Week 3 :: The Exchanging of Weapons and Belt

In case you missed our time together last night or this morning, here's a small recap of what you missed in the teaching time. We reviewed Lessons 1-2 and then went over Lesson 3 a little more in depth. As always, we hope you were able to complete the homework, but don't ever NOT COME to our weekly meetings if you didn't.

Rebecca provided us with a handout which I've filled in below. We looked at What Items Were Exchanged, What They Symbolized, What God's Actions are and Our Responsibilities.



A couple of points:

• Remember, all the rituals of covenant are never to be taken past Scripture's intentions and all of the covenantal signs are never shown all at the same time.
• The word "wait" actually means bind together and the word "renew" means to change, substitute, or change for the better. Doesn't that give a WHOLE new meaning to Isaiah 40:31?
• In life, we are constantly focused on living out life using our strengths? But what if we identified our weaknesses and asked God to do something big there?

Week 2 :: The Exchanging of Robes

In case, you missed our time together last night or this morning, or if you missed something during the teaching time, you've come to the right place. This week, we reviewed week one quickly and jumped right into this week's lesson. 

First, we listened to the hymn, The Solid Rock (Edward Mote, 1984) performed by Charlie Hall (and the Passion Worship Band). Make sure and pick up a copy next week to have for your binder. Underlined portions are covenantal themes.

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name

Chorus: 

On Christ the solid Rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, His covenant, His blood

Support me in the whelming flood

When all around my soul gives way

He then is all my Hope and Stay

When He shall come with trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne

Next, we had the demonstration of Jonathan and David exchanging robes described in 1 Samuel 18:1-4. Jonathan, the higher presence and initiator of the covenant removed his royal robe and put it on David, the shepherd. He (Jonathan) then takes David's robe and wears it.

The next thing we pointed out was that covenant requires 3 things: a sign, sacrifice and solemn oath. We also looked at Galatians 3:26-29. In light of the demonstration of 1 Samuel 18:1-4, this now has a deeper meaning. Christ put on our flesh and our sin and we are to put on His identity. Then, we looked at our handout for the week. Remember, pick yours up next week so you can fill it in!

The PUP study also looked at two more verses: Philippians 2:5-8 and Hebrews 2:9, 14-18. Philippians gave us the bigger picture of Jonathan/David and how it reflects what Christ did for us. Hebrews tells us that Christ became a man and we can identify with Him and He understands us. He didn't sin, but wore our sin.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or email us. Looking forward to the week ahead! 

Week 1 Teaching Time Handout

In case you missed our time together last night or this morning or if you missed something during the teaching time, we've got you covered! We went over the first week of homework which familiarized us with some various references of covenant in Scripture, particularly Genesis. Hopefully, you were able to complete your homework; but if you didn't, press on! It's a new week and a new start!

Anne provided us with a fabulous handout (with matching fonts, of course; I'm sorry that these don't have the matching font! You can always pick up the sheet at the next study and fill in accordingly) that helped us compare and contrast the covenants that we discussed in Week 1. We looked at God & Man covenants and Man & Man covenants.

First up, we have the Covenants between God & Man:


Next, we talked about the covenants between Man & Man:

PS: I'm checking on the correctness of the "Conditions" row, so I'll get those posted as soon as I can!

A few points that were discussed:

• God initiated covenants to protect and bless; man initiated covenants out of fear
• The New Covenant was made because the Israelites couldn't keep the condition of the covenant made with Moses. They were disobedient.
• Although there isn't a lot of application this week (because we're laying the foundation), one thing to think about is this: these covenants were made to men who passed them on. What kind of things are you passing on in your family? No one is perfect, but are you laying foundations that are strong in the Lord or shaky?

If you have any questions about anything, leave us a comment or email us! Looking forward to seeing you next week and what God teaches you through this week's portion of our study!