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Posted: 15 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST
Fundamental Belief No. 24 opens with the following words:
Read Hebrews 8:1-5. What is the main point taught in these verses? The earthly sanctuary is portrayed as a type, or pattern, of the heavenly; this means that, at a minimum, the former has some functional correspondence with the latter. The earthly sanctuary, then, teaches us a lot about the heavenly; this, despite that whatever the earthly sanctuary meant to the people of Israel, its true significance was found in the heavenly and what was to happen there. Through the efficacy of sacrifices and priestly ministry, the earthly model taught us about the realities of the heavenly sanctuary. The ministrations of the earthly sanctuary were God’s means of teaching the principles of salvation to His people, a foreshadowing of the ‘real thing’ – which is Christ’s ministry (Heb. 9:9-15), both through His death and then intercession in the heavenly sanctuary. Ministry in the earthly sanctuary taught that while the shedding of blood was necessary (Heb. 9:22) to atone for sin, there was still the need for a priestly mediator between sinners and a Holy God as a result of that shed blood. The ministry of the priest in the Most Holy Place cleansed the sanctuary of sin and required affliction and repentance on the part of the people. Thus, judgment also was highlighted as an integral part of the total ministry of salvation. What is fascinating, too, is what Hebrews 8:1 and 2 say, which is that the goal of all the previous seven chapters in the book is to point the reader to the reality of the heavenly sanctuary and the position of Christ as our High Priest in that heavenly sanctuary. It’s hard to understand how anyone could not see the great significance Hebrews gives to Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary as part of the entire plan of salvation. Nothing in the verses indicates that the sanctuary in heaven, much less Christ’s ministry there, should be seen as metaphorical or symbolic. In fact, verse 5 makes it clear that the earthly sanctuary – a real structure with real priests and real sacrifices – was only a ‘shadow’ of the reality of what Christ is doing for us in the heavenly sanctuary. |
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sabbath School Lesson Dec 16 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Middletown New York Seventh day Adventist Church: The Art of Handling MoneyCome and understand how ...
Middletown New York Seventh day Adventist Church:
The Art of Handling MoneyCome and understand how ...: The Art of Handling Money Come and understand how to be a better money manager. Middletown New York Seventh day Adventist Church....
The Art of Handling MoneyCome and understand how ...: The Art of Handling Money Come and understand how to be a better money manager. Middletown New York Seventh day Adventist Church....
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
The King's Heralds Quartet, celebrating over 85 years of Ministry will be in concert November 3, 2012 at the Middletown Seventh day Adventist Church. 70 Highland Ave. Middletown .N.Y. 10940. The Concert will begin at 4:30 pm. The King's Heralds request that no video or audio recording be allowed during the concert. There will be CD's available immediately after the Concert
Come join us for a blessing as the King's Heralds Minister to our Hearts and Souls! Invite a friend ,a co worker a neighbor to a wonderful afternoon out. Go tell it on the mountain!
For more details contact the Middletown Seventh day Adventist Church :
Church Phone 845-343-7150
Email middletownnysdachurch@gmail.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/middletownnysdachurch
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Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Have a wonderful day, and if you can join us in our growth group meetings at Church this and every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm. Come out ,share ,lets pray together. Encourage a friend to come out and remember also our ongoing seminar series on Sabbath at 11:00 am . This week's topic "The Art of Marriage". Be strong in the Lord.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Tuesday: The Mystery of the Triune God
Tuesday: The Mystery of the Triune God
Posted: 08 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Understanding how inspiration works, however important, is only a means to an end, and that end is to know God. A deep understanding of how the Bible was written, or even a deep understanding of the truths revealed in it, mean nothing if we don’t know the Lord for ourselves (John 17:3). And one thing that the Bible explicitly affirms about the Lord is His oneness.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29. What crucial truth is found in these texts?
The expression in the Bible about the oneness of God precludes any idea of many gods. There is one God only. However, the total picture we get from the Bible is that there is an inner “content” to Him, even in His oneness.
Read Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; John 1:1-3, 18; 20:28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19. How do these texts begin to clarify the inner reality of God?
The Old Testament’s suggestion of plurality provides hints about the nature of the inner being of God. When we couple this with the New Testament’s statement about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we start to realize that there’s a lot about God’s nature that we don’t fully understand and probably never will. The triune aspect of God is one mystery, among many, with which we will have to learn to live. The information that the Bible gives about God, including His three-part nature, is not provided in order for us to engage in speculative philosophizing but in order to further our understanding of His activities, especially His redemptive work on our behalf as the great controversy unfolds and is finally ended.
Who doesn’t have a lot of questions that only God can answer? How can we learn to trust Him until the time comes when answers will be given?
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Posted: 08 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Understanding how inspiration works, however important, is only a means to an end, and that end is to know God. A deep understanding of how the Bible was written, or even a deep understanding of the truths revealed in it, mean nothing if we don’t know the Lord for ourselves (John 17:3). And one thing that the Bible explicitly affirms about the Lord is His oneness.
Read Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29. What crucial truth is found in these texts?
The expression in the Bible about the oneness of God precludes any idea of many gods. There is one God only. However, the total picture we get from the Bible is that there is an inner “content” to Him, even in His oneness.
Read Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7; John 1:1-3, 18; 20:28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19. How do these texts begin to clarify the inner reality of God?
The Old Testament’s suggestion of plurality provides hints about the nature of the inner being of God. When we couple this with the New Testament’s statement about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we start to realize that there’s a lot about God’s nature that we don’t fully understand and probably never will. The triune aspect of God is one mystery, among many, with which we will have to learn to live. The information that the Bible gives about God, including His three-part nature, is not provided in order for us to engage in speculative philosophizing but in order to further our understanding of His activities, especially His redemptive work on our behalf as the great controversy unfolds and is finally ended.
Who doesn’t have a lot of questions that only God can answer? How can we learn to trust Him until the time comes when answers will be given?
Share/Bookmark
Leave a comment
Monday, October 8, 2012
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Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT
“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired.
In the whole question regarding inspiration, people sometimes get obsessed with what are often deemed as problematic texts. Consider, for example, the wording of the inscription above Jesus’ cross as depicted in the Gospels. According toMatthew 27:37, it said, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”; according to Mark 15:26, “THE KING OF THE JEWS”; according to Luke 23:38, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” How are we to understand these differences? As the Bible says, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” and is trustworthy; yet, we are given different accounts of the inscription on Jesus’ cross. These two points together can give us insight into the way in which inspiration works. This case shows that inspiration permits different expressions of an idea or event to the extent that the expressions adequatelydepict it. Where a general approximation is an adequate expression, as in the inscriptions on the cross, inspiration accommodates it. On the other hand, where specificity is required, as in 1 Kings 6:1, inspiration provides it and should be accepted as such. Compare Acts 1:18 and Matthew 27:5. In what ways do these accounts of Judas’ death seem to differ? For a long time, critics of the Bible claimed that these verses gave conflicting accounts of Judas’ death. However, recent research has shown that the word translated as “falling headlong” in Acts 1:18, also means “swelling up.” Therefore, it’s likely that, after hanging himself, Judas was not discovered until his corpse had swelled up, which had caused his guts to burst open. The point is, what at first seemed to be contradictory is now shown not to be. The vast majority of the Bible is not problematic. In the few places where some questions remain about apparent “errors” or “contradictions,” the prudent attitude would be humility. Who knows how many people have made a shipwreck of faith by focusing on “problem” texts. We have not been called to stand in judgment over the Word; we have been called, instead, to obey it. |
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