Church Construction 2013

May 2013 - Planting the Garden

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 2, The Catching Up Of The Saints, October 2nd, 2016

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 2, The Catching Up Of The Saints, October 2nd, 2016

Preparing for His Coming, Part 2 The Catching Up Of The Saints     Central Thought: Every believer should prepare for the catching-up.   Hymn: “When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall Sound” Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:50-55; 1 John 3:2-3     We continue our series of study on “preparing for His coming”, as we consider an event popularly called the “Rapture”. The word rapture is not used in the Bible but it means the “catching up” of the saints, both dead and alive, to meet the Lord in the air. The certainty of the resurrection of the Christian rests on the fact that Christ Himself rose from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23. The scriptures nowhere enjoin us to attempt to calculate the date, month or year as some have done in the past and exposed themselves to ridicule.  The prospect of the rapture teaches us that it is not important whether Christ meets us dead or alive physically.  What matters is that we remain faithful to the end.  There are only two options for the faithful: we are either both changed and caught up in the air if we are still alive or we will be raised imperishable, if we were dead.  We must daily look forward to his coming and be prepared as the consequences of missing the rapture will be grave.     Lesson Objectives: To understand what the catching up of the saints mean. To know the form, the event will take. To know how we should prepare for this great event.   What is the meaning of the phrase “catching up of the saints”? It stands for an event in the future when the Lord will raise “the dead in Christ”, give them instant spiritual bodies and they will rise to meet Him in the air. Similarly, faithful Christians who are still alive will have their physical bodies transformed to spiritual ones and in the twinkle of an eye they too will ascend to meet the Lord in the air.   What form will these events take? 1 Corinthians 15:52 It will occur suddenly, with no prior warning. The Lord will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. The dead will be raised imperishable first, 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16. The resurrection of the dead is a definite teaching of scripture and the dead in Christ will experience this at the Lord’s coming in the air.  Ultimately at the white throne judgement all the dead will be resurrected to face final judgement.  The resurrection of the dead in Christ is not for judgement but an experience of the redemption (salvation) of the body and a necessary experience for them to enjoy the rewards of the kingdom and partake in the eternal authority and government of Christ which will be established subsequently. Faithful Christians will also be changed and caught up to be with the Lord. The spiritual body will be like the one Christ received at resurrection, “we shall be like him”, 1 John 3:2.  Just as Christ disobeyed the natural law of gravity as he ascended into heaven, believers from all around the world will do likewise in a flash, in response to the...

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 1, Signs of the End Time, September 25th, 2016

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 1, Signs of the End Time, September 25th, 2016

Preparing for His Coming, Part 1 Signs of the End Time     Memory Verse: Matthew 24:12-13 NIV – “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”   Daily Devotional Guide: Monday: There shall be many false teachers in the last days. Matthey 24:10-11; 2 Peter 2:1-3 Tuesday: Sin will become common and the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12 Wednesday: Men’s hearts will grow faint. Luke 21:26 & 34 Thursday: We must contend earnestly for the faith. Jude 3; Matthew 24:12-13 Friday: The Father loves us and will provide our needs. Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 6:33 Saturday: We must watch and pray. Luke...

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 1, Signs of the End Time, September 25th, 2016

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Preparing for His Coming, Part 1, Signs of the End Time, September 25th, 2016

  Preparing for His Coming, Part 1 Signs of the End Time     Central Thought: The coming of the Lord is at hand!   Hymn: “When the Trumpet of the Lord Shall Sound” Text: Matthew 25:3-51; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 Peter 4:7     At the fall of man, God promised that the “seed of the woman” will crush the head of Satan, NIV. With time, the prophets gave more details about the first coming of Jesus Christ, Isaiah 53:1-12. However, at the time the promise was fulfilled, the religious order of the day was caught unawares. Their expectation of Messiah was blurred by personal bias and opinions and the political state of Israel.  They expected a political deliverer.  God may not have told them exactly when Christ would come but the circumstances of His birth, life, ministry and death were clearly spelled out, but “…the world did not recognize Him when He came”, John 1:10b NLT. Jesus is coming soon. Again, the events that will signal His second coming and the end of the age are clearly taught in the Scriptures.  We must be prepared, lest we should be taken unawares.  “For you know very well that the day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying “peace and safety”, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape”, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3. In this study, we will examine the signs of the end time. It is our prayer that the Lord will keep us all awake and alert at His coming.  Amen.     Lesson Objectives: To understand the events that will herald the end of the age. To understand the effects these events will have on men. To state how believers must handle the events of the last days.   Identify the events that will herald the end of the age. -Spiritual events, Matthew 24:4, 9-12, 24; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 4:3-4 The last days, which we are already in, will be characterized by deception. There will be an unusual emphasis on signs and wonders, many of which will be performed by false teachers and prophets to draw men after themselves.  The Bible says that the deception and the greatness of these lying signs and wonders will be such as to deceive even the elect – if that were possible!  Matthew 24:24 Secondly, “the love of most will grow cold”. The love of Christ will grow cold in the church and be replaced by the love of self, money and pleasure.  Men will have a form of godliness but their lives will be the exact opposite of the teachings of Christ.  They will troop to churches with leaders that tell them what they want to hear.  The emphasis of the gospel will shift from Christ to self, money and pleasure.  As a result of this, those who stand firm will be ridiculed, persecuted, treated as out dated, not dynamic and not in touch with the times.  We must watch out! However, despite, the negative events “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations”, Matthew 24:14. The days we are in have witnessed the greatest push in preaching the...

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The Essence of Thanksgiving, 9/19 – 9/24, 2016

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The Essence of Thanksgiving, 9/19 – 9/24, 2016

The Essence of Thanksgiving     Memory Verse: Psalm 136:1 – “O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.”     Daily Devotional Guide: Monday: Cain & Abel. Genesis 4:1-16 Tuesday: Three annual feasts instituted. Exodus 23:14-19 Wednesday: David’s song of thanksgiving. 2 Samuel 22:1-15 Thursday: David’s song of thanksgiving. 2 Samuel 22:16-30 Friday: David’s song of thanksgiving. 2 Samuel 22:31-51 Saturday: God rejects the imperfect sacrifice. Malachi...

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The Essence of Thanksgiving, September 18th, 2016

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The Essence of Thanksgiving, September 18th, 2016

The Essence of Thanksgiving     Central Thought: Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude from the heart to the LORD.   Hymn: “When Upon Life’s Billows You Are Tempest Tossed” Text: Genesis 4:3-7; Psalm 34:1-3, 107:20-32, 124:1-8; Luke 17:11-19     Thanksgiving is a show of appreciation for the good that one has received from another. As Christians, the Scriptures admonish us to be thankful to God always in all things.  When we express thanks for what has been done for us, we simply place ourselves in position to attract more blessings. Unfortunately, we complain and grumble over what we think God has ‘failed’ to do for us and lose sight of the numerous things He has done for which we should be thankful to Him. We will always see the need to give thanks to God, if we reflect on the countless mercies and favor He lavishes on us.  As children of God, we should not wait until we are pushed before we see the need to thank Him.  This lesson is to stimulate us to thank God at the slightest opportunity without being cajoled.     Lesson Objectives: To understand what thanksgiving is. To identify some reasons why we should thank God. To discuss what we should thank God with. To identify some hindrances to thanksgiving. To discuss what should be the right attitude of Christians to thanksgiving.   What is thanksgiving? In trying to explain thanksgiving, let us first look at the words separately, for instance, thanks and giving. Thanks is expressing one’s gratitude or telling somebody that you are grateful for something that has been done, while giving is a continuous process of handing something to somebody to look at, use or keep or hand something to somebody as a present.  We can therefore say that thanksgiving is telling God that we are grateful for what He has done for us and showing Him gratitude in the process.  We should thank God from the depth of our hearts.   Identify some reasons why we should thank God. There are so many reasons why we must thank God always. We will mention just a few in this study. The first reason why we should thank God is that He made us in His image and likeness. We had no choice in deciding what we should be, it is purely god’s decision to make us human.  He could have decided to make us reptiles or any kind of animal or anything else, but out of His love, He made us who we are.  Scripture says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them”, Genesis 1:27.  For this we should be thankful. Secondly, that we are alive is another reason why we should thank God. It pleases God to give us life and we are not dead is worth thanking God for.  Most times, we are quick at seeing our colleagues or ‘mates’ we consider ‘better’ than us and so do not see why we should thank God.  We are however not quick to see those who are dead and therefore have no hope of doing anything to improve their situation.  As it is often said, the miracle of sleeping and waking is the greatest...

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Personal Evangelism, 9/12 – 9/17, 2016

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Personal Evangelism, 9/12 – 9/17, 2016

Personal Evangelism     Memory Verse: Mark 16:15 – “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’.”   Daily Devotional Guide: Monday: “We have found the Messiah”. Tell someone about the Messiah.  John 1:41 Tuesday: He that winneth a soul is wise. Proverbs 11:30 Wednesday: Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all to see.  Matthew 5:13-16 Thursday: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Matthew 28:19-20 Friday: There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. Luke 15:4-7 Saturday: It is the responsibility of every believer to preach the good news. Mark...

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Personal Evangelism, September 11th, 2016

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Personal Evangelism, September 11th, 2016

Personal Evangelism     Central Thought: It is the responsibility of every believer to reach out to the lost.   Hymn: “Must I Go and Empty Handed” Text: Acts 8:30-39; John 1:40-45; Matthew 10:1-8     The Lord Jesus left an instruction, an assignment, for His early disciples and for His followers who would believe in Him through them. It is the job of winning back the lost souls to God, the ministry of reconciliation. All who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ have this ministry of reaching out to those who have not believed. It is more common in the church to organize programs like crusades, drama night, praise night, etc. with the mind that some of the people invited to such programs would give their lives to the lord, which actually happens quite often. The Lord’s mind however is that every believer should be completely involved in this ministry of reconciliation.  We must tell somebody, one on one, about Christ at our work place, at school, on the streets and everywhere we find ourselves.  It is our duty both collectively and individually.  It does not end at the congregational meetings.  What about the neighbors at home?  What about passengers in your vehicles, the students in your class, your colleagues at work?  Who is going to tell the politicians about Christ and the professors that Jesus Christ is Lord and King?  We must tell somebody, who would in turn, tells somebody… and the news of our Lord’s finished work at Calvary would spread throughout the earth.  Every believer should see this as a call to duty, which must be obeyed./  let the engineers reach out to the engineers and the doctors to the doctors; let the lawyers tell their colleagues and the teachers their students that Jesus Christ is coming again and very soon.  Let everyone help reach the people in his profession and not limit himself to this!  This was the effective way that the Lord did it in those days.     Lesson Objectives: To understand what personal evangelism is. To know whose duty it is to evangelize. To highlight how personal evangelism can be effective. To discover some hindrances to personal evangelism. To appreciate some benefits of personal evangelism.   What is personal evangelism? Mark 16:15 Evangelism is considered in this study to mean preaching the good news to the people that have not heard, with the mind of winning them over to the Lord. It goes beyond switching religions. It is the whole process of reaching out to the lost souls and bringing them back to the Lord, their Creator, so that they can regain fellowship with Him. By this, the sinner becomes aware of his sinful stat and of the Lord’s saving grace and yields totally to Him. Personal evangelism then is the person-to-person act of reconciling sinners to God.  It is person-to-person in the sense that it involves the believer and the sinner and not the larger gathering or congregation.  It is a detailed process of reaching out to the unbeliever in particular.  The end result is conversion of the unbeliever to the faith.  This is different from group evangelism, which might involve reaching out to many people at the same time through some form of program or the other.  ...

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The Prodigal Son, 9/5 – 9/10, 2016

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The Prodigal Son, 9/5 – 9/10, 2016

The Prodigal Son     Memory Verse: Luke 15:20b – “But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”   Daily Devotional Guide: Monday: God’s judgement. Romans 6:23 Tuesday: God’s invitation. Matthew 11:28 Wednesday: God’s love. John 3:16 Thursday: Go and sin no more. John 8:11 Friday: Justified by grace. Romans 3:24-25 Saturday: God’s commission. Mark...

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The Prodigal Son, September 4th, 2016

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The Prodigal Son, September 4th, 2016

The Prodigal Son     Central Thought: Be God’s instrument to restore the lost.   Hymn: “Amazing Grace” Text: Luke 15:11-32; Matthew 18:12-14     The parable of Jesus regarding the prodigal son could be likened to a Christian who yielded to the attractions of pleasures of the world. The young many took his share of inheritance prematurely and bolted out: to be seen or heard from no more!  He then lived riotously until he came to himself, and decided to return home.  The Father received him joyfully and used very strong language, as in Luke 15:24, “…for this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found…”  Satan is a killer and those under his strong grip are actually “dead”.  The redeemed of the Lord should therefore see the unbeliever and the backslidden as “dead” that need to be brought back to life.  When we, Christians, see the unsaved or those wanting to return to the carnal world from this perspective, we would have love and compassion for them.  Even when they snob us let us embrace them, minister to their needs and bring them back to the sheepfold. This illustrates the depravity and depth of misery which sinners and backsliders slump into through disobedience. It also portrays slump into through disobedience.  It also portrays God’s love for those who are lost in trespasses and sins.  As His children, we should receive instruction and be guided.     Lesson Objectives: To explain the behavior of the prodigal son. To explain how we can combine the love of God with circumstances of life to win souls to God. To discuss the attitude of the Father to the prodigal son.   What category of people can be likened to the prodigal son in our contemporary world? From the text read, we can easily point out two groups of individuals that belong to the same class as the prodigal son in our contemporary world. These are the unbelievers who are yet to know Christ, and those Christians in backslidden state.  The spectrum of this group of people spreads from those that Satan has stolen to the ones he has killed including the ones ready for final destruction.  We must not allow them to perish.  We must strive to win them back.   What could have made the young man to abandon his rich home and country for a strange land? Luke 15:13 Probable reasons include: -Adventurous Spirit -Immaturity and youthful exuberance -Family disunity -Lack of parental control -Deep inner dissatisfaction The class should mention and discuss others.   What are some steps taken by the prodigal son in his efforts to return to his father? Luke 15:17-21 The first thing that strikes one in this passage is that the prodigal son ‘came to himself’. In other words, all the time he was doing all that he did, he was out of his senses. He realized that he was perishing with hunger while his father’s hired servants had enough to eat and spare. He was empty and could not find satisfaction in the things around him, so he decided to go to the one who can satisfy his hunger and need.  Many people today are under one negative influence or the other, but instead of “coming to...

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The God Fearing Child, 8/29 – 9/3, 2016

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The God Fearing Child, 8/29 – 9/3, 2016

The God Fearing Child   Memory Verse: Proverbs 9:10a – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”   Daily Devotional Guide: Monday: Joseph displays the fear of God as a houseboy. Genesis 39:6-9, 37:2 Tuesday: Moses displayed the fear of God. Hebrews 11:23-26 Wednesday: Daniel displayed the fear of God as a war captive. Daniel 1:3-8 Thursday: Timothy had a Godly heritage. 2 Timothy 1:1-5 Friday: Philip’s daughters feared God. Acts 21:8-9 Saturday: Responsibilities of the God fearing child. 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 2 Timothy 2:22; Ephesians 6:1-3; Proverbs...

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