i seem to have lost my lesson book, but i still have my bible, so i can still study.

I went to Bible Gateway where the verse of the day was somewhere in Hebrews 12. So i decided to read all of Hebrews 12. Parts of it that were especially special to me where Hebrews 12:1-12:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.⁵And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
   "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
      and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
      and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."^[a]

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? ⁸If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. ⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

It was crazy because on Sabbath in AY, we were discussing whether we though God makes bad things happen because we do no listen to him.

What I get from it al is that God loves us, so when we go astray, he punishes us. But also, the closer we get the Savior, the more persecution we will come face to face with.

Just something to think about. 

I need to get back at doing this. I stopped because i became lazy and i feel the need to start up again. I will post another time explaining…

The lesson that I will be using today is the collegiate lesson. I am in Cornerstone, but i kind of like this lesson better. So let’s get started. The topic for this week is Discipleship.

Here is the lesson (you will need Acrobat Reader or some other pdf file reader)

Testimony

He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil^[a] spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Matthew 10:1

Key Points

God wants us to be messenger and “agents to communicate the riches of his grace”

In order to be a disciple, we must be able to love. We must love God and out fellow brothers and sisters

We can not expect to succeed in the work of Christ without sacrifice

My Ideas

I think that we all want to be disciples of Christ. I honestly do. When you hear the message and learn about the love of Christ, you become happy and full of emotions, emotion that you want to share with everyone. However, I also think that sometimes the joy is short lived when you fine out you have to work, or sacrifice or do something else that was unexpected. But if we stop are we really disciples? I really do not know how to answer. However I know that I should try to share the love of Jesus with the people around me, and i should as the Lord to help me.

i know that that last paragraph was a bit sporadic and confusing, but i will get better, Lord willing.

~Kriss

school is quickly coming to a close and i want to begin faithfully writing here. my goal for this month is to purchase a journal to document my worship and my prayers. i hope to be create  a schedule this way. i thought of using the blog, but prayer is something deep and personal and i found this public medium not appropriate.

: | : kriss : | :

I tried to start up blogging again, and look what happened. I skipped two whole days. TWO DAYS!! I don’t know what is up with me. Let’s get started:

Monday

This week’s lesson chronicles the efforts of God’s people over time to follow God’s leading in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. After initially proceeding with great energy to rebuild the Temple, God’s people in the time of Cyrus lost heart in the face of armed intervention. What terms or conditions would dissuade you from doing God’s work today? Have you ever felt resistance as you sought to serve God with all your heart?

Hmmm…that is an interesting one. I have to say that there are many things today that could persuade one to stop doing God’s work. There are bad influences and pressures all around me on a daily basis. You have your friends, parents, family, TV, music, and whole bunch of other distractions that could eventually stop you from your purpose. Me personally, I think that my weakness,  would be music or TV. I try not to get involved, but sometimes, I find myself behaving in ways that I do not normally, and  acting like something I saw or hear. What about you? What would persuade you? Tell me your answers in the comments box.

Tuesday

Flashlight

“This was a time of wonderful opportunity for the Jews. The highest agencies of heaven were working on the hearts of kings, and it was for the people of God to labor with the utmost activity to carry out the decree of Cyrus. They should have spared no effort to restore the temple and its services, and to reestablish themselves in their Judean homes. But in the day of God’s power many proved unwilling. The opposition of their enemies was strong and determined, and gradually the builders lost heart” (Prophets and Kings, p. 572).

The Flashlight quote taken from Ellen White’s Prophets and Kings notes that the Temple builders in the days of Babylonian King Cyrus lost their enthusiasm for following God’s leading in rebuilding the Temple. Has there been a time in your family or church family when people have lost heart after initially following God’s leading? Have you ever been involved with an effort to build a church, literally with your labor, perhaps as part of a short-term mission project? What impact did that experience have on you? Have you been or are you part of a project to raise funds for a new church home for your congregation? If so, was or is the congregation fully supportive, or is it divided? The Old Testament Temple builders were guided by prophets, so there was strong evidence of God’s leading. How do we discern God’s leading today?

I have been attending my church since I was born, and I have seen many people come and go. I have seen youth older than me, be pathfinders, be baptized, and then leave the church. I have seen people be baptized and then after a while leave the church. I have also seen people who are baptized come to the church and stay faithful and devoted to God.

Just recently my church did a revival tent meeting, and close to 30 people were baptized. The meeting was very powerful. Many of the sermons, and sessions gave me new insight on my life as a you Christian.

I remember a time briefly when I was younger, when my church was asked to help raise money for a new congregation. These new church was full of people who had just accepted the Advent message, people who were Baptist, nondenominational, and other thins before. I remember my church being decided about giving funds. People complained that the new congregation did not take the message serious, and that they still wore their earring and allot of other crock. Other members said that we must help them so that they can continue blearing the truth. It is crazy how Christians can be like that.

I believe that we see God’s power today through experiences. When he answers our prayers, or gives us blessings. That is the most obvious way I think we see it. If you have any other thoughts, put them below in comments.

Wednesday

The word “heart” is seen in the chosen Punch Lines as well as in Flashlight. The love and service to God noted in these texts are Christian hallmarks. Yet there are times when Christians may lose heart from any number of causes. Indeed, it may be that a Christian has done something truly evil, yet Samuel’s admonition to God’s people of his day to serve the Lord with all their heart remains true for us today. Through God’s grace we are given opportunity to claim His forgiveness for being faint of heart or worse.

punch lines
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorists, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15, NIV).

“‘Do not be afraid,’ Samuel replied. ‘You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart’” (1 Samuel 12:20, NIV).

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’” (Matthew 22:37, NIV).

There isn’t much to say here. Think about the punch lines, and the statements that they said. We as Christians, loose faith for many reasons, but we have to keep trucking on.

I must apologize to the minimal amount of readers that I have about me not posting. I feel extremely irresponsible. I ave been very busy. However, I have some good news. I have been invested as a Ranger!!! Yeppers, I was going to do Ranger and Voyager, but it just didn’t work out. Any-who, let’s get down to business. I am in the Corner Stone lesson, so that is what I will be writing about today. I am going to be studying the Sabbath and Sunday Lesson. If anyone has a good way in which they study their Sabbath School lesson please let me know. The book is not very clear on how they want it done.

You can study along here. (You will need Acrobat Reader to open this)

Sabbath: Sometimes I am not so good, and I study my Sabbath lesson on Sunday. I usually read the Into the Story and answer the Out of the Story questions. Then I do whatever the activity is under the Sabbath heading…

Our story this week is coming from Ezra 5:1, 2; 4:23, 24; 6;1, 7-12, 14

Out of the Story

Why did the Temple rebuilders cease work during the reign of King Artaxerxes?

During the reign of King Artaxerxes, the work of the Temple rebuilders stopped, because Artaxerxes saw in the scrolls that Jerusalem was a place popular for revolt against the king. In fear that people would riot, he called for the immediate stopping of the building of the temple (Ezra 4:17-22)

The passage tells us that the prophets helped the Jews build the Temple. What does that tell us about the role of a prophet?

I believe that this tells us that the prophets were a major part in components of the temple. It means that prophets had to oversee the building to make sure it was going on correct. ( I was not so sure about this one, post ideas in comments*)

Why do you think King Darius was so kind to the Jewish people?

I believe that Darius was so kind to the Jewish people because he believed that God is real and that he could do harm. I believe that deep down Darius may have had the fear of God in him. ( Post other ideas in comments*)

What role did records maintained in archives play in Ezra’s chronicle of the Temple rebuilding?

Record were very important in the record rebuilding. They are what validated that the Jewish people had the authority to be building the temple. if Darius had gone to the records, and it came back that Cyrus had not given the people permission to build there, the story would be very different.

Does King Darius seem a bit big on himself? Well, he was! His capital city, Persepolis, was located in what is now Iran. Parts of his palace (circa 510 B.C.) are on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Persepolis was conquered, looted, and burned by Alexander the Great. Does the account of the efforts of God’s people to rebuild the Temple over time offer a lesson to us today regarding the unity or  identity of the Seventh-day Adventist church over time?

I am completely lost with this one. If you have any ideas, please post them in comments.

Sabbath Make It Real Questions:

Ezra 5:14 talks about the gold and silver utensils taken from the Temple by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, which were to be returned to the rebuilt Temple. What do you think the design and accoutrements of a church sanctuary today should include? What does Temple building in Old Testament times and today have to do with stewardship (both in time and resources)? Unity in the body of Christ? Identity as a church? Both? Neither?

I believe that today, the design and accouterments of a church sanctuary should be the best things that the church can afford. It should no be flashy nor over-elaborate. The sanctuary should be a calming place, that provides the congregation with an atmosphere that will help stimulate worship, and praise. It should be a place that is enjoyed and revered.

The Temple building of the Old Testament has to do with stewardship. I didn’t know what the exact definition of stewardship was, so I went the Adventist Stewardship website to find out. 

The starting point of stewardship is to recognize that God initiates stewardship. He gives us life and invites us into intimate partnership. This partnership begins with accepting Jesus Christ as Savior—experiencing the joy of Salvation. This then leads us to trust Him enough to accept Him as Lord or Owner of our lives.

Adventist Stewardship Website

As you see, that was not a very helpful answer. I looked in a dictionary and I found this:

n. One who manages another’s property, finances, or other affairs.

Compared with the one from the Adventist website, it is much better. Stewardship is taking care of God’s property, in this case his Temple. Stewardship played a very important role in the Old Testament building of the because people had to be willing to give up time and money, and other resources in order to build a Temple to their God.

It also has to do with the unity of the body of Christ (the Old Testament building of the Temple, not necessarily stewardship). In order for the Temple to be built, God children, had to come together, and unite, and be on one accord so that they could effectively and rapidly build a place where God could dwell with them.

Sunday Make It Real Questions:

Had you been one of those Temple builders, what would be going through your mind as you felt moved by God to do His work yet were faced with armed resistance? What about verbal resistance, as
Noah and Job faced? Rejection by a dear loved one, as Jesus experienced with Peter? The repeated opportunity for sensual pleasure that would pull you away from connection with and service to God, as was offered to Joseph?

If I was one of the Temple builders, I really do not know how I would respond. to any of those obstacles. I really do not think that I would be able to keep true to my task if I was faced with more than one of those. however, I do believe, that God place people who were strong, and faithful to build his temple. I do not think that just any ordinary person from the congregation built the temple. But that is just me. What do you think. Feel free to answer any of the lesson questions in the comments box*.

That’s it for today folks. See you tomorrow.

*If it is your first time posting, you will not see your comment come up automatically