The Christian Message

  Ears to Hear  Lesson Text: Matthew 13:9-17  Related Scriptures: Matthew 13:18-23; I Corinthians 2:6-16  TIME: A.D. 28  PLACE: Sea of Galilee  GOLDEN TEXT—“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9).  Introduction  Oday ouyay ememberray enwhay ouyay okespay inay Igpay Atinlay osay atthay ouryay ildrenchay ouldway otnay owknay atwhay ouyay ereway ayingsay? You did this with your spouse in order to communicate a message that he or she would understand but that the children would miss.  Do you know that parables were something like that? Jesus taught His followers in parables so that they could gain spiritual understanding while others listening in could not. Without spiritual insight, people were incapable of grasping the truths being taught. In I Corinthians 2:1 through 3:4, Paul wrote of different types of people: spiritually mature, spiritually immature, and natural (unsaved). Each group responds differently to the truth.  Whe...

 Separating the Sheep and the Goats  Lesson Text: Matthew 25:31-46  Related Scriptures: Deuteronomy 15:7-11; Daniel 7:9-14;Matthew 16:24-28; I John 4:7-14  TIME: A.D. 30 PLACE: Jerusalem  GOLDEN TEXT—“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46).  Introduction   The apostle Paul wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). In his Pastoral Epistles, Paul repeatedly reminded Timothy and Titus of the importance of good works.  We understand that salvation is a gift from God because of His grace and is received through faith alone. We cannot earn salvation, no matter how many good works we do. Scripture does teach, however, that there will always be evidence of true salvation. James wrote, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works?” (2:14). Amon...

  Accept God’s Invitation!  Lesson Text Luke 14:7-11, 15-24  Related Scriptures: Proverbs 25:6-7; Matthew 21:42-44; 22:1-14  TIME: A.D. 30  PLACE: Perea  GOLDEN TEXT—“And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23).  Introduction  The events recorded in Luke 14 took place at a banquet on the Sabbath Day in the home of one of the chief Pharisees (vs. 1). Among those gathered was a man with dropsy. Jesus looked around at the lawyers and Pharisees and asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?” (vs. 3).  Jesus’ question put them on the spot, because it was allowable according to rabbinical interpretation to give medical treatment on a Sabbath if a life was endangered. Everyone kept silent. The man’s life did not seem to be at stake, but the religious leaders did not want to appear indifferent to the man’s suffering by insisting that he could not ...