MIRACLE IN THE MUDDY WATER

2 Kings 5: 1-19

by Rev. Richard Jones

NEEDING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:1 (ESV)
1  Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.

SEEKING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:2-5 (ESV)
2  Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. 3  She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4  So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.”      5  And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.

NEGLECTING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:6-8 (ESV)
6  And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
7  And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.” 8  But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

RESISTING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:9-12 (ESV)
9  So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10  And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11  But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

TRUSTING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:13-14 (ESV)
13  But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”     14  So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Isaiah 55:6-7 (ESV)
6  “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
7  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Matthew 18:1-3 (ESV)
1  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them
3  and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

SERVING THE LORD
2 Kings 5:15-19 (ESV)
15  Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
16  But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17  Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. 18  In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.” 19  He said to him, “Go in peace.”

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
6  And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

WEEDS IN THE WHEAT

Matthew 13: 24-43

by Rev. Richard Jones

THE ACT OF AN ENEMY
Matthew 13:24-30 (ESV)
24  He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25  but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27  And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28  He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29  But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.   30  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

THE UNUSUAL GROWTH
Matthew 13:31-33 (ESV)
31  He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33  He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

THE PURPOSE OF PARABLES
Matthew 13:34-35 (ESV)
34  All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.
35  This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

THE MEANING IN THE MESSAGE
Matthew 13:36-43 (ESV)
36  Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37  He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38  The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40  Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42  and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Galatians 1:6-7 (ESV)
6  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
7  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

2 Peter 2:1-3 (ESV)
1  But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 (ESV)
20  Do not despise prophecies,
21  but test everything; hold fast what is good.
22  Abstain from every form of evil.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV)
6  Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?  7  Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.   8  Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Ephesians 2:1-7 (ESV)
1  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.     4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV)
13  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

THE HOPE OF HEAVEN

John 14: 1-7

Revelation 21: 1-27

by Rev. Richard Jones

THE PROMISE
John 14:1-7 (ESV)
1  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4  And you know the way to where I am going.”
5  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)
9  But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

Hebrews 12:22-23 (ESV)
22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV)
20  But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21  who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV)
6  So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
7  for we walk by faith, not by sight.
8  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

THE NEW
Revelation 21:1-5 (ESV)
1  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5  And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Psalm 102:25-26 (ESV)
25  Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

Isaiah 65:17 (ESV)
17  “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

2 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
10  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Luke 21:33 (ESV)
33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

THE CITY
Revelation 21:9-14 (ESV)
9  Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11  having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12  It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13  on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

THE COLORS
Revelation 21:15-21 (ESV)
15  And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16  The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17  He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18  The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20  the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21  And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

THE CHARACTER
Revelation 21:22-27 (ESV)
22  And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25  and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
26  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27  But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

THE REQUIREMENT
John 14:5-6 (ESV)
5  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Hebrews 11:9-10 (ESV)
9  By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
10  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

THE HORROR OF HELL

Luke 16: 19-31

by Rev. Richard Jones

CONTRASTING CHARACTERS
Luke 16:19-21 (ESV)
19  “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20  And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21  who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

DEATH DIRECTIONS
Luke 16:22-23 (ESV)
22  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.

FIXED FUTURE
Luke 16:24-26 (ESV)
24  And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’    25  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

OPEN OPPORTUNITY
Luke 16:27-31 (ESV)
27  And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
28  for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
29  But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’  30  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

John 12:9-11 (ESV)
9  When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10  So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11  because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Matthew 25:41 (ESV)
41  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Mark 9:43, 45, 47-48 (ESV)
43  And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.   45  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.   47  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,    48  ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Matthew 3:11-12 (ESV)
11  “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

2 Thessalonians 1:5-9 (ESV)
5  This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6  since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7  and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8  in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Revelation 20:11-15 (ESV)
11  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

John 3:16 (ESV)
16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9 (ESV)
6  So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7  for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9  So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Philippians 1:23-24 (ESV)
23  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24  But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

HOLY SPIRIT, HOLY FRIEND

Selected scriptures

by Rev. Richard Jones

THE PERSON OF THE SPIRIT
John 14:15-17 (ESV)
15  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 16:7 (ESV)
7  Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER
John 14:25-26 (ESV)
25  “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26 (ESV)
26  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

THE PRODUCER OF CONVICTION
John 16:8-11 (ESV)
8  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
9  concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10  concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
11  concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

THE PROVISION OF ALL BELIEVERS
Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)
13  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Romans 8:9 (ESV)
9  You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
19  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (ESV)
12  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN LIVING
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
16  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:22-25 (ESV)
22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TRANS

Genesis 1: 26-27

Romans 1: 18-28

by Rev. Richard Jones

GOD’S DESIGN
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
26  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

MANKIND’S DEFIANCE
Romans 1:18-28 (ESV)
18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Psalm 19:1-2 (ESV)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Psalm 14:1 (ESV)
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 (ESV)
1  Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2  through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)
9  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD

Hebrews 9: 22 (Concept)

by Rev. Richard Jones

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)
22  Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

THE PAST
 Genesis 2:15-16 (ESV)
15  The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

Genesis 3:6-7 (ESV)
6  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Genesis 3:21 (ESV)
21  And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

THE PASSOVER
Exodus 12:1-13 (ESV)
1  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
2  “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
3  Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4  And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6  and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7  “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8  They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9  Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10  And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11  In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12  For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
13  The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

THE PRACTICE
Leviticus 4:27-31 (ESV)
27  “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 28  or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29  And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. 30  And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.
31  And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

THE PRINCIPLE
Leviticus 17:11 (ESV)
11  For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

THE PROVISION
Leviticus 16:5-10 (ESV)
5  And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6  “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7  Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8  And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. 9  And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, 10  but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

Leviticus 16:15-17 (ESV)
15  “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16  Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17  No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.

Leviticus 16:20-22 (ESV)
20  “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21  And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
22  The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

THE PROMISE
Hebrews 10:11-14 (ESV)
11  And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13  waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV)
18  knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19  but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

AN EDIFYING ELDER

1 Timothy 3: 1-7

by Rev. Richard Jones

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV)
1  The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
2  Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4  He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

THE ELDER REGARDING HIMSELF
 1 Timothy 3:1-3 (ESV)
1  The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.
2  Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
3  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

THE ELDER REGARDING HIS FAMILY
1 Timothy 3:4-5 (ESV)
4  He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive,
5  for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

THE ELDER REGARDING HIS CHURCH
1 Timothy 3:6 (ESV)
6  He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

THE ELDER REGARDING HIS COMMUNITY
1 Timothy 3:7 (ESV)
7  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.