WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 13
May 18, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS - PART THREE
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - FINAL CHAPTER
WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK THIRTEEN This week, we are continuing our study of the Book of Philippians and it is my prayer that each of you are gaining new wisdom and insight into God's Word. In addition, this week we are closing out our Back to the Kingdom article. This article has been rather lengthy and if you have missed any of the parts, please go to our website and download any missed editions and read the article from part one through the final chapter. Although not intended to be the ultimate authority on the subject, this article was written with a desire to stir the hearts of the children of God and help bring about an honest evaluation of the current situation within the 21st century church. It is my prayer that this goal has been accomplished. 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 52. But before you read it, have a look at 1 Samuel 22:6-23, which is the background to this psalm. As you read the psalm, talk to the Lord about it's content. When you have finished, go back and find one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them. Take your time and really meditate on both of these passages in order to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His Truth to your heart. II. Bible Study This week we are going to look at the second section of Philippians - chapter 2. Again, we will divide it into three subsections. Read each subsection and answer for yourself the questions associated with them. Type out your answers or 1. In 2:1, Paul lists four blessings that are ours in Christ. Write them down, together with the four attributes he lists in 2:2 that he desires to see outworked in our life as Christians because of these blessings in Christ. Read Philippians 2:12-18 1. In 2:12 why does Paul say "work out your salvation" and not "work in your salvation"? (Note particularly 2:13). Read Philippians 2:19-30 1. In 2:19-23 what are the qualities of character which Timothy had that made Paul confident to send him to the Philippians? III. Memory Verse Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 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; " We have completed our examination of the actions of the early Christians and have arrived at the fruit produced by those actions. The end result as recorded in verse 47 is as follows - "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." If we look at the church worldwide, we can see that the Lord is adding to the church "daily" those who are being saved in this modern time as well. It would be easy to tell ourselves that there is only "one church" and thereby revel in the false security of what is perceived to be an okay situation. But for the purposes of our article, let us take a look much closer to home. What is happening in our local church(es)? Are people being saved and added to the church daily? Weekly? Monthly? Annually? If not, why not? Is it the pastor's fault? Is it the elders fault? Is is the deacons fault? Or is it our fault? Do we place the responsibility at the feet of others while we drift aimlessly through life during the week and if all circumstances line up and no other distractions warrant, show up for two hours to "worship" on Sunday. Or are we able to recognize that this walk with our Lord is not a two hour per week walk, but rather a lifestyle that needs to be lived 24 hours a day, seven days a week? To conclude, I would like to make the following challenge to each one reading this article. Why not make a commitment right now to go before the Lord every day for the next seven days and humbly ask that He show you the areas of your life that need to be brought in line with His Word and His Kingdom Walk? Why not allow God to help you make the required changes in your life so that in your local church you can be the example of how a true Christian should be walking? Remember, He said in Acts 1:8; "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'' This verse indicates that the witness needs to start at home (Jerusalem) and then move out into the remainder of the world (all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth), one step at a time. The key to achieving this goal is not to focus on what the global church is doing, but rather on what our local church is doing. And the key to the success of the local church starts and ends with "you" and "me." To get Back to the Kingdom, we must remember that revival is not brought by the Evangelist, but rather revival begins within the hearts of those who are truly seeking God and faithfully walking in the Truth of His Word. And this is a fulltime commitment! Are you ready to get Back to the Kingdom? Blessings to all, 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.
Welcome to the thirteenth edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. Due to a physical ailment requiring a physician's care, I was unable to publish this week's edition on time. Please accept my apology for any inconvenience this may have caused and pray for the Lord to continue with His healing process in my body.
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
Bishop's eCorner: www.fcgm.org/ecorner/
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THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS - PART THREE
I. Devotional Reading
jot them down on a piece of paper and place in your Bible for further study and meditation.
Read Philippians 2:1-11
2. What are the two choices of focus Paul refers to in 2:3-4?
3. Read 2:5-11 and write why 2:5 is the pivot scripture of this whole section of Philippians.
2. In 2:14-16 what is it that will cause Paul to "boast on the day of Christ"?
3. In 2:17-18 Paul says his life is being poured out like a drink offering (a type of Old Testament offering). Why does he say that makes him rejoice?
2. In 2:25 Paul describes four expressions of ministry to him by Epaphroditus. What are they?
3. In 2:26-30 why was Paul sending Epaphroditus back?
Philippians 2:12-13; "
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BACK TO THE KINGDOM - FINAL CHAPTER
We have been 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 have been 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
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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.
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