from my blog a couple of years ago.... I hope I can summarize our lesson in a nice understandable way for you. We have a good group and we have the luxury of being able to fit around the new conference table that is now in the church library. It makes for a cozy setting for study and prayer. We agreed to do a ‘box-talk’ each time we meet. This means that each month one of the members of the group will bring a shoe box with 5-7 items that represent them. It is sort of a way to get to know each other. I have taken it a step further and asked the ladies to make the items, ‘spiritual marker items’. In other words, instead of just a few items that tell us something about them, I’ve challenged them to find items that represent different times when the Lord has done something significant in their lives. Sort of like when the Israelites would stop somewhere and build an altar or name a hill after something that happened there, it should help us to focus on the spiritual events, times of growth or trial, in our lives rather than our own achievements or failures. Our memory verse for the year is Psalm 145:18 – “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” I have suggested that we try to memorize the entire chapter since it is only twenty one verses… it would only amount to 2 verses a month. By the end of the year, we could have it down  We are going to be studying Susan Hunt’s book Prayers of the Bible. I like it because it is NOT a book about prayer itself but a book about the prayers of the Bible. I especially like that three of the chapters are dedicated to the prayer of Jesus, John 17. What a beautiful passage to study, huh? The Covenant Thread of Redemption

Being a type A sort of person, I really like things to be organized. It helps me make sense out of them. When doing a puzzle, I like to have the corners first, then the sides, and then the like-colored pieces laid out before me. But what is MOST important is the picture on the puzzle box! What could we do without the picture? It would take twice as long to put together. THEN, we can place the corner, the side pieces, and fill in the middle of the puzzle easily. In today's church, we go about educating our members without the picture. Each Sunday, and/or Wednesday night... we give our church members just one piece of the puzzle.... and never show them the big picture. An Old Testament story here, a parable there, a doctrine here and there.... but, no big picture. How much easier it would be too fit that particular lesson in its perfect place if we had the picture before us? The Bible is like any other book in that it has a theme. When in high school and your teacher assigns you a book to read and report on, you must find the theme of the book. What is the author trying to tell us? What is his purpose for writing? God, in His Word, wants to send a message, too. His message is….. “This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Jeremiah 31:33 Throughout scripture God repeats this covenant promise to His people, us. (Scriptures below) We call this, the Scarlet Thread of Redemption because it is a promise of redemption through the blood of sacrifice for sin. First to one man, Adam - with a sacrifice of one animal to make clothing to cover his sin. Then to one family, Abraham - with a sacrifice of one animal for a family. In our reading in Genesis we covered it in chapter 17:6-8 and 22:16-18. It was repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4 and again to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14. To one nation, Moses - with a priestly sacrifice of one animal for a nation. and finally, to the world, Jesus - with a sacrifice of the perfect Lamb, Jesus for the world.

Adam Abraham Moses Jesus One man one family one nation the whole world Continuity of the Covenant Geo(Earth/Man)centric Model of the Universe Helio(Sun/Son)centric Model of the Universe We once lived, as the unsaved, thinking that WE were the center of the universe and that all things must work for our good. Once saved, we now know that the SON (the sun) is the center of the universe and of our lives and that all things must be pointed towards His glory, not our own. Andrew Murray said, "It was in that blood the covenant had its foundation and power. It is by the blood alone, that man can be brought into covenant fellowship [with God]. That which had been foreshadowed at the gate of Eden, on Mount Ararat [by Noah], on Moriah [by Abraham], and in Egypt, was now confirmed at the foot of Sinai in a most solemn manner. Without blood there could be no access by sinful man to a Holy God. There is, however, a marked difference…On Moriah the life was redeemed by the shedding of blood. In Egypt it was sprinkled on the door posts of the houses; but [here] at Sinai, it was sprinkled on the persons themselves. The contact was closer, the application more powerful" (Andrew Murray, The Power of the Blood of Jesus, New Kensington, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1993, p. 12). The scarlet thread continued through the Bible. "And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people" (Exodus 24:8). The old hymn we sang this past Sunday says: There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Emmanuel's veins, And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains. ("There Is a Fountain,"William Cowper, 1731-1800). In the end, Christ is the only perfect sacrifice to redeem His people. "For it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11). "Thou shalt bind [or tie] this line of scarlet thread in the window" (Joshua 2:18). Dr. W. A. Criswell comments on the scarlet-colored blood-red thread that Rahab hung out of her window, "The scarlet line of Rahab is a symbol of her faith that God will provide deliverance in the time of judgment. Throughout the Bible 'scarlet' speaks of sacrifice made on the behalf of the believer, and it is seen in the vestments of the tabernacle and in the priestly garments in Exodus" Are you beginning to see the importance of the blood? Do you see the type, or illustration, of the blood in the words "Thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window"? (Joshua 2:18). We can follow the scarlet thread through the Bible to the New Testament where we see that salvation comes through the death of Christ, but "not without blood" (Hebrews 9:7). So, we could summarize the book entitled Holy Bible with this thesis statement... “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendents after you throughout their generations for an Everlasting Covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.” Genesis 17:7 It is the framework with which we approach faith and life. The covenantal approach to life gives us peace, comfort, assurance, faith, and confidence. It was a plan, not an afterthought. “Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:12 FOR NEXT MONTH – • Read chapter one, pp. 16-27 • Memorize Psalm 145:18 (and verses 1-2 if you want to do the whole chapter by years end.) • Pray for • our church family • our staff • our elders and deacons • our missionaries • our home bound • each other ♥ We draw names at the end of each lesson and pray for each other.