DAILY, WEEKEND, AND HOLIDAY INTERNET EVANGELIZE TO THE WORLD MINISTRY

Lesson for April 30, 2017 Protecting Love  John 10:1-15 Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson . Scott teaches preaching and New Testamen t at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published on April 23, 2017, issue of  The Lookout  magazine, and is also available online at  www.lookoutmag.com . ______ By Mark Scott  John’s Gospel is rich in metaphor. A key verse in our text today is v. 6 :  Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them . One would think that Pharisees could understand the protecting love metaphors of  gates  and  sheep,  given their culture and biblical history. Sometimes the religious leaders fully understood the parables of Jesus ( Matthew 21:45 ), but they were confused here—in fact, Jesus had told them that they were spiritually blind ( John 9:41 ). Gate = Salvation |...

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Old Testament Lamentations 3:18–26 Psalm Psalm 67 New Testament 1 Peter 2:11–20 Gospel John 16:16–23a   Christian Worship One Year Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print.

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Year A First Reading Acts 2:14a , 36–41 Psalm Psalm 116:1–4 , 12–19 New Testament 1 Peter 1:17–23 Gospel Luke 24:13–35   Revised Common Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print.

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Year A First Reading Acts 2:14a , 36–41 Psalm Psalm 116:1–4 , 12–19 (UMH 837) New Testament 1 Peter 1:17–23 Gospel Luke 24:13–35  Vanderbilt Divinity Library. United Methodist Revised Common Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print.

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Year A | Roman Missal | Lectionary First Reading Acts 2:14, 22–33 Response Psalm 16:11a Psalm Psalm 16:1–2 , 5 , 7–11 Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17–21 Gospel Acclamation Luke 24:32 Gospel Luke 24:13–35   Catholic Daily Readings . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print.

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Year A First Reading Acts 2:14a , 36–41 Psalm Psalm 116:1–14 Epistle 1 Peter 1:17–25 Gospel Luke 24:13–35   Lutheran Service Book Three Year Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Concordia Publishing House, 2009. Print.

Sunday, April 30, 2017, | Easter Third Sunday of Easter Year A First Reading Acts 2:14a , 36–41 Psalm Psalm 116:1–3 , 10–17 Second Reading 1 Peter 1:17–23 Gospel Luke 24:13–35   Episcopal Church (USA) Revised Common Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print.

Morning, April 29                             Go To Evening Reading “Thou art my hope in the day of evil.” — Jeremiah 17:17 The path of the Christian is not always bright with the sunshine; he has his seasons of darkness and of the storm. Right, it is written in God’s Word, “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace;” And it is a great truth, that religion is calculated to give a man happiness below as well as bliss above. But experience tells us that if the course of the just is “As the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” yet sometimes that light is eclipsed. At certain periods clouds cover the believer’s sun, and he walks in darkness and sees no light. Many have rejoiced in the presence of God for a season. They have basked in the sunshine in the earlier stages of their Christian career. They have walked along the “green pastures” by the side of the ...

April 29: Examine Thy Self Joshua 21:1–22:9; 2 Corinthians 13:1–10 ; Psalm 59:1–17 Before advising others on how they should act, self-examination is always necessary. When the Corinthians questioned the authenticity of Paul and his colleagues’ ministry (which is ironic, since he had planted their church), Paul says to them: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless you are unqualified?” ( 2 Cor 13:5 ). None of us are ready for the ministry that Jesus has for us because we’re not worthy of the great gift of salvation He has offered. We are meant to find our identity and calling in Christ and to lead out of the gifts He has given us (see 1 Cor 12 ). For this reason, Paul makes this claim: “And I hope that you will recognize that we are not unqualified! Now we pray to God that you not do wrong in any way, not that we are seen as approved, but that you do what is goo...

April 29th The graciousness of uncertainty It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John 3:2 . Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We imagine that we have to reach some end, but that is not the nature of spiritual life. The nature of spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty, consequently, we do not make our nests anywhere. Common sense says— ‘Well, supposing I were in that condition …’ We cannot suppose ourselves in any condition we have never been in. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God and do the duty that li...

April 29 Thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me Isa. 49:23 Quiet waiting before God would save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow. J. Hudson Taylor Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

The Holy Spirit Excerpt V.  2  is interesting on several accounts. First, it suggests that Jesus instructed the disciples “through the Holy Spirit.” The matter is perhaps put this way because hereafter the Spirit is also the means of instruction in the church—designated spokesmen and spokeswomen will speak through the Holy Spirit.12 Secondly, we are told that the instructions are given “to the apostles whom he had chosen.” This is a clear link back to the Gospel , where the term  αποστολοι  refers to the Twelve whom Jesus chose and commissioned (cf.  Luke 6:13 ;  9:10 ;  11:49 ; and cf.  17:5 ;  22:14 :  24:10 ).  Acts 1:21–22  will make clear that the term is used of those who had witnessed the ministry of Jesus up to and including the resurrection appearances.  More Witherington, Ben, III.  The Acts of the Apostles : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary . Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998. P...

The Son of Man John 3:13 Excerpt The purpose of this verse is to emphasize the heavenly origin of  the Son of Man . John is the only one of the Gospel writers to emphasize this truth; it is basic to his theology. What gives  the Son of Man  his authority is his heavenly origin.  The Son of Man… came down from heaven  to tell men on earth  about the things of heaven ( verse   12 ). That is, the coming of  the Son of Man  is an act of divine revelation. But more than revelation is involved, as can be seen from the following verses - it is also an act of self-giving which leads to the death of  the Son of Man .  More Newman, Barclay Moon, and Eugene Albert Nida.  A Handbook on the Gospel of John . New York: United Bible Societies, 1993. Print. UBS Handbook Series.

Evidence for the Unique Inspiration of the Bible Excerpt ‎How then can we know God or His will for our lives? Only if He reveals Himself to us! Unless He Himself tells us, we can never know for sure the answers to those questions which matter most to us as human beings. At this point, it is important to observe that the Bible presents itself to us as the written revelation of God. This purports to be a book in which God gives us the answers to the great questions which concern our soul, and which all the wisdom and science of man are powerless to solve with any degree of certainty. The Bible asserts of itself that it is the special revelation from God; it must, therefore, be acknowledged as claiming to be the right kind of source from which to derive a trustworthy knowledge of religious truth. …  More Archer, Gleason, Jr.  A Survey of Old Testament Introduction . 3rd. ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994. Print.

The Pentateuch Excerpt ‎Authorship of the Pentateuch has traditionally been attributed to Moses in religious Jewish and Christ ian communities, but since the Middle Ages, some interpreters have questioned that association. The Pentateuch may have been compiled over a period of centuries as multiple authors or religious communities produced distinct versions of Israel’s early history and laws. Julius Wellhausen articulated the most influential version of this theory, identifying four source documents in the Pentateuch called J, E, D, and P. This model for the origin of the Pentateuch is called the “Documentary Hypothesis.” ‎The Documentary Hypothesis asserts that distinctions in style and content can be used to identify the material originating in each source document. For example, the creation narrative of  Gen 1:2–2:4  is believed to derive from P, and the stories of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel ( Gen 2:4b-4:16 ) are from J). Most of Genesis through Numbers is b...

Friday, April 28, 2017, | Easter Friday of the Second Week of Easter Years 1 & 2 | Roman Missal | Lectionary On the same date: Saint Peter Chanel, Priest, and Martyr; Saint Louis Mary de Montfort, Priest First Reading Acts 5:34–42 Response Psalm 27:4a–c Psalm Psalm 27:1 , 4 , 13–14 Gospel Acclamation Matthew 4:4b Gospel John 6:1–15   Catholic Daily Readings . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009. Print.

Friday, April 28, 2017 | Easter Friday before the Third Sunday of Easter Year A Psalm Psalm 116:1–4, 12–19 First Reading Isaiah 26:1–4 Second Reading 1 Peter 1:13–16  Consultation on Common Texts. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2011. Print.

Friday, April 28, 2017, | Eastertide Friday of the Second Week of Easter Morning Prayer On the same date: Friday of the Second Week of Easter, Evening Prayer Psalm Psalm 40:1–16 First Reading Exodus 16:1–7 , 13–15 Second Reading Hebrews 4:1–13  Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer (1928) Daily Office Lectionary . Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print.

April 28: The Subtle Sinner Joshua 19:10–20:9; 2 Corinthians 12:11–21 ; Psalm 57:1–58:11 Some sins slip through the cracks—the ones that emerge in hushed tones between like-minded Christians. Sometimes these sins seem respectable because they occur out of supposed concerns for the Church or others. But they can leave deep gashes in the life of a community because they often go unchecked. And it’s these sins that Paul addresses shortly before closing his letter to the Corinthians: “For I am afraid lest somehow when I arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. I am afraid lest somehow there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder” ( 2 Cor 12:20 ). While the Corinthians were guilty of flagrant sins like impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness, they were also sinning in ways that subtly undermined Paul’s authority. Slander and gossip created deep divisions in the Corinthian...

Morning, April 28                           Go To Evening Reading “Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” — Psalm 119:49 Whatever your especial need may be, you may readily find some promise in the Bible suited to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise— “He giveth power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser, and ask him to fulfil his own word. Are you seeking after Christ, and thirsting for closer communion with him? This promise shines like a star upon you— “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God over and over again with this— “Lord, thou hast said it, do as thou hast said.” Are you distressed because of sin, and burdened with the heavy load...

April 28th What you will get Thy life will I give thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. Jeremiah 45:5 . This is the unshakable secret of the Lord to those who trust Him— ‘I will give thee thy life.’ What more does a man want than his life? It is the essential thing. ‘Thy life for a prey ’ means that wherever you may go, even if it is into hell, you will come out with your life, nothing can harm it. So many of us are caught up in the shows of things, not in the way of property and possessions, but of blessings. All these have to go; but there is something grander that never can go—the life that is “hid with Christ in God.” Are you prepared to let God take you into union with Himself, and pay no more attention to what you call the ‘great things ’? Are you prepared to abandon entirely and let go? The test of abandonment is in refusing to say— ‘Well, what about this?’ Beware of suppositions. Immediately you allow— ‘What about this?’ it means you have not abandoned...

April 28 To him be glory both now and forever 2 Peter 3:18 Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying Him now ? The apostle’s words are, “To him be glory both now and forever.” C. H. Spurgeon  Hardman, Samuel G., and Dwight Lyman Moody. Thoughts for the Quiet Hour . Willow Grove, PA: Woodlawn Electronic Publishing, 1997. Print.

Today THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER Catholic Daily Readings First Reading  Ac 5:27–33 Response  Ps 34:7a Psalm  Ps 34:2 ,  9 ,  17–20 Gospel Acclamation  Jn 20:29 Gospel   Jn 3:31–36

Today THURSDAY BEFORE THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings Psalm  Ps 116:1–4 ,  12–19 First Reading  Is 25:1–5 Second Reading  1 Pe 1:8b–12