Intro to the New Testament

The New Testament picks up where the Old Testament left off, with the promise of a Savior. However, this time it wasn’t a promise to come, but a promise that had already been fulfilled. The New Testament is about God’s son, Jesus, and how he came into the world as a man, lived a perfect life, died for all our sins, and was resurrected to offer us eternal salvation.

Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is broken up into sections:

• The Gospels (Matthew - John)

• Acts

• The Epistles (Romans - Jude)

• Revelation

The Gospels are about the life of Jesus. Written by Jesus’s followers, these books walk us through what Jesus did while he was on earth. Everything Jesus did is recorded in these books. All the miracles and healings, and even his death and resurrection! There are four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and they all tell this story from slightly different perspectives. Each gives us immense insight into his life and shows us many of the words Jesus spoke to them and others.

The book of Acts comes directly after the gospels and it tells us about what Jesus’s disciples did after Jesus ascended into Heaven. The disciples walked in Jesus’s footsteps by preaching about the Kingdom of God and Jesus’s miraculous resurrection. They also performed many miracles and healings along with experiencing God in new ways. The church was born in the book of Acts!

The Epistles or the Letters were written by Jesus’s followers. These books were intended to teach Christians what it meant to follow Jesus and how to do that in a God-honoring way. These books are full of encouragement, but they are also full of correction. No one is perfect, we all mess up and that’s why these books are so important. They light the way for all of God’s people and show us how to live like Jesus.

The last book of the New Testament stands in a category of its own. The book of Revelation is just that. It is a revelation of the things that will come in the future of the church and the world. Revelation is written by John the apostle (one of Jesus’s closest disciples). In this book, John describes a vision that God gave him about the end of the world. The Here we are reminded that Jesus died and went to heaven, but he is coming back. And when Jesus comes back he will bring all of his followers into heaven with him.

Overall the entire Bible is about Jesus and his role in saving humanity. The New Testament shows us plainly what Jesus has done for us and it encourages us to accept everything he has done for us and to live a life worthy of his calling.

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus is the son of God

• Jesus is our Savior

• Everyone Needs Jesus!

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the New Testament of the Bible this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

Old Testament Recap

The Old Testament is generally divided into 4 sections.

• Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy)

• Historical Books (Joshua-Esther)

• Wisdom and Poetry (Job-Song of Songs)

• Prophets (Isaiah-Malachi)

The Old Testament is ultimately a book about God and how He has interacted with humanity and how He promises to do so moving forward. The Old Testament starts in Genesis with creation. God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. Then we follow the story of God and his chosen people.

Starting with one couple (Abraham and Sarah) God over several generations develops a people group that will eventually be known as the Israelites. While they were in slavery God calls them out to the nation of Israel, a place to call home. We follow their story from slavery to redemption with a world of events in between.

The Pentateuch meaning “law” was given to the Israelites through their first leader, Moses. It is here that we can see the rules and regulations God gave the people (and us) for living God honoring lives. It is here that we see things like the 10 commandments come into place (Exodus 20).

The Historical Books give us an in depth look at some of the heroes of the faith. People like Samson, Samuel, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are all highlighted in this section. We get a close up picture of how these men and women served God. But the Historical books give us the bad things as well. We see evil kings, and the people of Israel start to turn their backs on God.

The Wisdom and Poetry section serve as a break in the historical account for the Old Testament. Books like Psalms, Proverbs, and others give readers practical ways to live a life full of wisdom and in close relationship with God. The Psalms especially walk us through almost every human emotion possible and how God can enter all those emotions with us to give us comfort and a sense of direction.

Lastly we have the Prophets which are broken up into the Major and Minor prophets. The Major Prophets are much longer books while the Minor Prophets are much shorter. Each prophet had a unique message from God but each revolved around restoration for people who come to God and destruction for people that ignore Him.

Eventually God’s people are exiled because they stopped listening to God. Once God got their attention again, he restored them to their home land of Israel. But God had further restoration in mind.

Throughout the Old Testament a Savior or Messiah is talked about. It would be through this Messiah that complete restoration would take place. Many characters showed pieces of what that Savior would be like, but the true Savior would pull it all together and be even more than what the people expected.

That Savior is Jesus, and his birth marks the beginning of the New Testament.

Key Takeaways:

• God is Creator

• God love for his people

• God restoration & forgiveness

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the Old Testament of the Bible this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

People of the Bible: Minor Prophets

You can find the Minor Prophets at the end of the Old Testament. The collection of the Minor Prophets is broken up to form twelve individual Books of the Bible, one for each of the prophets Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi. The term “minor” doesn’t mean they are less important than the “major” prophets, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, it simply means that these books are not as long as the other prophetic books.

Most of the minor prophets lived between 800-400 BC. During this time, Israel and Judah experienced lots of oppression at the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. These nations attacked, destroyed, and pillaged the Israelites’ land and sent many into exile. The prophets served as a way for God to speak to his people.

The reason the Israelites were facing such oppression was because of their own sins. They had fallen away from God and became more wicked than the nations that surrounded them. Instead of being an example for the world, Israel had become the hub for evil.

The prophets warned the people what would happen if they didn’t repent but they refused to listen. Time after time, the destruction these people prophesied came true, but by then it was too late. Israel experienced hundreds of years of turmoil during this time but God remained faithful. God used the nations of Assyria and Babylon as His vehicles for punishment but He never forgot His chosen people.

The prophets make this clear. In their prophecies, they proclaim judgment, but they also claim hope for the future. Every prophet was different but one message remained constant. Each one shed light on what God’s will was.

This message is still relevant to us today. The minor prophets and the rest of the Bible show us how to live godly lives and show us that God is returning for His people and He will make everything new. When Jesus does return, the Bible tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. (Philippians 2:10-11) The people who believe in Him before He comes will bow to their savior, but the people who refuse to believe (like the people in the Minor Prophets) will bow to their judge. It is up to us on how we will bow.

Key Takeaways:

• God’s Will for our lives must be followed.

• God is returning for His people and everything will be made new!

• One day, every knee will bow. Will you be ready?

Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about the Minor Prophets of the Bible this Sunday, both in-person and online.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.