Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syriansfrom Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord areupon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroyit from off the face of the earth."that which the Bible commands. We areBible Christians first, last and always! TheBible is the most priceless treasure we haveinherited from the past.The Bible is the Word of God in a6: At Some Future Time GodWould Bring Back Israel from the Land ofCaptivity.The wicked people of that presentsense which is not true of any other book.This is what inspiration means — the wordsas they were given by God and written bymen inspired by His Holy Spirit are thetime would be destroyed, but their very Word of God and speak only thedescendants would be brought back to the truth. Inspired also means "Godbreathed."land of their fathers. Amos said in"Holy men of old spake as they9:11,12,14,15, "In that day will I raise upthe tabernacle of David that is fallen, andclose up the breaches thereof; and I willwere moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter1:21). The Bible uses the expression manytimes, "Thus saith the Lord." "All Scriptureraise up his ruins, and I will build it as in is given by inspiration of God and isthe days of old: that they may possess the profitable for doctrine, for reproof, forremnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, correction, for instruction inwhich are called by My name, saith theLord that doeth this. . . .And I will bringrighteousness; that the man of God may beperfect, thoroughly furnished unto all goodagain the captivity of my people of Israel, works" (II Tim. 3:16,17). "The law of theand they shall build the waste cities, and Lord is perfect, converting the soul; theinhabit them; and they shall plant testimony of the Lord is sure, making wisevineyards, and drink the wine thereof; theyshall also make gardens, and eat the fruit ofthem. And I will plant them upon theirland, and they shall no more be pulled upout of their land which I have given them,saith the Lord thy God."the simple" (Psalm 19:7).How could we come to know Christand believe in Him in the first place if itwere not through the Bible? So it is importantwhat we believe about the Bible,because in it we find the plan of God to"Lesson based on International Sunday School save sinners. And God uses men like ourLessons: the International Bible Lessons for ministers, teachers, and missionaries toChristian Teaching, copyrighted 1967 by the Divisionexplain the Word to us.of Christian Education, National Council of Churchesof Christ in the U.S.A."Junior TopicFor May 2,1971Unit Topic: Our PublicWorship and SacramentsREADING THE SCRIPTURESMrs. John RussellOf all the activities in our publicworship service, did you know that themost important parts should be thereading, preaching, and hearing of theWord of God? This message from the Biblewill be applied to our hearts by the HolySpirit and not by some human person orminister. The reading of the Word of Godby the minister, or with the congregationtaking some part, should be thought of asour hearing God's message to us.Why is the Bible so important to us asChristians? The Bible (both Old and NewTestaments) was written by men uponwhom the Spirit of God worked and so it isthe written Word of God and is ourauthority or basis for our faith and life inChrist. The Bible answers every question ofa moral and spiritual nature which has todo with our own, our social, or ourreligious life. We do not have the right toset up another or a lower standard than12Jesus Christ believed the OldTestament was inspired of God and Heoften quoted from the Scriptures.Remember when He was three timestempted by Satan in the wilderness?When tempted to turn stones into bread,He replied, "It is written, Man shall not liveby bread alone, but by every word thatproceedeth out of the mouth of God."When Satan dared Christ to jump off thepinnacle of the Temple, Christ said, "It iswritten, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thyGod." When Satan offered Christ thekingdoms of the world if He would only falldown and worship him, Christ answered,"Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written,Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God andHim only shalt thou serve" (Matt. 4:3-10).Each time Christ rebuked Satan with thewords, "It is written." The Scriptures wereHis authority. Jesus quoted from the law,Psalms, and prophets at other times and Heshowed that He believed they were trueand would be fulfilled or come to pass.Christ also promised that the same HolySpirit that inspired the authors of the OldTestament would be given to those whowould write books of the New Testament.Did you ever think about the unity orharmony in all the books of the Bible?There are 66 books all in one Bible, 39 inthe Old Testament and 27 in the NewTestament. These were written by 36different authors over a period of 16centuries. There is no contradiction orconfusion, history has proven that the factsare true, and there is one main messagethrough them all. The Old Testamentpoints to the Savior to come and the NewTestament tells us of the Savior who hascome. There is only one explanation forthis unity: there was really only one author— God. Think how prophecies of Christ inthe Old Testament — His birth, life anddeath — were all fulfilled in the NewTestament! This couldn't just have happened!Perhaps you can remember some ofthese wonderful facts about the Scripturesthe next time the Bible passage is read inyour church service. Perhaps, rememberingthat it is God's Word will make youreverent and humble in God's presence.This should make us listen carefully andunderstand more.To Leader:(1) Catechism questions — 2,3.(2) Memory Psalms for Unit: 95, p. 23T;122, p. 316. Review.(3) Sing in meeting: Psalms 19:5-7, p. 42;138:1,2, p. 338; 119:1-4, p. 298; 119:1-4, p.288.(4) Worship Verse — II Timothy 3:16,17(write in notebook; learn all or part)(5) "Worship Notebook" — a) List booksof Old and New Testaments in order. HaveJuniors learn these if they haven'tbefore, b) Label top of page with a Biblesticker or draw a picture of Bible, c)Write down references to 3 favorite Bibleportions; talk about these if time.(6) Handwork — a) Add King-ship toBible fleet. This displays the royal ensign(Christ our King). Also add Scholar-ship.Each Christian Junior should ride his shipas far as possible. Board ships that carrytrue wisdom. (Prov. 9:10) b) Make apattern of a child for Juniors to copy,labeled, "I am a Christian Soldier" Eph.6:14-17, with own name under. At eachmeeting, add parts of the Christian armorwith paper fasteners or tabs. Make swordof the Spirit (Word of God) this meeting.(See patterns in Taught of the Lord, byAnna McKelvy.)(7) Object Lessons — Object—a roadmap. When you want to take a trip, differentfriends may tell.you different roadsto take. A map can tell you the right way toget there. How do you find the way toheaven? Who would be right? Go whereyou can get the right answer — to theBible. (John 14:6) Object—flashlight withbulb taken out. Why does not this bulb givelight? It's foolish and thinks it can give lightby itself. "If I try hard enough I am sure ICOVENANTER WITNESS