Teaching or instruction, usually done as a warning.

Great trouble or pain.

A person from another country; a foreigner.

Heavenly beings created by God before he created Adam and Eve. Angels act as God’s messengers to men and women. They also worship God.

The Jews, as descendants of Abraham, were selected by God to be “a great and powerful nation, and all nations of earth will be blessed through him” (Genesis 18:18). The New Testament declares that the Church has also become the spiritual recipient of this blessing and responsibility (see 1 Peter 2:9).

The Greek word that means “God’s Chosen One.” “Messiah” is the Hebrew word meaning the same thing. Jesus was the Christ.

An assembly or gathering. The word church is used to refer both to local groups of believers in Christ (church) as well as to all believers (Church).

To cut an unneeded flap of skin, called the foreskin, from the penis. For the Israelites, circumcision was a sign of the special agreement (or covenant) they had with God: If they worshiped and obeyed Him, He would be their God and they would be His people. Abraham was the first Hebrew to be circumcised. After Abraham, Hebrew baby boys were circumcised when they were eight days old. Leaders in the Early Church said that it was not necessary for men or boys to be circumcised to become part of God’s family.

(1) To find someone guilty of doing something wrong and to declare or pronounce a punishment. (2) To be against or disapprove of something because it is wrong.

(1) To be certain about the things we cannot see or to trust someone because of who he or she is. For example, a Christian has faith that Jesus is God’s Son. (2) The whole message about Jesus Christ—that He is God’s Son and that He came to take the punishment for our sin so that we may become members of God’s family. This describes the faith of a Christian.

(1) Dinners, celebrations and banquets. (2) Jewish religious holidays and celebrations.

The first child born into a family. During Bible times, the firstborn son received special rights and power. He became head of the family after his father died, and he received twice as much money and property as his brothers.

(1) Literally, “good news.” The good news of the Bible is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for sin and then raised Him from the dead so that any person who believes may have new life. (2) The story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ told in the first four books of the New Testament. The books are also called the four Gospels.

Someone who has the right to receive the property or position of another person when that person dies. In Bible times, the heir was usually a son. The Bible says that anyone who is a member of God’s family is His heir. God will never die, but because we are His children, God keeps on giving us great love, care and kindness.

A truth that is understood because of God’s revelation. The term appears only in the New Testament (mostly in the letters of Paul) and refers to God’s plan to redeem the world through Christ.

The weekly day of rest and worship that God set apart for all people. In the Old Testament, it is the seventh day of the week (Saturday); and today for many Jews and some Christians Saturday is still observed as the Sabbath. For Jews, Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday. Because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, most Christians set aside Sunday as the day of rest and worship (see Acts 20:7).

The unseen part of a person that controls what he or she thinks, feels, and does; soul. The Bible says that God is a spirit, showing that he does not have a physical body.

To choose to work with or to obey another person in a thoughtful, gentle way. The Bible says that Christians are to submit to each other in the same way that Jesus submitted to God when Jesus came to earth.

(1) The planet Earth. (2) People who follow Satan. (3) Anything that belongs to life on earth instead of eternal life with God.