Karen Gamble Writes

Our Words – Sunday School Outline

Our words come from what’s in our hearts

We know this because according to Luke 6:45 –
45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (NIV)

So, whatever is in your heart is going to come out of your mouth.
You can tell a lot about yourself by listening to what you say.
-The great thing is, if you don’t like what you say, you can do some heart work and submit it to God for cleansing.

Ephesians 4:29 says,
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (NIV)

The King James says it like this:
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (NIV)

I looked up unwholesome/corrupt in the original Greek
It means rotten, putrid, unfit for use, poor quality

We are not supposed to let anything corrupt come out of our mouths.

Instead, we are to allow edifying things out

Edify – to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary )

The words that come out of our mouth are supposed to help others, instructing them.
-This does not mean beat them over the head with it.

Instead:

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The Heart – Sunday School Outline

When we study our heart we also must consider our thoughts and our mouths.

All three of these are interconnected.

Here’s why:

Your thoughts affect what your heart believes.

Your heart affects what your head believes.

Your words are a reflection of what’s in your heart.

Turn to Matthew 15–
Some pharisees and teachers came to see Jesus.
     -they wanted to know why the disciples were breaking the rules.
     -remember by this time the pharisees had made up a bunch of rules, regulations, and traditions they said everyone had to follow to be properly following the law
     – they weren’t actually God’s laws, they were just man’s rules.
     -they said the disciples were eating without washing their hands
     -the Pharisees were pretty offended by this.

Verse 3 – Jesus answers their question with His…
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (NIV)

Jesus calls them out.
He points out where they are being sinful and manipulates the law.

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Thoughts -Sunday School Outline

Do you think about what you’re thinking about?

Or, do you just assume the thoughts in your head are true and right and go with them?

Part of being a Christian is knowing the truth – about God, others, situations, and ourselves.

Colossians 3:9-10 says:
“9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (NIV)

-In other words – now that we are Christians we are not supposed to lie.
-Lying was a part of our old selves, not our Christian selves.
-This includes lying to ourselves.

Now that we are Christians we are supposed to deal only in the truth.

Now look at Romans 12:1-3:
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

How can we be transformed by the renewing of our mind?

How can that change us?

Why should we be transformed/changed?

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Sunday School Lessons

I recently started teaching a Women’s Sunday School class at my church.

From time to time I will be posting the outline of the previous day’s lesson here on the blog.

It is my hope these lessons will help you better understand God’s word.

You are free to use them to teach your own classes or to share with others. All I ask is that you let them know where you got the material.

If you have any comments or would like to discuss any of the lessons, please be sure to let me know. I would love an opportunity to speak with you!

A list of the available lessons can be found on my Lessons Outlines page.

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International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church 2019

There are several countries and regions of the world where Christianity is prohibited.

Because of this, many Christians in these areas are not free to openly worship God or serve Christ.

They are displaced from their homes and villages, discriminated against, beaten, and in some cases killed simply for believing in Jesus.

Today Christians around the world are joining together and praying for these brothers and sisters who are suffering greatly for their faith.

Please help us pray for their safety as well as for governments and countries to change and allow religious freedom.

Visit Voice of the Martyrs where you can learn more as well as receive resources to help you share this important ministry.

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The Face of Humility

Today a lady came by my office seeking help.

She’d been sent by another church who knew we have a homeless ministry.

It seems she and her 37-year-old son had been evicted from their apartment following some sad events concerning a questionable landlord.

I apologized as I explained we had no funds available and would not be able to help.

In a trembling voice, she said it was ok; she understood.

Tears fell down her face when I offered to pray for her.

As I prayed I remembered we had a few gift cards to a local restaurant and offered them to her, asking if she was hungry.

Her humble reply, “Well, we haven’t eaten in about 3 days, but that’s okay.” Her humble and gentle demeanor made it clear she really was in need.

I gave her the cards and rounded up a few cans of soup from the storage area.

She was so thankful, repeatedly telling me she appreciated it and thanking me for my kindness.

Feeling bad that I couldn’t do more for her, I gave her the number to a local Christian homeless shelter and apologized again that we couldn’t help.

She looked me straight in the eye, smiled, and said,

“That’s okay. God gave me

what I deserved today and it’s plenty.

We’ll be just fine.”

She left my office smiling.

Plenty? A gift certificate and a few cans of soup and she thinks it’s plenty? She and her disabled son are homeless and she thinks that’s plenty? What a testament to her faith!

Later, I sat at my desk and thought about how kind, gentle, and sweet she was. I kept thinking about what a bad spot she was in through no fault of her own. How humbly she’d accepted my small offerings with great appreciation and gratitude.

It dawned on me – I’m the one who should be thanking her.

She reminded me of the importance of a humble attitude of gratitude.

I might be the one sitting in this office assigned with the task of showing God’s love, but this lady showed me what true humility and love for the Savior really looks like.

So, thank you, Ms. Kathy.

It was an honor and a privilege to meet you!

Your witness is truly an inspiration for us all!

(this post was originally published on my previous blog, the link to which is no longer available)

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Bible Study Tools

Studying your bible is a very important part of your faith walk. (find out more about why here)

Here are some resources and tips to help you better understand what you read so you can have a deeper and more thorough understanding of God’s word.

Chase A Verse

A good way to get a better and deeper understanding is by doing what I call chasing a verse.

Many Bibles have a column of numbers running through the middle of the page. This is called a cross reference. If you will look at the small numbers you will see they coincide with the passages on the page.

These are followed by verses. If you look those verses up you will see they are related to the original verse. You can also check out the cross reference verses related to the verses you just looked up when you cross referenced the original verse. By “chasing” these verses you can gain a broader understanding of the passage you are reading.

Another way to improve and expand your understanding is by looking up the words in the verses you are studying.

There are several good resources to help you do that.

Blue Letter Bible – www.blb.org is a website that has several versions of the Bible you can read for free.

It also has a feature that allows you to look at a word’s original Greek, complete with definition.

(To access this feature, you must choose the King James Version (KJV) bible translation.)

To use this tool begin by using their search box to look up the word or verse you are interested in.

Look at the middle of the upper part of the page and you will see a box marked Strong’s. If you click on it then it will put a blue number by each word.

Clicking that blue number takes you to the original Greek word and definition.

Another feature Blue Letter Bible has is a search box so you can look up words and it will show you every time that word is in the bible.

It does differentiate between tenses so be sure to look at all of those too; for instance run and ran are considered 2 different things.

A good resource for studying a particular subject you are interested in is by consulting the Nave’s Topical Index (also called Nave’s Topical Bible) https://www.naves-topical-bible.com/ (also available as a printed book). It is arranged by topic (also known as subject), and gives you virtually all the information from the bible on that topic. It is arranged similar to an encyclopedia.

Category: Obedience, Scripture Study, Teaching | LEAVE A COMMENT

How to Study Your Bible

Regular Bible Study is an important part of being a Christian. (read why here)

If it’s not something you are familiar with it can be a bit intimidating. The Bible is a big book and it may be confusing as to where to start.

(Tip: The Bible is divided into two parts: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

Each of these is a collection of books combined together. When I say book in this post I am talking about one of these books, not the entire Bible.)

When it comes to reading it, don’t be afraid.

Just jump in there and try, even if you are uncomfortable or nervous.

Once you get started you might see it’s not as hard as you thought it would be!

Here are some steps to follow to help get you started reading:

Give yourself grace.

You cannot sit and read all of it at once.

You typically can’t even read a whole book, unless it’s one of the really short ones like Jude or 3rd John.

That’s okay, it’s not a race.

It’s an investment in your life, your faith walk, and God’s kingdom.

So take a deep breath and relax.

It’s not a race!

Start by finding a quiet spot and uninterrupted few minutes.

This might mean you have to get up a few minutes early. You could also use your lunch break at work, or time alone in the evening when the day has calmed down.

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Studying Scripture

Studying the Bible is an important part of being a Christian.

Commonly called Scripture or God’s Word, the bible teaches us about God and His son, Jesus, their redemption plan for all mankind, as well as how we should live our lives.

It’s important to understand it is not just some book a bunch of people wrote a long time ago.

The men who wrote it were inspired by God.

Look at this verse:

¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

or put another way:

¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB)

In other words, God inspired the men to write the bible and it has an important part to play in our lives so that we can become better Christians. Reading Scripture teaches, corrects, scolds (rebukes) us, and trains us to be righteous. It does this so that we will have what we need to do what God calls us to as well as live our lives in a way that pleases Him.

Scripture plays an important part in leading and guiding us through life.

Category: Obedience, Scripture Study, Teaching | LEAVE A COMMENT

See You At the Pole 2019

Today

7 a.m. (local time)

Please pray for the students who will be expressing their faith by gathering at their school’s flag pole this morning

if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

For more information, please see the See You At the Pole website

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