The LPBC Sunday School Gazette: Trusting God, No Matter the Cost -- November 5, 2012

I hope you enjoyed playing "American Bible Challenge" to start yesterday. It's a great app to put on your phone. Challenge your kids to see what they are learning in their Sunday School classes.

The lesson came from Chapter 7 of the Book of Acts. We looked at Stephen who was the first Christian killed for his faith.

Our whole lesson revolved around the paragraph on the bottom of page 94 in your "The Gospel Project" book:

"Stephen’s testimony offers us a 3-D Christianity. He shows us that following Jesus Christ involves three dimensions: information, transformation, and proclamation. Stephen believed the good news about Christ (information), loved Christ (transformation), and preached Christ (proclamation). Likewise, we have the opportunity to give our heads, hearts, and lips to the God who creates us and re-creates us."

As Stephen was addressing the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Council, he began by giving a recap of the Old Testament. He was establishing common ground. Stephen was able to do this from memory because he knew what the Scriptures say.

You should be the same way. As a believer, you should have a good working knowledge of what's contained in the Bible. You don't have to be a world-class theologian, but you should know the building blocks of your faith.

One of the blurbs in your book on page 97 gave one quick snippet of "The Baptist Faith and Message". This document contains the tenets of what Southern Baptists believe. If you've never read it, do it now.

The Baptist Faith and Message

Back in high school, I always loved reading the Cliff's Notes for a book (after I did read the assigned book) because it discussed the symbolism, meaning, and historical context. Wouldn't it be great if the Bible had Cliff's Notes? Well here they are...

After giving a history lesson, Stephen changed the tone of his sermon. In verses 52 and 53, he throws down the gauntlet in a big way. Stephen accuses the Jewish High Council of not keeping the Law. That's like accusing a BAMA fan of wearing Auburn pajamas. Them's fightin' words.

The Jewish High Council took exception to this accusation by Stephen. So much so that they took him out of the city and stoned him to death.

What's the lesson here? You and I are called to be bold in proclaiming Christ to others no matter what the cost.

We demonstrate our trust in God's Word when we know it, when we believe it, and when we proclaim it boldly.

I challenge you to spend time in the Bible every day. It's amazing how often your Bible reading will give you wisdom to tackle issues you are going through in life.

That was all the lesson. But since Tuesday is Election Day, I had to show a video that's a bit political. I hope you like it...