Monthly Archive for September, 2009

John 5:39-40 (NLT): “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life.  But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”

 

CHRIST, THE ETERNAL WORD (John 1:1-18 NLT)

1:1In the beginning the Word already existed.

              The Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

2He existed in the beginning with God.

3God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him.

4The Word gave life to everything that was created,

and his life brought light to everyone.

5The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness can never extinguish it.

 

6God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

 

10He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

14So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

 

15John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’”

 

16From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

 

CHRIST, HIS MISSION (John 3:1-21 NLT)

3:1There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.2After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

 

3Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

 

5Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

 

9“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

 

10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

 

16“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 

18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

ADDITIONAL READING
1. Get a parent/guardian’s permission to go online and finish the below assignment.

2. Visit our church website at http://agapentf.com and search for “The world knows who He is”. Here you will find a copy of this lesson with the below two links for websites that contain information for ‘the Historical Jesus’.  Read the information.  The links are:
            • http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/the-historical-jesus-faq.htm
            • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/jesus/

Job 38:4 (NLT): “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much.”?

Genesis 1:1–2:3 (NLT): Creation
In the Beginning
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Day One: Light, Darkness
3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

Day Two: Sky, Waters
6Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8God called the space “sky.”
And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Day Three: Land, Sea, Vegetation
9Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
13And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

Day Four: Sun, Moon, Stars
14Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

Day Five: Birds, Fish
20Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.

Day Six: Animals, Humankind
24Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
29Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
31Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

Day Seven: Sabbath Rest
2:1So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Illustration of Creation (taken from http://nltstudybible.com/)

Homework
1. Get a parent/guardian’s permission to go online and finish the below assignment.

2. Visit our church website at http://agapentf.com and search for “Where were you when”. Here you will find a copy of this lesson with the below two links for websites that contain separate points of view for determining how old the earth is. One point of view is a secular view that tries to determine the age of the earth through scientific methods and the second point of view tries to determine the age of the earth through bible study. These links are:
• http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-age-of-earth.html
• http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/05/30/how-old-is-earth

3. Come to out next meeting prepared to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of the above theories.