Hello Friends,

Welcome to the Elijah Project newsletter.  I want to thank all those who have attended the Tuesday night bible studies.  As long as you all keep coming we'll keep having them. 

I was surprised to see so many people show up for the classes and so many who drove from more than 50 miles to be here.  I spoke with a lady today who asked about the study saying she had heard about it via word of mouth.  She lives about 35 miles away and stated that she just wasn't receiving anything but "milk" in her home church and felt as though she was drying up and blowing away.  I let her know she was welcome to attend any time.

I want to emphasize again to everyone, these classes are not intended to replace your home church!   That has never been the intention of these studies.  As I've stated over and over, the entire purpose for these classes is so you can gain knowledge of the Word and be equipped to go back to YOUR HOME CHURCH and be a blessing to YOUR OWN Pastor!

I had several requests to teach Revelation and/or the end times.  I think once we finish the basics and the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, I will likely move to 1 Corinthians 12 and the Gifts of the Spirit.  After that perhaps we'll begin a very exhaustive study on the end times.

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Please add elijahadmin@elijahproject.net to your safe list or address book in your e-mail program, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues!

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A Little History

The Elijah Project actually began nearly 10 years ago (but under a different name), as a small forum in which various bible topics were discussed.  I was continually asked for teaching on various topics and the studies progressed into a site-based chat room.   After several months of the weekly chat and teaching nights, the chat room grew to more than 40 people at a time and several people could not attend due to bandwidth restrictions on the server.  Since I could not afford to lease a full blown server for a once per week bible study, I created a comprehensive website instead.

Over the last 19 years, I've written several thousand pages of teaching (about 4,000-5,000 pages) most of which still have not been typed and coded for web usage)!  I'm trying to get them all typed and ready so they may be added to the main site, but time constraints are often prohibitive.

I also have a library of about 300 tapes containing some audio teaching and I'll try to someday convert them for use as streaming multimedia files.

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About this Newsletter:

*  You are receiving this newsletter because you are currently subscribed to The Elijah Project Forum.   I trust the newsletter will be beneficial and informative to you.  If you would like to unsubscribe from the newsletter, please send an email to elijahadmin@elijahproject.net with the subject of "Unsubscribe".   I will ensure you do not receive further newsletters.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to a friend who might benefit from it.  If you received this newsletter from a friend, you may subscribe to the Forum and receive your own copy at:  http://www.elijahproject.net/forum/index.php?action=register

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I have received more than 100 questions in less than 2 months.  I was surprised that most of them were very basic questions concerning the foundations of the Christian belief.  No problem though!   That's the entire reason this study was begun.  There are some that are pretty deep questions which  require extensive answers and beginning with the next newsletter, I'll try to tackle one or two at a time, but I won't promise that I'll be able to do this every time!  (Depending upon the time I have to get these done!)  Bear in mind that many of the "deep" questions require an extensive, comprehensive understanding of the bible in order to understand the deeper things of God.  With that thought in mind, time and space constraints will be nearly prohibitive to teach them in a brief newsletter!

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Question:  What was Paul's thorn in the flesh?

Answer:  Examine first the passage that tells us he had a "thorn in the flesh": 

2 Corinthians 12:7   "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."

God allowed Paul to be inflicted with a constant reminder of his weakness. There have been many speculations for centuries as to what this "thorn" would have been.  The guesses range from temptation, opposition, sicknesses, eye problems (based upon a misinterpretation of Galatians 4:15) to epilepsy, speech disabilities, etc.

The truth of the matter is that no one can say with doctrinal certainty just what this thorn may have been.  It could have been a physical infirmity but it could have just as easily been a spiritual one!  We know that Paul repeatedly asked God to remove it from him (2 Corinthians 12:8) and we know that God refused to do so (2 Corinthians 12:9).  God instead, gave Paul the grace and the strength to endure it all. 

In summary, the bottom line is this:   The word of God tells us that Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was "the messenger of Satan to buffet me".   You decide for yourself what you think that might be.  In any case, however, one thing is certain:  Nothing from Satan is good!

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Did you know Esau was also known as Edom?  (Genesis 36:19)

Did you know Judas was replaced as one of the Apostles by Mathias?  (Acts 1:26)

Did you know Peter raised a woman from the dead?  (Acts 9:40)

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Look for more Questions and Answers in the next newsletter!

Have you checked out SwordSearcher Bible Software?  The Elijah Project is now licensed to create study and commentary modules for SwordSearcher and the first module will be released by the end of 2008!

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Ford Motor Company is a huge sponsor of the Gay and Lesbian agendas.  In fact, Ford pays for advertising, sponsors pro homosexual television, homosexual events and has recently given another $10,000 to support homosexual marriage.  Do your part today by contacting Ford and by joining the boycott against Ford.  For more information, visit the American Family Association's information pages at:  http://www.afa.net/ford090507.htm, or http://www.boycottford.com/.

A recent court ruling in Pennsylvania concerning Culbertson Elementary School, allows the school to use books about witches and spells but not the bible.  Read More...

After 29 years as a gay activist, former lesbian magazine publisher Charlene Cothran stunned the homosexual community when she announced she had become a Christian. Read More...

Despite reported execution threats and police abuse, Iranians "massively" turn to Christianity... Read More...

Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop. Read More...

This week's news commentary:

I couldn't help but stand aghast at the news story in which the Catholic Bishop wants to call God Allah.  From the recent declaration from the Pope that one is not in the true church unless they are Catholic to this, it shouldn't shock me.  After all, we have a religion in Catholicism that bows and prays to idols (they call them "symbols"), worships Mary (the "Queen" of heaven), and rejects the notion that one can find salvation in the scriptures alone, not to mention the belief that the Pope is the "voice" or the "bodily representation" of Christ on this earth.  The declaration that we should call God "Allah" is the next natural progression of error that occurs when there is a void of sound doctrine.  In the words of Bishop Tiny Muskens: ""Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah? ... What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."

It's too bad he doesn't know God's name revealed to us is Immanuel --- God With Us!  Do you know the name?  Perhaps Acts 4:10-12 will help:

Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The Elijah Project

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Elijah Project Bible Study - Week 2

Remember:  When you study, you should always ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.  Learn the 3 W's of study:   Know WHAT you believe, know WHY you believe it and know WHERE it is found in the Word of God!

If you don't have a bible:  get one. (I will buy you one if you can't afford it)
If you have a bible, read it. 
If you read your bible, study it. 
If you study your bible, believe it. 
If you believe your bible, live it. 
If you live your bible, witness it! 

Last week we learned that we needed someone to save us from the fate of being separated from God forever.  We needed someone who could cover our transgressions against God and place us back into right standing with God.  We needed to regain our fellowship with God!  We also learned that the blood of bulls, goats, rams, turtle doves, etc. could not erase our sin.  It was not possible that burnt offerings would satisfy the demands of the justice of God!  Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin and it could not be just any blood!  It was going to take innocent blood!   We needed someone who would be this perfect, sinless, innocent sacrifice for us!  We needed  savior!

This week's lesson covered the servant of Isaiah 53.  We were able to determine this servant was the Messiah, the Savior  to come and we found out that Jesus fulfilled those Old Testament prophecies.  We discovered the bible verses in which Jesus fulfilled all of Isaiah 53.

Now that we understand Jesus is the Messiah, we must find out what He had to say when He came!  Surely if he is God's Christ, God's Messiah, then he would have a message for us!   Surely, if he came to save us, he would tell us what we need to do to be saved.  Enter the PLAN of salvation!

In week 3, we will discover God's PLAN for saving us through Jesus.  We will examine the elements of the plan, the institution of the plan and our responsibilities to fulfill the plan!  We will examine the elements and the examples from the Word of God for this plan of salvation!

Everyone who wishes to come is invited.   Studies are held at 7 P.M. on Tuesday nights.

There are plans to have a bit of dinner before beginning the study for this coming Tuesday night, September 11th. 

One other note:  the audio tape for Tuesday, September 4th didn't turn out too well.   I will try to recover the audio and clean it up to make it audible enough to use, but it may be lost!   Please accept my apologies!  I will do something different next time.

For the upcoming week of September 11th, read: 

Luke Chapter 24. Pay particular attention to verses 45-53.
John 20.  Pay attention to verses 6-7
Acts chapters 1 and 2

There are many other scriptures that need to be covered but these will get you started.  As you read and STUDY, ask yourselves these questions:

WHEN was the plan of salvation first preached?
WHAT does it mean when Jesus spoke of "repentance and remission of sins"?
WHAT are the required "elements" of salvation?
Was there a difference in the plan of salvation between Jews and Gentiles?
Can you list at least 4 passages of scripture that shows where someone got saved?
Are there any bible passages that seem to contradict what you personally believe?  If so, list them!

Remember, never be afraid to tackle the Word of God exactly as it is written!   Don't change scripture, don't avoid scripture but study to find the answers.  If you CAN'T find the answers, find someone who can help you get the answers!

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I will be adding the teaching from the Tuesday classes to the main site as time permits but it could be quite some time before that is done!  If you would like to have a CD, contact me via email and I will ensure you get a copy.  Week 1 is currently available on CD only  The Week 2 CD is very poor quality and I'm in the process of trying to recover it. 

I'll post the weekly series on the main site as soon as I can get the time to convert them to flash, edit and upload them!  Thanks for your patience!

 

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Directions are available on the forum:  http://www.elijahproject.net/forum/index.php?topic=73.0

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Verse of the week:

Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

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