WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 10
Apr 27, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART FIVE
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART NINE
A REPORT FROM PASTOR ALBERT
WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK TEN Now, before going on, let me insert a bit of advice. As you follow these outlines to study the Word, please remember to pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you the Truth of His Word by the Holy Spirit. After all, He wrote the book and He alone holds the perfect understanding of that Word and its applications for your life today. Have a wonderful week and may God richly bless you with His Grace and Peace. Blessings to all, All editions of The W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter are available on the Internet. To find them, navigate to www.fcgm.org and click on the "Newsletter" link. Feel free to copy as many as you want and pass them out to family and friends. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, send an e-mail containing your name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. In your devotions this week, read Psalm 90. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. When you have finished, go back and find one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them. II. Bible Study The third section of Ephesians falls between Ephesians 4:17 and 6:20 - with salutations ending the letter between 6:21 and 6:24. Read each of the three subsections below and answer for yourself the questions associated with them. Jot the answers down on a piece of paper and place in your Bible for further review and study. Read Ephesians 4:17-5:20 Read Ephesians 5:21-6:9 1. In this subsection, Paul deals with seven specific relationships. What are they? Read Ephesians 6:10-20 1. In 6:10, where does it say your strength and power and protection to face the Enemy is found? 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its “address” (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear “reference tag.” 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day’s memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week’s memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life, that is when you truly know that verse! Acts 2:42-47; " This week we are moving on in our study to the action "and breaking bread from house to house." If you remember, in part three of our article, we took the position that "the breaking of bread" in action two was referring to the Lord's Supper, or as is known in the modern church, "Communion." Now, to help us differentiate between the two actions, let's look at Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, Adam Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., (1715-1832). "Breaking bread from house to house - This may signify, that select companies, who were contiguous to each other, frequently ate together at their respective lodgings on their return from public worship. But kat-ah', which we translate from house to house, is repeatedly used by the Greek writers for home, at home, for though they had all things in common, each person lived at his own table. Breaking bread is used to express the act of taking their meals. The bread of the Jews was thin, hard, and dry, and was never cut with the knife as ours is, but was simply broken by the hand." As we see from Clarke's observations, this breaking of bread relates to personal fellowship one with another. It is an extension of and in addition to coming together to worship in the church service. In Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870), we are told the following: "From house to house - In the margin, “at home.” So the Syriac and Arabic. The common interpretation, however, is, that they did it in their various houses, now in this and now in that, as might be convenient. If it refers to their ordinary meals, then it means that they partook in common of what they possessed, and the expression “did eat their meat” seems to imply that this refers to their common meals, and not to the Lord’s Supper." One of the most glaring holes in the fabric of today's church is the lack of house to house fellowship. I was just recently discussing this very topic with my wife in regards to our own busy lifestyle. It seems as though the people living in the 21st century church age tolerate holiday meals with their relatives, and occasionally, might have dinner at a friend's home. Otherwise, they are so busy with the "pressures" and "circumstances" of life that they have no time for such trifles. But Wait. Let's stop and examine our own lives. Are we one of those persons living this fast paced, collapse at the end of the day lifestyles? Are we so busy today that we don't have [or take] time to fellowship with the saints "from house to house." Do we feel as though we see enough of them in the 1-1/2 to 2 hours on Sunday morning to last us the rest of the week? Or could it just be that we are too afraid of the intimacy that such fellowship cultivates? Many have preached and taught on the topic of moving from "fellowship" to "communion" with God and our Christian brothers and sisters. The idea is that we can "fellowship" with anyone, even strangers, but we can only have "communion" with someone with whom we have grown close. But how can we grow close if we don't move beyond the open group environment that is the setting of church services and into close, "breaking bread" relationships with those in the church? All of these are serious questions! Hopefully, the answers will be eye-opening. When we begin to "know God and others" instead of "knowing about them" we will begin to see the same end result that the early church was seeing, namely, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Until next time, we are heading "Back to the Kingdom"... Blessings to all, (1) International Christ Generation Ministry (I.C.G.M.) (1) International Christ Generation Ministry I.C.G.M. is a powerful ministry based on the Apostles' Teaching, on Prayer, on Deliverance and on Divine Healing. God reveals Himself powerfully through his servant Rev. Albert according to Mark 16:17-18 " And these signs will accompany those who believed : in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." So, this word from the Scriptures is being accomplished in the life of many people within our ministry: mad people are healed, those who are possessed by evil spirits are delivered, many sick people are miraculously healed. The Lord adds some more souls to our church everyday.We are baptizing our new souls by immersion every three(3) months after having taught them. At present, our baptized members are one hundred and fifty-eight (158) in number. Beloved readers, I.C.G.M. has not yet got a temple. Every Sunday, we rent a hall, chairs, sound system and musical instruments. This cost a lot. Through this Newsletter, we are appealing to every good will, to those who wish the expansion of the Gospel in Côte d' Ivoire ( West - Africa) to help us with the construction of a modest Temple to the Lord which amounts to US$ 150,000. We assure you that your gift will be used only for the construction of the Temple. Kindly, do send your gifts to: May God bless you in advance for your financial contribution to the construction of God’s Temple in Côte d’Ivoire. (2) Christ Generation Bible Institute We are an Institute that trains Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers according to Ephesians 4:11. The training lasts two years. The current group " Ambassadors for Christ " will be finishing their course next year in June 2006. Our vision is to bring in reforme through Apostles’ Teaching in order to prepare for the coming of the Glorious, powerful, prosperous and governing Church without stain and wrinkle, a holy and irreproachable church for the Lord . ( I Kings 18:30; Luke 1:17) Currently, the Institute has twenty-two (22) students who are under training, free of charge. I am being assisted by two pastors who share my vision and are teaching free of charge too. We need two computers with printers, chairs and benches, French books and Bibles. May God bless you in advance for your various gifts and spiritual support. Our address and telephone : Rev. TOGBEDJI Adadé Mawuko (Albert) Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Let me welcome you to this week's edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. Today we will conclude our five week study on the Book of Ephesians. We certainly hope that you have enjoyed it as much as we have and that it has helped you grow closer to our Lord. Next week, we will be moving on to a five part study on the Book of Philippians. Philippians is a thank you letter full of joy written to a congregation that was meeting at a riverside to pray and worship God. Sound exciting? Wait! It gets better!
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
Bishop's eCorner: www.fcgm.org/ecorner/
Back to top
THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART FIVE
I. Devotional Reading
1. What is it that Paul insists cannot continue any longer?
2. In 4:22, what does Paul say corrupts the "old self"?
3. In 4:24, what does Paul say the "new self" is created by God to be like?
4. According to 5:1-2, what should our natural response as God's children be?
5. List the three things that are the fruit of light.
2. Put next to each relationship you have listed the particular word or phrase Paul gives to describe the attitude you should have in that relationship.
2. Having put on God's armor, what are you to stand firm against? (see 6:11)
3. Make a list of the different types of natural armor and next to them put their spiritual equivalents. (see 6:14-17)
4. After listing the spiritual armor available to us, Paul then says we are to do what "on all occasions"?
III. Memory Verse
Ephesians 5:1-2;
Back to top
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART NINE
We are examining the twelve actions of the early church listed in Acts 2:42-47 with the goal of establishing, for comparison sake, a pattern of conduct within the early church, then determining how far removed the 21st century church has become from this pattern in order to better understand its present condition. We are working on the premise that "with all things being equal, we can expect the same end result." With that in mind, let's take a moment and read the entire passage again.
Bishop Sam T. Leigh
Back to top
A REPORT FROM PASTOR ALBERT
This report is about:
(2) Christ Generation Bible Institute (C.G.B.I.)
10 BP 817 Abidjan 10
Côte d’Ivoire ( West – Africa )
Tel : (225) 07 48 98 85
Back to top
This newsletter Copyright © 2005 Freedom Covenant Global Ministries. All Rights Reserved. Individual articles displaying copyrights from other ministries are used by permission, have been formatted for use in this publication, and remain the property of respective ministry. Permission is granted to copy, print, and distribute this newsletter for ministry purposes, whether whole or in part, so long as ALL copyrights remain in place and no copies are printed or distributed for sale or commercial purposes.
Back to top