Jesus often taught the people using parables. When His disciples asked Him why, He told them it wasn’t time for all the people to understand the meaning of everything He was saying. One day, when Jesus was teaching His disciples, He began telling them a parable about a steward – a person who manages someone’s estate or money. The steward’s boss heard that he was doing a bad job, so he told the steward he was going to fire him. The steward, knowing he was going to lose his job, had to make a quick decision. He did something that Jesus explained with some important lessons for us.
Discuss:
What did the steward do? What does it mean to be shrewd?
What is “mammon”?
With the decision that the steward made, he was making friends with the people who owed his boss money, and preparing for his own future. God wants us to be careful with how we use our money now, in this physical life, but what future are we preparing for ultimately? How is our future in the kingdom more important than our lives in this world?
What do you think Jesus meant when He said “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much”? Think about the things you own – your toys, clothes, money, etc. What are some ways you can “be faithful” (trustworthy) with the things you own? How would taking care of your things prepare you to take care of bigger things in God’s kingdom?
Memory Challenge:
Luke 16:10 (NIV)
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CL-feature-image-1-11.png6111651Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-09 13:53:432026-02-19 15:31:44Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: NT Lesson 16 “The Unjust Steward”
Jesus traveled all around Galilee and Judea with His disciples, teaching the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom. They often walked many miles and when they arrived in different villages people would sometimes offer to let Jesus and His disciples eat or stay at their houses. One day, they came to a village where a woman named Martha lived with her sister, Mary. Martha invited Jesus to come to her house. Martha busied herself to serve, for there were lots of things to do, so she wasn’t too happy when she realized her sister Mary was sitting down.
Discuss:
Why do you think Martha invited Jesus to come to her house?
What was Martha doing when Jesus came to her house? What kinds of things often need to be done when a guest comes to your house?
What was Mary doing?
How do you think Martha felt when she realized that Mary wasn’t helping her? What did she do?
What did Jesus tell Martha? What does it mean to be distracted? God loves it when we serve, but we should not let it distract us from focusing on and listening to God.
Mary and Martha appear in other parts of the Bible. Can you name their brother? What happened to their brother?
Would you say that Mary and Martha were good friends with Jesus Christ? How can we be friends with Jesus (John 15:14)?
Memory Challenge:
Luke 10:42
“But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CL-feature-image-1-11.png6111651Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-08 10:43:272026-02-19 15:32:20Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: NT Lesson 17 “Mary and Martha”
God the Father sent Jesus to do a work, and there was so much work to do. Jesus traveled throughout the region preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God and healing the sick. He was very busy doing all His Father’s commands. One day, some people came with little children to see Jesus. The disciples tried to help by telling the people to go away. But when Jesus saw what they were doing, he called to them. The disciples were about to learn a lesson from Jesus about little children.
Discuss:
Why do you think the disciples did not want the little children brought to Jesus?
What was Jesus’ attitude toward the little children? Children are very special to God the Father and Jesus Christ (Psalm 127:3) which means He thinks you are very special too!
What did Jesus do to the children when they were brought to Him (Mark 10:16)? The Church continues this practice by blessing little children in a ceremony during the Feast of Tabernacles. What do you think were some of the blessings Christ gave the little children?
What did Jesus say the rich young ruler should do to inherit eternal life?
Why do you think the young man went away feeling sad? What lesson was Jesus trying to teach him?
Memory Challenge:
Luke 18:16
“But Jesus called them to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.’”
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CL-feature-image-1-11.png6111651Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-06 15:19:592026-02-19 15:35:32Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: NT Lesson 18 “Jesus and the Little Children”
Most everywhere Jesus went, huge crowds of people followed Him. They wanted to hear Him speak and see the wonderful miracles that He performed. Many of the people who wanted to see Jesus were poor, sick, or considered to be sinners. One day, a man named Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. The problem was, he was very short and there were so many people crowding around Jesus that Zacchaeus couldn’t see Him. Zacchaeus saw there was a tree near the path where Jesus was going to walk, so he had an idea.
Discuss:
What did Zacchaeus do for a living?
What did Zacchaeus decide to do so he could see Jesus?
How did it happen that Jesus went to Zacchaeus’ home? Why do you think He decided to go there?
What was the crowd’s attitude when Jesus said He was going to visit Zacchaeus?
What did Zacchaeus tell Jesus he was going to do?
Why do you think Jesus associated with those who were not considered righteous (Mark 2:17, Luke 19:10)?
Memory Challenge:
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CL-feature-image-1-11.png6111651Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-05 17:32:092026-02-19 15:36:50Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: NT Lesson 19 “Zacchaeus”
Many people began to believe in Jesus as He preached throughout Judea. The Pharisees and the other religious rulers were jealous, so they made up charges to have Him crucified by the Romans. It was the time of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, and Jerusalem was overflowing with people, and many of them witnessed Jesus’ death. Jesus’ followers were very confused because they thought He was the promised Messiah and now He was dead, or was He?
Discuss:
What happened when the women came to the tomb in the morning? What did the angels tell them?
What were the two people discussing while they walked to Emmaus?
Why didn’t they recognize Jesus when He approached them? What did Jesus explain to them while they walked together?
When did the two people realize that the person who was talking to them was Jesus Christ? How do you think they felt when they realized who He was?
What do you think it will be like to walk and talk with God face to face?
Memory Challenge:
Luke 24:46, 48
“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day… And you are witnesses of these things.”
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CL-feature-image-1-11.png6111651Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-04 09:31:532026-02-19 15:37:16Children’s Bible Program – Level 1: NT Lesson 20 “On the Road to Emmaus”
Martin Luther removed books from the Old Testament, and fought to strip away sections of the New Testament as well. Luther’s words denigrating James’ epistle are well-known.
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/luther_at_erfurt_-_justification_by_faith-2.jpg220288Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-03 13:30:412021-02-17 15:09:03Course Spotlight: Luther and an “Epistle of Straw”
Author: Juliette McNair | Student, Living Education 2021
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes, 16 seconds.
Modern science claims matter and energy are the two fundamental elements of life. “But,” Mr. Richard Ames said, “there’s another factor: intelligence.” Mr. Ames played the documentary Unlocking the Mystery of Life for his Assembly. In this documentary, scientists argue that intelligent design is undeniably present in nature. Mr. Ames asked the students to consider this question as they watched the video: “Why should intelligence be a foundational element of science?”
“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”
– Charles Darwin
Irreducible Complexity
Irreducible complexity is the idea that a biological system could not have evolved through tiny, incremental developments because the system itself cannot be any less complex to operate. This concept is clearly seen in the functioning of the tail-like organ called a flagellum on a bacterium. Flagella can spin at speeds up to 100,000 rpm. Just like an outboard motor on a boat, these natural propellors have gears, a stator, rotor, u-joint, driveshaft, and propellor—in total, they have 40 different parts. Evolution must explain how this system can be built gradually when the system only works when each part is functioning. The biologist Jonathan Wells explains that natural selection “selects only for a functional advantage… so if you had a bacterium with a tail that didn’t function as a flagellum, chances are natural selection would eliminate it. The only way you can select for a flagellum is if you have… all the pieces of the motor in place to begin with.”
Life Requires Instructions
The video introduced Dr. Dean Kenyon, who wanted to answer the question: “How did life begin in the first place?” He theorized that amino acids assembled themselves into proteins millions of years ago through chemical attraction. A student challenged him on how amino acids could assemble without instructions from DNA. DNA regulates the sequences and shapes amino acids need to form to create proteins. Dr. Kenyon found he couldn’t explain how amino acids had formed proteins without any instruction from pre-existing DNA. Furthermore, natural selection, by definition, needs existing organisms to operate. The issue of the origin of DNA is a major challenge to evolutionary theory.
“Science ought to be a search for the truth about the world… when we come to a puzzle in nature, we ought to bring to that puzzle every possible cause that might explain it. One of the problems I have with evolutionary theory is that it artificially rules out a kind of cause even before the evidence has a chance to speak, and the cause that’s ruled out is intelligence.”
– Paul Nelson
Design Reasoning
When archeologists discover ruins or when tourists see Mount Rushmore, they assume an intelligent mind was responsible. William Dembski wondered why. He established two reliable criteria for determining whether something was designed or not: small probability and specification. It’s highly improbable erosion carved faces into Mount Rushmore. The specific patterns of the faces are also recognizable. This speaks to design. From computer software to words scratched in the sand on the beach, people take intelligent design for granted all the time—without needing to be present when it was done. Scientists even monitor outer space for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. If a highly improbable, specifically patterned signal was intercepted from space, researchers would declare extraterrestrial intelligence existed. Yet, the microscopic world of a single cell exhibits these same signs of intelligence and the possibility of intelligent design is rejected out of hand.
Mr. Ames stopped the documentary when the assembly time ran out. He encouraged the students to finish the documentary in their own time. The visible world may consist of matter and energy, but every component—from Mount Rushmore to bacteria flagella to the genetic code in living cells—reflects intelligence in its functioning and origin. The documentary Mr. Ames played proved that intelligence is as elemental to science as DNA is to the natural world.
This post is part of our new series of student-written content for LivingEd-Charlotte. These summaries cover topics originally presented by our faculty and guest speakers in our weekly Forum and Assembly. For more Assembly-related content check out our Second Thoughts posts.
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/puzzle-2500333_1920.jpg7911500Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-02-02 13:30:002021-10-01 14:06:39Assembly Summary: Unlocking the Mystery of Life
Some religions teach that Jesus Christ is a created being. Some even say that He was the brother of Lucifer, or that He was the archangel Michael. Is Jesus Christ a created being, or is He eternal?
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/priscilla-du-preez-lIpubE3_DEQ-unsplash.jpg10001500Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-01-27 13:30:002021-03-03 16:38:01Course Spotlight: Was Christ a “Created Being” or Eternal?
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education
Estimated Reading time:8 min., 41 sec.
Did you know that God intended ancient Israel to be the greatest nation in history?
Some Americans hail themselves as the greatest nation the world has ever seen by chanting: “USA, USA, etc.” or “We’re Number 1, We’re Number 1, etc.” Many nations and civilizations have considered themselves the greatest in history. The United States of America is just the latest to claim exceptionalism. However, by simply reading God’s description of His chosen and accountable people in the Holy Bible, one comes away with a very different conclusion. Achieving their supreme position depended on their adherence to His teachings, called the Torah in the Hebrew Old Testament. This Digging Deeper explores this theme in biblical history to discover that this honored position is to be filled by a most unexpected people.
Rising from slavery
The Book of Exodus chronicles God’s release, rescue, and redemption of the ancient Israelites from bondage to the Pharaoh of Egypt and his court. Ten divine miracles forced the Pharaoh to liberate them to follow God’s pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night to a land of milk and honey. Once there, God provided them productive land that would fill their material needs. He assured them that if they obeyed Him they would prosper generation after generation to the point of world dominance. God intended Israel to become the greatest nation in the history of the world. Notice these scriptures showing the divine blessing prerequisites and how astonished other nations would be at the greatness of these former slave people:
“Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nationis a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8 KJV)? (emphasis mine throughout)
“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6 KJV).
“Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee” (Deuteronomy 7:11-15 KJV).
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth” (Deuteronomy 28:1 KJV).
Strangers welcome!
God did not show favoritism by selecting Israel to be His model nation. Rather, He chose them to be His shining light on a hill to other nations attracting them to His truth as modeled by Israel. If individuals came to Israel for refuge, they were to be welcomed: “Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9 KJV). The word stranger appears 131 times in our King James Bible. God has much to say about welcoming foreigners and alien residents if they came as converts to the God of Israel. Israel suffered desperate hearts as strangers in the oppressive land of Egypt, qualifying them to understand and welcome foreign converts to the true faith and promote God’s ways to the ends of the earth.
We see this again in Solomon’s dedicatory prayer for the opening of the first temple: “Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name” (2 Chronicles 6:32-33 KJV). That is why the temple was called “an house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7 KJV). It was designed to promote repentance by pagan nations who had experienced the bitter fruit of idolatry.
Falling for idolatry…
The Old Testament offers the fascinating story of one such foreigner, the Queen of Sheba, who came to inspect the glory of Solomon’s kingdom (1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9). She returned from her visit astonished by what she saw. Israel’s apex occurred during the reigns of David and Solomon. This was the closest Israel came to qualifying as God’s model nation. Regrettably, not long after her visit, Solomon compromised by accepting his many wives’ gods into his kingdom. These idols turned his heart away from God: “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father’ (1 Kings 11:3-6 KJV).
Israel declined rapidly during the reign of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, leading to the rebellion of the House of Israel from the House of Judah and the Throne of David. All the kings of the House of Israel turned out bad as well as most of the kings of the House of Judah. Ancient Israel failed in its mission through idolatry: “Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:11-13 KJV).
A new great nation
Nonetheless, in the New Testament, God ordained that a new spiritualIsrael, His church, would be His model nation now empowered to obey by the Holy Spirit:
Matthew 21:43 KJB Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you [unbelieving Jews], and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Galatians 6:16 KJV: “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”
1 Peter 2:9 KJV: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
This spiritual Israel is to be that shining light on a hill: Matthew 5:14-16 KJV: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (15) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Jesus taught that those who are truly great are servants: Matthew 23:11 KJV: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Spiritual Israel’s example provides an evangelistic magnet for peoples yearning to breathe free from heathenism. They will show desperate peoples “the way of the LORD.” As they respond to God’s calling, they will then seek the way of eternal life: John 14:6 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” In this way, Christian ambassadors will serve as “the greatest nation.”
Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.
https://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/different-nationalities-1743392_1920.jpg9911500Jonathan McNairhttps://www.lcgeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/logo_basic-website-300x94.pngJonathan McNair2021-01-27 12:47:042021-08-12 17:12:25Digging Deeper: The Greatest Nation
