Bring Others Into the Sunshine of God's Good News by Linda L. Linn - HTML preview

Chapter 3

Ezekiel 36:27, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you shall keep my

judgments and do them.

After the special baptismal service, Evan reminded the girls and Brad that Candy had said earlier, “Surrendering to him and doing God’s will are a process in the believers life. We will study more about your good question in the third little booklet about the Holy Spirit, so we can learn more about how to do it.”

Evan continued, “Therefore our Bible study today is on this topic and it is the first lesson in ‘The Holy Spirit In You,’ which is the title of this next little booklet we get to read. Since we became believers in Jesus, he made a change in our spirit that was dead, but now is made alive. And he wants us to renew our mind, and learn that our body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit. So we will be changing in those three areas of our lives.”

Candy added, “Yes, those are three areas of our lives we need to surrender. So first let’s find the definition of surrender.” She entered it into the computers search engine and Brad and the girls read it silently. “Now write the definition in your own words in your notebook, and add two synonyms to it.”

Evan instructed as he put two verses from the booklet up on the monitor, “Now copy these next two scripture verses in your notebooks and underline the synonyms for surrender.”

They followed his directions and it looked like this:

Romans 6:13, summary, Do not yield yourselves to sin, but yield yourselves to God. Be instruments of righteousness.

James 4:7, Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Bonnie observed, “Yield and submit are the two synonyms I had chosen, so I could put surrender in their places in those verses and they would mean the same thing.”

Reba mentioned, “It’s good to have the definition and synonyms. Now I understand the word better.”

“Good job,” Candy complimented them, “copy the next verse and underline two reasons for submitting.”

The verse they copied looked like this. 1 Corinthians 6:19,… your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God, who is in you and you are not your own.

Brad remarked, “Since the temple was the house of God in the Bible, I can think of my body being the house of the Holy Spirit.”

“Good idea,” then Evan reflected, “I think it’s interesting that Paul states in Acts 17:24, the God who made the world and everything in it doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands. We know that God is present everywhere, like Proverbs 15:3 says, The eyes of the LORD are in every place… And we know he can live in believers by his Holy Spirit.”

Candy added, “Ephesians 2:19-22 has another picture of where God dwells by his Spirit. Let’s look it up.”

Brad requested, “May I read it aloud?”

After she nodded he read, “ Now … you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. In him all the building is fitly framed together into a holy temple of the Lord. In him you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.”

Candy thanked him and went on, “Notice how the next verse in the booklet tells us how to surrender. Romans 12:2 says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you may prove, or show what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

“It is a very good verse,” Kate stated, “because now we know how to submit or yield.”

Then Evan continued, “I think so too. The next verses tell the results of doing God’s will rather than our own. Read them silently and then write them in your notebook as your own personal prayer.” What they wrote might look something like the following. Colossians 1:9b-12,… I pray that I might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that I might walk worthy of you, Lord, unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of you, God, and be strengthened with all might, according to your glorious power, unto all patience … with joyfulness. I give thanks to you, Father, who have made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light…”

Flora commented, “This was a good Bible Study. I feel like I understand yielding to God’s will better now.”

“I’m glad it helped,” responded Candy, “and I like all those verses we read.”

Evan agreed, “Likewise, so now let’s pray the verses we just made into a prayer by reading them together aloud from our notebooks, as a closing for this Bible study. And it doesn’t matter if each of us worded it a little differently. Just pray it for yourself.”

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Greg and Oralie Iverson were very busy with their jobs on the Mercy Valley Farm and with the five boys they were raising as they live there. One evening Cory mentioned to his parents, “I was just remembering about my life before we moved to the farm. We always seemed busy back then, and I never got bored, but there is no comparison with living here now and how busy we always are. I like this much better, because I really enjoy my foster brothers. We’ve become a real family, just like I always wanted, with many little brothers. I’m glad I could teach them ball skills and learn about the farm right along with them.”

“Yes, It has been good for all of us,” agreed Oralie.

Nodding, Greg continued, “And I was able to have my dream of working on a farm some day. I’ve learned so much more than I ever imagined.”

“You sure have, Honey,” Oralie concurred, “and it’s extra nice that you can be a farmer without the responsibility of all the planning the owners have to do. Cory, we’ve been here since you were half way through third grade about seven years ago. Now you, our natural son, are 15 years old and you are in the eleventh grade a year early, because you completed middle school in two years instead of three by choosing their accelerated study program.”

Cory smiled and admitted, “I was rather bored in fourth and fifth grades. So I’m very glad for the middle school program that kept me busy and not bored. High school has not been boring and they still have many computer and business type choices to help me with my goal of starting a home based business like you had, Dad, before we moved here to the farm. You had been able to work at home and take better care of me before Jesus healed my paralyzed legs so I could walk and run and live a normal life.... You remember I told you of my desire to have a job like yours was, so I can marry a good Christian woman who would move with me to Mercy Valley Ranch to raise abused foster girls with me at home to help her. I chose that place because I know that horses are very good therapy, especially for abused girls.”

They both nodded their agreement, and Greg mentioned, “We agree with you that your plan is a good one. Our foster boys haven’t shown much interest in speeding up their education. They’d rather just go with the flow.”

“Right, Dear,” agreed Oralie. “Max, is 12 and is in seventh grade, his brother Levi, is 13 and is in eighth grade, and Kevin and Jack, who is now going by his middle name, Daniel, are 14 and they’re in ninth grade. They’re all good students, but not interested in pushing ahead like Cory did.”

Greg speculated, “I think maybe their big brother seems rather awe-inspiring to them, since he has always been so mature and he’s the one who taught them how to do their chores and all their ball skills. Plus he helps them with their school work and encourages them as much as we, his parents do. But it’s all done in the gentle loving ways of their big brother.”

“Indeed,” stated Oralie, “we are very pleased with all the things you do, Cory. Keep up the good work!”

Cory smiled humbly. “Thank you, Dad and Mom.” Then he added, “Jack did surprise us by wanting to use his middle name, Daniel, instead of Jack from now on. I think we’re all having a hard time getting used to it, but I like it better. Daniel was a very honorable Bible character. Jack has too many other meanings and I’m sure he has been teased a lot.”

“Well then,” reflected Oralie, “I wish we had suggested to him to do it earlier, but maybe it’s better that he came to the idea himself instead. And I will do a better job of remembering from now on!”

Greg agreed, “So will I, my dear.”

Brad interviewed Ben and Mindy on the way to and from church while he was still on the ranch and here are some of the questions and answers.

Brad: How long have you been married?

Mindy: Only since the last Friday before Christmas, and it’s wonderful!

Ben: I agree completely! And our wedding night was extra special because we had both saved ourselves only for our spouse, because our parents had told us how important it is.

Brad: I can see how that would help. Please give me a summary of your relationship. I’m a romantic who likes to hear how people get acquainted and decide to marry.

Ben: I met Mindy when she was about 12 years old and I was a senior in high school. I was impressed with her then and I was glad I could see her off and on during the following years when I went to visit a friend while Mindy was there helping his wife with her children. I grew to love her more and more but I had to wait until she grew up enough so I could ask for permission to court her. Permission was granted, and she came to love me also. I’m so thankful God gave me the desire of my heart.

Brad: What a charming story. I’ll remember your story if I ever have a situation like yours. What is the reason for the travel trailer you’re living in right now?

 

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Ben: I bought the used four-season travel trailer and towed it to the ranch, so I could live in it here while I was building houses with my two crews of other workers.

Mindy: Plus we plan to continue living in it until we can save enough money to buy or build a house, rather than renting or paying on a mortgage. The travel trailer is very cozy and comfortable for us. I like it, even though it is small.

Brad: Those are good ideas. What do you like about living on the ranch?

Ben: The ranch is a beautiful place to live and it’s so peaceful and quiet after we quit pounding for the day.

Mindy: I agree and even the drive up here from the city where I teach is delightful. Plus we usually find time on Saturdays and Sundays to go for horseback rides and we’re glad for the longer daylight hours now so we can ride right after our jobs during the week and then have supper.

Ben: But even on cold evenings we can enjoy the view of the mountains and valley out of our travel trailer windows before it gets dark. Then sometimes we can go riding in the big building after supper.

Brad: What do you do about a small group?

Ben: Mindy and I are in a small group here on the ranch. It works well because we’ve become part of their community.

Mindy: And besides, we don’t have to drive to Pine City and back. Once a day is enough for me.

Brad: Do you ever do things with any of the families on the ranch?

Ben: Yes, Mindy and I like to take four girls from another ranch family on hikes or horseback rides to give the parents some time alone, especially those who work in town, like the Hopkins and the other couple who have the same age group and work situation.

Brad: I’m sure the parents appreciate it a lot, plus the girls get to do things they would enjoy also. I like the way the people on this ranch have become a caring community.

Ben: Yes, even though I’m a newcomer I can see how well they cooperate and live in unity as believers.

Tony and Maria Valdez liked it when they could do lifestyle ministry. While biking in the park Tony asked, “Did you notice the young couple on the bench back there crying?

“Yes I did,” she answered, “let’s ride around the corner and stop by the side of the path so we can pray for them.”

After praying about it they felt they should go back and see if they could help. Tony and Maria listened and talked to the couple in their native Spanish language and later sang a song to them in Spanish, which emphasized that Jesus is the answer you are looking for and he wants to help you.

The couple listened carefully to the song and then Tony and Maria talked some more in Spanish and shared the Good News including many Bible Verses.

The couple asked many questions and when they were answered, they accepted Jesus. After rejoicing with them, Tony and Maria gave them a little booklet in Spanish and told them about the importance of reading it. Then they invited them to go with them to the Spanish Grace ‘n’ Faith Church that weekend.

The couple were glad to accept the invitation, and met them at the church. They had read the booklet and filled out the card, which they gave to the pastor of the church. The couple got right into a small group for new believers, attended church regularly and even started going to the English as a second language classes at the church.

Later Maria remarked, “Tony, my wonderful husband, I’m so glad we both enjoy riding bikes and that we can help people we see as we are out bike riding as part of our lifestyle.”

“So am I!” Tony exclaimed. “Especially when the results are as good as they were this time! Plus I’m glad we can both still do our ministry to children in the parks or the inside mall.”

Candy and Evan found some hymns and spiritual songs to go with the third little booklet, “The Holy Spirit In You.” They started the Bible study time by singing out of the hymnal, accompanied by an SD card in a boom box, “Open My Eyes That I May See.” And they read Psalm 119:18, Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Candy explained, “This hymn and the scripture verse are both a prayer to see truth in the Bible, to hear truth from good Bible teachers and to be able to share truth with others who need it. The person who is praying, is wanting to see, hear, and do the will of God as the Holy Spirit shows it. So we sang it as our opening prayer.”

Brad noticed, “This hymn goes very well with the Bible study we did the other day about surrendering and doing God’s will.”

 

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“It certainly does,” agreed Evan, “and it’s a good one for these lessons about the Holy Spirit. This lesson begins with other names of the Holy Spirit and examples in some verses where the names are found.”

Reba read first, “The Holy Spirit has other names that are used in the Bible. Here is a list of some of them. Spirit of God as in Genesis 41:38b, Pharaoh said that Joseph was a man in whom the Spirit of God is.”

Kate mentioned, “We heard the story about Joseph in Karen’s Bible Study Group. It was interesting.”

“Yes it was,” agreed Reba and then she continued to read. “The Spirit of the LORD is in Isaiah 40:13, which asks the question, Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or has been his counselor and has taught him?”

Candy informed them, “This is a rhetorical question, since it has an obvious answer. And the answer is ‘Nobody,’ because no human or other being is great enough to teach God!”

Bonnie thanked her for the explanation and then she read next. “The next name is the Spirit of Christ, in 1 Peter 1:11, The prophets were searching for what the Spirit Of Christ which was in them meant, when he told beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow.”

Flora was the next reader. “He is also called the Comforter, as in John 14:16,26, Jesus said, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever… The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance that I have said to you.

Evan commented, “Jesus said all this to his disciples shortly before he died on the cross for them and all the people in the world. This is another reason it’s good to read the Bible, so the Holy Spirit can remind you of what it says.”

“Yes,” Candy inserted, “Comforter can also mean Helper or Advocate.”

Kate nodded and went on with the reading, “The Spirit of Truth, in John 15:26, When the Comforter has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me…”

The next reader was Brad and he read, “John 16:13a says, when the Spirit of Truth has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself… and verse 14a says he will glorify Jesus.”

“Good job, everybody,” and then Evan added, “There are other names used for the Holy Spirit, like Counselor, and Teacher, but he is one Spirit as it says in Ephesians 2:18, For through Jesus we have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

“Right,” agreed Candy, “now that you have been introduced to some of the other names for the Holy Spirit, let’s read John 14:15 and 17, together.” Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. The Comforter, is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because… it does not know him … but he shall be in you.

Then they sang the hymn “The Comforter Has Come.” The chorus of this hymn is a joyful reminder that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter sent from the Father as Jesus had asked.

“Next we’ll sing ‘Blessed Quietness,’ because it’s another hymn, which also goes well with those same verses,” Evan stated. “It has a beautiful melody and tells of the joy, the fruit of righteousness, rest, assurance, peace, and gladness the Holy Spirit brings because he lives in trusting hearts.”

After they finished singing it, Candy said, “This is a good place to close our study for today. We’ll plan to go on from here tomorrow.”

Sunny suggested after supper and chores one evening, “I have an idea for a family activity. Each of you guys could spend some time daydreaming about what you’d like to do when you graduate from the farm. Write it, or them, in your notebook and afterward, we can talk and pray about them with each of you separately..”

“Great idea, Honey,” agreed Felix. “I think it would be especially helpful for Hugo and Jose since they’re seniors this year.”

This activity kept all four boys busy for about half an hour, and then they took turns on the two computers they all shared, looking up some of their ideas and writing whether they thought the ideas would work for them.

Harold and Ken dreamed up some unusual ideas because they weren’t really old enough to be serious about their futures. They enjoyed sharing them with their new dad and mom, and it helped them feel like they belonged to the family.

Hugo and Jose were grateful for the separate times to talk and pray about their ideas with their parents, because they didn’t feel ready to tell anyone else yet. They knew they needed to get serious and start getting prepared for their futures since time goes so quickly. Neither of them desired to follow the lead of

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their older foster brothers to join the army and study to become chaplains. They wanted to do something different. They would both think and pray some more before sharing their ideas with each other.

On a Saturday in Pine City, Pastor Don Ross and his family had been invited to lunch at the Suehiro family home. Kosuke and Aneko Makino, also live there with their parents, Tomo and Ami Suehiro, and they are helping to pay for the Suehiro family home. Kosuke is in the army and has some jobs on the army base, but also works as a teacher in the evenings at the Grace ‘n’ Faith Church School of Evangelism helping young people prepare to be chaplains in the army or other armed services. Kosuke’s wife, Aneko, works in the family restaurant. Their parents, Tomo and Ami, own and operate Ami's Japanese Restaurant and Tea Room.

This Saturday the younger brother and sister-in-law, Yoshi and Sakura Suehiro, were also there at the family home to visit and eat lunch. Yoshi works at his parents’ restaurant as bookkeeper and gardener, and his wife, Sakura, enjoys being a mom and homemaker. Their first boy is Naoki and he’s three years old. Their twin boys are two years old and are named Haru and Haruto.

After lunch, the Ross children, Timothy and Mary, who are both now in middle school, had fun entertaining the little boys while the adults visited. They liked sitting on the floor with them and helped them “drive” the cars and trucks around on the carpet.

Don stated, “Lunch was delicious! It reminded me of the refreshments you provided when our small group met at your house for our first meeting.”

“For sure,” agreed Anita. “I wish I could cook even half as well as you people do. I’m glad you share your skills with the people of Pine City who make the time to go to your restaurant. Where is your foster girl today?

Ami answered, “First of all, thank you for the compliments. To answer your question, we are between foster girls right now. The last one left early because she found a good job. We are ready for another one when they find a senior girl who has dropped out of school. Then Aneko will help her get settled and learn how to do household tasks and how to work in the restaurant.

So Ami and I are helping in the restaurant now, doing the things the other one had learned to do,” explained Tomo. “Since she left early she won’t be here to help the new girl. But it will all work out. Even though it’s only one girl most of the time, we have all learned so much more about having a foster girl here than when we first started a few years ago.”

Don commented, “We think this is a very good ministry for you to do for one girl at a time who would otherwise be out on the street or in a gang. I’m glad so many people in our church have started to take one or more foster children into their homes.”

Anita agreed and started singing, “Little is Much When God Is in It,” and they all joined in the song, which tells of faithfully working in God’s harvest, even though it might seem like little to others. When we do it for God’s glory it becomes much in his kingdom.

Later Anita declared, “Thank you so much for inviting us to lunch today. It has been delectable and delightful.

In the spring, the ranch was given two Kentucky Mountain Horses that had been abused. The humane society had called and asked Nathan and Esther to please come as soon as they could. The lady in charge took them to the corral and explained their problems. “The authorities brought these two here just this morning from the place that had been mistreating them. You can see they’re very skinny and weak from malnutrition and have wounds from whips in many places. Nobody is going to want to pay to take these two home and give them the care and rehabilitate them like I know you can.”

Nathan and Esther were both dismayed by the shape these two horses were in, but were worried that Oscar and Vera might say they really didn’t have room for any more horses.

Not knowing this, the woman went on, “We had a meeting here right after the authorities left and everyone agreed that if you will take these two and do the best you can for them, that the humane society will give them to you with no charges. Please say you will take them!

Nathan answered, “We would love to, but I will have to call the ranch owners, since I do not have the authority to do it without their permission.”

“In that case, please call them,” she urged.

He called immediately, and of course Oscar and Vera were as merciful as always and said to bring them right away.

So the woman exclaimed, “Hooray! We will load them into our horse trailer and bring them to you. How long do you need in order to get a place set up for them like you did with the other horses you helped?”

 

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Esther replied, “We should have their private paddock set up in about an hour. We’ll see you at the ranch.”

Oscar and Vera went to the pasture to help with the set up and watch as the horses were unloaded. Vera surprised herself and everyone else by bursting into tears as soon as she saw them. Oscar did the best he could to console her, while the horses were put inside their paddock full of lush green grass.

“How could anyone let animals get into such bad shape and then whip them on top of it?” Vera asked, when she had regained control of her emotions, knowing there was no answer for the mean things people did.

“I agree, Honey,” and then Oscar added, “I hope they will never be allowed to have horses again!”

The woman responded, “They were given a hefty fine and their horses were confiscated. Maybe they will learn from it.”

Unice, the vet, was also at the pasture and was just as dismayed as the rest of them were, but she said in her professional way, “I’ll go make each of them a small portion of the special diet mash for now and then some more two times tomorrow and the next days. It will take time, but we’ll get them looking better. They look to be about fourteen hands tall. I’ll bring the ointment for their wounds.”

Vera requested, “Stay a few minutes while I think of names for our newest guests. Then you’ll know who you’re cooking special mash for today. Thank you, Unice for your words of hope and all you will be doing to help these horses.”

The others added their thanks to Unice also.

Soon Vera declared, “These two horses will be a beautiful addition to our already large herd of thirty horses making it thirty-two. They are so much like twins with their medium brown color, like our little Brownie was, and the only way to tell them apart is by facial markings. I’m glad those are so different. I hereby name them Double Diamond and Serving Spoon, and I’m sure you can all tell which is which.”

“Perfect choices, my dear Vera, you named them very well just like you usually do,” stated Oscar. “I’ve always liked that color for a horse, which will be glossy when they’ve been restored. I think the LORD knew we needed two more horses for the extra people who sometimes come here to ride with our families.”

After about a month of the special mash Unice made for them every day, and the good pasture grass, plus some light exercise, both horses were looking much better. The ointment helped the whip wounds to heal up nicely and the hair was growing to cover up the scars. Now Nathan and Esther could groom them without having to stay away from the wounded areas, and the horses got more exercise in the round pen every day to increase their strength and endurance. These people on the ranch never even thought about the extra work these horses added to their already busy days. It was worth it to see them improving daily.

For the next Bible study using “The Holy Spirit In You” booklet, Evan went back and read from the introduction. “This booklet is about the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives and in the life of the church. First we’ll read some verses that help explain the Trinity, which means we have one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are always in perfect unity and agreement, like when they created everything in the beginning as it tells about in Genesis chapters one and two. The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the Bible, but the concept is there.”

So they looked up and talked about the following verses.

Brad read Genesis 1:26a, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… I noticed that God said us and our, showing that he wasn’t there by himself.”

Flora agreed and was next with 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. This verse names all three but in a different order than you said, Dad.”

“You're right,” Evan agreed, “and it doesn’t matter in what order their names are written.”

Kate read half of Matthew 3:13-17 and Bonnie read the other half. Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. But John forbade him, saying “I have need to be baptized by you, why do you come to me?” Jesus answered, “Let it be so now, for this way we will fulfill all righteousness. Then he let him. When Jesus was baptized, and came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. A voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

When she finished Bonnie observed, “It took a lot of verses to show that all three persons of the Trinity were involved in Jesus baptism.”

“Yep,” and Kate added, “and I noticed that John recognized and acknowledged that Jesus was better than he was. This was an interesting happening in Jesus’ life here on earth.”

 

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Reba agreed and then finished this set of verses with Matthew 28:19. “Jesus said, ‘Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in he name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’ Jesus named himself in the middle of this list.”

“Yes he did. The next part of our study today includes all the stanzas of a hymn about the Trinity,” Candy remarked, “so we will look at ‘Praise Ye the Triune God.’ First read all the stanzas to yourselves and notice how each one tells something about one of the three persons.”

Flora noticed, “The first stanza says we praise God the Father for his loving kindness and how he cares for us his children.”

“In the second one,” Kate continued, “Jesus is called the Savior, who had great compassion and cares for the people he chose.”

Bonnie added, “The third one says the Spirit is the Comforter and was sent from the Father.”

“I like the way the third one tells us to praise all three,” Reba observed,” and it finishes with the title of the song and Amen, which we learned from Karen means we agree or so be it.”

“Yes,” and then Brad observed, “The next part of the booklet on the monitor is some more about the Spirit. It says, sometimes the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of Jesus, or Christ, or the Holy Spirit or Spirit, are used interchangeably like in these verses in Romans chapter 8. Verses 9 and 10 say, You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you. If any person does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Christ. But if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

Reba commented, “Those verses help me understand better how Jesus can live in my heart. He lives in me by his Holy Spirit.”

“Same here,” said Bonnie and the others nodded.

Then Evan read, “Verse 14 continues, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God. And 15b explains that we received the Spirit of adoption and we can cry Abba, Father.” and he explained, “Abba is a word that means a lot like our word ‘Papa.’ One Bible translation used the word ‘dear’ instead of ‘Abba.’ We can say ‘Abba Father’ because the Spirit shows us we are God’s children. So we have that privilege.”

“Right, and he’s so much better than any father here on earth.” then Candy stated, “I’ll read the next two verses, 16, 17a, which have all three people in the trinity. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Since we are children, then we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. So these verses go well with the hymn we read earlier.”

Kate exclaimed, “It’s so good to read all these verses and learn all these helpful facts right from the Bible and see them in a song!”

Everyone agreed with her and then they finished the lesson by singing that hymn with the music on the boom box.

William and Anna Beckett took their lunch and one for Carlos Beckett, who was one of their four adopted (formerly foster) sons, when they went to visit him on the cattle ranch at noon one Wednesday.

Anna exclaimed, “I’m always amazed at how fast time goes, Carlos! You and Jana are already 22 and have been living and working on this cattle ranch for almost three years already!

“Plus,” added William, “you’ve gotten even taller and have filled out with muscles from your job as a mechanic and your other jobs here on this ranch. No wonder Jana told us she had her hopes set on you when she saw you at the farm and ranch graduation party. You’re a very handsome man!”

Carlos stated humbly, “Thank you, Dad, for all the compliments. And I thank God also for this body he gave me, and for putting me in your foster home where you brought me to Jesus as my Savior. Then you taught me how to live as a believer and Jesus has made me into what I am today. And of course I’m always grateful that you adopted all four of us boys.”

“We thank God also. And we are very pleased with the way all of you are maturing and are serving Jesus. How is your family doing?” asked Anna.

Carlos answered, “Jana still likes her job in the city as a receptionist in a doctor’s office. I thank God for her every day, because she’s a wonderful wife and mother for our four foster boys. Mike and Alex are 16 and are in eleventh grade, and Eric and Lane are 15 and are in the tenth grade. They’re all doing a good job in school, both as students and as evangelists since that day they all accepted Jesus during one of our times of evening devotions.”

“It’s good to hear about Jana and about the boys’ progress,” stated William. “I’m glad she and you decided to be foster parents here on this cattle ranch.”

Carlos agreed, “So am I! How is everybody else in our big family doing? Your regular family grew a lot when you adopted your first four foster boys. And now you are raising foster girls, besides!”

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“For sure,” William concurred, and all of our natural, adopted, and foster children are very special in their own ways. We thank the Lord for each of you!”

Then he and Anna went on to answer Carlos’ question about how the others were doing, and by then it was time for Carlos to go back to work.

“Thank you for coming here today and for the delicious lunch and enjoyable visit,” Carlos said sincerely. “Come again soon!”

Anna responded, “You’re very welcome and we will visit again soon. Since there is no place where we could have all of you come to visit us, this way works better.”

Surprising even themselves, the Fosters began thinking and talking about their last name.

Joy mentioned one evening, “When we finished our homework today Hope and I looked up the word ‘foster.’ We wanted to find out what our last name means.”

“The dictionary said it means to help or nurture development,” added Hope, “or to raise a child who was not your own by birth.”

Joy went on, “Some of the synonyms it listed were: encourage, care for, bring up, look after, parent, provide for.”

“All of those things are good things to do,” … Hope paused and then continued, “but after we thought about it, Joy and I realized that our family is not doing those things.”

And Joy quickly plunged on, “No, we aren’t doing those things, but the people who live on Mercy Valley Ranch and Farm are doing them and have been for several years. Some people in Pine City are also being foster parents.”

Then Hope asked, “Can parents who have children of their own by birth also be foster parents?”

“Of course they can!” Joy exclaimed. “I just remembered that Cory and his parents are fostering four other boys on the farm!”

The twins were silent for a few moments thinking, and then blurted out together, “So, would it be possible for our family to foster four girls on Mercy Valley Ranch?”

Roy and Sherry had been listening carefully in stunned silence while their girls talked back and forth about the family’s last name and asked that significant question. It could change their lives in many big ways.

They looked at each other and then smiled at their precious girls before Roy answered, “This is an extremely important question. Therefore, I think your mother and I need time to think, talk and pray about it before we can give you an answer.”

Joy responded, “We understand, … and agree, Dad and Mom.”

Hope added, “We’ll think about it some more and pray also while we wait for you to have the time you need.”

Another day on the ranch Brad interviewed Ted, Julie, and their four girls. Oscar and Vera had told him not to ask about the backgrounds of any of the girls on the ranch, because part of the goal of the ranch is to forgive and put the past behind them. He agreed, because he understood, but this day these girls volunteered their own information.

Brad: Would each of you young ladies tell me when your birthday is, and how you celebrate it?

Girls in unison: My birthday is on September 15, and we have a special family supper and then we give and receive gifts.

Brad: Wow! It sounds a lot like Christmas Eve at my home when I was growing up. Do you mean you all share the same birthday?

All the girls nodded and smiled.

Brad: But you don’t even look like two sets of twins. Did you all choose the same day for a birthday when you came here to live on the ranch so you could all celebrate on the same day?

Lily: No we didn’t. I guess we need to explain what quadruplets are. We really were all born on the same day. We just are not identical.

Rose: We all have the same father and mother, but our mother didn’t live after we were born. We just look like normal sisters.

Iris: One pair of grandparents took care of us while our father worked but when they couldn't do it any longer after we were five years old, he explained that it would be better for us to be in a foster family with a daddy and mommy to love and take care of us..

Violet: We love him and still get to see him every week, but this was the best thing he could do for us, especially since all four of us asked Jesus to be our Savior on our sixth birthdays, so we share that

 

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birthday also. We have a wonderful daddy and mommy here. And now we call them Dad and Mom since we’ve gotten older.

Brad: Thank you, ladies, for explaining about quadruplets and about your birthdays and your family. Now that I remember, I have heard about quadruplets before, but I always assumed they would be identical. Now I have the privilege of knowing quadruplets who are not identical. Well, I’m glad you aren’t identical. Maybe this way I can more easily put your beautiful names with your lovely faces.

At this point Brad, having gotten way more information than he had asked for, decided to skip the rest of his questions for the girls and switched to Ted and Julie.

Brad: Ted, please tell me about your job.

Ted: I’m the handyman here on this ranch and I repair whatever needs to be fixed on the houses.

Brad: What a good idea, to have a person living right here who can do the work. Is that what you did when this was a dude ranch?

Ted: No, before we moved to the ranch to raise four girls, I worked for an auto body shop repairing damaged vehicles.

Brad: Those are two very different careers. Which do you like better?

Ted: I definitely like my job here much better. I’ve had a part time job in the city doing the same things for a while, but I will quit the job in the city so I can have time for repairs or whatever is needed in the extra houses when one more of them is completed.

Brad: It sounds like a good plan. Julie, how do you have time to be a school teacher along with being a wife, homemaker and mother to four girls?

Julie: Ted and I had always desired a big family and therefore he helps me with the extra work. And besides, each of our girls is learning how to be a good homemaker, and they take turns doing the needed tasks around our home. So we all work together on it.

Brad: I’m glad to hear how so many of the people on this ranch work together to accomplish the goals for Mercy Valley Ranch. Thank you all for this good interview!

Vera made a phone call in the middle of a weekday. “Hi, Betty I called to invite you to come to the ranch and talk about cooking. Ever since you gave me some of those heart healthy recipes, when Walt was here planning our remodel of the ranch, I’ve wanted to see if you’ve gotten any other ones.”

“Indeed I have,” replied Betty, “and I’d like to share them with you. What would be a good time for me to come see you?”

Vera responded, “I'll plan to get my other work finished and have some free time on this coming Thursday afternoon. Could you come here then?”

“Yes, I’ll look forward to it, and it will give me some time to get them scanned and copies made like I did the last time,” said Betty.

So on Thursday, Betty drove to the ranch and they spent some time reviewing the recipes. Then Vera shared some she had found and asked, “Do you think any of these would meet the requirements for healthier eating?

“Positively!” Betty declared. “Have you tried them out on your family, and if so, what did they think?”

Vera answered, “They all liked them, so we added them to our list of menu options. And so I was wondering if you and I could find or develop more recipes for healthy bodies, including the heart.”

“I think your idea is brilliant!” Betty exclaimed. “Let’s work on some and if you have time I could come here again next Thursday and we can share what we’ve done.”

Consequently, they worked on finding or developing new recipes and sharing them for several weeks. Then they decided to put them together into a little booklet and make them available through the church for anyone to download and view on a computer monitor or smart phone. Or they could pay the church for the cost of printing it and obtain a printed copy.

Candy began their next study time, “Yesterday we read some more scriptures about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity. So today we will continue in the booklet after we sing ‘Breathe on Me, Breath of God,’ which is a prayer asking for help to love what God loves, to have a pure heart and do God’s will, and to endure.”

“I like that song,” stated Evan after they finished singing. “It goes well with the next verses in the booklet, which are John 20:21,22, Jesus said to them…, ‘Peace be unto you. As my Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ Jesus said this to his disciples after his resurrection and before he had ascended to heaven. On the day Jesus ascended to Heaven after his resurrection, he told them in Acts 1:8, you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit fills you, and you shall be my witnesses.”

 

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Candy added, “Then the Holy Spirit came and filled them on the day of Pentecost as we can read in Acts 2:1-37a. She read those verses aloud to them.

Then Brad read 37b-39, … What shall we do? Then Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Then Evan read, “The disciples and others who believed, had repented and were baptized, so they had the Holy Spirit, also called the Spirit of Jesus, living in them, like Jesus told them in John 14b:20, I am in you. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. They were sent out to preach and teach in His power as in Mark 16:15 and 20, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to everyone … And they went and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word with signs following.”

Kate was the next reader. “Jesus, by his Spirit, does his will and work through believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit when they believe in him, and are willing to serve Jesus in his church, the body of Christ. All believers all over the world are what Paul calls the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12,13a it says, for as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles. All believers are doing Jesus work all over the world because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance as it says in 2 Peter 3:9b. But it's up to each person to repent and believe. It’s a wonderful privilege and responsibility to serve Jesus!”

Reba read next, “Not all people will speak in tongues or prophesy as they did in Acts chapter 2. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not about experiences or feelings. Those are not the important things. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, his fruit is also the result, as it says in Galatians 5:22,23, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering or patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control; against these things there is no law. Plus his power can work through us as we all yield to him to do as he wills.”

Then Flora read, “It is important to learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how to listen and follow his guidance. In the church, the Holy Spirit distributes graces or gifts to people as he determines. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, Jesus by the Holy Spirit gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfection of the saints and for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Bonnie asked, “What do those verses mean?”

Candy explained, “Grace or gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit who lives in us and knows what gifts are the best for us to use. The purpose of the gifts is to edify or build up the body of Christ, which means the church. The goal is to know and become like Jesus.”

“Thank you for explaining this,” then Bonnie read, “Another list of the gifts is in this summary of I Corinthians 12:7-12, The gifts of the Spirit are given to each man to the profit of all. The same Spirit gives the word of wisdom or knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working miracles, prophecy, discerning spirits, different tongues and the interpretation of them. These are all from the same Spirit, given as he wills. For the body is one and has many members that make it up. It is the same with Christ. Then I Corinthians 12:31 says, but earnestly desire the best gifts (and learn that love) the most excellent way, as the next chapter says.

Reba read, “In it Paul makes it clear that the gifts are worthless if they are not done with love. Read verses 4-8a aloud together.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. Love is patient, love is kind; it does not envy or boast and is not proud. It does not behave rudely, is not selfish, is not easily angered, and does not think evil. It rejoices in the truth, not in iniquity. It bears and believes and hopes and endures all things, and it never fails.”

Then Flora went on with the reading, “We know that we are filled with the Holy Spirit because of the verses we have read. Knowing that the Holy Spirit is in us is a great comfort and help. John 7:37b-38, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me as the scripture has said, out of him shall flow rivers of living water. This is a summary of verse 39a, He spoke this because the people who believe in him would receive the Holy Spirit.”

The next reader was Bonnie. “This next scripture is like one we read in the last lesson. Galatians 4:6 says, Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba Father. This verse has another name that is used for the Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of God’s Son. It also repeats the privilege believers have of crying, Abba Father.”

 

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Brad continued by reading, “And Ephesians 1:13,14, say You trusted in Christ after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. After believing in Jesus, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of our bodies, to the praise of his glory.”

Evan commented, “Since we know the Holy Spirit is in us, we can practice asking him to help us listen for his guidance as we read the Bible, as we are quiet and wait for his guidance, and then we trust and follow his directions. At one time it was hard for me to understand how Jesus, a grown man, could live in our hearts as some songs say. But the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of God and The Spirit of Jesus, so Jesus lives in believers by his Holy Spirit, like we learned last time.”

“Yes, and it helped me understand it better!” Kate declared and she was the last reader for this day, “In addition, Romans 8:26,27b are a wonderful promise,… the Spirit helps our weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us… and he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

Bonnie exclaimed, “I really like those verses!”

“So do I!” Candy agreed. “This was a very good lesson!”

Roy and Sherry talked and prayed after their girls were in bed, and Sherry wondered, “Shall we tell them what we talked about many years ago about raising four more girls and what we decided then?”

“Maybe just the part about it not being fair to the two we have, but no, let’s not since it was so long ago and both girls sound like they would like to do this,” answered Roy.

Sherry nodded, “So what we need to decide is how you and I really feel about the idea for now and in the future. We also need to make a list of the many changes they and we would need to make. I’ll write them on this paper as we mention them. We can talk about the pros and cons later.

Roy: It will be more work for all of us.

Sherry: We wouldn’t be able to buy our twins special things.

Roy: You and I would have even less time as a couple.

Sherry: We would need to sell this house.

Roy: All the girls would have to ride the school bus.

Sherry: Our twins might not be able to go see their ‘cousins,’ the Anderson children any more, but we don’t go there as often now that they’re in middle school, anyway.

Roy: Our family would get to live on that beautiful ranch and ride horses as often as possible.

Sherry: Our last name would be the same as what we are doing.

Roy: This would be a new and meaningful ministry for our family to do together.

Sherry: It might complicate courting and romance for the girls, but at least there is the no dating rule until they are nineteen and go to live in Pine City.

Roy: Our twins would have to graduate from the ranch when they turn nineteen just like the rest of the girls do.

Sherry: It sounds like our twins are in favor of the ministry.

Roy: We have had time as a family, doing the church school, traveling with the RV ministry, and now doing family ministries, so we could make these changes.

Sherry: I would have six girls to teach how to sew and cook.

Roy: I would have to learn how to do things to help you more.

Sherry: And now we need to talk about the pros and cons for each item and delete ones that aren’t really problems for us and ask God for help for any that will be hard. Then we can pray about what is God’s will for us.

Roy and Sherry prayed after deleting the one about having less time as a couple, because it was just being selfish. They would figure out how to solve it later. Maybe they would talk to some of the other ranch foster parents to see what they do.

The next evening after homework, supper and clean-up, they met in the living room for a family meeting. First, they prayed and then remembered and talked about watching the TV program, ‘Meet Some of Jesus’ Servants’ earlier in the spring. Oscar and Vera had been interviewed on it, and Roy, Sherry, Hope and Joy had all been impressed when they had seen it. Then the family went through the list Roy and Sherry had made. Everyone in the family said what they thought about each item. Some of the things would not be a problem anyway, and other things could be worked out as they came to them. When the list was satisfactorily taken care of, they prayed conversationally, each one taking two turns.

When they finished praying, they all felt they could do this project. So Roy suggested, “Let’s think and pray some more individually, and if any of us come up with other problems or a change of mind, we can talk some more next time. Be very honest with yourself, because if we decide to do this, then we have to

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carry through with it for at least the next five years until all the foster girls are nineteen and on their own in Pine City.”

On the ranch after their girls had left for school Hana mentioned, “Honey, Kendra is still procrastinating about getting ready for church. We’ve been late to the service the last two times. When I talked to Yolanda Hopkins while we were on our last horseback ride with their family, she mentioned that using realistic or natural consequences for discipline for the foster girls works well.

“Did she have an example?” asked Afta.

Hana answered, “Yes, she told me about one of her girls having a problem with getting ready for horseback rides because she couldn’t find her helmet.. She told her that the next time it happened the girl would have to stay home and miss the ride, and it also meant that a parent would also have to stay home with her.”

“That would be an awkward situation, especially if one of us would have to miss church because of it,” reasoned Afta.

Hana continued, “Well it worked well with that girl, who wasn’t ready again and had to clean her room up while the others went riding, so she would be able to find her helmet and be ready to go at the right time for the next horseback ride. The girl apologized to her mom, who had to stay home with her and miss her horseback ride, and from then on, she kept her room clean and organized.”

“Well,” Afta suggested, “maybe we could tell Kendra that if it happens again, she will just have to come with whatever she has on right then.”

“Brilliant idea!” Hana exclaimed. “It should work perfectly if she’s still in her pajamas or just has shorts with a T-shirt on that day.”

Afta and Hana encouraged Kendra to be dressed for church on time and then explained what would happen if she wasn’t. It did happen again the following weekend, so they carried through with the realistic consequence. Kendra had to go to church in shorts and a sweat shirt while the other girls went in their pretty dresses. Kendra was very embarrassed, and from then on, she was always dressed for every occasion on time.

Evan began the last lesson in the booklet about the Holy Spirit by reading the first paragraph in that section. “It is very important for you to learn to watch out for songs and even parts of some hymns or what some teachers might say, that are not in accord with what the Bible says. The pastors in all the Grace ‘n’ Faith churches have all been trained to only teach what God’s Word says. So you don’t have to worry about what they say, but you do need to be careful if you go somewhere to a seminar or listen to teachers on the radio or TV or the web.”

Brad read next. “This next scripture will help you know more about the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:2 says, The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (here the word ‘him’ means Jesus), the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”

Next he read 1 Corinthians 2:10b,11b,12… “ The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. The Spirit knows the things of God. We did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, so we might know the things that are freely given to us by God…”

Evan explained, “One thing the Holy Spirit does for us is to help us understand what God is saying in the Bible. 2 Peter 1:20, 21 tell us, Know this first. No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For prophecy did not come … by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. For that reason it would be a good idea to ask him to help you learn what he wants you to learn each time you read in the Bible.”

Bonnie asked, “Does that mean we can pray to him like we do to the Father and Jesus?”

Candy answered, “I think it does, and it is something he came into this world to do. The next part of the booklet repeats two verses we read parts of earlier. In John 16:13,14, Jesus said,… when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatever he hears, he shall speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it to you.”

“Wow!” Reba exclaimed. “Those verses go very well with his name, Teacher!”

Everyone agreed and Kate read the next part of the booklet. “We stress this very important admonition: all the gifts should be done with love and to bring glory to God, NOT to the person or to the church. Many times one or more people might come to Jesus for salvation because of a gift being used. People who have just witnessed a miracle are usually very open to hearing the Good News and believing in Jesus for salvation.

 

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Flora agreed, “Yes, it was that way for all four of us girls and Brad after Jesus made Reba's leg grow as long as her other one. We were amazed and easily convinced that everything Liz and Stella told us was true.”

Bonnie nodded and read the next section in the booklet. “First Corinthians 14 tells about how to use the gifts in order to avoid confusion. “Verse 1 tells us to desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy because verse 3 says, prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort to build up (the church.) Verse 13 says those who speak in an unknown tongue need to pray that they may interpret (translate.) This is so the people listening can know what was said. Verse 26b again stresses to let all things be done to edify or build up. And verse 40 says, Let all things be done decently and in order. God is not a cause of confusion. Instead he gives peace.”

“All of those sound like very good ideas,” observed Kate.

Reba stated, “They sure do.” Then she read, “The Holy Spirit also helps us as we share God’s Good News with others. In Matthew 10:20 Jesus had told the disciples, it is not you who speaks, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. He said this to the disciples after telling them about persecution that sometimes results from telling others the Good News. In the book of Acts the disciples did get in trouble for speaking about Jesus, but Acts 4:31 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us speak the word of God with boldness, even if we might be persecuted.”

Flora read to the end of the booklet, “This is a summary of the verses in 2 Timothy 2:20-23.. In a … house there are vessels of gold, silver, … wood and clay. Some are to honor and some to dishonor. Cleanse yourself from dishonor and you shall be a vessel of honor, sanctified and fit for the masters use, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful cravings and follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and unlearned questions, knowing that they cause conflict.”

Evan prayed, “Father in heaven, please make us all into vessels of honor so you can use us to do your will in our world.”

And then they read in unison, Romans 15:13, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. And to finish the lesson they sang “Channels Only.” The lyrics include praise to Jesus our Savior for all he did for us, including making us a cleansed vessel he could use to give his living water to others. This finishes the first three booklets.

Before he left that day, Brad thanked the family for letting him join their group and for all the things he had learned. He would be leaving the ranch soon to go back to Pine City with his completed story about Mercy Valley Ranch. He had found a small studio apartment to rent in the city and would start saving money to buy a vehicle. Ben and Mindy helped him move his things from the Visitors’ Cabin to his apartment. The people on the ranch had come to like Brad and were sorry to see him leave.

Ruth had just bought a condominium. Pam had com to see it and to visit. She mentioned, “I just noticed that you have no head or foot boards on your bed. Also, your bed is out in the middle of the room. Aren’t you worried about your pillows falling off on the floor, since you have no head board?”

“Not at all,” Ruth answered, “it has never happened and I doubt that it ever will. It sure makes it easier to unmake and remake the bed when I wash the sheets. This is like the bedrooms in the new houses on the ranch. They were furnished with beds without head and foot boards. And most of the original houses have removed theirs and put them in the storage rooms in the garage.”

“I understand now,” then Pam remarked, “I like the way you have this room arranged, even though I’ve never seen a bed out in the middle of the room before.”

Ruth went on, “It’s the best way to utilize the space in this very big bedroom, because there’s room for things beside the bed along the walls. This room is really more than just a bedroom, since it has room for a recliner, a Bible study desk, my piano, and a sewing machine.”

“It’s a good thing,” agreed Pam, “since the condominium has only one bedroom instead of two.”

Ruth nodded and explained, “Yes, and this is one of the reasons I bought this one. They were having trouble selling it and lowered the price a lot because of only one bedroom, so I got a good deal on it. Now my rent money is going into equity in this very comfortable condominium on the ground floor. I have no stairs to climb like in some that have all the bedrooms on the second floor.”

Later Pam exclaimed, “Oh, this is super! You even have a laundry room, along with all the other nice things about your new home! It’s so nice to not have to go to a laundromat every week!”

“I really like that too,” stated Ruth. “I’m very glad I followed my parent’s suggestion, and was able to find such a nice place to live. And besides all those things, it’s very close to the park that we and our ministry partner like so well.”

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The weekend right after Brad Decker moved back into Pine City from Mercy Valley ranch where he had stayed for about a month, he obtained the next two booklets from the church office right after church. The fourth one was titled “Small Groups Are the Church In Action.” When he got to his apartment after church he started reading it right away.

The introduction stated that parts of the following booklet have been rewritten as if it is being read aloud, with comments and some questions and answers, by people who attend the church. These parts have been assembled to make the booklet more enjoyable to read and to answer frequently asked questions as it goes along.”

The first note Brad wrote in this new booklet said, “Good, this sounds like it will be a lot like when I read the first three books with Evan, Candy, and their four foster girls.” Then he continued reading in the booklet, where Sam was talking to a friend he had just led to Jesus, who asked, “What’s a new believers small group?”

Sam answered “It’s a number of people who meet together in a group, which is started by the pastor and his wife. The group is started because some people just asked Jesus to save them, and they want to learn more about how to live now. My parents told me they had helped lead several small groups for new believers. They answered questions about the first three little books, which taught about how to live as a believer, about water baptism, and about the Holy Spirit.”

Brad wrote a comment, “I realize that my new believers small group was with Evan and Candy and their girls.”

Sam’s friend remarked, “It sounds like a lot to learn. After that, are they ready to just go ahead on their own?”

“No,” replied Sam’s ministry partner, “The people in the new groups are encouraged to continue attending the group they are in, and it usually becomes a continuing small group for the rest of the year. Then the people would go into other groups in January, where they could meet new people and make new friends and keep learning.”

Sam explained, “The church will soon start another new believers small group and get the people ready for the special baptismal service in a couple weeks. By then they will have read the first booklet called ‘Your New Life,’ and will have gotten their questions answered.”

“Right,” his partner agreed, “so then their next meeting would teach them about Water Baptism. After that they would learn about the Holy Spirit and they would get little booklets for each of those topics. Then when they were ready, the facilitator would explain many other things about small groups to them and give them a little booklet about small groups.”

And so that person, who had just accepted Jesus, learned that new believers small group meetings were different from the other small groups in the city since all the members would be new believers. Many times a new group would be started as a result of a baptismal service where the service ended with a pastor explaining the Good News and people invited by those who were baptized prayed with him to accept Jesus as their Savior.

They would go up front to talk to the pastor and receive the little booklet he had offered. He was ecstatic and told them how glad he was for them. The booklet had a little card inside that said, “Please fill me out and bring me back to church and give me to the pastor next week if you would like a visit from the pastor or would like to join a group especially for new believers.” It had a place for name, address, and phone number.

The pastor explained to them, “If you would like to get into a small group especially for new believers, fill out the card and bring it with you to the church you will attend this coming weekend. You can give it to the pastor after the service is over. New believer groups will be started to teach you how to live the Christian life, and most of them will continue as regular small groups. Your lives on this earth will be different now and there are many things you will need to learn. The best place to learn these things would be in a new believers small group.”

The group members for these new groups usually arrive close to on time, and the meetings go very well. Many people in the group have questions about things in the booklets. Pastor Don and Anita and the co-facilitators take turns answering questions so the group can be accustomed to the co-facilitators when they will take over facilitating the group on their own in a couple weeks.

One time just before refreshments, Don said, “We'll meet again next week, and it will be at the church, so you can see the baptismal facilities there. We'll talk about water baptism, cover some other topics and answer any other questions you might have.”

Then he handed out booklets about water baptism. And he reminded them about how important it would be for them to continue attending the new believers small groups. “There's so much to be learned,

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and it's very helpful to be able to listen to each other and ask questions. We'll have one more meeting for this group with co-facilitators and then Anita and I might need to start other small groups if you all go out and witness and bring more new believers to the church! You'll continue in these groups until January, when all the individuals and couples in all the small groups of our church will be put into new groups containing people you probably won't know yet. It is a very good way to meet and make new friends in the church. Come now and join us for a few refreshments and a time of visiting.”

Brad wrote, This part of the book explains a good way to get a new group going. If I had been living in the city, I would have been in one of those, but the way I did it worked well for me.” He took a break while he fixed himself a meal.

The Foster family talked, planned and then prayed some more, and Sherry asked, “After our last prayer time together did you all do what Dad suggested?”

Everyone including Roy and Sherry nodded. Nobody had a problem or had changed their minds, so they decided and agreed as a family to have their last name to be what they do. Now they needed to do a lot of planning.

Roy mentioned, “We will get on the waiting list at the ranch for a house with an extra room for the two extra girls.

“Correct,” agreed Sherry, “and as far as I know there are only three of those, so our chances are rather slim.”

Hope added, “But if God wants us to do this, he can work out a way to make it happen.”

“Absolutely!” Joy declared. “This would be a way to know for sure God wants us to do this.”

They all nodded in agreement, so Roy called Oscar and Vera to get on the waiting list. Then the four of them prayed for God’s will to be done.

Oscar and Vera knew Nathan and Esther would not be moving out of their home with the extra bedroom and neither would they, but they did talk to the people in the home above theirs.

The family who had been living there, decided they would like to move to the upper level of one of the new houses, for an even better view of the mountains. They didn’t care about the extra room, so as soon as the third house had the upstairs finished they would move there.

Soon Oscar and Vera called Roy back and told him the plan and the timing so they could go ahead with plans to sell their city house, and be sure to get the training needed to raise abused foster girls.

Joy and Hope were ecstatic, and their enthusiasm was fun to see and it was also contagious. So they made plans to become a foster family on the ranch with four girls ages 15 and 14, starting this year while Hope and Joy were 12 years old and in middle school.

Hope and Joy said they would like to share the extra room beside the game room after they helped the first two girls get settled by being their roommates until the other girls arrived. Then the other girls would be roommates in the other rooms.

They would have many more family meetings and much prayer as they continued to plan for this big change in their lives.

The next section Brad read in the booklet about small groups was about another situation that happened in Pine City. Sara and Kim had been in a foster home at Mercy Valley Ranch. They had their graduation party and then their nineteenth birthdays, so they moved from the ranch into an apartment in Pine City.

Sara mentioned, “I’m glad we asked Pastor Don to find a small group you and I could be in together. Plus I’m very thankful for the little booklet about small groups that Karen gave us in the special meeting she had for the ranch graduates.”

“So am I,” and Kim went on, “in this booklet, it says that the groups meet at least once a week and have time for singing, praise reports, teaching on some topic related to living for Jesus, and a conversational prayer time instead of prayer requests. Some people take notes during the prayer time, so they can continue praying at home about a topic. Often during the prayer time someone will ask the Lord a question or for guidance and another person will have a prophecy or a word of knowledge or wisdom from the Lord that answers it. After the prayer time, there's usually time for fellowship and refreshments.”

Brad stopped reading while he wrote, “I’ll take a notebook to the group meetings so I can write the names of the songs, take notes on the teachings, and write topics to pray more about in it.”

Sara agreed with Kim, “Yes, and it goes on to say that the meeting typically lasts about two hours and is usually after supper on a week night in the home of one of the members, as it says in part of Acts 2:46, And they continued daily with one accord,… and from house to house, … with gladness and singleness of heart.. People take turns being the host, and there are facilitators for each group.”

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Kim asked, “What if no home is available? Oh, the answer is in the next paragraph. The group meets in the lunchroom of the church annex building. Some members have only studio or very small apartments with one bedroom that aren't large enough for a group of 10 to 16 people, but they want to take a turn as host so they bring refreshments and set the lunchroom up for a small group meeting using chairs from the sanctuary so people don’t have to sit on the benches for the lunch tables."

“This is a good idea!” Sara declared. “Maybe we can do it for this small group since our apartment is so small. I’m looking forward to attending our first small group meeting this coming week.”

Brad wrote several comments after reading what Sara and Kim had commented about as they read the booklet. “I’ll try to remember to write the things that I should pray about at home. And I’m glad I already know about prophecy and a word of knowledge or wisdom from the booklet about the Holy Spirit. Also I’m glad these booklets have spaces for us to write our comments and questions. I’ll need to ask about how to get to the annex building and its lunchroom so I can see what it looks like and plan to host a meeting there.”

The following section of the booklet is from the first meeting of a small group of believers where Don and Anita Ross were the facilitators.

Don welcomed everyone and stated, “We'll begin with each of you introducing yourself. Include your first and last names, where you work, and how long you've been living in Pine City. You might want to take notes now, and later we will have a list of names and phone numbers for each individual or family.”

When they finished the introductions Anita explained, “We keep the singing part of our meeting simple like we do at church and use recorded music on an SD card in this little stereo boom box.”

They used hymnals like were used at church, and sang some psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs as it says in Colossians 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Brad wrote a comment, “I like singing and using a hymnal. The music at church is always so pretty.”

When they finished singing Anita mentioned, “I would like to encourage you all to reread the words of the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we sing on Sundays and in these small groups, because many of them have meaningful teachings in them and they can also be a way for you to have praise times at home. If any of you would like to buy a hymnal we have used ones for sale right here, or you can buy new ones at either of the Christian bookstores in town.”

So Brad wrote, “Buy a used hymnal at the end of the first meeting that I get to attend.”

The next paragraph in the booklet explained, We usually don't see gifts of the Spirit in action in the Saturday or Sunday services because of so many people and so little time. That's the reason we need small groups where there is more time and fewer people so we can follow Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 14:26,31b,33,40, … when you come together, one or another has a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, an interpretation, a revelation; let all things be done for edification, … in order that all may learn, and all may be comforted. … For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace … let all things be done decently and in order. We often see some of these gifts operating during the conversational prayer time of a small group.”

Then the booklet went on to say, “Very seldom, a person might invite someone who is an unbeliever to a small group meeting, but if they do, they will give the leader a note so he can present the gospel as the pastor does in church. And if that is the case, the format of the group will change for that meeting so the invitee won't be confused by gifts of the Spirit in action.”

Brad wrote, “What a good idea!” and then continued reading.

“We believe the church is Jesus' Body functioning on earth to do what Jesus himself did and would do, but not just in one time and place but also through many churches around the world. That doesn’t all happen in just one service on the weekend. It needs small groups and pairs of believers who are sent out to minister by Jesus through the Holy Spirit like they did in the Gospels and in Acts.”

Brad put the booklet down, so he could finish it another day. He realized how much faster it was to read it silently and write his comments than it had been to read and comment aloud with Evan and Candy’s family on the ranch.

When the Fosters went horseback riding for their next time with the Blakes and their quadruplets Roy and Sherry had made arrangements to stay afterward and have all of them go to the game room so they could talk to Ted and Julie, while their girls played board games in another part of the room. The twins didn’t say anything to their friends about the family plans yet.

Ted and Julie were glad to hear about the Fosters’ plan and told them of the things they had done to get ready to move to the ranch.

 

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Then Ted suggested, “However our situation was much different than yours will be. So maybe it would be more helpful for you to talk with Jeff and Karen Spencer, who had a house to sell and furniture to get rid of, and to Ian and Yolanda Hopkins, who had the same situation and also already had two foster girls when they moved here.”

“We’ll tell them about you, give them your phone number and they can call you at a time that works best for them,” offered Julie.

The Fosters left with many thanks for the ride and the information. When they reached home Sherry explained to Hope and Joy, what they had learned from their friends Ted and Julie and that they would be expecting phone calls from two other couples.

After the Spencers and Hopkins had called them and shared their experiences, Roy and Sherry and their twins had a much better idea about how to handle their own project. Sherry had busily written notes about what both couples had told them and then she and Roy talked about them and marked the ones that would pertain to their own family. Then they prioritized and put them into the best order to accomplish them. Sherry would rewrite the list.

Next they told the twins they would have a family meeting soon to go over the list with them.

The next day Brad read about how the small group booklet explains the Lord’s Supper and how important it is to be saved before partaking of it. Most small group members are already believers, especially in the new believers small groups.

The little booklet included the following information. During the week before Easter / Resurrection Day, all the small groups were having communion in place of the teaching time to honor and remember Jesus and what he did for us. They started by singing the hymn, "One Day." The lyrics include details about Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, that he is in heaven now, and he will come again to take us home to be with him in heaven.

Then Pastor Don asked the group to open their Bibles to Luke 22:7-9,14,19,20. They followed along as he read. Then the day of unleavened bread came, when the Passover must be killed. He sent Peter and John saying, "Go and prepare for us the Passover, so that we may eat it." … When it was time, Jesus sat down, and the twelve disciples were with him. … Jesus took bread, and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, "This is my body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."

Next Don and Anita passed out the little pieces of unleavened bread and read verse 19 again before everyone ate the bread, remembering Jesus. Then they passed out little cups of grape juice and Don read verse 20 again. They all drank it and bowed their heads, remembering all that Jesus had so willingly done for them. It was a very precious and meaningful time for them all. After that, they sang the hymn, "One Day" again and it meant even more to them this time.

Many of them felt grateful and kept thanking Jesus silently. Don summed it up for them all when he started the conversational prayer time with, “Jesus, we are so grateful for your great love and all you did for us by willingly taking our place and making our salvation possible, and for this season on our calendars, which focuses on that time in your earthly life.”

Anita added, “We're also very thankful that you didn't stay dead, but were resurrected the third day and appeared to so many of your followers who wrote about it in the Gospels and Acts so that we could read and believe, be saved, and have eternal life with you.”

“Yes, and thank you for this new small group where we can, in unity, take communion in such a meaningful way,” Tony said.

When they arrived home from that meeting Julie stated, “Communion with the small group was so much more meaningful than the ones we've had in the other churches we've attended. I think the words of the songs and the fact that it's Resurrection Day tomorrow had something to do with it, and being in a small group helped also.”

Another day, Brad read in the same booklet, the following quotes about small groups that were made by people at various other times.

“I think small groups are an extremely good idea. There’s no time before or after the church services to get to know anyone, but being in a small group makes up for the lack of time. I’ve learned a lot from the ones I’ve attended since my salvation.”

“Our church small group meetings are very special.”

“The small group for new believers has been a great help to us. We're learning so much,”

“I like the fact that Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”

 

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“Yes, I also like the conversational prayer time. I didn't know what to expect, but it's just like everybody was talking to God like he was a part of the group, and they added to what was just prayed or changed the subject as needed.”

Lora commented after supper one day, “I thought our small group last night was extra special. The songs were some of my favorites.”

“Same here,” said Vern, “and I always like to hear the scriptures that go with the songs.”

“So do I,” Mindy added, “and I’m glad the three of us get to attend the small groups as a family. Plus I like the way the teaching time goes so well with the songs and Bible verses.”

Another man said, “We probably won’t be in the same small group, in January because they change all the groups the first week.”

Somebody else mentioned, “They will announce the special baptismal service at church next Sunday for those who would like to attend, especially if they know any of the people who will be baptized. Any small groups that meet on the same day are welcome to come to the service in lieu of their regular small group meeting."

Brad wrote another comment, “That’s why there were so many people in the congregation for the special baptismal service where I was baptized.”

Next are some random happenings connected with small groups.

At their small group meetings two weeks before Easter, people in small groups would receive little notes that invited people to come to church on Easter. They could pass the notes out to friends, acquaintances, and even just people they saw in stores. This happened for all twenty-four churches and it was a great outreach idea that really worked!

Jeff and Karen spent Friday morning cleaning the house and finding their extra folding chairs so there would be enough places for everyone to sit during the small group meeting the next morning. Then Karen left Jeff to finish setting up the chairs and went to bake a couple dozen each, of two kinds of cookies for refreshments. Jeff and she could enjoy some of them for their lunch today before they went to their respective jobs.

Tony desired to be friends with Ted and remembered he had Ted's phone number on the list that Anita had handed out at the small group meeting, so he could call him some evening as soon as he got home from work, or at his supper break time, which would be even better, than calling so late in the evening after he would get home.

One evening, Jason was thinking about all the things he had learned at the new believers small groups and even by listening to the testimonies at the baptismal service. The church services also added to his knowledge, plus now he was able to understand the Bible when he read it at home every day. The words to the hymns and songs that were sung at church and small group meetings were also significant to him. He had bought a hymnal so he could read them over at home. He read some of the other hymns in it also, and learned several more things from them.

In his notebook Brad wrote, “I will start reading the hymnal I will buy and see what I can learn from some of the hymns in it.

When he had started tenth grade in high school, Cory had gone to see William, who had moved to the ranch. Cory asked, “Mr. Beckett, could I obtain a copy of your list of good and bad things to look for in a possible marriage partner and your lessons on how to be honorable people?”

William answered, “I'll be glad to give you a copy of the list, but instead of the lessons, I’ll give you a copy of the book Karen Spencer and I and others wrote about how to be honorable. Plus I’ll give you the other book we wrote about choosing good examples.

“Thank you sir,” said Cory, “Since my foster brothers and I attended the church school we were not in your Bible Study Groups. My parents are very good, but I’d like to have your additional information to make myself better and share it with my brothers.”

“Excellent idea, Cory,” William responded, “and you’re very welcome. I’ll go get you copies of those things right now.”

The same year, Cory heard about the list Fiona had made and asked his mother to go see if Mrs. Spencer would give her Fiona’s the list and the list of issues also. He wanted time to become the kind of man who would pass all those tests so an honorable woman would desire to marry him. He also wanted time to think about the issues and be able to come to intelligent opinions about them.

Later he made time to type all the scriptures in personalized prayer form to use for himself. He asked his parents to give his foster brothers copies of William’s list, Karen’s list, issues, and of what Cory had typed, so they could have the same good ideas Cory would use. His dad, Greg, would talk to to each of his brothers as they got old enough.

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Cory had also written and then typed ideas from the biographies of famous people. He had read biographies of many people. The Mercy Valley Truck Farm library included the following books that the boys would probably be interested in reading: “Carry on Mr. Bowditch,’ by Jean Lee Latham; “Johnny Tremain,” by Esther Forbes; and biographies of famous Americans by David Collins like: “George Washington,” Johnny Appleseed,” Abraham Lincoln,” “Francis Scott Key,” “Charles Lindbergh,” and “George Washington Carver.”

Greg and Oralie would read those biographies to their other boys at the proper time to encourage them to make those good qualities part of their lives. They would read part of a book each time allowing time for comments, questions and answers. The boys would enjoy those biographies and learn a lot.

It was time for the Fosters family meeting. First they summarized what they had learned from the phone calls and made comments.

Roy noted, “We’ve already done some of the things, like being sure the whole family is in unity and desires to do this project. Everyone is willing to do the extra work it will take.”

Then Roy handed a list to each of the twins and told them what it was. He gave them time to read it and asked, “What do you think about this and do you have any questions?”

Joy remarked, “I just learned a big word at school that would be good to describe this list. It is very comprehensive.”

“Exactly,” agreed Hope, “plus it’s also in consecutive order.”

Joy went on, “It tells us what some of that extra work will be, so we don’t have to wonder about it.”

Then Hope asked, “When will we go talk to Pastor Don?”

Sherry answered, “We can call him and make an appointment as soon as our family meeting is over. I think it’s important to get his input before we go much further with our plans.”

“Right,” agreed Roy, “and he can tell us where to get the training we need.”

Joy inquired, “May Hope and I go with you to the training so we will know how we should act and what we should do also?”

“It would be a good idea, indeed,” their mom concurred, “and did you notice that we do not put the house up for sale until after we get the license we need.”

Hope reasoned, “This is another good idea, because if we can’t get a license, then we would need to keep this house and stay here.”

Roy suggested, “Let’s close this meeting and call Pastor Don for an appointment. Then if he agrees with our idea we can start working through this list one by one.”

On a work day for Brad, he took his completed story to the company he was working for in Pine City. The editor read it and called Brad into the office. She stated, “This is a good story, but we can’t use it here unless I make a lot of changes and leave out all those Bible verses, and that ‘miracle.’ Are you willing to do that?”

“No, Miss,” answered Brad, “I was only allowed to write this story if I would ‘tell only the truth and give God the glory.’ This story needs to be told to the world the way it really happened.”

So he gave the company a two week notice that he was quitting, and he finished up the other articles he had written and gave them to the editor who had no changes to make. Then he went and looked for a better job.

After looking for almost a week, he took the story to the interviewer for the TV show, “Meet Some of Jesus’ Servants” and asked him to read it. That man liked it a lot and decided to set up a live interview with Oscar and Vera as soon as possible. He also hired Brad to go find more of Jesus’ servants who would be willing to share their stories on the TV program. Brad was thrilled and enjoyed this job immensely.

Oscar and Vera were happy to do the live interview, because it was a way for them to praise God and share with many people the way he had helped them with this ministry. The interviewer got good feedback from a lot of viewers.

Before that, Brad had read the last part of the small group booklet. It was a Bible study about the LORD and his goodness, which is like the ones used in new believers small groups. This lesson can catch people up if they were not in a regular new believers small group.

The facilitator began by saying, “When you understand who God is and who you are in Jesus, your life can take on new meaning. So in our teaching time today I’m going to hand out some scripture references for some of you to look up and be ready to read and comment on if you have a comment. If you’d rather not read out loud just shake your head when I come to your place.”

 

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He handed out slips of paper with references on them, and let the people have time to find and practice the verses.

Then he instructed, “Put the piece of paper in the place where your verse is in the Bible and listen to the other verses that will be read.”

He put up a poster he had made explaining the name, LORD. The poster said, “Who God is: Exodus 3:14,15, God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And he said, this you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. And God also said to Moses, tell them the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever and this my memorial to all generations.”

Then he explained, “The people in the old testament wouldn’t say the one name of God that meant I AM, because they felt it was too sacred. In writings they would use only the letters YHWH, but not pronounce it. Most translations use the word ‘LORD’ with all capitals, to mean that name, and you’ll see it many times in the old testament. Listen for the name, LORD, in the following old testament scriptures.”

Next he had the people read their scriptures and they talked about each one as it was read.

“Isaiah 43:10,11 says, You are my witnesses, says the LORD, … that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and beside me there is no Savior. This verse makes it very plain that he is the only god who can use the title LORD.”

A member of the group suggested, “This might be a good verse to memorize or have marked in my Bible to show to some of my former friends who believe there are other gods as good as the one spoken about in the churches.”

The next reader said, “I agree. Isaiah 44:6 says, Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, the redeemer, the LORD of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. This is another good verse to prove there is only one God.”

The people in the group nodded their agreement and the next reader continued, “Psalm 145:8-11 is pretty long, The LORD is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. All your works shall praise you, O LORD, and your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and talk of your power. These verses tell many of God’s good attributes.”

Another member remarked, “I really like those verses, because I was always taught God was mean and to be feared. I’ll use them to replace those wrong teachings.”

The next person exclaimed, “What a good idea! Psalm 103:8-12 is another long one and also has many things we can praise and thank God for, because it says, The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always reprimand, neither will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

A member declared, “Wow! Those are good verses! I can use those to counteract the feelings of guilt that plague me at times. Plus, I like Lamentations 3:22,23 a lot. It is because of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions do not fail. They are new every morning, great is his faithfulness. This verse is a great promise for us to claim.”

The facilitator agreed, “It definitely is. In fact my wife and I have those verses done in calligraphy and I put it in one of those plastic protective covers and mounted it beside our bathroom mirror.”

A different member observed, “It sounds like it would be a good idea to read and think about all these verses often.”

The facilitator nodded emphatically and then said, “Our last verses for today are Hebrews 1:1-3, In various ways and different manners, God spoke in the past to the people of Israel. Then he spoke to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things and by whom also he made the worlds. His son is the brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of his person. He upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had by himself cleansed our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…

“To me these verses are saying that the LORD spoke in many ways in the Old Testament and finally in the New Testament by his Son, Jesus, who is equal with him. Jesus made the way to bring us back to God, and because he sits at God’s right hand, he intercedes for us there as it says in the last part of Romans 8:34.

“I prepared a printed page with all these verses you and I read today on it. You can take it home and use it regularly as part of your devotions or Bible study times to remind you who God is and praise him for all he has done for you.”

This ended the small group booklet.

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Brad wrote, “I’m definitely looking forward to attending a small group here in Pine City!”