THE TOWER OF BABEL (Gen. 11:1–9) 1. As the population grew what did they plan to do? To build a city and a tower “whose top may reach unto heaven,” for their own praise and glory. 2. Where was it to be? On “a plain in the land of Shinar,” which most probably is what later became Babylon. 3. Of what did they build it? Of mud dried bricks, joined together with mortar made of bituminous slime. 4. What did God do about it? He “confounded their language” so that they could not understand each other, which, of course, put a stop to the work; and he “scattered them abroad … upon the face of all the earth.” 5. Why was God so unwilling it should be built? It was to be a monument to the power of man as distinct from the power of God. 6. What name was given to it? Babel, which means “confounded.” WE ARE BEGINNING OUR NEW SERIES OF REFRESHERS. WE HOPE YOU FIND THEM TO BE HELPFUL AND ENJOYABLE. YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
1. THE BEGINNING (Gen. 1:1–2:7) 1. What is the name of the first book of the Bible? Genesis, which means “Beginnings.” 2. What do we know of the beginning of the world? “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Gen. 1:1. 3. What is the difference between “created” and “made”? “Created” means made out of nothing; “made” means formed or developed out of something already existing. In the account of the beginning of this world the word “created” is used three times. 4. By what power did God create the world? By his word. Heb. 1:3; 2 Pet. 3:5. 5. Who is called the Word of God? Jesus Christ. John 1:14. 6. How do we know that Jesus Christ was with God in the creation? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.… All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1, 3. “Who is the image of the invisible God … for by him were all things created …” Col. 1:15, 16. 7. What was the last thing created? Man, who was made in the image of God. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS QUICK REFRESHER. JUST MAKING SURE WE DON’T FORGET. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
TRUST GOD Isaiah 26:3–4 With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you. Trust the LORD always, because the LORD, the LORD alone, is an everlasting rock. Psalm 37:3 Trust the LORD, and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful. Psalm 32:10 Many heartaches await wicked people, but mercy surrounds those who trust the LORD. Proverbs 29:25 A person’s fear sets a trap ⸤for him⸥, but one who trusts the LORD is safe. Proverbs 28:25 A greedy person stirs up a fight, but whoever trusts the LORD prospers. TRUST GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
FOOD FOR THOUGHT “When you fix your thoughts on God, God fixes your thoughts.” “Focus on God, not your problem. Listen to God, not your insecurities. Rely on God, not your own strength.” “What consumes your mind controls your life.” Once you start losing the presence of God you have to fight. It’s time to make war! HAVE FAITH IN GOD, FOCUS ON GOD, AND PARTAKE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE THINK ABOUT IT. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Heart, Character of the Unrenewed 1. Hateful to God. Pr 6:16, 18; 11:20. 2. Full of evil. Ec 9:3. 3. Full of evil imaginations. Ge 6:5; 8:21; Pr 6:18. 4. Full of vain thoughts. Jer 4:14. 5. Fully set to do evil. Ec 8:11. 6. Desperately wicked. Jer 17:9. 7. Far from God. Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8. 8. Not perfect with God. 1 Ki 15:3; Ac 8:21; Pr 6:18. 9. Not prepared to seek God. 2 Ch 12:14. 10. A treasury of evil. Mt 12:35; Mr 7:21. 11. Darkened. Ro 1:21. 12. Prone to error. Ps 95:10. 13. Prone to depart from God. De 29:18; Jer 17:5. 14. Impenitent. Ro 2:5. 15. Unbelieving. Heb 3:12. 16. Blind. Eph 4:18. 17. Uncircumcised. Le 26:41; Ac 7:51. 18. Of little worth. Pr 10:20. 19. Deceitful. Jer 17:9. 20. Deceived. Isa 44:20; Jas 1:26. 21. Divided. Ho 10:2. 22. Double. 1 Ch 12:33; Ps 12:2. 23. Hard. Eze 3:7; Mr 10:5; Ro 2:5. 24. Haughty. Pr 18:12; Jer 48:29. 25. Influenced by the devil. Joh 13:2. 26. Carnal. Ro 8:7. 27. Covetous. Jer 22:17; 2 Pe 2:14. 28. Despiteful. Eze 25:15. 29. Ensnaring. Ec 7:26. 30. Foolish. Pr 12:23; 22:15. 31. Froward. Ps 101:4; Pr 6:14; 17:20. 32. Fretful against the Lord. Pr 19:3. 33. Idolatrous. Eze 14:3, 4. 34. Mad. Ec 9:3. 35. Mischievous. Ps 28:3; 140:2. 36. Proud. Ps 101:5; Jer 49:16. 37. Rebellious. Jer 5:23. 38. Perverse. Pr 12:8. 39. Stiff. Eze 2:4. 40. Stony. Eze 11:19; 36:26. 41. Stout. Isa 10:12; 46:12. 42. Elated by sensual indulgence. Ho 13:3. 43. Elated by prosperity. 2 Ch 26:16; Da 5:20. 44. Studies destruction. Pr 24:2. 45. Often judicially stupefied. Isa 6:10; Ac 28:26, 27. 46. Often judicially hardened. Ex 4:21; Jos 11:20. A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE NEED TO STOP CHECKING OTHERS AND START CHECKING THEMSELVES. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
FOOD FOR THOUGHT God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual Genesis 1:22 God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the sea, and let there be many birds on the earth.” Job 42:12 The LORD blessed the latter years of Job’s life more than the earlier years. He had 14,000 sheep and goats, 6,000 camels, 2,000 oxen, and 1,000 donkeys. We bless God when we thank him for his mercies Psalm 103:1–2 Praise the LORD, my soul! Praise his holy name, all that is within me. Praise the LORD, my soul, and never forget all the good he has done: Psalm 145:1–2 I will highly praise you, my God, the king. I will bless your name forever and ever. I will bless you every day. I will praise your name forever and ever. A man blesses himself when he invokes God’s blessing, or rejoices in God’s goodness to him Isaiah 65:16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land will be blessed by the God of Truth. Whoever swears an oath in the land will swear by the God of Truth. Past troubles are forgotten. They are hidden from my eyes. Psalm 49:18 Even though he blesses himself while he is alive (and they praise you when you do well for yourself), One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Gen. 24:60; 31:55; 1 Sam. 2:20). Sometimes blessings were uttered under divine inspiration, as in the case of Noah, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses (Gen. 9:26, 27; 27:28, 29, 40; 48:15–20; 49:1–28; Deut. 33). The priests were divinely authorized to bless the people (Deut. 10:8; Num. 6:22–27). We have many examples of apostolic benediction (2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 6:23, 24; 2 Thess. 3:16, 18; Heb. 13:20, 21; 1 Pet. 5:10, 11). Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPay.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
DISCERNING TRUTH FROM ERROR 1 John 4:1 Dear friends, don’t believe all people who say that they have the Spirit. Instead, test them. See whether the spirit they have is from God, because there are many false prophets in the world. Colossians 2:8 Be careful not to let anyone rob you ⸤of this faith⸥ through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ. 2 Timothy 4:3–4 A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths. ALLOW THESE VERSES TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMANDS AS A SIGN OF COMMITMENT Deuteronomy 7:9 Keep in mind that the LORD your God is ⸤the only⸥ God. He is a faithful God, who keeps his promise and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands. Joshua 24:24 The people replied to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.” Jeremiah 7:23 But I did tell them this, ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Live the way I told you to live so that things will go well for you.’ John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. OBEY GOD, COMMIT TO GOD AND BE BLESSED BY GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
The Holy Spirit makes believers Christlike 2 Corinthians 3:18 As all of us reflect the Lord’s glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Galatians 5:22–26 But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. We can’t allow ourselves to act arrogantly and to provoke or envy each other. Romans 8:5–9Those who live by the corrupt nature have the corrupt nature’s attitude. But those who live by the spiritual nature have the spiritual nature’s attitude. The corrupt nature’s attitude leads to death. But the spiritual nature’s attitude leads to life and peace. This is so because the corrupt nature has a hostile attitude toward God. It refuses to place itself under the authority of God’s standards because it can’t. Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can’t please God. But if God’s Spirit lives in you, you are under the control of your spiritual nature, not your corrupt nature. Whoever doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ doesn’t belong to him. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS REFRESHER TO BE HELPFUL. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
