Center of the Universe

Lesson Theme: Creation

“Where did everything come from?” is, perhaps, the one of the oldest questions that still seems to have gone un-answered. (Any question, if it is properly answered, shouldn’t keep coming back up, right? Unless the answer is unclear, unshared, or unapplicable.) While popular opinion from a great host, if not the majority of authoritative resources simply references “The Big Bang” theory.

But, if the ‘Big Bang’ is really a viable solution, shouldn’t we be able to ask, “Does the Universe have a ‘center?’  If so, where is it?”

With the strongest evidence that the Big Bang happened 13.8 Billion years ago because of Red Shift, surely we should just be able to build a computerized model to ‘rewind’ everything to when all matter was just a single point, and see where the ‘true’ center of the universe is, right?

It would be like reversing the burning cinders of a firework to determine at what point/location it detonated. Would that be scientifically impossible?

Actually, it could be easy with fireworks, because all it would take is someone to observe them and document it…

… but then, that is beginning to sound an awful lot like the Biblical account, isn’t it?

Check out these resources:

Center of the Universe – Lesson

Center of the Universe – PowerPoint

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

— Genesis 1:3

Ways of Witnessing Extra

Lesson Theme: What else can I do to share the gospel?

If Jesus taught that they were in the last days, how much MORE so does the day approach that our Savior will return?!?

There are many Christians who relegate their witnessing to a specific scheduled time slot… Others take advantage of every single opportunity as the Lord sends it. But what if there were yet even MORE ways to share the gospel?!?

There are many shining examples of this in the community in which I work. One lady built a public prayer chapel in her front yard (she lives along a very well traveled highway) and paid to have a large LED sign proclaiming Salvation is Only In Jesus! She witnesses to everyone who stops by, and keeps a careful prayer journal of those who give her a hearing.

A neighbor who lived a few miles down the road complained to me about the ‘light pollution’ her sign puts out on the evening sky.  Funny, how could he notice when he spends his evenings streaming movies on his 55″ TV in his living room each night?!?  I was under the direct impression that it was the message on the sign he may have had more of a problem with. When I asked him if this was the case, he quickly replied, “No, no. I like the message, but I just wish she could find something smaller or less intrusive. I think it offends people.”

… Isn’t this kind of like complaining about the light pollution of a lighthouse beacon?!?  Why would any Christian wish to enjoy their ‘storm’ in peace?!?

Check out these additional ways to share the gospel.

 

Ways of Witnessing Extra – Lesson

Ways of Witnessing Extra – PowerPoint

 

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”

— Luke 11:33

What Was Adam’s Sin

Lesson Theme: Rebellion

It is not uncommon to hear challenges such as the following:

“If God made man a sinner, that is, with a sinful nature, it would be nothing short of cruel and unreasonable for Him to punish us.“

It’s like excusing sin by saying, “God made me this way.”   Which is no more logical than excusing the crime by saying “Society made me this way.”

Are we devoid of personal responsibility for our actions because sin comes as naturally to the sinner as a song does to a bird, or notes flow from an instrument?

It is statements like this that hold great significance because Calvary is either an unmerited grace of pure love…. or it was some sort of obligation to pay for a Deistic mistake!

“The Fickle Finger of Fault points to no solution”, for the responsibility of sin surely rests somewhere.

 

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

What Was Adam’s Sin – Lesson

 

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

— Romans 5:12

Will My Good Outweigh My Bad

Lesson Theme: Can Salvation Be Earned?

Once I get to Heaven, does God determine if my good outweighs my bad? Where did this widely held belief or impression come from anyway?  And if it isn’t so, then why did Jesus say in John 5:

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.“

Lets take a look at this popular ‘doctrine’ that so many religions virtually underscore in the light of the Scriptures.

 

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

Will My Good Outweigh My Bad – Lesson

 

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

— Titus 3:5

The Widow and the Oil

Lesson Theme: The Object Lesson of the Cursed Fig Tree

What is the difference between a Miracle and a Prophecy?

  • BOTH are supernatural acts of God, right?
  • Both are in accordance to the Sovereign Will of God
  • Both are in complete harmony with His expressed Character
  • Both bring honor and glory to God.
    Both bring God a measure of pleasure.

Could it be that the only difference between the two is the viewpoint by which we observe God’s Hand at work? Miracles are observed in the present.   Prophecy is most often realized far after the fact.

Sometimes we read the phrase, “And it came to pass” and interpret it as, “this is what happened next.”

 

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

The Widow and the Oil – Lesson

 

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is non else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

— Isaiah 46:9-10

The Failing Fig Tree

Lesson Theme: The Object Lesson of the Cursed Fig Tree

I’ll admit, when I first read this story, I was pretty quick to take up an offense for the poor fig tree.  It’s not the tree’s fault that it is not in season.  What do you expect?!?   This tree is completely innocent in this crime!

Is Christ being an unrighteous judge, perhaps influenced by His hunger?

When we ask ourselves the following questions, this story goes from odd to downright perplexing!

Q1: Is this fig tree bearing fruit?

Q2: WHY isn’t it bearing fruit?

Q3: Is it the tree’s fault that it is not in season?

Ultimately, WHO set up the seasons? Who should have known better than to expect an out-of-season fig tree to be abundantly stocked with figs?  Was someone supposed to be taping them up there for just such an occasion?!

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

Obviously, if our Saviour can fast for 40 days in the wilderness, disappointed hunger certainly isn’t the motivator here. But rather, could it be possible that this tree’s purpose isn’t to bear fruit, but rather to be an object lesson?

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

The Failing Fig Tree – Lesson

 

“And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.”

— Jonah 4:9

A Matter of Law

Lesson Theme: Which Commandments are OK to break?

How many times have you been to churches that teach sometimes we are supposed to observe old testament laws, and sometimes it seems perfectly acceptable to break them.   Who is right on this issue?  How can we possibly know which ones are ok to break?   Who decides?  Surely not our culture around us, right?

Modern society teaches us that right and wrong are ambiguous at best. That, instead, there is only Legal and Illegal.  What is illegal today is ‘currently wrong’ and may be legal in the future, in which case, it is acceptable and there is ‘nothing wrong’ with it.  Does God’s Law work this way?

Romans 7:1-13 paints quite a fascinating picture of the power of sin… the picture is that of a marriage union. The marriage is only dissolved when one of the two dies. (You DID know that marriage is a permanent thing, right?  The trouble with my generation is, from tattoos to marriages, the Thought-to-Permanance ratio tends to be very shallow.) Sadly, we all were BORN into this marriage of SIN and it has power over us, holding us in bondage. It is the master, and the sinner is the slave.  The law EXPOSES this unholy union.  The law reveals our horrible destination.  The only way out is death. (Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death) (You know that dead people cease from their sin, right?) But, there is another solution to this mess…

 

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

A Matter of Law – Lesson

 

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

— 1 Corinthians 10:31

Is God Always Fair to Priests

Lesson Theme: Is God Always Fair

Perhaps little is more telling of our modern value system than then incessant vexing desire to find out where the fickle finger of fault points to after a tragedy.

It is almost as if we can all sigh collectively that it isn’t ‘us’ this time, but rather, it was ______________’s fault, and they need to fix this.

We may never know who first quoted, “People will balance guilt with blame.”

In this weeks lesson, it is time to put on your thinking caps, and lets look at a puzzling account of a high priest in the Bible.

It is no secret that King Saul was an unstable man. His preoccupation of hunting down David bordered on derangement! In a fit of madness, he had the priests executed who offered aid to David by giving him to eat of the showbread.

Q:  Why would God allow these preists, who honestly believed David was simply doing the will of the King, to die without mercy at the hand of an unstable king?

But it may surprise you to find out who’s fault it was that these priests were executed.

You can find this story, in which David, running for his life from Saul, pauses by the temple to gain a sword and something to eat in 1 Samuel 22.

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

Is God Always Fair to Priests – Lesson

 

“Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

— 1 Samuel 22:9-10

The Sinful Census

Lesson Theme: Understanding the Sinful Census

In one of the more puzzling accounts of Israel’s history, King David numbers the people, and for some reason, this constitutes as a sin. So much so that God punishes the people of Israel.

But, the strange quirk of it is, the Scripture tells us in one place that God leads David to number the people, and in another place, the Scripture tells us that Satan puts it in David’s heart to number the people.  Is this a conflict of interest?

If a constant irritation makes pearls, then any time we come across a portion of Scripture that seems irritating and almost surreal, than there OBVIOUSLY must be more going on here than what we see at a passing glance.

This week we are going to explore a ‘supposed contradiction’ in the Scriptures, and solve a puzzle of ‘Why would God put it in David’s heart to number the people and then punish him for it?  What is so sinful about a census, anyway?’

Note:  No PowerPoint lesson today. Let’s just use our Bibles and make some notes in the margins.

The Sinful Census Lesson

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

— Proverbs 21:1

Understanding Eternal Judgment

Lesson Theme: Why does hell have to be eternal?

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
‘Mum, look what I found,’ the boy called out.
‘What have you got there, dear?’
With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered,
‘I think it’s Adam’s underwear!’

We want fast, performance, fuel-efficient cars.  We want our phones to be like computers and our computers to have more phone-like apps. We want free apps on our phones but do NOT want the ads. We want movies to stream for free but do NOT want the ads.

Mankind is perpetually perplexed trying to invent a bigger 3×5″ card. But no matter how creative or inventive… we are disappointed that it isn’t as portable as the old 3×5″ card.

Just like this, man wants a loving, good, kind, benevolent God… WITHOUT the eternal damnation part.

In this week’s lesson, let’s look at WHY hell would have to be eternal.

Understanding Eternal Judgment – PowerPoint

Understanding Eternal Judgment – Lesson

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

— 2 Thessalonians 1:9-10