October 2010
Bible Studies and Articles
Bible Studies and Articles by the membership
Led by the Spirit - by brother Mike Pitts
Names of God - by brother Mike Pitts
Led By The Spirit
I obeyed the gospel here at the church in Howell at a Gospel Meeting in 1972. It was at that point the Holy Spirit came to dwell with me. I know this by faith from the Word of God. It tells me so in Acts 2:38 and many other places. Did I just automatically learn from that point how to be "led by the Spirit." All one has to do is look at my life to see that the answer is definitely NO! To tell the truth, I was afraid of that phrase "led by the Spirit." I seem to have the thought instilled in me that to use that term would turn me into a "Pentecostal", or a "charasmatic", or something. Somehow, I also felt that to use this phrase would be turning my back on Jesus. I couldn't have both, it had to be one or the other. I have since learned from the Word of God that is not true. Jesus told His disciples in Jn. 14:16: "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 or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." I have learned that the word "another" in the Greek language is allos (sp). It means "another of the very same kind." Notice what Jesus said, "he lives with you and will be in you." (empasis mine) The morning I discovered those words it was like a light turned on in my mind. The Holy Spirit was WITH them through the Person of Jesus. But there would be a time when He would be IN them! I have had the thought "Oh, how wonderful it would have been to have walked this earth with Jesus. If I could have done that I could truly walk this christian life" But Jesus lets me know later in Jn.
Ladies Retreat
Thank you Janie and Cass for an absolutely fabulous journey at this year's Ladies Retreat. Your hard work and dedication to providing a truly uplifting experience for your sisiter's in Christ is most appreciated. May God bless you as you have blessed us!
Welcome
Welcome to The Howell Church of Christ Website.
The brethren and body of Christ in Howell Michigan invite you to explore God's Word and the information here on our website. We especially invite you to come worship the Lord with us on Sunday morning and study the Bible, His inspired word. If we can do anything to help you in your Christian walk, please contact us, we are here to serve.
"To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:31
OUR GOALS
Reflecting Christ
Meaningful Worship
Excellence in Ministry to Children
Why Did Jesus Come To Earth?
A. Read John chapter 1, verses 1-5 {1:1-5}.
The Word was in the beginning. The Word was God, all things were made through Him. He was Life and Light.
B. Read verses 6-9 {1:6-9}. He was to give His light to everyone.
C. Read verses 10-13 {1:10-13}. The Light was in the world that was made through Him. To as many as receive/accept Him, believing in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, born of the Will of God.
D. Read verses 14-15 {1:14-15}. The Word who was God, through whom all things were made, became flesh and lived with us--there were eye witnesses.
E. Read verses 16-18 {1:16-18}. We know the Word who was God by the name Jesus the Anointed (that is what the Greek word "Christos" means).
F. Read 1:29-30. The Word, Jesus, become flesh to become the sacrificial "Lamb" who would take away the sins of the world.
G. What is "sin"? Originally it was a hunting term to describe missing the target. Another Bible word for sin means to step beyond a boundary or break a law, so the Bible often uses words like "trespasses," "transgressions," and "debts" when referring to sin. Sin can be any one of the following:
1 John 3:4 = Breaking any of God's commandments (see James 2:8-11). 1 John 5:17 = doing anything wrong. Romans 14:22-23 = going against our conscience, doing something we have doubts about. James 4:17 = not doing what we know we should do. Matthew 5:27-28; Proverbs 24:9 = thinking about or planning foolishness or wrong-doing. H. Looking at the above list, can you find any category you haven't violated at one time or another?
Read Romans 3:9-18,23. It says every one of us is a sinner.
I. The Bible tells us some other unpleasant things about sin:
Who Is Jesus
Introduction
Read John chapter 7, verses 12 and 40-43 {7:12,40-43}. The people of Jesus' day had divided opinions about who he was and what sort of man he was. People wrestle with that same issue today.
That is a question everybody must ask themselves at some point in their lives. "Who is Jesus to me?"? Is he a real person or a make-believe character like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy?
Is he simply a distant historical figure like George Washington whose existence has no impact on my life? Was he merely a great man like Abraham Lincoln, or a very good person?
Perhaps he was nothing more than a liar and a cheat who conned people?
Maybe he was insane, suffering from delusions of grandeur? What makes him different from Buddha or Mohammed or Moses as a religious leader?
He is the Lord of Life and wants to be Lord of my life?
I. HE WAS A REAL PERSON:
What Was Jesus Like?
John 17:1-3. In this prayer, Jesus says eternal life is knowing God and Jesus. How well do you know God and Jesus? In this lesson we will examine the kind of person Jesus was in order to lay the ground work to truly get to know Jesus and the Father.
Mark 6:1-3. By profession Jesus was a carpenter, a construction worker long before there were power tools. Would a life of physical labor, of construction before power tools produce a physical weakling?
Luke 4:28-30. The Bible doesn't record this event as happening in a miraculous way. Yet what was Jesus able to do in the face of this mob? Walk right through the crowd. What does this suggest about Jesus' physical stature?
John 2:13-18. Jesus was indignant at how people had turned the Temple of God into a shopping mall. He made a whip and drove out the animals and merchants and turned over their "cash registers." Yet note that no one even tried to restrain him. What does that say about his physical presence? We suggest to you that Jesus was not the wimp of popular imagination.
The above passage reveals that Jesus could be very bold and stern at times. Consider how he spoke to certain self-righteous, elite religious folks {Matthew 12:25-45; 23:13-29}. In spite of the fact that Jesus possessed a forceful physical presence, the Bible reveals that he was an incredibly tender and compassionate person:
Matthew 9:35-36. Jesus cared for people who were hurting.. Jesus cared for people who were hurting.
Matthew 12:9-22. In a culture in which the handicapped were discriminated against and blamed for their condition (see John 9:1-2), Jesus treated them with full personhood. Isaiah's prophecy described him as someone who wouldn't break off a bruised plant stalk or snuff out a smoldering candle flame (he wouldn't write off people who were weak and struggling).
Receiving God's Gift Of Grace
As we have seen in the previous lesson, we have all sinned in every way there is to sin. There is nothing we can do to work off our sin debt against God. So Jesus came to take away our sins by paying the price for us. Understanding those Bible truths, the next question is how does one show faith in Jesus Christ and accept the Gift of Salvation God has offered us?
A. Remember what we learned at the end of the last lesson, God's gift is extended to all but to benefit from the gift we need to accept it. What do these Scriptures say about that?
Romans 3:21-26 Those who have faith and believe.
John 1:12 Those who receive Him and believe have the right "to become" children of God. [Citizens in the U.S.A. have the right to vote, but having the right doesn't make them voters. A voter is one who has exercised that right and voted.]
John 3:16-18 Those who believe in His name.
John 3:3-5 To enter God's Kingdom one must be "born again" of water and the Spirit.
B. What does it mean to have "faith" or "believe"?
"Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it." [Hebrews 11:1, New Century Version]
C. Is "faith" simply mental acceptance of an idea or is there more to it?
James 1:21-25 = We are to "do" what the Word says, not simply listen.
James 2:14-26 = One whose profession of faith does not produce positive and concrete action has a dead faith, not a living, vibrant faith. Even the demons believe in God, but their belief does not save them.
D. Where are the benefits of Jesus' sacrifice to be found?
Romans 8:1 = Those IN Christ are not judged guilty now.
Romans 8:38-39 = The love of God is experienced IN Christ Jesus.
Life After Birth
In the previous lesson on how to accept God's gift of grace, we learned that a person must be "born again," through water and Spirit, in order to inherit God's Kingdom {John 3:3-5}. Another way to describe this event is found in Romans 6 where the illustration of dying and being raised to walk a new life is used in place of birth. Whether we choose new birth or new life to describe what happens when we are baptized into Christ, the point is the same--it marks a new beginning. We are now supposed to think and act differently than we did before we knew Jesus and accepted Him as our Savior. Many Bible passages talk about the kind of life that is to follow our new birth.
A. Read Romans 6:4. Having been buried with Christ in baptism, we should now walk [verb-action] in a new life. The chapter describes that new walk/life:
Romans 6:12-13 = We should avoid sin, stop giving in to our ungodly passions. Romans 6:15-19 = Give ourselves over to doing right, doing good. Right actions. Romans 6:20-22 = Give God lordship over our new lives, we need to submit to HIm rather than try to be our own bosses.
B. Read Ephesians 4:17-23. We need to put away our former conduct and give ourselves over to spiritual matters, right conduct.
Ephesians 4:24 = We are a new person in God, created in righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:25-32 = Stop lying, stop bearing grudges, stop stealing, stop using filthy or crude language. Start treating others with kindness, and tenderness, being quick to forgive others just as God has forgiven us. C. Read Colossians 3:1-4. Since we have died with Christ in baptism, we should no longer live with a worldly focus, but with a heaven bound focus.
Life - An Introduction
Can I ask you a question? When you hear the name Percy Spencer, what comes to mind? Do you know who he is? Does his memory bring warm fuzzies to you? Save for his surviving family and technological trivia buffs, Mr. Spencer, the inventor of the microwave oven, is largely forgotten. We use his device everyday without so much as a thought or spark of gratitude to him personally. What happened to Mr. Spencer is what has happened and will happen to the vast majority of individuals--we live out our brief life, die, and slip into obscurity as the memory of us fades with time. What a nice, warm, encouraging thought, wouldn't you say?
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." {The Bible book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verse 2}
So begins the book of Ecclesiastes, an ancient treatise on the purpose and meaning of life. That is perhaps the most significant and recurring question humanity has asked of itself since the beginning. We all ask it of ourselves in some form or another: "Why am I here?" "What am I going to do with my life?" "What is life all about?" We all search for purpose, direction, significance, meaning at some point or another. So is there an answer? If so, what is it?
The author of Ecclesiastes (identified by most scholars as the ancient Israelite king Solomon) sets for himself an enormous task: "I wanted to see what was worthwhile for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives." {Ecclesiastes 2:3}
I. Solomon's Qualifications: