LOOKING AHEAD

One of God’s most distinguishable attributes is His holiness. Throughout this quarter, we will discuss various aspects of God’s holiness and how they relate to the lives of His children.

In the first unit, we will investigate “His Holy Presence.” Our first lesson is about Moses’ mountaintop encounter with God when he asked to see God’s glory (Ex. 33:12-23). That request, which God only partially fulfilled because showing His full glory would have proven fatal to Moses, later led to God’s glory appearing in the tabernacle (40:1–11, 34-38), the subject for the second lesson.

Lessons 3 and 4 expound familiar passages from the prophet Isaiah. For Christmas, we look at a marvelous prophecy of the birth of the Child from the line of David who would lead the nation in God’s righteousness (Isa. 9:1-7). The following week contains a glimpse of the incomparable greatness of God from Isaiah 40:21 – 31. Who can compare with our great God?

Our second unit peeks into “His Holy House.” We begin lesson 5 with Jesus in the temple as He forcefully cleansed it from an infestation of hindrances to people’s worship on the holy God (John 2:13 – 17). In lesson 6, we return to the days of King David, when he brought the ark of God into Jerusalem. The psalm of worship and thanksgiving is truly astounding (1 Chr. 16:23-33)!

Isaiah’s view of God sitting on His throne in all His splendor is the subject of lesson 7 (Isa. 6:1-13). Then, in lesson 8, we turn to Psalm 113:1-9 to praise God, who looks down to provide care for the people He created while sitting high above the heavens.

Unit 3 investigates “His Holy Expectation” and begins with lesson 9 on Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the completion of the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kngs 8:22-30). In lesson 10, we look at God’s instructions for Israel after they left Egypt (Lev. 19:1-4, 9-18). The instructions found in that passage explain that God’s people must follow the example of holiness that God Himself provides.

Instructions for holy living are not restricted to the Old Testament. Lesson 11 returns to the New Testament to repeat the command for God’s people, both Jewish and Gentile followers of Christ, to live holy lives (1 Pet. 1:14-17). We complete this quarter with an exhortation from Hebrews 12:1-17 to run toward holiness.

Glenn Weaver

PLEASE NOTE: Fundamental, sound doctrine is the objective of LifeStone Ministries, Union Gospel Press. The writers are prayerfully selected for their Bible knowledge and willingness to submit to the Spirit of Truth, each writing in his own style as enlightened by the Holy Spirit. At best we know in part only. “They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts. 17:11).