again to you.” Christ said to His disciples: “I have
been three years with you, and you have been in the closest contact with
me, and I have done the utmost to reach your hearts; I have sought to get
into your hearts, yet I have failed; but fear not, I will come again. In
that day ye shall see me, and your hearts shall rejoice, and no man shall
take your joy from you. I will come again to dwell in you, and live my life
in you.” Christ went to heaven that He might get a power which He never had
before. And what was that? The power of living in men. God be praised for
this! It was because Jesus, the humble One, the Lamb of God, the meek, the
lowly and gentle One, came down in the Holy Spirit into the hearts of His
disciples, that the pride was expelled, and that the very breath of Heaven
breathed through Him in the love that made them one heart and one soul.

Dear friends, Christ is yours. Christ as He comes in the power of the Holy
Spirit is yours. Are you longing to have Him, to have the perfect Christ
Jesus? Come, then, and see how, amid the glories of His Godhead–His
having been in the form of God, and equal to God; amid the glories of
His incarnation–His having become a man; amid the glories of His
atonement–His having been obedient to death; and amid the glories of His
exaltation, which is the chief and brightest glory, He humbled Himself from
Heaven down to earth and on earth down to the cross. He humbled Himself to
bear the name and show the meekness, and die the death of the Lamb of God.
And what is it we now need to do? How are we to be saved by this humility
of Jesus? It is a solemn question, but, thank God, the answer can be given.
First we must desire it above everything. Let us learn to pray God to
deliver us from every vestige of pride, for this is a cursed thing. Let us
learn to set aside for a time other things in the Christian life, and begin
to plead with the Lamb of God day by day, “O Lamb of God, I know Thy love,
but I know so little of Thy meekness.” Come day after day, and lay your
heart against His heart, and say to Him with strong desire: “Jesus, Lamb
of God, give, oh, give me Thyself, with Thy meekness and humility,” and He
will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him. It is not enough to desire
it and to pray for it; claim and accept it as yours. This humility is given
you in Christ Jesus. Christ is our life. What does that mean? Oh, that God
might give you and me a vision of what that means. The air is our life, and
the air is everywhere, universal. We breathe without difficulty because God
surrounds us with the air; and is the air nearer to me than Christ is? The
sun gives light to every green leaf and every blade of grass, shining hour
by hour and moment by moment. And is the sun nearer to the blade of grass
than Christ is to man’s soul? Verily, no; Christ is around us on every
side; Christ is pressing on us to enter, and there is nothing in heaven,
or earth, or hell, that can keep the light of Christ from shining into the
heart that is empty and open. If the windows of your room were closed with
shutters, the light could not enter; it would be on the outside of the
building, streaming and streaming against the shutters; but it could not
enter. But leave the windows without shutters, and the light comes, it
rejoices to come in and fill the room. Even so, children of God, Jesus and
His light, Jesus and His humility, are around you on every side, longing to
enter into your hearts. Come and take Him to-day in His blessed meekness
and gentleness. Do not be afraid of Him; He is the Lamb of God. He is so
patient with you, He is so kindly towards you, He is so tender and loving.
Take courage to-day and trust Jesus to come into your heart and take
possession of it. And when He has taken possession, there will be a life
day by day of blessed fellowship with Him, and you will feel a necessity
ever deeper for your quiet time with Him, and for worshiping and adoring
Him, and for just sinking down before Him in helplessness and humility, and
saying: “Jesus, I am nothing, and Thou art all.” It will be a blessed life,
because you will be conscious of being at the feet of Jesus. At this moment
you can claim Jesus in His divine humility as the life of your soul. Will
you? Will you not open your heart, and say: “Come in; come in?”

Come to-day, and take Him up afresh in this blessed power of His wonderful
humility, and say to Him: “Oh, Thou who didst say, ‘Learn of me, for I am
meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls,’ my Lord,
I know why it is that I have not the perfect life; it is my pride, but
to-day, come Thou and dwell in my heart. Thou who didst lead even Peter and
John into the blessedness of Thy heavenly humility; Thou wilt not refuse
me. Lord, here I am; do Thou, who by Thy wonderful humility alone canst
save, come in. O Lamb of God, I believe in Thee; take possession of my
heart, and dwell in me.” When you have said that, go out in quiet, and
retire, walking gently as holding the Lamb of God in your heart, and say:
“I have received the Lamb of God; He makes my heart His care; He breathes
His humility and dependence on God in me, and so brings me to God. His
humility is my life and salvation.”

Background Passage: Galatians 5:1-15
Lesson Passages: Galatians 5:1-15

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Understand Your Freedom (Gal. 5:1a)
 2.  Accept Your Freedom (Gal. 5:1b-6)
 3.  Retain Your Freedom  (Gal. 5:7-12)
 4.  Live in Your Freedom  (Gal. 5:13-15)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
Believers are to recognize and exercise the freedom they have through salvation by faith.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults exercise the freedom they have as Christians

Focal Passage Outline and Scripture Passages:
Assured of Eternal Life (1 John 5:12-13)
Confident in Prayer (1 John 5:14-17)
Certain of Victory (1 John 5:18-21)
 
Background Passage:
1 John 5:6-21

Focal Passage:
1 John 5:12-21

What This Lesson Is About:
This lesson is about the Christian’s confidence—of salvation, of God’s willingness to answer prayer, and of victory over sin.

How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life:
You will have greater confidence of your salvation, pray with confidence that God answers prayer, and live daily in the power of Christ.

Galatians 1:4-5

1:4. who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
1:5. to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
–NKJ

To keep things in context, this follows on the heals of the opening greetings of Paul as he writes this letter to the people of the Galatian church. He claims his authority as coming directly from God through Jesus, and not from any idea or teaching from other humans.

He continues his description of the power and authority that Jesus has by saying that he gave Himself for our sins, To put it in slightly different words, he himself was a gift that covered our sins. The first part of his gift wasn’t too unusual, he died. People died all the time. But that is only the first part. His death was his act of taking on the burden of sin. The real power is what he did next. He overcame sin and death, and that power that allowed him to do that restored his own life. But wait! There’s more!

Why did Jesus take sin and death upon himself, and put himself through that whole ordeal? “That He might deliver us from this present evil age,” Paul lived a few centuries ago, yet he says the present age is evil. The age we live in now is also an evil age. As humans, we are part of the fabric of being part of that evil age, no matter where it may fall in history, or the present. The word for “deliver: means to be torn out. Jesus uses his power over the laws of sin and death to rip us out by the roots. No subtle, easy, gentle transfer from evil world to Christianity. He doesn’t have to work on contracts or negotiations. He paid the price. He knows who belongs to him. Once you claim your place in his kingdom, he reaches out and rips you out of the evil world and transplants you into his kingdom.

“According to the will of our God,” that means it’s
God’s plan. That’s the way he wants it to be. So give him “glory forever and ever. Amen.”

When the world and all its baggage of social gray areas, and general evil nature has you down, as a Christian your spirit has already been transplanted in the kingdom of God. As humans, and being part of the fabric of this world, we may have to struggle along with everybody else, but we have a hope and assurance that we are part of something bigger and better.

Background Passage: Galatians 2:11–3:25
Lesson Passage: Galatians 2:15–3:9

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Believe (Gal. 2:15-16)
 2.  Behave (Gal. 2:17-21)
 3.  Be Consistent (Gal. 3:1-5)
 4.  Be Blessed (Gal. 3:6-9)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
A person can become a Christian only through faith in Jesus.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults indicate they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ

Acts 5:31
“Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
–NKJ

The great thing about Jesus is that no matter what we might think about him, God thinks highly of him. The Jewish leaders of the day thought so little of him that they put him to death and rejected him. God lifts him up and exalts for him. Exalt, being a word that just means to cheer for, or to say encouraging things about something or someone. Scriptures record how God will send the Messiah, how he will be rejected and held in low account. It is that very person who is also placed in full authority of all the earth and of anything in heaven.

Jesus is named as prince. The government will rest on his shoulders. It would be a wise decision for everybody, including our governmental leaders to follow his ways, his morals, and ethics. Not that anybody has to do these things right now, but a time is foretold where everybody in heaven and earth will bow to him and recognize his authority. Right now we are all spiritually blind. We have the choice to do and believe what we like. That spiritual blindness won’t last though.

In those days, people put Jesus to death. Today there are many who still would like him, and his memory put to death. There are those who still reject him. All through the Bible though, Jesus is refered to as savior. His name means Yah Saves, or God Saves. It’s a salvation that isn’t only for those who believe, but even for those who don’t, won’t, and never will. The offer for salvation is there for anybody who wants to choose to take hold of it.

Jesus is the new covenant of God to humans. He is God’s gift that goes beyond who could take part in the old covenant, and includes every other person in the entire world. Jesus is a gift that opens the door to anybody who is looking for a way to God.

That day is coming where all people will for sure recognize God and Jesus for exactly who the Bible says they are. For some people it will be too late by then. For those who can recognize him now, there will be forgiveness. Remmission of sins, a washing away of impurities and shortcomings. Forgiveness of those shameful deeds or even thoughts, for any doubt we have ever had.

Will there be a part for those who are now unbelievers? Will there be a place for them in an eternal spiritual kingdom? In a word, no. What will happen to them? Where will they go? Where ever God wants them to be, but not in his kingdom. As believers we are sanctified, set apart, to enjoy what is in the next life in a place with no sorrow, no tears, only joy in God’s presence.

Will there be sorrow, tears, and agony in eternity? Yes, but not where God is. Realize now that what the Bible teaches about God and his love, and his plan for us to be part of his kingdom are real. Choose now to be a part of it.

Hebrews 2:14
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

–NKJ

Let’s look at each phrase in this verse:

Inasmuch then as the children… Children. A word that means children of toddler age. No longer entirely dependant, they can manage to walk around on their own. They are learning to talk but don’t know all the words yet. They can feed themselves, but someone else has to provide the food and cook for them. They are over zealous about the word “No.” They are curious, inquisitive, nosy, even sneaky. More often than not, it seems, the sneaky behavior is more fun to the child than the good behavior. When they get hurt, they are prone to come running for a quick fix from mommy or daddy’s love.

… have partaken … Partaken, fellowship. The children have socialized together, sharing ideas, playing nice on the playground of life. Playing and sharing the joy of new games that they know about. Even sharing their sneaky little tricks, with much delight to the kids, and great frustration to the parents, with all the others on the playground.

… of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, … Flesh and blood. Real tangible, bodily form. Jesus likewise shared.
God wanted to communicate, he wanted to have a relationship with the people he created. God is a spirit, and people are flesh. God created a human body, Jesus, and through him was able to communicate and relate to his created people. Through Jesus he could speakthe the same language, on the same level as his little toddlers. Jesus shared all the playground secrets with the other kids, encouraging them to play the good games. He refused to take part in the sneaky little tricks that went against the rules. Some of the kids might not even have known those tricks were against the rules. Others did know and felt bad, and stopped, but others didn’t.

Jesus was able to interact with people. He lived where they did, and felt what they felt. Just like the other toddlers, he liked the good things in life, milk and cookies, and playing the fun games. He knew there is more to living though. Jesus knew it and wanted to lead the others in the right way to go.

… that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Things take a serious turn here. Jesus can’t stay and play forever. In the nursery school of life, there is a time when the kids must go home. There’s a door to pass through to get to mom and dad on the other side. Guess what, it’s locked. Somebody played a mean trick on the kids. The devil seems to hold the power of sin and death, the locked door that keeps us from going home. The real nasty part of the trick is that the devil didn’t actually lock the door of sin, he convinced the kids to lock it themselves. The devil just holds the keys and won’t give them back to the kids.

However, Jesus is the son of the guy who owns the school. Not only that Jesus is the son of the man who runs the whole city. He has his own key. In reality his key is his own death.

Jesus had to leave life here early, but he holds the door open for all the kids. He was the first to break through it, and with him standing there holding the door open, the devl can’t do anything about trying to lock it again. Now, the devil can try to send kids to some other place, or tell them the door is still locked, when it isn’t. Some kids will believe those lies. Don’t be one of them.

Amazingly, Jesus now holds all the keys of each of our toddlers in this story. All that is needed is to believe he holds our key, and ask him for it. Ask him for your key so you can go home. Don’t believe the lies that the door is locked, or that some other door will take you home.

Matthew 27:51
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

–NKJ

On any level, the meaning of this verse is that barriers have been torn down in a dramatic way. We have ceremonies where a new store has a grand opening, complete with ribbon cutting ceremony and lots of fanfare. We have ceremonies to christen a ship with a broken bottle of champaine and all the cheers of the crowd. Maybe there’s a brass band, maybe there’s fireworks, but can you imagine any promoter staging an earthquake? Or rocks splitting? Or thunder storms, hail storms, tornados?

How would a person safely control one of those things that we normally call a natural disaster, or an act of God? Who in their right mind would do such a thing? God has the power to create any of them whenever he wants. Whenever God gets up and moves, and displays his presence in the world, for one he’s usually mad about something. The mountains quake and the hills melt when God has to get up and teach his kids a lesson they won’t forget.

God is slow to anger. He doesn’t often use such terrifying events to get our attention. My dad used to do this thing when us kids were acting up. He would just sit quietly by watching us. Suddenly eye contact was made and his eyes lowered. You follow his eyes down to where they were looking and you saw it. Dad was tapping ever so gently with his index finger on the buckle of his belt. The wise kid would immediately stop the horsing around.

Woe to the unwise kid. The next warning was the unbuckling of the buckle. Now worries, dad is still just sitting there with that calm, watchful look, but if a smart kid knows what is good for him, he will stop and make great pains at avoiding any sign of loud behavior. You knew all your chances were gone when dad sprang to his feet, belt leather clear of all loops in a split second. The storm would rage without mercy until dadleft no bottom unturned.

In the instance of our verse today, there is a grand opening event. An opening that had world wide proportions. To launch this profound occasion the body of Jesus was sacrificed and broken. He is the item of value that is sacrificed, as in times of old, to show the depth and intensity of the covenant being signed and sealed. A precious thing was lost. One that meant so much to God that he demonstrated his feelings by the darkening of the sky, there were earthquakes, rocks split, and the temple veil was torn in two.,

There is a comparison to Jesus and the veil. The veil was a barrier that separated men from God’s most holy place. Nobody could enter without taking special precautions. Only the best behavior would be tolerated, every act within that space had to be letter perfect. The veil is what kept men out.

Jesus is the veil. He is the model of perfection. He is the human form of what the veil stands for. Nobody is perfect, and there is no hope of approaching God. Jesus represents the top standard of what a person needs to be to get to God. He marks the boundary and our limits on drawing near to God.

The veil was ripped in two. Jesus body was broken. The torn veil now was an open door for people to get into the most holy place of God on earth. Where the broken Jesus is, now opens the door to get to the most holy spiritual place of God.

The door that Jesus opened is open for all people of all races and nationalities. God can be known, and now there’s no excuse not to. The only thing keeping you out is you. If you’re seeking him, come on in and get to know him.

Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than

that of Abel.

–NKJ

Some Background: Jesus is our mediator. What does that mean? He is the one who goes between us and god. It is said that religion is all about how we should live our lives in a moral way, being at peace with others and ourselves. If that were all there was to it, you could pick among hundreds of religions. There are a lot of teachings, and ways to live a nice life. None of them have any promise of what lays beyond life. To spend eternity with God, the only way there is through Jesus.

New covenant. This is  what salvation is all about. From the moment of the first sin, mankind lost all hope of being with God face to face. We are doomed to die, and nothing we can do can elevate us back into any life beyond that. The Old covenant was full of reminders of that shortcoming. Animal sacrifice, and animal blood served only as a reminder of the loss of living with God. It did contain symbology and hinted at a better sacrifice to come.

Blood. Covenants were very serious agreements. To show the depth of what they meant, old testament people often sealed the deal with a sacrifice. Killing an animal so the blood shed also represented the price that should be paid if either party broke the agreement.

The ways that speak of Abel means the good teachings of regular old prophets. According to the book of Hebrews, Abel is counted as the first, and Zechariah is the last among the Biblical prophets. The Bible is full of good teachings. Abel wasn’t around for much in scriptures, but from him we can learn what God expects from our attitudes with our offerings to him. From other prophets, there is a host of do’s and don’t's that help us to live happily in society. We learn how to get along with our fellow man. That’s good. We learn certain actions that demonstrate our respect to God. We all live happy little lives and then… die. With the new covenant, with the price of blood that was paid by Jesus, we have a much better agreement, covenant, with God.

Sometimes a dispute occurs between people. Each one has their own view point, and believe they are right,but the more that ideas are expressed, the further apart they grow. Communication has broken down. Both parties get to where they keep saying the same thing, but nobody seems to be listening, and the relationship grows weaker, less productive, and soon could break entirely. It happens in marriages. It happens when workers go on strike. It can happen in any relationship. The thing to do is call in a mediator.

The Bible tells us that we do have a mediator. Jesus is our way to get to God, and our way to get to know God. Jesus is the only way. Many roads may lead to Jesus, but he is the only bridge to cross over to God.

1 Peter 1:19
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

–NKJ

How does salvation come? “with the precious blood of Christ,” Salvation isn’t so much being saved from something, as it is being saved to something. It might better be thought of as being set apart, or reserved for a future purpose. All of us are made in the image of God. We all have souls that will go on into an after life. Being saved means that we are being reserved to be in God’s kingdom of life, not experiencing an eternal death.

Salvation means to have a reservation. God’s heaven is akingdom that can only be entered into if we have a reserved seat. Our reservation into that kingdom of eternal life is through the blood of Jesus. It is the price that is set for the new covenant that allows us to be included. .

A covenant is a serious agreement. So serious that to seal the deal, and show how much it means to each party, something valuable is broken or killed. The idea is that, “i agree so much, and am so committed in keeping this agreement that I’m willing to sacrifice and kill my best sheep, for example.” An echo of this can be seen in modern Jewish marriages, where a glass is broken to seal the vows. Something worthy, something valuable, and pure is sacrificed to show the extent of the commitment, and the high price that is paid.

There will be many people who won’t be there in God’s heaven. The price of the reservation is too high. Contrary to popular belief, there is no big scorecard in the sky. Even if there was, it isn’t a matter of having enough good points to outweigh the bad points. To get in, there can be no bad points at all. In simple terms, only those who are good can enter in. Under the legalistic idea, if a person had 50  bad marks, and 51 good marks, he might get in. All that proves is that the person is half bad. Not good enough.

In reality, no person is good enough. The smallest of bad mars is all it takes to keep a person out of God’s kingdom. From the time of the first sin, God had a plan, and a price to pay. The plan was Jesus. The price was blood, and only the blood of Jesus.

Jesus is standing by to wash everything away and take all the bad parts out, he washes us clean. We can enjoy all the perks of being included in God’s heaven because of him.

So, how do we get this cleansing? It takes just a little effort on our parts. Believe that God is really real, and that sin separates us, and keeps us away from knowing God as well as we should. Believe that there is a real penalty for sin, that God has a plan to pay that price. Believe that Jesus is that price. That’s really it. Now that you believe in that, you’ll want to express your gratitude andobedience to him and live life according to his ways.

Start to know God better. Use the words of the Bible to grow in a relationship with him. His rules for life are more liberating than burdensome, and the rewards are more than anybody can imagine.

Hebrews 13:13

Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

–NKJ

Let us go forth to him, outside the camp… Jesus was crucified outside the city. The word “camp” means the

structured rank and file that take place when troops in the field pitch tents and have them lined up on each other.

Like the arrangements of the houses on our blocks, and the blocks of our towns, all lined up in neat little grids.

We don’t always find Jesus in our daily, ordered lifestyles. His monument to what he has done for us lays outside

the city, outside of where we live. To be reminded of his memorial, we have to make an effort to visit it.

Take the time to step outside your structured routine right now. Stop and consider the meaning of the place where

Jesus died. The cross. The weight of our sin, and the depth of our shame keep us all from entering into God’s

kingdom, and being in his good favor.

Jesus came to take on all our sin, shame, defamation, reproach, and all those ugly adjectives. The price was a

terrible one, but one that he freely and completely paid.

When the griefs of this life have you down, go to him. It really isn’t that far to step outside your routine. Carry

your shame and sorrows to him and lay them at his feet. Leave them there. Let Jesus handle it and take them away.

The price for removal has already been taken care of whether you seek relief or not. A personal cross for Jesus is

sometimes necessary, but why continue to carry all the burdens that you don’t have to? Let Jesus take what he paid

for.

Focal Passage Outline and Scripture Passages:
Remembering Jesus’ Promise (Luke 24:1-8)
Confirming Jesus Lives (Luke 24:36-40)
Believing Scripture’s Testimony (Luke 24:44-46)

Background Passage:
Luke 24:1-53

 Focal Passages:
 Luke 24:1-8,36-40,44-46

What This Lesson Is About:
According to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ resurrection was announced by angels, confirmed by His physical presence with disciples, and prophesied in Old Testament Scriptures. This lesson focuses on these proofs of Jesus’ resurrection. It points out that personal faith in Jesus’ resurrection is not in vain; thus hope stands secure of life in heaven after life on earth.
 
How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life:
This lesson challenges learners to believe and celebrate that Jesus is the living Lord and Savior.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

There is a person who is known to be sinless. It was Jesus. Just by having that distinction, he holds a place that is over us. We are the ones who continue to sin. We just keep on doing it.

Jesus is over us, as in higher in rank, but also in a way so as to cover us. It’s like having a screen, or a filter that God sees through the body of Jesus, and through to us. Though we are sinful, the covering of Jesus makes righteous to appear before God.

My parents used to have a bible, they probably still do somewhere in their house, that had a section with a red cellophane page, and one with a drawing that was supposed to represent our lives. The drawing was marred with big red words. A list of various sins that the Bible teaches about. Things that we all do. With those red marks, the illustration that represented a life was hard to see, and made a very confusing picture.

Turn the page, and place that red cellophane page over it, just the way Jesus covers our sins, and all the redmarks just seem to disappear. The marks of sin are still there, but through the filter of Jesus, God sees the beauty in our lives and not the sin.

Let Jesus be your filter. Claim your place in the family of Jesus today. Read the page  about ‘How to be Saved.’ If you are already there, keep abiding in him, like the branches and the vine in John 15:1-17. Though we are sinful, strive to use Jesus as your model for life.

Focal Passage Outline and Scripture Passages:
Voices in the Crowd (Luke 23:33,35-38)
Surprised by Grace (Luke 23:39-43)
Seeing in the Dark (Luke 23:44-49)

Background Passage:
Luke 23:1-56

Focal Passages:
Luke 23:33,35-49

What This Lesson Is About:
Luke’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion and people’s responses to Him demonstrate that when people believe Jesus is God’s Messiah they experience forgiveness and eternal life.

How This Lesson Can Impact Your Life:
This lesson will help you experience through Jesus, the crucified Lord, forgiveness of your personal sins, and hope of life in heaven.

Background Passage:  Isaiah 49:1–53:12
Lesson Passage:  Isaiah 53:2-12

LESSON PASSAGE OUTLINE
 1.  Unrecognized Sacrifice (Isa. 53:2-3)
 2.  Costly Sacrifice (Isa. 53:4-6)
 3.  Voluntary Sacrifice (Isa. 53:7-9)
 4.  Effective Sacrifice (Isa. 53:10-12)

BIBLICAL TRUTH
God has provided salvation for sinners through the voluntary atoning sacrifice of His Suffering Servant.

LIFE IMPACT
To help adults give thanks to the Lord for the gift of salvation He has provided