Small Group Study

Living In The Moment!


ICEA – “Church at Study”

At the heart of this article are the words: “Living In The Moment.” The author defines this statement as: “God…who suddenly makes Himself real in a moment…despite what conditions consume our thoughts — whether it concerns our past, or our uncertain future.” Nothing else matters at that time but the MOMENT when we are experiencing the “realness” of God!

Many of us have experienced times when God has been so real.  These are brief moments when we are impressed through revelation, meditation, prayer, or some other means when the Spirit of God overwhelms our spirit. During these times God has helped us to regain confidence and renew our faith in Him. We need moments with God —  times to reflect on what He has done for us in the past and to be assured of a successful future in Him.

In Genesis 32, Jacob experienced “a moment” with God that forever changed his life. But…before his life-changing experience, he had lived many years as a deceiver and con. It’s hard to understand how, even as an infant at birth, Jacob seemed to want to position himself for mastery (Gen. 25:22) over his twin brother Esau:

Gen. 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob was named after this experience. His name means “holder of the heel” or “supplanter.” Supplanter means “one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another.”

Then…there is the account were Jacob and Esau were young men in the field. Jacob, with his cunning ways, tricked Esau out of his birthright:

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he [was] faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.

There are other biblical accounts when Jacob tricked his uncle Laban, even though God was orchestrating these events to Jacob’s advantage.

Prior to his experience with his uncle Laban, Jacob (with his mother’s help) tricked his father, Isaac (Gen. 27). They fooled the old and dim-sighted father into thinking Jacob was Esau, thereby stealing the blessing Isaac would have given to Esau:

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou [be] my very son Esau or not.
22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

This experience made Esau furious and he sought to kill Jacob. Jacob’s past had finally caught up with him, so he escaped and ran for his life some 400 miles away, residing with his uncle Laban. He lived with Laban over 14 years, until Laban also sought to do him harm. Even though God told Jacob to return to his homeland, he felt Esau would certainly be waiting to take his life. Nevertheless, Jacob took all his belongings and fled from Laban to returned to meet his fate. Jacob was now on the run with no established past and his future seemed uncertain. Somewhere between where he had left and where he was going, he met “a man”. This man was shrouded in mystery, but it’s safe to say from the scriptures, the “man” had power with God! Maybe he was an angel, veiled in the form of a man. Or…maybe…this was a rare occasion when God was in the person of Jesus Christ! Without any further speculation — the real thrust of this article is JACOB EXPERIENCED THE PRESENCE OF GOD SUDDENLY, or IN A MOMENT. He knew this experience would change his life forever! Similar to Jacob’s experience…there are times we have to live in the moment: without regret for our past and no regard for an uncertain future. THIS IS THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU SENSE THE REALNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE. This is the moment, despite conditions, God thunders in our spirit that everything will be alright! With this assurance, we get up from where we are to go forward in faith to meet a destiny led by God. And if God is for you, no one has the power to stand against you? Also…times will change our circumstances and conditions, but God will always be waiting for us to find His comforting presence and assurance when we truly reach Him “in the moment!”

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Living In The Moment!


ICEA – “Church at Study”

At the heart of this article are the words: “Living In The Moment.” The author defines this statement as: “God…who suddenly makes Himself real in a moment…despite what conditions consume our thoughts — whether it concerns our past, or our uncertain future.” Nothing else matters at that time but the MOMENT when we are experiencing the “realness” of God!

Many of us have experienced times when God has been so real.  These are brief moments when we are impressed through revelation, meditation, prayer, or some other means when the Spirit of God overwhelms our spirit. During these times God has helped us to regain confidence and renew our faith in Him. We need moments with God —  times to reflect on what He has done for us in the past and to be assured of a successful future in Him.

In Genesis 32, Jacob experienced “a moment” with God that forever changed his life. But…before his life-changing experience, he had lived many years as a deceiver and con. It’s hard to understand how, even as an infant at birth, Jacob seemed to want to position himself for mastery (Gen. 25:22) over his twin brother Esau:

Gen. 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac [was] threescore years old when she bare them.

Jacob was named after this experience. His name means “holder of the heel” or “supplanter.” Supplanter means “one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another.”

Then…there is the account were Jacob and Esau were young men in the field. Jacob, with his cunning ways, tricked Esau out of his birthright:

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he [was] faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pottage]; for I [am] faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.

There are other biblical accounts when Jacob tricked his uncle Laban, even though God was orchestrating these events to Jacob’s advantage.

Prior to his experience with his uncle Laban, Jacob (with his mother’s help) tricked his father, Isaac (Gen. 27). They fooled the old and dim-sighted father into thinking Jacob was Esau, thereby stealing the blessing Isaac would have given to Esau:

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou [be] my very son Esau or not.
22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice [is] Jacob’s voice, but the hands [are] the hands of Esau.
23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

This experience made Esau furious and he sought to kill Jacob. Jacob’s past had finally caught up with him, so he escaped and ran for his life some 400 miles away, residing with his uncle Laban. He lived with Laban over 14 years, until Laban also sought to do him harm. Even though God told Jacob to return to his homeland, he felt Esau would certainly be waiting to take his life. Nevertheless, Jacob took all his belongings and fled from Laban to returned to meet his fate. Jacob was now on the run with no established past and his future seemed uncertain. Somewhere between where he had left and where he was going, he met “a man”. This man was shrouded in mystery, but it’s safe to say from the scriptures, the “man” had power with God! Maybe he was an angel, veiled in the form of a man. Or…maybe…this was a rare occasion when God was in the person of Jesus Christ! Without any further speculation — the real thrust of this article is JACOB EXPERIENCED THE PRESENCE OF GOD SUDDENLY, or IN A MOMENT. He knew this experience would change his life forever! Similar to Jacob’s experience…there are times we have to live in the moment: without regret for our past and no regard for an uncertain future. THIS IS THAT MOMENT WHEN YOU SENSE THE REALNESS OF GOD’S PRESENCE. This is the moment, despite conditions, God thunders in our spirit that everything will be alright! With this assurance, we get up from where we are to go forward in faith to meet a destiny led by God. And if God is for you, no one has the power to stand against you? Also…times will change our circumstances and conditions, but God will always be waiting for us to find His comforting presence and assurance when we truly reach Him “in the moment!”

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The Value of a Soul! A Complete Sunday School Lesson You Can Use. Authored by Patrice Smith – PCAF Member.


Author Patrice Smith has written a timely Sunday school lesson, entitled: “The Value of a Soul.” She delves into answering many questions including, “what is a soul worth?” and “why are all souls valuable to God?” Patrice has shed light on this rarely talked about and informative matter. You may want to take a Sunday and break from your traditional classes to teach on this eye-opening subject! Try holding classes during the week or on one Bible class night (with your pastor’s permission, of course) if Sundays are not convenient.

HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE LESSON:

It is society’s practice to judge people based on externals (i.e., looks, wealth, titles, education, profession, zip codes, etc.) It is probably safe to say we have all judged someone based on externalities or what society deems as important. Or…we may have been the one who was ignored or overlooked because we did not measure up to someone’s standards. Every day, people are mistreated, ignored, and made fun of because they look a certain way or lack resources to obtain a so-called “good” lifestyle. We forget that behind every face (whether considered attractive or not), behind every body-type, behind every wealthy businessman or woman and behind every homeless person begging for money on the street corner — there is an invaluable soul. To overlook people or make them feel unwanted based on looks or societal status is, from God’s perspective, wicked and contrary to biblical principles. For the bible states that God is no respecter of persons, He rains on the just and the unjust. John 3:16 points out this very fact, that “God so loved…He gave His only begotten Son.”

(CLICK THE TEXT BELOW TO VIEW, CONTINUE READING,
AND PRINT OUT FOR YOUR SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES)

Value of a Soul (Blog)

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Attempting to Define Hope Versus Faith


pexels-photo-311391.jpeg

ICEA – “Church at Study”

The word “hope” is often associated with a person’s expectation of God’s final deliverance or salvation. In the Old Testament, God was the object of the righteous. They waited for His salvation. Many of the Old Testament saints also hoped for the final deliverer (Messiah), who would establish His kingdom on earth. We, (the church), look (or hope) for Him, also. He is the risen One: the “first-born” from the dead, and our hope is that we will (like He did) rise; and we will meet the Lord in the air. Hope, in large part (for the church) has to do with our trust that God will one day physically deliver the righteous from earth to heaven. It is a hope in a final deliverance or resurrection. New Testament scriptures are mainly used IN THE HANDOUT BELOW, to attempt to define the word hope. The object of hope in a number of the scriptures from the handout refer to either God the Father, or the Lord Jesus Christ. Hope, therefore, is often in expectation of the Person, Jesus, who God has made both Lord and Christ (Messiah). Hope (not always, but in large part) speaks of something more eternal than faith. This means, for example, that the word “hope” is rarely defined as someone believing that God will heal them of a condition. Faith, many times, is a word better used for our belief in “temporal” healings and believing God for His temporal “blessings.” Our faith in temporal things can waiver. For example…let’s say someone had faith to believe God to “fix” some condition. Years went by and the condition remained. Over those years, they had highs and lows. There were times they believed God with great faith and other times doubts crept in. The point is, again, our faith often waivers and we can become of “little faith” (Matt. 8:26). Here is another example: we have faith that God will heal a sick loved one. They die. We question why. What went wrong? Did we have enough faith? We often wrestle with our inability to have faith in God for temporal healings. But, we should never lose HOPE in the person of Jesus; the One who controls death and life. That’s why we are at peace when we have prayed and had faith that God would heal a loved one…only to watch them pass away. It does not take away from…nor diminish…our hope in the existence of the person of Christ or God. Faith waivers, but hope in God should never waiver. Examine this scripture: “Lord, I believe [in other words, I have faith], but help my unbelief.” We see from the verse that this man’s faith waivered, but not his hope in the existence of God. It is possible to have little faith to believe for something and yet have hope in the Eternal One. Here is how Hebrews 6:18-20 reads: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the HOPE set before us: Which HOPE we have as an ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus…. This verse reminds us that hope is more eternal. (This doesn’t mean that the word hope is in all instances defined as eternal, neither is faith always considered temporal.) The hope we have in Jesus should never waiver, because the hope we have in the person of Jesus ANCHORS our souls and hope is not volatile like our faith can be. We can sometimes lose our faith, but we must not ever lose our hope. We see an instance where the disciple Peter and the other disciples lost their HOPE. The angels told the women that Christ was risen, the bible states that the men did not believe them. In other words, the Son of God had died, and their was no HOPE in His resurrection. This would have been the saddest occurrence in the bible had Jesus not have shown Himself alive to his hopeless followers. Explore the handout below to view scriptures explaining the difference between faith and hope.

Please click on the text below to view typed
out scriptures, noting the difference
between faith and hope:

Church at Study – Faith Compared to Hope

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