Good Monday Morning!
In the morning worship hour yesterday, we studied a lesson entitled The Simple Truth. We noted the tendency toward elaborate terminology and wise-seeming words, somewhat like those of Paul’s day in Corinth. We began at 1 Cor.2:1-5, where Paul encouraged his readers to rest their faith not on worldly wisdom but on the power of God. We noted these 4 points in our simple study:
- Life is Short. 1 Chronicles 29:15, Job 14:1-2 Psalm 102:11, Ecclesiastes 6:12 and James 4:14
- Death is Sure. 2 Samuel 14:14, Psalm 49:10, Ecclesiastes 8:8, and Hebrews 9:27
- Sin is the Cause. Genesis 3:19, Ezekiel 18:20, Romans 5:12, and Romans 6:23
- Christ, the Cure. Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9, and 1 Peter 3:18
In the evening service, we studied our first lesson in the series of Strengthening Our Connection With God. We probed into 3 passages that encourage us to draw nearer to God:
- Hebrews 4:16. Four things are significant about The Throne of Grace.
- The universe is a controlled and governed entity, and God oversees it from His throne.
- The government of all things is personal, not mechanical. Our world is not like a clock that has been wound and set, only to eventually run down. God takes a personal interest in the world’s affairs, and He blesses His own.
- There is antagonism between God and evil. He wants good for us and He is opposed to evil and wickedness.
- At the throne of grace, we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Hebrews 7:19. Three things are noted about The Hope.
- The Old Testament law or Law of Moses was imperfect.
- It ushered in a better hope, Gal.3:24; Heb.6:19.
- Through that better hope, the Law of Christ, we are better able to draw near to God than the Jewish adherents to the Law of Moses.
- Psalm 73:27-28. Four things about the refuge we have in God.
- Danger increases with distance from God.
- Faithfulness to God is a condition of preservation.
- Benefits increase with nearness to God.
- The term refuge occurs more than 40 times in Psalms (ESV).
If you missed either lesson, you can view them at http://www.rrcoc.com under the sermons tab. Both our prayer lists are long, and we need to continually pray for those whose names have been placed on them.