This is an introduction to the KYB study for the third term. The study is “Kings of Judah.”
You don’t have to be in a KYB group to attend.
All welcome to come along.
When: Monday 22nd July.
Time: 10 am
Venue: Murray Bridge Church of Christ.
Guest Speaker: Marlene Hammer-Smith
Morning tea will be supplied after which Marlene will be introducing the study “Kings of Judah”
For further details, contact Yvonne Mills 08 8388 6519.
Esther serves as the title of this book of the Bible. Along with the book of Ruth, they are the only Old Testament books named after women.
‘Hadassah’ meaning myrtle was the Hebrew name of Esther. The more commonly used name of Esther came either from the Persian word for star, or possibly from the name of the Babylonian love goddess, Ishtar.
As the orphaned daughter of her father Abihail, Esther grew up in Persia with her older cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his own daughter. The Bible story found in the book of Esther is fascinating, a tale with all the mystery of a modern day drama, complete with deception, palace intrigue and a murderous plot.
Even more compelling is Esther herself. This mysterious beauty appears from obscurity and captures the heart of the most powerful man on earth, the pagan King of Persia.
Her attributes of grace and godliness eclipse even her outer beauty and gain her king’s respect. Their subsequent marriage positions her strategically to fulfil her destiny – to step into her place on the world stage, and to end a horrible scheme to annihilate her people, the Jews. Esther was chosen… ‘for such a time as this.’
After Esther became queen, her safety and well-being were ensured. Wrong. As queen, Esther faced a double-edged threat to her life. She still held secret the fact that she was a Jewess. As events unfolded she was forced to choose between revealing her secret or watching the destruction of all her people and living out her days in fear of being exposed and killed.
Who brought about these events? The evil Haman, a member of the court whom King Ahasuerus had made Grand Vizier, second in command, over all Persia. The king ordered all the people in the kingdom to bow and do homage to Haman whenever he passed, and Haman delighted in his importance. He had the pleasure of seeing everyone in the empire bow to him wherever he went. Everyone, that is, except one: Mordecai. He refused to bow to Haman and this was brought to Haman’s attention.
He decided that he would not only have Mordecai’s life – he would wipe out all the Jews in the Persian Empire. Haman went to the king and let him know that ‘a certain people’ were disobeying the laws of the kingdom. He never named the Jews. He asked for permission to destroy them and the king gave him permission.
In the King’s name, he wrote a decree ordering that the Jews of all the provinces – including women and children of any age – were to be killed, and annihilated on the day that was chosen. He cast lots, or ‘pur’, to determine the day they were to be destroyed. (The Jewish celebration of Haman’s defeat is called the Festival of Purim for this reason.)
Now Esther, residing safely in the palace, was unaware of these events until she heard that her cousin Mordecai was wailing in front of the King’s Gate. Mordecai sent her a copy of Haman’s decree. He urged her to go to the king and plead for the lives of the Jewish people. Esther, our portrait of courage, lived every day at the king’s pleasure and she was aware daily of the risk to herself if she displeased the king. Everyone knew there was a law that if anyone went into the inner court without being summoned, that person was to be immediately killed.
‘I might never even get a chance to plead our cause,’ she said.
Mordecai’s reply was the challenge of Esther’s lifetime. ‘You are facing death, too, if you remain silent now.’ Then he spoke of his faith. ‘Deliverance will come from somewhere else, but you will have missed your opportunity. Who knows – maybe you have come to this place just for such a time as this.’
One thing that we can learn from Esther is her ability to wait upon God to bring about the perfect timing for her to go before the king. In her case, it meant life or death. After the third day of fasting, Esther ‘rolled the dice’. Scripture says that she found favour in his sight (ch 5:2). He was so pleased to see her that he promised to give her anything she wanted, even half his kingdom.
She must have felt relief and then she invited him to a dinner party that night – and invited Haman as well. After dinner, the king again asked Esther what she wanted. She replied that if she had found favour in his sight her only request was that he attend another dinner party the next night, along with Haman.
After that dinner, she would tell him what she wanted. The king agreed. After the second dinner, the king again asked for Esther’s request. Now if you can just imagine how she must have felt as she spoke. ‘If I have found favour in your sight… and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.’
The astonished king asked, ‘Who would do such a thing?’ Esther then delivered the death blow by simply naming him – the adversary and enemy, the wicked Haman. Wow – what a dramatic end to a dinner party. The king was outraged and ordered Haman to be hanged on the same gallows he had built for Mordecai.
Esther’s legacy remains today. The fruit of her sacrificial life lives on in Israel and through all who read about her in this book. She stands in God’s Hall of Fame as a bold woman of faith. In future years, a festival was instituted commemorating Esther’s bold act and the deliverance of the Jews from the plot of Haman. It is known to this day as the Festival of Purim.
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MISSION FOCUS FOR FEBRUARY – SCRIPTURE UNION
The mission focus for our church in February will be the Scripture Union.
Scripture Union is a movement of Christians which works with churches to make God’s Good news known to children, young people and families, and to encourage people of all ages to meet God daily through Bible reading and prayer.
we do this so people will come to faith in Jesus Christ, grow in Christian maturity and become committed church members and servants to a world in need.
Further reading:
All of our home fellowship and Bible study groups are in recess over the Christmas – New Year break.
Please contact the group leaders for details on recommencement of studies early in 2017.
In the meantime, please continue to read and study your Bible:
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (NASB: Paul’s second letter to Timothy)
STERLING THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
HISTORY (part one)
Stirling has a history of deep and wide roots which are firmly grounded in the Christian story. Our roots come from the early vision and commitment of men and women from the Churches of Christ movement. Even before the establishment of the College the need to train people involved in preaching and evangelism was recognised.
In 1871 one of the early advocates for founding the College wrote that no one “can dispute the propriety and imperative necessity of our preachers being fully instructed in the sacred Word, and this is the prime object of the Bible College”.
The College of the Bible (COB), as it was first named, began with sixteen students under the tutelage of Principal H.G. Harward on 19th February 1907. For a brief time, lectures were held in the Lygon Street Church of Christ at Carlton and then in a building on Rathdowne Street. With the assistance of a generous benefactor, the College moved in early 1910, to a four acre property at Glen Iris which at the time was an undeveloped area south-east of Melbourne.
A year later, the second principal, A.R. Main, clarified the College’s reason for being.
The chief purpose of the College is to provide Biblical instruction and to furnish ample facilities in education for Christian ministry… to encourage an impartial and unbiased investigation of the Christian Scriptures, and in the spirit of devout faith in the Divine Word, freely to lay under tribute every source of light and truth available to modern scholarship.
The goal was the intellectually rigorous study of Scriptures and the equipping of men (and women since 1912) for mission and ministry. Interestingly, the ‘modern scholarship’ of 1911, referred to by A.R. Main, was very much focussed on ‘the historical Jesus’.
Reflecting this interest, the subjects on offer were Bible Geography, the History of the Old and New Testaments, Biblical languages, homiletics, psychology and logic. As the century went on, the initial focus on the history of the Bible developed into a concern for, and acknowledgement of, its interpretation as a living text. This awareness of interpretation led into a growing maturity and richness of Christian understanding within the College and within Churches of Christ across Australia.
It also opened the way for the College leadership to participate deeply in the ecumenical
community and in wider Christian scholarship. E.L. Williams was particularly influential in these areas through the middle decades of the twentieth century.
For further reading, go to their website here.
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Monday 16th March 7:30pm: Hampel’s Home Group
Tuesday 17th March 9am Pastoral Care Group meeting
Tuesday 17th March 2pm Service at Murraylands Homes
Tuesday 17th March 7:30pm Elders’ meeting
Wednesday 18th March 10am: New Bible Study group
Wednesday 18th March 10am: Craft Group
Wed 18th – Fri 20th March: Coffee Shop 10am – 2pm
Wed 18th March 7:30pm Page’s Home Group (at Purdie’s home)
Thursday 19th March: 7:30pm Open Doors “Dangerous Faith”
Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd March CWCI Convention Victor Harbor
Saturday 21st March: 7:29am Men’s Bible Study
Sunday 22nd March: 10am Worship Service
Sunday 22nd March: Junior Sunday School
Monday 23rd February 7:30pm: Hampel’s Home Group
Tuesday 24th February 9am Pastoral Care Group meeting
Tuesday 24th February 7:30pm Elders’ meeting
Wed 25th – Fri 27th Feb: Coffee Shop 10am – 2pm
Thursday 26th February: Building Management Committee meeting
Saturday 28th February: 7:29am Men’s Bible Study
Sunday 1st March: 10am Worship Service
Sunday 1st March: Junior Sunday School
Sunday 1st March: Young People’s Bible study
Tuesday 3rd March: Friendship Group Ten Pin Bowling at 4pm
Friday 6th March: 7:30pm World Day of Prayer – Anglican Church
Thursday 12th March: 7:30pm Cornerstone Foundation Australia
Thursday 19th March: 7:30pm Open Doors “Dangerous Faith”
Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd March CWCI Convention Victor Harbor
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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
Across southern Australia (and beyond!); across denominations;
across all ages, women gather for an inspiring weekend of worship,
prayer, fresh truth from God’s Word, fellowship and fun.
CWCI Adelaide Committee has been a part of the South Australian
scene for 50 years and for many years arranged a city day
convention and a weekend convention.
The Committee now focuses on the weekend convention, held
annually in the beautiful south coast town of Victor Harbor.
We have been blessed, over the years, with excellent speakers
from overseas as well as our own home-grown Aussie speakers.
Why not join us this year for the special 50th celebration!
(Early bird registration closes 13th February.)
For more details and registrations click here.
Monday 9th February 7:30pm: Hampel’s Home Group
Tuesday 10th February 9am Pastoral Care Group meeting
Tuesday 10th February 6pm Friendship Group BBQ at Sturt Reserve (BYO food, drinks and chairs)
Wednesday 11th February: 7:30pm Church Board Meeting
Thursday 12th February: 10:30am Special service at Lerwin Nursing Home.
Saturday 14th February: 7:29am Men’s Bible Study
Sunday 15th February: 10am Worship Service
Sunday 1st February: Junior Sunday School
Sunday 1st February: Young People’s Bible study
Sunday 15th February: approx. 1pm M.A.S.H. (Meals At Someone’s Home)
Tuesday 17th February 2pm: Service at Murraylands Homes for the Aged.
Wednesday 18th February 10am: Let’s Get Together Craft Group recommences.
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