THEME 1, NO. 2: THE CANON, SELECTION OF THE BOOKS INTO THE BIBLE

THEME: BIBLICAL CANON

SUB THEME: THE OLD TESTAMENT

TEXT/READING: Nehemiah 8:1-9; 2Kings 22:8-20; 23:1-3.

MEMORY VERSE: 2 Timothy 3:16

HYMN: 1. Holy Bible Book Divine; 2. I Know the Bible was Sent from God; 3. The B.I.B.L.E

OBJECTIVE: This lesson shall help the children understand the origin of the Old Testament canon and why it is the word of God.

INTRODUCTION:

The Biblical canon are the divinely inspired books that make up the bible. The term "divinely inspired" refer to books written by human beings who were under the influence of the Spirit of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Though mere men wrote these books, we consider that God wrote the books through them. There are sixty-six books in the Holy Bible; with thirty nine in the Old Testament and twenty seven in the New Testament. All of these books are regarded as divinely inspired, as we believe God spoke through their human authors. These books are therefore called the canon that make up the Christian scriptures. In this study we shall be looking at how we arrived at the canon; how certain books were agreed to as being inspired and others not inspired. We should understand that while God never came down at anytime to say "this and this are my words", godly scholars studied certain documents and agreed that such and such should make up the canon.

The Old Testament of the Christian Bible is the same as the Hebrew Scriptures - the holy book used by the Jews. Out of the 39 books of the Old Testament, the first five books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books are called the five (5) law books or the Pentateuch or the Torah. They are believed to have been written by Moses. Moses is also called the law-giver because through him, God gave Israel the law  (John 1:17a). Moses wrote the book of Genesis, including the stories of creation, Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, up till Joseph as God dictated them to him (Exodus 17:14; 34: 27-28), along with Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books were the first to be canonized. This occurred at about 500BC. The Jews had always had the laws of Moses but it might have taken their return from exile for them to begin to take God's word more seriously. Ezra and Nehemiah are believed to have helped make the five books of Moses canon of scriptures.

The other books of the Old Testament became canon only at about 200BC. The Jews were scattered around the world then and Hebrew scholars saw the need to put together a list of authorized scriptures which all Jews could refer to as scriptures. That is why the Jews are called the people of one book.

There are some books of the Jews called "Apocrypha". These books are widely rejected as canon and are therefore not included in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Apocrypha is the Greek word for hidden or secret but Christians referred to some books as Apocrypha because they were of unknown authorship and many doubted their authenticity. Today most Christians consider Apocrypha books as false, spurious, bad or heretical. Nevertheless, the Apocrypha is included in the Septuagint - the Septuagint is the Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Roman Catholics also included the Apocrypha in their bible because they disagreed with Protestants in the 16th century on what books should consist of the biblical canon. Some other orthodox churches, like the Anglican, also include the Apocrypha in their scriptures. The Apocrypha is also called the Pseudepiraphs. The books of the Apocrypha were written between 200-500BC supposedly by famous bible figures.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

THE ISRAELITES RECOGNISED THE OLD TESTAMENT AS GOD-GIVEN

1. NEHEMIAH 8:1-9

In this passage of scripture, we shall see how the books that make up our Old Testament were regarded as scriptures. The Jews called them the books of the law and following their return from the Babylonian captivity, they read these books as the very word of God to them.

1. Verses 1-3: Ezra the scribe is seen here reading the book of the law of Moses to a congregation of Israelites, after they had requested he did so.

2. Verses 4-6: The people's reaction to this reading indicates that they considered the words about to be read to them the very word of God. The people stood to their feet, lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and worshipped God as Ezra commences reading the law.

3. Verses 7-9: Even as the words of the book were read, the Levites, who were like their pastors, taught them the meaning of the words being read to them.

2. 2 Kings 22:8-20; 23:1-3.

In this passage, King Josiah responds in repentance just by reading the words of the book of the law. Obviously the king and the people around him considered the Old Testament canon and inspired by God.

1. Verses 8-10: The book of the law, the Old Testament, is found and read to King Josiah.

2. Verses 11-13: The king responds to the words heard by repenting and enquiring further what God's mind was towards the nation.

3. Verses 14-17: A prophetess, a lady prophet, confirms the word read that God was angry with the nation of Israel and was about to bring his judgement on them for their disobedience.

4. Verses 18-20: Because King Josiah repented before God, God declared that the king will not experience the coming judgement. God is pleased with our positive response to the words of the bible and he blesses it.

5. 2Kings 23:1-3: King Josiah instituted religious reforms immediately after reading the word of God. He ensured that both the people and their leaders began to follow God's word.

CONCLUSION

The Old Testament canon include the following:

Books of the law (5): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Books of History (12): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Books of Poetry and Wisdom (5): Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastics, Songs of Solomon.

Books of Prophecy.
Major Prophets (5): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentation, Ezekiel, Daniel,

Minor Prophets (12): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

THEME: BIBLICAL CANON

SUB THEME: THE NEW TESTAMENT

TEXT/READING: Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-3

MEMORY VERSE: 2 Timothy  3:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

HYMN: 1. Lord thy Word Abideth. 2. The Best Book to Read is the Bible. 3. Read your Bible, Pray Everyday.

OBJECTIVE: This is to help the children understand how the New Testament Canon were compiled and why they are the words of God.

INTRODUCTION

The process of recognizing the New Testament canon began early in the first century. The New Testament writers quoted profusely from the Old Testament (1Timothy 5:18; Deuteronomy 25:4; Luke 10:7). Peter recognized Paul's writings as scripture (2Peter 3:15-16). Some of the New Testament books were already being circulated among the churches (Colossians 4:16; 1Thessalonians 5:27).

Church history has it that Clement of Rome mentioned at least 8 books of the New Testament in AD95. Ignatius of Antioch acknowledged about 7 books in AD115. Polycarp, a disciple of Apostle John, acknowledged 15 books in AD108. Irenaeus mentioned 21 books in AD185. Hippolytus recognized 22 books (AD170-235). Hebrews, James, 2Peter, 2John, 3John and Revelation were books that were initially disputed but eventually included in the New Testament canon.

The first canon, the Muratorian Canon, was compiled in AD170. It excluded Hebrews, James and 3John. The council of Laodicea in AD363 stated that only the Old Testament (along with the Apocrypha) and the 27 books of the New Testament were to be read in churches. The council of Hippo (AD393) both affirmed the 27 books of the New Testament as authoritative.

All through the points the canon of the New Testament were chosen the following criterion were used:

1. Was the author an apostle or had a close connection with an apostle?
2. Is the book accepted by the body of Christ at large?
3. Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching?
4. Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit?

The New Testament canon include: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phillipians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, 1,2&3 John, Jude and Revelation.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

LUKE AND PAUL ARE EXAMPLES OF INSPIRED NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS

1. LUKE 1:1-4

Luke, a close associate of Apostle Paul, is seen here writing to a man called Theophilus about knowing the "certainty of those things" he had been instructed of. Thus Luke wrote the scripture called the gospel of Luke. The whole New Testament were similarly written down for us to know of the certainty of the faith we have been instructed by.

1. Verse 1: Luke alludes in this verse to other writings of the New Testament that are today regarded as scriptures. These things were written concerning the christian faith we have come to believe.

2. Verse 2: These scriptures were written by eyewitnesses. People who beheld the account first hand and then had them written down.

3. Verses 3-4: Luke also decides to write down his own observation to Theophilus, which today is considered part of the canon of the New Testament.

2. 2 Timothy 3:14-17

This is part of an epistle, a letter, Apostle Paul wrote to his associate in ministry, Timothy. He was saying here that the canon of scriptures are inspired by God.

1. Verses 14-15: Paul points Timothy to the bible as the surest source of knowledge on God. He states that the scriptures are able to make us wise and to save us.

2. Verse 16: The bible is inspired by God. Scriptures are able to reprove us, correct us, instruct us and give us sound doctrine.

3 Verse 17: Scriptures are the source of perfection. They are able to equip us for all good works.

CONCLUSION

While the canon are inspired scriptures, God used mere men to write and compile them. It took centuries of careful study for scholars to agree to the canon and to compile them as the Bible. But by the second century BC, most of the scriptures were already compiled and regarded as canon. The Bible is God's words that came through men as divine inspiration. This is the making of the canon.

THEME: BIBLICAL CANON

SUB THEME: BIBLICAL CANON AND PROPHESY

TEXT/READING: 2 PETER 1:19-21; 3:15-17; JEREMIAH 28:1-11;REVELATION 22:18-21; JUDE 14-19; 2 PETER 1:1-3

MEMORY VERSE: 2 Peter  1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

HYMN: 1. Sing them over to me wonderful words of life. 2. Read, read the Word. Read it everyday. 3. Pro Olorun.

OBJECTIVE: This lesson will help the children understand who false prophets are and how to beware of them.

TOPIC: SATAN'S AGGRESSION AGAINST THE BIBLE

INTRODUCTION
Introduction: Having learnt about the origin of the biblical canon, we must at this point understand why it was extremely important for the writers and compilers of the scriptures to ensure that they were truly the words of God. This is because of the prevalence of false prophets in the world. False prophets are men and women who say God said something when he did not say such. The only way to be able to counter false prophets is to compare their words to the biblical canon. If a prophet says what God has not said, then his words will not tally with the tenure of the scriptures and he can be called a false prophets. False prophecy never have fulfilment. We shall be looking at various examples of false prophets and their prophecies in scriptures in today's lesson. For example, the founder of Jehovah Witnessing, Charles Taze Russel, prophesied that the world was to end in 1874. Since this prophecy never came to pass, he is an example of a false prophet.

Progression of Events

1. False Prophets in the Old Testament: Jeremiah 28:1-11.

God had given Jeremiah a clear prophetic word as recorded in Jeremiah 27:2,12, that he had brought nations under bandage to Babylon, including Judah, and that all these nations should submit to Babylon. This bondage was exemplified with a yoke Jeremiah placed on his own neck.

Jeremiah 28:2-4, Hananiah, the false prophet, declares that God has removed the yoke from the neck of Judah and that in two years they will be restored to their land.

Verses 5-9, Jeremiah responds to Hananiah saying that scriptures has record of God's prophets prophesying against nations. The prophet whose words come to pass is the one God sent (Deuteronomy 18:22).

Verses 10-11: Hananiah removes the yoke from Jeremiah's neck and breaks it.

12-15: God judges Hananiah for lying. In two months he was dead.

2. False Prophets in the New Testament: Matthew 24:2,5,11,12; 2 Peter 2:1; 2Peter 1:19-21

Matthew 24: Jesus warns the disciples and us against deceit. He declares that false prophets will abound in the world and Christians must beware of them.

Jesus warns that many people will be deceived by false prophets and this will cause their love for God to wax cold.

2 Peter 2:1, Peter reiterates Jesus' warning. Saying that there will be false prophets as there were in the days of old; prophets like Hananiah. See 2 Corinthians 11:3-5.

Remember that these people are false prophets because they are saying and preaching what God has not said. These men and women do not recognize the biblical canon. They either add to the bible or they refuse to follow what the bible teaches.

3. Do not add to the bible: Revelation 22:18-21; 2 Peter 3:15-17; Colossians 4:16.

Revelation 22:18-21 : This is a warning to everyman not to add to the revealed prophesy of scriptures. And that if any man does such, he shall meet with God's wrath. While this warning is specific to Revelation, it is very relevant to all the Bible and for this reason providence permitted it to be the last statement made in the bible and thus must be taken very seriously.

Christians must beware of saying God told them something because if God did not, they stand in judgement by this scriptures.

Also we must be careful with modern prophets and prophetesses. A clear example is the recent Nigerian elections that had many prophets saying one candidate will win but who ended up not winning. These prophets are like Prophet Hananiah.

2 Peter 3:15-17: Many of the epistles of the apostles were already being used as scriptures in their lifetime. Peter recognized Paul's letters as scriptures and warned those who were twisting its meaning.

Colossians 4:16: Paul encouraged that his letters be read in churches in the same way scriptures were read.

CONCLUSION

The apostles of the Lamb wrote letters that were considered canon of scriptures. Since their death, no one alive is known to have written scriptures. Thus we consider the canon of scriptures closed and there are no more additions.

We must therefore beware of false prophets who are always going around with false messages. Their messages cannot be confirmed in scriptures. And they must be singled out as wolves among the sheep.

The biblical canon are complete and closed. There are no more additions and subtractions.

ORTHODOXY, INTER-DENOMINATIONALISM AND CHILD EVANGELISM

Mark 10:13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Introduction

Good day my brothers and sisters in Christ. Permit me to give my exhortation in a written format, for which I trust God that you all have copies in your hands. I have chosen to have this written for the records and so that if my words will be referred to in the future, I can be properly quoted. In November 2013, I gave a similar exhortation to an assembly of God's people but because there were no facility to have my words recorded, my statements were delivered out of contexts in some quarters and the end result led to my family and I leaving that church and coming to Chapel.

I must begin this exhortation by thanking my able Superintendent of the Children's Church, our brother Prof. for giving me this opportunity to speak. I also wish to thank my coordinator at the Secondary Section, Dr N, for the support and help I have received from him since I joined this team. I thank my fellows teachers at the SS2 class: Sis N, Sis B, Sis F, Bro and Mrs . For the support I have received from them and the opportunity given to me to minister to the children and to horn my ministry in that regard.

My exhortation will be short and I trust God that it will be straight to the point. I intend to speak on issues I have observed amongst us as ministers to the children, to praise us in many ways and to point out a few things, which in my view, constitute a clog to our ministry here. With the hope that we can remove them for greater efficiency as ministers of the most high God to the most precious vessels in life: the children. I plead with God that we will be blessed and instructed as we read.

The above scripture, Mark 10:13-14, came to life for me in the year 2005, while undergoing Children Evangelism Ministry (CEM) training in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State. My instructors told me that Christ's reaction to the attitude of his disciples in rebuking those who brought children to him was that he was "much displeased". They said the original words translated as "much displeased" carried a notion of great indignation. In other words Jesus is very pleased when we bring children to him and he is "much displeased" when we hinder them from coming to him. Our ministry as children evangelists is to bring children to Jesus. And from the above scripture, I can confidently say to you that the Lord is very pleased with what you are doing. Praise the Lord. The danger, however, lies in the fact that the enemy of our souls is not sleeping and he can very well use the same disciples who were supposed to bring children to Jesus, to hinder our efforts at doing this. I'm saying that child evangelism can become an avenue for leading children away from Jesus and in the process making our Lord "much displeased" with what we are doing here. I am sure that because this possibility abounds in every ministry, church and family, everyone will want to note the things that might be hindering our bringing children to Christ and with God's help stay away from such things. I trust God to help us in this onerous ministry.

Inter-denominationalism

The Chapel of The Resurrection is a great assembly of God's people. From the little I know, I understand that the church pursues an interdenominational vision, to cater for the wide spectrum of Christian worshippers in a foremost citadel of learning like the University of Ibadan. I understand that it provides worship opportunity for the Protestant Christian views that students, lecturers and workers in the University might possess. In this bid, the Methodist Church of Nigeria, the Anglican Communion in this country and the Presbyterian Church, have provided the pastoral leadership in this church; all of these under an interdenominational setting.

If I understand inter-denominationalism well enough, I believe it is not a place where a vain and lazy ecumenism is provided so that every possible Christian belief is permitted to float. I believe interdenominationalism is our own little effort to play down the minor things that divide Christian congregations over the years and to provide opportunity for the essentials of our faith to be taught and practiced. So interdenominationalism will have as its essentials:

1. The bible as final authority.
2. Jesus as Lord
3. A common history and orthodoxy.

With the bible as final authority, the church has its first constitution. But we understand that despite the bible being final authority, there has been no end to divisions and controversies in the church. So, at this point the interdenomination is forced to appeal to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in each of our individual hearts. Therefore, whatever else we might disagree on, we end up appealing to Christ in the individual members of the church so that peace might reign in God's holy temple and so that gospel proclamation and the prosetylizing of the world can continue. You will agree with me that this is necessary or there will be no end to controversies, and that will certainly hinder our witness to the world.

The last thing that an inter-denomination like ours must not forget is our roots: our orthodoxy. While every church will certainly claim its roots or orthodoxy from the Christ and the bible, Chapel of the Resurrection will have to come to more recent history for its orthodoxy. If my knowledge of church history is correct, the Presbyterian, Anglican and Methodist churches are the by product of the 16th Century Reformation which a former Roman Catholic monk led - that is Martin Luther. The leading product of the Reformation was the restoration of the bible to the homes of the common man. By the end of the day, the laity did not have to wait for the clergy to read and interpret God's word to him; he had God's words with himself. So God began to speak to people from scriptures. With the bible in our hands, God's people encountered the faith that was once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). In the bible there was a restoration to orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy

A quick Google search reveals the meaning for the word "orthodox":

orthodox /ˈɔːθədɒks/

adjective

1. following or conforming to the traditional or generally accepted rules or beliefs of a religion, philosophy, or practice.

It was in the bid to preserve the traditional beliefs of Christianity that God caused for the authors of scriptures to have it written down. And in the bible we have the life and words of Jesus recorded. Our Lord also instructed that the apostles were to teach the nations all that he has taught them (Matthew 29:19-20). And in the epistles we find the teachings of the apostles. Theologians call them church age doctrines - the doctrines the church ought to abide by. The study of church history reveals that the first step that the enemy takes to derail the church is ensuring that the church comes to a low view of scriptures. So that when God's people begin to take Papal declarations, angelic visitations, historical relics, visions, dreams, revelations, "thus saith the lord" or "God said to me", etc, more authoritative than scriptures, we begin to find doctrines infiltrate the churches that threaten expressly revealed truths in the bible. And because these things, many times, are fresh, sensational and new, God's people are very likely to be led astray by them.

When I was growing up, we used to revile some churches as orthodox. I only got to understand that that term "orthodox church" was actually a good and blessed term recently. Our fathers who coined that term had it in mind that the children found in the churches they leave behind will abide by the tradition laid out as the foundation of those churches. That tradition being the bible or "Sola Scriptura" as the Reformers used to say. The churches we call orthodox then were Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptists, etc. These are the churches who provide the leadership of this chapel today.

To introduce the crux of this message, permit me to use an example we are all familiar with. Everyone knows the Jehovah Witnesses here. The Chief error of JW is that they consider Jehovah, God, as their ultimate source of worship and believe that Jesus Christ is just the Son of God; he doesn't share deity with God. In the process, their worship centers around God. History reveals that this error led their founder to enact a new bible, different from the one we have and to present a new orthodoxy to his people.

The church today finds itself almost repeating the errors of JW. This time, the God exalted is not Jehovah but the Holy Spirit. This teaching is predominant not in orthodox churches like ours but in most charismatic and Pentecostal churches. The phenomenon that makes the Holy Spirit the new God that Christians worship cannot be separated from the practice of glossolalia or "speaking with tongues". Other phenomenons include the practice of seeing visions, hearing voices, and pure mysticism. Those of us who have been in these churches can say with authority that these phenomenons have taken the final authority that the bible should have in the church. The greatest danger that this possesses is not what it has done to those churches, but how it is creeping into the so called orthodox churches and rendering their orthodoxy a joke. The Pentecostal phenomenons have gained entry into the orthodox churches because it promises a new spirituality for churches that have lost their true spiritual walk with Christ. I am saying that when orthodox churches lost their vital relationship with Jesus and only submitted to a dead orthodoxy hinged on the letter of scriptures, it became fascinated with a false spirituality that the Charismatic movement was selling and very easily bought into it.

Knowing that most of us teachers in this place have a Pentecostal or Charismatic background, am I hereby saying we should stop speaking in tongues? No.


Rather, I would want us to pursue and understand why our fathers called this churches orthodox churches:

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

True spirituality is knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior. The error of JW and Islam is having God without Jesus. The error of Pentecostalism is pursuing religious experiences purportedly originating from the Holy Spirit but having no doctrine of Christ in it. When we come to Jesus, then we know God as God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ. Except Jesus reveals the Father to us, whatever picture of the Father Islam, JW or you and I have of him is a false picture. In the same vein, except Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit to us, what we might have possessed is another spirit whom john told us will pervade the world today (1John 4:1). The bible never told us to pursue the Holy Spirit and some experiences he could give us. The bible instructed us to pursue Jesus and he will give us the Holy Spirit to instruct and guide us, John 16. In the process of seeking spiritual phenomenons, hundreds have opened themselves up to demonic activities.

Let us beware of this.

Child Evangelism

The thrust of my message is to show us just one danger that arise in our evangelizing children. Our calling as disciples of Christ and instructors of these children is to bring them to Jesus. Not to lead them to religion, to Jehovah or even to the Holy Spirit. Our duty is to lead them to Christ. In the process of doing this, our children come to possess the Spirit of Christ within them. They also gain an accurate understanding of Jehovah God.

The means of doing this is to call our children's attention back to the bible. For within scriptures, especially the gospels and epistles, is the person of Jesus revealed. (In the bid to return to the bible after leaving our former church, I inaugurated a fellowship that I lead called the GODSPATNERS Evangelical Outreach. We hold fellowship once a month in a school in Basorun. Our next meeting is this coming Saturday. You are heartily invited to it). We cannot do this accurately except of course we as teachers know our bibles well enough. This message is not meant to disparage Pentecostalism or whatever influences it has had on us. Rather, it might occasion us to compare whatever Pentecostal experiences we possess with biblical truths. And if we find any discrepancies, we can discard such experiences. The freedom that an interdenominational church like ours possess must not be lost. If God's people believe that their relationship with God is best exercised through Pentecostal "gim gim", by all means pursue it. If however, like me, you have your doubts about these phenomena, then live by scriptural standards you know. But let the overall sum of all that we do be that we are pursuing a relationship with Jesus and at the same time leading our children to him.

A few months ago, I was invited to join the syllabus committee of the children church. This committee is led by the able Dr Ayo Olofin. I have seen her commitment and adherence to the tenure of scriptures, so much so that I am confident that the Pentecostal excesses I criticize in thus message are not likely to find their way into our children's curriculum in this place. This message is an additional call on us to ensure it doesn't. And I am very privileged and grateful to be part of that team.

Our calling is to lead these children to Jesus. I trust God that we will not earn his much displeasure by leading them elsewhere though our own lack of understanding.

I thank you for listening. God bless you.

Let us pray...

THEME: BIBLICAL CANON

SUB THEME: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON HOW SCRIPTURES HAVE BEEN PRESERVED

TEXT/READING: Jeremiah 36:1-32; Matthew 24: 30,31,34,35; Exodus 32:15-20; 34:1-4,27-28.

MEMORY VERSE:

HYMN:

OBJECTIVE:
This lesson shall help the children understand how the bible was preserved throughout history.

INTRODUCTION:

Historically, the bible was preserved by God through his various acts of providence. But practically the bible could be said to have been preserved through three main channels: 1. Oral Traditions. 2. Written Tradition. 3. Modern Printing.

Even though the main texts of scriptures were eventually written down, many things we read about in the bible were passed from generations to generation orally. Moses is believed to have written Genesis to Deuteronomy. But many accounts of Genesis, for example, happened long before Moses was born. Moses must have received information on Genesis via oral traditions. This is the case with many other books of the Old Testament.

The teachings of Jesus were passed on between the early disciples orally. In fact the gospels were written only after many of Paul's epistles had been written. In Luke 1:1-4, we see Luke deciding to put into a written account events that had mostly been known orally among the disciples. Eventually most oral traditions led unto written traditions, when people decided to write down biblical stories they had been hearing. Ancient writing materials include stones, clay, leather, cowhide, papyrus, vellum, parchment and metals.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a confirmation of the historical fact that biblical texts were written down thousands of years ago. The Dead Sea Scrolls are pieces of writings found in 1947 in Qumram, a village situated twenty miles east of Jerusalem, on the shores of the Dead Sea. After a young man found a number scrolls hidden in a cave, other scrolls were discovered in caves around that site over a space of ten years. These scrolls contained vast writings in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The manuscripts had every book of the Old Testament, except the book of Esther. They are believed to have been written between 250-150BC. The Dead Sea Scrolls are proof of the fact that biblical accounts were written down thousands of years ago.

Modern printing was invented in 1452 by Johannes Gutenberg. Printing has since help preserve and propagate biblical texts because printing has made possible millions of printed bibles available to the ordinary people. Printing coincided with the Protestant Reformation and this helped propagate Protestantism to the ends of the earth. Protestants encouraged the possession and reading of bibles by the laity. The bible has been said to be the number one bestselling book of all time.

The coming of modern communication: television, cable satellite, radio and internet has further helped in propagating bible knowledge all around the world. All these are God Providential means of preserving the biblical text.

Progression of Events:

We shall consider three biblical texts that shows that God is actively involved in preserving the text and truth of the Holy Scriptures.

A. Jeremiah 36:1-32
1. Verses 1-4: God commands Jeremiah to write down all he has spoken to Jeremiah concerning his coming judgement on Israel and other nations. Jeremiah dictates the words while Baruch writes it down.
2. Verses 5-10: Jeremiah sends Baruch to have the book read to all Israel in the house of the Lord.
3. Verses 11-15: One of the leaders of Israel invites Baruch to come and read the book to other princes in Israel.
4. Verses 16-19: After hearing the words contained in the book, the princes are scared and begin to plan to inform the king.
5. Verses 20-26: On hearing the words of the book, the king shows no remorse. Rather he burns the book and commands that Jeremiah and Baruch be arrested.
6. Verses 27-32: God commands Jeremiah to write another book. He however curses the king that burnt the book. This book is the biblical book of Jeremiah.

B. Matthew 24:30,31,34,35

1. Verses 30-31: Jesus is speaking of future events to occur in the earth.
2. Verse 34: Jesus states categorically that every word of prophesy in scriptures will come to pass.
3. Verse 35: Jesus compares his words to the physical world. He says while heaven and earth will pass away, not a jot of his word will. He is saying that God will preserve every word of scriptures.

C. Exodus 32:15-20; 34:1-4, 27-28.
1. Exodus 32:15-20. This account shows Moses in anger destroying the words of God written on a tablet.
2. Exodus 34:1-4. God commands Moses to bring another tablet of stone. God was here preserving the words of scriptures. Something he would do throughout human history till we got the bible.
3. Exodus 34:27-28. God commands Moses to write down the words of scriptures. It is these words we read in Genesis to Deuteronomy.

Conclusion: So far we have seen how God actively preserved the text of the bible. The bible we have in our hands are the very words of God. They contain his instructions to man written by inspired authors. God preserved the bible through centuries providentially until these days that we can have the bible in one complete piece. The bible is God's complete counsel to man.

Theme: LANGUAGES OF SCRIPTURES
Sub Theme: ORIGINAL LANGUAGES
Text: Nehemiah 8:1-11; John 17:17
Memory Verse: John 17:17
Hymn:
Objective: That the children will know the original languages of scriptures.

Introduction:

The whole bible were originally written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Most of the Old Testament was written in ancient Hebrew. Ancient Hebrew was written with 22 consonants and no vowels. Latter Hebrew languages however had vowels introduced to them. Therefore some early Old Testaments texts in Job and Genesis have some terms that remain uncertain till date. Ancient Hebrew will eventually be replaced with Aramaic as both spoken and written language among the Jews.

Aramaic is a close cognate language with Hebrew. They both contain related words. Aramaic originated from the Arameans in northern Syria. The Jews began to use Aramaic as both spoken and written language from 6BC. By the time of Jesus, Aramaic was the language mostly spoken by all Jews. Some New Testament transliteration of Aramaic can be found in Mark 5:41, "Talitha qumi" meaning "maiden, arise". Mark 15:41, "eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani" meaning "my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me". Others are "Abba" (Galatians 4:6); Maranatha (2 Corinthians 16:22). Old Testament written originally in Aramaic include Ezra 4:8 - 6:18; 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:46-7:28 and two words in Genesis 31:47.

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek (common Greek). It was a language spoken between AD 330 to BC 330. It is believed to have been invented by Alexander the Great. Even after the Romans had conquered the Greeks, the Greek culture and language still persisted in the Roman world. The koine Greek was accurate in expression, beautiful in sound and capable of great rhetorical force. It was the ideal vehicle for proclaiming God's message to man.

Note that there were providentially directed historical influences, and also divinely inspired guidance, in the formation of the books of sacred scriptures.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

Nehemiah 8:1-11 - Revival Assured when All Understand Scriptures (Ezra and Nehemiah read scriptures to the people).

8:1 - The people requested the book of the law be brought out and read to them. The book of the law was the holy Scriptures or their own bible at that time. It consisted mostly of the writings of Moses: Genesis to Deuteronomy.

8:2 - Note the fact that all who were gathered to hear the reading of the book of the law were people who could "understand" it. The reason why the bible should be in people's languages is so that they may understand its message.

8:3 - From morning to afternoon, the people sat attentively listening to the scriptures read. How long do you spend reading your own bible?

8:4-6 - Pay attention to the reverence this assembly offered scripture reading. Everyone stands to hear the bible read. Ezra blesses the people. The people bow and worship God. What is your attitude to the bible? Do you regard it as the very word of God? Do you revere scriptures?

8:7-8 - Other ministers assist Ezra to help people understand the scriptures. The aim of reading scriptures is to understand the mind of Christ. This is why the scriptures must be written in people's languages.

8:9-11 - The scripture reading left a strong impression on the minds of the people. Many begin to weep. The ministers however encouraged them to rejoice for the joy of the Lord is strength.

Conclusion

It is God's will that we understand him. God's word is the bible. The only way for people to understand scriptures is if it is written in their own languages. Therefore though scriptures were written in three languages originally, today efforts are made for the bible to be translated to every known language on earth so that everyone on earth could read the scriptures and understand the very mind of God. And in understanding scriptures, they will know God and thereby be saved.

Theme: LANGUAGES OF SCRIPTURES
Sub Theme: PAPACY AND THE LATIN VULGATE
Text: 2 CHRONICLES 17:1-12
Memory Verse:
Hymn:
Objective: That the children will learn of the historical facts behind one of the earliest translations of the bible: the Latin translations.

Introduction:

In the year AD382, a Roman Catholic Pope, Pope Damascus 1, commissioned a man called Jerome (AD347-420) to produce an official translation of the bible into Latin for Christians to use. Most of the world in those days were under the rule of the Roman Empire. Roman Catholicism also being the official church of Rome then. Latin was the language of the Romans and the Papacy, the office of the Pope, wanted the people to have the bible in their native languages so that they could understand its message. Jerome completed the assignment in AD400. He translated the bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Septuagint, the Greek translations of the Old Testament, were also a resource for him. This bible was called The Vulgate written in Latin or simply The Latin Vulgate. It would remain the official bible of all Christendom for 1,000 years.

Jerome had included the Apocrypha in this translation of the bible but he had also stated in a footnote that the Apocrypha was not authoritative or not part of the canon of scriptures. Nevertheless, many Roman Catholic bibles still retain the Apocrypha in their bibles. At the height of the Protestant revolution in Europe, the Catholic Church upheld The Latin Vulgate as the official bible for their church at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). This was done to put paid to the efforts of thousands of Protestant to translate the bible to vernacular. It must be noted here that though the initial effort to translate the bible to Latin by Jerome was very laudable, the Catholic Church however making the Vulgate the only legitimate bible and therefore not authenticating other translations to other languages was an effort that set the mission of understanding the bible backwards. For one thing, to read the Vulgate one needed to understand Latin. And not everyone understood Latin. The initial purpose for producing the Vulgate ought to have been upheld by the Catholic Church - which is that scriptures should be translated to vernacular. In spite of many erroneous translations, the Protestant's effort of translating the bible to vernacular was a very laudable one. One of such led to the production of the most popular bible in 17th century England - the King James Version of the Bible.

Progression of Events

2 CHRONICLES 17:1-12 - JEHOSHAPHAT ENSURED THE PEOPLE OF JUDAH UNDERSTAND GOD'S WORD

17:1-2 - The beginning of the rule of Jehosaphat, son of Asa.

17:3-4 - These scriptures describe Jehoshaphat as a man who served God in truth and did not follow false worship.

17:5 - God blesses Jehoshaphat for his faithfulness.

17:6 - As much as Jehoshaphat worships the true God, he also ensured that all false worship of other gods were destroyed from the land.

17:7-9 - Jehoshaphat raises godly men to go all around the country of Judah and teach people the righteous ways of God. They use the book of the law, the bible at that time to teach. Please note that if we will worship God in truth, we must be ready to read and understand the bible. Biblical truths are the foundation of true worship.

17:10-11 - Due to the fact that the people of Judah began to worship God in truth, God protected them by ensuring no one attacked them. Rather they brought gifts to King Jehosaphat.

17:12 - Jehosaphat went on to become great as a result of serving God and encouraging the teaching and understanding the true God of Israel.

Conclusion

The very first step to knowing God is being able to understand him and his precepts from the holy Scriptures. This is why it is absolutely necessary to have the bible translated to every native language on earth. Jehoshaphat did this by ensuring that the book of the law was taught to the people. We can only understand God's mind in the bible if we can read it in a language we understand.

Theme: TRANSLATIONS OF SCRIPTURES TO MODERN LANGUAGES
Sub Theme:
Text: Acts 8:26-40; Acts 2:1-11
Memory Verse: Psalm 119:105
Hymn:
Objective:

Introduction.

The bible were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Therefore through the years there had been the need to translate scriptures to modern languages. At about 500BC, at the height of the Persian Empire dominance, Aramaic was the prevalent language and efforts were made to translate the Hebrew Scriptures, the Torah, to Aramaic. This produced what is called the Targums. In mid-3rd century, Greek was the dominant language. Some Greek scholars therefore translated the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, to Greek. This version is called the Septuagint.

As Christianity spread, the Old and New Testaments were translated into Coptic, Ethiopian and Gothic languages. In 400 AD, Jerome translated the scriptures to Latin. This version is called The Vulgate. Jerome's translation formed the basis for translations to the Syriac, Arabic, Spanish and English languages. In 1522, Martin Luther translated the Greek New Testament to his German language. In 1534, he had translated the whole bible to German. This was the first translation to any European language. It formed the basis for translation to Danish, Swedish and other languages in Europe.

In 1382, John Wycliffe translated the scriptures to English. Between 1525 and 1535, William Tyndale translated the New Testament and part of the Old to English. In 1611, 54 scholars were commissioned by King James to translate the whole bible to English. The result is the King James Version of the bible.

As time went on and Christianity spread, the bible was increasingly translated to the native languages of the people were the gospel was taught. Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther translated the bible to the Yoruba language in the mid 19 century. His work formed the basis for written Yoruba.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

A. Acts 2:1-11 - The Gospel Translated into ALL Languages of the Worshippers.

The events of Acts 2:1-11, were it was recorded that the Apostles spoke in tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterances, is pointer to the fact that God desires that his word be heard in all languages. The word "tongues" as used by the King James Version an many other bible translations is the old English word for "languages".

2:1-4 - Scriptures records that the Holy Ghost gave the disciples ability to speak in other tongues or languages. This was a sign to the world of what God was doing in that time. That is God bringing the gospel to all men of all languages.

2:5-11 - We see the disciples speaking in different languages: "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 2:11 Cretes and Arabians." A sign that God wants his word understood in all languages.

B. Acts 8:26-40 - Philip sent to Gaza to help the Ethiopian Eunuch understand Scriptures.

8:26-29 - God leads Philip to the Ethiopian Eunuch.

8:30-31 - Philip's questions to him "underdest what thou readest" is the point in reading scriptures. If we cannot understand what we are reading, there is no point reading the bible. And the first step to understanding the bible is being able to read it in a language we can understand. This is the reason why bible translations is very important.

8:32-35 - Philip uses the opportunity to both give understand of scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch and to also tell him about Jesus. Understanding the bible leads ultimately to knowing Jesus.

8:36-40 - The Ethiopian Eunuch confesses Christ and is baptized. All of these came about as he understood the scriptures.

Conclusion:

It is supremely important that all men have the bible translated to their various languages, as this forms the bases for their understanding it and getting to know God and accepting Jesus as their Lord.

Theme: ETERNITY OF SCRIPTURES IS GUARANTEED
Sub Theme:
Text: Matthew 24:35; Revelation 22:18-19
Memory Verse: Revelation 22:18-19
Hymn:
Objective: That the Children will understand that God's words in the bible are eternal.

Introduction

One of the realities of life is that everything that has a beginning also has an end. Every living thing on earth will die one day. Death is the ultimate price all humans will pay. Even the earth as it is constituted, with both living and non living things, will one day go into extinction. Nevertheless, God's word will remain forever. This is God's own way of showing the world the difference between himself and humanity. While everything about men will someday end, one thing that proceeds from God to men, that is his word, will remain forever. Therefore note that the written truths and realities in the bible are meant to exist forever.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

Matthew 24:35 - Eternity of Scriptures:

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The above words are the words of Jesus as he spoke to the apostles on the Mount of Olives. This occurred towards the end of his earthly ministry. Jesus was pointing our to the disciples, the difference between the things of God and the things in the world. While the things in the world are visible, many of them are spectacular and enticing, the things of God are invisible and since they are based on God's word, Jesus was pointing out the fact that God's word are eternal, therefore the things of his kingdom are equally eternal.

So as mighty as the heaven abs the earth are, they will pass away. But God's word will not. In other words, Gods words create effects that are bigger than the heaven and the earth, since these effects are eternal.

Revelation 22:18-19 - Do not Add or Subtract from God's Word.

22:18 - John the revelator explains here the gravity of adding to revelation. Revelation is God sending his word to men. It is extremely dangerous for anyone to say that God said something when in actual sense he didn't say such. God's complete counsel is in the bible and no one needs to add to this.

22:19 - The warning is again repeated that no one should take away from the scriptures. Our duty is to hold the bible as God's own words. Not to add to it nor subtract from it. It is important that we clearly distinguish God's word from men's words. Men's words are what each man say. God's word are the written texts of the bible. No one should add or subtract from God's word.

Conclusion

God's word is eternal. It is distinguished from everything on earth by showing that while earthly things, no matter how great, will end, God's word is eternal. John 1:1 refer to Jesus as the Word of God. Indeed this is the more reason why Gods word is eternal since Jesus is eternal - the Everlasting Father.

Theme: THE ROLE OF BIBLE SOCIETY IN TRANSLATING, PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF SCRIPTURES
Sub Theme:
Text: Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:14; Matthew 28:16-20
Memory Verse: Isaiah 52:7
Hymn:
Objective: That the Children will learn about how scriptures were translated, printed and distributed by some notable Christian groups.

Introduction

Christians understand that the bible contain the very words of God and for this reason, we endeavor to have people own and read the bible. When people read the bible, God will speak to them through its words and in the process people can know God and be saved (John 17:3). Many Christians groups have therefore made it their duty and calling to translate, publish and distribute bibles to people.

The Bible Society is one of such groups. After the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, there was an increased interest in people reading the bible in their native languages. The first Bible Society was formed in 1779 to distribute the bible to soldiers and seamen. The British and Foreign Bible Societies was founded in 1831 in Wales. The Pope in 1844 condemned the activities of the Bible Societies, claiming that bible publications in the vernacular was unacceptable. Despite this the Bible Society extended its activities to England, India, Europe and beyond. Each bible society in each country is a non denominational Christian network which works to translate, revise, print and distribute affordable bibles in their own lands, according the demands in those countries. Nowadays Bible Societies print the bible according to the canon acceptable in those countries. The bibles may either be printed as Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox or Inter-confessional Versions. Bible Societies work with other Christian agencies and bible translations are done on ecumenical bases through the International Forum of Bible Agencies.

The Bible Society of Nigeria is a non profit, non governmental Christian organization that seeks to meet the scriptural needs of Nigerians. They help translate the bible to various native languages in Nigeria and presently have translated the complete bible to 24 languages. They also publish the bible and distribute them at subsidized rates. Their activities are funded by private donors.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

Matthew 28: 16-20 - The Great Commission to Preach Christ to the Whole World.

28:16-17 - The disciples gather to Jesus as he had appointed them to. On seeing him, they worshipped him as God.

28:18 - Jesus tells them that all power in heaven and earth is given to him, and based on this authority, he commissions the disciples to preach the gospel.

28:19 - This commission is to preach to ALL MEN. Teaching them the gospel and baptizing any that believes.

28:20 - The disciples were to teach all men all that Christ had taught them. This is the same commission given to us. One way of fulfilling this commission is to have bible printed and distributed to men.

Conclusion

If we must reach the world with the truth of the gospel, we must have all men own the bible and be able to read them in their native tongues. There are still thousands of languages that the bible is yet to be translated to. We all can join one Christian group or another to translate, print and distribute bibles to people. Where we cannot readily do this, we can support such laudable efforts with our prayers and resources.

Theme: THE ROLES OF GIDEON INTERNATIONAL AND SCRIPTURES UNION IN TRANSLATING, PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF SCRIPTURES
Sub Theme:
Text: Mark 16:9-20; Acts 1:1-11
Memory Verse: Romans 10:14
Hymn:
Objective: That the Children will learn about how scriptures were translated, printed and distributed by some notable Christian groups.

Introduction

THE GIDEON INTERNATIONAL

The Gideon International is an Evangelical Christian association founded in 1899 in Wisconsin, USA, by two travelling salesmen who met by chance in a hotel in 1898. The Gideon primary activity is distributing the bible free of charge. This bible distribution takes place in 200 countries worldwide. They are at present printed in 93 languages. The Gideons place bibles in hotels, motels, hospitals, medical offices, schools, colleges and prisons.

The organization is named after Gideon in Judges 6. This is what they say of Gideon:

"Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do regardless of his own judgement as to the plans or results. Humility, faith and obedience were his great element of character..." This is the standard every Gideon member should have, that statement concludes.

The Gideons placed their first bible in the Superion Hotel in Montana, USA in 1908 and since then they have difributed over 2 billion bibles worldwide. Gideon distribute 1 million bibles every week - averaging 2 copies of the bible given out every second. Gideon International is funded through private donations. There are Gideon members in most countries, including Nigeria.

SCRIPTURE UNION

The Scripture Union (SU) is an international, interdenominational, evangelical Christian movement. It was founded in 1867 by Josiah Spiers. The movement's stated aim is to use the bible to inspire children, young people and adults to know God. The activities of the SU includes running Camps and Missions, working with schools and student groups or producing resources for bible reading, family counseling, HIV/AIDS education, and other ministries to children and youths.

The Scripture Union Nigerian chapter has this vision statement on its website:

"Children, youths and adults nurtured to Christian maturity; following Jesus and transforming families and the nation Nigeria".

Its Mission Statement is:

"To reach children, young people and families; nurturing them through bible engagement and training to become committed Christians of influence".

Since the early 1970s the Scripture Union activities in Nigerian schools have led to the conversion of thousands of Nigerian youths to the Christian faith. Many of whom are leaders in the church today.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

A. Mark 16:9-20 - Christ for the Whole Wide World

16:9-13 - The risen Jesus appears to a few disciples but others did not believe them.

16:14-15 - Jesus rebukes them for their unbelief and instructs them to preach the gospel to all men - to the world.

16:16 - Jesus says as many as believe the gospel will be saved.

16:17-18 - Jesus promises signs and wonders with miracles will follow the preaching of the gospel by the apostles, to confirm the message they are preaching.

16:19-20 - The disciples go everywhere preaching the gospel.

B. Acts 1:1-11 - The Gospel for All Men.

1:1-4 - Luke is here recording the events of Christ's last earthly meeting with the disciples. He instructs them to wait for God to empower them with the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry.

1:5 - They were to carry out ministry after being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

1:6-8 - Jesus gives the disciples the scope of their work: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria unto the uttermost part of the world.

1:9-11 - Jesus is taken up to heaven.

Conclusion

Today's study shows us that we need God's power to preach the gospel around the world. God's power is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is manifested as the word of God reaches people heart. And the only way for this to happen is for people to own and read the bible in their own understanding. This is what The Gideon and Scriptures Union do as they distribute the scriptures to people to read.

THEME IV: THE INWARD LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

SUBTHEME: LIFE OF SELF DISCIPLINE AND CONTENTMENT

TOPICS: 1. Nehemiah Ruled by Foregoing Governor's Entitlement.
2. Paul Undeterred by Want or Abundance.

Text: Nehemiah 5:14-18; Philippians 4:10-13

Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

HYMN:

Main Thrust:

Objectives:

Introduction:

As we continue to look into the inward life of a Christian, we come to the matter of self discipline and contentment. What are the limits in a believer's life? What are we permitted to do or not do? How much is enough? When others are progressing and we seem to be at a standstill, how does a Christian handle such? How does a Christian handle liberty, pleasures and leisures? These are some of the questions we shall endeavor to answer as we look at the matter of self discipline and contentment.

Progression of Event:

1. Nehemiah 5:14-18. Nehemiah Ruled by Foregoing the Governor's Entitlement.

The story in the scriptures above tells the story of Nehemiah and his prudent use of resources as the leader of the Jews after they had returned from exile. Israel had been in captivity for many years. One day a king, Cyrus, decided that the Jews could return to their home land. In the process, hundreds of Jews came back to the land of Israel. They met it in ruins and began to put their country back in order. This however took many long and laborious years to accomplish. Nehemiah was sent to Israel to help in the reconstruction work. He paid particular attention at the building of the walls around Jerusalem for the sake of security. To accomplish this, Nehemiah needed people and he needed money. Due to his own lifestyle of self discipline and contentment, he was able to channel the little resources available aright and accomplish the project of building the wall around Jerusalem, thus increasing the security of the people. In the process he forego many if his entitlement as Governor.

"Nehemiah 5:14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor."

There were certain privileges he was meant to enjoy as a Governor but he gave it up so that he would not be burdensome to the people. A heart of contentment also made him to eat ordinary food and not the food or bread that Governors were meant to eat.

This passage points us to the inner character every Christian should have. Christians should be disciplined people and we should be content. When matter of corruption or stealing of public funds are mentioned, Christians should never be named among such.

We should also beware of preaching that encourages Christians to keep getting and getting and never sharing. God's people have always been disciplined people. Christians are people who are content with little and whom, because of their ability to use resources well, are known to be able manage state resources and restore society to wealth and progress.

2. Philippians 4:10-13. Paul Undeterred by Wants or Abundance.

In this passage, Paul gives us a template on how a Christian can be content.

Verse 10: Paul describes here the Philippians willingness and desire to give him things. Indeed they had longed to give to him but lacked opportunity to. Paul did not go about asking them for anything. Rather he commended their steadfastness to want to support his missionary work at all cost.

Verse 11: He makes it clear here that he was not really in need. Rather, he had learnt to be content in all state that he found himself. This is a great lesson for us today. As it seem that many Christians fluctuate in attitude based on what they have.

Verse 12: Paul knew how to abound and abase; how to be full and go hungry. This requires both discipline and contentment. When we are full, it requires discipline not to loose our boundaries. When we are hungry, it requires that we should be content. These are virtues that are expected of Christians.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. This is the Christian spirit. We can do all things as we find strength in Christ. It will require discipline. It will demand contentment. But in the long run, the Christian will find Christ's strength to help him.

Conclusion.

Many people are looking for wealth and abundance. What we should be seeking is Christ's strength that can help us in times of want and that can direct us to use resources properly in times of plenty.

Suggested Activities.

1. Suggest some problems in our nation Nigeria that you believe are a result of lack of discipline and contentment among leaders in our country.
2. How should a Christian behave if he were to be the Governor of Oyo State?
3. Mention two things that a virtue of contentment and discipline can help you achieve in life.

THEME IV: THE INWARD LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

SUBTHEME: LIFE OF TRUTHFULNESS, PURITY AND INTEGRITY

TOPICS: 1. Honest Workers Repaired God's Temple without Supervision.
2. Judas Stole From the Common Purse.

Text: 2Kings 22:3-7; 2Chronicles 34:8-12; John 12:1-6.

Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

HYMN:

Main Thrust:

Objectives:

Introduction:

The essential difference between a child of God and a person who is not saved is what is within us. Regardless of how one might look outside, a Christian will always possess a heart of truth, purity and integrity. While the world may tell half truths to gain some advantage, a Christian will not lie. When the world would cut corners, the virtue of integrity will always be present in the life of a Christian. The Christian, whom some have very wisely tagged as one with "Christ within", possesses a character of purity that the world can testify to. The Christian may fail at these standards occasionally but he sees it as a standard that he must always uphold. The bare truth is that a Christian cannot lie easily. In fact at close examination, a Christian who has lied can be very easily discovered. It is this high calling of truth, purity and integrity we wish to discuss today as we look further at the subject of the inward life of a Christian. We shall be looking at two scenarios from the bible: a positive and a negative.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

1. 2 Kings 22:3-7; 2 Chronicles 34:8-12. Honest Workers Repaired God's Temple without Supervision.

In this story, King Josiah had instructed that the temple be repaired. The money that was made available for this repairs were given to the people doing the work and the bible records this of them:

2 Kings 22:7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

That is to say of the money given to them no one asked them how they spent it. They already had a record of using finances well and so there was no need to require them to account for the money with them. For this workers to have arrived at a point in their lives where monies could be entrusted in their hands and no reckoning was requested of them, they must have shown truthfulness, purity and integrity in the past. They must have built a reputation of integrity that will make them be easily trusted with finances.

There was a time in this country when Christians were mostly sort after for banking and accounting jobs. Pastor W. F. Kumuyi, General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Church, said that they used to receive letters at the headquarters of the church, requesting for Christian graduates from Accounting to head financial institutions. He lamented however that with time those letters have ceased to come. Today the Christian testimony in this country has changed. This is not supposed to be. We see the right example of who a Christian should be in the story above. We should be people of integrity. People that can be trusted with valuables. People that are in practice what we claim we are in speech. A life of purity and integrity is a strong testimony to the world of the Lordship of Christ.

2. John 12:1-6. Judas Stole from the Common Purse.

The unique thing about this story was the fact that Jesus chose Judas, of all the other disciples, to keep their treasury. It reveals two things basically. First, it showed Jesus' regard for money. The Master had such little regard for money that he made a thief the keeper of the treasury. Secondly, it was Jesus' way of showing to all who Judas really was. The moment he had access to the treasury, he stole from it.

The best test of integrity is noting what an individual will do in his private and not what they do in the public. The test of your Christianity is in what you do at home and not what you do in church. Judas stole from the common purse because he lacked integrity. The Christian character of truth and purity must compel us continually to live above board. The "Christian" who steals public funds, who lacks basic integrity, who is continually mentioned among the dubious and corrupt, is not fit to be called a Christian. Christianity is truth, purity and integrity personified.

Conclusion.

The minimum standard for a Christian and for Christian living is truth. Truth begats purity and upholds a life of integrity. It should never be mentioned that a Christian is a liar. Our reputation should be one of integrity; such integrity that will make people trust us with the most valuable things.

Suggested Activities.

1. Mention ways in which you can better live a life of truth and purity.
2. How is lack of integrity affecting our country, Nigeria?
3. State three other synonyms each for the words: Truth, Purity and Integrity.

THEME IV: THE INWARD LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

SUBTHEME: LIFE WITH ETERNITY IN VIEW: LIFE OF HOPE

TOPICS: 1. Simeon And Anna Focused On The Glory Of The World To Come.
2. Jesus Endured The Cross

Text: Luke 2:25-32, 36-38; 2 Peter 3:11-13; Hebrew 12:1-2

Memory Verse: Hebrews 12:1-2: Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

HYMN:

Main Thrust:

Objectives:

Introduction:

Abe is 9 years old. His father had promised him that if he would excel in his forthcoming Common Entrance examinations, he would purchase a bicycle for him and take him on his next vacation to England. Abe was elated. His long term desire of owning his own bicycle and the prospect of a journey abroad was so encouraging that he set out to obtain the highest grade possible in the examinations. However a few months down the road, reality set in. Abe realized he had to put in more effort into his studies down usual. The Quantitative Aptitude in the Maths examinations was particularly difficult. Abe had to visit an older friend, who spent long hours coaching him on mastering the subject. Just as he was becoming a little more confident on it, Abe fell ill and was hospitalized. However, the possibility of failing his exams and loosing the reward his father had promised him, gingered him up and long before he regained his health, Abe returned to his library to study. The whole preparation towards the examination was similar to climbing a steep hill up but the joy of a certain reward awaiting him was a constant source of strength for him.

The Christian life is very similar to the story of Abe. The Christian is one who has been born again by the Spirit of Jesus. He has received the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life from God. The Holy Spirit himself being the seal of our salvation to come (Ephesians 1:13-14). Heaven is the Christian hope; it is our joy; it is the reward we look up to. Hallelujah! But the reality is that the Christian has this life to live. The Christian must strive against sin and live in holiness as he anticipates God's kingdom. We must endure suffering and persecution in this earth as we await our heavenly hope. The Christian must serve God and humanity, and many times never receive a reward for what he has done. His reward is in heaven. Like it is for Abe, the Christian might sometimes behold his life as one climbing a steep hill upwards.

Abe eventually wrote his exams and came out with a good grade. In fact he had the best result in his school. His father fulfilled his promise of buying him a bicycle. He also took him on his annual summer vacation to London. Only that this time, he took the whole family with him. Abe's result had brought joy to the home and that year's vacation was their way of celebrating it.

As we consider yet another inward life of the Christian, we have before us the joy of the Christian hope. One day, every believer will be at home in heaven, having received the reward for the work they have done for Jesus on earth.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

1. Simeon And Anna Focused On The Glory Of The World To Come. Luke 2:25-32,36-38.

Simeon and Anna were godly people. A man and a woman whom God had revealed the birth and ministry of Jesus to. The baby Jesus, for them, was a fulfillment of the hope God had promised the nation of Israel.

Israel, at the time of Jesus birth, was a nation under political dominance. The Romans were ruling them and they considered themselves under oppression. The story of God's dealing with them had been that every time Israel was oppressed, God sent a Savior to rescue them. Israel was therefore looking forward to the coming Messiah to deliver them. Also, there had been much apostasy in the land. And many Israelites were not worshipping God in the way and manner he had prescribed. Many godly had then known that the Messiah, who had been promised to Israel in the Old Testament, was coming. The birth of the baby Jesus was a fulfilment of Israel's hope. Though they will eventually discover that Jesus' coming was not for political emancipation, people like Simeon and Anna knew the very reason Jesus came. This is why thru rejoiced at beholding him. Jesus' birth was a fulfillment of Israel's hope for a Messiah.

2. Jesus Endured The Cross. 2 Peter 3:11-13; Hebrew 12:1-2.

Heaven is the Christian's hope. The Christian's hope engenders two things: a seeking after a kingdom of righteousness and the grace to endure hardship.

2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

For the Christian, sin is a thing of sorrow. Beholding unrighteousness and evil is a thing Christians lament over. For this reason we look forward to heaven, God's kingdom, wherein dwells righteousness. Where there is no evil.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Another thing hope engenders in the Christian is strength to endure hardship. Jesus endured the cross because of the joy of beholding a redeemed people for God. We also must endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ because our ministry, service and even lifestyle will bring men to God's kingdom.

Conclusion.

A true Christian walk in this world is a life that possesses eternity in view. Christians are not such as place their hopes only on earth. Our hope is in heaven wherein abides our sure reward. The Christian possesses all the resources to endure whatever hardship might befall him on earth. Our labors for Jesus is not in vain. Amen.

Suggested Activities.

The children should write a short story on reward for service.

THEME IV: THE INWARD LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN

SUBTHEME: LIFE WITHOUT FEAR.

TOPICS: 1. Stephen: Courageous In Speech And Death.
2. Queen Esther's Confession: If I Perish, I Perish

Text: Acts 7:51-69; Esther 4:1-17

Memory Verse: Isaiah 43:1 Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

HYMN:

Main Thrust:

Objectives:

Introduction:

Secular psychologist will say that fear is natural to all humans. It is an inert reaction to the unusual and whatever might tend to threaten one's well being. Human beings are naturally self preserving tend to show element of fears in the face of danger. For the Christian, this is not so. The Christian is a man that has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Spirit on the human heart. Scriptures describes it as changing a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. A Christian is a new creation. This is what gives the Christian a different reaction to fear. For believers, the absence of fear is not due to the absence of danger but the presence of God's power within us. It also implies that when a Christian faces danger or anything that threatens him, he can approach God for strength to face his fears. With the numerous injunction "fear not" in the bible, it is clear that God does not wish for Christians to be fearful and that he has abundant resources for us to both face and overcome our fears.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

1. Stephen: Courageous In Speech And Death. Acts 7:51-60.

Stephen was one of the first deacons elected by the early church to help the apostles in the administrative processes among the disciples. Stephen however was distinguished among them. Scriptures records: Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. It was this same Stephen that faced the murderous crowd of Jews and testified to them about Christ. Rather than repent, despite God convicting them, they turned on him and killed him.

Stephen, in this passage, shows us a picture of who a true Christian is: fearless. Many times when Christians face matters of life, especially concerning the faith, that naturallys seem to threaten them, the Spirit of God grants us unusual boldness to face such events. This has resulted in the spread of the gospel to regions that naturally will not have people going there for fear of their lives. Christianity's spread to countries in Africa and South America follow this same testimony: believers fearlessly testifying to the gospel before hostile people and bringing many to faith in Christ. The down side of this is that sometimes God's people pay the ultimate price of martyrdom in the process.

2. Queen Esther's Confession: "If I perish, I perish". Esther 4:1-17.

Queen Esther's reaction in this passage is another example of the Christian fearless spirit. Esther was a Jew, one of God's covenant people but her identity was unknown even though she was queen, married to the king in the land. Then the matter of Haman seeking to destroy all Jews in the land arose. Esther at first thought she could go the "safe" route by appealing to Mordecai her uncle. But Mordecai reminded her that she must have become queen for this simple purpose of rescuing the Jews. Despite the fact that she could loose her life without a prior invitation to see the king by the king himself, Esther declares she would take her chance: "If I perish, I perish", she declares.

The Christian also may be required to take such risk in life for the purpose of God's kingdom. In such times, we must trust God for boldness to face issues. And like Esther, we usually come out of the situation unscathed.

Conclusion.

While fear might be a natural response to threat to life, it is a debilitating effect that hinders productivity. The scriptures records in many instances "fear not", because fear usually is the opposite of faith; and if faith is pleasing to God (Hebrew 11:6), we could say fear is unpleasing to God.

The testimony of many of God's people is that in times of danger, they have been unusually endowed with boldness with fear totally absent. This is not far from the promise of our Lord who says: I will never leave you nor forsake you. We can be certain that in times when we feel alone and threatened and might tend to fear, Christ ever presence is near to strengthen us and embolden us.

Amen.

Suggested Activities.

1. How do you feel when you are alone in the house or in the dark?
2. How does Jesus help us in times of fear?
3. If a traditional medicine man or a witch was to threaten you, what will be your response?

THEME I: THE BIBLE

SUBTHEME: COMPILATORS OF THE CANON.

TOPICS: 1. The Jerusalem Council - Hierarchy Of The Early Christian Church. Paul And Peter Before The Council To Defend Acceptance Of Gentiles Into The Church.

Text: Acts 15:1-29.

Memory Verse: Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

HYMN:

Main Thrust: The Bible is the final authority for doctrine and practice, and for life and ministry of the Christian. Though scriptures were compiled by mere men, the church regards it as the very words of God.

Objectives: To help the children know how the bible were compiled and who God used at each point in history to bring it to pass.

Introduction:

The 39 books of the Old Testament form the Bible of Judaism, while the Christian Bible includes those books and also the 27 books of the New Testament. This list of books included in the Bible is known as the canon.

That is, the canon refers to the books regarded as inspired by God and authoritative for faith and life. No church created the canon, but the churches and councils gradually accepted the list of books recognized by believers everywhere as inspired.

It was actually not until 367 AD that the church father Athanasius first provided the complete listing of the 66 books belonging to the canon. He distinguished those from other books that were widely circulated and he noted that those 66 books were the ones, and the only ones, universally accepted.

The point is that the formation of the canon did not come all at once like a thunderbolt, but was the product of centuries of reflection.

Let's look first at the Old Testament. Obviously the first five books (sometimes called the Torah or the Pentateuch) were the first to be accepted as canonical. We're not sure when this occurred, but it was probably
during the fifth century before Christ. Of course, the Hebrews had the "Law" for many centuries already, but they certainly did not pay very good attention to it. It was probably the work of the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah
that restored it to general use and fixed it once and for all as authoritative.

How about the rest of the Old Testament? The prophets' writings were also not brought together in a single form until about 200 BC.

The remaining Old Testament books were adopted as canonical even later. The Old Testament list was probably not finally fixed much before the birth of Christ. The Jewish people were widely scattered by this time and they really needed to know which books were the authoritative Word of God because so many other writings claiming divine authority were floating around. With the fixing of the
canon they became a people of one Book, and this Book kept them together.

Nor is there a single date when we can say that the canon of the New Testament was decided. In the first and second centuries after Christ, many, many writings and epistles were circulating among the Christians. Some of the churches were using books and letters in their services that were definitely spurious. Gradually the need to have a definite list of the inspired Scriptures became apparent. Heretical movements were rising, each one choosing its own selected Scriptures, including such documents as the Gospel of Thomas, the Shepherd of Hermas,
the Apocalypse of Peter, and the Epistle of Barnabas. Gradually it became clear which works were truly genuine and which mixed truth with fantasy. By the end of the fourth century the canon was definitively settled and accepted.

In this process Christians recognize the providence of God in providing us with his
written revelation of himself and his purpose with the universe.

Questions still arise now and then about the canon. Some wonder why just these 66 booklets were chosen. Why not 65 or 67? Why was the sometimes puzzling booklet of Jude included to the exclusion of other edifying scriptures? To these questions we reply that these books are the ones that God
himself has chosen preserve for us, and he has not told us exactly why. Together they
form an immeasurable treasure, and in them
we find God's matchless gift to his people.

Here we are moved simply to trust in his providence as he led his people through the years and gave us the most honored and powerful and comforting volume in the history of humanity, the book known as the Bible. And in his providence he has provided this treasure for you as well. Take up its ancient words and mandates and live by them! As you steep yourself in its pages, your heart will find peace at last.
- Culled from www.biblica.com.

PROGRESSION OF EVENTS

Acts 15:1-29. The Jerusalem Council. Paul and Peter Defence Before the Early Church Hierarchy.

This passage of scriptures speaks of how a certain doctrinal matter was resolved through the authority God had given the church in the early days. That authority were the apostles. Because the apostles are long dead, the bible, which had the New Testament authored by the them and the Old Testament, is today our final authority on all matter of life, doctrine, ministry and disputes.

1. Acts 15:1-5. The Dispute.

Due to the ministry of the apostles, particularly those of Paul and Barnabas, gentiles were becoming Christians in large numbers. Gentiles are non Jews. Now, certain Jews then rose up and insisted that these gentiles must be circumcised and must keep the laws of Moses for them to be saved and fully considered Christians. Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, insisting that simple faith was enough to save sinners. They therefore brought the dispute to the apostles, the final authority then, to resolve.

2. Acts 15:7-12. Peter's Message on Grace.

After much argument, Peter was given opportunity to speak and he made it clear that by God's gracious influence he was able to bring the gospel to the Gentiles - referring to his ministration at Cornelius home. Then he made a salient point:

Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Peter was saying in effect that it was grace, not works, that saves. That the Jews, who despite keeping the law, would be saved by grace; so also shall the gentiles be saved by grace. Grace is God's favor bestowed on sinners; it cannot be earned by duty, works or keeping the law. If therefore men shall be saved by grace, it was not necessary to keep the law to be saved, as the Judaizers were insisting in this passage.

3. Acts 15:13-21. James, the Final Authority Speaks.

This meeting, famously referred to as the Jerusalem Council is the first christian council set up to resolve a doctrinal matter. Since then there have been many others, including Council of Trent and Council of Nicea. At the Jerusalem council, James was the leader. And in this passage, he gives his verdict. Note that while giving his verdict, he quotes the Old Testament. He said in summary:

Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

His verdict was that the gentiles did not have to keep the law or be circumcised to be saved but certain minimums must be kept. They were to abstain from idols and fornication. The implication of his judgement was that while the Christian Church does not have to keep the ceremonial rituals and legalistic laws of the Jews, they were still expected to keep some basic moral laws. Today, while the church does not keep a strict adherence to Jewish laws, it still upholds the ten commandments - particularly Jesus' summary of it that calls us to love God wholeheartedly and to love our neighbour (Matthew 22:37-39).

4. Acts 15:22-29. The Verdict.

A letter was written to all the gentile churches not to heed the Judaizers but to remain faithful to the message of the apostles. Today, the message of those apostles are written in the bible.


Summary.

Since the Jerusalem council, there has been numerous disputes in the body of Christ. There are usually disagreements bordering on doctrine and practices. During the Protestant Reformation, it was generally agreed among the reformers that while there may not be am end to dispute in the church, there is a yardstick God has given the church to measure it doctrine and practices by: The Bible. The Reformers therefore enunciated the doctrine of the Sufficiency of Scriptures. This doctrines teaches in effect that the bible is God's counsel to Christians today. And that if Christians will submit to it in diligent study, prayers, humility and love in our hearts, we would resolve every doctrinal disputes in the church today. The reality however is that pride, diversity of opinion and personality, experiences, etc, continue to becloud people's perception of scriptural truths. The result is a seeming division in the body of Christ. But the bible, our final authority is not divided. It continues to say the same thing to us all through the centuries. It is our prayers that believers will be humble enough to hear God speak to them clearly from his sufficient revelation to us. Sufficiency of Scriptures also implies that Christians do not look to or trust extra biblical revelations. Rather we believe scriptures.

After all has been done however, disputes continue. The Christian will therefore continue to use the two biblical yardstick of love and truth in judging matters. Sometimes some disputes on doctrine and practices are little. In such times the Christian uses the yardstick of love to accept a dissenting brother. Overlooking their doctrinal differences. This is the bases, for example, on which Chapel of The Ressurection operates an interdenominational system of church.

There are some differences in doctrine that the believer cannot compromise on and cannot permit a seeming "love for brethren" to overlook. Such doctrinal differences can amount to souls being damned in hell and so believers cannot compromise on truth in such matters. That is why the Protestant and Catholics will always be divided. And that is why we cannot fellowship with Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons.

Suggested Activities.

1. Make a list of doctrines and practices that members in Chapel both agree and disagree on.

2. Make a list of doctrinal aberrations among Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons.

Following