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FAMILY NEWSPOTLUCK TODAY: Please stay and help us eat all the food — we always have a lot left over; but, more importantly, spend some time sharing and enjoying being together. TIMBERS TODAY: At 2:30 today we will have our monthly worship service at Timbers Nursing Home. We have bonded with many of the regulars there and we need people to help us sing and support the staff and clients. It only takes 30 minutes and it means a lot to everyone at Timbers. If you need directions, just ask one of us. BASEMENT IN USE AGAIN: The water table has dropped enough that our pumps are no longer running. That means that, for the time being, we can use our classrooms in the basement again for children's classes. When the water rises again, we will have to vacate those rooms; so, hopefully we can get it fixed by that time in the spring. KEEP UP WITH THE FAMILY: Karl and Julie are back and the list of those who need prayers, cards, calls, visits, and attention will be resumed. Spend a few minutes every day calling or sending a card. We can all do that and it means a lot to shut-ins and people who are in pain. TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION — 2 KINGS 5:1
A. Leprosy was the cancer of the ancient world
I. LIKE LEPROSY, SIN SEPARATES US.
1. Read Leviticus 13 — “saraat” and “lepra”
B. Much about leprosy parallels sin
2. No cure — Hansen's disease today 1. Afflicts the outer body, sin the inner body
A. The victim was separated from family and friends.
II. LEPROSY, SIN REQUIRES DIVINE ACTION.
1. Victims lived “outside the camp” — Leviticus 13:46
B. Sin separates us from God and the church.
Extreme quarantine — Leviticus 13-15
2. Referred to as a plague3. Garments and household items were separated. 1. 1 Corinthians 5:1-11
C. Sin affects our whole being — physical and mental.
a. Object is not to humiliate, but to quarantine.
2. The option to this man was to quit attending.b. 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 — The result 1. Leprosy was not just a skin condition.
a. Skin was a symptom, not a cause.
2. Sin affects us in deep ways — how we entertainb. Story of Gehazi in 2 Kings 5:20-27 a. Where we spend our time, how easily we lie b. Sin propels prejudice, etc. — 1 John 2:11. A. The only real cure was God — Naaman , verse 15.
III. TO CURE LEPROSY OR SIN, YOU HAVE TO DO IT GOD'S WAY — Naaman — 2 Kings 5:10
Lepers were hopeless — only God could cure them.
B. Being imbedded in sin is a hopeless state.
1. Most sin leads to addiction — are addicts happy?
C. Jesus dealt with physical and spiritual leprosy
2. What does “look to a higher power” mean? Matthew 8:2;10:8; 11:5; 26:6 (Simon the leper) A. 1 Peter 3:21
B. Acts 2:37 C. Romans 6:4 THE BACK PAGELIGHT AND DARKThis is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:5-8). One of the struggles we all have is in comprehending our sin problem. We all sin no matter how hard we try not to. Paul in Romans 7 does a wonderful job of spelling out the struggle we all have. “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do.” He goes on the express the struggle he has with life, but in Romans 8:1 he concludes with “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” In our class this past week we had a discussion about what “walking in the light” and “walking in the dark” means. Part of the struggle we have has to do with understanding what Paul expresses in Romans 6 when he talks about our baptism involving dying to sin so that we too can live a new life. Walking in the light means no longer “offering parts of our body to sin” (verse 13). The reference involves “offering parts of our bodies to impurity.” That would involve all of our senses, including what we see and what we listen to. I was in a store this past week and heard a small child singing a song that is popular right now that is full of profanity. I then realized that the song was coming over the store's PA system. The list of movies available in the theater advertisements tells us the content in terms of how much violence there is in each film, and the rating system has been altered so that what is PG now would have been R ten years ago. Profanity in the sitcoms coming through our television sets is accepted. Our culture is “walking in the dark.” We as Christians need to “walk in the light.” Refuse to attend a movie or play video games that contain bad language or glorifies violence or abuse of anyone. Be selective in what you and your family watch and listen to. Pornography is a national scourge and is part of walking in the dark. Let us strive to walk in the light, letting “dead to sin” mean something. — John Clayton Our sign by the street!
Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website. www.dowagiaccoc.org |
