This is a new section for my blog. I am currently taking a New Testament class and I am reading the second half of the New Testament. Each week I will be posting an activity that I did from the passages that we read each week.
WEEK 7
Read 2 Peter 2:1-19. Record the characteristics of false teachers described by Peter. Explain in writing how your list helps you recognize false teachers today.
WEEK 6
WEEK 5
WEEK 4
This week was quite a long one. I had two assignments again of course. Here they are!
WEEK 3
I think that in our class we will be doing two choice assignments each week so each week I will upload two a week under each week entry. This will be the first one like that.
This week I chose to do choice 1.
The servants of the Lord are asked to be example and honorable. They need to be wise in Christ as well. Not only the servants of the Lord need to be examples. All the followers of Christ need to be examples. We all need to do what we can to make sure those around us can see the example we set as a good one. We all need to be an example of the believers. That was the theme for E.F.Y. when I went in 2009 and it is something that constantly runs through my head (am I being an example?). It may be slightly more important for those in authority to be examples, but everyone who knows and believes in Christ should always be setting an example.
Knowing what is right is never enough. If we know what is right and don't do what it is right, we really cannot understand the reality of the right choices to begin with then. It is really good to have the Holy Ghost with us so we can feel what is right and can better make the right decisions in our lives. Most things that are wrong choices we understand they are wrong. But, that doesn't mean that we don't choose to make those decisions. I think sometimes we need a friendly reminder. I wear this CTR ring that is on the left. CTR stands for choose the right. I think it is the greatest reminder. Not that I look at it before I make any decision, but there are times I was in a situation I shouldn't have been in and I just happened to look at my finger and realize I really shouldn't be where I was doing what I was doing. It gave me some courage to make the right decison.
Those who live what they know have an extra power that overcomes them. I think that actions speak louder than words. Also, actions speak much louder than thoughts. We can think about choosing or doing the right things, but we are not always doing what we think is right. I think that the more right decisions that are made, (especially the ones that are difficult to make) the more those decisions are made the easier they become to make. Just like with reading the scriptures, the more we do it the easier it becomes. Whenever we make decisions and they are bad it is the same way. But, when we make bad decisions there isn't a power that comes with it.
Assignment 2: I did choice 1
Paul and Timothy were able to avoid despair by being able to pray to the Lord for comfort. They were able to feel the comfort through His mercy. Our God is the one who comforts us when we are in times of need.
In Doctrine and Covenants 121 there are many comforting words. This is my favorite chapter of scripture by far. It was written while Joseph Smith was in liberty jail for so long. I have visited liberty jail and that place looks absolutely miserable. He was going through so many trials at this point in his life especially. My favorite part is when it is talking about how our friends stand by us. Our friends are a major strength to us in our lives. We rely upon them so much and they are physically here to help us often. Especially those that are acting through the spirit that will be able to help answer our own prayers. Also, the mention of how trials and tribulations will be but a small moment, that is extremely comforting. In the eternal perspective everything that we feel is huge now is really actually small. It will pass quickly and we will get through all our trials.
In Doctrine and Covenants 127 Joseph Smith compares himself to Paul because he had faith he could endure his trials because he felt he could endure his trials just as Paul had endured his. He was also actually delivered out of his trials. He had the faith and was blessed for it, just as Paul was.
Grace is exactly what we can be blessed with through our trials. God will have mercy on us and through grace we can be blessed. He blesses us by comforting our hearts. Often times we will just feel at peace in our lives and we can get through our trials through that wonderful feeling of peace in our lives or understanding that what we are going through will soon be over.
When we have faith we can overcome our trials. We must first express that we have faith so that he can bless us with removal of our trials. He knows what we need and eventually He will bless us with what exactly we need. The Lord did this in Mosiah as well as in Corinthians. It has not changed, the same can happen for us. We can pray and have faith that God can help us in our lives and he will help us.
WEEK 2
(This week we had two assignments I will post them here together.)
I chose to do Choice 3 which is about Acts 2
In Acts 2 it takes place on the day of the Pentecost. The Pentecost was a feast that occurred 50 days after the Passover. In the 50 days between the feast of the Passover and the Pentecost they gathered the harvested corn. They also made special animal sacrifices during this time. These sacrifices were very sacred. At the time they made animal sacrifices they also made meals for offerings. The meals consisted of two loaves of leavened bread made of fine flour and new wheat. They only used the best for these sacrifices. The feast lasted for one day, but it was for the whole day not just part of it. They feasted with each other and sacrificed their best prepared food and animals. In Acts 2 they were feasting on the day of the Pentecost when the spirit of the Lord left a profound impression on them. Peter also testified of Christ's resurrection and touched the hearts of so many.
Peter testified of many things in this chapter. These are a few that I picked out from the chapter:
*The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (in the last days)
*Whoever calls the name of the Lord will be saved in the last days from destruction
*He preached of the resurrection of Christ and how He will come again because He lives
During this chapter Peter spoke as a special witness of Christ. He testified that He knew Christ and that he knew that He was resurrected and would come again. Some knew that Christ had walked the Earth but they did not fully understand that He was again alive and would come again.
On this day of the Pentecost the Holy Ghost was manifest among the people. They were able to feel the burning desire of the spirit on the Holy day.
On this day the people sold their possessions and good and gave to the needy. They went to the temple of the Lord and participated in the breaking of bread. They knew the Spirit they felt that day was real and they wanted to to do good.
Here is the second part of this week
Unit 2 Choice 5 It is from passages from Thessalonians
In Thessalonians (1 and 2) we see that missionaries can share their message in many different ways, especially through their actions.
Here is a list of Paul's actions that complimented his teachings as a missionary:
*He prays for those he teaches daily
*Even through his suffering he did not lose faith
*He resisted temptations
*He had patience with those he was teaching
Missionaries today can learn from Paul's example. In Preach my Gospel the biggest thing is to remember that the spirit is what needs to teach the people, not the missionary. So, as long as you are keeping the spirit with you, you can touch the hearts of those you teach. Through praying for those you teach just as Paul did you can pray that God will soften their hearts so they will better feel the spirit that you can bring. As a missionary you must be focused on the work and those you teach. Without the focus you lose what could be great. Also the patience that Paul had is exactly the patience that you need with those you teach. Without patience you will not be able to get into those stubborn hearted individuals that could really use the gospel. Always make sure to keep that spirit with you and follow that.
What motivated each of them?
King Herod: He was motivated by popularity. He wanted to please the Jews. He did whatever the people wanted so they would like him. He was extremely prideful and only did things that would bring his power higher and allowed him to be liked.
Peter: Peter was motivated by what God wanted him to do. Whatever God asked him to do he did it without question. Even when he was in the jail he was still praying. Also, because Peter had so much faith he was blessed with the angel that came to get him from jail and took him out of jail.
How did they deal with others?
WEEK 7
UNIT 1 CHOICE 2
Read 2 Peter 2:1-19. Record the characteristics of false teachers described by Peter. Explain in writing how your list helps you recognize false teachers today.
-Bring in damnable
heresies -Denying the Lord that brought them –Covetousness –Rebellious -Walk in
a lust of uncleanliness -Eyes full of adultery -Pleasure to riot in the day
time -Speak evil -Cannot cease from sin -Beguiling unstable soul -Forsaken the
right way -Have gone astray -Speak with the swelling words of vanity -Allure
through the lusts of the flesh
If we find these
qualities in people it can be easier to point out he evil and stay away from
false teachers. This is a good way to judge others. We need to make sure we are
following others that are following what God would have them do and are
righteous. We need to surround ourselves with friends that would be considered
good teachers and would not have these qualities. The longer being around
people that have these qualities the harder it is to understand the difference
between right and wrong. But, if anyone has these qualities we need to keep
them away from our lives.
Read 2 Peter 2:20-22; Doctrine and Covenants 82:3, 7. In your
own words, write a few sentences describing the dangers of returning to the
“pollutions of the world.”
If we turn away from
the pollutions of the world through Christ we can overcome so many influences
of the world. But, if we turn to Christ and then we turn back to the pollutions
of the world it is tough to get back again. To stay away from the world we need
to focus on Jesus Christ, we need to live our lives as He lived His. If we stay
on the right path and hold true to the principles of the gospel we will not be
at risk of returning to the pollutions of the world.
UNIT 2 CHOICE 1
Read Jude 1:1-3 and explain in writing how you can multiply
mercy, peace, and love. How can you appropriately “contend for the faith”?
Multiplying mercy,
peace, and love is not simple. Those are hard things to achieve there is a
battle for peace even just with our family and friends on a daily basis, not to
mention the world. We can multiply those by following Christ and always doing
what He would have us do. If we are continually trying to have charity toward
those around and are trying to love them as God does we cannot fail. Once we
love them, there will be more peace and we will be able to show more mercy to
them in times of need. If we fight to keep our faith it will not go away. We
need to keep our faith and continue to learn through our Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ. We need to do those things every day that allow our faith to grow
such as
reading our scriptures and praying to know the truth.
Read Jude 1:4-19 and complete the following tasks in
writing:
-Using the Bible footnotes and Jeremiah 1:5,
Identify the doctrine referred to in the phrase “first estate” form Jude 1:16.
The
first estate would be birth into the world. It is meaning that the world will
only be experienced once and it is our first “estate” our first place to reside
without our Heavenly Father.
-Read the institute manual commentary for
Jude 9, “What Do We Know Concerning the Dispute Which Michael the Archangel Had
with the Devil About the Body of Moses?” (P. 439); Article of Faith 1:8. How
would you explain this odd disputation between Satan and Michael?
Satan
always knows what he wants and assumes what is needed to help the gospel
progress. All the way through time he has tried to destroy the church and especially
the people in it. He wanted to tear down Michael completely and he most
importantly didn’t want Moses to be translated.
-What does Jude 1:14 say about who will
accompany the Savior at the Second Coming?
The Savior
will come with 10,000 of His saints. So, Christ the first time He came He was
born of the virgin Mary and came alone. The second time He comes He will have
so many of the righteous coming as well.
Study Jude 1:17, 20-25. Write one or two paragraphs
explaining how we can avoid the evils that often come from false teachers.
Most importantly we
must build up ourselves to be strong in the faith and follow the Holy Ghost. If
we are doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do in our lives and our following
the promptings of the Holy Ghost we will never be deceived by false teachers
and their false teachings. It is important to remember that false teachers are
not always apparent; they can be within the church as well. If we keep our
faith strong we will not have any issues. We also need to make sure that in our
lives we are showing compassion to those around us and loving them as Christ would.
WEEK 6
Unit One Choice 3
This was from Hebrews 13 in reference to Paul’s councils in
the chapter
How should we treat strangers and those “in bonds”?
We need to treat
strangers with love we need to “entertain them”. To me that means that we need
to be kind to them and treat them as friends and loved ones. Those that are in
bonds are like us. We all have problems and afflictions and we all find
ourselves in adversity. We are all equal and we should not treat anyone as our
inferiors. We are on the same test of life trying to make it through and we
have no room to judge.
How is marriage looked upon?
Today marriage is
seen as something that is not very important when in reality it is one of the
most important things we can do in our lives. The world continues to lower the
importance of marriage and make living together and other things seem like better
options even though they are not what is right. But, as said in this chapter
marriage is honorable in all.
What are the warnings about covetousness?
We must not be
covetous. We need to be content with the things we have. The Lord promises us
that He will not forsake us. He will not leave us hanging, sometimes He will
push us to our limit of patience or make us worry a lot about certain things in
our lives but at the last minute He will make everything okay.
What is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”?
Christ is the same.
He will always bless our lives and He will always be there for us in our lives.
He will always understand and forgive. He will not one day change as humans
sometimes do. He is a glorified being and will not change.
Unit 2 Choice 3
These things come from James 3-4
“The Importance of Taming the Tongue”
Things We say That Are Offensive to God:
Boasting
Cursing
Unruly evil
Using the Lord’s name
in vein
Gossip/rumors
Judgements
Things We Say That Are Pleasing to God:
Blessings
Praises
Love
Humble words
The next section is from James 4:1-4
Symptoms of Being in the World:
You can become more
and more like the world
Peer pressure can
take over
Curse words may slip
from being around it so often
Lust
You kill
Envy
Prescription for Being out of the World:
Prayer daily
Scripture study
Be around good
friends with high values that will make good decisions
Control anger
Do not give into the
pressures of the world
WEEK 5
Unit 1 Choice 1
For each of the following common challenges, write the
counsel from Phillippians that you would use to resolve it:
-People sometimes argue and complain over petty matters in
church meetings or throughout the week
Humble yourself and
understand that everyone will make mistakes. By focusing on the good things it
is harder to argue and complain with others.
-Many youth feel that their parents’ testimony is sufficient
for them. Since they have good parents, they rely on them for all their
spiritual strength
You must work out
your own salvation. No one can carry your salvation, it is a personal choice.
We must all discover the importance of our own salvation and develop our own
faith and relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior. We cannot rely on
our parents’ testimonies to suffice for our own.
-An investigator is considering joining the church, but his
family will no longer associate with him if he does
It will all be worth
it. The sacrifices we make now to choose the right in the next life we will be
blessed for those decisions. God knows how hard it is to let go of the past
sometimes. So, by making the right decision to join the church blessings will
continue to come to you.
-How is this writing assignment an example of the principle
taught in 2 Nephi 32:3?
Through this assignment
we are reading the words of Christ and learning from them. We are learning
about the things that Christ would have us do in our lives. We are doing
exactly what this scripture is asking.
Unit 2 Choice 5
These are questions about the life of Christ
Jesus has superiority
over many things: Angels, Moses, Jesus’
word, Israelites while traveling through the wilderness, high priests of the
law of Moses, Aaron, Abraham, Melchizedek priesthood, and the traveling of
Israel out of Egypt.
Paul taught truths in
Hebrews 1 about the Savior: Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of the
Father, Christ’s brightness of his glory express the image of his person, and
all of the people of the earth and the angels of heaven will worship Christ.
Christ needed to come
to earth so he could experience all that we experience in our lives. He was
baptized just as we should be and worshiped God as we should. He went to the
temple and choose the right. He experienced everything that we could possibly
experience in our lives. The most important thing that he did was he suffered
for our sins. He died on the cross for us so we can live and be resurrected so
we can return to God. He set the example for how we should live our lives. He
died so we can repent and be forgiven for our sins.
WEEK 4
This week was quite a long one. I had two assignments again of course. Here they are!
Unit 1 Choice 3:
This choice was about Romans 6 and baptism. I answered a lot
of questions about why we baptize and why it is so important. This is also explained
in these parts of Romans.
Before baptism can occur, sin but be understood. Before we
are baptized often we are being taught the things that are right and the things
that are not. When we are baptized we are then cleansed of all of our sins. We
come out of the water and our sins are washed away. Before baptism we are not
held accountable for our sins as much as after we are brought to the knowledge
of the gospel and the understanding of the truth. Before baptism God does not
hold us accountable.
Christ himself when He was on the Earth was baptized. He
knew the importance and needed to set the example for us to follow in His
footsteps. The way that Christ was baptized was through immersion. He was not
baptized with sprinkling. He was doing it so we could be shown the correct way
to live our lives. We need to be baptized by immersion because that is the way
Christ was baptized. Also, throughout the scriptures we have been taught the
same thing. We would not do any differently than what Christ did while He was
on the Earth.
The newness of life is our life after baptism. We are able
to live a new life once we have come to the knowledge of the gospel and the fullness
of life. We are then able to understand the right from the wrong and be
cleansed from all our previous sins. This can even be done after death. If someone
lives their life not knowing the gospel here on Earth it is taught in the next
life and everyone is given the opportunity to be baptized and cleansed of their
sins. I remember when I was baptized and feeling so pure immediately afterward.
I felt completely new. I was new, my life was started again with a clean slate
and purity.
Once we are baptized we should be able to put off the
natural man and instead heed to the enticing of the Holy Spirit which is more
important. We should be able to live the life that God would have us live. This
is not to say that we will no longer be tempted by the natural man and our surroundings,
but that we will have more strength to overcome those temptations and live our
lives in righteousness.
We know that we are servants of God because we can feel His
spirit and His love as we pray to Him. He helps us through our hard times and we
are blessed through our trials. He shows us grace and allows us to be free from
sin. He shows us the way to become whole and He shows so much love to us. We
are servants of Him because we chose before this life to choose this life. We
wanted to become like God, so to do that we needed to come to Earth and go
through tests and trials to prove ourselves worthy to return to Him after
death.
Unit 2 Choice 2:
This choice was about Paul’s example there are many
scriptures used in reference for these words from different chapters of Acts.
-agabus was a
prophet who came down from Juaea to teach the people.
-Agabus brought the Holy spirit with Him and was able to
touch the hearts of people. He prophesied that Paul needed to go to Jerusalem
to teach the people.
-Paul purified himself and went to the temple the very next
day so that he could signify the accomplishment of his purification.
-Paul knew that if he went to Jerusalem that he would not
have an easy time and that he would be tested and tried. It would be much easier
to stay at his home.
-When Paul told his friend his plan, his friend explained to
him that he was foolish. He said he should not be going to Jerusalem so
blindly.
-Paul is very committed to Christ despite the people around
him that were telling him not to do what was right he stayed strong and did
what he believed what was to be right.
He was put through much hardship to make the right decision but in the end was
blessed for his faithfulness to God.
In Acts 21 and 26 are where the next comments come from:
-Paul was found in the temple for 7 days straight. Meaning
it was almost the Sabbath again and Jews came and did not appreciate his
doings. Then, they arrested him and took him out of the temple.
-When the Lord appeared He was first calling out on Paul and
asking why He was persecuting Him. Paul pleaded with the Lord for help to know
what Paul should do. No one around Paul could hear God’s words as He spoke to
Him, but they could see the light in front of Paul. God reassured Paul that he
would be fine and would make it through this trial. The Lord has helped me in
my life daily. Many times He helps me to “be of good cheer” when I am having a
bad day through other people. Maybe someone writes me a nice note that makes me
smile and remember the important things in life or He helps me read the right scripture
that will bring me comfort. He has many wonderful ways to cheer me up. He is al
of our personal comforters. We just need to get on our knees, pray, and ask for
His comfort. He is waiting to wrap His arms around us!
-Paul spoke to a man named Felix who was keeping him in
bondage. Paul asked him why he had the room to judge him and what licensed him
to be able to keep him in bondage for his crime. Paul accused Felix of being an
accuser. He questioned him and it shook up Felix.
-Felix did not let Paul go because he feared what would happen
if he did. Paul had already threatened to take him to Caesar and that was the
last thing Felix wanted for himself was to go to jail himself and have to face Caesar.
-When Paul appealed to Caesar Felix wished death upon himself.
He brought Felix unto the Lord and let Him “deal” with Felix.
-People today have a hard time accepting the truth when they
hear it for many different reasons. Some it is knowing they have to change
their lives so much others it is the lack of faith. But, sometimes people are
just not willing to learn of the gospel and pray for themselves and allow
themselves to come to know the things that they could know even just through a
very simple prayer to the Lord. He will reassure our thoughts that are correct.
He wants us to know and understand our gospel, we just have to ask. Paul’s
testimony was also concreted with being with Christ. The Jews (Agrippa and
Festus) did not believe that Christ was the son of the living God so they were
not able to have that reinforcement because they refused to believe that He was
the true Christ and what they were waiting for.
-I think Paul has wonderful courage throughout Acts. When he
was being held in bondage with Felix I think He demonstrated the most. Felix
could have killed him but through his faith in the Lord he stayed strong and
was given a mightier courage than he ever could have received himself without
God.
-I have a friend who in high school was the strongest person
in the church I knew. She was going to a huge party school for college though.
So, of course with a small LDS community there (not that we had anything large
when we were in high school) she made a lot of friends with non-members. They
were hard partiers. She knew this and would not go to many parties and whenever
she did she never gave into their peer pressure. I like to think I would do the
same thing but I am not so sure I could. She showed so much courage for so long
that a few of her acquaintances decided to make it their goal to get just one
beer in her. They eventually gave up and now they just respect her. She put up
with so much and as good as it would have been to just not hang out with her
friends because they were not being very respectful she continued to be a
wonderful friend and turned into the designated driver. Now, she doesn’t really
party with them, just takes them and drops them off. I think she is so amazing
and has done much more than this, but I think it is the hardest thing to stand
alone to choose the right.
I think developing courage is a long process. I think it is
something I need to work on each day. I think prayer daily is the main way I
can build up my personal courage. He will bless me with the courage that I
need. As long as I ask Him and put in my own effort of course.
-When the master of the ship disregarded Paul’s counsel the
ship did not sail safely. He was not blessed because he did not heed to the
words of Paul which were words that came from the Lord.
-The Centurian disregarded Paul’s counsel because he did not
believe in what Paul was teaching. He lacked the needed faith to follow his
words.
-Today many people feel that the counsel of the prophets
could be their own words. But, this is not true. Every counsel that the
prophets have is coming from God. It is what God would have us do at this time.
He wants us to do the right things and He speaks to us through prophets. But,
sometimes people don’t sustain the prophet and in the end will not heed to his
words. It takes an extra faith to believe that God is speaking through His
prophets.
-Paul received the revelation that they would be safe
through the storm. He was given that special revelation from God. The prophesy
was fulfilled the way that he said it would be. Priesthood power is the power
of God through worthy men on Earth. The priesthood can bring whatever power God
wants it to have at that time.
-Paul had faith that his trials would turn into good things
for himself. He knew that as long as he had faith he would make it through his
trial he just needed to remain trusting in the Lord. Because he was faithful
and patient he was delivered from his trials.
WEEK 3
I think that in our class we will be doing two choice assignments each week so each week I will upload two a week under each week entry. This will be the first one like that.
This week I chose to do choice 1.
The servants of the Lord are asked to be example and honorable. They need to be wise in Christ as well. Not only the servants of the Lord need to be examples. All the followers of Christ need to be examples. We all need to do what we can to make sure those around us can see the example we set as a good one. We all need to be an example of the believers. That was the theme for E.F.Y. when I went in 2009 and it is something that constantly runs through my head (am I being an example?). It may be slightly more important for those in authority to be examples, but everyone who knows and believes in Christ should always be setting an example.
Those who live what they know have an extra power that overcomes them. I think that actions speak louder than words. Also, actions speak much louder than thoughts. We can think about choosing or doing the right things, but we are not always doing what we think is right. I think that the more right decisions that are made, (especially the ones that are difficult to make) the more those decisions are made the easier they become to make. Just like with reading the scriptures, the more we do it the easier it becomes. Whenever we make decisions and they are bad it is the same way. But, when we make bad decisions there isn't a power that comes with it.
Assignment 2: I did choice 1
Paul and Timothy were able to avoid despair by being able to pray to the Lord for comfort. They were able to feel the comfort through His mercy. Our God is the one who comforts us when we are in times of need.
In Doctrine and Covenants 121 there are many comforting words. This is my favorite chapter of scripture by far. It was written while Joseph Smith was in liberty jail for so long. I have visited liberty jail and that place looks absolutely miserable. He was going through so many trials at this point in his life especially. My favorite part is when it is talking about how our friends stand by us. Our friends are a major strength to us in our lives. We rely upon them so much and they are physically here to help us often. Especially those that are acting through the spirit that will be able to help answer our own prayers. Also, the mention of how trials and tribulations will be but a small moment, that is extremely comforting. In the eternal perspective everything that we feel is huge now is really actually small. It will pass quickly and we will get through all our trials.
In Doctrine and Covenants 127 Joseph Smith compares himself to Paul because he had faith he could endure his trials because he felt he could endure his trials just as Paul had endured his. He was also actually delivered out of his trials. He had the faith and was blessed for it, just as Paul was.
Grace is exactly what we can be blessed with through our trials. God will have mercy on us and through grace we can be blessed. He blesses us by comforting our hearts. Often times we will just feel at peace in our lives and we can get through our trials through that wonderful feeling of peace in our lives or understanding that what we are going through will soon be over.
When we have faith we can overcome our trials. We must first express that we have faith so that he can bless us with removal of our trials. He knows what we need and eventually He will bless us with what exactly we need. The Lord did this in Mosiah as well as in Corinthians. It has not changed, the same can happen for us. We can pray and have faith that God can help us in our lives and he will help us.
WEEK 2
(This week we had two assignments I will post them here together.)
I chose to do Choice 3 which is about Acts 2
In Acts 2 it takes place on the day of the Pentecost. The Pentecost was a feast that occurred 50 days after the Passover. In the 50 days between the feast of the Passover and the Pentecost they gathered the harvested corn. They also made special animal sacrifices during this time. These sacrifices were very sacred. At the time they made animal sacrifices they also made meals for offerings. The meals consisted of two loaves of leavened bread made of fine flour and new wheat. They only used the best for these sacrifices. The feast lasted for one day, but it was for the whole day not just part of it. They feasted with each other and sacrificed their best prepared food and animals. In Acts 2 they were feasting on the day of the Pentecost when the spirit of the Lord left a profound impression on them. Peter also testified of Christ's resurrection and touched the hearts of so many.
Peter testified of many things in this chapter. These are a few that I picked out from the chapter:
*The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood (in the last days)
*Whoever calls the name of the Lord will be saved in the last days from destruction
*He preached of the resurrection of Christ and how He will come again because He lives
During this chapter Peter spoke as a special witness of Christ. He testified that He knew Christ and that he knew that He was resurrected and would come again. Some knew that Christ had walked the Earth but they did not fully understand that He was again alive and would come again.
On this day of the Pentecost the Holy Ghost was manifest among the people. They were able to feel the burning desire of the spirit on the Holy day.
On this day the people sold their possessions and good and gave to the needy. They went to the temple of the Lord and participated in the breaking of bread. They knew the Spirit they felt that day was real and they wanted to to do good.
Here is the second part of this week
Unit 2 Choice 5 It is from passages from Thessalonians
In Thessalonians (1 and 2) we see that missionaries can share their message in many different ways, especially through their actions.
Here is a list of Paul's actions that complimented his teachings as a missionary:
*He prays for those he teaches daily
*Even through his suffering he did not lose faith
*He resisted temptations
*He had patience with those he was teaching
Missionaries today can learn from Paul's example. In Preach my Gospel the biggest thing is to remember that the spirit is what needs to teach the people, not the missionary. So, as long as you are keeping the spirit with you, you can touch the hearts of those you teach. Through praying for those you teach just as Paul did you can pray that God will soften their hearts so they will better feel the spirit that you can bring. As a missionary you must be focused on the work and those you teach. Without the focus you lose what could be great. Also the patience that Paul had is exactly the patience that you need with those you teach. Without patience you will not be able to get into those stubborn hearted individuals that could really use the gospel. Always make sure to keep that spirit with you and follow that.
WEEK 1
This is my comparison of King Herod and Peter from Acts 12
King Herod: He was motivated by popularity. He wanted to please the Jews. He did whatever the people wanted so they would like him. He was extremely prideful and only did things that would bring his power higher and allowed him to be liked.
Peter: Peter was motivated by what God wanted him to do. Whatever God asked him to do he did it without question. Even when he was in the jail he was still praying. Also, because Peter had so much faith he was blessed with the angel that came to get him from jail and took him out of jail.
How did they deal with others?
King Herod: He did a
lot of killing of his people. He wanted all the glory that he could get. No
matter who he was talking to he talked down to them and was full of pride.
Peter: He was so humble and would almost talk the way that
God would to His people. He knew how to talk to people and how to make them
feel good about themselves. He never put himself on a pedestal and always felt
he was on the same level as those he taught. He loved everyone and tried to
teach as much as he could.
How did God deal with them?
King Herod: God had him killed. God loved him, but knew that
he could not be on the earth any longer. He was too corrupt, he had to kill him
through disease. In Acts 1:23 it says “..the angel of the Lord smote him,
because he gave not God the glory.” Herod was killed because of his pride.
Peter: God blessed Peter in many ways. When Peter was sent
to jail God sent an angel to him to help him out of jail. He was blessed for
his righteousness.
I think that we can learn many things from this chapter. We
can choose to be like Herod or we can choose to be like Peter. Not that you are
a Herod only if you are killing people, that wasn’t the only thing that made Herod
evil. Herod had too much pride and did not thank God for what he had. We are
all we are because of God and we need to thank Him each and every day for our
lives. Peter did this and he believed in Him. Peter was not treated with any
less trials because of His faith. But, he was blessed so much more through his
trials because he did have the belief and faith in God. He knew that because he
made the right choices he would be blessed, he just didn’t know exactly how.
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