PCHRIS

wow heres a question I struggle to answer. Honestly I would be fighting the temptaion to set up my children comfortably and pay off all our debts first. But I know, firstly, this inheritance should go towards different ministries and help those in greater need. As Helenm said most lottery winners end up actually worse off 2-3 years down the track because they have never had so much money and it goes to their heads. Knowing the eternal treasures that I am storing in heaven far outweigh the earthly possessions I desire. The Word says how God will provide for our every need so I trust Him for everthing. Unfortunately most families have their squabbles, even church families, the good news is that we can come together and pray and have reconcilliation knowing we come together, as a body with Christ as the head, for the one common good of proclaiming the Gospel, encouraging and edifying each other. Praise the Lord!!

We look forward to be with Christ forever and forever with total bliss, no pain, no worries just constant praise and learning with our Lord and Saviour. Even for me its like a wake up call, a gentle reminder about what our job is to do, as disciples, not to get lazy or too relaxed, but to be dilligent about bringing lost souls with us. To be proclaiming the Good News to everyone, sharing God's love with everyone we meet. This hope should affect our lives so we dont become stagnant or think we have 'made it' but to be the salt of the earth and the light on the hill. We are living testimonies of what Christ has done in our lives and we need to be showing this in our daily living. The average non beleiver has not the same hope as beleivers because they dont have the relationship with Christ. It is up to the beleiver to proclaim the hope we have, yes some are going to reject the good news, but we cannot be silent. There's an old saying that "silence is golden" but being silent can also be downright yellow. God opens doors for witnessing and we need to be obedient and go through and share the Gospel.

I agree with others that the "end of time" is when Jesus returns to set His Kingdom on Earth. Jesus' blood on the cross was the downpayment but in the end we will be achieved fully [see Eph.4.30, Rom.8.23, Luke 21.28] God will then take completely from alien hands that which is His own [ whom are sealed] The Holy Spirit is the Christians seal, the experience of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the final proof of the genuineness of what we have beleived and provides the inward assurance of that we belong to God. The undeniable mark of Gods work in and for us.

We were created by God to have a relationship with Him so we should lavish Him with praise and adoration, serve Him by using our gifts and proclaiming the good news to others who dont know Him To keep doing what we must do... keeping Christ as the focus thats whom we draw our strength from, the Holy Spirit is whom that convicts us when we happen to stray. To show the fruit of the Spirit and this all ties into Matt 5:13-16--we are to be the salt of the earth-- not to hide our light under a bowl--but to show the light so men can see and praise God.

It will be great when everything is brought together under the headship of Jesus Christ, this is what the world needs right now to be brought in together, (i'll admit it does happen when some huge calamity happens but when the dust settles everyone is back to the old selfish ways) Christ will be the ultimate ruler over all creation, there will be restoration, unity under the headship of Christ. How this relates to the Creator? It is God's sovereign plan, what He has done and is doing in Christ Bruce Simpson paraphrases it like this: "When all the times and seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority have run their course, God's age long purpose which He planned in Christ will attain its full fruition" 1Cor 15:24-28 - - i think the above paraphrase sums it up

I have been set free from things that have held me down/back from what God wants me to do. Even I sometimes still struggle with insecurities I Know and meditate on the sacrifice Jesus did for me. The redemption of His blood. Growing up in religiosity, thinking I knew Christ BUT not having the relationship with Him, I would be like those in Ephesians 4:14, tossed around in the waves, no clear view of where I wanted to go. Life without redemption: I would be lost eternally Praise the Lord that I am found, and serving my Lord and Saviour

Regarding this question if I am incorrect please let me know. The understanding I have is that Jewish custom a natural son could be disinherited from the family but if one was adopted into the family regardless of what they do,(sin wise), they could never be disinherited from the family If this is the case, this illustration of adoption into God's family is eternally ongoing. Yes, we still are sinners, we still are children of God. The fellowship may be broken but the realtionship can never be changed.

The ideal and goal of the Christian life is perfect holiness, [see Matt 5:48] expressed in its positive aspect as dedication of life. I can come to God without blame through repentance and accepting/believing what Christ did on the cross for me, the perfect sacrifice, through His blood I am cleansed.

Probaly can be scary but I realise what a privilege it is to be part of God's plan, remember He knew us in our mothers womb (Jer.1:5), even I still sometimes struggle with what God has in store for my ministry. This shows me that my faith must rest completely on the work of God. Eph 2:10 tells us 'we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.' Paul brings this up because, as the church at Ephesus needed to be reminded that they are all part of God's work, we need to be reminded we have to be holy and blameless to be fruitful in our ministries/God's work and we are all part of God's plan. I have heard it explained like God is a helicopter pilot He can see our lives from point A to point Z, we only can see one maybe two steps in front of us. We need to put our faith and trust in Him and to be obedient to what He wants us to do.

To me being in Christ is to give my all, Romans tells us to be living sacrifices just as Christ sacrificed His life for us we are to 'sacrifice' our worldly things to follow Him. If we are faithful to our calling we will not try to be self sufficent or turn to the world for guidance, inspiration and strength BUT find all our satisfaction and every need in Christ Jesus

Q4. How do confession and repentance fit with self-examination? What is the result of self-examination without confession and repentance? How do confession and repentance serve to bring spiritual health and character change? These 3 things fit together as a hand fits into a glove. Thats why self examination goes with confession and repentance, its a time of looking at ourselves and being humble enough to come clean before God and fellow Christians. We would be like 'white washed tombs' ! We show nice on the outside but inside we are harbouring filth. God wants our whole total being, we are called to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. W/out confession and repentance we are making a joke of what Christ did for me. I agree with another comment made that this should be a continual thing not just left to when we come to the Lord's Table. We always should be going through this cleansing time of confessing and repenting otherwise Satan has a foot hold in our lives and will use any unconfessed sin in our lives For me this brings joy, peace, and humility knowing I have come clean with my Lord and that's what He loves is us to come to Him with open hearts willing to change.

Q3. (1 Corinthians 11:28, 31) Introspection by a neurotic person can foster guilt and self-loathing. Where is the balance? How can we conduct self-examination and self-judgment so that it has a healthy rather than an unhealthy result in us? Our whole focus is on Christ. In Romans it tells us we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Maybe we can foster guilt and self loathing, God will and can use us in our brokeness to fulfil His glory. God is the one who picked us up out of the miry clay. By being in total obedience to God; prayer, studying the Word, praise, fellowshipping with like minded Christians. This will healthily point out our shortcomings and then we come to the Lord with repentance and confession and He will use us and shape us.

Q2. (1 Corinthians 11:29-32) Why has God brought judgment to the offending parties at Corinth? Isn't sickness and death rather harsh? How does God's discipline actually work for our good in the light of Hebrews 12:5-7? Maybe the judgement was harsh but so was the sin. Misleading their brothers and sisters, being greedy/drunkard, being self centred. When will the human race learn. Christ came to serve not be served! Where was the humility in the Corinth church? As a loving father I discipline my children when they stray. Our Heavenly Father does the same for us

Q1. (11:29) Why does "not discerning the body" at the Lord's Supper constitute such a grave sin? Aren't there worse things a church could have done? If we are to take this too lightly or just ritualistic we are commiting a grave sin because WE are partaking in Christ's body as a unified body not something we take lightly. This is a time of remembrace and reverence. There are worse things done and will be worse things still done but who's counting. Everyone is answerable to God

Q4. (Revelation 22:4) When you meditate on "seeing his face," what thoughts come to mind? Why should the Lord's Supper stimulate these thoughts every time we partake of it? His unconditional and perfect love for me. Christ suffered and died for me, who is a sinner and didn't deserve this gift but He loves me so much He was willing to do this for me; bore all my sins and washed away with His blood.

In what sense is the Lord's Supper point to the past? How does it point to the present? How does it point to the future? The Lord's Supper points to the death of Christ on the cross for me. The present is the communion of saints, the unity with our brothers and sisters and the fellowship together. The future is the return of our Lord and Saviour and the eternal life we will all have together.

Q2. (Luke 22:16) In what sense does the Lord's Supper find its "fulfillment" in the Great Banquet at the end of the age? What should this do to our thoughts at the Lord's Table? It is the consumnation of everything. It is complete. The King will return and we will feast together. We are privileged and honoured to be a part of this, the price was freely paid by Christ Himself so we can commune together as one.

Q1. Why are so many of Jesus' teachings oriented toward the future? What kinds of associations come to mind as you think of the Great Banquet? Thats what we have to look forward to the sharing of a Great banquet with our Lord Jesus Christ. The associations that come to mind with those mentioned in the study; is that we are to be prepared and waiting, and it doesn't matter what status or who we are as long as we repent, beleive and confess Christ as our Lord we shall be enjoying this banquet with like minded people and Christ.

Q4. How does "eating the Bread of Life" (to use Jesus' metaphor in John 6) nourish our faith? How does partaking of the Lord's Supper build and nourish our faith? What does the main point of the Bread of Life discourse (John 6:25-69) have in common with "Do this in remembrance of me," in Jesus' Words of Institution (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)? Just as physical bread nourishes our physical bodies, the Bread of Life nourishes our spiritual bodies. This builds up our faith in the One who gave His life for you and me and partaking in the Lord's Table together with Christ is uplifting and honorable that He has done exactly that for me. That's love, totally unconditional.

Q3. (John 6:53-71) If to eat Jesus' flesh and drink his blood is a strong expression for "to believe," why does Jesus emphasize this so strongly? What was the difference between the Twelve and the crowd of "disciples" that turned away from Jesus? What is the mark of true disciples according to John 8:31-32? Jesus emphasized this so strongly because we need to believe all the way, not just when it suits us or just tag along when the going is good, but to stick it out even when we are challenged/persecuted, as these so called followers were they were challenged and they all said 'argh' and ran away. Only those who fully believed and trusted Jesus, recognised Who He is stayed with Him. Hold to His teachings, (not to water it down) We will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.

Q2. (John 6:51b) What is Jesus referring to when he says, "This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"? What similarities do you see with Jesus' teaching at the Last Supper in Luke 22:19b? Jesus is referring to His broken body which he gave voluntarily for the whole world. The similarities are body/bread, given/which I will give, you/for the world. His broken body, the breaking of the bread Which He has given freely, we take freely/ participate in. For us, not just us, but for everyone in the world

Q1. (John 6:35-51) What does the metaphor of "eating the Bread of Life" mean in practical terms? To extend the same metaphor, what do you think might be the difference between nibbling and actually making a meal of it? The pratical terms is that we take all of the Bread of Life, we are taking all of Jesus into us. Not just little nibbles, taking only what we want or just the surfacey stuff. But to fully, wholly trust, beleive and be obedient to Christ in what He offers us through His sacrifice.

Q4. (1 Corinthians 10:17) How does Paul's teaching on the One Loaf affect our relationships and love for those of other Christian denominations and traditions? How does blanket judgmentalism towards the faith of other Christian groups sometimes seem to excuse us from Jesus' command to love one another? Thank God for this study, the questions have been really challenging and opening my eyes up to new revelation. We are One Loaf, we all worship and love the same God, (unfortunately there are some that take only one portion of scripture and build a denomination around that. We are to take all scripture together in context.) But has some have already shared, there are no denominations in heaven as it is man made (denomination that is) So God will sort that out we are to see each other through God's eyes and love and respect those of other traditions but to also be wary of false teachings and false teachers hence we are in the last days.

Q3. In what ways do the divisions in Corinth sound familiar in our own congregations? Don't pick on another congregation; how about your own? How serious was the need for unity? Can bickering congregations partake of the Lord's Supper without sin? This is so close to my heart because our church has gone thru dramatic changes. I wont go thru the whole history but after 5 years, 2 pastors, we've gone from 70 people to 12. Now, I agree with someone I heard that I would rather be part of a church an inch wide and a mile deep than one a mile wide and an inch thick. We also tell new people who do come in that if they are looking for a perfect church they wont find it here. But people wantedto carry on with open sins in their lives and be involved in leadership but thank God our last pastor stood against that and when these people left so did a lot of other people. I totally agree with what Helenmn referred to as the 'world' has infiltrated the church and told "we are to love one another"! Yes we are called to do that but we need to help direct people off the wide path back onto the narrow path and that is by pointing out sins in their life in a non judgmental way. As 1Cor. 5:12, states we are to expell the wicked amongst us, the leaders in the church need to discern/and judge those inside the church IN A LOVING WAY. Our church is in rebuilding mode, alot of healing needs to be done and that is going to be with the help of Jesus Christ. A very good question set by Eudora, 'Does the Spirit of God reside in a bickering church"?

Q2. Read Mark 11:25 and Matthew 5:23-24. How do these relate to Paul's teaching on the One Loaf (1 Corinthians 10:17)? What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously? If we do come to the Lord's Table with unforgiveness and hatred for some brother or sister, how can God forgive us? We must as quickly as possible reconcile with that person, (and that is sometimes hard to do) That's why it relates back to the One Loaf; we are One Body together. We need to work togetehr just as Paul teaches about the One Body and many parts make up the Body. Ask God to show us if there is any unknowingly unforgiveness in our hearts before we come to the altar. I beleive its important for a time of prayer and confession before we partake in Communion