Adult Christian Life: July- September 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Adult Christian Life is a best-selling quarterly study guide that is specially written for practical adult life experiences. These lessons provide clear, biblical interpretations and stimulating discussions for everyday living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677286

Book preview

Seeking God’s Guidance

Suggested Opening Exercises

1. Usual Signal for Beginning

2. Prayer (Closing with the Lord’s Prayer)

3. Singing (Song to be Selected)

4. Scripture Reading:

Psalm 61 (KJV)

Director: Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

School: For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Director: I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

School: For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Director: Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations.

School: He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.

All: So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Recitation in Concert:

Ecclesiastes 3:1–11 (KJV)

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

CLOSING WORK

1. Singing

2. Sentences:

Colossians 3:12–15 (KJV)

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

3. Dismissal with Prayer

WISDOM IN ACTION

RESOURCES: The New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition, Boyd’s Commentary for the Sunday School

KEY VERSE: The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. Matthew 11:19, KJV

Intro

Godly wisdom is an indispensable commodity for the Christian, as it gives us the ability to navigate the uncertain terrains of life. The capacity to make wise decisions isn’t easily attained, however, because it tends to conflict with our human desire for control. It’s hard to accept God’s plan when it looks nothing like what we anticipated. We may even block our blessings because we fail to see the hand of God at work. The elders would say that God works in mysterious ways; truly, we often miss where and how God is configuring our lives to His glory and our advantage. This was the challenge John’s followers faced as they struggled to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Jesus had just finished giving John’s disciples proof that He was truly the promised Messiah whom John identified before his imprisonment. It wasn’t so much that John didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah; he just didn’t completely understand His methods or His plan to usher in the new spiritual age. Jesus of Nazareth just wasn’t what John expected!

Wisdom recognizes that God is at work even if one does not understand it completely. As Jesus interacted with John through John’s disciples, He made it clear that God was at work in Him; thus, John had nothing to fear. Our lack of understanding or ignorance turns to fear if left unchecked. It is of the utmost importance to trust God and not lean on our own understanding. Jesus has a resumé that should leave us with no doubt.

Think About It

Wisdom and knowledge aren’t the same. Knowledge is processed in the head, wisdom in the head and heart. Beyond where they are processed, what other differences can you see between wisdom and knowledge?

1. More Than a Prophet (Matthew 11:7–10)

Know It

The messengers of John the Baptist were sent to inquire about Jesus’ messiahship. Jesus turned to address the multitude concerning John. Reassuring the legitimacy of John’s ministry—What did you go out to the wilderness to see?—Jesus addressed those hearers who once were followers of John and who were committed to going out of their way through the wilderness to hear his words. It was a question that encouraged his followers to reflect and be reminded of their devotion to God. A reed shaken by the wind is a metaphor for an individual who is weak and easily broken (Isa. 42:3). So, Jesus was asking, Whom did you expect to find preaching in the wilderness? A weakling?

As John identified Jesus in chapter 3, Jesus identified John as being far more than a prophet (verse 9). John was the prophet, the forerunner of the promised Messiah King, the last in a series of prophets who were called to prepare the way for the Messiah and bring the old covenant era to its culmination. Jesus affirmed John’s ministry and reinforced the validity of His own in the process.

2. Understanding the Kingdom Context (Matthew 11:11–14)

According to Jesus (verse 11), no human being ever born would ever be greater than John. Jesus’ forerunner was regarded with such high esteem because he alone had been given given the dual honor of witnessing the fulfilment of prophecy and the culmination of an era by identifying the Messiah/Christ. John was the last prophet to speak under the old covenant of Law, pointing to the Door that opened to the new covenant of grace—Jesus is that door.

Those who enter the faith from this point on will begin their faith journey on the other side of that door. While Jesus did not abolish the Law (see Matthew 5:27), the grace He brings frees believers from its confines.