Matthew 3:1-2 from the International Bible Lessons by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr. (formerly Oklahoman Bible Lessons)

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Are You Ready to Meet the Messiah?

Parkhurst Bible Lesson
Mark 1:1-8; Matthew 3:1-3
Sunday, September 7, 2008

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International Sunday School Lesson
Sunday September 7, 2008
Mark 1:1-8; Matthew 3:1-3

“In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 3:1-2—NRSV).

“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1-2—KJV).

Are you ready to meet the Messiah? Almost 2,000 years ago, God sent John the Baptist into the wilderness of Judea in order to prepare the people to meet Jesus. John preached to Jews and Gentiles, to religious leaders, tax collectors, and soldiers. His message remained the same for everyone: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The Bible teaches that Jesus will return in the way He left. After His ascension into heaven, the angels declared, “Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Today, we need to get ready to meet the returning Messiah. To make ourselves ready, we need to do as John preached: we must repent of our sins.

Faith in the Messiah, Jesus, precedes repentance and forgiveness. We must first believe that Jesus is coming as Lord and Savior before we will ever begin to get ready to meet Him by repenting of our sins. Repentance involves more than just feeling sorry for our bad thoughts and actions. Repentance means turning from the practice of doing those things that are contrary to the will of God, practices that God warns us against in the Bible.

Since we do not free ourselves from our slavery to sin, we ask Jesus to help us. If we “humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings,” He will. In addition, we ask Jesus to provide a way of escape when temptations press against us. Faith and repentance leads to God’s forgiveness, which makes us ready to meet the Messiah.

© Copyright 2008 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr.

You may be reprint or reproduce this Parkhurst Bible Lesson for not-for-profit use.

Questions for Further Thought
or Class Discussion

International Sunday School Lesson
Sunday September 7, 2008
Mark 1:1-8; Matthew 3:1-3

Printable PDF With Questions
Bulletin Size With Questions Printable PDF
Bulletin Size Without Questions Printable PDF

Think about your answers to the questions below before your Sunday school class meets, discuss in class, or use for further study. In some cases, I do not always write the questions to have a definitive right or wrong answer. In most cases, the questions should encourage everyone to think about how to apply biblical truths to their daily lives. Before beginning to answer the questions below, read the entire Scripture lesson in your favorite translation or compare translations. Write your thoughts in the space provided and take them to your Sunday school class for discussion.

1. Why did John preach that people needed to repent?

2. Do you think the religious leaders who heard John would be more or less likely to repent? Why? Do you think the tax collectors would be more or less likely to repent? How do your answers differ regarding the two groups? Why do they differ?

3. What does repentance involve? Do you think preachers and Sunday school teachers need to talk more or less about the need to repent to those in their churches? Give some reasons for your answers.

4. Think about people who do not go to church regularly, or who do not go to church at all, or who do not believe in God. How do you think these people could be reached with the command to repent?

5. Do you think it was easier or harder in John’s day than in our day to preach a message commanding people to repent of their sins. What reasons can you give to support your answer?

For more Questions on the Gospel According to Luke, go to:
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Contact the writer by sending an e-mail to lgp@InternationalBibleLessons.com

Available in the "Religion Section" of The Oklahoman newspaper every Saturday, please do not remove the copyright notice or publish these lessons for profit if you reprint them. To download these Bible Studies as an audio file or podcast to listen to, go to ParkhurstBibleLessons.com.

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Unless otherwise noted International Bible Lessons and Parkhurst Bible Lessons are copyrighted © 2007 by L.G. Parkhurst, Jr. All Rights Reserved. For reprint rights other than noted above contact lgp@InternationalBibleLessons.com. Please do not remove the copyright notice or publish these Bible Lessons for profit if you reprint them. To comment on the Parkhurst Bible Lessons go to the BibleLessonForum.com. To listen or download them as an audio file or podcast go to ParkhurstBibleLessons.com. To discuss ideas, visit the Parkhurst Ponders blog.