Open day was great!

Children were the focus of the activities on the recent Dandenong Bible Education Centre Open Day, and what a great time they had! The centre was full of happy noise. Parents obviously wanted their children to enjoy some fun based around the Bible. A large group of children gathered for the interactive Bible story-telling. They joined in with the singing and had fun colouring and making a cute “Joseph” doll, complete with his special coat. Both the animals and the face painting were popular, as can be seen in the picture opposite. So, if your child came and wants more, or if you missed out, what happens next? For preschoolers there is playgroup every Wednesday morning from 10.30-12.30 during term time. For those attending Primary School, we recommend Bible Explorers – our weekly Sunday School which runs from 11.30-12.30. You can join at any time, but now is a great time to book in for third term.

On Open Day for the adults there were other displays, including models of Noah’s ark and the tabernacle – please read the other side of this newsletter for more information about the tabernacle.

Study weekend report

Full rooms greeted the speaker from Sydney, Mr Ken Pooley, who helped all those attending to comprehend the Spirit of God a little more. We looked at many of the different ways God works, starting with the use of his Spirit to create the world and all on it. Many people in the Bible were helped by God’s Spirit, and he can work in our lives today too.

Term 3 courses

Please carefully read your copy of the leaflet describing the courses available during term 3. There is something there for babies, toddlers, school-aged children, teens, those just starting to read the Bible, women, and other Bible students. We’d love to have YOU join our classes. Pick up the phone or come into the centre and enrol today!

Frankston course

A new course is planned in Frankston, commencing on July 15. This course is for people who have begun to read their Bibles, and are trying to fit the major people and events into the overall Bible story.

• “The Story of the Bible”
• 8pm Tuesdays
• 8 week course
• Venue to be arranged

New Life Class – Sundays 11.30am-12.30pm

July 6	Passion and Praise morning
July 13	Video
July 20	Spotlight on the Bible: Elijah and Elisha
July 27	Spotlight on the Bible: Naaman the Syrian
August 3	Heaven
August 10	Antichrist
August 17	Grace
August 24	Faith
August 31	Keeping separate from the world

Did you know?

If an Israelite stole someone’s sheep, he had to pay it back with four sheep (Exodus 22:1). Maybe the thought of the punishment helped some people not to steal!

Why is the tabernacle important to Christians?

On Open Day there was a model of the tabernacle – the tent used for worshipping God in Old Testament times. More than one person asked what was the relevance to Christians. Here is the answer!

The tabernacle was a tent that the people of Israel made according to God’s instructions while they were in the wilderness. It was made following a plan shown to Moses by God. It became the central place where they worshipped God. It was the place the Israelites received forgiveness for sins, and it was the place where they showed their thankfulness to God for all the things that he had done for them. It was later replaced by the temple built by King Solomon in Jerusalem using a very similar plan. This temple made Jerusalem the central place where God was worshipped. This temple was destroyed by Babylonian invaders, then replaced by another temple in Jerusalem that was still there in Jesus’ time. However, Christians do not need to worship God in the same way as the Israelites did. Does this mean that the tabernacle (and the temple that replaced it) isn’t relevant to Christians?

Galatians 3:23-24 tells us that the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The things that God put in the law that he gave to Israel were given so that Israel would be ready to receive Christ. They are meant to show us about how God works, and what he expects of his followers. The tabernacle was an important part of this law, since it was the central place of worship under the law. The law is also meant to show us how much better the way of Jesus Christ was than the law that cannot save us. What we see in the tabernacle should tell us something about how God works. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said that he had not come to take away the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them. Nothing would be taken away from the law until the whole law had been accomplished. The things that Jesus did for us were done to fulfill the law, and so we need to have some understanding of the law to understand the work of Jesus.

The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament tells us a lot about the tabernacle, and what it shows about the work of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 8:5 it says that the tabernacle was “a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things”. Moses was told to make the tabernacle following a pattern that he was shown, and that pattern was a pattern of the heavenly things. The earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly tabernacle. By looking at the tabernacle we can see how God commanded the people of Israel to worship him, and we can also see something of the heavenly tent that Hebrews tells us about. Hebrews 9:24-28 tells us that when Jesus Christ sacrificed himself that he entered the heavenly places themselves. Just like the priests offered sacrifices in the tabernacle for sin, so Jesus offered himself in that heavenly tent for sin. It is because of that sacrifice that we can have forgiveness of sins, and it is through that sacrifice that we become Christians. Understanding the tabernacle helps us to understand what Christ really did for us, probably more than any other part of the law.

Hebrews also tells about how the tabernacle and the priesthood serving in it showed the need for Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 7 it tells us that God set up the tabernacle with:

• Priests who were not perfect (and so needed forgiveness themselves), and
• Sacrifices that could not take away sin.

Isaiah 59:16-20 says that God saw that there was no one to intercede, and so he brought salvation, and sent a redeemer to Zion for those who turned from transgression. The sacrifices offered in the tabernacle showed how much God hates sin, and what we as humans need to do to take away sins. The tabernacle showed the weakness of man and the greatness of God. God saw that no-one else could save, and so he sent his own son to save us. Understanding the tabernacle and all that it represents helps us to understand the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the problem that he solved, the problem of sin. Jesus was sacrificed in the heavenly tabernacle for us, and he has been made our high priest, and the mediator between God and man.

J.M.M.