Women of The Bible, Eve – April 26, 2014

Eve is our fist woman in our series from Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E Syswerda. The study of Eve is #1 in your workbook, found on page 11. The Bible Study meeting for will be held on April 26 2014 at 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Because the study material are not in yet, you will pick up the materials at the Bible Study and we will complete lesson #1 together in the group session. Remember that all materials are free as they are gifts to you from students participating in Homewords Small Group Bible Study Ministry.

For information contact Glenda at 727-542-4683.

He Lives, We Have Not Seen, Yet We Believe

John 20:17-18. Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news; “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:28-29. Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

He lives, we have not seen, yet we believe.

Happy Resurrection Sunday to all from Homewords Small Group Bible Study Ministry.

Invocation for Homegoing Celebration

We come today because of the magnificent and inerrant timing of God. Who ordained this gathering, because He has called one of His soldiers from labor to reward.

We fully understand that as the timing of birth is God’s, so is the timing of death, for Job 14:5 remind us, “Man’s days are determined; you (God) have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

But, Scripture does not always diminish the pain of the moment. For we miss our beloved. We will miss her/him in all of the ways she/he has served. We will miss them as a spouse, as a parent, as a friend, as a neighbor, as a co-worker and most certainly as a fellow laborer in our Christian faith.

Since we cannot stop God’s timing, but sometimes feel the pain in the process we take solace in this celebration of our loved one going out from here to eternity.

In this celebration:

We ask comfort for the spouse and family that will miss the beloved the most. Restore them dear God to your perfect peace.

We thank you dear God for creating the beloved and the time they have spent with us all. It has truly been a joy!

We savor the memories of their life and the expressions that tells us, their life has been a job “well done”.

Although we are not the final account, our observation is that they followed the teaching of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Finally, we find comfort through the word of The Apostle Paul’s writing, which not only make the sting of the moment acceptable but also gives us hope. This comfort and hope is found in 2 Corinthians 5:8 …. to be away from the body is at home with Lord. In all our love, would we deny them or anyone the ultimate prize of being with the Lord? I think not!

So, we celebrate the magnificent timing of God, and give thanks to Him for His Omniscience wisdom of the moment.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups – Schedule

Schedule for Homewords Study

Women of the Bible : 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E. Syswerda (We will cover 24 Women in the book)

Introduction- 04/12/14

Eve – 04/26/14

Sarah – 05/10/14

Lot’s Wife – 05/24/14

The Mothers of Moses: Jochebed and Pharaoh’s Daughter – 06/07/14

Miriam – 06/21/14

Deborah – 06/28/14

Delilah – 07/19/14

Abigail – 08/02/14

Bathsheba – 0816/14

Tamara, Daughter of David – 08/23/14

Rizpah – 09/13/14

The Queen of Sheba – 09/27/14 (Fall Pot-Luck/ 9th Anniversary)

Jezebel – 10/11/14

The Shunammite Woman – 10/25/14

The Shulammite Woman – 11/08/14

Mary, The Mother of Jesus – 11/22/14

Anna -12/06/14

The Woman Who Lived a Sinful Life – 12/20/14

The Woman with the Issue of Blood – 01/03/15

Joanna – 01/17/15

Martha – 01/31/15

Mary of Bethany – 02/14/15

Mary Magdalene – 02/28/15

Lydia – 03/14/15

Priscilla – 03/28/15

Women of The Bible, New Bible Study

We have completed our study of Ruth and Esther and move on to our next series. On April 12, 2014 we will have our introductory meeting to Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for Individuals and Groups by Jean E Syswerda. These studies are lessons for the text Women of the Bible, A One-Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture, Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda.

In the initial session we will introduce the text and give the instructions for the study. The study will last one year with the schedule and name of the women covered listed in our next update.

This Meetings is also our Spring Pot Luck which is our Open House. If you have not attended one of our Bible Studies, this is a good time to come and see what we are about. We welcome all visitors, no participation on the Pot-Luck items required, Come and be Our Guest.

For information contact Glenda at 727-542-4683.

God is…

These are my reflections from the teachings of a sermon series called God is…

Who is God to me and more importantly how can I grow to know him more fully in order to establish and foster a relationship with him. During our study we looked at scripture to first glean why it is important to God that we know him.

Jeremiah 9:24(NIV) …but let him who boasts boast about this: that he who understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord.

We can learn who God is by his own words and how he describes himself. In the earlier verse (v.23) he chides us about our own placement of importance on such things as wisdom, strength and riches. We have a tendency to boast about these things and place them high on the list of how we feel about ourselves and our accomplishments. We decide that being smart and having the money to purchase and use the latest smart phone is important. These things have no value to God; they are not important to him. What is important, God declares, is our knowledge and understanding of him, that we know that he is the Lord. He teaches us in his word that our knowing his attributes, what he does for us, his purpose, his love for us – in all of these he delights.

Another scripture we studied in the God is… series was Isaiah 6:1-3 where Isaiah looked upon the Lord and described him seated on a throne with a robe that filled the whole temple. Seraphs or angels called to one another:

Isaiah 6:3 (NIV) Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory.

We learned that triple repetition of the word holy denotes God’s infinite Holiness; a way to exclaim before there were exclamation marks. Holy is defined in Webster’s dictionay as revered, set apart, awed. The majesty, splendor and grandeur of God is described by Isaiah who is so awed and inspired that he answers God’s question to be the one God sends to deliver his message. Will we be so inspired and not run away from the tasks, the challenges that God puts before us? Will we listen and obey; will we run to him and welcome the relationship offered to us. God’s invitation is clear.

We can learn who God is by exploring how God describes himself. This time we looked at scripture where The Lord asks:

Isaiah 40:25 (NIV) “To whom will you compare me?”… and in V.28 Isaiah responds “The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.”

There is none to compare to him. He can name every star by name; he most assuredly knows who we are and wants us to know who he is. He wants us to understand who he is and to develop a relationship with him. We are to be in awe of his power and his majesty but we also are to be aware of his love, his kindness and his righteousness provided for us the faithful, obedient people he created. God you truly are Awesome, awesome, awesome to me. You are wonderful and to be praised.