From the Gospel Press

This quarter’s focus is “Jesus Pleases His Father.”  Whether we are willing to admit it or not, most of us are trying to be pleasing to someone. We are trying to please our parents, our boss, leaders, friends and so. Here we find Jesus, the son of God, being pleasing His Father.  

To be pleasing means to be satisfying or appealing; agreeable. This month, we will explore how Jesus pleased His father by carrying out His spiritual assignment, overcoming temptation and doing the work. 

The first we witness His appearance to John the Baptist, at the Jordon River.  John, the cousin of the Son man, is the forerunner to the coming of the Messiah.  God uses him on two occasion to present the Christ. In Mark 1:4-13, we experience John baptizing many, but tells us there is one coming that is greater than him. At the moment that John baptizes Jesus, Mark 1:4-13, “There came a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God is pleased by His Son’s obedience to the work of the Ministry.

 Second, we follow Jesus into the wilderness where He is tested for forty days and forty nights. This is the lesson to “Overcoming Temptation with the Word,” Matt. 4:1-14a. God uses this opportunity to prove the Lord’s ability to resist temptation.  Jesus used the Word of God to overcome to the temptation of the world. The principle is that the Word of God is our best defense against temptation.

Finally, once our faith has been tried and tested, we have the responsibility of, “Doing the Father’s Work, John 5:19-29.  This lesson is reminding us that we have to work in unity with God the Father and God the Son. They are already working as One, and are in sync with their mission.  When we believe that God has sent His Son for us, we receive everlasting life.   

The focus is “Jesus Calls Us!”  I received in my spirit  how God uses unusual people to execute His ministry in the world. This month’s lessons are about those that are “Called from the Margins of Society.”

On Jesus’ missionary journeys, He encounters many who most would consider undesirables. Nevertheless, He uses them to manifest a universal message to impact the world. He speaks to their fears, their ego, their unworthiness, and their demons, to awaken their place in God.

First, we are met with the confession of the “The Prodigal Son,” Luke 15:11-24.  Prodigal means to spend money or resources freely and recklessly. This son demanded his inheritance and lost it just as fast.  He quickly realized that what he had was greater than what he wanted. He repented and returned home, to his father and his God.

Second, our ego is challenged by a pivotal question, “Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom, Matt. 18:1-9; Mark 10:15?”  The disciples were questioning themselves and Jesus for the answer. Jesus says, “He who humbles himself as a child is the greatest (v.4). His answer undermines our thoughts about being great. We do not have to compete with one another to be great. Be yourself.

Next, we see “Jesus Talks with a Samaritan,” John 4:1-42. In spite of our cultural, political, religious and racial prejudices, Jesus breaks the barriers to reach those that are lost. His approach with the woman at the well was to evangelize her in a non-traditional way but effectively. He went beyond the boundaries to reach her; which resulted in reaching the town.

Finally, “Jesus Overpowers Legion, Mark 5:1-20.” He encounters a man demon-possessed and calls them out. After this encounter, the man is found sitting, clothed and in his right mind.