Focal Passages: Luke 23:50-24:12, 36-53
 
I recently heard a story about a missionary preaching in a bazaar in Northern India. As he closed, a Muslim gentleman came up and said, “You must admit we have one thing you have not, and it is better than anything you have.”
 
The missionary smiled and said, “I should be pleased to hear what it is.” The Muslim said, “You know when we go to Mecca we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, which is your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave.”
 
But the missionary just smiled and said, “That is just the difference. Mohammed is dead; Mohammed is in the coffin. And false systems of religion and philosophy are in their coffins, but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not here; He is risen. And all power in heaven and on earth is given unto Him. That is our hope.”
 
It is that knowledge and blessed hope that challenges (or should challenge) every believer.
 
We do not serve a dead religious leader or a dead useless religion. We have a Savior – Jesus – who is alive and standing by the throne of God (Acts 7:55, 56).
 
A professor I once studied under said that he believed Jesus would not sit down on the throne until all of God’s children are safely home.
 
Much like the little boy who waited for weeks to go to a friend’s birthday party. When the day finally arrived, a blizzard made the sidewalks nearly impassable.
 
The boy’s father told him he couldn’t go – it was too dangerous.
 
Tearfully the boy pleaded to go. The father thought a moment, and then agreed to let him go. The blizzard was harsh, and it took him more than half an hour to trudge the short distance to the party.
 
As he rang the doorbell, he turned briefly to look back and saw a retreating figure – it was his father.
 
He had followed him to make sure he arrived safely.
 
He will see us safely home. That is our hope and assurance.

Focal Passages: Acts 17:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
 
People want to be loved. Even those without a belief in God often say that the greatest thing is to love and be loved. This final lesson on leaving a legacy is important because it reminds us that God is the ultimate source of love. He loved us first. Everyone needs to know that they can experience God’s love and, in turn, share that love with others. We are called to love God, love others, and live that mission. 
 
Are you sharing this legacy of love with others on a regular basis? Be ready to share the gospel using the scriptures as Paul did in Acts 17:2. The authority of God’s Word is greater than any rhetoric man can devise.
 
Consider different ways you can effectively communicate God’s love in today’s world.
 
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians remind us that we are compelled by love to share this legacy – the good news of Christ. Pray that God would burden you to share the love of Christ with lost people. Pray for divine appointments too.
 
I encourage you to examine your life regularly and ask which of the qualities in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 do you wish to see developed in your life: (1) Your works produced by faith? (2) Your labor prompted by love? Or (3) Your endurance inspired by hope in Jesus?
 
Billy Graham said: “Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”
 
Let’s choose to be faithful witnesses sharing this legacy of love with others. This is the calling and privilege of every believer and can be accomplished as we pray regularly for others and depend on the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.

Focal Passage: Luke 22:66-23:49
 
It seems every so often the question of “Who killed Jesus” comes up. For ages the accusation was leveled that it was the Jews who killed Him. This has caused a great deal of isolating, torturing, killing and looting of Jews for the last 2,000 years.
 
Others say it was the Romans. Crucifixion was a Roman means of execution and torture. It was Roman soldiers who hammered the nails. Centurions were on guard at the cross.
 
Under the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, they forced Him to Calvary and then killed Him. Some compromise and say that it was both – Jews and Gentiles.
 
Together they killed Jesus. Some say we did it with our own sins.
 
What is important in this debate is that one understands the meaning of the question. When considering the definition of the word “killed” one finds that it is defined as committing murder, to deprive of life, to destroy. When reading the scriptural account of the crucifixion, we find that this question is not even relevant.
 
When we consider the definition of kill – no one did.
 
When you put the gospel accounts together, from the Last Supper to His last words, Jesus was totally in control. At any point He could have called a halt to the proceedings. At any point He could have stepped away without the suffering and pain. As the songwriter says, “He could have called 10,000 angels” to come to His aid. But, you and I should be thankful that He didn’t. Because He gave Himself freely, He saved me instead.
 
While suspended between heaven and earth, He sought forgiveness for those who were crucifying Him. He hung there in obedience to God giving us the means to come back to God. Forgiving the thief crucified with Him also shows that if we ask He will forgive and provide salvation.
 
As Ronnie Hinson has penned, “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.” He is the only way for salvation; there is no other way. What keeps us from receiving Him or living for Him today?

Focal Passages: Genesis 22:1-3, 7-14; 26:2-5
 
Hebrews 11 records that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen. Without faith we cannot please God, and we have nothing of eternal value to pass on to others, which is extremely important for the future and for daily living too.
 
Over the years Abraham had learned to trust God. He knew that God was dependable. In Genesis 22:1 we read that “Some time later God tested Abraham.” Having already learned to rely upon the Lord, Abraham was not receiving a final exam to test it. We each face some “how-far-will-you-go” tests in life, many of which center on trusting God and/or other people. Where do you sense God is testing you now? What are you learning from it? If God has asked you to give up something or someone special, have you obeyed God and found some new reassurance? Where do you get the strength to say “yes” to God when everything else inside of you says “no”?
 
Philip Yancey wrote, “Faith is trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” Elton Trueblood remarked, “Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” Finally, Elizabeth Elliot noted, “True faith goes into operation when there are no answers.” Abraham knew and lived this kind of faith. Our devotion to God should be such that we trust and obey Him, even when doing so is extraordinarily difficult. Abraham knew that he should not hold anything more dearly than his relationship with God. Do you? Did you notice that Abraham’s obedience was immediate (v. 3)? He did not know how God would provide; he simply trusted.
 
Your faithfulness to God impacts others. It can have a lasting impact on those you may never see in your lifetime. Your legacy of faith can extend into future generations, so hold fast to the One who is faithful and true. Be faithful to our Lord and see the ripples that affect current and future generations.

Focal Passage: Luke 19:28-22:65
 
I don’t like pain! When it comes to pain I will try any way I can to avoid or alleviate it.

Even as a child I would try to slip out of the doctor’s office to keep from getting a shot. I personally do not know anyone who enjoys pain. Pain can be physical, emotional or both.

Watching the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” and studying what He went through, I find it hard to conceive how much Jesus must have suffered leading up to His crucifixion.
 
On different occasions He tried to prepare the disciples for what was going to take place.
And, just as we often are, they were too absorbed with their own plans to listen.
 
Those three hours on the cross were the climax of the suffering He endured. He understood how hideous sin really is.
 
He knew what an eternity in hell separated from God would entail.
 
Being Creator, He understood what we are like. He also knew what we will go through in our Christian walk.
 
He gave us a memorial to remember the importance of His crucifixion in the Lord’s Supper.
We look back to what He has done, to our lives today, and to His return.
 
He knew that just like Peter we will disappoint Him, maybe not with words like Peter, but in our daily lives. The things we do or don’t do can cause great suffering and grief in our Savior.
 
He knew all that would happen, and still He did it for you and me.
 
We should be grateful that He was willing and able to suffer as He did. We need to show our gratitude with our lives.
 
First John 3:18 (HCSB) says: “Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth.”
 
We must come to the place where we seek to not do anything to disappoint Him.
 
We must stand for the truth no matter the stress, humiliation, or pain that we might endure.

Our living out our gratitude comes from our understanding of His willingness to suffer for us.

Focal Passages: 1 Samuel 1:10-20, 27-2:1; 12:23-24
           
This Mother’s Day lesson centers on Hannah’s prayer for a son and how prayer and hope work together. Mothers are generally hopeful over what the future will bring in the lives of their children. Hannah would be no exception, yet she was barren. She lived in an era when raising children into adulthood was pivotal for social status, for extending one’s family line, and for supporting an agrarian economy. Hannah likely faced daily ridicule because of her barren womb. She was grieved that she had no heir to give her husband. Her sadness did eventually give way to hope.
 
Hannah prayed to the Lord knowing He can turn disappointment into joy. She cast all her cares upon Him. Hannah’s sadness seemed to disappear quickly (v. 18). God did bless Hannah with a son, Samuel, who became a great leader in Israel. Phillips Brooks once said, “Pray the largest prayers. You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger! Pray not for crutches but for wings!”
 
We all face times of doubt, little hope, and sometimes misery. Joyful living is found in daily turning to and resting in the Lord. In actuality, we “control” very little in our lives. Hannah had sorrow as she thought her predicament was incapable of change. What changed? She let go. Her foundation of hope was built through her prayers to God. She built a legacy of hope for generations.
 
At times God allows us to enter a time of disappointment so that we will recognize our need for Him. He is gracious to continue to shape us for our best and for His plans. God’s plans are always bigger than our dreams! Hannah released control over her barrenness and turned it over to God. This time, God gave Hannah her heart’s desire. Are you in a time of disappointment now? What “unchangeable” situation have you grieved over as Hannah did? Was it really unchangeable? Let’s leave a legacy of hope for the next generations by praying to God regularly.

Focal Passage: Luke 17:11-19:27
 
A part of this week’s lesson covers Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It is a challenging parable to us about how do we come before God. When we pray – do we come to God with an arrogant, self-righteous attitude – or do we come with humility?
 
Thinking about humility, it is basically self vs. God in our lives. Let us consider this idea using the acrostic words self and God.
 
When we come as the Pharisee did, we come arrogantly before God. We see that the Pharisee came with a superior attitude.
 
He thanked God that he was “not like other men.” We need to see that we are all sinners before God. At our best, we are sinners saved by grace.
 
This Pharisee also came with an ego-centered attitude.
 
Five times he uses the word “I” while only acknowledging God once. He came to talk to God, while the whole time he was focused upon himself. When we come to pray, are we focusing upon God or are we too wrapped up in ourselves?
 
The Pharisee shows his legalistic bent by telling God how good he was because of all the things he did.
 
Do we try to buy God’s favor by doing things?
 
Do we have a list that we seek to keep because we want God to value us?
 
We should do good things – not to earn His favor, but because we are grateful for what He has done for us.
 
Finally, the Pharisee was fault-finding. He gives God a list of the faults of others. Do we constantly keep record of the faults of others around us? Are we keeping a scorecard to compare ourselves to others? Rather than putting others down before God, we need to be intercessors for them.
 
The tax collector understood GOD – grace offers deliverance. When we come before God, we should come because of His grace and mercy. Prayer should be focused on God. Prayer should seek His mercy on ourselves. We must come humbly before God, and then He will hear and answer our prayers.

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 6:1-15a
 
As a child, I was fascinated by ripples. The effect of throwing a rock into a pond is harmless.  Conversely, a tsunami is an enormous “ripple” which leaves loss of life and devastation in its wake. Consider the ripples of a parent’s life. These ripples permanently impact their child. As a parent teaches their child how to live, and by what standards they should live, a legacy is forming. A legacy is something transmitted by or received from an ancestor, predecessor, or from the past. It is left for those behind us when we die.
 
Scripture encourages the believer to build the priceless heritage of a godly life.
 
In Deuteronomy 6, Moses prompts the Israelites to forge a legacy of loving the Lord your God with all of one’s being and teaching one’s children to follow the Lord, His ways, and His statutes. Moses’ words are timeless and true for us today as well. We are to leave a godly legacy for the next generation, and the next, and so on. 
 
Steve Farrar asserts, “In the Christian life, it’s not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish.”
 
Building a legacy that is worthy of emulation is challenging.
 
It requires tough choices and brokenness along the way. Farrar mentions that it is the rare, exceptional and teachable person who finishes strong. Is there anything in your life which may hinder you from finishing strong?
 
It is never too late to begin doing what’s right. Remember that your example casts a long shadow that will impact generations to come. We finish strong by fixing our eyes on Jesus.
 
Let’s build a legacy of following our Lord and replying on the Holy Spirit to survive life’s ambushes.
 
What is my legacy? What would my spouse and children say about my commitment to God? My friends?
 
My co-workers? What would God say about my commitment to Him?
 
Building a godly legacy for one’s children and grandchild-ren requires us to feast on God’s Word and to live it out daily.

Focal Passage: Luke 13:22-17:10
 
A pastor told the story of a well-to-do man in his community who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. On the day that he was to be baptized, as he was stepping into the water, he suddenly stopped and said, “Wait, I’ll be right back.” The pastor said the man went back and grabbed his wallet. Money had been his god, and now he wanted to submit all to Christ.
 
Money is a great servant but a terrible master. Too often we allow money to become the controlling agent of our lives.
 
Turn on the news and you are bombarded by reports on the economy. If we are not careful we will allow the economy to establish and control our thoughts.
 
We will be looking to the economy for our future security. Who we look to for our future security often is a glimpse into where we really place our trust.
 
Does our view expose us as “professing” Christians while being “practicing” pagans?
 
Much of our unrest and uncertainty about the future stems from where our foundational trust is located. If our hope for tomorrow comes from our bank accounts, IRA’s, 401k’s and other economic sources, we will be constantly fearful. If it rests on the solid rock of Christ – we have confidence in the future.
 
Someone has said that you can tell where a person’s true heart is by looking at his calendar and checkbook. Where do we spend our time and money? Is it to pursue making more money? Is our goal to have one dollar more? Do we spend it all on ourselves and what we want out of life?
 
How much time and money do we spend reaching out, touching and helping those in need?
Jesus spoke more about money than He did about heaven and hell. Could it be He did this because we are so focused on money in place of what counts for eternity?
 
When we give account for ourselves before God (Romans 14:12), what will we say? Will the ledgers show that we helped or hoarded? Think about it.

Focal Passages: Matthew 24:9-14, 39b-44; Revelation 7:9; 22:12-14
 
Wars and rumors of wars are some of the signs of the end times. Some countries have been experiencing civil war for years leaving refugees and others in their wake. In the midst of suffering and deprivation, many wonder when will the end come.
 
In Matthew 24, Jesus drops a bombshell of information on His disciples sharing that there is a time when nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. He speaks of how the church will be placed in the midst of this conflict. Even so, His promise in verse 13 is that those who stand firm will be saved in the end – a promise brings a secure hope to each believer. Stuart Weber notes that, “Each one who stands firm to the end in spite of persecution, false teaching, and the hardening of society’s conscience would enter into the eternal kingdom of heaven with the Messiah.” What a promise – a promise that only God can deliver.
 
As the end of time draws nearer, what is the church to do? Verse 14 has the answer – the gospel of the kingdom should be preached worldwide as a testimony to all nations. This testimony could win the listener over, and it could also condemn the guilty. The Good News is only good for those who accept it. There is an eternal difference for those who listen and accept it than for those who do not. The Bible says that the end is coming.  
 
Consider the parable of the faithful and wise steward. What does it teach us about readiness, stewardship and judgment? What does it teach us about serving and witnessing to others? Jesus said He is coming again. If you knew that the world was going to end in six months, what would you do, and how would your lifestyle change? No one knows when Jesus will return. Signs are increasingly being fulfilled in our generation. God is on time – never early and never late.  Be alert, be aware, and be ready. How are you preparing for the second coming of Christ? No one knows the day or the hour. Are you ready?