Opening Prayer - Heavenly Father we thank you for the oppertunity to learn about Your Word. We are grateful for the worship music that you have provided for this service. May everyone who tunes in this evening receive a blessing from the music and learn from your Word and be able to apply what we have learned in our daily lives. We pray that everyone who reads this Bible study who are not saved will become saved. We're eternally thankful for this ministry, and we pray that we can share these websites with others and many people can begin to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Worship music - Please click the links and sing along if you know the words (You can also click skip ad to go straight to the songs) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO5Qt2VQn4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhRWBkVzW0U
For Wednesday evening services, the Lord has lead me to do a Bible study for practical Bible verses in Matthew.
Chapter 3
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Matthew 3:1-3;5,6
1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
John the Baptist's purpose was to prepare people for Jesus' coming by getting them to repent (turn from) of their sins. After these people repented, they were ready to believe that Jesus is their Savior when He appeared. Once they did that, they were saved and went to Heaven when they left this world.
If you would like more information about repentance and it's relation to salvation, (Please follow this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/nocontridiction and this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/theanswer
Matthew 3:7-10
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (If someone claims to be saved, but they do not bear good fruit as a result, they are not really saved (with the exception of those who pass on shortly after they make a decision to get saved and things such as that). Examples of good fruit are - becoming more holy (someone who sets their old plans of each day aside and spends more of their time doing what God wants them to do) in the way they live (Romans 6:22), sharing their material possessions with other people (Romans 15:28), witnessing to lost people and leading them to the Lord (Romans 1:16), having Jesus' character traits (Galatians 5:22–23), praising the Lord (Hebrews 13:15), answered prayer (1 John 5:14–15), and doing good works (Colossians 1:10).).
When John the Baptist said, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance,” he meant that if people repented (or changed, with God’s help, and began to think and live the way God wants them to think and live), they will know it because they will begin to bear good fruit (think and live the way God wants them to think and live). Although good fruit is the result of someone who has had a change in the way they live (for example, someone beginning to doing good works (Colossians 1:10), it is also the result of someone who has had a change in the way they think (holy living – Romans 6:22). When someone lives a holy life, they are setting aside what they used to want to do and think about each day, and spending their time doing and thinking about what God wants them to think about each day (such as thinking about what they read in the Bible (Psalm 119:15), thinking about things such as a miracle they witnessed or heard of, someone who got saved, some act of kindness they saw or heard of, or imagining what will be going on in Heaven when they get there (Philippians 4:8); and praying how Jesus taught in Matthew 6:9-13). Although the Pharisees and Sadducees could have thought those type of ways, they undoubtly had hatred and jealously in their minds toward John the Baptist. The Pharisees and Sadducees also did things like good works, but the reason they did them was to make themselves look good and not to glorify God (Matthew 5:20). Since those things were true, the Pharisees and Sadducees needed to repent (be willing to quit thinking and living that way from that moment on).
Matthew 3:11,12
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost (If someone is willing to repent (change the way they spend their time each day and their thoughts), they are ready to trust Jesus' work on the cross to erase their sins and let them into Heaven when they leave this world. When someone gets saved, the Holy Spirit comes into their heart.), and with fire (This is referring to people who are not Christians): 12Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner (This is referring to Christians); but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (People who (are able to understand right from wrong) have not repented and trusted Jesus' work on the cross and His shed blood to save them will not make it to Heaven).
In conclusion,
If you have not prayed or made a decision to get saved, please go to this website - http://chriswaug5.wix.com/howtogotoheaven
If you have prayed or made a decision to trust Jesus' death on the cross and His shed blood to erase your sins and let you into Heaven when you leave this world, but you are not living the way these Bible verses describe, please go to this website -