The
Sunday
chool
Lesson
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( <///< J to h, I ail It (111
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I. / iiilh/ulnrss in Poverty (2:HI)
II Iailli/iibiiwin Prison (2:10II)
III I ilitli/nhnss in />?'illh (2:12IS)
11 . Kiithfiilniss in I t'ln/tldlion
(2:1-1 IV
I . l ailh/iiln, w in I nulrrship
(2:10 I'd
I liiitli/iilntss in I'ovyrty (2:SV
John in Ins km is 10 die chinches
of Asia M11101 gives 10 (hem I lie
revelation ol Jesus ( luisi 1 lie Alpha
and Omega I Ik liisi message was to
(he church ol Smv run 'ohn reminds
them licit 1 Ik mcssane is from Christ
the ( rucilied (?n* olio is :ili\c mid
lives Coresei iiiok
Jcshs was aware ol the troubles
thai (lie chinch at Smyrna laced beeauseolthen
Inilhfulncss Main were
faced with ablest povcrlv for ilieir
faith Othcis Wvic persecuted Net
others losi iIicii |obs Much ol this
was brought abonl In then icfusal to
worship the Roman I nipcror
Tiberius
Main Chiisiiaiis lace iribulalion
throughout (Ik woild lodav because
of iIkii lailh in ( inist I veil in
America indav < Imsiiaiis who stand
up and speak out attains) ungodly
conductate constricted lanafics More
of God's people need to stand up for
Jesustoday
Even 1 Ik Jews 111 Smyrna were
persecuting the church Jesus rebuked
them for then behavior and called
them descendants ol Satan instead
of Abraham
II. Fai(hfiihn'\.< in Prison
(2:10-11)
Jesus Christ's message for Smyrna
was that because of their faithfulness
they had faced many problems, but
they would face much more The
devil docs not like to sec the work of
God prosper, so he tries to hinder
through w hatev cr means that he can
Christ told the people at Smv ma they
would face further persecution for
their belief by being put in prison
The good news was that for their
faithfulness, there wasa promise of a
crow n of life, for them
The child of Godw ill suffer in this
life for Christ's sake but the second
death will have no power over hint
He will spend eternity vviih God
Ill h aithjulness in Death
(12:1.1)
I husi had ,i message Ibr I he
Jui'Ji of Pcrgantox The cits ol
Pcig.uuos s.u on '.i cone shaped hill
w here culture .ind religion flourished '
I here It.id been buili a temple dedi- 1
v ued to Augustus who wanted the
people ol Pergamos to worship hint
Pagan and emperor worship made it
h.itdon iIk Saints at Pergamos John
here describes Christ as the one w tilt
ills suoid w it It two edges The woid
ol God does one of two things to
people It either brings them to repentanee
or causes them to rebel
against a hols God thus resulting hi
lodgment
Christ kness the works of the
church at Pergamos and that it was
surrounded by the foes of hell He
also held fast to the name of Jesus
and kept the faith, even when one of
them Antipas. was martyred for his
laith in Christ Sometimes God's
people face tremendous odds and
trouble for their faith in Christ
Faithfulness in Temptation
(2:14-15)
God wants His people lobe faithful
in this wicked world that we live
in. in spite of the temptation around
us Even though the church at
Pergamos waiffaithful during persecution.
God had some things against
them They had allowed deceivers to
conic in and bring false doctrine in
the midst Sexual misconduct had
slipped in and the eating of sacrifice
unto idols had been allowed Also the
doctrine of the nicolailans was being
taught Paul said that if any man
preached any other gospel than that
which lie preached, let him be aceurscd
I am ama/cd at some of the things
that are allowed in some of our
churches today Many observe Easter
with a bunny rabbit and hiding
eggs This is paganism At Christmas
we have churches who have
Christmas trees at church and have
some one dress up like Santa Clans,
taking away from what Christmas is
all about Wc celebrate Christmas
because of God's gift to humanity.
Jesus Christ, not Santa Claus Santa
Claus is the devil's substitute for
Christ When wc give praise to the
dev il's counterfeit, wcargtakingaway
from the glory and deity of Christ.
V. Faithfulness in Leadership
(2:16-17)
God wants the leaders of the
church lobe faithful and be biblically
sound in their teachings. Apparently
some of the leaders had failed in
sound Bible teaching. Christ's command
for Pergamos was for them to
repent forthwith Failure to do so
would bring judgment against those
false teachers There arc saints or
leaders in many of our churches today
who stand in danger of God's
judgment unless they repent
To those who heard and obeyed
the word of God. Christ promised
them hidden manna. Hidden manna
refers here to the strength that comes
front Christ. Christ promised a white
stone to those who were faithful with
a name that no one would know
eseepl the one who recened it The
white stone represents the assurance
and final triumph of fault
God ts faithful and wants His
-hildren to be faithful He also regards
faithfulness"
I
Now 10 those who .ire nol sused. I
urue sou to repent ofsour sins ;ind
turn to Christ solhiil \on c:in escape
the judgment of God God loses son
so much tli;il He u;i\ e liens en's best to
keep sou out of hell Come to Jesus
now
(iod bless>011 all until nest week
Pros for us
1
Talent Show Entries Sought
Entries are now being accepted
Tor the Great American Talent Show
'^TtobcheldinSl PaulsonMa\^l
Soloists, groups, choirs, instrumentalists.
dancers and an> one w ith
a desire to perform and support a
great cause arc encouraged to call
865-5794 for entry information Entry
deadline is Ma> 15
All proceeds from the latent show
a CGS Production, will benefit the
St Pauls War Memorial being
planned for downtown St Pauls
_ "This
Community
Just Keeps
Getting
Healthier.
David C. Harvey, M.D., has
joined Lumberton Children's
Clinic and the medical staff
ofSRMC.
A native of Massachusetts,
\ Dr. Harvey earned his
' medical degree from the
\ University of Massachusetts
\ Medical School in
Worcester. He completed
his pediatric residency
training at the ECU
School of Medicine
K and Pitt County
Jp Memorial Hospital
in Greenville, NC.
David C. Harvey, M.D.
We can all feel good about each new addition to the
medical staff at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
Every physician brings years of education, specialized
training and personal expertise to our highly diversified
health care team?and to our community.
We'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest
doctor. With your arrival, there is a significant
improvement in the general health of this community.
SOUTHEASTERN
I REGIONAL
MEDICAL CENTER
300 West 27th Street, Lumberton, NC (910) 671-5000
/ \
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This offering expires September30, 1997or when all available
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