8th grade student, Tyler O'Shea, gave our lesson on Sunday on "New Creation". Tyler reviewed the "fall" in Genesis 3 and talked about how sin separated us from God and also caused all of us to be born with a sinful nature. So before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we were created to live as Holy creatures with God in a perfect place.
Tyler then directed us to Hebrews 2:10 which says, "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering." Tyler spoke about how Jesus had to suffer to bring things back to the way God intended for them to be in the beginning.
He went on to show us in Galatians 2:20-21 that Paul writes to the church in Galatia saying, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."
In these scripture lessons and through a diagram that Tyler drew for us, we learned that we were meant to be Holy but because of the fall became separated from God and became Unholy. So to get us back to Holy (Heaven), we need a bridge and this bridge is Jesus dying on the cross and being raised to life. By accepting Christ and the salvation He gives us, we can cross that bridge. Nothing that we do, no right behavior (living by the law) can bridge the gap that was created by sin. Only accepting Christ and his sacrifice for us will provide us with that bridge.
Three questions that Tyler asked:
1. What does the fall mean for us today?
2. How are we saved from the Human sin of the fall?
3. What does it mean to be a new creation?
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Church (cont'd)- November 11, 2012
The Bible says a lot about what it means to be a church. The Book of Acts was written by Luke and is the history of the early church. In Acts 9 we read about Saul's conversion to Paul, and after discussing the conversion of a man who was persecuting those who followed "the Way", we talked about how and what God used this same man to do to form the early church. (One student in class explained that the story of Saul's conversion is important because it shows us how God can use anyone to do anything He needs and that He can make us new. I love that this student said that because our next lesson will be on "New Creation".) In the books of Roman - 2 Thessolonians, Paul, the writer of these books, gives advice through his letters to specific churches about theology and how to live in communion with one another. In the books of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, Paul writes letters to give specific church leaders advice on caring for their congregation. He also writes about what kind of person should be pastoring and overseeing a congregation. We read 1 Timothy 3:1-7 as our scripture lesson on what exactly the Bible says in regard to those that oversee our congregation and for justification on those who are set apart to oversee.
Our church lesson continued with some brief discussion on a history of Kingwood United Methodist Church. KUMC was the 2nd church built in Kingwood. The church was started on Jan. 26th, 1972 with 6 couples in attendance and was called Trailwood Methodist Fellowship. They started by meeting in someone's home and did this until membership grew to 30 people. They then moved to Forest Cove Civic Center. On Nov. 26, 1972, KIMC had their charter service and 59 people joined on that Sunday. Jack Shelton became the first minister on Jan. 1, 1973 and remained at KUMC for 10 years. On July 21, 1974 we had a ground breaking ceremony for the original 8,000 square foot building which is now known as the gym. The first service was held in the new building on Dec. 31, 1974. The School for Little Children and Mother's Day Out started in 1975. 1976- 2nd building was proposed - Administration Building and completed in 1977. 1977- 2nd minister was hired as an associate - Wayne Middleton was hired to help grow the youth department. 1978- Church membership was almost 1,000 members and there was standing room only in the gym and every room was being used as a Sunday School room including the kitchen. 1979- ground breaking for the Sanctuary, G-building and E-building. All were completed in 1980. The first service in the sanctuary was held on July 13, 1980. 1979- the first music minister, Charles Tucker, was hired. 1981 - Society of St. Stephen was started and Wayne Middleton was replaced with Assoc. Minister and Christian Ed director, Don White. 2005- Renovation on the sanctuary to expand capacity and ground breaking for the K-building. Both were completed in 2006. Presently we have over 4,000 members, 7 buildings, 4 ordained pastors and a total church staff of 30 people not including the teachers of SLC.
So with a church this size, how many ministers do we have? How many people does it take to put a worship service together? After naming all the parts and details of the worship service such as ushers, the minister who preaches, acolytes, choir members, organist, greeters, and many others not mentioned, we concluded that it takes more than just the church staff to do all the different things to run the church and church services. All of us are called to minister. All of us are the church and are called to do the work of the church.
Table Groups:
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
How does this passage relate to our discussion about the people involved in planning worship and the other ministries of the church?
Our church lesson continued with some brief discussion on a history of Kingwood United Methodist Church. KUMC was the 2nd church built in Kingwood. The church was started on Jan. 26th, 1972 with 6 couples in attendance and was called Trailwood Methodist Fellowship. They started by meeting in someone's home and did this until membership grew to 30 people. They then moved to Forest Cove Civic Center. On Nov. 26, 1972, KIMC had their charter service and 59 people joined on that Sunday. Jack Shelton became the first minister on Jan. 1, 1973 and remained at KUMC for 10 years. On July 21, 1974 we had a ground breaking ceremony for the original 8,000 square foot building which is now known as the gym. The first service was held in the new building on Dec. 31, 1974. The School for Little Children and Mother's Day Out started in 1975. 1976- 2nd building was proposed - Administration Building and completed in 1977. 1977- 2nd minister was hired as an associate - Wayne Middleton was hired to help grow the youth department. 1978- Church membership was almost 1,000 members and there was standing room only in the gym and every room was being used as a Sunday School room including the kitchen. 1979- ground breaking for the Sanctuary, G-building and E-building. All were completed in 1980. The first service in the sanctuary was held on July 13, 1980. 1979- the first music minister, Charles Tucker, was hired. 1981 - Society of St. Stephen was started and Wayne Middleton was replaced with Assoc. Minister and Christian Ed director, Don White. 2005- Renovation on the sanctuary to expand capacity and ground breaking for the K-building. Both were completed in 2006. Presently we have over 4,000 members, 7 buildings, 4 ordained pastors and a total church staff of 30 people not including the teachers of SLC.
So with a church this size, how many ministers do we have? How many people does it take to put a worship service together? After naming all the parts and details of the worship service such as ushers, the minister who preaches, acolytes, choir members, organist, greeters, and many others not mentioned, we concluded that it takes more than just the church staff to do all the different things to run the church and church services. All of us are called to minister. All of us are the church and are called to do the work of the church.
Table Groups:
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
How does this passage relate to our discussion about the people involved in planning worship and the other ministries of the church?
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Church- November 4, 2012
We reviewed some of the things that happened at the Synagogue when the class went to Temple Beth Torah on Oct. 26th. Students said things like you read backwards from the hymn book, men wore small hats called yammica, they read in Hebrew not English, and the Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible. I asked what similarities they noticed in the service compared to our service. Some of the answers included: they worship God, they sing hymns, they read from the Old Testament. When I asked what the difference was the class responded that Jesus was the difference.
How rapidly did the early church grow? Acts 1:15- there were 120 persons; Acts 2:41- 3,000 persons were added; Acts 4:4- the number of men grew to 5,000.
In last week's lesson Matt Stone explained how after the resurrection some Jews converted to Christianity. But even in the early church people disagreed about how one needed to worship. The Jewish Christians felt that the Gentiles needed to be Jewish before they could be Christian. The Jews were caught up in the ways of the law and the Gentiles knew only that Jesus had died to free them from sin. This began the splitting of the church.
The splitting of the church kind of resembles a tree--the roots and trunk of the tree being the Early Church represented in Acts. The first split in the tree shows the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox church in the East. In the East small branches that arose from the Orthodox church were associated with specific countries such as the Greek Orthodox church, the Russian, and the Armenian Churches. In the West, a German Monk named Martin Luther called for reform of the Roman Catholic Church by posting his "95 Theses" or complaints on the door of the church. Luther felt like the church had so much emphasis on church tradition that it had distorted the truth of Scripture. This led to the Protestant Reformation which resulted in forming churches such as Lutheran, Calvinist (Reformed and Presbyterian), and Anabaptist (Mennonites and Amish).
Again, because the church is made up of imperfect people, the church split in England. King Henry VIII was a Roman Catholic who wanted a divorce from his wife and when it would not be granted by the Pope, he started the Church of England. Despite its controversial beginnings, the Church of England became an important denomination in England and in the United States. In the U.S. the Church of England is known as the Episcopal Church.
John Wesley, a minister in the Church of England, set out to reform the church. He emphasized God's grace, personal holiness, and social responsibility. Those who followed Wesley's method of holy living earned the nickname, Methodists. When the Church of England stopped sending clergy to the Americas during the Revolutionary War, Wesley ordained Thomas Coke as the first United States Methodist superintendent. Coke then ordained Francis Asbury and the two were the first bishops of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church.
How rapidly did the early church grow? Acts 1:15- there were 120 persons; Acts 2:41- 3,000 persons were added; Acts 4:4- the number of men grew to 5,000.
In last week's lesson Matt Stone explained how after the resurrection some Jews converted to Christianity. But even in the early church people disagreed about how one needed to worship. The Jewish Christians felt that the Gentiles needed to be Jewish before they could be Christian. The Jews were caught up in the ways of the law and the Gentiles knew only that Jesus had died to free them from sin. This began the splitting of the church.
The splitting of the church kind of resembles a tree--the roots and trunk of the tree being the Early Church represented in Acts. The first split in the tree shows the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox church in the East. In the East small branches that arose from the Orthodox church were associated with specific countries such as the Greek Orthodox church, the Russian, and the Armenian Churches. In the West, a German Monk named Martin Luther called for reform of the Roman Catholic Church by posting his "95 Theses" or complaints on the door of the church. Luther felt like the church had so much emphasis on church tradition that it had distorted the truth of Scripture. This led to the Protestant Reformation which resulted in forming churches such as Lutheran, Calvinist (Reformed and Presbyterian), and Anabaptist (Mennonites and Amish).
Again, because the church is made up of imperfect people, the church split in England. King Henry VIII was a Roman Catholic who wanted a divorce from his wife and when it would not be granted by the Pope, he started the Church of England. Despite its controversial beginnings, the Church of England became an important denomination in England and in the United States. In the U.S. the Church of England is known as the Episcopal Church.
John Wesley, a minister in the Church of England, set out to reform the church. He emphasized God's grace, personal holiness, and social responsibility. Those who followed Wesley's method of holy living earned the nickname, Methodists. When the Church of England stopped sending clergy to the Americas during the Revolutionary War, Wesley ordained Thomas Coke as the first United States Methodist superintendent. Coke then ordained Francis Asbury and the two were the first bishops of the newly formed Methodist Episcopal Church.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Church - October 28, 2012
Pastor Matt Stone spoke to the Confirmation class on Sunday about "Church". This was the first lesson of two on how we define "church" and the history of the church.
After having gone to the synagogue on Friday, Pastor Stone talked about what the difference between the Jewish faith and our faith. The short answer is "Jesus". The main difference between the Christian faith and the Jewish faith is "Jesus"- who he was, what he did, and what we believe about him.
Pastor Stone talked about how the church was formed from Jews and Gentiles by doing a demonstration. 1/3 of the class represented the Jews and the rest of the class the Gentiles. Then a few from the Jewish representation were separated out to demonstrate those who accepted Christ and became Christian and some from the Gentile group were pulled out to represent the Gentiles that became Christian. This Christian group was the representation of who the early church was.
What is Church? Possible definitions might include:
~"A group of people who love God and come together to worship, learn about God, and serve God's people."
~"A congregation or body of people, united together in the service of God."
Paul describes the church as the body of Christ. Each member of the church is a part of the body.
The Bible has a lot to say about what it means to be a church. The Acts of the Apostles gives the history of the early church, from its beginnings in Jerusalem to its spread throughout the Roman Empire. Paul's general letters (Romans through 2 Thessalonians) contain advice to specific churches about theology (salvation, who Christ is, and so forth) and how to live in communion with one another. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (Pastoral Epistles) give advice to specific church leaders about caring for their congregations. Revelation 2 and 3 contain messages to seven specific churches in Asia Minor.
One of the best descriptions of what it means to be the church appears in Acts 2: 43-47. We also read in Matthew 28:19 what Christ describes as the mission of the church, "Go and make disciples."
After having gone to the synagogue on Friday, Pastor Stone talked about what the difference between the Jewish faith and our faith. The short answer is "Jesus". The main difference between the Christian faith and the Jewish faith is "Jesus"- who he was, what he did, and what we believe about him.
Pastor Stone talked about how the church was formed from Jews and Gentiles by doing a demonstration. 1/3 of the class represented the Jews and the rest of the class the Gentiles. Then a few from the Jewish representation were separated out to demonstrate those who accepted Christ and became Christian and some from the Gentile group were pulled out to represent the Gentiles that became Christian. This Christian group was the representation of who the early church was.
What is Church? Possible definitions might include:
~"A group of people who love God and come together to worship, learn about God, and serve God's people."
~"A congregation or body of people, united together in the service of God."
Paul describes the church as the body of Christ. Each member of the church is a part of the body.
The Bible has a lot to say about what it means to be a church. The Acts of the Apostles gives the history of the early church, from its beginnings in Jerusalem to its spread throughout the Roman Empire. Paul's general letters (Romans through 2 Thessalonians) contain advice to specific churches about theology (salvation, who Christ is, and so forth) and how to live in communion with one another. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (Pastoral Epistles) give advice to specific church leaders about caring for their congregations. Revelation 2 and 3 contain messages to seven specific churches in Asia Minor.
One of the best descriptions of what it means to be the church appears in Acts 2: 43-47. We also read in Matthew 28:19 what Christ describes as the mission of the church, "Go and make disciples."
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Holy Spirit 2 - Oct. 21, 2012
The Holy Spirit is presented in 3 different images throughout scripture: Wind, Breath and Fire
The Holy Spirit is our sustainer. In someone's description of who the Holy Spirit is to them this was stated: "Jesus was at one time here on Earth as a human, living and communicating face to face with people. Now he is in Heaven so to communicate and help us he sent his spirit to live in us and keep us close to him."
In John 14: 15-17 we read: "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." And in John 14: 25-27: "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Billy Graham is quoted as saying, "The world can argue against Christianity as an institution, but there is no convincing argument against a person who has been made Christlike." When we accept Jesus and grow closer to him, He changes us for the better. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and begins to grow his fruit in us. (Read Galatians 5: 22-26) When our lives start to exhibit these characteristics, people can't help but notice the difference in us.
1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 - talks about Spiritual gifts and that the Holy Spirit gives each of us different kinds of gifts. We will go more into these Spiritual gifts as the year goes on and will even take a Spiritual Gifts Inventory that will help each student identify what gifts they have.
In table group time, groups examined the Galatians 5: 22-26 scripture again and answered the following questions:
~ Where have you been aware of God's presence this week?
~ How has the Holy Spirit worked in your life this week?
~ What fruit of the Spirit would you like to see increase in your life?
~
The Holy Spirit is our sustainer. In someone's description of who the Holy Spirit is to them this was stated: "Jesus was at one time here on Earth as a human, living and communicating face to face with people. Now he is in Heaven so to communicate and help us he sent his spirit to live in us and keep us close to him."
In John 14: 15-17 we read: "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." And in John 14: 25-27: "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
Billy Graham is quoted as saying, "The world can argue against Christianity as an institution, but there is no convincing argument against a person who has been made Christlike." When we accept Jesus and grow closer to him, He changes us for the better. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives and begins to grow his fruit in us. (Read Galatians 5: 22-26) When our lives start to exhibit these characteristics, people can't help but notice the difference in us.
1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 - talks about Spiritual gifts and that the Holy Spirit gives each of us different kinds of gifts. We will go more into these Spiritual gifts as the year goes on and will even take a Spiritual Gifts Inventory that will help each student identify what gifts they have.
In table group time, groups examined the Galatians 5: 22-26 scripture again and answered the following questions:
~ Where have you been aware of God's presence this week?
~ How has the Holy Spirit worked in your life this week?
~ What fruit of the Spirit would you like to see increase in your life?
~
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Holy Spirit - Oct. 14, 2012
Rev. Judy Tefteller was our guest speaker today and taught the lesson on the Holy Spirit.
We've learned about God as Father and Creator, God as Son and redeemer through Jesus Christ and today we will talk about God as Holy Spirit and sustainer.
We can't see God but God is always present with us and within creation. God is not a physical object or person that can be located in time and space right now (he was in Jesus when he walked on the Earth, but not right now). God is more than even the universe. He is beyond time and space. He is Spirit. Throughout the Bible people have experienced God as Spirit. In Genesis 1:2 (Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.) the Holy Spirit is present and involved in the creation of the universe.
Judy told us at her lake house on of her favorite things to do is sit on her porch and watch the trees blow in the wind. She doesn't actually see the wind but she sees the trees moving which is witness to the wind blowing. The Holy Spirit is like the wind-- you can't see it but you know that it is real by the effect it has on other things. The Spirit moves like the wind. Jesus talked about this in John 3:8- "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." One image then that we have of the Holy Spirit is wind. The Holy Spirit is also known as the Breath of God. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach which also means wind. In Genesis 2:7 it says: "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Breath is a special kind of wind; it gives life. When we stop breathing our life here on Earth is gone. God breathed into each of us the breath of life, and breathed into us his Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is known as wind, as the breath of God and one other image-- Fire. The flame of a candle is real, has great power but no substance, no mass, no weight, yet it is still very real. After Jesus' death and resurrection the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples as tongues of fire. In Acts 2:1-4 we read: .... Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a vviolent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Wind, breath and fire-- all images for the Holy Spirit-- ways to help us understand One who comes in various ways.
The Holy Spirit was involved in Creation and also involved in people's lives throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came to particular people at particular times for particular tasks to give power to do something for God. Look at Exodus 31:1-5 and Judges 15:14-15 for two examples of this. We also see in Ezekiel 36:26-27 that God promises that the Holy Spirit will come to all people. In several passages in the New Testament we see how the Holy Spirit was very active. See Luke 3:16, Luke 3:22, and Luke 4:1. We also see in the Bible how the Holy Spirit worked through the Disciples and Paul to tell people about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is God with us, to guide, counsel, give courage and hope, to give us faith, to empower us to do great things for God, to comfort us and to correct us when we have sinned.
We've learned about God as Father and Creator, God as Son and redeemer through Jesus Christ and today we will talk about God as Holy Spirit and sustainer.
We can't see God but God is always present with us and within creation. God is not a physical object or person that can be located in time and space right now (he was in Jesus when he walked on the Earth, but not right now). God is more than even the universe. He is beyond time and space. He is Spirit. Throughout the Bible people have experienced God as Spirit. In Genesis 1:2 (Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.) the Holy Spirit is present and involved in the creation of the universe.
Judy told us at her lake house on of her favorite things to do is sit on her porch and watch the trees blow in the wind. She doesn't actually see the wind but she sees the trees moving which is witness to the wind blowing. The Holy Spirit is like the wind-- you can't see it but you know that it is real by the effect it has on other things. The Spirit moves like the wind. Jesus talked about this in John 3:8- "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." One image then that we have of the Holy Spirit is wind. The Holy Spirit is also known as the Breath of God. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach which also means wind. In Genesis 2:7 it says: "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Breath is a special kind of wind; it gives life. When we stop breathing our life here on Earth is gone. God breathed into each of us the breath of life, and breathed into us his Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is known as wind, as the breath of God and one other image-- Fire. The flame of a candle is real, has great power but no substance, no mass, no weight, yet it is still very real. After Jesus' death and resurrection the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples as tongues of fire. In Acts 2:1-4 we read: .... Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a vviolent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Wind, breath and fire-- all images for the Holy Spirit-- ways to help us understand One who comes in various ways.
The Holy Spirit was involved in Creation and also involved in people's lives throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came to particular people at particular times for particular tasks to give power to do something for God. Look at Exodus 31:1-5 and Judges 15:14-15 for two examples of this. We also see in Ezekiel 36:26-27 that God promises that the Holy Spirit will come to all people. In several passages in the New Testament we see how the Holy Spirit was very active. See Luke 3:16, Luke 3:22, and Luke 4:1. We also see in the Bible how the Holy Spirit worked through the Disciples and Paul to tell people about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is God with us, to guide, counsel, give courage and hope, to give us faith, to empower us to do great things for God, to comfort us and to correct us when we have sinned.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Redemption 2: October 7, 2012
Who is our Redeemer? Jesus
John 3:16 - Who is familiar with this verse? Everyone raised their hand and then we had one boy who knew it from memory who recited it for us: " For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 is one of the best known verses of the Bible, because it reminds us in one sentence of the salvation we have in Christ. But who knows what John 3:17 says? No one raised their hand. John 3:17 is not as well known but equally important. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." These two verses together demonstrate that, despite our sin, God doesn't give up on us. God wants to redeem each of us and all creation; and God sent Jesus Christ to make that possible. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So we know that all need redemption, a Savior.
How many have ever had a broken item that needed to be fixed? When we fix the item, will it be as good as it was before it was broken? Will it be better than it was before it was broken? How does God, through Christ, fix us?
In Table Group time, the students read and talked about the following Scripture:
Romans 5: 6-9
Romans 5: 12-15, 18-19
Romans 6: 1-11
Phillipians 2: 5-11
1 Peter 2: 24
Groups were asked to answer the following questions about the Scripture- What does this Scripture tell you about Christ, how Christ is our redeemer, and how Christ atones, or makes amends, for our sins?
Redemption in the United Methodist Church:
Article VIII - Reconciliation through Christ from the "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church" - We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.
This statement affirms that our belief is that Christ is our redeemer and that Christ is capable of atoning for the sins of the entire world.
What does it mean that Christ's sacrifice is perfect and sufficient? How can this statement give us hope and comfort when we struggle with sin?
John 3:16 - Who is familiar with this verse? Everyone raised their hand and then we had one boy who knew it from memory who recited it for us: " For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 is one of the best known verses of the Bible, because it reminds us in one sentence of the salvation we have in Christ. But who knows what John 3:17 says? No one raised their hand. John 3:17 is not as well known but equally important. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." These two verses together demonstrate that, despite our sin, God doesn't give up on us. God wants to redeem each of us and all creation; and God sent Jesus Christ to make that possible. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So we know that all need redemption, a Savior.
How many have ever had a broken item that needed to be fixed? When we fix the item, will it be as good as it was before it was broken? Will it be better than it was before it was broken? How does God, through Christ, fix us?
In Table Group time, the students read and talked about the following Scripture:
Romans 5: 6-9
Romans 5: 12-15, 18-19
Romans 6: 1-11
Phillipians 2: 5-11
1 Peter 2: 24
Groups were asked to answer the following questions about the Scripture- What does this Scripture tell you about Christ, how Christ is our redeemer, and how Christ atones, or makes amends, for our sins?
Redemption in the United Methodist Church:
Article VIII - Reconciliation through Christ from the "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church" - We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.
This statement affirms that our belief is that Christ is our redeemer and that Christ is capable of atoning for the sins of the entire world.
What does it mean that Christ's sacrifice is perfect and sufficient? How can this statement give us hope and comfort when we struggle with sin?
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