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(ANSWERS) Sermon on the Mount: Purity (Mt5:8)

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” - Matthew 5:8

This past Sunday Pastor Curtis preached on the eighth verse of the Beatitudes, this time dealing with the relationship between purity and seeing God.

Purity is to be Holy as God is Holy (Leviticus 19:2, 1Peter 1:15-16)

Power to be pure is found in God’s love (1Peter 1:22)

Promise of purity is seeing God (1John 3:23)

In essence these points add up to a lifestyle that relates to further separation from sin and a closer relationship to God. The study today will go deeper into the verse, carefully going into each word of verse 8. This will hopefully lead to a deeper conviction and understanding of how a pure heart and seeing God relate to one another.

Context and Recap

Read and discuss verses 3-5. What do these verses establish about the blessed person’s state on earth? How would you sum it up in a word These verses establish the heart and condition of the broken person. These broken people will be the ones to experience blessing from God.

Read and discuss verse 6. What does it mean to be righteous? (recap from 3 weeks ago) The righteousness we’re discussing deals with the internal righteousness verses the external righteousness that the pharisees were good at displaying.

Interpretation

Pure - katharos in greek, means pure, clean, clear, ethically from corrupt desire, guilt

Heart - kardia in greek, means the heart, thoughts or feelings, the middle, center

See - horao in greek, to stare at, discern clearly, to experience

What does it mean to be “pure”? Read Titus 1:15 (Context about the qualifications of elders and false teachers, James 1:27 (doing the Word is tied to good works) and 1 Peter 1:22. How does these verses help you to possibly understand what it means to be pure? (purity is an action, must be pursued. There perhaps is self evidence of purity as opposed to one measuring it. Purity ultimately is tied to sanctification and showing more fruit as a result of a growing relationship with God)

What does the “heart” refer to? Read Matthew 5:28 (lust from the heart), 6:21 (the heart reveals what you treasure), 12:34 (the heart is the root of speech). What does Jesus seem to imply from these verses regarding the heart?  The heart produces the fruit whether good or bad. it is the internal guide of our actions. The heart is the center and driver of our actions.

What does it mean to “see” God? Read John 11:40 (lazarus rising from dead) and Hebrews 12:14 (holiness leads to seeing God).  how is one able to see God from these verses? To see God perhaps means to see great works being done in his name. It takes faith and a closer relationship that leads to holiness in order to see God)

Now knowing the definitions of “pure in heart” and to “see” God, how would you try to articulate the relationship between the two without using the words “pure” or “see”? Those who have a desire to be clean or holy in their inner most being will experience God’s presence and blessing upon them. 

Application

Would you ever say you have “seen” God? What did that look like? i have seen God stop me from going further and further into sin. I have seen him work in the relationships i’ve built inside and outside of the church. I’ve seen him work in family members that were saved. 

What are some things that are stopping you from being “pure”? my job takes up a lot of my mental resources, temptation takes up a lot of emotional resources, consumerism also takes up a lot of my attention.

What are some practical things we can do to strive for purity? break away every once in a while, find time alone to pray with God and talk to him. listen to christiany things in the background perhaps during a nap. volunteer more

Have you felt that perhaps your impurity has held you back from seeing God? Yes, in those times of impurity i’m not even thinking about God.

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(ANSWERS) Sermon on the Mount: Merciful (Mt5:7)

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” -Matthew 5:7

“You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” -Psalm 86:15

This past Sunday Pastor Peter preached on what it looks like to receive mercy and grace in everyday life. While this verse only speaks of mercy, the two (being mercy and grace) do go hand in hand although as Pastor Peter said they are not just two sides of the same coin. There are important distinctions to be made between mercy and grace and knowing the definition of both terms will help to understand the gospel picture a little better (which will hopefully lead to a more gospel centered life!).

For the purposes of this study however we will be discussing primarily mercy. More than likely the topic of grace will likely come up since the two terms are closely related.

From Greek, merciful is the english translation of the Greek word eleemon. Eleemon means to be “actively compassionate”.

Eleeos which is the Greek for mercy means “having been shown pity or mercy”

Context and Recap

Read and discuss verses 3-5. What do these verses establish about the blessed person’s state on earth? How would you sum it up in a word?

These verses describe the low state of the blessed person, they are BROKEN.

Read and discuss verse 6. What does it mean to be righteous? (recap from two weeks ago)

Righteousness in this case seems to mean longing for God’s righteousness and practicing it on the inside as opposed to letting others see how righteous you are. 

Main Verse Study

Knowing that Jesus is now talking about those who thirst for righteousness, how are verses 6-11 related?

The next verses describe the one who thirsts for righteousness. 

What does it look like in your mind to be merciful? Read Matthew 18:23-35. How does this parable align with your view of mercy?

Mercy means to withhold judgement. If someone else showed mercy on me, why am I not able to show mercy unto others? 

What are some other instances of God showing mercy in the Bible?

Sparing Noah and his family in the flood, not destroying the Israelites when worshipping the golden calf at Mt. Sinai, 

How can God be merciful to us and yet also be just at the same time?

God shows his mercy but the punishment was not withheld. It was placed on himself (his Son) at the cross. He must maintain his justice.

Read Matthew 9:13 and 12:7. Jesus seems to be saying that there is an opposing trait to mercy and its sacrifice, what does this mean?  

Mercy reflects the inside character of a person which is more important that looking religious on the outside. Jesus desires believers who act from the heart. 

Application

What is an effective way to be more merciful to others?

To remember that God showed mercy onto me, am I in any position to not show mercy unto others? 

Does God call us to be merciful in every case and situation? For instance should punishments be withheld from a crime?

Perhaps in the case of law or society the punishment may still be implemented. However there is a way in which our attitude can be a “merciful” one by showing compassion at the consequence. 

Is God requiring to show mercy as means to earn salvation? If not then how are we to be merciful in light of our salvation?

Its not that we need to show mercy in order to gain God’s favor but that our understanding of God’s salvation brings us to a point to show mercy unto others. 

mercy - when we deserve punishment, he doesn’t punish us; withholding of just condemnation

“he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,”  -Titus 3:5a

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(Answers) Sermon on the Mount: Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness (Mt5:6)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” - Matthew 5:6

This past Sunday Pastor Curtis continued his series on the Sermon on the Mount with Matthew 5:6. He highlighted the fact that we all have a longing for something greater in our lives and that righteousness is the everlasting food that can satisfy our hunger and thirst. How can one live this out on a daily basis? Hopefully after tonight’s study we can come away with a better understanding of what it looks like to be “satisfied with the food of righteousness.”

We’ll be looking at four words in this verse to help us come away with a better understanding of the meaning of the verse.

1. Hunger and Thirst

Metaphorically “to crave ardently, to seek with desire”

What does it look like to “hunger and thirst” for something? (maybe the three previous verses can help?, what did Pastor Curtis mention?)

To recognize you need help from your poverty, sadness, your gentleness that may cause a disadvantage in this world. He mentioned Crisis, emptiness, guilt, dissatisfaction. 

Read Ecclesiastes 3:11. What does God putting “eternity onto our hearts” mean? What does that have to do with “hunger and thirst”?

it God has given us a longing for something not of this world since this world is not eternal but finite. our hunger and thirst will never be satisfied in this world.

How can we explain human nature based on our responses to the questions above?

Humans will long for things but nothing on earth can ever fill that hole in our hearts.

What could cause someone to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Recognizing the world around them is painful and longing for something better. 

2. Righteousness

Literally “equity”

The Bible (especially Matthew) mentions “righteousness” and ascribes righteousness to Pharisees and non-Pharisees.

Read Matthew 6:1, 23:28. What type of righteousness is ascribed to the Pharisees?

They display an outward righteousness, to look good in front of others to puff themselves up. Self righteousness.

Read Matthew 5:20, what is true righteousness? (Glancing over the following passages in Chapter 5 helps)

True righteousness is not external but internal. This is how it can be said that your righteousness must exceed the pharisees because its harder!

So what’s the difference between the two?

internal vs external righteousness

3. Satisfied

Literally “gorged”, feed, to fatten, to be filled

Describe a moment when you felt that something was going to make you VERY happy. Did it?

everytime i buy something or lust for something expensive and then get it, it always leads to dissatisfaction but i really thought it would fill me. 

Knowing all of this now, how can righteousness lead to satisfaction or a feeling of fullness?

We have eternality in our hearts that cannot be filled with earthly things but only be filled with Godly things. Righteousness in this case is the only thing that can truly satisfy our dissatisfaction with the way things are in this world. 

my summary: those who recognize their desire for a sense of morality, justice, fairness in this world will be satisfied because God by his character will make things right

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The Story Chapter 29 Part II: Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Romans

This past Sunday Pastor Peter preached on the main contents and applications of Paul’s letters to the Roman, Galatian and Corinthian Church. Below are some of the main contents that were highlighted by Pastor Peter. 

1 Corinthians Main Contents:

Encouragement to have unity among those who were discipled under different leaders

advice to not fellowship with Christians who are in active sin in order to shame them to change

Commands to avoid sexual immorality and idolatry

Appreciate and use all of our spiritual gifts to help grow the church

View love as greater than any spiritual gift and to focus on that

remember the simple gospel message of Christ dying for our sin and resurrecting from the dead

Lifting up the major importance of Christ’s resurrection

Remember that Christ is coming back soon. 

Galatians Main Contents:

Surprised they have adopted a false gospel

explaining the futility of going back to works of the law instead of remaining in Christ’s grace.

Take joy that now all classes, races, and sexes can be saved by Christ.

Avoid living by the Sinful Nature and instead live by the Holy Spirit

Romans Main Contents: 

Reflecting that the gospel’s power can save anyone.

Explaining the inability of the Law to save anyone.

Teaching about the effectiveness of the sacrificial atonement of Christ, justification by faith in Christ’s work, and not to trust in the Law for salvation.

Explaining why there is no condemnation and wrath for those in Christ Jesus.

Reminding that God’s love for us is everywhere and greater than anything on Earth

Sharing that the purpose of being saved from sin is to live for righteousness (of Christ)

Instructions to the use of all our spiritual gifts to grow the body of Christ.

Encouragement to keep praying for believers around the known world. 

Questions for Discussion]

After reading some of the main contents, do you have any questions on any of these points? 

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 and Galatians 2:15-16. After reading these verses, what do you feel the scriptures say about what it means to be a Christian? 

Read Galatians 5:16-17, what does this verse say about the relationship between the sinful nature (or flesh) and the Holy Spirit? How might this be an encouragement in your life as a believer? 

Read Galatians 3:1-3, how is it impossible for good works to continue to “make you perfect”?

Read Romans 12:4-10 and 1 Corinthians 12:7-12, what does this say to you about how we should view our roles at the church we attend? 

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Week 27: Prophets in Pain Part 3: Learning to Lament (Answers)

RECAP & PREPARING FOR CGDaily Reading for Week

Ezekiel 9-12, Psalm 33

Ezekiel 13-15, Psalm 34  

Ezekiel 16-18, Psalm 35  

Ezekiel 19-21, Psalm 36

Ezekiel 22-24, Psalm 37

Ezekiel 25-27, Psalm 38  

Ezekiel 28-30, Psalm 39  

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Ezekiel 1-33

Read: Ezekiel 1, 11:14-25, 33:21-33

FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To hear Ezekiel’s awe as he encounters a vision of God’s glory and to understand his (and Israel’s) grief when God’s glory leaves the Temple and when the Temple is destroyed by Babylon.

GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Ground Rule: The ground rule for this week is to respect the boundaries we have agreed to as a group. For instance, if our group agrees to meet from 7-9 PM, we should start promptly at 7 and end our time at 9. This allows us to enjoy our time together and respect the host home’s space in a hospitable way.

CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share in a few words that describe what makes you feel welcomed to this group?

OPENING PRAYER

Pray Psalm 13 aloud.

BIBLE READING

Ezekiel in Babylon

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze.8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. 

10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them;and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, inappearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

INTRO TO DISCUSSION

For the past three weeks, we have been reading the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations — two books addressing Israel in different phases of their Babylonian exile. Jeremiah and Lamentations deeply grieve the consequences of Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness, and at certain points, find hope in the promise of a day when God will once again rescue Israel out of exile.

Ezekiel wrestles with similar questions and realities and does so primarily through vivid and strange visions. In order to equip the prophet for his prophetic task, “the hand of the Lord came on” Ezekiel to give him a (quite bizarre) visual conception of God’s glory and cherubim (see Genesis 3:24). He even gets a kind of visionary virtual tour of Jerusalem from his refugee home in Babylon. 

He describes a scene so awe-inspiring, so overwhelming, it is hard for him to put it into words. He sees a kind of moving vehicle (think chariot) made of heavenly creatures. Sitting on this vehicle made of heavenly beings, Ezekiel sees a vision of YHWH in the fullness of His glory, sitting on a great sapphire throne. The sapphire description, “lapis lazuli” in some translations, matches a similar experience of Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel when they saw the glory of God in Exodus 24:10: “Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.”

This vision of God’s glory is an important narrative thread throughout the Book of Ezekiel, one that reappears multiple times in the beginning, middle, and end. When Ezekiel has a vision in chapters 10-11 of God removing His glory from the Temple, it is portending a monumentally catastrophic moment in Israel’s history. God’s presence and glory had been with them through the Exodus, through their years in the wilderness housed in the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant, and through the years spent conquering the Promised Land. Later, when Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6), God’s glory dwelt in the center of the Temple. His presence had always been with them, leading them, guiding them, protecting them, and providing for them.

And yet, throughout the prophets there had always been a warning. If Israel did not return to covenant faithfulness, they would be handed over to conquering nations and taken into exile. What’s worse, at a certain point their rescuing God would remove His glory from their presence (Jeremiah 7 is a good example of this kind of language). Ezekiel’s incredible vision in chapter 1 of God’s glory is offset by a foreboding warning. 

The evil of Israel is so great, warns God, that in addition to the exile they had already experienced at the hands of Babylon, He would soon remove His very presence from the Temple in Jerusalem, leaving it and the city unprotected (Ezekiel 7). This warning becomes reality in Ezekiel 8-11. Ezekiel has a vision of God’s glory, His very presence picking up and leaving first the Temple, then the city of Jerusalem, and finally moving eastwards (an important distinction). Soon afterwards (Ezekiel 33:21-33), the Israelites exiled in Babylon hear that Jerusalem and the Temple had been burned to the ground and utterly destroyed by their captors.

And yet, despite all the warnings and destruction we read about, there are small moments of hope in these chapters in Ezekiel. God’s glory moves out of the city and towards the East, that is, in the direction of Babylon. The text suggests that God is departing from Jerusalem not to completely abandon Israel but to be with His people in exile in Babylon. Ezekiel’s initial vision (Ezekiel 1) describes God surrounded by something like a rainbow, a callback to God’s faithfulness in His Genesis 9 promise to Noah after the flood. 

As one commentator writes, “What the rainbow asserts is the faithfulness of God even in the midst of overwhelming judgement. It is a sign of God’s self-commitment to His promise. God’s judgement must fall on His rebellious people, yet because of commitment to His covenant, He will not wipe them out. In the darkness of exile, God’s covenant faithfulness… was Israel’s only hope.”

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Listening to Scripture:

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

Read Ezekiel 11:14-25. (Note: This chapter describes a portion of a vision that Ezekiel has beginning in chapter 8, where God shows him a scene in Jerusalem and a depiction of God’s glory — through a strange cocktail of imagery — coming to the Temple, then departing from it, and exiting Jerusalem altogether.)

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the LORD came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say,‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been = scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 

18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.

Ezekiel’s repeated visions of God’s “glory” might be better thought of as visions of God’s presence. The Israelite perspective was that God was present with them because His glory was living near them in the Temple. So when Ezekiel shares his vision of God’s glory leaving, this would have meant to a Jew that God’s very presence among His people was gone — that He had left, and in His place was an empty vacuum. What do you imagine it would have felt like for an Israelite to even consider this possibility?

The thought of God’s presence being gone after promising He would dwell with them seems like an impossibility.

Three years after Ezekiel’s Temple vision, Jerusalem was besieged (chapters 24:1-14). And three years after that, the exiles received news that their capitol city had fallen (chapters 33:21-22). What do you imagine that the Exiles’ reaction would have been like, having heard that their city and Temple had actually been destroyed (meaning that God truly had abandoned His dwelling place)?

Shock, disbelief

Ezekiel 11:14-21 indicates that in the midst of God’s presence leaving, there was still hope for a small remnant of Israelite survivors to one day be restored as a nation again. Is there any way in which you can anticipate or imagine this experience of exile being a refining process, contributing to covenant faithfulness among the Israelite survivors?

Yes, this would force me to turn to God as my only source of possible hope.

Questions for Interacting with Scripture:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

How have you traditionally thought about God’s presence? Where His presence is, the kind of spaces God inhabits, and who He is present with?

I’ve always thought of God as some sort of Spirit or wind that freely moves about on the earth. He inhabits bodies, hearts.

Watch the following video from The Bible Project on Heaven & Earth before breaking up into small groups:

Heaven and Earth

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Interacting with Scripture:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

How has exploring this Old Testament Jewish conception of God’s presence changed or informed your Christian appreciation of the idea that we are each individual temples of God’s Spirit in the world? (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:18-20, and John 2:19-22.)

What questions does the Old Testament view of God’s presence leave you with?

CLOSING

Close your time in prayer together.

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Prophetic Rewind Part 4 Jonah (Answers)

RECAP & PREPARING FOR CGDaily Reading for Week

Amos 6-9, Psalm 127  

Obadiah, Psalm 128

Jonah, Psalm 129  

Micah 1-4, Psalm 130  

Micah 5-7, Psalm 131  

Nahum, Psalm 132  

Habakkuk, Psalm 133

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Jonah

Read: Jonah

FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To understand one of the most unique books in the Old Testament and to see what it reveals about our own hearts and God’s surprising grace.  

GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Goal: Our goal is to take an honest look at the people or people groups whom we don’t want God to love and forgive. It is often easy to assume you would act differently if you were in the shoes of characters in a story. Jonah (and many other books in the Bible) challenge this assumption and invite us to search our hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit for the ugly, vengeful places that actually get angry with God’s grace toward our enemies.

CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share in one minute what you remember or know about the book of Jonah and what you may have been taught or assumed its meaning or moral was.

OPENING PRAYER

Pray the following prayer together. Make the words of this prayer your own.

I am, oh God, a jumbled mess of motives. One moment I am adoring You, and the next I am shaking my fist at You. I vacillate between mounting hope, and deepening despair. I am full of faith, and full of doubt. I want the best for others and am jealous when they get it. Even so, God, I will not run from Your presence. Nor will I pretend to be what I am not. Thank You for accepting me with all my contradictions.

Amen.

INTRO TO DISCUSSION

Reprimand To A Naive Deity by Thomas John Carlisle

I will not advertise this crazy scheme of Yours,

God, what a farce that men should sin and find escape.

I mean, of course, not me but all our mutual antagonists.

Dear God, kind God, don’t listen to their prayers.

This week, we have begun reading a number of the minor, pre-exile prophets. These prophets were sent by God to very specific people (often kings) or situations to speak words of warning and comfort and to encourage Israel to covenant faithfulness. During our time, we will focus in on the most unique and strange of the minor prophetic books, Jonah.

Jonah begins like most prophetic books in the Old Testament (Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai) but as you continue reading you notice right away this is less a book of prophecy and more a book about a prophet. This is a narrative story and a very strange one at that. Scholars disagree as to whether this is a story describing actual events or if Jonah is an allegory contrasting Israel’s hard-heartedness and God’s abundant love.

Jonah was certainly an actual historical figure (we met him in 2 Kings 14:25 when he was prophesying a message of land expansion/prosperity to Jeroboam II, one of Israel’s most evil kings) but it remains unclear if these events happened to him or if he is being used as a stand-in for Israel here. Regardless, most scholars agree the book of Jonah is written as a parody or satire of prophetic books — albeit one that highlights, as the other prophets do, Israel’s (and humanity’s) stubborn heart and God’s patience, judgement, mercy, and steadfast love.

From the onset, nothing in this story acts as it is supposed to. Think of it like an SNL sketch where the characters and scene are familiar but everything is backwards. Jonah is called by God to preach a message of repentance to the city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire and the most powerful and brutal empire that the ancient world had known at the time. Instead of obeying and setting off for Nineveh, Jonah, God’s chosen prophet, boards a ship going to Tarshish (modern-day Spain), which is the exact opposite direction of where God told him to go. The opening line of Jonah is a punchline: Jonah (whose name means “dove”, an Old Testament symbol of purity) son of Amittai (whose name means “faithfulness”) within 3 verses proves to be faithless, disobedient, and impure in every way.

As the story progresses, we see the character of Jonah and the character of God unveiled. Jonah, God’s chosen prophet, is reluctant, bitter, and literally curses God for God’s steadfast love and mercy. God on the other hand is exceedingly patient and merciful with all parties in the story. God calls Jonah to tell the most violent and powerful empire in the world to repent of their violence and evil. Jonah runs away. God pursues. Jonah reluctantly preaches a 5-word sermon with no mention at all of God in the hopes that Nineveh won’t repent and be destroyed. Yet the people of Nineveh repent. Jonah throws a temper tantrum because his message actually worked and God patiently reasons with him like a parent with a child.

The book of Jonah reveals the confounding stubbornness of humanity and the equally confounding love of God. It is a satire meant to expose the reader’s own hard heart while we laugh (and you are meant to laugh) at Jonah’s. It uses exaggeration, surprise, drama and almost comic-book-like imagery (everything is either huge, “great city,” “great wind,” “great fish,” or tiny, “the worm”) to create a story where the God who is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love is put on full display. And in doing so, the book of Jonah anticipates Jesus’ command to love even our enemies while confronting us with just how hard it is to actually do that.

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Basic Understanding:

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

1.Thinking back to how most prophets in the Old Testament are portrayed, why is Jonah’s immediate disobedience in v. 1-3 so surprising?

seems like all the previous prophets accepted the call to confront the Kings and rulers in sin.

2.The Assyrians were known for their brutal and shocking violence. They regularly skinned people alive in the cities they conquered and would eventually do the same to Israel. Think of them as the Nazis of the ancient world. Hearing this, why does Jonah refuse to go where God wants him to go?

Most likely because he would want them to suffer as we want lets say ISIS to suffer.

3. Read Jonah 4:1-2. Is it surprising that this is why Jonah is so angry with God, and not because he is afraid of the Assyrians

Not that surprising considering that he wanted them to be wiped out.

4. How is Jonah’s character consistent with the character of Israel and its leaders/people throughout the Old Testament?

a refusal to self examine?

5. In the next few weeks we will leave the pre-exile prophets and dive into Old Testament wisdom literature. As you recall reading through the history books and pre-exile prophetic books in the past two months, how does the book of Jonah creatively encapsulate the condition of Israel before its exile to Assyria and Babylon?

they’re portrayed as hypocrites?

Questions for Listening to Scripture:

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

Again and again in the prophets, we hear of God’s desire for Israel to turn from their disobedience and be faithful to him. In Jonah, we see God directly interacting with a character who is actively disobedient, even antagonistic towards God. What surprises you about God’s reaction to Jonah?

I think what surprises me is how patient he is with Jonah and willing to reason with Jonah. 

Questions for Interacting with Scripture:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

What part of Jonah did you find most surprising? Perplexing?

Was there a particular part of Jonah you found funny?

Questions for Self Examination:

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture, and consider any appropriate action.

It takes being at the lowest of low, quite literally the bottom of the ocean, for Jonah to come to a place where he prays Jonah 2. Read Jonah 2. Can you remember times in your life where you similarly were brought low and prayed a similar prayer? What was God’s response to you?

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Self Examination:

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture, and consider any appropriate action.

Jonah’s rage at God for being “merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” is supposed to make us laugh but it should also reveal an uncomfortable truth about our own hearts. Take a few minutes to sit in silent reflection and ask the Holy Spirit to bring clarity to the darker parts of your own heart.

Ask Him:

1. Who are the people or people groups I feel do not deserve God’s grace, mercy, and love?

I do not feel this on the surface but perhaps subconsciously I think about murderers or rapists as undeserving. Maybe even atheists.

2. Why do I feel they do not deserve it?

I feel like I personally dislike they’re antagonism towards Christianity and it gets personal. I feel I want God to show them how powerful He is.

3. On a more macro, cultural level, who are the people or people groups our western American society says do not deserve God’s grace, mercy, and love whether explicitly or implicitly in the way it treats them?

ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, North Koreans, Syrians

4. If God was gracious, merciful, and loving with them, how would I honestly react?

I’d like to think I’d be grateful and looking forward to better conversations with my friends who are not Christian. Maybe that’s because we treat our faith as pride

5. How am I feeling now as I observe these ugly parts of myself and our culture?

Confess your answers with your small group.

CLOSING

End your time praying together, confessing the ways your hearts are like Jonah’s and asking the Holy Spirit to transform your hearts toward people you find hard to love.

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Prophetic Rewind Part 2 (Answers)

RECAP & PREPARING FOR CGDaily Reading for Week

Isaiah 39-41, Psalm 118

Isaiah 42-44, Psalm 119:1-32  

Isaiah 45-48, Psalm 119:33-64

Isaiah 49-51, Psalm 119:65-96  

Isaiah 52-54, Psalm 119:97-128

Isaiah 55-57, Psalm 119:129-152  

Isaiah 58-60, Psalm 119:153-176  

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Isaiah 40-66 and The Gospel of the Kingdom (theme video)

Read:  Isaiah 6 & 30

FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To examine the second part of the book of Isaiah and to spend time training ourselves as a community to think and reflect corporately rather than individualistically.

GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Goal: Practice being present. During your time together, fight to stay mentally and emotionally present to each other, to God, and to your own mind and heart. Resist all distractions such as phones, thinking about things you need to do later, etc. Be wholly present.

CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Take a minute, be silent and notice how you are actually feeling. Share with the group how you are feeling and what you are bringing in the room.

OPENING PRAYER

Have one person read the prayer in Isaiah 63:7-64:12 aloud as a prayer.

INTRO TO DISCUSSION

Read Scripture Video: Isaiah 40-66

Last week, we studied the first part of Isaiah. We looked at the overlap with 2 Kings and how the prophet Isaiah lived before the exile of Judah and spent his life warning the people to recognize their sin and repent, or else even Jerusalem would fall. As we know, the people for the most part refused to listen. Now, beginning in Isaiah 40, the text is looking at Israel and its history from a totally different vantage point.

The exile has already occurred — Jerusalem and its temple have been destroyed and most of the Israelites are living in captivity in Babylon. Whereas Isaiah 1-39 was indeed a rewind back to a few generations before the exile, these later chapters actually come from further along in the story. They’re speaking and reflecting from within the suffering and despair of the exile and looking forward toward what will happen next. Again, Psalm 79 captures the despairing mood of this moment:

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;     they have defiled your holy temple,     they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. They have left the dead bodies of your servants     as food for the birds of the sky,     the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild. They have poured out blood like water     all around Jerusalem,     and there is no one to bury the dead. We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,     Of scorn and derision to those around us. How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? (Psalm 79:1-6)

Earlier in the story, while exile was looming, the prophets warned of future judgment and destruction; now that the punishment has befallen them, they mostly speak of a future hope. Rather than berating the people to change their ways, God and the prophets now comfort the remaining remnant of Israel, responding to those questions with great, great news. Isaiah 57:17-19 is an example.

“I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, Yet they kept on in their willful ways. I have seen their wars, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, Creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” Says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”

What we see in the second part of Isaiah is the arrival of the great news of God’s gracious faithfulness toward His servants. He is on His way to set them free and will restore them, remain “married” to them, and bless them forever. This good news, or gospel, is what they’ve been hoping and praying for as we read the prayer in chapter 63 and 64 — for God to come down, judge the violent nations oppressing them, forgive their sins, and deliver them from captivity into freedom once again. When we pick up in the post-exile historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we’ll see how this is exactly what happened. But in these profound chapters, we also see that the pain of exile was intended to teach and transform Israel so that the remnant who would return and rebuild the nation would be strengthened and purified as silver refined by fire. Exile wasn’t just punishment, but also intentional chastisement, meant not to bring Israel’s story to a halt but to propel it forward into new territory. Isaiah is proclaiming that God is planning to usher in a very new season in the life of His people, but that it all depends on allowing the exile to change their hearts and minds.

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Interacting with Scripture:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

As you read Isaiah this week, what parts left you confused and what did you find really profound, beautiful, or worth meditating upon?

From what I scanned, there seems to be a mixture of hope and despair. Ultimately there seems to be a theme of salvation through God alone.

Questions for Listening to Scripture:

Read Scripture Video: The Gospel of the Kingdom

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

Read Isaiah 40:1-10 (A promise of glorious hope breaks upon the people of God) , 52:1-12 (God calls his royal people into a new era of blessing for themselves and the whole world) , and 60:1-5 (Future Glory). If you picture an Israelite watchman sitting upon the ruined walls of Jerusalem scanning the horizon for any sign of news or hope, what do you imagine he/she would have been hoping to see or hear? Or imagine you’re a Jewish slave in chains in Babylon — what would have been the best news imaginable?

Read Luke 4:14-20. In what way did Jesus believe He was personally bringing about this same kind of much hoped-for good news?

Questions for Interacting with Scripture, part 2:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

Much of Isaiah speaks about the nature of being the “servant of the Lord,” typically referring to Israel’s identity and vocation, as well as a “suffering servant.” Consider Israel’s calling to help God redeem the broken world through living as a holy priesthood and leading the nations to God. How do you think the experience of suffering in exile helped shape this understanding of a suffering servant (Isaiah 52-53)?

I think that this is an illustration that “when you’re weak, you’re strong 2 Cor 12:10. It’s only until you’re broken does it produce character, Romans 5”

How do you think Jesus’ understanding of Israel’s identity and His own unique vocation as the true Israel and Israel’s true king was shaped by these texts in Isaiah?

? I’m not sure

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Note: You will return to the large group after 15 minutes in order to share what you thought of in the small group discussion.

Questions for Practicing Community:

These questions are to help us reflect thoughtfully on our felt experience together in light of our shared ground rules, goals and values.

We modern Westerners tend to think about life and interpret the Scriptures through an incredibly individualistic lens. However, as we’ve pointed out, most of the Old Testament’s focus on sin and guilt and subsequent forgiveness is primarily at the corporate level (nation, people group, society) rather than private, individual level. Isaiah explained that God punished Israel with exile for her collective sin of idol worship, child sacrifice, violence, oppression, and covenant unfaithfulness. The whole nation suffered even though it’s very likely that not every single person was idolatrous, violent, and unjust. In other words, God cares not just about individual piety but also and perhaps even more about large-scale systems and societies that we are a part of and accountable for. Ancient Jews, including the prophets, saw themselves as inseparably connected to and accountable for the actions of their nation. Isaiah gasped, for example, when he saw the Lord, saying “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5).

Can you think of a time you have experienced feeling the corporate weight of the sin committed by a community you were a part of even though you personally didn’t commit the sin?

An ancient Israelite like Isaiah felt a kind of guilt on behalf of his sinful community and expected the entire nation, himself included, to suffer the consequences unless the nation as a whole repented. Have you ever felt like you’ve suffered the consequences of your community’s sin? How did this make you feel?

Now focus specifically on your community group. Are there any sins or shortcomings that the community group as a whole could identify with and become accountable for, even if not every member is personally guilty of such things? If you can’t think of anything concrete worth addressing, reflect for a few minutes on Jesus’ example and teachings of what it means to truly be God’s servant community. How could your group together recognize corporate room for improvement and strive together toward being a more Christlike community?

CLOSING

Gather once again in one large group and have one representative from each small group share what you came up with. Be gentle and gracious but forthright and direct. After every small group has shared, close in a form of the unity prayer, allowing time for people to offer short prayers of confession or repentance on behalf of the group. Even if the shortcomings acknowledged do not feel like your own individually, seek to own your connection to the group and pray in love as an inseparable part of the community.

[macheung]

The Kingdom Destoryed (Answers)

RECAP & PREPARING FOR CG

Daily Reading for Week

2 Kings 12-14, Psalm 104 2 Kings 15-17, Psalm 105 2 Kings 18-19, Psalm 106 2 Kings 20-22, Psalm 107 2 Kings 23-25, Psalm 108 Isaiah 1-4, Psalm 109 Isaiah 5-8, Psalm 110

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Isaiah 1-39 Read: 2 Kings 17:5-23; 24-25:1-12; 18-21

FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To understand how and why Israel and Judah were both eventually conquered and sent into exile and to reflect further on the role of the prophets.

GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Ground rule: Be conscious about how much you are or are not speaking during discussion. If you notice that you talk a lot, focus on listening to others speak. If you notice that you tend to be quiet, take a step of courage and offer something to the group during sharing times. Also note: You will end your time together with a corporate unity prayer, so pay careful attention to the intimate emotions expressed during your conversations.

CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share in one minute how you’re coming into the room this week. (Are you exhausted from work? Are you in the middle of some relational strife? Are you having a great day?)

OPENING PRAYER

Take a few minutes to corporately thank God for different aspects of His character that you have seen reading through the Old Testament or experienced in life recently. For example: “Thank you God for your kindness,” or “Thank you God for your honesty.”

INTRO TO DISCUSSION

Last week, we looked at one of Israel’s most famous prophets, Elijah. As prophets, men spoke with the passion and authority of God, constantly calling Israel and its kings to be faithful to the covenant. By the end of this week, we will have finished 2 Kings and seen the Northern Kingdom’s (Israel’s) destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire and the eventual destruction of the Southern Kingdom (Judah) at the hands of the Babylonian Empire.

Through hundreds of years of history and scores of kings, the book of Kings points us again and again to Israel’s covenant with YHWH. Kings that were evil rejected the covenant, worshiped other gods, and did not follow the Law God gave Israel. Good kings were faithful to the covenant, destroyed idols, returned Israel to worshiping YHWH, and obeyed the Law.

We see a familiar pattern: a bad king rejects God and the covenant and leads the people to worship idols and false gods and a prophet is sent to persuade this king back to covenant faithfulness. Though a few good kings such as Hezekiah heeded the the prophetic warnings (2 Kings 18-20), most ignored them and even persecuted those God sent to help them.

As this cycle of sin, warning, and proud stubbornness repeats over and over for hundreds of years in Israel’s history (the monarchy lasted for about 470 years between Saul’s inauguration in 1050 BC and the fall of Jerusalem in 580 BC), the narrative tension that began in the Torah is building. When Israel was rescued from Egypt and became a nation, God set before them blessing and cursing, life and death, to obey God or to deal with His righteous judgment. They were free to choose their own destiny.

So suspense builds with each new generation, and the question lingers, “For how many generations will God’s immense patience and mercy toward His people cause Him to withhold His just judgment?” When we read through the books of the prophets over the next few months, we’ll see two distinct postures toward this question: Much of Israel, especially Jerusalem, believed that as God’s people, they were forever immune to judgment. But prophets like Isaiah, whose ministry became prevalent in this era preceding the exile, came specifically to convince them otherwise. God and His judgment are near indeed. They must repent or perish.

And this is precisely what we see made shockingly clear in 2 Kings as we see the nation’s decline reach the point of total demise. First, the entire northern nation of Israel is conquered by mighty Assyria (2 Kings 17). The story of Judah’s subsequent near-fatal encounter with Assyria and Isaiah’s prophetic exhortation in 2 Kings 19 displayed, however, that God would do mighty deeds to preserve and protect those willing to repent and be faithful to Him and His covenant. And so because Hezekiah heeded Isaiah’s words, Judah was protected for a time from the same catastrophe as their kin Israel. But just one generation later, Hezekiah’s son Manasseh begins the generational cycle of pride and sin all over again.

So the ultimate, unthinkable lesson was finally made clear: Not even Jerusalem, the prized capital city where God’s very presence dwelled in the temple atop Mt. Zion, was immune to God’s justice and free to live without consequence forever. About 160 years after the Assyrian invasion, Jerusalem falls to the Babylonian Empire and the survivors of Judah are taken into exile (2 Kings 24-25). The entire nation is lost from the Promised Land. Does this mean God’s promise itself has failed? Will He give up trying to redeem the world? Is God not faithful to His promises?

LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION

Questions for Basic Understanding:

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

Paying attention to 2 Kings 17 and 24-25, what exactly does it mean for Israel to have been sent into exile? What was actually experienced?

I believe this means they were being disciplined for their sins. This was their form of punishment, the land being stripped from them. I always go back to Hebrews 12

Questions for Listening to Scripture:

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

Reflect back on your readings in 1 and 2 Kings. What stood out to you most from story after story of kings “doing what was evil in the eyes of the Lord”?

There is a pattern of idolatry and doing evil. Doing evil always seemed to be synonymous with following and worshiping other Gods. (See 1 Kings 14:9)

As you read through the stories, did you find yourself hoping for God to bring judgment upon Israel and punish them for their sins, or for God to continue to show them patience and mercy?

I was hoping that God would discipline them.

How would it have felt, emotionally and physically, to have been a Jew living in Jerusalem during this exile?

Heartbreaking, losing hope

If you were one of the lucky ones to have survived the downfall and were trying to make sense of things in exile, what kinds of questions or confusion or theological frustrations would this catastrophic turn of events have brought up in you?

How is God going to fulfill his promise of the Messiah? I thought we were his “chosen” people, how could he let this happen to us?

Questions for Interacting with Scripture:

These questions are to help us slow down to taste and notice Scripture, savor its richness, and meditate on its complexity of meaning.

What kind of story do you wish you would have read in the Old Testament so far?

I wish Israel would be obedient and enjoying God’s presence.

If you had a magic wand, what would you have naturally wanted to change about the way the Biblical authors tell Israel’s story?

I wish they would’ve erased all the idols from their areas

How does the way the Bible tells this story reveal God’s character?

God is willing to take things away from his people if they stray far enough.

In what ways does it reveal something about humanity?

We like to be in control and sin. We would rather serve creation then Creator Romans 1:25

Questions for Examining Ourselves:

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture and consider any appropriate action.

Take a few minutes to try to “find yourself” in the story of Israel thus far. Through this first journey through Israel’s turbulent national history (we’ll do it again in 1 & 2 Chronicles), who do you feel you should identify with? In other words, are you and the culture you belong to more like early Israel, a group of poor, marginalized, recently-freed slaves? Or are you more like Egypt or Canaan or Assyria or Babylon, enjoying the temporary benefits of being the dominant cultural power which just happens to have been established through violence and oppression?

Neither this is a dumb and irrelevant question.

More personally, as you try to learn wisdom from the story and stories of the Old Testament, which characters should you try to identify as? Do you identify more as a frustrated slave in exile, a wanderer (physically and existentially) such as Abram, the poor foreign widow in Zarephath, one of Israel’s kings or prophets, like Bathsheba being taken advantage of and unprotected, or like King David using your power to take advantage of others for your pleasure, etc.?

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

There will be no small group discussion this week.

CLOSING

Close your time together with the unity prayer exercise, expressing through short one-sentence prayers some of the sentiments and emotions you’ve heard shared by others in the group during discussion. Have one person begin the time by praying, “Lord, hear our _______ (gratitude, for example).” Then, one at a time, take turns sharing similarly formatted prayers.

[macheung]

Wilderness Finale Part 2: Obey and Live

RECAP & PREPARING FOR FELLOWSHIP

Daily Reading for Week

Deuteronomy 7-9, Psalm 55

Deuteronomy 10-12, Psalm 56  

Deuteronomy 13-14, Psalm 57

Deuteronomy 15-16, Psalm 58  

Deuteronomy 17-20, Psalm 59  

Deuteronomy 21-23, Psalm 60  

Deuteronomy 24-27, Psalm 61

Resources for Week

Read Scripture Video: Deuteronomy

Read: Deuteronomy 11, 28, & 30

2. FOCUS OF TIME TOGETHER

To recap and conclude our time in Deuteronomy and the Torah by reflecting on the major concluding theme of choosing between obedience and disobedience, life and death, goodness and evil.

3. GROUND RULE / GOAL / VALUE FOR THE WEEK

Our goal for the week is to practice the spiritual discipline of memorizing Scripture. During your time in CG, listen for any verses or lines from Deuteronomy or the rest of the Torah that stand out to you as particularly profound, beautiful, or important. Underline the verse/passage or write it down somewhere and take time during this next week to memorize it. At the end of your time together this week, share which verse/passage you plan to memorize.

4. CONNECTION AND UNITY EXERCISE (MUTUAL INVITATION)

Share with a group a verse that you memorized.

5. OPENING PRAYER

Read Moses’ song from Deuteronomy 32:1-43 aloud as a prayer. (Read also the verses before and after, beginning in Deut 31:30 and reading through 32:47 for context.)

6. INTRO TO DISCUSSION

The two predominant themes in Moses’ sermon-like speeches recorded in Deuteronomy are 1) remembering versus forgetting, which we discussed last week, and 2) choosing to obey God versus choosing to disobey, which we will focus on this week. These crucial themes have been developing through the narrative of the Torah, but Moses comes back to them again and again in Deuteronomy. Moses reiterates these as  the primary lessons to be drawn from Israel’s history thus far, and therefore the most important thing for the new generation to hear and consider before entering the Promised Land. And Moses’ message isn’t just for them. Remembering the Lord and choosing to obey Him remain dominant themes throughout the rest of the Old Testament as well. The prophets and authors of the historical books and psalms repeatedly describe Israel’s successes as contingent upon their remembrance of God’s wonderful actions in the past and their obedience to the statutes and decrees of the covenant. Similarly, Israel’s failures are routinely tied to their forgetfulness and their disobedience to the covenant laws. The book of Deuteronomy challenges us as readers, saying in so many words, “If you learn anything from Moses’ Book of the Torah, learn this: Obey God and you will live and prosper, but disobey God and you will suffer and die.”

The following books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) prove this to be true by chronicling the stories of generation after generation of Israelites choosing either obedience or disobedience and reaping the consequences. (Spoiler alert: as God predicts in Deuteronomy 31, Israel’s story as a nation in the land is mostly one of disobedience.) This week, we’ll take the time as we wrap up the Torah to sit with this second theme of obedience both for the sake of understanding the message of the Scriptures and in order to personally reflect on our own call to love and obey God and thereby choose life.

7. LARGE GROUP DISCUSSIONQuestions for Basic Understanding

These questions are to help us interpret and understand the text as it was intended to be interpreted and understood.

Read Deuteronomy 11 and 30. According to Moses’ words in chapter 30 and the rest of Deuteronomy, what difference will it make whether Israel listens to God or not once they’ve occupied the land?

Specifically, what are the consequences of disobeying the covenant and the rewards for keeping it?

What exactly is it they are supposed to obey? What kind of stuff does God demand of them? (Hint: Think back on your reading through Deuteronomy this week. Chapters 12-26 are a recap and elaboration on the statutes and decrees that Israel is to adhere to.)

Questions for Listening to Scripture

These questions are to help us be affected by Scripture in the way it was intended to affect us.

What is your immediate reaction to these exhortations to obedience? When asked to obey God, do you respond eagerly like the Israelites first did at Sinai, saying, “We will do everything the Lord has said,” (Ex 19:8)? Or is your natural reaction more resistant?

Questions for Interacting with Scripture

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture and consider any appropriate action.

What does the overall story of the Torah, concluding in Deuteronomy, say about mankind’s general ability and willingness to be faithful and obedient to God?

Does the Torah end on a high note of hopefulness and enthusiasm, or is the story a more somber and sobering one?

8. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONQuestions for Self-Examination

These questions are to help us look at ourselves, be aware and honest about who we are in light of our interaction with Scripture and consider any appropriate action.

What is God calling you to be obedient to right now?

In what ways are you struggling to listen to Him and tempted to disobey?

If you are super honest with yourself, what do you truly believe to be the consequences of disobedience? What benefit, if any, is it to listen to God in this instance?

9. CLOSING

Consider any invitations that the Holy Spirit may be bringing up in you to obey God more wholly. However, be slow to jump into commitments of obedience. As the Torah makes clear, God takes vows of behavior very, very seriously and holds us accountable to our promises. Rather, take the time to count the cost of obedience and search your heart for whether you are truly willing to pay the price of obedience. Then open up to God in prayer together, sharing any fear, guilt, excitement, doubt, hope, or desire you may be feeling.

Before leaving, share with one another which verse or passage, if any, you will try to memorize this week.

[macheung]

Spiritual Bearings - Jeremiah 6:16

This past Sunday, Pastor Scott Longwell talked about the importance of establishing or re-establishing your “Spiritual Bearings” and referenced Jeremiah 6:16 as his basis of support. For greater understanding we should talk briefly about what the book of Jeremiah says (or watch a brief video summary) So to condense Jeremiah up to 6:16: -God made covenant with Israel (from Abraham, Genesis) -Israelites break covenant with God (i.e. Idol worship during era of Kings) -God disciplines Israel by sending an army After reading Jeremiah 6:16, how would you summarize the ways to “get back on track”? Pastor Scott did so by saying to: 1) Stand and Look 2) Ask (for the “ancient paths”) 3) Walk (in the “ancient paths”) 4) Find God’s rest Seems easy right? Well then why is it that it’s so hard for us to do? So tonight, try to remember what it was like when you were going astray from your relationship with God (or if you haven’t try to imagine you’re in that situation) and answer the questions below: What does it mean to stand and look? When you do stand and look, should this be an encouragement in it of itself? The Lord says to ask for the ancient paths. What are the ancient paths? Do you have any examples? Once we know the ancient paths, we’re to walk in it. What makes this so hard to do? God promises rest if we walk in the ancient ways, but what is God’s rest? Or what does it mean to truly rest in God? Try to find examples in the Bible that talks about rest. If you have experienced this 4 step process to get your spiritual bearing, talk in your group about what it looks like it real life. How does this help us understand God’s love?

[macheung]

Spiritual Bearings - Jeremiah 6:16

This past Sunday, Pastor Scott Longwell talked about the importance of establishing or re-establishing your “Spiritual Bearings” and referenced Jeremiah 6:16 as his basis of support. For greater understanding we should talk briefly about what the book of Jeremiah says (or watch a brief video summary)

So to condense Jeremiah up to 6:16:

-God made covenant with Israel (from Abraham, Genesis)

-Israelites break covenant with God (i.e. Idol worship during era of Kings)

-God disciplines Israel by sending an army

After reading Jeremiah 6:16, how would you summarize the ways to “get back on track”? Pastor Scott did so by saying to:

1) Stand and Look

2) Ask (for the “ancient paths”)

3) Walk (in the “ancient paths”)

4) Find God’s rest 

Seems easy right? Well then why is it that it’s so hard for us to do?

So tonight, try to  remember what it was like when you were going astray from your relationship with God (or if you haven’t try to imagine you’re in that situation) and answer the questions below:

What does it mean to stand and look? When you do stand and look, should this be an encouragement in it of itself? 

The Lord says to ask for the ancient paths. What are the ancient paths? Do you have any examples?

Once we know the ancient paths, we’re to walk in it. What makes this so hard to do?

God promises rest if we walk in the ancient ways, but what is God’s rest? Or what does it mean to truly rest in God? Try to find examples in the Bible that talks about rest.

If you have experienced this 4 step process to get your spiritual bearing, talk in your group about what it looks like it real life. 

How does this help us understand God’s love?

[macheung]

Luke 19:11-27 w/ Notes

On Sunday we went through the Parable of the Minas; a parable said in response to those following Jesus as He made His way to Jerusalem (see Luke 19:1-10). Many believed that his journey to Jerusalem as the Messiah would make the politics and injustices of the nation right and ultimately establish the Kingdom of God, immediately. Jesus came back with the Parable of the Minas to correct this misconception that the Messiah would rule right away and how His followers should act between the time of his return:

A nobleman was to be conferred as a king, despite the opposition of his people. He sets out to a far nation where authority will be given unto him but not before giving his 10 slaves/servants an equal amount of Mina. The instructions are to invest or to “engage in business” with the Mina indefinitely until his return as the conferred king.

Upon his return, 3 servants are evaluated; the measure being how much they had made in business. We see that the first two earns great favor with the newly appointed king. They make more Mina with the Mina that they had been given. The third does not earn such favor since it is revealed that he has hidden his Mina away in a cloth. In addition to this, he makes an effort to justify his inaction! The king reacts in what can also be described as disgust to the servant’s unconvincing rhetoric.

As a result, the king strips the 3rd servant’s Mina and gives it to those who have shown to make good use of them. The king states that those who have, will have more. Those who do not have will have whatever is left of them stripped away.

The king’s final act is for all his enemies (those who opposed his rule) to be brought to him so he may literally see them be executed.

Helpful tidbits: Nobleman is representative of Jesus (though not necessarily of His nature or character), Servants are representative of His followers (us), enemies are representative of those who reject Jesus.

1. Knowing that the Nobleman gave his servants an equal amount of Mina to invest with, what do you suppose God has given to us, His servants, an equal amount of? In other words, what is the “Mina” representative of? If you’re not sure, think about the last thing Jesus told his disciples to do before His Ascension.  

2. Is there significance to the fact that all 10 servants were given an equal amount of Mina? What is it?

3. What do you think Jesus will ask us when he inevitably comes back? Are you ready to answer him? Just something to reflect on....

4. What are some ways you’ve been making use of your “Mina” lately? Has doing God’s work or witnessing been on your mind frequently or is something holding you back?

5. What helps us “get that hunger back”? What hinders that?

6.Just for fun: Was the third servant a real believer? (I’m not sure of the answer myself)

Notes: All given the same amount of Mina. Main parts are the plain parts and the plain parts are the main parts. Mina represent the Good News of the Gospel. Not what did you get FROM it but what did you do WITH it. We’re managers of the resources given to us, not owners. Parable confirms the second coming. We don’t belong to ourselves, we belong to God. Conferred = God’s Right Hand. Nobleman representative of Jesus, Servants representative of followers, Enemies representative of rejectors of Jesus. What is the one thing that Jesus entrusted with this disciples? Good news of the Gospel. The love of money takes us away from accomplishing this goal. Jesus is not going to ask how have you used your money but more importantly how productive have you been with his message. Perhaps love of money has hindered us from accomplishing this goal. Only one equal true measure of how we’ve done God’s work and that’s have we used the Good News that we have the knowledge of effectively. Since 2 servants did not note the third servant’s observation of King’s nature, it’s safe to assume that he mischaracterized and is alone in that criticism.