Weekly Bible Lessons Notes Scripture, unless otherwise indicated, is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. All comments, enquiries and suggestions may be directed to: The Head, Educational Resource Development Department Freeman Centre for Missions and Leadership Development, P. O. Box 413, Kumasi, Ghana. Telephone: (03220) 23014, 20968 Email: [email protected] Copyright © The Methodist Church Ghana July - December 2012 128 1 The Weekly Bible Lessons is produced biannually by the Educational Resource Development Department of the Freeman Centre for Missions and Leadership Development of The Methodist Church Ghana, under the supervision and over- brought out – sight of the Board of Ministries of the Church. This booklet is designed to facili- They were instructed to go to Bethlehem and “make a careful search for the tate and enhance organised group Bible studies, within group (class) meetings child” They were told to report back their findings to King Herod, and they and personal devotion. had no idea about the king’s evil intentions about the child. Review Editor Note that, they were going about their search as any seeker would do, but in Our Writers all of it, God was absolutely in control. When they left Jerusalem to go to The following writers made significant contributions to this edition of Bethlehem, the mysterious star appeared again, and “went ahead of them until Weekly Bible Lessons, July - December 2012. it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed (V. 9-10) Right Rev. Professor O. Safo-Kantanka, BSc., MSc., PhD., Diocesan Bishop, Kumasi Diocese. Are you earnestly seeking the Lord as these wise men did, then you can be Very Rev. (Mrs). Comfort Ruth Quartey-Papafio, MTS., ThM., sure that the ‘star’ that should lead you to your destination will surely re- Effiakuma Circuit, Sekondi Diocese. appear. Rev. Daniel Kwasi Tannor, BA., MPhil., Duayaw Nkwanta Circuit, Sunyani Diocese Sometimes we get to a point where the search seems laborious and appear Rev. Harry A. Awortwi, BSc., never to end. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The star you Asuoyeboa Circuit, Kumasi Diocese. first saw will certainly re-appear, because you have taken the step of faith to Rev. Kwame Amoah Mensah., B.Ed., seek for Jesus whose mysterious star you first saw. Evangelism Coordinator, Sekondi Diocese. Very Rev. Samuel Kofi Osabutey, M.A., BIBLE READINGS Director, Lay Ministries Division & Freeman Centre. Monday Matthew 1:18-25 An Angel visits Joseph about the virgin Very Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, BA., PhD., birth Chaplain, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. Tuesday Matthew 2: 1-8 The Magi follows the supernatural sign Very Rev. Christopher Andam, BA., MSc., Wednesday Matthew 2:9-12 The star returns to lead the way Kumasi Circuit, Kumasi Diocese. Thursday Matthew 2:13-18 The supernatural redirection of the Very Rev. Isaac Kweku Sam, BA., MPhil Magi Tamale Circuit, Northern Ghana Diocese Friday Matthew 2:19-23 An angel gives direction for the Very Rev. William Mpere-Gyekye, BA., MAR., ThM protection of the baby Tema North Circuit, Tema Diocese Saturday Luke 1:46-56 Mary’s song of praise Very Rev. Charles Ekuban, MTh Pankrono Circuit, Kumasi Diocese 2 127 Our Guest Writer: It therefore seems that the Three Wise Men were astrologers, because they had ability to interpret the unusual movement of the stars and other objects in space. Rev. Theodore M. Asare President/CEO, Theovision International Scientists who have to deal with ‘space’ always come face to face with the enormity of the universe and the fact that what we know is very little compared to what exists. Some of such scientists have the humility to acknowledge that there must Editorial Staff be a God of creation behind this vast expanse of space and the objects in them. Editors: Two things may be noted about these three wise men. Very Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo, BA., PhD., When they saw the mysterious star and put an interpretation to the event, they Chaplain, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. were prepared to act in response to what they had seen. Many people will end up in eternal damnation, because of their failure to act on Very Rev. Samuel Kofi Osabutey, M.A., what they became convinced of about God at one point in their lives. Director, Lay Ministries Division & Freeman Centre. Others will lose some opportunity that God offers them in life that could have made all the difference in their life, but they failed to act on what they had come to Editorial Assistant: Mr. Richard E. Amissah, Jnr., know and been convinced of. Administrative Officer, Freeman Centre “and have come to worship him” (v.2) Review Editor: Rt. Rev. Prof. Osei Safo-Kantanka, There are some people who live their lives by daily going to read from the Diocesan Bishop, Kumasi Diocese. Newspaper columns, on astrology entitled “Let the Stars Be Your Guide” Paul wrote thus about such people; Published by: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created Freeman Centre things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen”. (Rom 1:25) Very Rev. Samuel Kofi Osabutey, M.A., These three men are described as “wise” because they refused to sit in their Director, Lay Ministries Division & Freeman Centre laboratories and get excited about their findings, but they moved “to worship” the God who created the stars. Join the “wise men” who are seeking the Jesus whose mysterious star continues to shine across the globe and you will never be the same, and your “scientific” study will bring meaning to your life. And the star ….went ahead of them (v.9) The writer of the Book of Hebrews made this profound statement about faith in God. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 1:6) These wise men took a step of faith to seek for the king who has been born. They did what was in their power to do. They traveled to Jerusalem They went to the king and innocently asked about the king who had been born King Herod instituted a search on their behalf and the necessary information was 126 3 WEEKLY BIBLE LESSONS - SYLLABUS FOR 2011-13 REFLECTIONS The prophecy of Joel was that when the Holy Spirit is poured; “Your sons and For the past three years, we have moved away from the World Coun- daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has already taken place at cil of Churches Common Syllabus and developed our own in order to Pentecost and so we should expect God to speak to us through all these deal with topics relevant to our needs. supernatural means. We thank God for the wide acceptance that this approach has re- Have you ever had any experiences which could be described as angelic visitation? ceived. Do you have any examples to share with your group? While not entirely departing from this approach, we would like to Do you think God often reveals things to you through dreams? Does this happen quite often and do they often happen as revealed to you? Do you recall any introduce some variation. In this new approach, our major emphasis situations where you failed to instruct or advise some people based on your dream will be on what I call the ‘expository teaching’ approach. and it led to undesirable consequences? Essentially, it involves choosing some passages or books in the Bible and carrying out an exposition on them to bring out the relevant is- Do you have the gift of interpretation of dreams? Remember, Joseph had this gift sues involved. from childhood and he developed it for the good of others including Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Daniel also prayed for wisdom to interpret dreams and God granted it to In this way, when a book or passage is completed, we shall be satis- him. How can these gifts be nurtured or allowed to grow in the Methodist Church fied that we have exhausted all that we can learn at this time from the Ghana? particular book or passage. PART II: A MYSTERIOUS STAR LEADS THE MAGI Another emphasis will be character study which will enable us to SCRIPTURE LESSON: MATTHEW 2 learn from the failures and successes of Biblical characters. INTRODUCTION But we shall not completely abandon the ‘topical approach’ as rele- One astounding event in the whole Christmas story which takes us into the realm vant topics shall be handled in the same way as we did before. Some of the supernatural is the visit of the Magi and the mysterious star that led them. It topics will also be repeated for emphasis. provides a lesson on how God leads his people and gives them direction in the realm of the supernatural. Let us examine the story, as found in Matthew 2. We pray that the Lord will continue to direct us the writers and bless EXPOSITION you abundantly through your study of the Weekly Bible Lessons. We saw his star (v.2) There are about three scientific disciplines that are related to the study of stars. Rt. Rev. Prof Osei Safo-Kantanka These are defined as follows; Review Editor. Astrology - the study of the movements and positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars, and the skill of describing the expected effect that these are believed to Instructions For Use: have on the character and behavior of humans.