For April 19, 2009

News

1. CARE Ministry -- Every Tuesday night -- supper at 5:30, outreach/in reach activities at 6:00 p.m.

2. Project Care: Mission Possible -- This is the last Sunday to sign up! Event date is Saturday, April 25!

Current Unit of Study

For the next several weeks, we will have a series of lessons leading us to "Affirm Spiritual Certainties." We will conclude the study of Isaiah at the end of the unit. The lessons in this unit will provide messages of encouragement and hope and will show explicit details about the advent of the Messiah that would occur 700 years later. God has blessed us with many things that we can count on and has proven that He is trustworthy time and again. This unit study of the latter chapters of Isaiah will confirm this.

Lesson Supplement for April 19

Use This Lesson to Lead Students to Commit to Participate in Project Care: Mission Possible on Saturday, April 25. You will see how this lesson can be used for this purpose at the end in the "Commitment" section.

Explore the Bible
"The Lord is at Work"
Isaiah 45:1-7, 9-13

Intro. -- Where is God? When you step back and take a look at the events that are happening in the world today, you may be inclined to ask this question. Is God doing His thing? Last week's lesson already has affirmed the spiritual reality that God is not dead. This week's lesson affirms the spiritual reality that God is at work. We can count on the fact that God is continuing to work to achieve His purposes.

Isaiah 45:1-2 -- Pay particular attention to the commentary for this section in your teacher's book about Cyrus. Isaiah receives the vision from God about the future of Judah, from her failure to her exile to her eventual restoration. Cyrus is the great king who will one day be in power over Babylon and will allow the return of God's people to Israel. Very clearly stated in the scriptures is the fact that God is behind these events and will bring them to pass. Cyrus is God's man even though Cyrus himself may never have realized it. Years later, these events come to pass. God is intricately involved in history and works to fulfill His purpose and plan through believers and unbelievers alike. We can affirm this fact in our lives today by acknowledging the Lord's purposes.

Isaiah 45:3-5 -- Cyrus would experience success in the advancement of his kingdom, but God is the one working to bring about Cyrus's success, not for the good of Cyrus's kingdom, but for the advancement and success of His own kingdom. Verse 5 indicates that Cyrus did not know God. This gives more support to the fact that God uses unbelievers in history when needed to accomplish His purposes. Proverbs 21:1 is referenced in the teacher's commentary. It says, "A king's heart is a water channel in the Lord's hand: He directs it wherever He chooses." In times like these when we may be inclined to ask where God is, we can find encouragement in these verses that regardless of what appears to be happening, God is accomplishing His purpose! Let us awake to the Lord's presence and affirm the spiritual reality that He is at work!

Isaiah 45:6-7 -- Not only can we be certain that God is at work, but we can also be certain that God is a mighty God and His power is greater than even he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). Verse 7 indicates that God is behind the successes and failures of individuals as well as nations. He is also the creator of light and darkness. God is in control of all things. Those of us who believe in Him can claim this to be true even in a world that seems like it is spiraling out of control at times. Our limited view of current events may cause us to doubt, but we must come back to the facts, according to God's word. There is a bigger picture than what we are looking at right now. God sees it, and He is working it all to make His purposes succeed. As a believer in Him, I have aligned myself to want His purposes to succeed as well. Knowing that the all-powerful God is making that happen regardless of what appears to be happening around me today is a spiritual reality worth affirming! It makes us want to applaud His power!

Isaiah 45:9-13 -- "Just who do you think you are?" If you have ever thought this or said this to an individual then you know what God is talking about in these verses. There are three main descriptors of God in this section of scripture. He is Maker, the Holy One of Israel, and Commander. As Maker, He has made all things. How then can we, as part of His creation, talk back to our creator? I don't remember who said this but I seem to recall a woman who was having difficulty with one of her children make a statement to her disobedient child, "I brought you into this world. I can take you out!" I don't know if she could make such a claim, but God certainly can! As the Holy One of Israel, we can be certain that He always does what is right. If not, He would not be holy. On the other hand, none of us are righteous. How can unrighteous, unjust people call into question anything that the Holy One of Israel does? Finally, as commander, He is in charge. He stretched out the heavens and commanded their host. He raises up kings and queens for His purposes and will use them to fulfill His purposes. God is in charge! We must accept and not deny the Lord's sovereignty in order to affirm the spiritual reality that the Lord is at work!

Commitment -- The Lord is at work! Lead students to acknowledge this as a reality in their lives and accept His sovereignty thereby finding confidence and encouragement. Secondly, in his work, Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby emphasizes that God is always at work around us, and He issues us an invitation to join Him in His work. Explore with your class some ways that God is at work around us in our world, our community, our neighborhood, our church. Once these are identified, the invitation is now offered for students to join Him. Lead your students to a commitment to get involved in God's work. This would be a great way to push your class's participation in Project CARE: Mission Possible!!

For Further Help with this Week's Lesson Visit http://www.lifeway.com/articleclick/?id=166474 and read Dan Kassis' weekly article

Comments Welcome -- Any ideas for illustrations, other scripture, or class activities to enhance the lesson?