“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)
In the Scriptures God is represented as the omnipotent ruler of the universe, and that there is no power, call it evil, call it devil, that can defeat His holy design or establish a kingdom of evil, saying hitherto shalt thou come and no further. In the Bible evil appears as having a permitted existence, and as an episode: its ultimate destruction is positively predicted as a part of the determinate counsel of God. The holiness of God will accept no lower triumph than that of becoming all in all. This is the clear teaching of Scripture.
Those in Christ have recognised the holiness of God and their own sinfulness, and have availed themselves of the only provision he has made for justification. Thus fulfilling the necessary principle set forth in the words “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me.”
God has said, “I will be sanctified in them that approach unto me,” “I will be exalted in the earth,” “I am God; my glory I will not give to another.” “To me every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.” The proclamation of the holiness of God and the authority of God and the righteousness of God, made to all the world, in the public crucifixion of human nature in the person of His own beloved son, must have been a gratification to the divine nature, in view of the objects aimed at—the reconciliation of the world at last in harmony with Himself on the basis of the assertion of His absolute prerogative, recognised and endorsed by every believing man and woman, with the result of their own forgiveness and admission to life eternal.
“the holiness of God” contrasted to the unholiness of man ---Wherefore let us make a supreme effort to understand our own errors and to correct them, though it may need agony of struggle. We must be gentle to others but harsh to ourselves. We must remember the holiness of God and try to rise to the perfection that He demands.
The glory was revealed “in the flesh,” the glory of the divine character in Jesus, “who went about doing good.” The holiness of God was revealed in Christ: “He did no sin.” The compassion of God was manifested in him who “had compassion on the multitudes,” and said “Suffer the little children to come unto me.” The teaching of God was proclaimed by Christ “as one having authority and not as the scribes.” The world has never known the like. The little that we had recorded in the gospels had even now “transformed the world” and it would completely transform it in the future. It was coming—it must come. “All flesh is grass”! Listen and learn of Christ and wait for the glory of the Lord to be revealed. (The Christadelphian Vol 65)
Speaker: Bro. Jim Sommerville
7:30 PM - Bible Lecture Who is God
Christendom has made up their own God and therefore, forsaken Yahweh. Mankind believes in the god they have invented, and rejected Yahweh. Yahweh has told us of Himself. The importance of a true understanding of Yahweh. What is His nature and character? Christ speaks of the importance of knowing Yahweh: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Jeremiah testifies of the glory in the knowledge of Yahweh: “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me" (Jer 9:23-24).
Speaker: Bro. Paul Garvey
TUESDAY, JULY
8:20 AM - Study Class 1 Peter 2-3
Speaker: Bro. Jonathan Garvey
“And [the LORD] said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” (Exodus 33:19)
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6)
“And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” (John 1:16)
Everyone instinctively feels that in that day our personal affairs will have vanished into nothing; and that the only valuable possession will be the answer of a good conscience in being able to think that we have used life, in things few or many, as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ – as good stewards of the grace of God, and have not unfaithfully appropriated it to ourselves.
It is the grace of God then,—the act of God—that we see in the introduction of Christ upon the scene to open a way for mercy conformably with wisdom and justice.
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodly and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:11–13)
The very first feature of the Gospel of the grace of God—the forgiveness of our sins “through the forbearance of God” (Rom. 3:25).
Speaker: Bro. Scott Ricks
7:30 PM - Bible Lecture His Commands: Baptism
Speaker: Bro. Robin Hendershot
WEDNESDAY, JULY
8:20 AM - Study Class 1 Peter 4-5
Speaker: Bro. James Sommerville
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:3)
There are two clues in the ephod to the subject of the condemnation of sin and the declaration of the righteousness of God in the crucifixion of Christ (qualifying him to be the representative high priest “?to appear in the presence of God for us?”). The constitution of the ephod (gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, on a ground-work of white), is a typification of the method of the development of Christ as the great high priest, and of the principles that have become incorporate in him as the result of that method.
If the Scriptures are to be accepted as the standard by which “the righteousness of God, witnessed by the law and the prophets ... is to be defined,” “there is none that understand,” among them; and consequently, “there is none righteous, no, not one” among them; and “the fear of God,” which is his way and precepts, “is not before their eyes.” Now, “the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Pet. 3:12).
In crucifixion, he gave his flesh for the life of the world, and poured out his blood for their sins—that is, for those who should believe in him, and have faith in his blood as the Passover sacrified for them. Those who learn of him as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, and who believe in him as the righteousness of God, and come unto God in faith and submission through him, figuratively eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man in thus receiving the truth concerning these things. Unless a man do so, he has no relation to eternal life at all. This is what Christ says: and no man can get past his word. It is only “those who believe who are justified” (Acts 13:39).
It is not inconsistent with the nature of forgiveness to require a condition, such as when an apology is asked for. The event is the shedding of the blood of Christ “to declare his righteousness.” We must be able to see a declaration of the righteousness of God in the shedding of the blood of Christ before we can understand the relation of that event to the kindness which God proposes to show in the forgiveness of our sins “for Christ’s sake.” If we look upon Christ as a being separate from the human race—of angelic or other nature in no way under the power of sin—we cannot see the righteousness of God in his death; but the reverse; for it cannot be righteous that he should die on whom death has no claim. It requires that we see him as he is presented in the apostolic writings—“of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3) “in all things made like unto his brethren”—a partaker of the identical flesh and blood which belong to them in which death works (Heb 2:17, 14). Seeing him thus, we see a fellow sufferer with us of the death that came by Adam, and therefore one who could righteously suffer on our behalf, as our representative, one who, though without sin himself, was a possessor of the nature that had come righteously under the power of death in the beginning of its history upon the earth. We can therefore understand how his crucifixion was divinely intended to declare the righteousness of God “for the remission of sins that are past.” We can understand how God in him thus “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) publicly, openly, ritually for all time; and thus established a meeting point for “propitiation through faith in his blood.”
Every man is conscious of many pre-baptismal offences; and it is from these “many offences” that we are justified by the free grace that comes in the gospel.—(Rom. 5:16.) The words of Paul addressed to the Ephesians are true of all who submit to the righteousness of God. “You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked . . . fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” (Eph. 2:1–2)
Speaker: Bro. Mike Jasionowski
7:30 PM - Bible Lecture His Kingdom
"Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (Matt 4:23). Jesus Christ will return to this earth and sit on David’s throne: of his kingdom there shall be no end. David's kingdom and throne have been decimated; therefore there must be a future, re-established Kingdom to exist. David is to witness his Son (his Lord) as King on earth not in heaven. The Kingdom of God will be the restored Kingdom of Israel. Israel will be the “first dominion” of this future glorious kingdom that shall encompass all the earth, and all nations shall be under subjection to divine rule. Man’s folly and wickedness will be removed and replaced with God’s way of righteousness and holiness. The capitol will be Jerusalem, where there shall be a House of Prayer for all nations - of which all nations shall come up from year to year and worship the Lord. Jesus, King and Priest, to build a Temple. The promises to Abraham and David are, therefore, yet to be fulfilled. Abraham and his seed (singular) and seed (plural) shall inherit the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession - as promised by God Who does not and cannot lie. Christ came during his first ministry - not to fulfill those promises - but to confirm them as taught by Paul. The 1,000 year reign of Christ and the saints on the earth will be the beginning of their eternal inheritance of the earth.
Speaker: Bro. Gary Stephen
THURSDAY, JULY
8:20 AM - Study Class 2 Peter 1
Speaker: Bro. Jarrett Medders
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18)
“By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation;” so that every son of Adam being under sentence of death, it was not possible for any to escape from it, unless redeemed. It was the mortal race that had fallen under the wrath of God, which ended in death.
“The nations were enraged.”—(Rev. 11:18.) This is “the sea and the waves roaring” previous to the coming of the wrath of God, contemporary with the resurrection of the dead.
The ease-loving old man of the flesh so easily sinks down into comfortable doctrines, that nothing suits the occasion but the trumpet at the mouth with a loud blast, of warning. “Impracticable!” writes this class, over against the wholesome words of the Lord Jesus. The meaning of this for them is that the impracticable thing is their entrance into the kingdom of God; for no man that—where the bidding of Christ requires it—is not prepared to sacrifice all he has, yea, and his own life also, is fit to be his disciple.
“For which things’ sake, cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience, in which ye also walked some time when ye lived in them. But now ye also have put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” This is briefly the position of such as are acceptably in Christ. They have put on the new man in all his characteristics; that is, they have taken Christ (the new man) as their pattern and lord, and therefore have put off all that he condemns, and taken on all that he commands and exemplifies, being, like him, filled with “much kindness, humbleness of mind, long-suffering and forbearance;” and this not merely as an ornament or accomplishment of their position, but as the condition of their acceptance; for Peter tells us that it is only if “these things be in them and abound, ” that the called of Christ will obtain entrance into the everlasting kingdom, while “he that lacketh these things is blind”—(2 Peter 1:8–11)—a state that ends in death.
Speaker: Bro. Steve Osborne
7:30 PM - Bible Lecture His People
“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:8)
Israel is described as the bride of Yahweh, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5). But their wickedness is portrayed as that of an unfaithful wife (Ezekiel 16:35), and for this God brought punishment upon her and put her away in divorce (Ezekiel 16:43; Jeremiah 3:8). However, God’s mercy provides hope for Israel still, as he tells her, “Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant” (Ezekiel 16:60). This analogy show us the past, present, and future of Israel: God’s chosen people, beloved for the Father’s sake, who were given the special promises through Abraham. They were continually wicked, were punished terribly, and were scattered throughout the nations. Prophecy shows that they will be re-gathered, blessed, purified, saved from final destruction, and united under their king Jesus Christ, whom they will recognize and accept at his second coming. Salvation is of the Jews. Those of us who wish to be acceptable to Christ must become adopted Jews, spiritual Jews, and grafted into the Jewish olive tree.
Speaker: Bro. Josh Garvey
FRIDAY, JULY
8:20 AM - Study Class 2 Peter 2
Speaker: Bro. Beryl Snyder
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14)
Our God is a jealous God, and He will not accept a divided allegiance and service in any of His children. Let us bear in mind at all times and under all circumstances and conditions of life, that we can, by our thoughts and actions, either live very close to God or very far from Him.
The second commandment naturally sprung out of this line of thought: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them, for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.” This was an important prohibition in an age when the custom of idolatry was so rife: perhaps it is more important even now than people imagine.
Let us be courteous to all, kindly affectioned towards one another, rejoicing in the truth one with another, but let us never, never shame the truth, wound the truth by showing charity for that from which the truth withholds it. The God of Abraham is a jealous God as to the faith and love and service of his children, and the very slightest departure, on their part, from a complete and absolute service of faith and love towards Himself will meet with His rebuke; yet remember that every chastisement from God is love.
God is not merely an intellectual, He is also a moral, being. “The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God;” yet “merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Such is the name, or character, of God; hence, as all His works must glorify Him, they must redound to His praise as a merciful and gracious, a just, holy, and truthful being. The sun at noon-day, the moon walking in brightness, and the stars in their courses, illustrate His eternal power and superhumanity: but, it is only His relations with intellectual and morally constituted creatures—the image and likeness of Himself—that can illustrate His moral glory, and redound to the honour of His name.
Speaker: Bro. Bob Bent
7:30 PM - Bible Lecture His Word: The Bible
Throughout the ages, many have called into question the authenticity of the Bible. Paul writes: "For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear. And they will turn away their ears from the truth and will be turned to myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4). However, the deeper we study the Bible, the more the hand of God is revealed. The fulfillment of Bible prophecy leaves no doubt that it is the authoritative word of God, and the writer must be divine. Therefore, we can be assured that the things that the Bible says will happen will come to pass.
Speaker: Bro. Gordon Jones
SATURDAY, JULY
8:20 AM - Study Class
Daily Reading 1: 2 Samuel 14
Daily Reading 2: Jeremiah 18
Study Class: 2 Peter 3
Speaker: Bro. Jason Carroll
10:00 AM - Youth Program
Presider: Bro. Josh Garvey
Speaker: Bro. Jared Kelley
11:30 AM - Exhortation
Daily Reading 3: Romans 1-2 God is Love
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8)
Now, “?no man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,? hath declared him?” (?John. 1:18?), therefore those who looked upon Jesus did not see the Father in person, but they could and might have seen, had their eyes been opened, the love of the Father in him, for “?God is love?” (?1 John 4:8?.) The physical manifestation of the Father in Jesus took place later, when that instantaneous change of constitution occurred in the garden of Joseph of Arimathaea. (?John 10:17?; ?Matt. 28:9?; ?1st Cor. 15:50–53?)
We love because He loved. It is the principal attribute of the Father’s character: for God is love, while much else besides. It is the essential characteristic of His children: for “?he that loveth not knoweth not God?” (?1 Jno. iv. 8?). It is a love that acts more highly—and draws its life more deeply than mere “?like.?”
Love is of God?’ and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love?” (?1 John 2:4?, ?11?; ?4:7?, ?8?)
Consequently, the obligation to love is one of the obligations of the truth, and the failure to love is coming short of the truth. The love demanded is even greater than the love of the brethren, which is an easy thing where men are brethren in deed and in truth. It goes beyond the loving of those who are lovable. It is called for in directions where nature fails to yield it; “?Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you?” (?Matt. 5:44?)
God is Love; and if we would have the divine nature we must partake of that self-denying, sanctifying love which Jesus displayed as the embodiment of the Divine basis. Let us love one another to provoke to love and good works. Let us show our love to our fellow-men by teaching them the words of eternal life. Let us hate, also, but let it be sin, which we must “resist even to death.” He is coming who bringeth salvation; let us strive earnestly to have ready “crowns of rejoicing for the day of Christ.”
Speaker: Bro. Len Naglieri
*7:15 PM - Bible Lecture His Plan: Signs of the Times
"But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD." (Numbers 14:21)
Speaker: Bro. Jim Phillips
SUNDAY, JULY
*10:00 AM - Exhortation A Forgiving God
"The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18)
"For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." (Psalm 86:5)
God and Sin
The Wonder of Forgiveness
What Forgiveness Involves
The Sinner and God
Forgiveness and the Gospel
Forgiveness and the Death of Christ
Confession: “Jesus is Lord”
The Experience of Forgiveness
Forgiveness Through Christ
Human Forgiveness: Human and divine forgiveness are never far apart in the scriptures. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” “Forgive us our sins; as we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.” The petition points to the similarity of the act of the Father and the disciple. As the one forgives, so does the other.
As God is love and His redeeming work springs from love, so too as an essential feature of redemption, His forgiveness is the outflowing of love. God is a forgiving God, while the moral necessities impose conditions and limit the extent to which man can receive of His mercy.
Many times in the Old Testament the wonder of God’s forgiveness is set forth. “Thou hast cast all my sins behind my back”, Hezekiah wrote after his recovery (Isa. 38:17). There is awe at the ways of God in the cry of Micah: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18–19). The Psalmist declares the graciousness of God in unforgettable words: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him” (Psa. 103:8–12).
Speaker: Bro. Dan Jackson
* = (note time change, different than previous day)
