LHIM Weekly Bible Teaching

Elisha was a prophet who repeatedly made bold moves in his walk with God. His example serves as a corrective to a milquetoast Christianity that hesitates and hopes without ever stepping out boldly in faith. Is it time for you to make a bold move?

1 Kings 19:19-21 Elijah invited Elisha to train with him to become a great prophet of God. Elisha may have hesitated, but before long he fully committed.

2 Kings 2:1-2, 8-14 When Elijah was to depart, Elisha refused to leave his side, requesting a double portion of the spirit.

Miracles of Elisha in 2 Kings

There are many heroes we look up to in the Bible – Abraham, Moses, David, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, and of course, Jesus – just to name a few. But who are the unsung heroes? This week we kick off a new series which will take a closer look at some important, but obscure figures who made a significant impact on biblical history. We start off with Rahab, a woman whose dubious reputation did not stop her from declaring her faith in Yahweh, in word and deed, when it mattered most.

Joshua 2:1 Two spies are sent by Joshua to Jericho and stayed with Rahab, a prostitute.

What does God want?

Genesis 1:26-28   God’s original and ultimate purpose for humanity

1 Timothy 2:1-4   What does God want?

 2 Peter 3:9   Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet?

John 3:16   Why did God give His Son? Why did Jesus give his life?

Colossians 1:27   With the holy spirit, we have Christ within enabling us to be in the image of God with His morals, motives, and desires.

2 Corinthians 5:14,15   Controls, constrains, compels, or motivates as it did for Peter, Andrew, John, James, and Paul.

16   Our understanding of others is no longer based on external, superficial criteria such as social status, race, gender, wealth, or physical appearance.

1 Corinthians 2:13   Spiritual lens – How does God see people?

1 Corinthians 5:17   Our morals, motives, motions now align with Gods’.

1 Corinthians 5:18   Ministry of reconciliation – helping people to come to God or to come back to God through Christ

19   Word of reconciliation – Romans 10:17

20   Ambassadors for Christ

21   Our qualifications

2 Corinthians 6:1-2   Right now is the acceptable time.

Ephesians 6:19-20   Pray for open doors.

Psalm 37:3-5   God will give you His desires if you seek them.

Psalm 73:25-28   We must maintain God’s desires.

Time is something we all have been given the same amount of but don’t all use the same way. God wants us to be mindful of how we use our time so that we make the most of the time that we have been given.

Ephesians 5:15-16

Romans 13:11-14

Psalm 90:12 — We want to obtain a heart of wisdom!

Proverbs 6:1-5 — There is a right time to act and not wait.

How do we make the best use of our time?

As a result of the problems we face, from political tribalism to economic inflation to the decline of civility in our society, it’s easy to lose hope. Yet, for us who follow Christ, we have strong reasons to have hope. Looking to examples like Hezekiah’s deliverance from the Assyrian Empire, Jesus’ heroic suffering and death on the cross, and Martin Luther King’s belief in overcoming, we can see how incredibly empowering hope can be. God calls us to be the people of hope who shine the light of His hope into a dark world.

1 Peter 1:3-5   God has begotten us to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ. This hope includes the righting of wrongs and the renewal of creation (Isaiah 25:6-9).

1 Peter 1:6-9   When we face trials, hope can help us endure as it did for Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:13-19:37).

1 Peter 1:10-12   Looking to Christ’s example, we can see the true power of hope in the face of intense and prolonged suffering (Matthew 27:42-43; Hebrew 12:1-2).

1 Peter 1:13-16   Hope should affect how we live. It is the anchor of our souls (Hebrews 6:19). In addition to getting us through hard times, our strong belief in the coming Kingdom should also motivate us to pursue holiness in our lives.

Luke 8:41- 56   The details of love

Ephesians 5:1-2   Imitators of God – Matthew 5:43-48

Walk in love like Christ – John 13:34

Matthew 16:24-27   Deny self, die to self, and live for Him.

Luke 10:25-37   Involves self-sacrifice of your time, your energy, and your resources.

Estroban

Romans 12:8-9   Honor one another. Love in the little things, the details.

Ephesians 4:29-32   Seek to edify one another.

Romans 16:3-16   Be a love initiator, not just responder.

Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:26   Greet each other with a holy kiss.

1 Peter 3:8-12   To sum up, all of you be harmonious….

We love others because God loves us, and we love Him. Reciprocal human love is no longer a temptation.

Your spiritual life is an incredibly significant part of your life. It affects your inner peace, sense of purpose, mission, morality, personal growth, experience of gratitude, and even your health. As we begin a new year, consider incorporating some new spiritual practices into your life, including daily Bible study, reading Christian books, daily prayer, fasting, listening to Christian music, going to church, attending a midweek fellowship, offering sacrifices, and evangelizing.

Why not take advantage of this season to incorporate some new spiritual practices to deepen your walk with God and your effectiveness in the world?

The birth of Jesus, recorded in Luke 2:1-20, involved Joseph and Mary journeying from Nazareth to Bethlehem, labor and delivery in a humble room for animals, angels announcing the birth to shepherds, and their subsequent visit to see the swaddled baby in a manger. Luke 2:21-40 covers Joseph and Mary’s visit to the temple (probably forty days later) when they made the necessary offerings for their firstborn son and Mary’s purification after which they received encouragement from Simeon and Anna.

Luke 2:1-5 Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because of a census. This enabled Mary to give birth to Jesus (in accordance with the prophecy in Micah 5:2) in the ancestral city of David, Bethlehem.

Luke 2:6-7 Jesus came into the world in a humble setting with a feeding trough as his cradle. Still Mary swaddled him and made sure he was well cared for.

Luke 2:8-14 Shepherding was a humble profession, and shepherds were generally poor. God chose them (of all people) to hear the birth announcement for His son.

Luke 2:15-20 When the shepherds visited Mary and Joseph, they encouraged them to believe that God was truly with them.

Luke 2:21-24 When the family went to the temple, they made the appropriate offerings for a firstborn son (Ex 13:12-15) and for Mary’s purification (Lev 12:2-8).

Luke 2:25-40 Simeon and Anna also greatly encouraged Joseph and Mary, testifying, once again, that God was with them and that the child was destined for greatness.

Gabriel and Mary

Luke 1:26-38

Mary was a teenager who was of low to modest means.

Mary’s confusion was not due to unbelief but a matter of not understanding “how” it was going to happen.

Gabriel confirms the promise to Mary with the testimony of her cousin Elizabeth.

Nothing is impossible with God!

Elizabeth and Mary

Luke 1:39-56

Mary leaves quickly to go see Elizabeth. Joseph may or may not have accompanied her.

Elizabeth prophesies to Mary immediately upon hearing her voice. And then, Mary responds with some of the most amazing, inspired words in Scripture—The Magnificat.

Verses 46-56 are traditionally called “The Magnificat” because the Latin Vulgate begins with “Magnificat anima mea Dominum” (“My soul magnifies the Lord”).

There are easily a dozen references or allusions to the Old Testament in The Magnificat.