The Tabernacle Today

Bless your momma!

Read Proverbs 30:11-17 Bless your momma Let’s Pray!

Signs of a generation that does not bless its momma:

1. They curse their mom and dad V. 11

2. They do what’s right in their own eyes instead of God’s V. 12-13

3. They are self-centered and take from others without giving V. 14-16

4. They are the ones who are cursed until they change V. 17

The main ways the Bible calls for us to bless our mommas:

1. Honor/ revere your momma

Honor involves two things:

A. Honoring the position even when you struggle to honor the person

B. Honoring everything you can about the person

2. Obey your momma in the Lord and learn from them

If your mom does not love the Lord and insists you do sinful things, obey the Lord instead of doing that sinful thing.

3. Take care of your mom when she is older

Gary Chapman’s 5 love languages are:

Words of Affirmation: Praise, appreciation or words of affection are used to express love

-Acts of Service: Love and affection are expressed through actions rather than words

-Receiving Gifts: Giving and receiving tokens of affection are symbolic of love

-Physical Touch: Physical touch and intimacy are ways of expressing love

-Quality Time: Love is conveyed by spending quality time together and undivided affection

The Magical Mystery Door Acts 10:1-42

Acts 10:1-11:18 is the _____________________________ narrative (record of what happened) in the book of Acts. It covers arguably the second most important event in the book of Acts after the Day of Pentecost: the conversion of Cornelius the Gentile.

This is the first of 2 messages about Cornelius’ salvation.

Manifest Destiny…

Matthew 28:18-20 Acts 1:8

God sees unbelievers _______________________ for salvation    10:1-8

Make no mistake about it: Cornelius was still ____________ in his sin. As chapter 10 & 11 unfold, it is clear that even though Cornelius was a good man, a religious man, and even a praying man, he still was lost and needed to be saved (11:14).

This fits with a principle seen worldwide: Those who obey the _______________ revelation they have received about God are often led by God the Holy Spirit to a saving encounter with Jesus Christ!

God _______________ believers beyond their cultural “scaffolding”    10:9-16

Leviticus 11

Don’t laugh at Peter – some of us have been saying “no, Lord” a lot more than 3 times to something the Lord is trying to ___________ us!

What a great example Peter is of continual ____________ in the Lord! Peter obeys the Lord and sets aside his cultural baggage for the sake of reaching across ethnic barriers!

Are you able to look at your Bible, and separate out what are God’s clear commands to you from what are cultural preferences?

God brings together believers and unbelievers for the benefit of _____________________.

By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the Mystery of the Messiah. This was not made known to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: the Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. -Eph. 3:4-6  See also Col. 1:26-27 and Rom. 16:25-27

Next time we’ll look at how God used that message that day to bring on a Gentile Pentecost, confirming the manifest destiny of the gospel.

Turn out the lights, the party’s over!

Elias Boudinot responded to Thomas Paine’s anti-Christian The Age of Reason with a book that helped many people believe: The Age of Revelation: Or the Age of Reason shown to be an Age of Infidelity.

Read Revelation 18 Turn out the lights, the party’s over! Let’s Pray!

The Tribulation-Ending Announcement V. 1-3

Even if this Babylon is an actual city, it is also clearly used to represent the entire Anti-Christ world system that will be destroyed at the end of the Tribulation as Jesus Christ returns to earth.

The Timeless Appeal V. 4-8

Iniquity means morally objectionable behavior. You and your friends may not find your behavior objectionable, but if God does and you don’t repent and get His forgiveness, He will remember it on judgment day.

The Traders Tears and ‘Alases’  V. 9-19

The Heavenly Throng’s Anticipation V. 20-24

Why is it important for God to finish the judgment of Satan’s evil world system?

Because everlasting righteousness can’t be brought in until there is an end of sin. And until this fall of Babylon happens and Christ returns and defeats His enemies in Chapter 19’s Battle of Armageddon, sinful exploitation will still happen on earth.

In the Greek, “anymore” is actually the words OU MEI, two words that both mean “No, not.” It could be translated “No, not!”

A Week in the Life of the Early Church Acts 9:32-43

Today’s passage reminds us of all the things we’ve been learning in Acts about how God is at __________________ in both individuals and churches full of individuals at the same time.

The ______________ Jesus had Envisioned V. 32-35

When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which means “Rock”). -John 1:42

Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. -Matthew 4:23

A ____________ after God’s Own Heart V. 36-42

Like a Gazelle, Tabitha was quick to meet needs. She was __________________ doing good works and acts of charity.

My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit, and prove to be my disciples. -John 15:8

By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. -John 13:35

There is much we can and should emulate in this passage…

Like Peter, we should ______________ God to use us as we go through our week.

Like Tabitha, we should be ___________ to meet needs as we go through our week.

Like the church at Joppa, we should ______________ one another throughout the week!

Faithful and Fruitful

The Mission of the Tabernacle is to Reproduce Faithful and Fruitful Followers of Jesus Christ.

What do the following people in the Bible have in common?

Abraham, Amariah, Antipas, the Colossian church, The Creator, Daniel, David, Eden, God, Epaphras, the Ephesian church, Hanan, Hanani, Hananiah, Jeshua, Jesus, Lydia, Miniamin, Moses, Onesimus, Paul, Pedaiah, Sarah, Shecaniah, Shelemiah, Shemaiah, Silvanus, Timothy, Tychicus, Uriah, Zadok, and Zechariah?

Every one of those people are called faithful in the Bible.

T          -           Teaching of Scripture

A         -           Adoration and Prayer

B         -           Baptist Principles

E          -           Evangelism and Missions

R         -           Radical Generosity

N         -           Nurtured Partnerships

A         -           Age Appropriate Ministries

C          -           Congregational Love and Encouragement

L          -           Leadership Development

E          -           Excellence and Fun

“Find something around here and put your name on it.”    -Lamar Mooneyham

We Reach People…

We reach people through preaching the Word.

We reach people through music ministry.

We reach people through teaching in small groups.

We reach people in the youngest generation.

We reach people in the adult generations.

We reach people in our city and surrounding counties.

We reach people in Virginia and North Carolina.

We reach people in the rest of North America.

We reach people throughout the world.

We reach people through education.

We reach people through meeting pressing needs.

We reach people through pro-life, pro-flourishing, pro-family initiatives.

We reach people through helping Jewish people and the persecuted church.

We reach people through being good stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us.

Calling All Paracletes  Acts 9:17-31

Paraclete is a Greek word that means “One who comes ____________________” of another.

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father – Jesus Christ the Righteous One. -I John 2:1

John 14:16-17

2 Cor. 7:5-7

Believers who ‘came alongside’ Saul:

I. Ananias and the ________________ Church for a few months V. 17-25

When believers act courageously in spite of their ________________ and fears, it inspires the same in other believers!

2 Corinthians 11:32-33

When other believers stand, do we stand with them?

How humbling this must have been for Saul: he was led into Damascus as a blind man and smuggled out like a criminal!   -Warren Wiersbe

II. Barnabas and the ________________ Church for a few weeks V. 26-29

Barnabas met with Saul, believed him, and brought him to church. They didn’t trust Saul, but they did trust Barnabas. Barnabas became the ___________________ to Saul’s acceptance in the church.

Then after 3 years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him 15 days. But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother…Afterwards, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I remained personally unknown to the churches in Christ; they simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.   -Galatians 1:18-24

The real action in the church happens throughout the week as mature believers befriend and spend time with new believers! But too often we only hang out with the people we already know, ______________ Peter/Paul type moments!

Acts 8:40

The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him. This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.     -Acts 21:8-9

III.  Philip and the __________________ Church for a few days V. 30-31

Undoubtedly there was some forgiving that needed to be done! Can you picture Saul asking Philip to forgive him for being part of the death of his friend? Can you see Philip ______________________ love, forgiveness and fellowship to Saul?

What if Ananias, and Barnabas, and Philip and other believers hadn’t come alongside of him and invested in him in the few years, the few months, the few days they had together?

Don’t cling to your expectations

Unfortunately, we often stop and cling to the wrong things in life and get distracted from God’s call on our life.

In this life we struggle not to cling to things that by their very nature are temporary compared to eternity.

Read John 20:11-18

Don’t cling to your temporary expectations            Let’s Pray!

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”                 -Matthew 27:46b

He said, “It is finished!” (Greek = tetelestai). And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.                        -John 19:30b

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He MUST go to Jerusalem and SUFFER many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be KILLED, and be RAISED the third day.       -Matthew 16:21

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”                                                                                       -Matthew 16:27

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written, “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” But AFTER I HAVE BEEN RAISED, I WILL GO BEFORE YOU TO GALILEE.”                  -Matthew 26:31-32

Life is a series of temporary assignments – don’t cling so hard to your comfortable life that you aren’t willing to make changes you need to make for greater service to Jesus.

The Upper Room Discourse John 13:31 – 16:33

Put the correct letter from the answer key next to the statement:

What is the new command that Jesus gave to His disciples? __________

What is Jesus preparing for disciples in His Father’s house? __________

Jesus told us He is the way, the truth and the what? __________

If you have seen Jesus, who else have you seen? __________

What kind of works will believers be able to do? __________

According to Jesus, who indwells believers now? __________

According to Jesus, if you love Him you will keep what? __________

What fruit of the Spirit does Jesus promise to leave us? __________

According to Jesus, what is the key to bearing much fruit? __________

What glorifies the Father? __________

What fruit of the Spirit did Jesus want us to be full of? __________

How does greater love express itself? __________

Jesus goes beyond calling us servants to calling us what? __________

What can disciples expect from the world that hates Jesus? __________

What can disciples expect from a world that persecuted Jesus? __________

Why is it to our advantage that Jesus went away to Heaven? __________

Why does the Holy Spirit convict the world of sin? __________

What does the Holy Spirit do for believers? __________

How are we to present our prayers to God now? __________

What will believers experience in this world? __________

Why can believers be of good cheer in the midst of tribulation? __________

Answer Key:

A. Abiding in Jesus

B. Bearing much fruit

C.  Because they do not believe in Jesus, the way to be saved from sin

D. The Father

E. Friends

F. Greater works

G. Guides us into all truth

H. Hate

I. So that the Helper (Holy Spirit) could come to us

J. Jesus has overcome the world

K. Joy

L. Laying down our life for our friends

M. Life

N. Love one another as Jesus has loved us

O. In the name of Jesus

P. Peace

Q. Persecution

R. A place for us to dwell

S. The Spirit of Truth

T. Tribulation

U. His word/ Commands

The End of Christ-less Religion!

Read Revelation 17 The End of Christless Religion Let’s Pray!

As we will see, chapter seventeen is about the fall of religious Babylon, and chapter eighteen is about the fall of political and commercial Babylon.

The Rise of the False Religion and its False Prophet V. 1-6

For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband – to present a pure virgin to Christ.  -2 Cor. 11:2

If the people of God purify the planet as salt and light, the religion of Babylon pollutes the planet with its sewage.

Now back in chapter thirteen we read of two beasts that get their power from Satan. One was clearly the Antichrist, and the other was clearly the one chapter sixteen calls the False Prophet. Chapter thirteen made clear the False Prophet will help the Antichrist achieve worldwide acceptance.

Verse four lets us know this false religion is characterized by beauty and riches. Verse five lets us in on a mystery: this false religion has its roots in “Babylon the Great.”

Folks, that’s what Satan does – he counterfeits the truth, and then adds in elements of so called worship that appeal to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

And it happened, as He spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” -Luke 11:27-28

I believe that after the rapture of born again Christians, those left who really aren’t born again and don’t obey the Bible will do anything it takes to have unity with other religions, even if that means calling God ‘Allah.’

The Ride of the False Religion and its False Prophet V. 7-14

The Bible tells us in places like Daniel 7 that there will be a ten kingdom version of the Roman Empire at the end of days that the Antichrist will emerge from.

There will be a united world under the Antichrist by the midpoint of the Tribulation, and false religion will help make it happen.

The Ruin of the False Religion  V. 15-18

Putting together the Bible’s data I believe false religion will help the Antichrist gain worldwide power, perhaps even rebuilding Israel’s temple in a show of tolerance, but at the mid-point of the tribulation the Antichrist will turn on all religion and insist on being worshipped.

Three Responses we should have because of false religion:

First, Treasure Christ!

Second, do what it says in the Bible!

Third, never bully people, but rely on the power of the Holy Spirit!

A most unlikely conversion

Today’s passage gives us great confidence that God really can save __________________________, including those who have actively spoken and acted against Jesus Christ.

Saul’s upbringing and training

“I am a man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.”   -Acts 21:39

2 Cor. 11:6 Acts 26:4

But brought up in the this city (Jerusalem) at the feet of Gamaliel, and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. -A 22:3

Phil. 3:4-5 Gal. 1:14

2 Cor. 9:5 Acts 23:16 Acts 18:3

Saul’s hatred of those who worshipped _______________  V. 1-2

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. -Acts 8:3

Jesus _____________________ gets Saul’s attention!  V. 3-9

Now how had Saul persecuted Jesus?

What does that last part of verse 5 mean – It is hard for you to kick against the goads?

God uses Jesus people to ___________ people to Jesus V. 9-19

Jesus suffered to actualize salvation for all who will ever believe – Paul would suffer to give people _______________ to that saving message.

You never know when God is going to use your efforts to win the next Paul to Christ and change the eternal destiny of all those your Paul goes on to reach.