Seeing and serving

Co-teacher Curt did a great job yesterday motivating our study of Isaiah. He not only introduced the book, but he went on to lead us to see that we must obey the Lord. Read James Adair’s comments to help set the context for this week’s lesson “Do You Volunteer to Serve?”, which is based on Isaiah 5:1-6:13.

When King Uzziah died, I suppose the citizens of Judah could see only the death of a leader and worry about the implications, but Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and His robe filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1). That motivated Isaiah to volunteer to serve.

What motivates you to serve God? Are you better at serving, or at seeing and telling others what needs to be done? What is your vision of the Lord? Does that vision prompt you to serve? Do you have some commitment that keeps you from serving? Is it time for you reevaluate that commitment?

How to correct wrong thinking

Step 5 of LifeWay’s Explore the Bible lesson “Do you rebel?” is based on Isaiah 1:18-20. Through Isaiah, the LORD presents a choice to Judah. Eat the best the land has to offer, or be devoured by the sword of an enemy. Argue it out. Reason together. Discuss it. Why did the LORD invite dialogue on what appears to be a “no brainer” choice? The crux to understanding these verses is to grasp the depth of what it means to be a rebel.

A rebellious person is stubborn and not teachable, and caught up in wrongdoing. A rebel, by definition, has already chosen his way and it’s the way of death.

God offers an opportunity for life. Does a rebel hear God’s invitation, but rejects God’s authority? What does a rebel value so much that he chooses death instead of life with God? Does he reject God’s offer because of pride, or wrong thinking? What’s your understanding of a rebel? Can you personally relate to what it really means to be a “rebel”?

P.S. Posting this early since we are going camping for the rest of the week.

Meaning of stop

Step 4 of “Do you rebel?” is based on Isaiah 1:16-17, where Isaiah says to stop doing evil. To help make the point of what “stop” means tell the following joke (as told to me by an officer friend from Ft Worth).

A cop stops a man for running a stop sign and the subject gives the cop a lot of grief explaining that he did stop.

After several minutes, the cop explained to the gentleman that he didn't stop, he just slowed down a little.

The gentleman said 'Stop or slow down, what's the difference?'.

The cop pulled the guy out of the car and started hitting him with a nightstick and then said, 'Would you like for me to stop or just slow down?'

When the Lord tells us to stop sinning, He means for us to stop, and not just slow down.

P.S. Site statistics for February were down from January's numbers. Total visitors dropped by a third, and the number of users who visit the site more than once in the month dropped from 82 to 62, down about 25%. Hmmm?

True worship

Google “true worship” and you get 453,000 search results, but “empty worship” yields only 778. Seems like there are lot’s of opinions on what's “true worship”. How do you define true worship?

In this lesson “Do you rebel?” the LORD called into question the definition of worship as practiced by the Judahites. Step 3 identifies the empty worship practices of the Jews using Isaiah 1:11-15.

In his sermon February 19 on “Authentic Worship,” Voddie Baucham defined true worship using Psalm 96 as a text. Listen to Voddie’s sermon and prepare to lead members to identify empty worship practices of today and contrast these with what should be true worship as defined in the Bible.

Alternatively, put the focus on God in your class by using the Biblical riddle found in this document, which goes on to outline the elements of CHANGE that are causing today’s worship wars. Voddie quoted Bruce H. Leafblad’s definition of authentic worship, which is something like: “True worship happens when we set our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on the Lord, praising Him for who He is and what He’s done.”

Do You Rebel? Isaiah 1:1-4:6

In terms of behavior, where does tradition end and rebellion start? Where is the boundary that marks rebellion when it’s crossed?

Isaiah 1:3-4 holds some clues. The rebellious don’t understand or know the LORD. Having turned their back on Him, they are corrupt evildoers, and they are loaded with guilt. LORD, help us repent from such a condition! If your life is like an arrow shot toward a target, are you on path, or are you headed off on a wild shot?

From Isaiah 1:2, note the rebellious are the LORD’s children, so Isaiah is writing to “sheep” that have rebelled. They can repent and get back on course to obeying GOD.

How can we picture a life that’s gone astray and is traveling on a path away from its intended target? A pinball?

Another idea comes from writing. Many times when I write a paragraph, it has mistakes in it. Reading back over the text, I can usually correct some of the mistakes. However, sometimes I need to read the text out loud. My ear hears mistakes that were missed when I read the text silently to myself. I can see lots of parallels to an errant Christian life.

Driving interest

The PowerPoint slides I'll use Sunday are posted under the name Relate Appropriately.

What was your key interest when you were in the eighth grade? I'm thinking of an interest that really got you excited. One that you told others about and recruited them to get involved. What interest captured your imagination?

Point to God

Step 5 of “Relate Appropriately” is based on Romans 16:25-27, which is one long sentence that closes the letter. Paul’s final point is “to God be glory”. Is that he case when you teach? Jim Elliff asks himself these questions before he teaches. How do you lead class members to give God glory? Lead them to experientially know His power, His wisdom and His authority.

What to give?

The Christians in Rome encouraged others because of their obedience (see Romans 16:19-20). Their obedience brought joy to Paul and he responded in turn by urging them to be discerning in their obedience about what is good and what is evil. He encouraged them further by reminding them of God’s plan regarding Satan. Lastly, he encouraged them by praying that the Lord Jesus would bless them.

Step 4 of “Relate Appropriately”: Paul’s example reminds us also to encourage Christians who excel in some spiritual discipline. Do you urge other Christians to be discerning in their application? Do you encourage them to remember the promises of the God we serve? Do you pray for them? In doing so, remember to use gracious speech. Would you advise comparing them to others? What did Titus observe that encouraged him?

Make a list of spiritual disciplines and ask members what they could give a person to encourage that person to practice the spiritual discipline. For example, give a map of local-park, walking trails to encourage meditating alone with God.

What would be said about you?

Step 3 of “Relate Appropriately” is based on Romans 16:17-18, which does not mention any specific names. Why? Can you name some false prophets today?

From reading the literal translations, it appears that Phoebe occupied an official position in the church at Cenchrea. If we list all the details about Phoebe given in Romans 16:1-2, we discover Paul had only good things to say about her. In Romans 16:17-18, however, he warns against those that use flattering words meant to deceive. Paul listed her first and commended her strongly. What is the difference in a strong commendation and “flattering words” designed to decieve?

Paul instructed the Romans to avoid false prophets. Read Acts 13:8-12 to see how Paul delt with one particular deceiver. If a minister in your church wrote a letter that mentioned you to another church, what would be said about you?

Is there someone you would send in your place?

Step 2 of “Relating Appropriately” is based on Romans 16:1-7 and Trey Turner notes that Paul sent Phoebe to Rome when he could not go himself. Ask members to think of people they trust well enough to send in their stead on an important mission? Based on the Scripture passage, how would you describe the relationship between Paul and Phoebe?

How would members in your class receive a person like Phoebe? Name some ways your class would assist her if a person sent like Phoebe visited the class.

Last words

Chapter 16 is the text of our last lesson from Romans. In his commentary on the lesson, “Relate Appropriately”, Troy Bush writes about “last words,” but he also makes several remarks about Bible teachers. For instance, he says:

“We need to remember that teachers in our churches play a significant role. Confirming their significance, James writes, “Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.” Teachers, please listen to these words.”

I admire the disciplined, weekly training of leaders in Bible Study Fellowship.

Have members make a short list of names of people from a church they attended that have moved to a distant city and joined a church there. Have them assume they are writing a letter to that church. What comment would they place beside each name in their list? Have a few members share about the people on their list and use it as a springboard to introduce the lesson.

Coffee shop

This past year, I’ve had a running discussion with a friend about putting feet to our talk of being missional. Both of us used to participate in Evangelism Explosion until the Church ended its involvement. Knocking on neighbors’ doors at night became unacceptable. Also, the two diagnostic questions seem contrived if you are in a conversation with a stranger talking about the weather, or some current event.

One idea we talked about is to send evangelism teams to local coffee shops (easily 10 within 5 miles of the church), and then meet afterwards to share results. A blog of the activities would be maintained so that people we met would have a means of following up with us.

A coffee shop team would purchase a cup from the local shop and endeavor to engage others in conversation that would lead to sharing the gospel. It may take several visits to develop the friendship needed, or with the appropriate diagnostic questions we might be able to share Jesus Christ on the first meeting.

I was thinking of conversation starters like “Hi. I’m Ronnie Ward from Champion Forest Church up the street. We were wondering what your opinion is of …?” The blank could be filled in by any number of ideas. What would you suggest we use to fill in the blank?

Don't be shy. Click the comment link and tell me what you think!

Acceptable service

Step 6 concludes lesson “Send the Light” and is based on Romans 15:31-32. Paul asked the Roman Christians to pray that Paul’s service would be acceptable to the Jerusalem Christians. Hmmm? What concern does Paul have and what is his desire?

The Amplified’s rendering of the prayer in verse 31b is “that my mission of relief to Jerusalem may be acceptable and graciously received by the saints”. This indicates Paul was also concerned that the gift would be acceptable. I suppose he was concerned that the Jerusalem Christians would find the gift lacking, or short of their expectations. Maybe they would take the offering for granted?

The Message paraphrase states verse 31b as “Pray also that my relief offering to the Jerusalem Christians will be accepted in the spirit in which it is given.” So the nature of the Jerusalem Christians’ acceptance also concerns Paul—would the gift be received in the spirit that it was offered?

The New Living Translation writes verse 31b as “Pray also that the Christians there will be willing to accept the donation I am bringing them.” The insight here is that the Jerusalem Christians might not be willing to accept a gift brought by Paul.

My suggestion is to cover verse 31b from multiple translations and paraphrases and discuss the meaning of “acceptable service” with the class. Ask members to discuss their experience with concerns about the acceptability of some gifts they have offered. For example, they may think their tithe is too small and not acceptable to the church. Ask God in prayer to teach each person His will concerning the verse.

Prayer clears the way

Step 5 of Lifeway’s lesson, “Send the Light” highlights verse 32 in Romans 15:28-29,32. Paul asks for prayer, which could be paraphrased as “Pray for God to clear the way, so that by His will, I'll be able to come see you.”

These verses in Romans remind me of James 4:13-15. Paul practiced what James taught. He wanted to visit Rome on the way to Spain, but he knew there would be obstacles such as the non-believing Jews in Jerusalem. Paul wanted prayer to God offered regarding his concerns.

What concerns do you have regarding missionary work? Are you praying for God to clear the way?

Give and go

Step 4 of the lesson, “Send the Light” makes the point that churches should send Christians with necessary support to do missionary work. It’s based on Paul’s hope expressed in Romans 15:24b-25.

This might be a good place to review the map locations of key points in Paul’s 3rd missionary journey. It will help members picture the geographic relationship Corinth, Jerusalem, Rome, and Spain. Clearly, giving must accompany sending a missionary. Here is a good review of why the Cooperative Program makes sense.

Travel is a necessary part of missionary work and financial support of missionaries is required. Based on prices from Global Tours, How much would it cost to repeat Paul’s trip today? How many days do you think Paul was out on the third journey?

How does the sports play “give and go” relate to Paul’s strategy as a missionary? First, he ‘gives’ to the Christians in Rome a letter. Then he ‘goes’ toward Spain and as he passes thru Rome, the Christians there give him support and encouragement. Do you think Paul made it to Spain?

Getting the Word out

Step 3 of “Send the Light” is based on Romans 15:20,22-24a, which raises the issue of “What was Paul’s missionary strategy?” Strategy is simply a long-term plan for action that leads to success. Paul’s strategy was to take the gospel to those who had not heard of Christ Jesus. This advantaged him over others that chose to cultivate “someone else’s foundation.”

LifeWay offers a resource to use in planning a church strategy. Quite different from Paul’s strategy, many churches have taken the strategic decision to simply expand capacity and become a mega church.

The emergent church has taken the strategic decision to emphasize intentional evangelical living while creating a controversy about how ‘church’ should be conducted.

Biblically, within an overall church strategy, individuals can have a personal strategy and Bible Study classes can have a group strategy. Do you know your church’s strategy for “getting the Word out?” What is your personal strategy? What is the strategy of your Bible Study group?

Decision steps to action

Trey Turner mentions the relatively new word “missional”. From the perspective of an individual Christian, can you explain the difference between traditional mission methods and the new missional approach?

Would you give up your Super Bowl seat to go on a mission trip? For Step 2 of “Send the Light” based on Romans 15:14-33, read key elements of this story and ask members to reason about the decision steps that lead to the actions to carry out the mission trip instead of going to the Super Bowl. At what points would class members not concur and therefore not go on the trip?

Stay or go?

If you need a laugh, here is a film on church growth, which I found at fide-o.

I’ve been reading the Finishers Project site, and it seems like a perfect place for Christians to find missionary opportunities. What opportunities sound interesting to you?

To take part in some missionary effort I’d have to overcome the inertia of leaving a comfortable life, the fear of change, and the loss of fellowship from my current service. It’s one thing to accent to my responsibility to do mission work, and another to actually carry it out. What do you struggle with when it comes to taking part in missionary work?

Lesson lesson

My “Glorify God” lesson had mixed impact. The Scripture puzzle was too complex and the examples I selected for the “subject/verb” disagreements were too difficult. While many people told me afterwards that the lesson made them think, I was disappointed that the puzzle was the focus of people’s thoughts rather than the Scripture passage. All the material should reinforce the Scripture passage, not detract from it. Sorry, my mistake.

We will glorify the King of Kings...

You can download the slides I put together for Glorify God. Do you have a favorite song that fits with this lesson?

One of my favorite hymns is We Will Glorify by Twila Paris. I carry the lyrics in my wallet.

We will glorify the King of kings
We will glorify the Lamb
We will glorify the Lord of lords
Who is the great I AM

Lord Jehovah reigns in majesty
We will bow before His throne
We will worship Him in righteousness
We will worship Him alone

He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth
He is Lord of all who live
He is Lord above the universe
All praise to Him we give

Hallelujah to the King of kings
Hallelujah to the Lamb
Hallelujah to the Lord of Lords
Who is the great I AM