COP 2018 BIBLE STUDY & HOME CELL WEEK 34

THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE

WEEK 34 – SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 26, 2018.

TOPIC: INTEGRITY IN THE CHURCH

Review of Previous Week’s Lesson (5 Minutes)

a. What did you learn last week?

b. How did you apply it to your life?

Main Text: Acts 5:1-11

Memory Verse: Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching. – Titus 2:6, 7 (HCSB)

Introduction

In this study we shall look at hypocrisy which many people see as the opposite of integrity. One of the places where it is easier to display hypocrisy is in the Church. If we are not determined to serve the Lord and be faithful to Him, we can feign a lot of attitudes and actions while our real intentions explicitly display otherwise. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is one that tells us of a couple who though had decided to sell their field and donate the proceeds to the Church, did the opposite and died. They failed to keep to their promise to offer the full amount. They held back what was the Lord’s and deceived the Church even when they were publicly confronted. Integrity is doing exactly what we have promised to do without the slightest compromise. We should do what we promise and only promise what we can do.

Questions for Discussion

1. What sin did Ananias and Sapphira commit? Verses 2, 3, 8

2. Who do we deceive when we fail to hold on to our integrity in the Church? Verses 3, 9

3. What were the consequences of the couple’s deception? Verse 5, 10,11

4. What are some of the actions that will constitute church or public deception?

5. In what practical ways can we display integrity in the church?

Conclusion

Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit when in actual fact they thought they were just lying to the apostles or the local Church. When we are not faithful to the local Church in terms of our time, money, energy, gifts or whatever thing we have pledged to do, we do not deceive leadership or the local assembly but the Holy Spirit. Anytime we fail to display integrity in our dealings with God and the Church, the consequences could be terrible.

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THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 HOME CELL OUTLINE

WEEK 34 – SUNDAY EVENING, AUGUST 26, 2018.

ACTIVITY: DISTRICT / LOCAL / CELL INPUT

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READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR GUIDE

Week 34 (Sunday 26^th August to Saturday 1^st September, 2018)

1. Sunday:          Jeremiah 42-45
2. Monday:         Jeremiah 46-48         
3. Tuesday:        Jeremiah 49  
4. Wednesday:   Jeremiah 50
5. Thursday:      Jeremiah 51-52         
6. Friday:           Lamentations 1-2
7. Saturday:       Lamentations 3-5

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COP 2018 BIBLE STUDY & HOME CELL WEEK 33

THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE
WEEK 33 – SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 19, 2018.

TOPIC: PENTSOS DAY – THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

Review of Previous Week’s Lesson (5 Minutes)

a. What did you learn last week?
b. How did you apply it to your life?

Main Text: Acts 6:1-7
Memory Verse: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27

Introduction

The Church’s quest to provide education, health facilities, relief services and address social needs among its members and the communities in which she operates led to the formation of the Pentecost Welfare Association (PENTWAS) in 1980. The name was later changed to Pentecost Social Services (PENTSOS) in the year 2000. The core functions of PENTSOS include: Disaster Prevention and Relief Services, Economic Empowerment, Health Services and Educational Support Schemes for the general good of society. The Church also teaches and empowers its members to provide welfare support to one another and the community at large. Our study today looks at how the early Church responded to social needs when they arose, how they managed them and the results afterwards. 

Questions for Discussion

1. Why did the Grecian Jews complain against the Hebraic Jews? Verse 1
2. How did the Twelve Apostles respond to this social need? Verse 3-5
3. Was it a command from God for the early church to solve this problem? Discuss.
4. Can you mention any social service of the church in your locality?
5. In what ways can members provide welfare support for one another and the community?

Conclusion

The main business of the Church is to get people to know Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour and be conformed to His image. The Church does not exist mainly to run social services. All social services are based on the Church’s financial strength. Members must therefore appreciate the efforts of the Church and keep praying for her for greater financial opportunities. The early Church willingly took it upon themselves to deal with their internal social problems of their time. In doing so, the results were positive. We can also emulate the pattern set by the early Church so that the number of believers would greatly multiply making many committed followers of Christ.

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THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 HOME CELL OUTLINE
WEEK 33 – SUNDAY EVENING, AUGUST 19, 2018.

ACTIVITY: VISITATION AND HOUSE-TO-HOUSE EVANGELISM

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READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR GUIDE

Week 33 (Sunday 19th August to Saturday 25th August, 2018)

1. Sunday: Jeremiah 22-23
2. Monday: Jeremiah 24-26
3. Tuesday: Jeremiah 27-29
4. Wednesday: Jeremiah 30-31
5. Thursday: Jeremiah 32-34
6. Friday: Jeremiah 35-37
7. Saturday: Jeremiah 38-41

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COP 2018 BIBLE STUDY & HOME CELL WEEK 32

THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 BIBLE STUDY OUTLINE
WEEK 32 – SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 12, 2018.

TOPIC: HONOURING GOD WITH OUR POSSESSIONS

Review of Previous Lesson (5 Minutes)
a. What did you learn from the previous lesson?
b. How did you apply it to your life?

Main Text: Luke 12:13-21
Memory Verse: Honour the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest. – Proverbs 3:9 (HCSB)

Introduction

God expects that, apart from working hard to faithfully earn wealth, we recognise Him as the source of our possessions. Again He desires that we spend what we have in a manner that glorifies Him. Similarly, He expects us to be content with what we have, not to greedily seek after excessive wealth. He owns all things and distributes them as He wills. The Lord God Almighty is the source of every true wealth and expects those He blesses to honour Him with their money.

Questions for Discussion

1. What did Jesus ask the crowd to guard against? Verse 15
2. What does the statement, “One’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions” mean? Verse 15
3. What did the character in the parable seek to do after his great harvest? Verses 17-19
4. Why did Jesus say the attitude of the rich man was wrong? Verses 20, 21
5. What lessons have you learnt from today’s study?

Conclusion

Jesus asked his followers to guard against greed; the intense and selfish desire for money and wealth. It is certainly true that God is the source of life and no amount of possessions can prevent God from taking a person’s life away. We live not because of the many possessions but because God has granted us the privilege to be alive. The rich person in the parable sought to pride himself in his wealth; he neither acknowledged the grace of God nor thought about others. It is better to seek God and find Him. For He is the giver of wealth. In that case even when this life is lost there is hope of eternal life.

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THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST – 2018 HOME CELL OUTLINE
WEEK 32 – SUNDAY EVENING, AUGUST 12, 2018.

TOPIC: AVOID ADULTERY IN THE HEART

Review of Previous Lesson (5 Minutes)
a. What did you learn from the previous lesson?
b. How did you apply it to your life?

Main Text: Matthew 5:27-30
Memory Verse: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:28

Introduction

From time immemorial, adultery has been a canker that plagues the moral fibre of societies. Adultery is a voluntary sexual activity between a married man and a woman other than his wife or between a married woman and a man other than her husband. Scripture speaks strongly against adultery and in the Old Testament, it was an offence punishable by death. No wonder when the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they demanded she be stoned to death (John 8:4-5). Interestingly, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded the discourse on adultery and its consequences. This study seeks to discuss the issue further.

Questions for Discussions

1. What law had the Pharisees heard of? Verse 27.
2. Identify the new addition that Jesus brought into the law? Verse 28.
3. What does it mean to look at a woman lustfully?
4. Discuss the remedy Jesus recommends for anything that causes us to stumble? Verses 29-30
5. How can we guard against adultery in the heart?

Conclusion

The Jews had always thought that adultery was committed only when a physical act of sex was involved. However, Jesus Christ lifted the standard by showing that adultery actually begins in the heart; from our hearts flow the issues of life. To look at a woman lustfully is to have amorous thoughts for her. That is why Jesus recommended that we ought to take drastic actions including cutting off anything that causes us to stumble, just like Job who made a covenant with his eyes not to look at a woman lustfully. We can guard against adultery in the heart by constantly meditating on God’s word and yielding to the Holy Spirit who helps us to control the gates to our souls. Again, we must avoid people, conversations, places, books, movies or pictures that trigger the quest for illicit sex.

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READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR GUIDE

Week 32 (Sunday 12th August to Saturday 18th August, 2018)

1. Sunday: Jeremiah 1-3
2. Monday: Jeremiah 4-5
3. Tuesday: Jeremiah 6-8
4. Wednesday: Jeremiah 9-11
5. Thursday: Jeremiah 12-14
6. Friday: Jeremiah 15-17
7. Saturday: Jeremiah 18-21

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