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This past Sunday the Junior High Sunday School class continued in the Route 66 series with the book of 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.

We surveyed the Old Testament up to 1 Chronicles.

We then talked about David’s relationship with God and his sin with Bathsheba. This led into the topic of repentance.

The Greek word for repentance is metanoia or meta – to change and noia – mind. To have a change of mind is essential for salvation. If I’m working on homework with 11 problems but I don’t think number 11 is for me, then I won’t seek a solution/answer for number 11. I need a change of mind ( repentance ) before I seek a solution. This was true of David also, with respect to his sinful relationship with Bathsheba and her husband. Before Nathan confronted David, his mind was set one way. He needed a change of mind (repentance) before he would seek God’s forgiveness (Psalm 51). Again, repentance (a change of mind) is needed for salvation. See: Luke 3:8; 5:32; 13:3.

Next week: Solomon – the man who had it all.

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This past Sunday we discussed the topic of Miracles and specifically those done by Christ as seen in the Gospels. Much of the discussion on miracles is wrapped around the definition of a miracle and so we attempted to define a miracle. Based on Vines Expositiory Dictionary we found two definitions which are:

• Power, inherent ability, is used of works of a supernatural origin and character, such as could not be produced by natural agents and means.
• A sign, mark, token, to give a sign, is used of miracles and wonders as signs of Divine authority

We learned that the word miracle is used differently in different places in the Bible. In the Gospel of John it is used many times as the second meaning (that of being a sign). We discussed several of the miracles as seen in the Old Testament as well such as the mana in the wilderness, stopping of the sun, and the parting of the red sea. After we looked at these miracles and many of them that are in the Gospels we asked the question: What are the reasons for miracles? Here are some of our findings:

• Glorify God – John 9:1-5
• To show Christ as God – Matt. 8:5-10; John 20:30-31
• To authenticate the Scriptures – Acts 2:5-14
• To fulfill Scriptures – Acts 2:5-14
• To meet Human need – as seen in the feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000
  • Christ was often moved with compassion
• Not for selfish unworthy purposes
  • i.e. – Matthew 4:1-7, Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:1-4;John 4:48

In our conclusion we asked the question of whether miracles are still happening today.  What do you think?  Do they still happen? We must be careful to answer that question based on our definition of a miracle as we attempt to answer that question.

Continuing our journey through the Old Testament, we
studied the life of King Saul. We actually filled in “his diary.” We
traced his life from his humility at God’s selection of him as
monarch (he was from the smallest tribe, of Benjamin) and through his
life as king.
We saw that when he made a mistake, he never was able to learn from
it. From 1st Samuel 15:22-23, we learned that God is not as pleased
with great sacrifices — as with obedience to His Word. And we saw
that, at the end, Samuel literally mourned for Saul — at what could
have been, but never was.
Saul’s downward spiral continued, even trying to take the life of
David. David had been anointed as Saul’s replacement on the throne,
but David never did anything but submit to his king’s authority.

Next time: King David!

This past Sunday the Junior High Sunday School class continued in the Route 66 series with the book of 1 Samuel.

We reviewed last weeks lesson on the book of Ruth.

We covered some basic things to keep in mind when studying the books of the Old Testament. Basically, that God created us in His image to have a relationship with Him. His adversary, the Devil, wants to destroy that relationship. From the Fall, where the relationship was destroyed, in the Garden, God cursed the Devil and promised a future Deliverer that would restore our relationship with Him. The Old Testament shows God working out His promise, with the Devil trying to thwart Him at every move.

We then looked at the first 3 chapters of 1 Samuel. The title of the lesson being THE BOY WHO LEARNED TO LISTEN, we talked about how Samuel was different from Eli’s sons in that Samuel listened and obeyed. We, also talked about how Samuel was different from Saul the first king. Samuel listened and obeyed, Saul didn’t. We talked about the difference between the wise man and the foolish man that Jesus referred to in the parable found in Matthew 7:24 – 27. The difference being “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,” Finally, worksheets on the lesson were passed out to do outside of class.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this weeks lesson.