The Augusta Church

Read John 19:31-37

• Jesus died before any of his bones could be broken, therefore he was an unblemished sacrifice on the cross.
• All of the prophecies of Jesus from the old testament came true, and this was another example of a prophecy coming true.
• The religious leaders were so blind to what was really happening. They wanted the dead bodies removed before the sabbath began so they allowed them to take Jesus’s Body for burial. They did not realize they had just fulfilled a prophecy by allowing Jesus to die and be buried so that he could rise again on the third day to give us all redemption. 
• John documented that he wanted to write this down for our own good so we could believe that Jesus was fully human, fully died and fully raised to life by the power of God.

Read John 19:38-42

• Nicodemus and Joseph were members of the Jewish ruling counsel, yet they used their own funds to prepare and bury Jesus’s physical body. They used their influence to help Jesus. 
• Because of these men, Jesus had an honorable burial in a new tomb, which would have been really expensive in those days.
• Myrhh was the same gift that was brought to Jesus when he was born and now it was being used again at his burial.
• Pilate was able to release the body to Joseph because he may have realized Jesus was innocent. 
• Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus out of fear, but he acted when it was really important and had huge impact by  taking care of Jesus’s body.
• Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of spices to take care of Jesus’s body, this cost a whole lot of money in those days. Nicodemus came to realize who Jesus really was at this point in his life.

Has there been a time in your life when it was difficult for you to be a disciple and you stood up for God’s teachings anyway?

Sunday Lesson Notes

July 12, 2026

Read John 3

• Nicodemus was a Pharisee a member of the Jewish ruling council who went to Jesus to ask him personally questions he was having a difficult time answering
• Nicodemus had the heart of a student and wanted to learn from the Source, the Son of God. He did not go to the Pharisees or his peers to ask for clarification, he went to Jesus instead. 

Read John 7: 14-19

• Jesus went to the temple courts to teach the people
• Jesus personally reminded them that he was only teaching them what God had told him and he was not teaching them to bring honor to himself but to God
• The Pharisees in contrast were teaching to bring honor to themselves and to exert control over the people and in doing so denied who Jesus was

Read John 7: 28-32

• The people that really knew Jesus believed he was from God
• There were some trying to believe him and others trying to kill him
• Some of the Jews at this time were looking for a worldly king that would liberate them from the oppression of the Romans. Other Jews were looking for the real Messiah that would liberate them from the oppression of their sins and reconcile them back to God.

Read John 7: 33-44

• Jesus warned them that he was going away soon and would no longer be in their presence
• Jesus was letting them know he would redeem them first by dying for them and then be resurrected
• Jesus gave them an open invitation to join him and follow him
• He offered them the gift of the Holy Spirit and eternal life with living water
• Some believed, some thought he was the Prophet, some questioned his royal line
• Some were really confused and remembering their scriptures incorrectly, forgetting Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was not born in Galilee. 

Read John 7: 45-52

• The Pharisees were upset that Jesus was not arrested.
• However, even the temple guards knew Jesus was different and did not need to be killed, they were amazed by his words and the way he spoke to the crowd. 
• Nicodemus, who was a diligent student and already personally went to Jesus to answer his questions, stood up and reminded the Pharisees that they were not obeying their own laws
• The Pharisees were so upset they even disregarded Nicodemus and looked down on him
• It’s clear that the Pharisees were making assumptions and passing judgements without asking Jesus questions or keeping the unity. 
• We need to remember to ask questions of Jesus personally to find out who he really is instead of making assumptions and passing judgements without knowing all the facts
• We should treat all of our relationships in the same way, getting to know people before making assumptions and passing judgements 

Sunday Lesson Notes from May 31, 2026

• Read Genesis Chapter 1:26-30
  • God announced that He, together with Jesus, was going to create mankind in their image
  • God created us with his attributes
  • God created humans to rule, shepherd and to be fruitful on the earth
  • God created humans to be his representation in his kingdom
  • God gave humans everything they needed to sustain life here on earth

• Read Genesis Chapter 2: 18-24
  • God made a helper for Adam
  • Adam said the woman was made from him- symbol of unity, family and they were unified to become one flesh

• Read Genesis Chapter 3:20
  • Eve was created as the source of life for all mankind on the earth
  • Men and women have different roles on the earth, but God and Jesus are the head of all human families

• Read Genesis Chapter 4:1-2
  • Eve credited God for her ability to give birth to Cain and Abel
  • Eve recognized that God was the ultimate source of life

• Read Romans Chapter 8:28-30
  • God works out all things for everyone who loves him according to His purpose
  • God’s purpose for humanity is to be conformed to the likeness of his son
  • All humans are predestined to be like Jesus, who has called, justified and glorified us all
  • Humans however, have free choice if they do not want to respond to the call from God
  • From Genesis to Revelation: the story is about God and us with Jesus as our redeemer, unified as one
  • Marriage is a covenant and God’s love for us is part of a covenant greater than human marriage

Sunday Lesson Notes, May 10, 2026

• Read 1 Samuel Chapter 1
  • Hannah was always praying to God about her troubling situation
  • When life gets hard for us, how do we handle it? What or who do we turn to for answers besides God?
• Read 1 Samuel Chapter 2: 1-11
  • Hannah was grateful to God in her prayer
  • She trusted in God’s will and thanked him for it
  • She became confident in her relationship with God
• Read Luke 1: 1-56
  • Elizabeth and Mary were both in tough situations: one was older and never been pregnant and the other was a virgin pledged to be married
  • God allowed them both to conceive
  • They were already women who were trusting in God and had a relationship with God, so when the angel showed up they were ready to obey and listen to God
  • Mary’s prayer after being blessed by God is very similar to Hannah’s prayer after she conceived. Mary must have been familiar with Hannah’s story and was able to model her obedience when the angel showed up.
  • These three mothers were in touch with God. Imagine how encouraging it would be if we were all raised by a mother who had a relationship with God?

• Read  Matthew 6: 9-13
  • Jesus prayed for us to be obedient to God so that God’s will would be done in our lives, like these women
  • Satan refused to obey God’s will when he was in Heaven and was cast out
  • These women obeyed God’s will and reaped a huge reward
  • Jesus did God’s will and went to the cross for us. Now we can know God. 
  • Are you willing to do God’s will in your life right now? What is it?
  • Read Romans 12:1-2- remember to seek out God’s will in all your decisions

Sunday Lesson Notes 

April 12, 2026

Questions:

1. Have you ever had an expectation of something and it did not happen?
2. Have you ever had a goal that didn’t happen in your life?

Read Luke 24:13-24

• The disciples were expressing disappointment that Jesus was not the one that they had hoped him to be. They had just spent three years following him but he was killed which likely devastated them. They were so discouraged that they did not recognize Jesus as he was walking and talking with them.
• The women alerted them that Jesus’s body was missing from the tomb but they still did not realize that meant Jesus had risen from the dead, which is what he told them would happen.
• Cleopas expressed that Jesus was from Nazareth, he was a prophet and did miracles, but he did not believe he was the Messiah they had hoped for that would free them from Rome.
• They were hoping for political freedom not spiritual redemption.

Read Luke 24:25-27

• Jesus reminded them that they were foolish and slow to believe in the scriptures that he told them.
• Jesus spent the time explaining to them everything about the Messiah from the old testament. He reminded them that everything God had promised would happen was fulfilled in Jesus.
• Here are some passages that Jesus could have used to remind them of the prophecies from the old testament:
  • Isaiah 7:14- the virgin will give birth to a child and his name will be Immanuel
  • Micah 5:2- Jesus would come from Bethlehem and the tribe of Judah
  • Genesis 22:13-18- God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son and when he obeyed, God showed up with a replacement sacrifice, the Ram. God promised he would provide the sacrifice. God sacrificed his own son for us. 
  • Numbers 21:4-9- The Israelites were sinning against God, but he sent the Bronze snake to save them, a foreshadowing of Jesus on the cross to save us.
  • Isaiah 53:1-12- this is the story of Jesus’s life here on earth

Read Luke 24: 28-35

• Cleopus urged Jesus to stay with them because they started to connect the dots about what happened to Jesus after he reminded them of God’s prophecies
• When they broke bread with Jesus at the table, they realized who he was because it was a familiar event for Jesus to break bread with his followers.
• They believed so much that they got up that night and returned to Jerusalem to encourage the other disciples with what they had just experienced. 
• Jesus often spends time with people to allow us to learn about who he is personally. We should tell others of our experiences we have with Jesus. 
• Sharing what we learn from God with others will help to encourage their faith in who God is.

Sunday Lesson Notes

March 8, 2026

Read Psalm 22

• Who does David turn to for help?
  • David not only asks God for help but recalls all the time God has saved him from birth and is waiting expectantly for deliverance
  • Despite being mocked for turning to God for help, David is persistent in going to God for deliverance from his troubles
  • David was willing to humble himself before God and described to God in a very vulnerable and specific way about how he was feeling from his head to his toe, in pain
  • David did not hide his struggles from God and was very expressive and deliberate in asking for help. He kept reminding himself that God would deliver him just as God did before
  • David vows he would declare praises to God after he delivered him and that those who seek the Lord, the poor and every family and every nation and everyone in the future would join in praising God for his deliverance and saving acts.

Read Matthew 27: 32-50

• How does Jesus handle suffering on the Cross?
  • Jesus cried out to God for help in the same way David cried out to God for help
  • Several lines in Psalm 22 are repeated in Matthew 27: Several of the events around Jesus’s death were prophesied here: the casting of lots, the mockery of crying out to God, crying out to God for example.
  • In Matthew 28:5-6 Everything happened just as Jesus said.

Read Hebrews 5: 7-10

• How did Jesus handle suffering during his lifetime?
  • Jesus cried out to God with prayers and petitions daily and God heard him and delivered him.
  • Jesus suffered on earth as a human just like we do today, but he learned to turn to God for deliverance
  • Who do you cry out to when you are in anguish and distress? Who do you look to for saving?
  • God is the source of salvation for all who obey him. 
  • Praising God for his salvation will continue through all eternity.

SUNDAY LESSON NOTES

2-2-2026

READ 2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-21

• Jesus died for all humans. Those who recognize this fact and want to follow Jesus, they will no longer live for themselves but for Jesus.
• When we follow Jesus, we should no longer see each other from a worldly point of view.
• We need to realize that Jesus lived and died as a human and as the Son of God. But God raised him from the dead. My life should be different when I decide to accept this reconciliation.
• Jesus paid for the debts our sins created. Our accounts have been made whole because of Jesus’s decision to sacrifice himself for us. We have been made into new creations as a result of this deal.
• The word RECONCILE in Greek language was used to refer to financial transactions.
• What is the transaction taking place in this passage? Jesus’s death in exchange for Human forgiveness of Sins- this is huge!
• We have become ambassadors of Christ when we decide to accept the gift of his forgiveness.
• In a worldly sense, ambassadors are representatives of a government. The ambassador makes deals and decisions on behalf of a country’s leader.
• As Christ’s ambassadors we can offer the truth about who Christ is and what he has done to each human so that they may have an opportunity to accept this gift of forgiveness of sins.

• READ 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-15
  • The gospel of Jesus is that he died, was raised from death by God and entered into God’s kingdom in heaven in order to reconcile us to God and send us his Holy Spirit.
  • We have the Holy Spirit living inside each of us. Although we may be fragile like jars of clay, God’s Holy Spirit inside of us will keep us living for Christ and surviving the struggles of this world.
  • We carry around the reminder of what Jesus did for us inside our bodies. By remembering Jesus’s sacrifice we will have the motivation to be like him. 
  • The Love Christ has for us seen by his willingness to sacrifice himself for us should compel us to live according to his teachings.
  • What teachings of Jesus are you living out right now? What teachings of Jesus are you planning to add to your life? Are there things in your life right now that you are doing that do not align with Jesus’s teachings?

SUNDAY LESSON NOTES

JANUARY 25, 2026

• READ LUKE 1: 5-17
  • Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were priestly descendants 
  • They were in their old age, alive in the time of the Roman Empire and under the rule of King Herod of Judea, but still faithful to God and keeping the Laws
  • Zechariah was performing his priestly duties when an Angel of the Lord appeared to him. Zechariah became afraid but the Angel consoled him and told him that his prayer was heard
  • GOD DOES HEAR OUR PRAYERS!!
  • The Angel told Zechariah he would have a son and the son’s name would be JOHN- meaning THE LORD IS GRACIOUS
  • John would be great and filled with the Holy Spirit even in his mother’s womb
  • John would turn the hearts of the people back to God. He was coming in the Spirit and Power of Elijah to make a people prepared for the Lord
• READ MALACHI 4:1-6
  • Here is the prophecy that Elijah would be sent to turn back the hearts of men!
• READ LUKE 1: 18-25
  • Zechariah was a priest in the temple, yet doubted that God was able to make his wife pregnant. He was having memory troubles about the story of Abraham and Sarah, who was advised by the Lord that they would have a son named Isaac in their old age. He was not able to speak until John was born as a sign that this was a message from the Lord.
  • Gabriel was a powerful angel who stood in the presence of God to deliver the message from the Lord. He delivered the message that nothing was impossible with God. Elizabeth went home and became pregnant with John in her old age. 
  • Elizabeth gave the credit to God and acknowledged God’s favor was on her. 

• READ LUKE 1: 26-38
  • Gabriel also showed up to Mary and gave her a message that she would become pregnant with Jesus. The prophecy of Jesus would come true--he would be on the throne in the line of David. He would be called the Son of the Most High God. 
  • John would prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God.
  • Gabriel helped her faith by answering her question how this would happen. Gabriel also told her that her cousin Elizabeth was going to have a child. She went and visited Elizabeth for a time of encouragement later on.
• READ LUKE 1: 39-45
  • John leaped for joy in his mom’s womb when Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, showed up to visit Elizabeth.
  • God provides good company for us even in times of distress!
  • Even from the womb, Jesus was bringing joy to those around him!
  • The JOY JESUS brings does not depend on our life circumstances. Nothing is impossible with God.

Acts Chapter 17

• What was Paul’s Custom whenever he visited a new location?
  • He would always go to the synagaogue or the meeting location where Jews gathered
  • He taught them from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for

• What were some of the responses of the people that heard Paul's message?
  • Some believed and joined the Christian movement
  • Some denied what he was saying
  • Some stirred up trouble and made exaggerated accusations against Paul

• What types of people were responding to Paul’s message in these towns?
  • Some Jews
  • Some Greeks
  • Some God fearing non-Jews
  • Some prominent women
  • Some men
  • In other words, social, ethnic and economically diverse people were responding positively to Paul's message and joining the Christian movement.
• What kinds of persecution did Paul experience?
  • Jail
  • Being thrown out of the town or having to flee
  • Previous flogging
• How was Paul able to reason with the people?
  • He read scriptures, in context and persuaded them that Jesus was the Messiah from the scriptures
  • He did not have to manipulate the scriptures to prove his points
• Why was Paul’s message so controversial?
  • He was preaching that Jesus is the Messiah- which means Jesus is the King and not Caesar. 
  • He was preaching that Jesus should be their Lord--Jesus’s commands and teachings have the final authority on how they live their lives. 
• What was so special about what happened in Athens?
  • Paul did not initially plan to go there, he was sent there to escape the trouble some Jealous Jews from Thessalonica were stirring up in Berea. Paul had to leave Timothy and Silas behind to continue teaching about Jesus.
  • When Paul went to Athens, he did not go to the synagogue, instead he went to the meeting place where the philosophers of the day would meet to talk about the new ideas of the age
  • The Athenians invited him to speak to them at the Areopagus because Paul’s message was new to them
  • Paul was following the Holy Spirit’s lead to bring the message to Athens and God opened the opportunity for him to talk in a prominent location.
• What are some takeaways you can use in your personal mission to spread the message about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to bring salvation to all people?
  • Have a plan, be consistent
  • Know the scriptures and use them to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and should be Lord of our lives
  • Follow the lead of the Holy Spirit
  • Go with a friend if possible

Sunday Lesson Notes

The Ultimate Sacrifice

• Read Jeremiah 5:1-11 and verse 30-31
• Read Jeremiah 31:31-34
  • God put the people on notice because of their sins and unfaithfulness to him
  • The prophets were lying and leading people astray
  • God promised to make a new covenant with the people where he would put his law in their minds and hearts and the Levite priests would no longer be needed.
  • They no longer needed stone tablets with the law because they will have a personal relationship with God with his law written on their hearts
  • God’s plan was to unify all his people from all nations, forgive their sins and place his law in their minds and hearts
• Read Hebrews 9:11-15
  • Christ came as a high priest and sacrificed his own blood for us. Then he went before God to make his sacrifice, not in a man-made tabernacle.
  • Christ initiated the new covenant with his personal sacrifice, the sacrifice was made once and it gave salvation to all people.
  • Christ’s sacrifice forgives our sins and cleanses our consciences so that we can serve God in our lives and keep repenting.
  • When we see blood, it should remind us of death, which is caused by sin
  • Jesus’s blood brought us life because of his sacrifice

• Read Hebrews 10:11-18
  • The sacrifices of priests in the tabernacle will never forgive our sins or clear our consciences
  • In order to access the forgiveness that Jesus brought with his death, we must keep on acknowledging sins in our lives and repenting in our lives
  • Jesus has made us perfect and holy by his sacrifice, so we can keep on repenting and doing what is right.
• Read Matthew 26:26-29
  • The last supper is a demonstration of Jesus’s sacrifice. Remember the Passover from Egypt when they spread the blood of a lamb on their door post and ate unleavened bread? The last supper is the culmination of what occurred during the first passover, except this time Jesus was the lamb to be sacrificed. His body and blood represented by the bread and the wine was sacrificed for us so that we could receive forgiveness of our sins. The invitation to share in this relationship with Jesus is open to all people.