Syllabus  

LESSON 8: BEING A SERVANT IN THE CHURCH   [Questions are at the end]  

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).

 God has set different ones in the church.

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?  But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31).

 We know that during the first century different members had different gifts or different manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Each person had a special place and yet the body worked together in unison.  So we in our generation have different places in the church.  Essentially everyone has some place, some role or some part in the body of Christ.  Even the more feeble, uncomely, and less honourable are necessary and worthy of much honor.

“For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

And if they were all one member, where were the body?  But now are they many members, yet but one body.  And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.  For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (1 Corinthians 12:14-25).

 There are many members, many offices and differing gifts.

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:4-8).

 A woman may aspire to be the wife of a preacher, a deacon or an elder, but she has to meet certain qualifications laid down for her by God.  Not only does the elder or deacon himself have to be qualified for that work, but his whole family must meet certain criteria, and that puts a heavy responsibility on the wife to work together with her husband to see that this is possible.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.  And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.  Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.  For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 3:2-13).

 Women can be a general servant of the church like Phebe was at Cenchrea (Ro 16:1).  Or they can be full of good works, like the widow described in 1 Timothy 5:10.  “Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work” (1 Timothy 5:10).

 Ladies can be teachers of women, children, and of the lost in the world.  She can have a part in helping to save souls everywhere.  “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1-4).

 Every day there will be decisions to make that could cause a woman to be a good or not-so-good servant in the church.

 WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN WOMAN’S WORK?

 What are some of the works a Christian woman may do?  Just come to India and you will find plenty to keep you busy!  Every day there are more and more opportunities for service to the Lord and His people.  Every day I wonder how I can possibly take advantage of every one.  It is especially rewarding to be able to go visit various congregations in the area and see how they are doing.  It is good to help the ladies learn in the ladies Bible classes and to train them to teach their children.  Helping a sister to make a special communion cloth so she can feel she has contributed to the overall work is a great way to spend the day.  Tutoring village women and children and helping them to become literate in order to read the Bible is also rewarding.

 Some time ago, I read an article entitled “Interruptions.”  It was about how those things that often frustrate us really should be considered opportunities.  The article referenced a day in the life of Jesus and showed how so many interruptions came to Him as He was on the way to do other good works.  His reaction was not to feel oppressed by the interruptions that came to him, but to use those times to heal, or teach.  Such should be our reaction to the days of our lives that just don’t seem to go as planned.

 Some of you may know that I have been using the “Engraving Heavenly Truths” series in my Bible classes for children.  Those of you who know about that series know there are no pictures to go with it.  I have appreciated the various packets of coloring books and other materials that have had pictures I could use to illustrate a point here and there and to give the children something to take home.  Choosing a good illustration for the story of Lydia was not an easy task, but gradually I have managed to get enough good pictures together to complete the New Testament Survey part of the course, and we are doing the Old Testament next.  Several preacher students from CTTS have asked for copies of the pictures I have collected and of the list of scriptures the children are memorizing.  I have given those things freely as I had the time to do the copying.

 I am also revising another series of Bible class lessons to use in congregations in our area.  One particularly good translator has agreed to do the translation into Tamil and keep that series available for the Tamil speaking brethren.  Another Telegu brother has agreed to translate into Telegu for his people and they both seem anxious to promote the idea of a children’s Bible class in their own congregations.  The way I have been doing this particular series is very time consuming, because I am trying to word the questions in such a way that Indian children will understand and not be confused by Americanism euphemism or clichés.  Sometimes Western culture creeps into lessons and that can only be confusing to the audiences here.

 At times I listen to some 15 Bible class children say memory verses on any day of the week because there simply was not time enough to do it during a regularly scheduled class.  Who would ever dream that some children would turn up on my doorstep by 7:00 AM three mornings in a row?  As their secular school semester draws to an end in the middle of April, these children find more and more time on their hands to memorize and recite for me.  They will literally come morning noon and night.  And wouldn’t you know it, one little girl who came late one evening observed, “You need to sweep your floor.”  She is absolutely right!  My floors sometimes go begging because “interruptions” have given me better opportunities.

 Not long ago, two families from the area brought children to recite.  Word has gotten round that I am happy to listen to them, so two preachers brought their children from another area to let me hear them quote the word of God.  My heartfelt admonition to every one of them is to remember why we are memorizing God’s word.  It is not just for gummed stars on a chart, but for stars in their eternal crowns.  I give them two particular verses as examples: Ps 119:9, 10 and also verse 11.

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalms 119:9-11).

I remind them that memory work is useless if it does not help them grow spiritually.  After they say the verses, they have to explain the meaning of what they have said.  Two children in particular, a brother and a sister, have said they want to be baptized.  That is the joyous fruit of my labor.

 Almost every day, I have opportunities to sew clothing for poor children here.  One little child was in my Bible class, and she memorized many verses even though she was only 5 years old.  In fact, of the smaller children, she recited the most.  It does not take much to please children like this little girl; she is so sweet and humble.  Her little brother has an abnormal head and needs a hearing aid just to hear his mother’s voice.  (The gift of hearing is something we often forget to thank God for).  Their mother is the lady who was doing a lot of the sewing for our community projects, but they have gone back to her village now that her husband is finished his Bible school training.  We miss that sweet family.

 When my husband and I lived in the US , there were other kinds of opportunities to serve.  I remember one lady in a nursing home in Amarillo , TX who was paralyzed from the neck down.  You might say, “She probably needed a lot of love and attention.”  That was likely part of it, but she was the one who always started a Bible discussion with anyone who visited her.  She would ask someone to read a passage and then she would teach from that passage.  The ones who visited her reaped a double joy.

 Another lady I never met, but one I heard about, was illiterate.  She had been called on to teach ladies’ classes for years, but she could not read a word of anything.  How did she teach?  She asked one of the ladies in her class to read a verse (she knew which ones she wanted) and then she would teach from there.  Several commented that they had never heard a better teacher in their lives, and they had gone to Bible school to learn from respected men in the brotherhood.

 To those ladies who are lonely, let me say plainly that you should be the one who approaches others to give them love and comfort.  There is always someone less fortunate that you.  Take your tape recorder or CD player and go visit a nursing home.  Play Bible tapes or even a capella singing of hymns.  So many people in the nursing homes never have a chance to go to church because there is nobody to take them.  Take a copy of the last Sunday’s sermon and play that for them or even for a whole group who might be willing to listen.  It does not have to be on a Sunday afternoon; it can be anytime!  In fact it can be every day of the week if you are willing to do it.

 We know that the problem of decision making has plagued men and women from the beginning.  Previously we talked about several well-known quotes which express this idea well.

v      Indecision becomes decision with time.

v      When one bases his life on principle (law), 99 percent of his decisions are already made.

v      The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.

However, for the Christian, there must be guiding principles for everything we believe and do.  Our choices in this life must be based on a “thus sayeth the Lord.”

 God bless you all as you seek to please Him.  Never forget to search the scriptures to remind you of what you know to do.  I know everyone has a copy of the Bible to read and study every day, but also remember that I have given you several good search engines to use too so there should be no problem finding information you need.

 For your convenience, I will list those again here:

I hesitate to give out some sites because they do not teach truth.  For this class I figure that looking up the verses will be sufficient and students really do not need additional commentary.  

Questions LESSON 8:  BEING A SERVANT IN THE CHURCH

 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).

1.        We see that our Heavenly Father was the one in control of organizing and teaching in the early church.  We know that He was working through the Holy Spirit to direct what was taught.  What scripture that explains that process?

2.        There are differences in “things attended to,” differences in attendances, (the same word used for deacon), differences in administrations, but the same Lord.  Though there were many administrations, the early Christians were not confused because the Lord directing them.  What scripture tells us about this difference?

3.        Notice again in _____________ that there are diversities of operations.

4.        According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, what was the purpose of giving the manifestation of the Spirit?

5.        How did the church “profit” by the spiritual gifts according to 1 Corinthians 14:1-6?

6.        According to 1 Corinthians 14:6, what is the purpose of the assembly itself?

7.        Every part of the body was used to help the whole body grow spiritually—grow in love for God and one another.  Give a scripture that explains that process.

8.        God was actively making sure the faithful children in the early church were given the revelation of truth they needed.  Philippians 3:15 explains this process.  What was it?

9.        1 Corinthians 12:12 compares the work in Jesus church to a _______________ body.

10.    What scripture tells us why each member has a special part in the work of the Lord so that there will be no “schism” or division?

11.    If God was fully at work in the early church to make sure every Christian was fed spiritual food and received the edification he needed, what should we expect today? _____________ tells us that God is still working literally everything for the good of his chosen people. (need a scripture here)

12.    Does Jesus love his church today?  What example does he give in his word to prove this love

13.    List the ways a woman may serve the congregation where she attends.  You may use examples not given in the lesson in addition to the ones given.

14.    List the ways (using scripture examples) a woman may not serve the congregation where she attends.

15.    How did Phebe serve the church?

16.    In what specific ways could a woman qualify her husband for becoming a deacon or an elder?

17.    How would a widow be qualified to be “enrolled” or on support as a widow?

18.    What scriptures may be used to show children why we learn the memory verses?

19.    What is the best remedy for loneliness?

20.  Is lack of education or physical handicap an excuse for not serving the Lord? Why?/ Why not?