DATE: – SUNDAY, 4TH DECEMBER 2022
TOPIC: -BETHLEHEM AND ITS GOOD NEWS (Part 2)
BIBLE PASSAGE: – Luke 2: 1 – 14
MEMORY VERSE: – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
INTRODUCTION: – Bethlehem, meaning the house of bread is five miles south of Jerusalem. It is David’s nativity; that is why it was call “the city of David”. It was called Ephrath in the ancient. Bethlehem, was where Rachael died after giving birth to Benjamin (Gen.35:19; 48:7) and the birthplace of David (Ruth 1:1-2, 22; 4:18-22; 1Sam.16:1-5; 17:12). But Bethlehem became famous because the Messiah was born therein (Mic.5:1-2; Mt.2:1-16, Lk.2:1-14).
LESSON OUTLINES
1) The Message Of Bethlehem
The Angel Gabriel was the first top interpret what John the beloved said that “the Word became flesh and dwells among us” (Jhn.1:14) when he brought the good news to the shepherds in the field (Lk.2:10). Yes, he brought them (and ofcourse), tidings of peace and good-will, tidings of God’s free love, tidings of His design to pitch once more His tabernacle here, and to take up His abode with the sons of men.
It teaches us that God’s thoughts of peace for incarnation means this at least, that God’s desire is to bless us, not to curse, to save, not to destroy. He seeks reconciliation with us; nay He has brought about the reconciliation. He has not merely made proposals of peace, and sent them to us by the hand of an ambassador, but He has Himself come to us bearing His own message, and presenting Himself to us, in our nature, as His own ambassador. Incarnation is not, indeed, the whole, but it is much. It is the voice of love, the message of peace God Himself is both the speaker and the Maker of peace.
The message that comes to us form Bethlehem is a very decided one; it was only finished at the cross; but, so far as it goes, it is quite explicit, quite unambiguous. It means love, peace, pardon, eternal life. The lesson taught us Bethlehem is the lesson of grace, the grace of God, the grace of the Father and the Son. We may learn much, indeed as to the way of life, from Bethlehem. It must not indeed stand alone; you must associate it with Jerusalem. You must bring the cradle and the cross together. But still it teaches us the first part of the great lesson of peace. It says, though not as fully as Golgotha, God is love. The beginning is not the end, but still it is the beginning. Bethlehem is not Jerusalem, but still it is Bethlehem. And the Prince of Peace is there. The God of salvation is there. The manifested life is there.
Do not despise Bethlehem. Do not pass it by. Come see the place where the young child lay. Look at the manger, there is the Lamb for the burnt offering, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. These little tender hands shall yet be torn; these feet shall be nailed to the tree. That side shall yet be pierced by a Roman spear, that back shall be scourged, that cheek shall be buffeted and spit upon; that brow shall be crowned with thorns; and all for you! Is this love is there not life? And in this life is there not salvation, and a kingdom, and a throne?
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
At Bethlehem, the fountain of love was opened, and its waters have gushed out in their fullness. The well of David has overflowed the earth, and the nations now may drink. The good news has gone forth from the city of David, and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
QUESTIONS
- What is the message of Bethlehem?
- What is the relationship between and Jerusalem?
DATE: – SUNDAY, 11TH DECEMBER 2022
TOPIC: -BETHLEHEM AND ITS GOOD NEWS (Part 3)
BIBLE PASSAGE: – Matthew 2: 1 – 12
MEMORY VERSE: – “And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the Princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor; that shall rule my people Israel” (Matthew 2:6).
INTRODUCTION: – Micah prophesied that a godly ruler would come out of Bethlehem who would fulfill God’s promises to His people. This verse refers to Jesus the Messiah (Mat.2:1, 3-6), who is “from everlasting” (Jhn.1:1; Col.1:17; Rev.1:8); yet He would be born as a human and live among people (Jh.1:14; Phil.2:7-8).
LESSON OUTLINES
1) Lesson From Bethlehem
Would you learn the way of God? Then, go to Bethlehem. See there an infant; yes, that is God; the Word made flesh. He is “the Way”. No man cometh to the Father but by Him.
Do you want to learn to the truth of God that makes free from sin, self and Stan’s bondage and captivity? Go to Bethlehem. There the Child in the manger laid; He is the Son of God; the eternal Word, that makes free, sanctifies, heals and delivers (John 14:6; 7:17; Ps.107:20. God in dial with Him. So shall Bethlehem be to you the gate of heaven against.
Would you have a safe guard against worldliness, and sin and error, and the snares of the last days? Choose and keep the young child’s companionship.
Would you learn to be humble? Go to Bethlehem. There the highest is the lowest, the eternal Word a babe; the King of kings, has nowhere to lay His head (Lk.9:58); the Creator of the heavens and earth and the Owner there of (Ps.24:1-2). Sleep in a woman’s arms. How low He has become; how poor! (2Corint.8:9). Where shall we learn humility if not here? All earthly pride is here rebuked and put to shame. Be not proud, says yon Bethlehem manger. Be clothed with humility say the swaddling-bonds of yon helpless child.
Would you learn to be self-denied? Go to Bethlehem, see the Word made flesh. He “pleases not Himself” (Rom.15:3).
Where shall we find such self-denial as at the cradle and the cross? Where shall we read a lesson of self-sacrifice, such as we have in Him who made Himself of no reputation; who choose not Jerusalem, but Bethlehem, for His birthplace; not a palace not a temple, but a stable for His first earthly home? Shall we not be followers of His lowly love?
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
At Bethlehem our world’s history begins. All before and after the birth of the young child takes its colour from that event. As He is “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev.3:14), the first begotten of the dead” (Rev.1:5), so is He the beginning and ending, the centre and circumstance of human history, He is the “all in all” (Col.3:11); and as such, from the manger to the throne, He is the incarnation of Jehovah’s purposes the interpretation of the divine acting’s, and the revelation of the heavenly mysteries.
QUESTIONS
- What lessons can we learn from Bethlehem?
- How can we profit from the lesson from Bethlehem?
DATE: – SUNDAY, 18TH DECEMBER 2022
TOPIC: -THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH (Part 1)
BIBLE PASSAGE: -Luke 2: 1 – 20
MEMORY VERSE: – “And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the Inn” (Luke 2:7).
INTRODUCTION: – One of the most told and celebrated stories of all ages is that of the birth of Jesus Christ. Though an old story yet it is ever new, and God’s people never tire of it “Born of a virgin mother-Mary, laid in a manager, wrapped in a swaddling clothes. Weak as any other baby, yet He was also the centre of Power as far as heaven was concerned.
LESSON OUTLINES
1) Christ’s Birth Drew Mary And Joseph To Bethlehem
Ceaser Augustus was the ruler or Emperior of the Roman empire at that time, but God was absolutely in-charge, for He cause Ceaser Augustus to make an edict by which Mary and Joseph moved miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill His Word (Micah 5:2; Matt.2:6). Roman government took a census every fourteen years for both military and tax purposes; and the Jewish male had to return to their nativity to record his name, occupation, property and family.
When Mary said “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Lk.1:38); it meant that from thence on, her life would be a part of the fulfillment of divine prophecy. God had promised that a Saviour would be a born, not an angel but human (Gen.3:15; Heb.2:16); and a Jew, not a Gentile (Gen.12:1-3; Num.24:17). He would be from the tribe of Judah (Gen.49:10) of the family of David (2Sam.7:1-17), born of a virgin (Isa.7:14) in Bethlehem, the city of David (Mic.5:2).
All these occurred just as the Scriptures said, and Ceaser Augustus unknowingly played on important role. If God’s Word controls our lives, then the events of history help us to fulfill the will of God. “I am watching over my world to perform it” promised the LORD (Jere.1:12).
Mary and Joseph were already husband and wife but since they did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born, she is called Los “espoused wife”. (Matt.1:18-25). The journey must have been very tiring for her, but she rejoiced in doing the will of God, and she was no doubt glad to get away from the wagging tongues in Nazareth. Mothers in those days wrapped their infants in long bands of cloth to give the limbs strength and protection.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Bethlehem means “house of bread” the ideal birth placeof the Bread of Life. Its rich, historic heritage included the death of Rachael and the birth of Benjamin (Gen.35:16-20), the marriage of Ruth and the exploits of David. It is worth nothing that the name Benjamin means “the son of my right hand”, and the name David means “beloved”. Both of these names apply to our Lord, for He is the Beloved Son (Lk.3:22), at God’s right hand (Ps.10:1).
QUESTIONS
- What does it mean when Mary said “Be it unto me according to thy word”?
- What is the significance of Bethlehem in Christ’s birth?
DATE: – SUNDAY, 25TH DECEMBER 2022
TOPIC: -THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH (Part 2)
BIBLE PASSAGE: -Luke 2: 8 – 24
MEMORY VERSE: – “And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).
INTRODUCTION: – The phrase “even unto Bethlehem” (Luk.2: ) suggests that the shepherds who were in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night were located some distance away from the birth place of the Messiah, but they were of prepared hearts expecting the coming of the Messiah who would come to save His people and they were readily willing to make the trip in order to see the newborn Messiah and worship Him.
How instructive this is to us today as we are expecting the second coming of the Lord’ how prepared are you?
LESSON OUTLINES
1) The Child And The Emperor
Was that infant at Bethlehem no more than a subject of the Roman emperor? Was Christianity the mere product of these outward favouring circumstances? Not so. It is time that from these circumstances the fullness of time took its shape and colour. Without that shelter, it would not have been, humanly speaking, what now it is. But the spark of life itself was independent of any local or natural state. The very characteristics of the life of Christ are that which soared above any such local limit. Therefore, it is that He was born, apart from all the stir and turmoil of the world, in a humble stall, in a dark cavern, in a narrow street of an obscure mountain village.
Therefore, it is that He lived for thirty years in a secluded basin of the unknown, unconsecrated Nazareth; that He passed away without attracting a single word of notice from any contemporary poet or philosopher of that great court, which has made there reign ‘of Caesar Augustus proverbial to all time as “Augustan age”. Born under the emperor, there was in Jesus Christ nothing imperial, except the world-wide dominion of His Spirit. From Caesar Augustus comes out a decree that all the world should be taxed, subdued, civilized, united. All honour to Him for it! All vigilance, all exertion, all prudence be ours to watch and seize all opportunities given to us. But it is from God there come those flashes of life and light, of goodness and of genius, which belong to no age, but which find their likeness in that Divine child, which was born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This, then in the double, striking example; external circumstance are something but they are not everything the inward life is essential. But for its successful growth, it needs external circumstances. There are a thousand ways in which these double lessons are force upon us, but the most striking illustration is still to be found in the contrast of the same double relation to the circumstances of world, century or Church in which we live. And on the hand, there is our own separate existence and character with its own work to do, its own nourishment from God.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
There is a fine propriety in celebrating once a year the nativity and birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our ignorance of the date is no valid objection. We do not hesitate to date our letters and documents; although in doing so, we commit an error of at least four years and perhaps six. The all important thing here is not the time of the nativity, but the fact of the nativity, and, if one day in every week the Church of Immanuel celebrates the resurrection of her LORD, is it unbecoming that she should one day in every year celebrate that nativity without which there had never being either resurrection or redemption, or even the Church herself? So let us all attend to the beautiful story of the birth of our Immanuel “O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel”.
QUESTIONS
- Why is it necessary we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ once in a year?
- Who was the Author of the decree that all the world of that time be taxed?