Brethren,

I trust that you are well.

Our series on James, Faith in Action is getting to the place where ‘Putting the word into Action’ is no longer mere talk, as we zero in on James 1:19-27. See attached outline for your further reference.

Key Learnings are:
1. Between hearing and doing the word is understanding and acceptance. And the first step to understanding is paying careful attention to it.

2. It is not enough to understand the word; we must humbly accept the written word of God as the word of God, not the words of men. Otherwise, obedience will be superficial and erratic.

3. If we have understood and accepted the word of God, it is only natural that we should obey it. And that should reflect in both our words, attitudes, and actions – James 1:19-20; 26-27 (slow to speak, slow to anger, self-control, practical Christianity.)

‘The only good faith is the faith lived out every day in every aspect of life’

Attached is our Bible study outline for Sunday June 27, 2021 for your reference. The topic is: Jesus, His teaching on the word of God.

Key Learning Points:

1. God’s Word is our “very life.” The foundation of God’s Kingdom is His Word. So, we need to do our best to hear, understand and accept it for it to produce the desired fruit.
2. The enemy cannot destroy the seed. But if given a foothold, he will try to manipulate the environment of the Seed, (i.e., our heart), so that it does not produce its intended fruit.
3. God’s Words – the “incorruptible seed which lives and abides forever.” (1 Peter 1:23), capable of producing even a hundred-fold fruit. But we have responsibility for ensuring a right environment for it to bear fruit.

May the word of God prosper in our lives. Amen

Dear All,

Last Sunday we looked at God’s Promise of His Return. The study reminded us that God will surely return as He promised. And as we wait for His promised return, we are to live wisely as those who are truly expecting His return, in holiness and godliness.

This Sunday, we wrap up the quarter series with a look at: The Victory of Faith.

Key lessons should include that:

1. Faith is acting based on who God is and on what God has said -v.3,6 The “things hoped for” are not mere figments of the imagination; their basis is the word of God.”. 

2.      A triumph of faith is to be taken with an eternal perspective as well as with obtaining God’s well done (righteousness)

3.     Jesus Christ is the greatest victory of faith. And we who have placed our faith in Jesus are called to emulate those before us who walked in the obedience that accompanied their faith in God

Hebrews 11:6

Dear All,

Last Sunday we looked at God’s Promise of His Presence. The study reminded us that God’s Presence represents the embodiment of who He is, what He has, His authority, and everything else. His presence is to be desired more than anything else.

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s promise of His Return.

Key lessons should include that:

1. Jesus has promised us that he will return to take us to the special place that he has prepared for us. He will come at His own time when all is ready. We just must trust Him on this as we trust Him on other issues. 
2. God’s timing is different from man’s sense of timing. And we must bear that in mind as we deal with the seeming delay in His return.
3. While we wait for His promised return, God wants us to live wisely as those who are truly expecting His return. We are expected to continue to live in holiness and godliness until Christ returns.

2 Peter 3:8

Dear All,

Last Sunday we looked at God’s Promise of Rest. The study reminded us that we should look beyond the hope of a better situation or circumstance of life to the hope of the glory that will be ours when Christ returns.

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s Promise of His Presence.

Key lessons should include that:

1. God’s Presence represents the embodiment of who He is, what He has, His authority, and everything else. His Presence is to be desired more than anything else.

2. God’s presence is a gift He gives us out of the riches of His grace. We cannot earn it or conjure it . Jesus Christ is the consummation of that promised Presence.

3. Those who live conscious of God’s Presence are content and have peace even in difficult situations.

Hebrews 13:5

Dear All,

Last Sunday we looked at God’s Promise of Hope. The study reminded us that we should look beyond the hope of a better situation or circumstance in this life to the hope of the glory that will be ours when Christ returns.

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s Promise of Rest.

Key lessons should include that:

1. The rest God promises is rest for our souls more than physical rest.

2. Rebellion will keep us outside of the rest God offers and the consequence of not having that rest will be burdensome.

3. Faith in God and obedience to His word are the two key means of entering that rest.

Hebrews 4:7

Dear All,

I trust this email meets you well?

Please find attached the outline for our Sunday school for Sunday August 30th.

Last Sunday we looked at God’s promise of Healing. One of our key lessons from that study is that we have access to God’s promised healing by faith in the finished works of Christ on the Cross.

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s Promise of Hope.

Key lessons should include that:

1. God’s people must not give in to false hope through their desires or through false prophecy but must make God’s word the foundation of their hope.

2. Beyond the hope of a better situation or circumstance of life is the hope of the glory that will be ours when Christ returns.

3. This faithful hope which does not disappoint is strengthened through the different tribulations we may face. And this happens as we yield our lives to God  

Acts 20:32

Dear All,

One of the key lessons from last Sunday’s study is the fact that God is an able protector. Our topic then was God’s promise of protection

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s promise of Healing.

Key lessons should include that:

1. God is our healer and is committed to His promise of healing
2. God’s healing power avails for us both for our physical ailments and for our spiritual conditions
3. God’s promise of healing was fulfilled in Jesus, by whose stripes we were healed. We access God’s promise of healing by faith in the finished works of Christ.  

2 Corinthians 4:1

Dear All,

Last week God’s emphatic ‘I will’ was what we needed to remind and to assure us of His Promise of help.  

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s promise of protection.

Key lessons should include that:

1.     God is an able protector

2.     The believer has a part to play in entering God’s promised protection. Living in the love of God and obedience (John 14:21) is how we can be sure of being under God’s protective cover

3.     God’s protection is what HE says it is not what I want it to be

2 Corinthians 4:1

Dear All,

As we looked at God’s Promise of Provision last Sunday, we saw that worrying is a sin because Jesus clearly commanded, ‘do not worry’ about food, clothes or about the future.

This Sunday, our topic is: God’s Promise of help.

Key lessons should include that:

1. The God who promised to help us is the One who alone guides all events in human history. So, He is perfectly capable to help us
2. God’s promised help will not transform us into super-humans or remove all the troubling situations. Rather, He will use our weakness to accomplish His purpose for His glory
3. God’s emphatic saying that ‘I will hear … I will open … I will make … I will plant… I will set’ (Isaiah 41: 17-19), is to emphasize to us that He will take care of whatever is needed for the situation we face.

2 Corinthians 4:1