Fonda’s Class Notes

It is exciting to think that a few years ago we could not even think about talking to the whole wide world but here we are today reaching the world for Christ through a little box.

I can remember when I was a kid and the TV was called a HELL-A-VISiON. Long hair for the women and short hair for the men. Long dresses for the gals and long sleeves for the guys. Jewelry was out and make-up was unheard of in most churches. Later, when computers came along we just knew the antichrist had our number. What a sight we were back then!

We have definitely seen some changes and most have been for the good. I think my wife looks good in a little make-up now! It is funny how some things we thought were in the Bible as a child were not really in there and some of those things we were so strick about does not really matter to the salvation of mankind.  One thing does hold true in all of our teachings and that is, it is necessary to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in order to make Heaven our eternal home. We can not get there on Grandma or Grandpa’s religion. Even the old time religion will not get us there! We must have that personal relationship (the born again experience) with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

Now, in this day, we can see how the prophecy of Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;” can come to pass. With the modern computer capabilities, which we have not even began to understand, and the satalite TVs broadcasting the gospel around the world, it is now understandable how the Gospel of the Kingdom of God can be made known to all nations.

This should make us want to be ready for the coming of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We need to, now more than ever, put away our differences in religious views (man made) and begin to win souls for the Kingdom of God. The time is shorter now than ever and the need for Christ is greater than it has ever been. We need to be about our Father’s business and win souls for His Kingdom.

I am excited about this great oportunity of the internet and the things it will bring about for the last day church age. Although there are many prophane things available through this little box I believe the knowledge for this last day invention came from God Himself, for the purpose of getting His Gospel to His people around the Whole Wide World.

I want to quote Brother Paul Crouch of TBN and say, “Hello World”.

Welcome to my Blog. I hope you will find what you are looking for through the visiting of this site and all its contents. 

I would like to express my appreciation to Brother Craig Wilson for all the hard work that he has done in making this site what it is today. I am proud of the, YourAbundantLife.org, site and glad to be associated with the quality of this site that he has made available to us here at The Abundant Life Church of Farmington, MO. My prayer is that God will richly Bless you, Craig, for all you have done and that He will continue to bless you in all that you do for His Glory. Not only has this site been a blessing to me but I am hearing reports of others who are being blessed also. Keep up the good work. We love you.

We have all met someone who said they were a Christian but because of the way they acted we questioned that validity. How can someone who loves God and believes in His Word still be mistaken for a non-believer?

I think the answer to that question lies in a learning process that we will call, “Learning to Walk in the Word”. The operative word here is “Learning”. Something, I think, many so-called Christians fail to realize is that when we get born again we do not get born again in or mind, but in our spirit as Nicodemus learned in John the 3rd chapter. Our mind has to be renewed and that takes some effort on our part. We have to learn to walk in the word much like a new born baby learns the necessary steps that it takes to stand by themselves and finally walk on their own.  

Learning to Walk in the Word is an easy and natural thing for us as a Christian if we first learn to rely on others to help us. Of course the first one we should learn to rely on is The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. We can be sure that He will never fail us nor let us down and He will always be their for us.

Next we should rely on our Pastors and Teachers to train us in the right ways of life.(The Righteousness of God). I like to think of our Pastors and Teachers as our Parents, the ones who instruct us in righteousness. Then comes our Brothers and Sisters. A lot can be said about the influence of a brother or sister in ones life. From them we draw strength, comfort, honor and power in numbers. This is the reason it is so important to come together in  a Church relationship, especially in these last days. Hebrews 10:25.

A sheep alone is easy prey for any old wolf but when we learn to stay in commune with the Family of God we will not be as subjectable to the tricks of the enemy.

Often I have ran across Christians that have been Saved for a while but still their lives do not show forth the love of Christ as exemplified in the scriptures. They live miserable, double minded lives always in and out with their Christian walk and never having the peace of God in their lives. After brief conversations, I have found, in most cases that person has broken fellowship with the Family of God and isolated themselves from the learning process.

You see we must maintain our relationship through fellowshiip, the reading of the Word of God, and obedience to that Word in order to stay in the Learning process. When I was a child I wondered if I would ever get out of school. I found that I soon got out of school but the learning process never stops.

This is the way it is with Learning to Walk in the Word. Our early years of our Christian life are the school years and from then on we have to apply what we have learned in those early years while adding new knowledge along the way.

Don’t be a drop-out! Do not quit learning. Stay in the Word of God on a Daily basis and apply what He teaches you through His Spirit, His Preachers, Teachers, and the Church Family Members.

It is important, in these last days, that we join together as a family unit and Learn to Walk in The Word together drawing strength from God and each other as we make our journey. It is a great thing to have a family on this earth but an even greater thing to be a part of the Family of God. Come, join in, and be a part of God’s Great Family and we will all Learn to Walk together in His Word.

With Love,

Fonda Henson, Adult Bible Study Teacher, Abundant Life Family Church, Farmington, MO. April 25, 2007

The start of our new Unit ”The Christian Family”, was an anointed beginning. The Holy Ghost was present in the service to meet needs and encourage hearts in such a way that you could sense His presence on everyone there.

We will be discussing “Responsibilities to Children” in this coming Bible Study, and you will not want to miss it.

 Our central truth is “Christian parents have a responsibility to nurture and train their children”. Our Key verse is found in Ephesians 6:4, “Provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”.

What does this mean? Are we not suppose to make our children angry? Come and find out!

If for some reason you cannot make it to one of our Services please listen to Pastor Rick’s message on line at http://www.yourabundantlife.org . Just go the the Messages and look for the latest listing.

Thanks and God Bless You,

Fonda Henson (Abundant Life Family Church Adult Teacher)

      In Learning to Walk in the Word (Part 1) we likened this walk to our learning to walk and depend on others as a child in the natural. Today I want to take us a step further and talk about a few things, in the learning process, that keep us going forward in the Word.

     The First is Commitment. A word which many of us have heard all of our lives. I am sure, if you have been in a business or church for any length of time, you have heard this word mentioned, at least once, relating to sticking to the job until it is done. We should also relate the word “Commitment” to “Learning to Walk in the Word”.     To be committed is to be steadfast, loyal, dedicated, devoted and faithful. If we are to walk in the word we must purpose in out hearts to look at the Word of God that same way in our lives. We must recognize that God’s Word is integral in itself, steadfast and sure. His word is eternal and we must also learn to commit ourselves in His Word if we are ever going to walk in it. We should also note that when we commit to something often we dwell on it and it dwells in us. Colossians 3:16(a) says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; ….. Paul mentioned in verse 15 of that same chapter to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts”… I have noticed when I really commit to doing something that I usually have peace about it. It gives one great satisfaction to see a job through to the end.   God’s Word will always bring about peace in our Hearts but we must first learn to Commit to reading and meditating on His Words.     The next thing I want to talk about is, “Meditation”.     The Lord spoke to Joshua in Joshua 1:8, and said, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”      We all want to have good success in our lives, do we not? Well, here are at least two clues given to us on how we might have good success. One of them is Meditation in the Word or God.

The 5th Sunday singing with the local talent was a great Service at Abundant Life Family Church this past Sunday.  There was a good crowd there and some new talents came through. It is always good to see the young folks begin to sing and take part in the Church Services.

The fish supper after the evening service was great also. Thanks to all that had a part in making it a “GREAT” evening.

Brother Fonda

In Part 2 of our Series, “Learning to Walk in the Word” we left off by talking a little about, “Meditating on the Word”. In this session we will discuss another step in Learning to Walk in the Word which is, “Obedience”.

Obedience to the Holy Spirit is one of the most important steps to Learning to Walk in the Word because without it we have no direction.

This Sunday Starts our New Unit on “God’s Providence in Salvation History”.

Our Spring Series started with a unit on The Teachings of Jesus and ended with the with a terrific lesson on the Holy Ghost. We have been blessed as we have learned many valuable lessons throughout this quarter. The Lord has not failed to move in every Service so far and we are expecting His presence throughout this quarter also.

We are looking forward to the Summer quarter of studies, kicking off with, “God Delivers His People”. God does deliver His people from oppression and provides a rich inheritance to all that will trust in Him.

God’s Providence in Salvation History takes a look at seven people God raised up to help bring salvation to this world. Obviously, Jesus Christ is the Savior, sent by God to die for sin and to rise again that those who put their faith in Him might live in newness of life. But as we will see through these studies, the way for Jesus to come was prepared by many godly men and women.

God was not only active in salvation history, He is active today.

Join us as we become a part of what He is doing today!

Fonda Henson, Adult Bible Study Teacher, Abundant Life Family Church, Farmington, MO.

The Winter in this New Year of 2008 finds us Making our way through the Bible to a Study on Christian Discipleship. Discipleship is a well used word in today’s Christian World. It would seem that every well known author has a book on the subject and every Church, that is doing anything at all, has a class on “Christian Discipleship”. The Lord Jesus, Himself, spent three years discipling twelve men to evangelize the world after His departure, so it is very fitting that we start this Great Year Out with a brief study dedicated to this Subject.

It has been said that Christian Discipleship is a journey and like every journey it begins with the first step. The first step in Christian Discipleship is “Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior”, after that, the child of God begins a walk of faith that will continue until he or she is called home to be with the Lord.

Like any Journey a destination is required, a goal is set and preparations are made to start that journey. There are at least three major goals in Discipleship. The first is for Disciples to develop a “Christlike Character”, to become more and more like Jesus. The second is “Spiritual Maturity”. A mature Disciple is one who introduces others to Jesus, purposes in getting to know Jesus better and uses what God has given them to help others become more mature Spiritually. A Third goal is to “Develop a Lifestyle of Good Works”. Doing Good Works. Always doing the right thing. Remember, you are not saved by works but after you become a Christian you should show some fruit to that effect.

Discipleship flows from relationships with Christ and our fellow Christians. Those relationships unite believers with one another as they live in obedience to the teachings of Jesus.These relationships also encourage believers to separate themselves from things that pollute the body and soul. We as Disciples are a part of God’s family and we should demonstrate His love to one another.

The life of a Disciple demands growth in obedience and grace. This growth occurs as we pray, grow in the knowledge of the Lord and His Word, and do His will.

Discipleship is a journey. While each of us must walk each step of that journey, we will never walk it alone. Jesus is always with us and there to help us any time that we call upon Him.

In our up coming Bible Study lessons on Discipleship we will discuss Setting Goals, Paying the Costs, Developing Relationships, and Experiencing Growth. You will not want to miss a single lesson so make plans to be with us at Abundant Life Family Church Adult Bible Study Class every Sunday, 9:45 AM at Farmington, MO.

God Bless You is Our Prayers

Fonda Henson

fonda@yourabundantlife.org

Unit One this spring of 2008 opens for the Adult Bible Study Class, with the focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as presented in the Books of Romans and Galatians.

The Lessons in this unit present excitement and truth of the life-changing power of God. They not only challenge the saved with the need to spread the wonderful Gospel of Christ to the unsaved but also invite the unsaved to embrace the truth of the Gospel and to surrender their lives to Christ. A Challenge to all to live as people who have been transformed by the power of God.

Our Key Verses in this unit are: Romans 1:16, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:11, 1Corinthians 15:20, Romans 5:10, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:2, Romans 8:37, and Romans 12:10.

Talking to people from day to day I find there are far too many who do not know the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I trust that this Unit of Study will insight us to learn the true meaning of the Gospel and God’s power to save from sin. That power to save and change lives is only revealed through the gospel. It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that right relationships occur and true forgiveness can come for the sinner.

All of this is only made possible by the Grace of God and His Holy Ghost Power.

You will not want to miss a single lesson this spring as we Study our way through the Books of Romans and Galatians, be here, if you can!

Fonda Henson
Abundant Life Family Church
Adult Bible Study Teacher