LEARNING ABOUT GOD'S WORD

“So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading" (Neh. 8:8 NKJV).

After the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s leadership, a spiritual revival took place. Ezra the scribe, re-acquainted the people with the Scriptures. In our text, we therefore want to note the reading, explaining, and applying of the Scriptures.

Reading – “They read distinctly from the book in the law of God.” The reading was from the Scriptures, not from other sources. People need the Word of God more than they need any other book. Many folks down play the importance of the Scriptures by insisting that we need to read and learn about other things, too. However, this usually end up diminishing the emphasis on the Scriptures. We may know many things; but if we do not know the Scriptures, our knowledge is woefully deficient. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the Scriptures. Reading the Bible must be the most important reading we do.

Explaining – “They gave the sense.” The religious leaders helped the people to understand what the Scripture said. The Bible must be more than just words. It is not enough to read; we must know and understand what we are reading. Bible study books as wells as other translations are a big help. However, it is not the number of times that we read the Bible through that matters but how well we know what the Bible is saying.

Applying – “Helped them to understand the reading.” From reading and explaining the text one needs to go on to the applying of the text. We need to understand how the Scripture applies to our everyday lives. The work of pastors and Bible teachers is not only to acquaint the people with the Word of God and explain what the reading means, but it is also to apply the Word. The Bible will not do us any good if we do not apply it to our lives. The Bible is meant to guide our lives, to show us how to act. Without application of the Scriptures to our lives, our Bible reading will be unprofitable.

(Adapted from John Phillips Commentary)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“No man is uneducated who knows the Bible, and no one is wise who is ignorant of its teachings!”

Samuel Chadwick (1860 – 1932)

Wesleyan Methodist minister and Author

Word Study

Drag (seized)

In Luke 8:29 we read, “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness” (NKJV).

Drag (seized) is the Greek word sunarpazō (συναρπάζω = soon-ar-pad'-zo). The word sunarpazo is made up of two words: “sun” which means ‘with’ and intensifies meaning, and “harpazo” which means to seize, rapture. Thus, sunarpazo means to seize suddenly and violently, to grasp with great violence. Here in Luke 8:29 an unclean spirit seized (sunarpazō) the Gadarene man so violently that he broke the chains and fetters used to bind him.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – – Messiah would be crucified with criminals (Isa. 53:12)

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 27:35

Bible Facts

Our ancestors were not primitive and undeveloped creatures (Gen. 4:20-22; Job 8:8-10; 12:12). Archeologists have discovered that our ancestors mined, had metallurgical factories, created air-conditioned buildings, designed musical instruments, studied the stars, and much more. This evidence directly contradicts the theory of evolution, but agrees completely with God’s Word.

Bible Quiz

According to the Book of Ruth, why did Naomi and her family leave Israel and went to live in the country of Moab?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: According to the Book of Acts, who invited his family and friends to hear what God had to say to him? Cornelius (Acts 10:24).

That’s in the Bible

"Hide your light under a bushel”

“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house” (Matt. 5:15 KJV).

“Hide your light under a bushel” - The expression “hide your light under a bushel” refers to concealing one’s abilities. A light is meant to shine and give direction. A concealed lamp, placed under a bowl is useless. We must not try to conceal our light any more than we would light a lamp and then hide it. Being Christ’s disciples means spreading the light to everyone with whom we have contact.

Did You Know - Christian History

In the Wild West, many towns sprang up overnight, while others became ghost towns almost as quickly when mines closed, or disaster struck and camps moved on. Usually the population was rough and ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Under these conditions, it didn’t make much sense to incur the expense of putting up a permanent church.

In 1883 newly appointed Episcopalian Bishop William David Walker was faced with overseeing an enormous territory with few settlers. After an 1899 tour of Siberia and visiting the chapel cars of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Walker had the idea of building railroad chapel cars that could travel and conduct services as well as other business of the church.

The Episcopal Church was inspired by Walker’s idea and held many fund-raising events for the chapel car throughout their Eastern dioceses. Walker also received a large donation from Cornelius Vanderbilt, president of the New York Central Railroad. After raising the funds in 1890, Walker’s chapel car was built and he named it “The Church of the Advent - The Cathedral Car of North Dakota.”

“The Cathedral Car” traveled over seventy thousand miles during its ten years of service. Many of the men who visited it came merely out of curiosity, but untold numbers of others accepted the Christian way of life or were strengthened in their Christian walk through it.

By 1891, the American Baptist Publication Society also had a chapel car, “The Evangel” which seated one hundred worshippers. The Baptist chapel car fleet grew to a total of seven cars. Thomas Edison provided the rail chapels with the phonograph. The Roman Catholic Church then had three chapel cars built. Further, the idea of chapel cars was borrowed by other countries, too. The Orthodox used them in Russia, Presbyterians in South Africa and missionaries in China.

Yet, not everyone appreciated the idea of chapel cars. In Oregon, one car was pelted with eggs, marked with graffiti and set afire. It survived, protected by nobler individuals in the local population. But it is safe to say that America’s chapel cars did more to tame the west than all the gunmen heroized in Hollywood films.

A Little Humor

Mrs. Terri asked her Sunday School class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. She was puzzled by Kyle’ s picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent. “The flight to Egypt,” said Kyle. “I see … And that must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus,” Mrs. Terri said. “But who’s the fourth person?” “Oh, that’s Pontius-the Pilot.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“How tragic that people pay a high price for being lost when salvation is free!”