2013 MAY WEEK ONE STUDY / ACTIVITY

WEEK 18: Sunday May 5, 2013.

Prayer Time – Pray for General Council Meetings-Election of Chairman, General Secretary, Others Executive members & Transfers

General Council Meeting is the meeting where important decisions, elections, appointments and transfer of Area Heads and Pastors are finally made.

·         The Cell Leader should therefore lead the Cell to pray towards the Council Meeting which will take place on the 8^th -11^th May 2013.

o   Pray that the presence of the Lord will be felt in the meetings.

o   Pray for a successful election of a chairman (the incumbent has served one term), Pray for the election of a new General Secretary (the incumbent has served two terms and he is not eligible for another term) and the election of executive council members.

o   Pray that the Callings of Missionaries, Area Heads etc. will be in accordance with His will.

o   Pray that Transfers of Area Heads and District Pastors should be in the will of God.

o   Ask Cell members to bring out other prayer points.

2013 APRIL WEEK FOUR STUDY / ACTIVITY

Week 17: Sunday April 28, 2013.

 

CELL OUTREACH / EVANGELISM – House to House Evangelism

 The following suggestions can be considered:

a.        Gather the Cell members at Cell Venue to pray for about 15 minutes.

b.       Divide Cell members into groups of two or three.

c.        Groups should be assigned to particular areas of the Community. 

d.       Groups should write the names, phone numbers and residence of converts won and submitted to Cell/Outreach Leader.

e.       The Groups should possibly converge after the house to house with report.

f.         Converts won should be followed throughout the week.

g.       Converts won should be led to Church and Cell meeting on Sunday.

h.       Converts won should be established through water baptism.

 

2013 APRIL WEEK THREE STUDY / ACTIVITY

Week 16:  SUNDAY APRIL 21, 2013

UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP 3

Main Text: Isaiah 1:11-13

Memory Verse: Proverbs15:8

 

Introduction

The prophet reprimands the people for participating in evil deeds while continuing to bring sacrifices to the Lord and to pray and worship Him. Our praise and worship are abominable to God if our hearts are not sincerely devoted to Him and His holy ways.

Discussion Questions

1.        What kind of sacrifice did the people bring to the Lord? (Isa. 1:11)

2.        In verse 13 God refers to the sacrifices as meaningless. Why?

3.        Why would God not accept their sacrifices and worship? (Isa. 1:23)

4.       Why would God not even listen to their prayer? (Isa. 1:15)

5.        In what specific ways did God ask them to repent? (Isa. 1:16-17)

6.       What is God’s promise to them if they repent? (Isa. 1:18,19)

Conclusion

In the main text for today, the prophet has some harsh words for the people and rulers of Jerusalem. The people were interested in the rituals of worship without any devotion to God. They brought sacrifices to the altar only to go back to their evil ways. They attended the temple services yet continued in bribery, exploitation of the vulnerable and even bloodshed. In the New Testament, the Lord denounces this two-faced hypocritical behaviour among the Pharisees (Matt 23). In the church today, there are regular church goers who see church attendance as a social obligation which must be fulfilled religiously every Sunday. Then on other days of the week, they will pursue every shady business deal, indulge in every fleshly desire, lie through the teeth, spew out slanderous and defaming stories in the name politics, only to appear in church on Sunday all sanctimonious to worship. Such behaviour is utterly abhorrent to God and such worship is unacceptable to him. The prophet calls it an insulting trampling of his courts.

2013 APRIL WEEK TWO STUDY / ACTIVITY

Week 15: Sunday April 14, 2013

UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP 2

Main Text: Leviticus 10: 1-3

Memory Verse: Isaiah 5:16

 

Introduction

Nadab and Abihu were priests of God, yet they attempted to offer worship to God in a way contrary to the rules. They defiantly disregarded the rules and publicly disobeyed God’s laws concerning the burning of incense. The two did not commit a genuine mistake. Theirs was an act of deliberate public disobedience and God makes it clear that His holiness and honour among the people will not be compromised.

Discussion Questions

1.        Who were Nadab and Abihu? (Lev. 10:1)

2.        Why were they struck dead? (Lev 10:1)

3.        How were they killed by the Lord? (Lev 10:2)

4.       Which rules had they broken?

5.        What lessons about God do we learn from the quotation in (Lev 10:3)?

Conclusion

Two privileged young men took the sacred things of God for granted and treated the commands of God with disregard and impunity. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron the high priest, were priests next in line to inherit their father as high priest. However, they were struck dead because they offered unacceptable worship to God. Leviticus 10:9-10 seems to suggest that the two were drunk when they did what they did. They might have seen their father perform this ritual many times and had become overly familiar with these sacred rituals and thought they could do their own thing with utter disregard to the rules and protocols. They disregarded the authority of their father, the high priest and used wrong censers. They acted at the wrong time, they did not consult anybody. Though Nadab and Abihu were priests, they disobeyed and dishonoured God by their action. God will always protect his honour in the sight of his people.

2013 APRIL WEEK ONE STUDY / ACTIVITY

Week 14: Sunday April 7, 2013

Unacceptable Worship I

Main Text: Genesis 4:3-5

Memory Verse: Hebrews 11:4

 

Introduction

The Bible has many examples of people who attempted to offer worship to God but were rejected. This indicates that, God is not interested in our merely following some mechanical rituals or coming to Him with a wrong heart and attitude.

God loves our worship. However, He is keenly interested in a certain calibre of worshipper. He will not accept just any kind of worship. Cain and Abel offered their worship to God through their sacrifices, but the Bible says that “God looked with favour on Abel and his offering” but rejected Cain and his offering. It is important for us to learn from God himself and to know the things that please him in worship. Only then will our worship be acceptable to him.

Discussion Questions

1.        How can we offer true worship to God?

2.        Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice? (Heb 11:4)

3.        Why was Cain’s sacrifice rejected?(1 Jn 3:12)

4.       Which kind of people please God in their worship? (Deut 6:5).

5.        Name some unacceptable offerings people bring to church these days.

Conclusion

In today’s study, we see that it was not only Cain’s offering that God rejected. Cain himself was rejected because his deeds were evil. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he came before God with true faith and a right heart. God takes pleasure in our worship, offering, and praises only when we are striving to live a righteous life according to His will.