Hebrews 11 - A Study of This Chapter of Faith

If you are interested in learning more about having faith, then reading Hebrews 11 is a great place to start.  Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the faith chapter, as this chapter is all about having faith in God.  It is often recommended that new Christians read this chapter when they are just beginning their walk with the Lord.  Even though the general concept of faith is fairly easy to understand, the actual act of faith is tough in many of the difficult circumstances we face on a regular basis.  Our human nature is to be negative and not to have faith, but God wants us to trust him in all of our prayers and daily activities.

Hebrews 11 begins verse 1 by stating “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  It is easy to say that we have faith, but do you really have faith in God to help you in your everyday lives?  Most of us trust God for major prayer requests, but what about all of the other decisions we make?  Do we stay in constant prayer as we trust the Lord to reign over all of our decisions?  The Lord wants us to put our total trust in him!

Verse 3 of Hebrews 11 states “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”  God made our world out of nothing and out of chaos.  The chaos also existed because God created this too.  We are here simply because of the sole powerful command of the words of God.  He does not need anything to make things happen.  His commands are sufficient to make things come into being.

Verses 4 through 7 talks about having faith before the flood.  There were several important historical figures mentioned in verses 4 through 7 that lived before the flood, and this includes Cain, Enoch and Noah.  Hebrews states that Abel’s sacrifice to God was better than Cain’s sacrifice.  Hebrews states Abel’s sacrifice was simply a greater or better sacrifice than Cain’s sacrifice.  Verse 6 implies his sacrifice was better because Abel simply has more trust in God, and this is why his sacrifice is better.

Enoch was taken from this world and did not die.  God took Enoch away, and Hebrews 11:5 states Enoch was one who pleased God.  It is implied here that Enoch was greatly favored by God because of the faith Enoch placed in the Lord. 

Verse 7 mentions Noah as a man of great faith.  Noah would have to have great faith to spend the time that he spent building the ark before the flood!

Verses 8 through 22 of Hebrews 11 includes great insight about the faith of Abraham.  Abraham has plenty of reasons to doubt God.  He was an old man when God said he would have descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.  God told him to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Many of the promises of God to Abraham were not fulfilled until many years after his death.  Abraham continued to believe in the promises of God despite the fact that many of his promises weren’t fulfilled within his lifetime. 

If you want to learn about faith, then you should definitely study Hebrews 11, as some of the great men of faith are mentioned in this chapter.  God wants to teach us to have great faith, and Hebrews 11 is a great place to begin!

1 Corinthians 13 - Learning All About the Love Chapter

1 Corinthians 13 is widely known as the love chapter among Christians, but there is a much deeper message within this passage of 1 Corinthians.  Chapters 12 and 14 are all about the spiritual gifts we have through Christ, but it is clear that Paul wants us to recognize that love is more important than any of the spiritual gifts.  With love we have nothing.

We must start by attempting to define what love is.  The English language has one word for love.   We use love to describe how much we love pizza or love our pet.  We also love our favorite football team, our kids, and our spouse.   These are all different forms of love.  Obviously we don’t love our favorite football team the same way we love our spouse!  We don’t love our spouse the same way we love our children or our families.  The original language of the Scriptures had many different words to describe love, and this can get confusing as we study the Word of God.

 

Verses 1 through 4 of 1 Corinthians 13 discusses the motivation of love.  What is the motivation behind what we do?  Are we truly motivated to love others more than we love ourselves, or do we have a selfish motivation behind our actions.  Only we can know for sure what our true motivations are. 

Certain members of society have knowledge that can help many people.  Doctors have skills that can help save lives.  Economists, researchers, and counselors all have skills that can have a great impact on society.  Many other professions can make a huge impact on society too, but according to the second verse of 1 Corinthians 13, this expert knowledge will fail you if you use this knowledge without love.  Sometimes it is better to be ignorant than to have a lot of knowledge in a specific subject. 

Verses 4 through 8 of 1 Corinthians 13 is all about the character of love.  We spend our entire lives trying to understand love, and I don’t believe anyone can fully understand it until we are in the presence of God in heaven.  Love is kind.  Think about how you treat other people.  Do you treat them with respect and care, or do people see you as a jerk?  You cannot love someone if you are not kind toward them. 

Love isn’t jealous too.  You don’t have the right to anyone’s attention.  It is true that a spouse should give their mate a lot of attention, but a spouse shouldn’t be jealous if they don’t get attention all of the time.  A loving spouse would not hold a grudge against a spouse who has to be away on business trips frequently. 

 

When we truly love the Lord, we want the best for everyone.  How do we spend our time?   Are we more interested in blessing others or in fulfilling our own desires?  When we are serving ourselves instead of serving others, we will sometimes resort to lying, slander, cheating, and other sinful acts to get what we want. 

Love never fails.  It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs.  It is not easily provoked.  Love will endure through all things. 

Verses 8 through 13 of 1 Corinthians 13 talks about the enduring quality of love.  Love endures forever, and it is not a feeling.  Love is much deeper than a feeling.  Real love is something that continues forever no matter what happens.  Ultimate love is what makes people with extraordinary gifts shine.  Love never gives up on us. 

2 Corinthians - What Can We Learn From This Book of the Bible

2 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul.  Paul wrote this epistle to the church of Corinth, and it is the eighth book of the New Testament.  Some Bible scholars believe that there were more than two epistles written by Paul to the church of Corinth, but 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians are the surviving letters we read today.  2 Corinthians was written by Paul to tell the church of Corinth that he would be returning for a third time soon.  Paul had already visited the church twice, and based on what he was seeing within the congregation, he felt he needed to return again. 

 

If you do not understand the context and story behind 2 Corinthians, it is easy to get confused about the text.  Paul has already spent time at the church.  He gave them specific instructions when he was with them the first time.  He advised them that he is an apostle of Jesus, but many people are skeptical of his standing with Jesus.  Paul was not one of the 12 disciples, and the church knew it.  They didn’t respect the words of Paul in the day because of his past history.  If Paul had been one of the 12 disciples, Paul may not have met so much resistance, but the church simply didn’t respect his wisdom and his passion for Jesus. 

 

It is believed that the book of 2 Corinthians was the 2^nd or 3^rd letter to the church.  If this was the 3^rd letter, then the 2^nd letter is lost.  When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he was mainly writing it for the church in Corinth.  He saw that there were many problems that needed to be addressed, and his heart was broken for everything that was happening there.  Some of the matters were issues he saw in other churches too, so he also addressed saints through Achaia and included them in his letter to the church of Corinth. 

 

In Chapters 1 through 7, Paul defends his own actions and reassures the church that he cares for their needs.  He recognizes the need for the church to recognize that he only wants the best for them and that he loves them.  Chapters 8 and 9 go into some instructions he has for the poor people in the church.  Chapters 10 through 12 defends his place in the apostleship and reaffirms his love for the church despite the challenges he faced with the church. 

 

2 Corinthians is deeply personal, and it shows how important the church is to Paul.  In our own lives, we all know people who are struggling in their walk with the Lord.  Some have completely turned their back on God, while others are simply struggling in specific areas of their lives.  Paul reaches out to the church of Corinth in a spirit of love and not of condemnation.  He still has tough love for them, but he truly cares about their well-being.  As Christians, it is our job to share the love of Christ with everyone that we can!   

Ministry to Children - How to Reach The Kids in the Modern-Day Church

Learn more about ministry to children.

Your ministry to children is one of the important ministry arms of your church congregation.  Sunday school classrooms and Wednesday night youth groups are where we train up the next generation of kids for Christ, and it is our responsibility to teach our children about Jesus.  It doesn’t matter if you have youth or not, and it doesn’t matter if you are 20 years old or 75 years old.  Your contribution to the children’s ministry in the church is vital to the spiritual health of your church 20 years from now.  It is true that most children don’t attend the same church as adults, but they will serve the Lord in other churches around the world if they are taught right from wrong in the early years of life. 

 

One of the biggest challenges of ministry to children today is in trying to keep their attention during youth services or Sunday school.  Younger kids can’t wait to get home to play with Barbie dolls or video games, and teenagers can’t wait to get home to hang out with their friends.  We have to come up with creative ways to teach the children so we can keep their attention. 

For children in elementary school, we can use creative mini movies that the kids will love.  There are many ministries that produce professional children’s videos and animated series that teach kids about the message of Christ in the way children can relate. Children today are more willing to pay attention to cartoons and creative media than they are to a boring Sunday school teacher!  Don’t be afraid to invest in resources in your ministry to children that will preach the Gospel in a way kids can understand.  If you are serious about your ministry to children, you can make a major impact in their lives at an early age. 

 

Children always love puppet shows.  Puppet shows are great because they always get the kids engaged in paying attention.  You don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in puppets to have a puppet show in church.  You can easily build a stage where you can have puppet shows that help teach kids about Christ. 

 

Older youth aren’t going to care for puppet shows!  You have to be more creative with teenagers to get their attention.  One of the best ways to do this is through mini movies.  As technology has improved, it has become easier than ever for people to make funny videos to use in youth group meetings and other church settings.  If your church has a PowerPoint projector and a laptop, you can easily show videos in youth church services. 

Movie clips for sermons are great because they break up the monotony of your sermon so that the youth don’t lose interest in the message for that day.  It is critical for your church to put a lot of emphasis on your youth group, as this is the age when most youth decide if they want to live for Christ or if they want to live for the world. 

There are many great media resources available today to help you in your ministry to children in the church. 

Marshmallow Test For Kids Teaches Adults and Kids an Important Lesson

See the marshmallow test for kids video!

Many people are familiar with the marshmallow test for kids. This is a famous experiment done with kids. In the experiment, the child is placed in a room at a table. On the table, a marshmallow is placed on a plate, and the child is told they can eat the marshmallow if they want, or they can wait and get a second marshmallow if they wait to eat the first marshmallow until they get the second marshmallow. The results of the marshmallow experiment were very interesting, as it demonstrates a Biblical principle for all of us.

The lesson is that kids and adults are both tempted in our lives every day. Temptation is always going to be an issue in our lives regardless of where our walk is with the lord. We will always be tempted to do the wrong thing, but the sin is not in being tempted. The sin is in acting on the temptations we face. If we can be faithful to serve the Lord when things are not going well, he will provide us with everything that we need.

When you are working with kids, there are many lessons you can teach them from this video. Kids are constantly tempted at school. It doesn’t matter if they attend a public school or a private school. They will be tempted to cheat on tests. They may be tempted to steal a pencil from their classmate. They may be tempted to lie to the teacher. It is at this age that we can have the biggest impact in our kids’ lives. We can teach them when to say yes and when to say no. We can teach kids how to resist temptation when they do the wrong thing.

As adults, there are decisions we make that relate to the marshmallow test for kids. We need to pray daily for the Lord to guide our decisions with our career. There are moments in life where we may be offered a better paying job or better hours. In the world’s view, we should always accept a position where we can make more money. In God’s eyes, the job that pays the most money might not be the job we should always take. There are moments when we should stay in our present career to wait for a promotion that may be a year away. There are other moments when we shouldn’t accept a position because it might compromise with our Christian beliefs. There are many instances where what looks like the best decision might not be the right decision.

The marshmallow test for kids is a great video to show to children because it is a lesson they can relate to at an early age. It is a great video to show to adults as we struggle with temptation too. People of all ages can learn an important lesson from this famous demonstration. The marshmallow test for kids is the perfect video to show in Sunday School or kids church.

Sunday School Lessons for Kids -Getting the Ideas You Need

When you are planning Sunday school lessons for kids, it is important to come up with lessons where all of the children can be involved in the sermon. Kids of all ages are influenced by many outside influences today, and Sunday school gives us an opportunity to share the love of Jesus in the room. There are some weeks when it may be difficult to know what to teach the kids, but there are many resources you can use when you are planning your next Sunday school lesson.

If you are at a loss as to what to teach in Sunday school, start by checking with the church office. If you attend an established church, the church may already have many resources you can use in your classes on Sunday morning. Ask the pastor or the church staff for ideas of resources you can use in Sunday school, or talk to some of the teachers to see what they are teaching in class.

If your pastor is going through a specific sermon series during church services, this gives you many ideas of topics you can teach in Sunday school. Many kids (and adults too) don’t pay attention to the sermon, so Sunday school lessons for kids is a great opportunity to reinforce the message of the pastor. Take notes on the sermons the pastor preaches, and then use these notes to come up with lessons for your next class.

There are other ways to come up with ideas for your classes. There are many games you can play in class that will help the children learn the Word of God. You can play trivia games on Sunday morning where the kids have to answer questions about previous lessons in your teaching series. The child that gets the most answers right wins a prize. Anything you can do to make class more fun and memorable for the students is important for the spiritual development of the children.

One of the best ways to encourage creativity in your class today is through the use of multimedia. With the increase in television and internet usage, many people pay more attention to videos than they will to someone giving a lecture. There are many professional movie clips for kids that are being developed by Christian ministries to help teach kids the most important stories in the word.

Churches should be willing to invest a lot of resources into their Sunday school lessons for kids. Our children are the next generation of Christians that will witness to a lost and hurting world!