A New Respect

B^e,cxcnouNo Scnrprunr: Ezekiel 35:22-32.

PnrNrto Trxr: Ezeki el 36:22-32.

Ezekiel 36222-32

22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel,Thus saith the Lord Goo; I do not this foryour sakes, O house of Israel, but for mineholy name's sake, which ye have profanedamong the heathen, whither ye went.

23 And I will sanctify my great name,which was profaned among the heathen,which ye have profaned in the midst of them;and the heathen shall know that I am theLono, saith the Lord Goo, when I shall besanctified in you before their eyes.

24For I will take you from among the hea-thery and gather you out of all countries, andwill bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water uponyou, and ye shall be clean: from all yourfilthiness, and from all your idols, will Icleanse you.

25 A new heart also will I give you, and anew spirit will I put within you: and I will

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take away the stony heart out of your flesh,and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And,I will put my Spirit within you,and cause you to walk in my statutes, and yeshall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And ye shall dwell in the land thatI gave to your fathers; and ye shall be mypeople, and I will be your God.

29 I wil l also save you from all youruncleannesses: and I will call for the corn"and will increase it, and lay no famine uponyou.

30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree,and the increase of the field, that ye shallreceive no more reproach of famine amongthe heathen.

31 Then shall ye remember your own evilways, and your doings that were not good,and shall loathe yourselves in your own sightfor your iniquities and for your abominations.

32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith theLord Goo, be it known unto you: be ashamedand confounded for your own ways, O houseof Israel.

Lesson 3

DrvouoNn L READTNG: Psn ru 25:l'L-22.

GolonN Trrr: The heathen shall know that I am the Lonn, saith the Lord Gon,when I shall be sanctified in vou before their eves.-Ezekiel 36:23.

MARCH 15

Christ and CreationThe Promise of New Life

Lessons 1-5

Lesson Aims

After participating in this lesson, each studentwill be able to;

1. Tell what God promised to do for Israel, notfor their sake, but for the sake of His own holyname.

2. Explain how a Christian's behavior can honoror profane God's name before other people.

3. Determine to honor God's name in one sne-cific way.

Lesson OutlineINrRolucrtoN

A. Reflective ReputationsB. Lesson Background

I. THa Lono's Hory Navn (Ezekiel 36:22, 23)A. God's Name Profaned (v. zz\B. God's Name Sanctified (v. 23)

City on a HillU. Tns Lonn's Hory Propln (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

A. Renewed Residence (v. 24)B. Renewed Cleanness (v. 25)C. Renewed Heart (v. 26)D. Renewed Spirit (v. 27)E. Renewed Fromise (v. 28)

III. Tsr Lono's Hory LaNo (Ezekiel 36:29-32)A. Land of Productivity (rw. 29, 30)

Increase ofthe FieldB. Land of Bad Memories (v. 31)C. Land of Former Shame (v. 32)

CoucrusrottA. The Holy LifestyleB. PrayerC. Thought to Remember

IntroductionA. Reflective Reputations

Are good reputations important anymore? Ourcurrent culture seems to be endlessly infatuatedwith celebrities who obviously have no concernto maintain a good reputation. Their peccadilloesare paraded in public to a degree that would havebeen astonishing a generation ago. Rather thanput forth even a fagade of morality or wholesome-ness, some celebrities court a reputation of self-

ishness, arrogance, nonaccountability, and generalnaughtiness.

These obvious facts may lead us to think that "agood reputation" means nothing to a secular cul-ture. But not so fast! The importance of good rep-utations has made a comeback with the rise ofonline auctions. There each transaction receivesa feedback rating. Those who participate in thisworld value high positive ratings because thisimplies trustworthiness. Even a few negative feed-backs can damage a person's standing to the pointthat buyers will avoid bidding on his or her iiems.

To combat this, some sellers change their onlineidentities frequently. Yet reputable auction siteshave made this tactic difficult. Even in the relativeanonymity of the Internet, a reputation for dishon-esty may follow a person for a long time.

Growing up, children begin to understand veryearly that many factors contribute to a person sreputation. Are they mean or kind? Do they tellthe truth or tell lies? Can they keep a secret or dothey blab it to everyone? These and many otherpoints of natural evaluation are thines that formthe opinion of their peers about them. In mostplaces the actions of children reflect positively ornegatively on their parents. If children are out ofcontrol, sullen, and defiant, teachers mav assumetlral lheir parents are neglectful and inidequate.Ifchildren are respectful, cooperative, and happy,teachers will assume that the parents are goodpeople doing a good job.

The Bible teaches that our actions as the peo-ple of God reflect upon the Lord God himself. Ifwe are His disobedient or discontented children,then nonbelievers will see our God in a negativelight. God's holiness will not allow for this, io Hetakes remedial action to purge evil from His peo-ple. This is what happened to Israel in the timeof Ezekiel.

B. Lesson BackgroundEzekiel taught that God is very protective of His

holy name (Ezekiel 39:25J. We may wonder why aname is so important to God. In the biblical world,a persons name was synonymous with that per-son's reputation. The Bible speaks of glorifuingGod's name (Psalm 86:9), singing to God's name(Psalm 68:4), praising the name of God (psalm99:3), etc. All of these are ways of recognizing thegood reputation of God's name and drawini onits power for our lives. We can see the powdr ofthe name in the remarkable reference to the Lord'sname as "a strong tower," a refuge for the righ-teous (Proverbs 1B:10).

It is for these reasons that the name of the Lordis to be guarded as holy. It is not to be profaned

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LESSON 3

(Leviticus 22:32) or to be used in vain (Exodus20:7). These values are (or should be) still impor-tant to the people of God. We should treat thename of our God with enormous respect, for thisis a sign of our true relationship to Him. Likewise,we should not engage in behaviors that reflectpoorly on our God, behaviors that sully His holyname. Hearing people flippantly say "Oh, my God!"should cause us to cringe.

I. The Lord's Holv Name(Ezekiel 362i, zg)

A. God's Name Profaned (v.22122. Therefore say unto the house of Israel,

Thus saith the Lord Gou I do not this for voursakes, O house of Israel. but for mine holv name'ssake, which ye have profaned among the heathen,whither ye went.

A recurring theme in Ezekiel is God's charge thatIsrael has profaned His name (see Ezekiel 20:39;36:20; 43:B). God has determined that these daysare over, and He will no longer allow His nameiobe defiled (Ezekiel 39:7;43:7).

lsroe1 is known as the people of its God, theLord. Yet the behavior of the nation has reflectedpoorly on her God. The people have created a soci-ety that tolerates the random shedding of blood;they also accept the worship of foreign gods andidols (Ezekiel 36:18).

Although God loves the people of Israel, He isunwilling to have His reputation trashed by thissociety, which shows no respect for Him. Thehouse of Isruel has forgotten its heritage, its ori-gin, and its covenant (feremiah 2:J2; Ezekiel22:L2). The Israelites have become just like the

How to Say ItASRAHAM. Ay-bruh-ham.Annnv. Ay-brum.BasyLoNrAN. Bab-ih-1ow-nee-un.BuArtruDr. Bee-o-tuh-tood (o as inmat).coRNUCoprA. kor-nuh-ko-pea-uh.DrcHoroMY. die-ko.h-tuh-me.EznIcl. Ee-zeek-ee-tl or Ee- zeek-:rul.Ezna. Ez-ruh.IsnrRH. Eye-zay-uh.Isnartrrss. 1z-ray-el-ites.lnnrvnu. lair-uh-my-uh.Lnuucus. Leh-raf-ih-kus.NeHsvIAH. Nee-huh-my-uh (strong accent

onmy).Zrcuanras. Zek-uh-rye-uh (strong accent

on ryel.

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other nations (Ezekiel 2b:8). [See question #1,page 248.)

B. God's Name Sanctified (v. 23)23. And I will sanctifu my great name, which

was profaned among the heathen, which ye haveprofaned in the midst of them; and the heathenshall know that I am the Lonl, saith the LordGoo, when I shall be sanctified in vou beforetheir eyes.

The immoral and ungodly conduct of Israel hasIeft God with no alternative but to sonctirtz Hisnameby himself. It will be God's actions that willcause the pagan nations to know the power of Hisname, to know that Heis the Lord.

Tb sanctify means "to make holy, to consecrate."We as Christians should understand that we havea responsibility to guard the holiness of God'sname. Our actions should not defile the Lord'sreputation in the eyes of unbelievers. This is why|esus taught us to pray to God, "Hallowed be thyname" (Matthew 6:9). The importance of this isshown in that it is the first request of the Lord'sPrayer.

In the New Testament, this respect for God'sname is extended to |esus. The name of fesus ispowerful (Acts 3:6; 4:101; His name is associatedwith holiness (Acts a:30). It is the power of thename of fesus that sanctifies and justifies us asbelievers (1 Corinthians 6:11). [See question #2,page 248.1

Crry oN A HrLLJohn Winthrop was a Puritan leader in England

who became interested in the possibility of estab-lishing a colony in the New World. Chosen asgovernor of the colony in 1629, he came withthe original settlers to the shores of North Amer-ica in 1630. The voyage across the Atlantic wasa tempestuous one, as were virtually all Atlanticcrossings in that day. Along the way, Winthroppreached a sermon to the colonists, a sermon thatset the course for the future colony.

Wnthrop reminded the people that they hadto form a community and work together as a unit.

"Wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill," he said, and"the eies of all people are uppon us." If they failed,they would become a story and a byword through-out the world and open the mouths of enemiesto speak evilly of the ways of God and all thosewho professed to follow Him. In order to preservethe colony, they had to follow God's will ind thusbecome a testimony to others. If they failed, Godwould evict them from the land.

Winthrop's message was that if they were faith-ful, God would demonstrate to the world His

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goodness, and pagans would see this as a witnessto God's blessing. "Therefore lett us choose life,that wee, and our Seede, may live; by obeying hisvoice, and cleaveing to him, for hee is our life, andour prosperity." Do these words of more than 300years ago still have relevance? - I .B.N.

II. The Lord's Holy People(Ezekiel 36:24-28)

A. Renewed Residence (v.2a)24. For I will take you from among the hea-

then, and gather you out of all countries, and willbring you into your own land.

God's primary witness to the pagans is thepeople He has chosen to be His unique nation-Israel. For the world to understand the nature of aholy God, it is important for His people to be holythemselves. Because of the disgrace and humilia-tion of the Babylonian exile, this will require totalrenewal.

The first stage of this renewal process is to bea gathering of the people back to the lond thatwas promised to their forefather Abraham (whowas previously known as Abram; Genesis 12:7).God intends that this land be occupied by righ-teous people (Psalm 37:29; Isaiah 60:21). This isreflected in the third Beatitude of Jesus, whichpromises blessing for the "meek," for they arepromised an inheritance of the "earth" or land(Matthew 5:5).

B. Renewed Cleanness (v. 25)25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you,

and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness,and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

Most of us take clean water fot granted. We havemunicipal water supplies that provide abundant,drinkable water from the faucets in our homes. Inthe ancient world, though, clean water is not ascommon. Community wells can be brackish, andwater from streams may be muddy. Water storedin cisterns becomes disgusting and unhealthy overtime. Clean water comes from pristine springs orfrom rainfall. Good water is seen as a blessingfrom God (see Numbers 27:1.6).

This image of renewal is employed by Paulwhen he speaks of the church being cleansedby water. This water is "the word"; its cleansingpower makes the church a perfect bride, "holy andwithout blemish" (Ephesians 526,27).In the Gos-pel of John, the figure of "living water" is usedfor the renewing power of the Holy Spirit (fohn7:38, 39).

We are still exceedingly capable of defiling our-selves by worshiping abhorrent idols. We may not

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bow down to carved images of wood as the ancientIsraelites did, but allowing an1'thing to displaceGod on the throne of our hearts is idol worshipjust the same. Thue spiritual cleansing must comefrom God, for even our best efforts at holiness areinadequate (see Isaiah 64:6). [See question #3,page 248.1

C. Renewed Heart (v. 26)26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new

spirit will I put within you: and I will take awaythe stony heart out of your flesh, and I will giveyou a heart offlesh.

The renewal project of God includes a "hearttransplant," In the Bible, the heart is the seat ofthe will. A hard, stony heart is one that has defi-antly aligned itself against God and rejects obedi-ence to God's will.

To have a heart of flesh, by contrast, means thatIsrael will have a pliant heart, a will submissive toGod. This is also expressed as the presence of thenew spirit, which is the inner renewal granted byGod. Earliex Ezekiel had prophesied that this newspirit and heart would allow Israel to be consid-ered God's people again (Ezekiel tt:tg, 20). [Seequestion #4, page 248.1

D. Renewed Spirit (v.27)27. Alnd I will put my Spirit within you, and

cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shallkeep my judgments, and do them.

The idea of a renewed human soirit is the sub-ject of Ezekiel's experience in the valley of drybones (chapter 37, next week's lesson). But theidea of the verse at hand is that of renewal byGod's Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 39:29). The ultimatefulfillment of this prediction comes on the Dayof Pentecost (see Acts 2:'J.7, 'J,8, which quotes Joel2:28,29).

E. Renewed Promise (v. 28)28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave

to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and Iwill be your God.

God's renewal plan includes restoring Israel tothe land. This restoration will bring things full cir-cle, making good (again!) on the promise to Abra-ham (see L Chronicles 16:16-18). It is with thisreturn that the land of Canaan will become morethan the "promised land"; it is to be seen as the

"holy land" (Zechariah 2:12). This designation isstill in common use today to refer to |erusalemand its environs.

The oft-repeated goal of God's plan is givenagain at the end of this section: ye shall be mypeople, and I will be your God. This was the origi-

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nal intention of God when He freed Israel from thebondage ofEgypt, over 900 years prior to this point(Exodus 6:7). This picture appe€us again near theend of the book of Revelation, where God and Hispeople are united eternally and perfectly.

This promise still resonates with us today, forthe church is made up of the people of God. Weare His people, and He is our God in every possi-ble way. We, like Israel, are called to guard the holi-ness of God's name, to protect His reputation foomdisrepute (Romans 2:24; 2 Thessalonians 1.:1.2).

III. The Lord's Holy Land(Ezekiel 36:29-32)

A. Land of Productivity (w. 29, 30)29. I will also save you from all your unclean-

nesses: and I will call for the corn, and willincrease it, and lay no famine upon you.

It is common for people who take a pilgrimagetrip to modern Palestine to bring home some soilfrom the Holy Land. Yet there is nothing magicalabout this dirt. It does not glow in the dark or curediseases. The land of Israel in ancient times is notholy because it is enchanted. It is holy because ofGod's plan for Israel.

Evidence of God's blessing wiII include abun-dant corn, ensuring that there will be no famine.Corn in this sense is not a term for yellow maize,for this field crop came from the western hemi-sphere and is unknown in Europe or Asia untilafter the time of Columbus. Rather, the word cornrefers to field crops in general, such as wheat, mil-let, lentils, and barley. Crops such as these formthe foundation for the food supply of any agricul-tural society.

30. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, andthe increase of the field, that ye shall receive nomore reproach of famine among the heathen.

A rich diet depends on various produce fromcultivated orchards of trees. In Ezekiel's time. thisincludes olives, figs, pomegranates, and dates, aswell as nuts such as almonds. In God's renewedand sanctified land, there is to be an abundance ofthese delightful foods too. None of the surround-ing nations, the heathen, will be able to criticizeor ridicule Israel or Israel's God because of agricul-tural failure. God's reputation thus will be furtherenhanced among the nations.

Ixcnnase oF THE FrELDCalifornia is an amazing place. We associ-

ate California with large cities, Holl)'wood, andbeaches. It has all these, to be sure, but it is alsothe leading agricultural state of the U.S. Califor-nia has a larger variety of crops and higher yields

MARCH 15

Visual for Lessons 3 & 4. Point to this visual asyou ask, "How does the beauty of a sunrise or sun-set remind you of the naturc of God?"

per acre than any other state. Its highly automatedrice industry produces three times the yield of thelabor-intensive paddies in Asia.

The state produces almost the entire nationalcrop of walnuts, almonds, olives, figs, dates, nectar-ines, pomegranates, and persimmons. It leads thenation in the production ofvegetables. California isthe natiort's leading producer ofhay. The state leadsthe nation in egg and milk production and rankshigh in the marketing of cattle and other livestock.

But this has not always been the case, Almostall the above are produced on irrigated land, Cali-fornia having the largest amount of irrigated landin the nation. Until the irrigation systems of the1930s were developed, much of California wasuntilled. The soil was fertile, but without waterlittle could be grown. The availability of waterhas produced a veritable cornucopia of agricul-tural produce.

Such bounty brings with it the risk of arro-gance. Remember: God is the source of all good-ness. All human creativity used in bringing aboutgreater abundance exists because of God's permis-sion. And God can withdraw His permission atany time. - l .B.N.

B. Land of Bad Memories (v. 31)31. Then shall ye remember your own evil

ways, and your doings that were not good, andshall loathe yourselves in your own sight for youriniquities and for your abominations.

Sometimes we do not realize how sick we havebeen until we get healthy again. In the case ofthe Israelites, God foresees that His plans for res-toration will cause them to be ashamed of theirwicked past. They have presumed upon His grace

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and have caused Him great pain and embarrass-ment. There will come days when the people ofIsrael realize what a great disappointment theyhave been to their Lord (compare Ezra 3:j"2; Nehe-miah B:9).

When we understand that we have hurt some-one deeply, we can have one of two reactions. Wecan determine that we do not care and hardenour hearts against any feelings of remorse. Or wecan experience a deep sense of self-loathing thatis the beginning of true repentance. This is thegodly sorrow that Paul spoke of to the Corinthianchurch (2 Corinthians 7:10). [See question #5,page 248.1

C. Land of Former Shame (v. 32)32. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord

Goo, be it known unto you: be ashamed and con-founded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

There is a bottom line to all of this that may notbe completely understandable either to the exilesor to us. This is because we naturally tend to beself-centered and inwardly focused. What Godis saying is that the issue is not all about Israel.Rather, it is about God and His own purposes.Even without full understanding of this, therewill be shame.

When we come to true repentance, we gain aninkling of the pain we have caused God. But wecan only imagine how deep this hurt must be, yeteven our imperfect understanding of our shamecan help us be determined not to disappointHim any longer. It is with this renewed heart andspirit that we can begin to serve Him in a wor-thy manner.

ConclusionA. The Holy Lifestyle

The holiness of God is so absolute that we areunable to comprehend it fully. Yet it is an essentialcharacteristic in our understanding of our creatorand our relationship with Him. God acts from thedepths of the utter holiness of His nature.

In the Bible, holiness has two aspects. Holi-ness includes purity, moral cleanness. In thissense, holy is the opposite of sinful. But there isanother, very important part to biblical holiness.To be holy includes the idea of separation or sep-a.rateness. God is not the same as His creation. Heis separate and holy. He dwells in His holy Heaven(see Deuteronomy 26:1.5; Psalm 20:6). God is the

"Holy One of Israel," a favorite expression of Isa-iah (see 12:6).

This idea of holiness as "separateness" is at thecore of the Christian life. The followers of Chrisr

should be known for their different lifestyle inlight of the increasing sinfulness of our world.Yet surveys show that there is not much differ-ence between evangelical Christians and the restof the world when it comes to things like premar-ital sex, adultery, and divorce. Many things thatwere considered morally unacceptable a genera-tion ago have found a comfortable home in thelives of church members.

Judson Van DeVenter (1855*1939) wrote thewords to a hymn that has been used as an invi-tation song for thousands of evangelistic services:

"I Surrender All," This classic of the faith is aprayer of submission to Jesus as Lord. The phrase

"worldly pleasures all forsaken' of the hymn is intune with this lesson. This is a great expiession ofthe desire to live the holy life.

- The lifestyle of a Chiistian should be visibly

different to the nonbeliever. This is to be so evenat the risk of coming across as "holier than thou."The reason for such a lifestyle is that the Chris-tian serves a holy master and strives for personalholiness. In this way, we show respect fofthe holi-ness of our God's name and seek to bring respectto Him by others.

B. PrayerHoly Fathea we are the ones who violate your

holiness by our sin. We are the ones who cause theneed for renewal by our disobedience. We are theones who must live with the bad memories of ourpast follies. May You forgive us. May You renewus. May You sanctify us. We pray this in the nameof Your Holy Son, Jesus the sinless one, amen.

C. Thought to RememberGod's plans include your holiness.

Home Daily Bible ReadingsMonday, Mar. 9-Restored with God's

Help (Psalm 60:1-5, 1.1.,1.21Iiresday, Mar. l0-Restored to Be Saved

(Psalm BO:7-7)Wednesday, Mar. ll-Restored to Our Sal-

vation (Psalm 85:1-9)Thursday, Mar. 12-Restored to God (Lam-

entations 5:15-21)Friday, Mar. l3-Restored Through Repen-

tance (|eremiah glt-9, 16-20)Saturday, Mar. l4-Restored to Service

$eremiah l1:1s-27)Sunday, Mar. 15-For the Sake of God's

Name (Ezekiel B6:22-z2)

LESSON 3

Into the LessonDisplay a simple, cartoon-like figure with a con-

versation balloon over her/his head. In that bal-loon write several of the symbols typically used to

"disguise" bad language, such as #!&*!$#.Ask, "Without suggesting specific words, what

does such a string of symbols represent?" Whensomeone suggests that they can indicate a per-son cursing and/or taking the name of the Lord invain, say, "Yes, and that's part oftoday's study, Butin what other ways do people profane the nameof the Lord?" Let learners respond, then movedirectly to a look at today's text in Ezekiel 36.

Into the WordTo set up the discussion of today's text, assign

these references in Ezekiel to different learners,to be read aloud in sequence: 20:39; 36:20;43:B;39:7:43:7. At the end say, "God will defend Hishonor. He will defend His name. What God doesin history is related to His love for His people, butit is first of all to demonstrate who He is." Moveto verse 22 ofthe text.

If you do not use the student books that accom-pany this series, give your class a markable photo-copy of today's text. Say, "In today's text Goddelineates a covenant He will make with His peo-ple. The text is filled with His I will's. Go throughand underline all the things about which God says,'I will.'" The preface I will (a few times inverted)occurs numerous times in verses 23 through 30.

Let that phenomenon impress your learners,and then say, "When a person understands whatGod is willing to do, his or her only response willbe that of verse 31." Ask a reader to read that aloud.Continue, "Whenever a person sees the goodnessand grace of God, the result is a quick awarenessof one's own evil ways and wicked deeds. That isthe beginning of repentance!"

Say, "Verse 26 speaks of the transformation Godwill make, if His people truly want to change: Hewill turn their hearts of stone (being hardhearted)into hearts of flesh (being soft, compassionate, andloving)." Give your learners the following puzzleto solve. They are to start with the word sfone,then change one letter in the double-underlinedposition to make a new (real) word for line 2. Theyare to continue to make similar changes one letterat a time until ending up with the word/esh.

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Learnittg by DoingThis page contains an alternative lesson plan emphasizing learning activities. Some

of these activities are also found in the helpful student book, Adult Bible Class.

MARCH 15

Iine 2:l ine 3:Iine 4:line 5:line 6:l lne / :

line 8:line 9:

Iine L0:l ine L1:

STONE

FLESH

(The words will be STO&E, STAHE, STATE,SLATE, PL4TE, PI,4NE, PIA,NK, FI,ANK, FLASK,FLASH.) Say, "Though some find such a puzzle dif-ficult and exasperating, God finds such changes-from His perspective-easy. And His offer is reallyto make our difficult changes easy by His Spirit."

Ask your class to identify the either-or dichoto-mies in each of the verses. For example, in verse 22,God's name will be holy or it will be profaned; inverse 23, the pagans will know God by the behav-iors of His people or they will not; in verse 24,either aliens in a strange land or natives at home;in verse 25, either filthy or clean; in verse 26, heartof stone or heart of flesh; verce 27, Spirit-filled orspiritless; verse 28, not a people or the people ofGod; verse 29, increase (plenty) or famine; verse30, prosperity or reproach; verse 31., rememberingsin or living in it; verse 32, God's glory or Israel'sglory. Your class may identify other contrasts.

Into LifeMany traditional hymns and choruses reflect

the honor due to the name of the Lord. "BlessedBe the Name" by William Clark and Ralph E. Hud-son is one. Recruit a musical class member to leadthe class in singing the significant challenges ofthat song. Then challenge the class: "In what waythis week can you honor the name of the Lord? Inwhat way will you do so?"

A common challenge to children in Christianfamilies has been, "Remember who and whoseyou are!" It is a challenge related to name: the fam-ily name and the name of God. Give this challengeto all students as they depart.

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1.. How can we bring honor to God's name?Try musicl Whether worshiping with fellow

believers in church, listening to a Christian radiostation on the way to work, or singing as we cleanhouse or do yard work, we can make use of ourmany opportunities to use music to magnify God'sname. Even those without anv musical abilitv canlisten to Christian music and agree with the mes-sage in their hearts.

More subtle ways to honor God's name wouldinclude speaking well of the church and of otherChristians, being a good neighbor, practicing finan-cial responsibility, having strong marriages andgodly families, and any other actions that reflectwell on the God we serve.

2. What can parents do to teach their childrento treat God's name with respect?

First of all, parents should be careful to watchtheir own language. If a slip-up does happen, aquick acknowledgment of what shouldn't havebeen said and a brief explanation of why it waswrong will also help teach respect for the namesof God and fesus.

Beyond that, parents can be vigilant in moni-toring the TV programs, movies, and music thattheir children are exposed to. When the family istogether in public or watching entertainment andprofanity is used, there can be a discussion of whytheir family doesn t use such language. Even dis-couraging children from developing friendshipswith other children who are especially prone tobad language can help keep them from develop-ing such habits.

3. What are some blessings of being cleansedby God?

God will not allow any unclean thing in Hisholy presence. Anyone with the stain of sin willnot be able to know God or be close to Him. Burthe cleansing God provides through the blood ofHis Son is thorough and complete; it washes awayall our sins (1 john 1:7). Through Jesus we haveaccess to God; we even can come into His pres-ence with "boldness" (Ephesians 3:12),

As part of God's family we can bring ourrequests to the Father with confidence that He will

"give [us] good things" because we are His children

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(Matthew 7:1.1).In addition, we have the presenceof God's Spirit in our lives and the guidance ofGod's Word to help keep us "clean' (John 15:3).

a. Which experiences in life cause us to hardenour hearts toward God? What can we do to keepthem soft and responsive to His Holy Spirit?

Anytime we allow sin to get a foothold in ourlives, we begin to harden ourselves against theHoly Spirit and turn a deaf ear to Him (Hebrews3:B). Our hearts are unreceptive to God's mercyespecially when we deny that what we're doing iswrong or make excuses for our actions (1 John 1:B),Allowing the busyness of life to keep us away fromchurch services and personal devotional timesmakes our hearts a little harder,

Confessing our sins as they occur will help ourhearts be more receptive toward the Lord (1 John1:9). Being willing not only to forgive those whohurt us but also to be kind to them and pray forthem will give us tender hearts that are more likethe heart of Jesus (Luke 6:27, 2B). We can prayDavid's prayer: "Create in me a clean heart, O God;and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).

5. Once our sins have been forgiven, what ben-efit is there in continuing to remember them, ifany? Is there danger in spending too much timeremembering and regretting our sins? Explain,

The Israelites were encouraged to "remember[their] own evil ways" so that they would hatethem and repent. Remembering what our liveswere like before we experienced God's mercymakes us aware of how much He has done for us.In addition, we iue able to use our testimony ofthe transformation that Christ brought about inour lives to share our stories with both believersand nonbelievers. Paul called to mind his ownsins at times (example: 1 Timothy 1:13).

The danger comes when remembering our pastsins causes us to condemn ourselves. Once sinsare forgiven, our lives should be characterizedbyjoy, not mourning. In Christ "old things are passedaway; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corin-thians 5:17). Spending too much time dwelling onpast sins allows Satan to be our accuser (Revela-tion 12:10) instead of realizing that there is "nocondemnation" of Christ's followers fRomans B:1).

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Let's Talk It OverThe questions on this page arc designed to promote discussion of the lesson

by the class and to encourage application of the lesson Scriptures. The answersprovided are only discussion starterc. Let your class talk it over from there.