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Monday Morning Prophecy #23 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Zerubbabel

October 26, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 1 Comment

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This week marks the end of our look at the Old Testament prophecies of the lineage of the coming Messiah.  In past weeks, we have looked at prophecies related to some notable Old Testament characters including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David.  Today, we will look at a prophecy related to a slightly lesser known Old Testament character: Zerubbabel.

Haggai the prophet informs us that the Lord chose Zerubbabel to be like a signet ring (his signature).  This is an indication that the Messiah (God’s signet ring on his right hand) would come from Zerubbabel’s lineage:

On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts.” [Haggai 2:23]

As we have in prior weeks, let’s look at the genealogies of Christ from the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke to see if Jesus was indeed descended from Zerubbabel.  Let’s start with Matthew (as with prior weeks, I have highlighted the relevant sections in red): Continue Reading…

What Mean Ye' By This Service? (Synopsis of Come Ye’ Children – Chapter 9)

October 2, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 3 Comments

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Introduction

In this chapter, Spurgeon looks at what kids should be taught about Jesus and the doctrines of the Christian faith.  Far from shying away from teaching kids doctrine, Spurgeon demands they be taught and explains why they are foundational for faith in Christ beginning with what he see as the most important concept – redemption!

Redemption

More than just a doctrine which should be learned, Spurgeon views redemption of the lens through which we should view all of life.  Spurgeon explains: Continue Reading…

Monday Morning Prophecy #22 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of David

September 28, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 0 Comments

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Last week, we looked at the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse.  This week we will examine the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse’s son David.

In 2 Samuel, the Lord commissions Nathan to go the David:

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. [2 Samuel 7:8-13]

God assures David that the eternal kingdom would come through his linage.  There are also several passage from the Psalm which indicate that God promised David that his offspring would endure and rule forever.  As indicated when we looked at the prophecies that the Christ would come from the line of Judah, only the Messiah fulfills any promise of eternal rule.

You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah [Psalms 89:3-4]

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. [Psalms 89:35-36]

There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. [Psalms 132:17]

Continue Reading…

Monday Morning Prophecy #21 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Jesse

September 14, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 0 Comments

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Over the last several weeks, we looked at prophecies made thousands of years before the birth of Jesus that indicated that the Messiah would come from the line of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob through Judah.  This week, we will skip a number of generations and look at Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse (a descendant of Judah and father of King David).

The prophet Isaiah prophecies hundreds of years before the birth of Christ that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. [Isaiah 11:1-2]

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples–of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. [Isaiah 11:10]

In the New Testament, Paul refers to the prophecies of Isaiah in talking about Jesus:

And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” [Romans 15:12]

Continue Reading…

The Child Timothy and His Teachers (Synopsis of Come Ye’ Children – Chapter 8)

September 11, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 4 Comments

chs-grayThe Role of Parents and the Church

The need for the modern day Children’s Ministry has grown, in part, because of the lack of godly role models at home.  Fewer and fewer kids are receiving adequate spiritual training in the home.  The primary role for instructing children in spiritual matters is given to parents, but the church naturally steps in to fill the void where that is not happening.  Those people who work in Children’s Ministry spend a lot of time and effort in that pursuit, and the kids we teach and shepherd often become as precious to us as our own children.

That said, Spurgeon warns against parents abdicating their own personal responsibility for bringing their kids up in the admonition of the Lord:

“Let no Christian parents fall into the delusion that the Sunday-school is intended to ease them of their personal duties. The first and most natural condition of things is for Christian parents to train up their own children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Continue Reading…

Monday Morning Prophecy #20 – The Messiah Would Come From the Lineage of Judah

September 7, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 1 Comment

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In the last three weeks, we have looked at Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would come from the line of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob.  Unlike his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham, Jacob had many more sons – 12 to be exact.  You might know them as the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob was renamed Israel by God).  They were (in order of birth):

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Levi
  4. Judah
  5. Dan
  6. Naphtali
  7. Gad
  8. Asher
  9. Issachar
  10. Zebulun
  11. Joseph
  12. Benjamin

Indeed, roughly the last half of the book of Genesis deals primarily with the story of Joseph (think coat of many colors!).  However, the Old Testament is clear that the promises of a blessing to the world and a coming Messiah would be fulfilled through the line of Judah.  In blessing his sons at the end of his life, Israel offers the following blessing to Judah: Continue Reading…

Feed MY Lambs (Synopsis of Come Ye’ Children – Chapter 7)

September 4, 2009 in Come Ye' Children with 1 Comment

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Introduction

This chapter turns once again to the conversation between Jesus and Peter on the shore as they shared breakfast following Christ’s resurrection:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” [John 21:15-17]

Who’s Ministry Is It Anyway?

When Christ asked Peter three times whether or not he loved him, Peter answered yes each time.  In response, to the third yes, Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep.”  In that reply, we find the unspoken mission statement of Children’s Ministry.  Indeed, that verse says it all when it comes to Children’s Ministry.  In all that we do in Children’s Ministry, it is critical that we remember that it is God’s sheep that we are feeding and not our own.  Our role to feed Christ’s sheep, but we must never lose sight of the fact they still belong to him.

Continue Reading…

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