Mini-Bible Lessons Section 5

These essays were written by Cindy Sears (member of Ebenezer Church) based upon her Bible reading and study. Lessons are moved here after first being posted on our home page. This section holds essays that were posted starting in December 2025. Access other lessons below.

• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 1:1-25
• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 2:26-50
• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 3:51-75
• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 4:75-100

Mini-Bible Lesson #103: Meeting Together

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Ephesians 5:19-20 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. –Hebrews 10: 24-25

There are believers that say that they do not need to go to church to be a follower of Christ; then they point to the man on the cross whom Jesus said would be in paradise with Jesus that very day. But is this a good analogy or comparison? The thief on the cross was saved for believing in Jesus, but he died that day. He would never have to deal with temptation, distractions, sorrows, pains, persecution, or doubts. Most people who become Christians do not immediately die. They are left here to deal with the slings and arrows of fate. They face temptation daily. They face doubts. They face evil daily because they continue to live in a fallen world.

In Hebrews 10:24-25, we are admonished to “not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing.” Why are we to meet with one another regularly? In those same verses, we read “let us encourage one another—all the more as you see the Day approaching.” That is one purpose in our meetings. That Day that approaches is the day that each of us meets the Lord face-to-face, and there is one Day coming when the whole world will see Jesus and experience either his wrath or his redemption. So, we need the church for encouragement because life can be difficult and persecution will come to us who profess Jesus and live by his standards and not the world’s.

There are other reasons to not forsake church attendance. We can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (see Hebrews 10:24a). When Christians pray together, great things can happen. It happened at Pentecost (Acts 2) and in Acts 4, after Peter and John were persecuted by the Sanhedrin, they returned to their fellow believers and prayed and “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). We can share reports about what God has done. “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27). We can avoid being “carried away by all kinds of strange teachings" (Hebrews 13:9). As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 15:32, “so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.” Our faith is renewed and we are refreshed by being with our fellow believers in a worship service and in a Bible study group.

When we come together to “[s]peak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20), we reaffirm our faith and our commitment to the Lord and to one another. We are reminded of how much we have received from God and Jesus, creating gratitude in our hearts that gives us peace even when all is chaos around us.

And though we no longer have “everything in common” (see Acts 2:44-45), we can “bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). In a world filled more and more with lonely people, being an active member of a local church helps you to avoid loneliness and gives you opportunities to relieve the loneliness of fellow believers and others who need to know about Jesus.

Read these descriptions of the Body of Christ, the Church. Reflect on them until you understand what church is really all about—it is not a social club, though you can find and make friends there; it is not just a fall back when something goes wrong, though it can help you through hard times; it is not for entertainment, though you can be entertained there. The church is here to help us to grow into the people God has always wanted us to be and to help grow the kingdom of God. Be a church goer and doer not just a member.

Ephesians 4:12-16 (emphasis added):

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Colossians 3:12-17(emphasis added):

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of the one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Mini-Bible Lesson #102: Prayer and Revival

References: Acts 1:12-14; 2:1-4; NIV Luke Commentary by Ajith Fernando.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers...All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. --Acts 1:14, 2:4

Pentecost came after constant prayer. In the history of the church, revival comes after persistent prayer also.

In 1857 one man, Jeremiah Lamphier, began a weekly prayer time in New York City. On the first day at noon, Lamphier prayed alone for 30 minutes, and was joined after that by 6 men from 4 denominational backgrounds. The group grew from 6 to 20 to 40 to 100, then they began praying daily. Preachers who came to the meetings went back to their churches and began prayer groups at their own churches. This was the beginning of “The Great Awakening” in North America. From 1857-1859 two million people turned to Christ (out of a population of 30 million). (See Fernando, pp. 80-81)

Prayer is the key to great things happening in individual lives, in churches, in communities, and in countries. Persistent, passionate prayer can move mountains, remove obstacles, and lead to great revivals. All of which leads to big changes in the people’s lives and in the church, and then in the culture and society. (p. 82)

“Often in the case of an adult but rebellious child or an unconverted spouse, we can do little directly to change the person. Advice and rebuke may only worsen the situation. But we can persevere in prayer for them. History is replete with examples of answers to such prayers.” (Fernando, p. 82)

Locally, our community has a high level of drug and alcohol abuse. We are finding out that our government, state and federal, has a high level of fraud, waste, and misuse of taxpayer funds going on. We can and should work toward helping drug addicts fight their addictions with counseling, and medical interventions. We can and should work toward removing bad actors among our governing representatives, and from the bureaucracy. But these changes will not last unless these people turn to God, to Jesus for salvation, because only that will change their hearts and minds and move them towards righteousness and away from evil.

"What we need is Revival. That means a return to our Christian heritage, to heroes who bridge the gap between chaos and order, like our President and those who join us in this mission to restore our nation. America must turn back to God before God turns His back on us. Only then can we truly make America great again."  --American Thinker, Faith and a Moral Society, comments

Our revival services are coming up September 28-30. Please be in constant prayer that we will step up, invite people to come, that the Holy Spirit will compel them to come, and that all our hearts will be touched mightily during these services. Let us pray that true revival will come among us and lead to actions that will bring more people to Jesus for salvation and give us the will and strength to show his love to everyone in our families and our community, and beyond. Pray as if your life depends on it. Pray as if your family’s life depends on it. Pray as if your community’s life depends on it. Pray as if your nation’s existence depends on it. Because it does.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  --Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

Mini-Bible Lesson #101: Making Decisions

References: Acts 1:15-26; NIV Luke Commentary by Ajith Fernando.

“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us…”  …Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”  Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.  --Acts 1:21, 24-26

We no longer cast lots to make decisions in the church, but this was not a “gamble” per se. First, they noticed a need (the replacement of Judas); second, they listed the necessary qualifications; third, they nominated two equally qualified men. At that point (note that the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out on the people), they had no good way to choose between the two because only God knows a person’s heart (or true faith, character and abilities); so they prayed for God to determine how the cast lots fell to help them make their final choice. (Fernando, pp.78-80)

Looking at other aspects of this decision-making event, we find 1) there was theological reflection and the use of Scripture, 2) the whole community helped choose the two applicants with Peter as leader, 3) Peter directed the people to God’s Word to help with the decision because “God is the real leader of the church, the human leader’s task is to direct people to God’s will, which is most clearly recorded in the Scriptures” (Fernando, p. 79), and 4) “shows that prayer should play a critical part in our strategy of appointing leaders.” (Fernando, p. 79) “[P]rayer preceded every major decision or crisis in the life of Jesus and the early church” (Robert Stein); 5) “the prayer in verse 24 implies that the disciples needed to have confirmed for them the inner nature of the person’s heart, which only God knows. Christian ministry is essentially spiritual in nature, and external qualifications are useless if a person’s heart is not right with God.” (Fernando, p. 80)

Have we become too complacent about how we choose people to serve in the church, not just as the pastor or lay leader, but in such positions as Sunday School teacher, administrative assistant, janitor, or heads of committees and the church council? Do we just accept the first one who volunteers or is volunteered by someone (easy to do in such a small church with limited choices)? Even if we feel that we must take what we can get, shouldn’t we spend some time praying that God will support and strengthen each person for the task they have been assigned to do? How about a prayer over each person (individually and by name) who chairs a committee, teaches or leads a Bible study class and other workers/volunteers at the beginning of each year asking God to accept their service and guide them, strengthen them, and provide them with all they need to be successful in their service to our church and to the work of God’s kingdom here on earth? Then, we can also pray that all the members of our church will be open to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit to help each person perform their service, and that we will be able to provide whatever they need to do the job well. (Suggestion: This could be done during a special worship service as a way of commissioning them for their service in the year to come.) I believe this could be empowering to these servants of the Lord and our church and lead us to more powerful and passionate service and outcomes. Lord, teach us to pray!