End of The Year Reminders

YOU ARE INVITED:

Next Sunday night (May 4th) all Refinery leaders (and their spouses or significant others) are invited to Kanki at Crabtree Valley Mall for an appreciation dinner. Plan to be at Kanki at 7:45pm and please r.s.v.p. to Shannon Dingle to let her know if you are coming and how many no later than Wednesday. We look forward to showing our love and appreciation for all your hard work this year.

Keep Wednesday May 14th open. This night is a special refuge where all refinery leaders will be recognized and rewarded. Please plan to be there for this special evening.

Also, please let Mike know in advance of any changes in time or venue for this last refinery meeting. Even if you are planning something special make sure your plans include doing the last study of the year. It is also important that you offer suggestions to students and parents of devotionals that they can follow through the summer months until the Bible Reading Plan kicks in again in August. If you need suggestions email Mike Hall

Here are the teaching notes for the last Refinery meeting of the year: Notes for 4-30-08

Please stay tuned for an announcement about our end of year social on May 4th and a special Refinery leader Appreciation Refuge on May 14th.

Also, please make plans to attend the reThink Conference being held in the Delta Lake Center on May 16th. This is an all day conference about Steve Wright's book on student ministry entitled reThink. There is no cost for the conference, but we need you to register by going to www.rethinkconference08.com.

The special speaker for this conference is Dr. Randy Stinson (President of the Council of Biblical manhood and Womanhood). Worship will be led by Daniel Renstrom.

Teaching Notes For 4/23/08

Mark 4:26-29

Introduction: Read Mark 4:1-34. It is important that the students understand the context of this parable. It is possible to misunderstand what Jesus is teaching or to miss His emphasis if we fail to see the context of a parable or passage. I would encourage you to use this as a teaching opportunity to help your students understand that context is paramount as they study verses, passages, and chapters is God’s Word.

Q & A Session:

1. What is the first parable Jesus gives in this passage?

2. How does He interpret this parable to the disciples?

3. How does this passage apply SPECIFICALLY to your life?

4. What is the second parable Jesus gives in this passage?

Background: The first parable in the passage is the parable of the sower and the different types of soil. Jesus explains what each type of soil is, and that the seed is the Word of God. Keep this parable in mind as you study Mark 4:26-29. It sheds some light on what Jesus is teaching us in these later verses.

The second parable concerns the use of a lamp stand. There is a great deal that we could learn from this passage, but I will keep it brief since it is not our focus. In verse 22, Jesus tells us that nothing is hidden except to be revealed. In other words, the truths of God in these parables are not meant to be kept hidden forever, but for those who have faith in Christ. Also, the Word of God that is planted into our lives is not meant to be kept hidden but to bear fruit. We are challenged in verses 24-25 to be careful how we listen. When we hear God’s Word, we must listen intently and apply God’s truth in obedience to our lives. If we do, God will continue to reveal His truth to us. If we don’t, even the knowledge we have will be taken from us. WOW!! Challenging but encouraging!!

I. What is the writer trying to say?

This parable is an amazing parable. It is not necessarily easy to understand at the surface but as I read it and thought about it and read commentaries, I learned a great deal that I am eager to share with you.

I want us two consider to applications of this parable which I found in different commentaries I read. First of all, we have already learned that the seed is God’s Word. And, the soil is people’s lives. In this parable, the sower sows the seed and it grows without his understanding or his help. The crop grows in stages and when the time is right, the sower harvests it.

God has given us the unbelievable privilege to share His Word—to share the Gospel. This parable should be encouraging to us in several realms. First of all, we are not the one who is responsible for the growth of God’s Word in the lives of those He allows us to share the Gospel with. God is the One who grows the seed. I Corinthians 3:6-7 says it this way, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.” So, plant away as God gives opportunity, but trust God to do the growing!!

There are two interesting passages concerning the harvest being ready that I would encourage you to read lest we think that the harvest is only ready when Jesus returns. Please read Matthew 9:37-38 and John 9:35-38.

Another application to consider for this parable begins with the earthly ministry of Jesus. When Jesus left this earth, He had 11 faithful apostles and a small number of other followers. By human standards, not a very large following. However, God’s truth had been planted. God’s Gospel had gone forth. And, just as in the parable the seed bears fruit and produces a crop. God’s Word bore fruit and the small band of followers when Jesus was crucified has multiplied to millions on the earth today. We don’t understand and no human is responsible for this growth. It is God’s Word amazing work. What an encouragement to His disciples to know that God’s kingdom would grow and that it was God who would make it grow.

If you continue reading the next parable, you almost hear Jesus echo this truth. The small mustard see grows into a large bush as Jesus’ small band of followers grew into millions of believers.

II. What questions do you have about this passage?

Question: "What is the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?"

Answer: While some believe that the Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are referring to different things, it is clear that both phrases are referring to the same thing. The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 68 times in 10 different New Testament books, while “kingdom of heaven” occurs only 32 times, and only in the Gospel of Matthew. In response to this, some interpreters have come to the conclusion, with the understanding of the Jewish nature of the Gospel of Matthew, that Matthew was writing concerning the millennial kingdom while the other New Testament authors were referring to the universal kingdom. However, a study of the use of the phrase reveals that this interpretation is in error.

For example, in the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-24, Christ uses “kingdom of heaven” to speak of the spiritual kingdom. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven’” (v. 23). In the very next verse, Christ proclaims “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” So, in answer to the rich young ruler’s question concerning eternal life (v. 16) Christ uses the phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” interchangeably.

Mark and Luke used “kingdom of God” where Matthew used “kingdom of heaven” quite frequently. In the same parable, the authors used different words, indicating that the two are referring to the same thing. Compare Matthew 11:11-12 with Luke 7:28; Matthew 13:11 with Mark 4:11 and Luke 8:10; Matthew 13:24 with Mark 4:26; Matthew 13:31 with Mark 4:30 and Luke 13:18; Matthew 13:33 with Luke 13:20; Matthew 18:3 with Mark 10:14 and Luke 18:16; and Matthew 22:2 with Luke 13:29. In each of these instances, Matthew used the phrase “kingdom of heaven” while Mark and/or Luke used “kingdom of God.” Clearly, the two phrases are interchangeable because they refer to the same thing.

- http://www.gotquestions.org/kingdom-heaven-God.html

Question: "What is the Kingdom of God?"

Answer: The kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures and things (Psalms 103:19; Daniel 4:3). The kingdom of God is also the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into at the new birth (John 3:5-7), and is synonymous with the “kingdom of heaven.”

The kingdom of God embraces all created intelligence, both in heaven and earth that are willingly subject to the Lord and are in fellowship with him. The kingdom of God is therefore, universal in that it includes created angels and men. It is eternal, as God is eternal, and it is spiritual—found within all born-again believers. We enter the kingdom of God when we are born again, and we are then part of that kingdom for eternity. It is a relationship "born of the spirit" (John 3:5) and we have confident assurance that it is so because the Spirit bears witness with our spirits (Romans 8:16).

God is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and the ruler over all of His creation. However, the designation "the kingdom of God" compasses that realm which is subject to God and will be for eternity. The rest of creation will be destroyed. Only that which is part of the "kingdom of God" will remain.

- http://www.gotquestions.org/kingdom-of-God.html

III. How does the passage apply to my life?

I would encourage you to have your students answer these questions in some way. You might discuss them as a group. You might have the students write their answers individually and then share as a group. You might have your students go off individually, answer the questions, and spend a few minutes alone in prayer. Ask the Lord to lead you.

Questions:

1. How am I doing in applying what God teaches me to my life? Read James 1:22-25.

2. How does knowing God is the one who grows the Gospel in people’s lives apply to your life?

3. Have you thanked God lately for growing His Gospel in your life? Why not now?

4. How have you planted God’s Word this week?

Proverbs 17:17-18

Friends are often very important in the lives of teenagers, and the teenage years can be a challenging time in regard to friends. I would encourage you to take a few minutes to look at Proverbs 17:17a. Challenge your students to test their friendships according to God’s truth. Are they a friend who loves at all times? And, are their friends really friends that love at all times? If they are, then they will never hinder them from their walk with the Lord.

Leader’s Thought: I love this quote and thought it was quite appropriate for us to consider. You can fish for a man and feed him for a day. Or, you can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Let’s teach our students to fish for themselves as they study God’s Word!!

Thanks for all you do!!

Leadership Training And Teaching Notes

Please don't forget that we have leadership training this Sunday at 5:30 on the 3rd floor. This is the last training of the year. Please come unless providentially hindered so that we can end the year well.

Let me apologize for not having the notes ready by last Wednesday. Here they are and we will be going over them briefly at training tomorrow: Lesson Notes for April 16th, 2008

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening.