From Sunday School - Good Stuff!

Here are the scriptures we talked about in our Middle School Sunday School class. They were a blast, and I figured it'd be fun to share what we talked about. Here is this blog's layout. First, scriptures we talked about. Secondly, a song we sung during worship. Last, a discussion of some of what we talked about. Enjoy!

-----------------

Isaiah 53:5-6 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities (sins); the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all."

Romans 5:1-2 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we hace peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 3:10-12 "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' "

Romans 3:23-24 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

-----------------

Sunday we sang "By His Wounds" by Glory Revealed, which really gave the class something to talk about. Here are the lyrics...

(Verse)
He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

(Chorus)
We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

-----------------

All that being said, God is amazing. That verse in Isaiah is what we were going to discuss, and singing it during worship really gave the students a place to start from. So I asked them, "What does it mean? We were all singing it this morning; what were we singing about?" And then we were able to see how very specifically it is about Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross.

The Lord had revealed something to the prophet Isaiah; Isaiah was looking ahead to a suffering servant. Isaiah wrote "he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that was our peace was upon him." Here Jesus' death and suffering is revealed, ahead of time. And not only do we see His suffering, but "the punishment that was our peace was upon him." That punishment that he bore has become our peace. Look at what the Holy Spirit reveals through Paul in Romans.

"since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Peace with God is established through Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith. The punishment that Jesus Christ bore on the cross, that has become our peace; by his wounds we are healed of sin and oppression by Satanic forces (yes, demonic activity is still going on. People are still bound and need to be released). Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me." He is the only means by which we can obtain peace with God and approach the Father.

Can we be good enough on our own? What does scripture testify about man? "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." How did Isaiah describe it? "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all." Once more, just to make sure it is clear, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." By ourselves, God clearly shows that we fall short of His perfection and holiness. Rather than obeying God's ways and adhering to God's standards, everyone of us "have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."

But here's the good news. God knew that was mankind's condition a long time ago, and provided a means by which we could have peace with Him. The prophet Isaiah testified, "and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all." What is he saying? Here is the wonder of God's love. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." When we were undeserving, He took the punishment of our sins upon Himself so that we could have peace with God. Even more so, by the punishment he bore, we can be healed.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Not one of us measures up to God's standards, but in His love He gave His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. Now, through Jesus Christ, we can be made right with God. And here is where good news gets better. We are justified freely. Justified simply means that God has declared someone innocent and guiltless; it means to absolve us of all the charges that were against us. God, who is rich in mercy, justifies us at no cost to us. The only thing he requires is that we believe on Jesus - to trust Jesus Christ for our righteousness. Jesus paid it all so that it could be free for us.

While Jesus was walking the earth, some people wanted to follow Jesus and asked "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." That is all God requires. Will you put your trust in Him for the forgiveness of your sins? There is no other way we can be saved; there is no other way to have peace with God. God showed us His love by laying down His life for us. He is trustworthy; you can trust Him. To the one who believes in Him, he says "never will I leave you, nor will I forsake you," and His promises are true.

Trust Him, believe Him. There is peace for you.

The Religious Part In Me That Still Lingers...

This is a confession of sorts - a confession of what I still find going on in me from time to time. When I read this passage of scripture, what I found was incriminating. It marked out something in me that is not of God, and drew me closer to Him that I might be changed more into His image. This is what I read... John 5

Here's the story, short and sweet. A little time after Jesus healed a man's son who was close to death, Jesus went to Jerusalem. There was a pool there, where the disabled would lie and wait. They would wait there because from time to time an Angel of the Lord would stir the waters, and the first one in the pool would be healed. Among the disabled people was an invalid who had been there for thirty-eight years, unable to make it into the pool before anyone else. Yet, he still waited there hoping to be the first one day and be healed.

Jesus saw him lying there, and learned how long he had been there, and told the man "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." Immediately he was healed, so he picked up his mat and walked.

But! This took place on the Sabbath, and the Jews told the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, the law forbids you to carry your mat." Yet, the man simply told them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

...

Here I will stop the summary, and let you in on what was going on in my heart. Here we see the power of God, taking pity on a man and healing Him, and all the Jews can do is focus on one detail and ignore the big picture. The Jews were too concerned about doing no "work" on the Sabbath and were unable to grasp what God was doing. They couldn't rejoice with the man, who after thirty-eight years of lying by a pool, had finally received from God what he had been hoping for. They couldn't recognize God at work, all because of one detail.

And I find that I too have this religious part in me, that can take hold of one thing and cling to it, ignoring the beauty of what is happening around me. I am too proud and confident in my own knowledge and discernment too often, and when I am invited to partake of the glory of God and to rejoice in what He is doing, it is the small things that I can get hung up on.

So here I am, finding myself falling short of the glory and righteousness of God... kind of.

But here is the beauty of this place. I am unworthy, and if I look at my ability, I fall short every time. I cannot achieve His perfection. But yet, I am not condemned, for Jesus is my righteousness. His blood has cleansed my heart and covered my sin, and God looks at me and sees the righteousness of His Son, His own righteousness. Even when I disagree with someone on just one point, and for that reason shut myself off from what God is doing, He still looks on me with love and full acceptance because my hope is not in what I can do. My hope is set fully on the blood of Jesus.

And that religious part in me, that plagues me and becomes a hindrance, will be fully put to death one day. Until then, it is the mercy and kindness of the Lord that draws me to Himself, that allows me to "boldly approach the throne of grace, that I might find mercy and help in my time of need." And I am very needy - in need of Him. I know that in this body of flesh still dwells a sin nature, and am in need of His grace day by day that I may come boldly into His presence, to see Him and be changed.

This is where I am, and I know there are many other issues to be dealt with in my flesh. While He takes care of those impurities, I will continue in the things He has given me to do, for by His grace I have been made righteous and am not declared guilty for my shortcomings. Thank you Jesus!