Sunday - Isaiah in the Temple - Isaiah 6:1-8 - 7/9/17

Isaiah was considered the greatest Old Testament prophet. He had powerful messages of both judgment and hope.

God is purely and perfectly holy, and just, and loving.

In Jerusalem - Isaiah was a Scribe and Prophet.

King Uzziah died of leprosy for trying to take over the High Priest's duties. Although he was generally a good king and his reign was long and prosperous, many of his people turned away from God.

The lofty throne, the attending angels, and the threefold holy all stressed God holiness. We need to rediscover God holiness. We need the Bible's view of God as high and lifted us out of our problems and concerns.

Isaiah's vision was his call to be God's messenger to his people. Isaiah was given a difficult mission. He had to tell people who believed they were blessed by God that God was going to destroy them because of their disobedience.

The seraphims are an order of angelic beings created by God. Here they functioned as God's agents in commissioning Isaiah. Isaiah could understand them when they spoke to him and when they praised God. They were awe-inspiring and powerful creatures - their singing shook the Temple!

Listening to the praise of the angels, Isaiah realized he was common and unclean before God, with no hope of measuring up to God's standard of holiness. When his lips were touched with a burning coal, however, he was told his sins were forgiven. It wasn't the coal that cleansed him, but God. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, "Here am I; send me." Before we accept God's call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy.

Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible; KJV, Tyndale Bible Publishers, Wheaton, IL

Tuesday - The Sower & the Seed - Luke 8:4-15 - 2/21/17

Jesus often communicated spiritual truth through parables - short stories or descriptions that take a familiar object or situation & give it a starting new twist. By linking the known with the hidden & forcing listeners to think, parables can point to spiritual truths. A parable compels listeners to discover the truth for themselves, & it conceals the truth for themselves, & it conceals the truth from those too lazy or prejudiced to look for it. In reading Jesus' parables, we must be careful not to, read too much into them.


Why would a farmer allow precious seed to land "by the way side," upon rocks, or among thorns? He is using the acceptance method of hand-seeding a large field - casting it by handfuls as he walks through the field. That some of the seed produced no crop was not the fault of the faithful farmer or the seed. The yield depended on the condition of the soil where the seed fell. It is our responsibility to spread the seed (God's message), but we should not give up when some of our efforts fail. Remember, not every seed falls on good soil.


God told Isaiah that people would hear without understanding & see without perceiving, & this is what happened to Jesus. The parable of the soil was an accurate picture of the people's reaction to the rest of his parables.


Wayside people, like many of the religious leaders, refused to believe God's message. Hard-rock people, like many in the crowds who followed Jesus, believed his message but never got around to doing anything about it. Thorn-patch people, overcome by materialism, left no room in their lives for God. Good-soil people, in contrast to all the other groups, followed no matter what the cost.

Reference summary used from the Life Application Bible KJV, Tyndale House Publishing, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois

Choosing the Right Gift ... 12/13/2015 Sunday School Summary

Sunday School Lesson Summary . Hebrews . Leviticus . Deuteronomy . Isaiah . Micah . Romans . I Corinthians .

I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service... Romans 12: 1 KJV

Devotional Reading: Hebrews 11:4-16

Background Scripture: Leviticus 22:17-33; 23:9-14, 31-32; Deuteronomy 22:6-7; Isaiah 1:10-20; Micah 6:6-8; Romans 12:1-2; I Corinthians 10:14-22

Print Passage: Leviticus 22:17-25, 31-33


The Pentateuch (Law/Torah) became a separate book, it is the continuing of the priestly tradition extends without interruption of the first ten chapters of Numbers.

The nearness of God not only accentuates the people's sense of sin but prompts them to turn to God in sacrificial service of worship. According to the priestly witness, God has provided the means of atonement and forgiveness whereby the community is restored to wholeness and is reconciled to him.


Monday - 12/7/15 -Living Sacrifice - Psalm/Tehillim 40:1-8

Tuesday - 12/8/15 - Contrite Sacrifice - Psalm/Tehillim 51:15-19

Wednesday - 12/9/15 - Loving Sacrifice - Mark 12:28-34a

Thursday - 12/10/15 - Complete Sacrifice - Romans 12:1-8

Friday - 12/11/15 - Faithful Sacrifice - Hebrews 11:4-16

Saturday - 12/12/15 - Perfect Sacrifice - I John 4:9-16

Sunday - 12/13/15 - Acceptable Offerings - Leviticus 22:17-25, 31-33


Reference used/taken from: KJV, & The New Oxford Annotated Bible with The Apocrypha