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THE WORD OF THE LORD GREW IN POWER
Acts 19:1-22
Key Verse: 19:20
“In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
Which mission journey was Paul on in this chapter? Read verses 1-3. What was missing in the disciples whom Paul met in Ephesus? Read verses 4-7. How did Paul help them to receive the Holy Spirit?
Read verses 8-9. Where did Paul begin his ministry? Why did he move? What was Paul’s method of preaching the gospel? In the lecture hall of Tyrannus, who was Paul’s audience?
Read verse 10. What was the result of Paul’s persistent Bible teaching? What does this teach us about how to evangelize the world?
Read verses 11-12. How did God confirm the gospel message Paul was preaching? What are some other ways in which God works to confirm the truth of his word?
Read verse 13-16. How did some men try to use God’s power for their own benefit? Why did they fail?
Read verse 17. How did God turn Satan’s attack into victory? Look at verses 18-19. What does this event show about the fruit of teaching the Bible? Could something like this happen today? Look at verse 20. In what way does the word of the Lord spread widely and grow in power?
Read verses 21-22. What does it mean, ‘After all this had happened’? What kind of faith and vision grew in Paul’s heart? How can we become people who are driven by such a vision?
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(Have Faith In God!) -You are a Christian, aren't you?- Professor: You are a Christian, aren't you, son? |
IT IS FINISHED
John 19:16b-42, Key Verse: 19:30
1. Read verses 16b-18. What was Pilate’s decision? What happened after that? Describe the crucifixion scene and the pain and shame Jesus suffered. What did Jesus’ crucifixion mean from God’s point of view? (Jn 1:29; 20:31)
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19 (16) Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. (17)Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (18)Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Jn 1(29)The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Jn 20 (31)But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. |
2. Read verses 19-22. What was Pilate’s testimony? What does it mean that he is “Jesus of Nazareth”? “King of the Jews”? Why did the Jews object?
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(19)Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. (20)Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. (21)The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." (22)Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." |
3. Read verses 23-24. What did the soldiers do? How did John view their actions? (24; Ps 22:18) What does this teach about God?
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(23)When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. (24)"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. Ps 22 (18)They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. |
4. Read verses 25-27. Who stood near the cross? What do we know about them? (Lk 8:2,3) Think about his mother’s pain (Lk 2:35). What did he say to his mother and to John? Why?
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(25)Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (26)When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," (27)and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Lk 8 (2)and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; (3)Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Lk 2 (35)so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." |
5. Read verses 28-30. What does Jesus’ cry, “I am thirsty” reveal about him? What does he mean by “It is finished”? In what sense was his death a victory? What does this mean to us that Jesus finished his mission?
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(28)Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." (29)A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. (30)When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. |
6. Read verses 31-37. Why did the soldiers break the legs of the two men, but not Jesus? What did the flow of blood and water mean? What is the writer’s relationship to these events? What important details does he note?
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(31)Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. (32)The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. (33)But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. (34)Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. (35)The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. (36)These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," (37)and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." |
You will be a blessing
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you: I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."(Genesis 12:2)
I. God Calls a Missionary for Russia
Hi, My name is David Pak. I was born in Seoul, Korea, January 30, 1969 as the second son among 2 sons and 1 sister. My parents were very family oriented. I had a wonderful father and mother so I did not have any troubles or problems in my early years. My mother always cared for me and helped me to grow as a happy child. But in high school I was not happy, because I could not find a way to fill the emptiness in my heart. I struggled and wandered without direction and I was anxious about my future. I thought that I could find some solution to my inner emptiness in philosophy and literature. So I read so many books during my last year of high school, even though I should have been preparing for the entrance examine for university. But I could find nothing in the books. They gave me only confusion and despair. I thought that when I enter the university, I could find a solution to my inner emptiness. But when I entered university, there were only demonstrations and students refusing to go to class. I was more confused and wandered with despair and anxiety. At that time God invited me to An-Am UBF 1:1 Bible study. At that time I misunderstood and thought that it was a university requirement for freshmen to study the Bible with an upperclassman. I thought that freshmen had to obey upperclassmen. So, from my freshman year God gave me chance to study 1:1 Bible regularly. To my surprise, 1:1 Bible study gave me real joy, true freedom and it filled my empty heart.
At the 1987 Summer Bible Conference I received Jesus as my Lord and decided to follow Jesus as His disciple my whole life. I was very happy. I had never felt such joy before. Through 1:1 Bible study and student shepherd life at the university, God gave me spiritual desire to live in the word of God and follow Jesus. I learned the importance of an inner spiritual desire to be faithful in small things before God and to be faithful to the end.
From 1985, Missionary Dr. Samuel Lee gave us a prayer topic: pray for USSR, Russia. At every Friday meeting all Chicago UBF Missionaries and shepherds ate Russian black bread, listened to a Russian song and prayed earnestly for Russian mission. I also participated in this prayer of faith with Russian Dancing. I danced every time from 1988 at all the conferences and at the Christmas worship services. At that time, all I could do for Russian ministry was only dancing and prayer. But in 1991 suddenly the iron curtain in Russia fell and Russia was opened for God's ministry. Then, God gave me one word through Acts 16:9, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Through this word, I had a vision of many Russian students standing and begging me, "Come over to Russia and help us." Accepting this as Gods calling, I began to prepare to go to Moscow as a student missionary. But there were many obstacles. The main problems were that I had not served in the Army, and Russia was still a Communist country, so the Korean government would not give me permission to go to Moscow to study. But when I challenged this rule by faith, God give me a way to go to Moscow through Germany. In 1991, God gave me the great honor of preparing the 1st Summer Bible conference in St. Petersburg.
II. A Source of blessing; The life of a 1:1 bible teacher and self-supporting lay missionary
After the 1st Summer Bible Conference in Russia, in 1992, the Russian economy had reached the worst possible pass. Also, that winter was miserably cold. In order to get one piece of black bread, we had to stand in a long line and wait more than one hour. Many people could not eat. But amazingly, humble Russian sheep came to 1:1 Bible study and Sunday worship service. Even though they had not eaten, they were eager to listen to the word of God. At that time, the problem was that even though many humble Russian sheep came to us, we could not give them even one word because almost none of the missionaries could speak Russian fluently. You cannot imagine how sorrowful I was when I could not explain God's word to a sheep and could not understand what he said to me. So, we prayed and cried out in tears to overcome the language problem and become excellent Russian Bible teachers. As an answer to prayer, God gave us wisdom to prepare a Genesis 1:1 Bible study notebook. We divided the lessons so that each person could prepare one chapter in Russian. We studied deeply for 2 weeks, and then collected the lessons that had been prepared and made one whole Genesis 1:1 Bible study book. We had just one book. Then, we searched Moscow and finally found a copy machine. We had no paper. So we searched again and finally made copies and distributed copies of the book to every one. After I got this 1:1 Bible study book, I was sure that I could help Russian students. Some times I did not understand what was written in the book, but the sheep understood and came to me regularly for 1:1 Bible study. Sometimes I gave my 1:1 Bible study notes to my sheep to read while I prepared food for him. When by faith, we prepared the Genesis 1:1 Bible study book, God blessed us abundantly and raised up ancestors of faith. At that time Lena Pak was raised as a shepherdess. God blessed our 5 loaves and 2 fish of faith and helped me to conquer the Russian language and to be a Russian 1:1 Bible teacher.
As our Russian sheep began to grow and became shepherds, they faced marriage problems. In Russia, the divorce rate is very high. Almost all sheep suffered from divorced parents, and from lack of love and attention. So it was a very important thing to establish the 1st house church by faith. We received much prayer support from all around the world and God established the 1st house church in Russia, through Sheperdess Lena Park and me. My parents said OK when they found out that Shepherdess Lena was taller than me. God blessed the faith of Shepherdess Lena Pak and used my family as source of blessing for Russian Ministry. After that God established 13 house churches in Moscow UBF. May God work continuously and establish 100 house churches in Russia.
In 1999, when we could not use our center and we could not gather together all, we deeply realized how important the house church is for God's ministry. We started opening our house for 1:1 Bible study, testimony sharing meetings, for dancing and singing practice and for many other things. For more than 3 years we had to serve God's ministry without a center. At that time we really understood our church is not located in one building, but in the place where we gather and serve each other in the name of Jesus. After that wilderness training, in God's time, God gave us a wonderful bible house.
During fast 17 years God bless my family abundantly through my job. Even though till now Sheperdress Lena Pak complains me about my hard working attitude, God bless me to be self-supporting missionary. Through Job God help me to deeply understand that work place is my mission field and business is not only for mission, but it is mission too for the glory of God. God wants me to do all things before Him every time and everywhere.
I thank God who gave me great chance to visit New Jersey UBF and learn many things. Especially I learned the God’s wisdom to serve our shepherds and 2nd generation missionaries to live in the word and to know Jesus. I pray that God may help me to focus on the word of God and obey it until deep understanding comes and Jesus and the Holy Spirit live in my heart at all times.
Now our house prays for sheep Anna, Marina, Lena, Pavel, Igor that they may participate in the Sunday Worship Service regularly and grow Jesus’ disciples. May God bless the Russia ministry and Sunday worship service. May God bless Russia to be a shepherd nation and a missionary sending country.
One word: you will be a blessing.