Saturday, June 30, 2012

BOOK BY BOOK BIBLE STUDY
larrydalexanderbiblestudies.blogspot.com

BIBLE STUDY LESSON
For the week beginning Sunday July 1, 2012


SERVICE FOR A LIFETIME
(Working for the LORD is a way of life)
Acts 18

Throughout the Book of Acts, Luke introduces us to many characters that were instrumental in the development and establishment of the early Church, and, in this lesson we’ll focus on two more of those wonderful characters. They are a couple of friends of Paul’s, named Priscilla and Aguila.
Now we all know that Paul was a Rabbi, but what many don’t know is, that, in addition to being a Rabbi, Paul was also a tentmaker, and this is something that he had in common with his friends, Priscilla and Aquila. The three of them were also, each, missionaries for CHRIST, another of their common threads.   
Perhaps, we will not find a more fascinating pair in all of Scripture, than Priscilla and Aquila. This husband and wife team, were probably, the foremost pioneers in the “house church” concept of first century Christianity. Most Christian church services, both teaching and worship, was held in private homes, because in those days, no pure Christian churches had yet been constructed, and then too, it was also very dangerous to be a follower of CHRIST, or, an “Adherent of the Way”, as they were then, most popularly known.
Priscilla and Aquila were also a curiously nomadic pair, as in the Book of Acts, we first find them in Rome (Acts 18:2), where they were ejected by the Emperor Claudius, as he sought to expel all Jews from Italy in and around A.D. 52. Then, we find them in Corinth, where they first met Paul, and had him as a house quest, during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:1-3). Next, we see them in Ephesus, where they had traveled with Paul from Corinth. There, we find them instructing a Jewish scholar named Apollos, in the ways of GOD, more accurately, educating him about the impact of CHRIST JESUS on humanity. Apollos, who was well versed about CHRIST and baptism with water, needed to be informed about baptism with the HOLY SPIRIT (Acts -26).
In Romans 16:3-5, Paul sends greetings to this intriguing couple who had made their way back to Rome, and had opened up, yet another church in their home there. Also, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, written a couple of years earlier, he informed us that they were back in Corinth, where they were operating, still another house church, from their home (1 Corinthians 16:19). Then finally, in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his last known written communication, he tells us that Priscilla and Aquila have set up house, once again, in the large port city of Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:19).
But it doesn’t really seem to matter, where, we find this intriguing couple, whenever, and wherever we do run across them, we always seem to find their home to be a place of Christian fellowship and service. Every home should be a Christian Church, a place where, perhaps, JESUS could come to stay for a while. For Priscilla and Aquila, wherever we find them, their home always seemed to radiate friendship, fellowship, and love.
Oftentimes we look at home as a place where we go to shut the world out. However, we need to always remember that, equally, our homes should be a place with an open door (Romans 12:13 & 1 Peter 4:9). We should always keep in mind that, an open door, along with an open heart, and an open hand, are probably the key characteristics in the Christian Faith.
And so, we see that, Priscilla and Aquila may have appeared to live a nomadic life, but for them, working for the LORD in this manner, was a way of life. “Upon this rock, I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”, is what JESUS said to Peter in Matthew (KJV). And, even though, we, as Christians, may never organize our churches in the same way, and we may never worship GOD in the same way, we, in fact, may never even believe in precisely the same things about Christianity. However, “Christian unity”, can and will, transcend all these differences, and bring GOD’s people together in fellowship and love. It is the kind of unity that JESUS prayed about in John 17, and, the kind of unity that Paul wrote about, to the Churches in all of his doctrinal letters. It is a unity, not born, of bricks and mortar, but rather, it is a unity of personal relationships, not unlike the one we’ve already seen between the FATHER and the SON, as an example to us, for all times. 

PERSONAL APPLICATION:

(1). Reflect on your own home for a while, and ask yourself, “Is my home suitable at
       this very moment for a visit from CHRIST, without me having to move, hide,
       clean, or throw away, various items?
(2). Is my behavior the same at home, at work, or school, as it is at church, or do I
       have to make a lot of adjustments at the door on Sunday morning?
(3). From this day forward, begin to focus on raising the level of your every day
       behavior to reflect more nearly, the life of CHRIST, and, according to the
       standards set forth by GOD, through HIS Holy Word.
(4). Our homes can be as GODLY as Priscilla and Aquila’s, once we commit to a
       desire to reflect GOD’s image to others, through our own day to day behavior
       and make our desire to do GOD’s will a way of life.

LIFE RESPONSE:

Pray to GOD for help in all areas of life, especially those areas that are out of control, and detrimental, or contrary to Christian behavior. Pray also for continued strength and growth in those areas of behavior that are positive, so that you may be able to use those strengths to help others improve their lives, even as you work to improve your own home.

KEY VERSE: Acts 26

DEVOTIONAL PASSAGES: Luke 12:35-48, Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 10:40-42, Joshua 24:15

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