Introduction

• I Thessalonians 4:13-17

The day of the Lord will come.

• I Thessalonians 5:1-3
• This fact greatly impacts our lives!
• We need to prepare for this.
• II Peter 3:10
• We don’t know when this will happen.

Wake up!

• I Thessalonians 5:4-8
• We are children of light – not of darkness.
• We must not be spiritually asleep.
• Sober here is in a spiritual sense – be rational and clearminded.
• I Peter 5:8
• Romans 13:11-14
• I Thessalonians 1:2; 4:1
• II Thessalonians 3:11

We will live together with Him.

• I Thessalonians 5:9-10
• II Thessalonians 2:13-17 – What does it mean that they were chosen? God had planned to save people through Jesus before the creation of the universe.
• Acts 17:1-2
• I Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11 – The end of the world should be a day of rejoicing for Christians.

Introduction

• Why are we here? Why are you and I here on the Earth at this point in time?
• Matthew 5:16

An individual’s “circle of influence”

• No one else has the same circle of influence that you do.
• How do these verses apply?
  • Mark 12:28-31 – People see how we treat other people.
  • I Corinthians 10:23-27
  • Galatians 5:13-14
  • Hebrews 13:1-2
  • Matthew 7:12-14
  • Philippians 2:3-5
  • Romans 15:1-2
  • Galatians 6:9-10 – “Do good to all people …”
  • Galatians 3:12-14 – Forgive one another.
  • Isaiah 1:17
  • Romans 13:8-10
  • I Thessalonians 3:12
  • Job 6:14
  • James 1:27
  • Zechariah 7:8-10
  • Matthew 22:36-40
  • II Peter 1:5-8
  • Luke 6:27-37
  • Romans 12:16-18 – Try to be at peace with all men.
  • Psalms 82:3-4
  • Luke 3:11
  • Matthew 5:13-16
• What responsibility do we have to our circle of influence?

Talking to “Bob”

• How would you approach a co-worker who was always angry?

Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

• God is the Creator. This has tremendous moral implications!
• If there is no God, there is no objective basis for morality.
• ”The Despair of Atheism”
• “An Open Letter to the Scientific Community”

Isaiah 59:2

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

• Our sins separate us from God!

Matthew 1:21

“She will bear a Son; and you call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

• Jesus would come and save us from our sins. He came to earth and showed us how to live perfectly, without sin.

Matthew 22:37

“And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”

• The meaning of life is to serve and glorify God.

Mark 9:31

“For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.’”

• Jesus would be the sacrifice for our sins.

II Corinthians 5:10

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompenses for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

• We will all have to give account to God for what we had done while on earth.

Introduction

• The book of Numbers gets its name from the two censuses that are taken and recorded in the book.
• Exodus 19:1-2 – Israel camped in front of Mt. Sinai for about eleven months.
• Numbers 10:11

Numbers 1

• Numbers 1:1 – Year 2, month 2, day 1
  • Numbers 10:1 – Year 2, month 2, day 20
  • Hebrews 9:11-12, 23-24
  • Nehemiah 9:20
• Numbers 1:46 – Total military-age men: 603,550.
• Numbers 1:47-54 – The Levites were set apart for the work of the tabernacle.

Numbers 2

• Exodus 25:1-9
• The tabernacle was the center of everything, both when camped and when moving.
• Exodus 40:33-38
• Numbers 5:3; 16:9 – God was dwelling in the camp with them.
  • I Corinthians 3:16 – Christians are the temple of God. God’s word dwells in us.

Numbers 3

• Numbers 3:5-10 – The priests would be from the lineage of Aaron and his sons.
• Numbers 3:11-14 – The firstborn belong to God!
• Numbers 3:39, 43 – The firstborn of Levi and the rest of Israel are counted. God declares that the firstborn belong to Him. God makes an exchange – the firstborn of Levi for the firstborn of the rest of Israel.

I Corinthians 16

• I Corinthians 16:1-4 – Collections for the needy saints
  • To whom was this money going?
    • Acts 2:44-45
    • Acts 4:32-35
    • Acts 6:1-6
    • Acts 11:27-29
    • Romans 15:25-32
    • II Corinthians 8:4
    • II Corinthians 9:1
    • I Timothy 5:5-16
    • To the needy saints!
  • What was to be the method of collecting this money?
    • Weekly collections on the first day of the week.
  • What was to be the method of delivering the money to Jerusalem?
    • The money was carried by hand by trusted men.
  • What was each individual’s responsibility?
    • I Corinthians 16:2 – Set aside and save as he has prospered.
  • What amount was to be given?
    • No set amount or percentage was specified.
• I Corinthians 16:5-9 – See Acts 19:1-23. Paul stayed in Ephesus for quite a while (about three years).
• I Corinthians 16:10-11 – Paul wanted them to encourage Timothy.
• I Corinthians 16:12 – Apollos evidently had done good work in Corinth.
• I Corinthians 16:13-14 – Be brave, courageous, and strong!
• I Corinthians 16:19-20
  • Aquila and Priscilla (Prisca) were in Ephesus at this time. They apparently had a church meeting in their house.
  • Greeting each other with a kiss was a common practice at that time. In I Corinthians 16:20, Paul seems to be regulating a cultural practice that was already in use. Greet one another in a holy way. We should cherish our time with our fellow Christians and be close.
• I Corinthians 16:22 – Maranatha means, “our Lord, come.”