debs4jc

This reminds me of Jesus' parable about the wheat and the tares. There will always be uncommitted people mixed in with the comitted believers of our church fellowships. While Jesus teaches us not to worry about weeding them out, we do need to guard against their influence. The word of God I'd our guide that never changes. Testing any new teaching or innovative idea against scripture will help keep us on the right path. Teaching from the word the true meaning of worship will also help. Hmmmmmm...it's been a long time since I heard a sermon on that tooic, come to think of it. I think many pastors are scared to address this topic.

Q2. (Ezra 3) Rebuilding the temple in order to restore worship is the point of all this work. Is your personal worship what it should be? What foundations do you need to lay again in your personal restoration and revival of faith? I'm sure that my personal worship is not ll that it should be. I know that I often let spending time with God slide when I get busy with other activities. Yet I will still find time for vegging out on the sofa in front of the TV. Ineed to make it a habit to seek rest and restoration in spending time in th presence of the Lord instad of turning to this familar and easy way to spend my "down time"

I think only some returned because of the hardships that would have been involved in such a journey. Those who stayed may have had legitimate reasons why the could not make the journey, but there were also some that had become comfortable where they were. After 70 years the younger people would not have even remembered their homeland. They would have only known about it from the teachings of their elders. This impresses on me the importance of passing down a longing for Heaven and for serving God to the younger generation. They are the ones we will need to take over what we will eventually not have the strength to do.

What does it tell us about the status of the Lamb that he is worshipped alongside "him who sits on the throne"? (5:13-14) It tells us that Jesus must be equal to God (In fact He IS God) because no being deserves the same worship given to the Father except The Father Himself. Jesus is our worthy, glorious, wonderful, praiseworthy, Lamb who is not only of God but who IS God. Praise be to the Lamb!

What's the significance of Christians "reigning on the earth"? Of being "priests"? Do you think we are to "reign" now or later (or both)? The significance is that Christ has not only redeemed us-He has redeemed us with a purpose. We have the priviledge of serving Him. We have the priviledge of being priests-which was once an exclusive priviledge given only to Aaron's family. Now all believers can enter the throneroom and have direct access to the Father through our prayers and petitions. We can intercede on the behalf of others, we can minister to them because of our status as priests. I think they are singing and celebrating our future reign in these verses. Someday we will be given future responsibities that are hard to even imagine now. We can certainly also prepare for this reign now, however, and I do think Christians reign in small capacities even now. When we take a part of this sinful, fallen world and use it for God's glory it is a part of the reigning process. Leading someone to Christ, celebrating Him in art and music, being the very best at our jobs-no matter what they are, these call all be examples of how Christians use the influence we have in the world to bring it into Christ's Kingdom.

What has the Lamb done to "triumph" (5:5) and so become worthy to take the scroll and open its seals? (Hint: See the "for" or "because" clause in 5:9 for the answer.) The Lamb has triumphed by His perfect obedience to the Father--He obeyed Him to the point of death on the Cross. Because of this He made it possible for men and women to be redeemed from sin so that they could serve the Father. Jesus' perfect obedience is what won Him the victory--may we follow in His example.

Decode (identify) each of the following symbols that relate to the Lamb (5:6): The lamb itself represents .... Standing after being slain indicates ... Horns represent .... Eyes represent ... The number seven carries the idea of ... To summarize, then, the Lamb has the qualities of being of ... The Lamb represents Jesus, the lamb that takes away the sins of the world Standing indicates His resurrection Horns represent His power and authority Eyes represent He is all seeing The number 7 carries the idea of perfection, completeness Jesus is the perfect complete sacrifice who triumphed over death and now reigns with all authority and power. Prais His name.

Why is the Lamb called "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" and "the Root of David"? What do these titles signify about him? He is called the "lion" to signify that He is the ruler-Messiah foretold in the Genesis prophecy. And now at this point in the Revelation narritive He is going to completely fulfil that role. As a "lion" He has power, authority, fierceness--He will rule over all the kings of the earth. The "root" title signifies that He is descended from David, and from the remnant of faithful Jews that were left after so many turned away from God. When Isaiah made those prophecies he was sent to warn the people of God's wrath but told that they wouldn't listen to him. God would cut down the tree that was Israel as a result--yet a stump, a faithful remnant would remain. From this "root"--and specifically from the descendents of Jesse/David would come the ruler-Messiah. So this is tying Jesus to His roots--pointing out His humanity and that He is the fulfillment of these prophecies. Just as John the Baptist pointed us to the Isaiah prophecies earlier, here it is done again. Now ALL the prophecy will be fulfilled, and the Lion takes his place as the rightful ruler of the Earth.

Q6. In what way does each celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipate a future Passover meal? (Matthew 26:29; Luke 13:28-29; 14:15; 22:30; Revelation 19:9; 1 Corinthians 11:26) The Future Marriage Supper of the Lamb No little cups of grape juice here our cups are filled to overflowing No thin wafers of bread our baskets have many pieces left over And the Bread of life stands at the head of the table no bitter herbs or saltwater tears all tears and suffering have been washed away no Angel of Death someone forgot his invitation sweet fruit, sweet fellowship, sweet drink, sweet love and the sweetest gift of all--being in the prescense of the Lord Jesus Forever Amen

Why should the words, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28) fill us with sorrow? Why should they fill us with joy? They fill me with sorrow because they indicate the suffering that my Lord Jesus had to go through. Blood cannot be poured out with inflicting pain and suffering. This had to be done because of my sin--oh how I wish it didn't have to be. But it was done to show the Father's love to me and to provide a way for me to be saved and join in the great marriage feast of the Lamb. That fills me with joy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q4. Why is it so important to forgive those who have offended us before partaking of the Lord's Supper? In what sense are the Lord's Supper and unforgiveness incompatible? God has given us intructions to examine ourselves before partaking of the Lord's supper. If there is unforgiveness in our heart it is far better for us to discover it there ourselves and take care of it (with God's help). If we don't, God will judge us. God is merciful, but He is also just too. This is clearly illustrated in the parable of the unrepentant debtor who did not want to forgive a small debt after he had been pardoned for a huge debt. If we can't forgive after being forgiven ourselves than God will judge us and hopes that we will learn our lesson. The Lord's supper is all about remembering Jesus' sacrifice which was given in order that we might be forgiven. It would be a slap in the face to God to participate and look like we were one of His people, when really we were harboring a grudge against a brother or sister in our heart. It would be like saying, "I really don't care how much you forgave me God, I don't want to remember that, It's more important to me that x person has done me wrong". Are we lost if we struggle with forgiveness even if we have accepted Christ? I don't think so, but we have a clear responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives so that we can be more forgiving.

What is the significance to us of drinking Jesus' blood and eating his flesh (John 6:53-56). Let's not argue whether this is meant literally or figuratively. Whichever it is, what does that act signify for us? Why was this such a radical idea for Jesus' disciples? (John 6:60, 66) In what way should it be a radical idea for us? Symbolically this could be seen as a way to explain how we have to "feed off" of Jesus in order to be fruitful and to live the Christian life. It reminds me of abiding in the vine--we have to so intimately identify with Jesus and abide in Him that it is as if we are feeding off of His body and drinking His blood. That takes commitment--on our part to keep coming to the table--and on His part to provide the meal. And providing the meal required the ultimate sacrifice of His death. To the disciples it would have seemed like a crazy idea to some, revolted others. I watched a movie where a group of people had to eat the bodies of the dead in order to survive after a plane crash in the mountains. They even made an agreement with each other that "if I die, it's OK for you to eat me". It disturbed me for days afterwards. Some would have left because of that, others because from the way Jesus said this they probably knew what kind of commitment he was asking from them. They realized He was not the conquering hero leader they wanted and they were unwilling to give Him that kind of commitment.

Q2. Compare the annual Jewish Passover celebration meal in Jesus' day with the Christian's celebration of the Lord's Supper. Where are the similarities? Where are the differences? Who: The passover was for Jews only, the Lord's Supper is observed by all followers of Jesus When: The Passover was celebrated once a year in rememberance of the Exodus from Egypt. The Lord's supper is celebrated 'as often as we come together' in rememberance of Christ. Where: The passover was celebrated in Jerusalem, in Jewish homes. The Lord's supper is celebrated wherever Christians may be, in homes, in churches, outside, wherever. What: The passover consisted of lamb, unleavened bread, fruit puree, bitter herbs, and wine. It was a full meal. The Lord's supper is only wine and bread. How: The Passover meal is presided over by the head of the household, usually things are served in a traditional manner with ceremonial words and songs. The Lord's supper is usually presided over and served by men of the church, the ceremonies vary according to tradition but usually some words are spoken before the elements are served. Why: The Passover celebrated deliverance from the Angel of Death, the Lord's supper celebrates deleverance from Sin.

In what way did the lambs on the first Passover protect the families of God's people? (Exodus 12) What is the primary point of comparison between the first Passover lambs and what Christ did for us as our Passover Lamb? The lambs provided the blood which was smeared on the doorframes as a sign to the angel of death. When the families were obedient and did this in faith the angel passed over them. The blood of the lambs is like the blood of Christ, when applied by faith to our hearts it keeps us from death. Also, the blood on the doorframes is remarkably like the blood on the cross--if you traced the blood on the top downward and the blood on the sides across it would even make a cross. It was a foretelling of Christ's sacrifice for us. Christ sacrificed His body to provide the blood for us that would save us from death and give us life.

Extra Credit: In what sense have we been set free or released from slavery to sin? Why do we need the Holy Spirit to help us keep this freedom? The analogy of the caged bird really summed this up well! We have been set free, we no longer have the burden of striving to fulfill every requirement of the law. Yes, the sinful nature is still with us, but gradually through the work of the Holy spirit it diminishes. As in the cage illustration, over time the Spirit helps us to stay out of the cage more and more and experience the joy of flying free. The Holy Spirit also helps us because we no longer have the rules of the law. We don't have things spelled out for us to that in each situation we know we are to do xyz. The Spirit guides us and shows us how to live according to the "law of grace" so that we can become more like Christ. The Spirit also seals us--give us assurance--so that we know we belong to Christ. Satan has no power to us out of the Father's hand--there is no way we can lose our salvation when the Spirit resides within us.