We got up and YUP, SHO' NUFF someone had broken into our car and taken 2 of our suitcases. They didn't take the $200-300 of beads that Irene had in plastic tubs - those are to heavy. So, they took the 2 things they could easily carry. Little did they know that there was essentially nothing of value in them. The only things they took were 2 stone hippos and one wooden rhino that we had just bought in South Africa. Total value about $40. That's a little bit of a bummer because we were going to use them to help decorate part of our house we are having built for us down in Mission, TX with a South African theme.
Monday-Wednesday we went out and put 1600 invitations on doors around the church building trying to rustle up some kids for the VBS. We can definitively say that it didn't work TONIGHT. We had no children from the community tonight. Lord willing, tomorrow night will be different. Tonight we had a monster thunderstorm come through the area about 30 minutes before the start of VBS. So, maybe tomorrow night will be different.
Tonight's lesson was on John the Baptist serving as the forerunner of Jesus. Since only 6 kids showed up total - 3 in the 4 yr old - Kindergarten class and 3 in the teen class, I had a really large contingent in my adult class. Below are the scriptures I used in my class to weave the biblical story of John's birth, life and ministry as he prepared the nation of Israel for their messiah and identified him as Jesus of Nazareth. I hope you enjoy the study:
John the Baptist
“He must
Increase, I must Decrease”
Amos
8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will
send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but
of hearing the words of Jehovah.
Isaiah
40:3 The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the
way of the Lord; make level in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every
mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and
the rough places a plain: 5 and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for
the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
Mal
4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible
day of the Lord come. 6 And he shall
turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to
their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Luke
1:8 Now it came to pass, while he executed the priest’s office
before God in the order of his course, 9
according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the
temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10
And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the hour of
incense. 11 And there appeared unto him
an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him,
and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel
said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy
wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and
many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For
he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
mother’s womb. 16 And many of the
children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before his face in the
spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for
the Lord a people prepared for him.
18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I
am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 19 And the angel answering said unto him, I
am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto
thee, and to bring thee these good tidings.
20 And behold, thou shalt be silent and not able to speak, until the day
that these things shall come to pass, because thou believedst not my words,
which shall be fulfilled in their season.
21 And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marvelled while
he tarried in the temple. 22 And when he
came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a
vision in the temple: and he continued making signs unto them, and remained
dumb. 23 And it came to pass, when the
days of his ministration were fulfilled, he departed unto his house.
Luke
1:57 Now Elisabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should be
delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbors and her kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified
his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it came to pass on the eighth day,
that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him
Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called
John. 61 And they said unto her, There is
none of thy kindred that is called by this name. 62 And they made signs to his father, what he
would have him called. 63 And he asked
for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled
all. 64 And his mouth was opened immediately,
and his tongue loosed, and he spake, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all that dwelt round
about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill
country of Judaea. 66 And all that heard
them laid them up in their heart, saying, What then shall this child be? For
the hand of the Lord was with him.
John
1:6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for witness, that he might
bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came that
he might bear witness of the light.
Matt.
3:4 Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a
leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. [2 Kings 1:8 - And they answered him, He was a hairy man,
and girt with a girdle of leather about
his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.] 5 Then went out unto
him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan; 6 and they were baptized of him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But
when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said
unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to
come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruit
worthy of repentance: 9 and think not to
say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that
God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And even now the axe lieth at the root of
the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire. 11 I
indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in
the Holy Spirit and in fire: 12
whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor;
and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up
with unquenchable fire.
Matt.
3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be
baptized of him. 14 But John would have
hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to
me? 15 But Jesus answering said unto
him, Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.
Then he suffereth him. 16 And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens
were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and
coming upon him; 17 and lo, a voice out
of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
John
1:19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him
from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; and he
confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And
they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou
the prophet? And he answered, No. 22
They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them
that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make
straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet. 24 And they had been sent from the
Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and
said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither
Elijah, neither the prophet? 26 John
answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one
whom ye know not, 27 even he that
cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethany beyond
the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John
1:29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh
a man who is become before me: for he was before me. 31 And
I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this
cause came I baptizing in water. 32 And
John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of
heaven; and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me
to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit
descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy
Spirit. 34 And I have seen, and have
borne witness that this is the Son of God.
John
1:35 Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his
disciples; 36 and he looked upon Jesus as
he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
John
3:22 After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land
of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23 And John also was baptizing in Enon near
to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were
baptized. 24 For John was not yet cast
into prison. 25 There arose therefore a
questioning on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purifying. 26 And they came unto John, and said to him,
Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the Jordan, to whom thou hast borne
witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27 John answered and said, A man can receive
nothing, except it have been given him from heaven. 28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I
said, I am not the Christ, but, that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom:
but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly
because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Matt. 11:2 Now when John heard in the prison
the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples 3 and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for
another? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the
things which ye hear and see: 5
the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and
the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings
preached to them. 6 And blessed
is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.
Matt. 11:7 And as these went their way, Jesus
began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the
wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment?
Behold, they that wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. 9 But wherefore went ye out? to see a
prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 10 This is he, of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy
face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
Matt. 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them
that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist:
yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the
Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence
take it by force. 13 For all the
prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah,
that is to come. 15 He that hath
ears to hear, let him hear. 16
But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting
in the marketplaces, who call unto their fellows 17 and say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed,
and ye did not mourn. 18 For
John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. 19 The Son of man came eating and
drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners! And wisdom is justified by her works.
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