Questionnaire based on Bible verses: 2 Chro7:14, 1Jn1:6,8&9, 1Co13

1. What do you mean by humbling yourself before the Lord? 2. What are the conditions for the Lord to hear our prayers and to forgive our sins? 3. Why should we seek the face of the Lord? 4. Why should we turn from our wicked face? 5. What do you mean by “Healing our Land”? 6. Can we say that we have no sin ? 7. What does it mean if we say we have no sin? 8. What does it mean if we have fellowship with the Lord but still walk in darkness? 9. What do you mean by having fellowship with the Lord? 10. What do you mean by walking in darkness? 11. What do you mean by confessing our sins? 12. What has the Lord promised if we confess our sins? 13. Why should our sins be forgiven? 14. Why cleansing from unrighteousness is necessary? 15. Mention few blessings which we enjoy when the Lord forgives our sins. 16. Who paid the penalty for our sins? 17. Do you believe that our Lord Jesus has all the authority to forgive all our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we confess our sins? 18. How do we understand that our Lord is faithful and just? 19. When the Lord forgives your sins, should you still have a feeling of guilt? 20. Do you believe that our Lord Jesus died on the cross to not only forgive our sins but also to redeem us from guilt feeling? 21. Mention some of the characteristics of love. 22. What will you become though you may speak with the tongues of Heavens and Angels but do not have love? 23. What will you be though you may have gift of prophecy, all mysteries, all knowledge and faith but still do not have love? 24. How does it profit you though you may give all your goods to feed the poor and body to be burnt but still do not love? 25. Will prophesies fail? If they fail, then give reasons. 26. Does love ever fail? 27. What are childish things? 28. When you were a child, how did you behave? 29. After becoming a grown up man / woman, have you put away your childish things? 30. What are the three things that abide? Which is the greatest of faith, hope and love? *********************************************

ALL ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE

The term Bible is derived through Latin from the Greek biblia, or “books”, the diminutive form of byblos, the word for “papyrus” or “paper”, which was exported from the ancient Phoenician port city of Biblos. By the time of the Middle Ages the books of the Bible were considered a unified entity.

Bible, also called the Holy Bible, the sacred book or Scriptures of Christian faith. The Holy Bible is in two parts, the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books).


God is the author of the Bible in such a way that the Bible is His word.

THE BIBLE IS UNIQUE IN ITS CONTINUITY.

This harmony exists in spite of the fact that it was written over a 1600-year span, during 60 generations, and by more than 40 authors from every walk of life including kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, and others. The Bible was written in a variety of places and customs, during times of war and peace, on three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Yet, when the Bible is analyzed as a whole, it speaks with amazing unity and harmony about hundreds of controversial subjects about which there are hundreds of opposing opinions! Our science books, which represent "truth" about science and nature as we know it, are obsolete in as soon as five to ten years, and must be constantly revised because of "theories" or concepts that are in error!

F. F. Bruce ("The Books and the Parchments," Fleming H. Revell) observes that: "Any part of the human body can only be properly explained in reference to the whole body. And any part of the Bible can only be properly explained in reference to the whole Bible" (ref.5, p.89).

"The Bible, at first sight, appears to be a collection of literature--mainly Jewish. If we inquire into the circumstances under which the various biblical documents were written, we find that they were written at intervals over a space of nearly 1400 years. The writer wrote in various lands, from Italy in the west, to Mesopotamia and possibly Persia in the east.

"The writers themselves were a diverse group of people, not only separated from each other by hundreds of years and hundreds of miles, but belonging to the most different walks of life. In their ranks we have kings, herdsmen, soldiers, legislators, fishermen, statesmen, courtiers, priests, prophets, a tentmaker, a...gentile physician, not to speak of others of whom we know nothing, apart from the writings they have left us.

"The writings themselves belong to a great variety of literary types. They include history, law (civil, criminal, ethical, ritual, sanitary), religious poetry, didactic treatises, lyric poetry, parable and allegory, biography, personal correspondence, personal memoirs and diaries, in addition to the distinctively biblical types of prophecy and apocalyptic.

"For all that, the Bible is not simply a collection of writings, or anthology; there is a unity which binds the whole together. An anthology is compiled by an anthologist, but no anthologist compiled the Bible" (ref.5, p.88).


THE BIBLE IS UNIQUE IN ITS CIRCULATION.

The Bible has been read by more people and published in more languages than any other book.

There have been more copies produced of its entirety and more portions and selections than any other book in history. Some will argue that in a designated month or year more of a certain book was sold. However, over all, there is absolutely no book that reaches, or even begins to compare to, the circulation of the scriptures. The first major book printed was the Latin Vulgate (Bible). It was printed on Gutenberg's press (ref.18, pp.478-480).

THE BIBLE IS UNIQUE IN ITS SURVIVAL.

The Bible has withstood vicious attacks by its enemies as no other book. Many have tried to burn it, ban it and outlaw it "from the days of Roman emperors to the present-day Communist-dominated countries" (ref.14, p.232).

Sidney Collett in "All About the Bible" says, "Voltaire, the noted French infidel who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and passed into history. But what has happened? Voltaire has passed into history; while the circulation of the Bible continues to increase in almost all parts of the world, carrying blessing wherever it goes."

Concerning Voltaire, Geisler and Nix point out that "only fifty years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to produce stacks of Bibles" (ref.8, p.123). What an irony of history!


SURVIVAL THROUGH CRITICISM:

H.L. Hastings has forcibly illustrated the unique way the Bible has withstood the attacks of infidelity and skepticism:

"Infidels for eighteen hundred years have been refuting and overthrowing this book, and yet [it] stands today as solid as a rock. Its circulation increases and it is more loved and cherished and read today than ever before. Infidels, with all their assaults, make about as much impression on this book as a man with a tack hammer would on the Pyramids of Egypt.

"When the French monarch proposed the persecution of the Christians in the dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, 'Sire, the Church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.' So the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and that anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives" (ref.11, pp.17-18).

THEME OF THE BIBLE

For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten SON (LORD JESUS CHRIST) that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)



Courtesy: Mr.Dennis Crawford

WORD MINISTRY

2 Pet1

Know or knowledge 16 times
V 2 knowledge 1. meditation 2. personal experience
Multiplication 10*10=100>10 or 20!
V 3&4 Godliness – see superlatives: power=dunamis – dynamo! – power to reproduce itself
Addition – Mt 6:33 : 1+1=4!
V 16-18 –last days: Trade in USA 666
V 19 Second coming – Rev22:16
Star –
1.Magnificient,
2.Wonderful
3.Shining
4.Beautiful
5.Guiding
Give room to God. Man sowing Chinese cabbage seed with more space – More yield!

GREAT THOUGHTS

v Falling down doesn't make you a failure, but staying down does.
v The poorest of all men is not the man without a cent but the man without adream
v Some people complain that there are thorns on roses, while others praisethorns for having roses among them.
v A person's true character is revealed by what he does when no one is watching.
v Although the tongue weighs very little, very few people are able to hold it.
v Don't be afraid of pressure. Remember that pressure is what turns a lump ofcoal into a diamond.
v Even a woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head.
v The only preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.
v People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
v Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there.
v The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little "extra".
v The heart is happiest when it beats for others.

BIBLE FACTS

About 50 Bibles are sold every minute.
Christianity is the world's most widespread religion (1,7 billion Christians).
The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.
The Slavonic Orthodox Church has twice as many adherents as the Baptist Church .
The 12 disciples were not were not allowed to carry food, money, or extra clothing.
Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, and lions 55 times, but domestic cats are not mentioned at all.
The Bible, the world's best-selling book, is also the world's most shoplifted book.
The oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible still existing is the Codex Vaticanus, dating from the first half of the 4th century, now held in the Vatican library.
The word "Christian" appears only three times in the Bible: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.
Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not contain the word "God."
There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.
The 66 books of the Bible is divided into 1,189 chapters consisting of 31,173 verses. The Old Testament has 929 chapters, the New Testament 260. (King James version)
The King James Old Testament consists of 592,439 words consisting of 2,728,100 letters and the New Testament 181,253 words consisting of 838,380 letter (total 3,566,480 letters).
The longest line in the Bible is Esther 8:9 - 89 words, 425 letters.
The longest word in the Bible is Maher-shalal-hash-baz: Isaiah 8:1.
The shortest verse in the NIV Bible is John 11:35: "Jesus wept."
The longest book chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, the shortest is Psalm 117.
There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after it.
Psalm 118 verse 8 is in the center of the Bible: "It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in man."
Obadiah, with 21 verses consisting of 602 words, is the shortest book in the Old Testament, and the third shortest in the Bible.
II John has the fewest number of verses of any book in the Bible - it is the shortest book in the Bible.
III John has the fewest number of words of any book in the Bible.
Job is the oldest book written in the Bible - it was written by an unknown Israelite around 1500 BC.
Malachi, written about 400 BC, is the youngest book in the Old Testament.
James, written around 45 AD, is the oldest book in the New Testament.
Revelation, written about 95 AD, is the youngest book in the New Testament.
The verse in the exact middle of the Bible is Psalm 117:8. There are 594 chapters before Psalm 117 and 594 chapters after Psalm 117.
Paul wrote 14 (of the 27) books of the New Testament.
The covering for the tabernacle was made out of ram skins and sea cow hides: Exodus 36:19.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three wise men - Matthew 2:1 only says: "Magi from the east came to Jerusalem " and later they present three gifts
The word "Lord" appears 1855 times in the Bible.
The word "God" appears in every book except Esther and Song of Solomon.
The word "grandmother" appears in the Bible only once: 2 Timothy 1:5.
The word "eternity" is mentioned only once: Isaiah 57:15.
Seven suicides are recorded in the Bible.
In Old Testament times the Mediterranean Sea was called the Great Sea .
There are 7 different Jeremiahs in the Bible: 1 Chronicles 5:24; 12:4, 10, 13; 2 Kings 23:30; Jeremiah 1:1; 35:3.
The raven is the first bird mention in the Bible. It appears in Genesis 8:7, when it is sent out from the ark by Noah to see if the flood waters have abated. The second bird was a dove, in verse 8.
Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible.
A chariot imported from Egypt cost around 600 shekels of silver (1 Kings 10:29). That would be about $77,000. One shekel was 4 days wages.
The word "trinity" is not mentioned in the Bible.
Methuselah is the oldest man on record: 969 years old (Genesis 5:27).
The 10 plagues of Egypt :1. Water turns to blood2. Frogs3. Lice and fleas4. Flies5. Cattle die of diseases6. Boils and sores7. Hail8. Locusts9. Darkness10. Death of first-born
The 7 last plagues (Revelation 16):1. Sores2. Sea turns to blood3. Rivers turn to blood4. People schorched by heat of the sun5. Darkness6. River Euphrates dries up7. Earthquake
The last word in the Bible is AMEN.

ENJOYABLE LEARNING

1. Teaching should be activity based. At different levels students should learn by doing. Project works should be undertaken in real life situations like visiting hospitals, slums, old age home, traffic signals, parks, gardens and other historically important places.
2. By enacting a skit students may learn a lesson or value.
3. Learning should be made interesting and enjoyable by using computer technology through CDs, LCD etc.
4. Teaching should be student friendly. More group discussions should be encouraged.
5. More outdoor activities should be conducted keeping in mind cubs and bulbuls, scouts and guides etc. Environmental activities like nature walk, bird watching should be encouraged.
6. More house wise competitions especially on drawing and painting should be conducted. Experts should be called to teach art and craft in activity periods. Good and talented children should be appreciated and rewarded. Students’ handiwork also should be displayed on different occasions in the school.
7. Students should be encouraged to read newspapers, write articles and do book review. Class libraries should be made up and effectively used.
8. Career counselling programmes should be organized for the students to know various avenues.
9. Students should have class seminars. They should make PowerPoint presentations.
10. Students should be encouraged to take part in exhibitions.
11. Students should be encouraged to sing and learn word of God happily.
12. On sports days mass participation should be encouraged.
13. Lessons should be taught in smaller fragments especially in primary classes. There shall be continuous and comprehensive assessment instead of stressful examinations.
14. Time management skills should be taught to the children.

HOPE

God hath not promised

Skies always blue

Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through

God hath not promised

Sun without rain

Joy without sorrow

Peace without pain

But God hath promised

Strength for the day

Rest for the labor

Light for the way

Grace for the trials

Help from above

Unfailing sympathy

Undying Love

-Annie Johnson Flint

He gives power to the tired and worn, and strength to the weak.-Isaiah 40:29

For I the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "fear not I will help you."-Isaiah 41:13

You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.-Psalms 18:28

Who shall separate us from the love of CHRIST?