Here is a question to ponder from this lesson:

What was Jesus' primary characteristic as a human being?

The greatest danger of church leaders today as in the former is that while they may value the perks of their office, if they do not have a truly Christ centered life, they could sit back and rest on their laurels, so to speak. "I have arrived!" just like the church leaders in the day of Jesus.

I voted maybe! Don't want to throw out the baby with the water. Christ would have died to save just one. I would like to think that most would not give up the mission personally as they strive to inspire the church family in whole.

Why is one of the options "try to help other people"? The word "try" is so negative. Quite simply, Jesus certainly did help people, the blind, people with evil spirits in them, etc. Jesus did much more than just "try" -- "he did help". Let's be positive over this matter.

Happy Sabbath to all..

I'm a young Indian guy in Malaysia...
I am to conduct SS Lesson this week for the day Tuesday in my church (Sungai Way Indian Church)...

Let me put the day in simple words...

Matthew 11:19 Holman “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.””

First we need to know who are these;drunkard, tax collectors & why are they hated by the community

Drunkard-these guys do not change since the times of Noah till to date.they drink, beat up their woman, hang out late nite with friends till forget about family, does not have a proper job & also sleep on the street with no shame.Such filth are they...

Tax Collector-theses guys are the olden day gangster or mafias.they go around with few Roman guards or soldiers demanding tax & beating up those who refuse to pay up.
Didn't Jesus asked us to give to Caesar,what belongs to Caesar.
the problem is,since there is no computer system or online payment or record system, olden day people can't check their payment record.so these tax collectors collect money frequently, giving to Caesar,what belongs to Caesar, and the rest goes to their pocket

So why does Jesus hang out with these guys....???
Previously God said,
Proverbs 4:14 (New International Version)

14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evil men.

In my native place, there are small hut in villages where they sell fermented coconut milk as substitute to alcohol (but the effects are still the same) to get drunk
So there is saying 'Don't drink even milk in these huts, there wouldn't be any differences between you & those drunkards'

So again, why Jesus mix aroud with these people...??

Matthew 21:31-32

Then Jesus told them: You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! 32 When John the Baptist showed you how to do right, you would not believe him. But these evil people did believe. And even when you saw what they did, you still would not change your minds and believe.”

Simple--
They believed in the idea of salvation, because they are the ones who are neglected by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law & they are the ones who craved for forgiveness... theywould not do it, but later he changed his mind and went.

As for the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, they would go,but didn’t go...

i am really proud to reply in these topic...
i was very shy to write in this forum...
i thought my thoughts are worthless...
but i wrote in this forum anyhow & i will continue to write...

I welcome ur comments & critics...
I'm sorry if my English is bad

"To God be all Praises"

Sunway Pathfinders

Jesus spent time with them because of His intention to save them. He loved them and wanted them to be with Him in His kingdom. That is the only reason. He did not enjoy hearing all the bad language and cursing and seeing people get drunk. That is not why He went to their homes. He would go out into a deserted place and spend all night in prayer before going to the homes of the drunkards, etc. He did not assume he was strong enough to resist the temptations on his own. He relied only on His Father.

He went to those places for a specific reason, in order to bring the gospel to them. He wouldn't have gone there without making some kind of appeal for the people to surrender their lives to God.

Too often we might go to those places and actually participate in the sins. We might laugh at dirty jokes, etc.

Would you advise a Christian, especially a young, inexperienced one, to be in close, frequent association with non-Christians?

Do we spend enough time with God and in the Word so that when we go among the drunkards and the prostitutes, we are strong enough spiritually so we are able to resist the temptations that we find there and are good witnesses for Christ?

Why did I use the word "try" in the option "try to help other people"?

For this simple reason - a person cannot be helped unless he/she is willing to be helped. Christ "tried" to help the religious leaders of His day, but He was unable to do much with these top people because they were unwilling to be helped.

This is so true. Jesus tells us that we are in the world, but we are not to be of the world. When we spend times with sinners, we are to do this only with a prayer on our lips to help these people see Jesus. If we go for any other reason, Satan will be sure to pull us into their sins.

There are times that even then, there are times that it is not God's Will for us to be among them because we are not yet strong enough for this. So before ever doing this we need to pray and ask Him what His Will is for us in this.