Scripture: Exodus 3:1-14
Speaker: Sarah
Date: 1.25.09
Name one example of a big risk that you have taken? It can be any risk at all. One that has paid off or one that completely flopped.
Some examples that were shared;
- Going back to school
- Quitting a job
- Reaching into a rattlesnake hole (thanks Lee!)
- Starting a small group
Let’s take a look at just one of the many examples of risk-takers in the Bible. Moses. Read the story of the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-14).
It would be all to easy for Moses to turn God down. All to easy for Moses to stay in his “safe or comfort zone” and deny the calling that God has for him and his people. But Moses instead embraced what God was directing for his life. Moses did have some initial hesitations but still he chose to go and say to his people “The one who has sent me is the I AM WHO I AM.”
Let’s not get caught up on the overwhelming evidence that it was God who spoke to Moses. We can all agree that if God physically came down to us in the form of a burning bush we would listen right? I mean who wouldn’t believe that? One thing that often gets overlooked is that Moses had spent time in the desert prior to this moment. He didn’t simply wake up one morning, wander out to the desert to find a burning bush. There was time spent prior to this; dwelling in God’s presence. When the time was right, when Moses could recognize Him, God revealed Himself. The point is this; Moses was listening and ready to act that is when God spoke.
What are some other examples of biblical risk-takers?
- David
- Paul
- Daniel
- The prodigal son and his father
- Jesus
- Joshua
So the question is; what is Christ asking us to risk so that we may advance his kingdom? And what is holding us back? Is it not more risky to stay in our “safe zone” than to pursue what God asks of us?
We know through the examples we mentioned above that God goes ahead of us and prepares the way. For sure Moses felt uneasy about standing in front of Pharaoh and demanding that he let the Israelites go. But as God was with Moses so he will be with us.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
King Manasseh
Speaker: Bonnie
Date: 1.18.09How can I hope to summarize the brilliance of your covenant class minds in a paragraph or two? Such great thoughts this week . . . as always, thank you for terrific interaction.
Here are some impressions I took away—can’t wait to see what you’re thinking.
It’s intriguing to me that Manasseh took the throne at such a young age, 12. His father, Hezekiah, made some mistakes but overall was deemed a Godly ruler. I’m guessing a lot of outside pressure pushed Manasseh into compromise a little bit at a time. Judah was a vassal state of Assyria and would have been paying heavy taxes to that empire as well as feeling the pressure of forced allegiance. Whatever the route, he ended up being an “evil” king.
I liked the way the class unpacked the possible parallels between the journey of Manasseh and our own spiritual lives. 2 Kings 21 says Manasseh built pagan altars “in the temple of the Lord” after he made some unholy alliances with “nations the Lord had already driven out” before the Israelites. Some of you talked about how we have similar pockets of resistance (or insurgents) in our own spiritual land. We make friends with them—after all, God has driven out most of the junk in our lives. What’s wrong with a little stronghold or two? Maybe it’s pride, rejection, sarcasm or our desire to be right . . . whatever. It works for us. We built our altars to these things in the temple of our hearts.
Manasseh’s allegiance to things ungodly slowly overtook him. It spilled over on others and a nation went awry. Eventually, Scripture says, Manasseh was “looted and plundered” by his foes. The Assyrians led him into captivity with a ring through his nose. (Cool thing: archeologists have actually unearthed remnants of a statue of an Assyrian king leading someone into captivity by a hook through the lip.) So, who’s our foe? That same little friend of ours—the one that wants to put a hook through our nose and lead us into slavery.
No wonder God fights so hard against sin in our lives! He knows it will destroy us.
When Manasseh is in prison, probably at his lowest point, he cries out to God for deliverance. God hears. God hears Manasseh. God hears us. That is our hope.
Tom and Barry already gave me some great feedback . . . I hope they’ll write it here for everyone. Let the sharing begin.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Being Jesus outside our comfort zone
Speaker: Tom and Wendy
Date: 1.11.09Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
What is your most prized possession? Would you be willing to give it up for Jesus? The story that is described in Luke demonstrates someone who was willing to forsake all, public humiliation, her dignity to do just that. The three characters in the story that we focused on was the Pharisee, the woman, and Jesus.
Tradition says that this Pharisee was Simon the Leper, having been healed by Jesus and restored to his place in the religious system. He invites Jesus over to his house for dinner, however, does not even extend the basics of hospitality to him. The oddity of this is that of all the people to be grateful, this man was healed from a deadly disease and was restored not only physically but also socially. So why wouldn’t he bend over backward to show gratitude to Jesus? But are we not the same? Of the great gift that we have been given, the love and mercy from God, do we not take it lightly? Interesting note, although that this Pharisee was restored, he was still know as Simon the Leper.. are you still known by your old name?
The other character in this story was the sinful woman. It is widely thought that she was Mary, sister of Lazarus (noted as such in John’s account) and that she was Mary Magdalene as well. The careful distinction to refer to her as the “sinful woman” is to show how much she had changed and later on was referred to Mary. The reading that we read in the beginning of the class is an account of what she might have been dealing with prior to that incident. She went into a room full of men with her hair down, 2 major social injustices. She then took her most valuable possession, an alabaster jar of oil (worth a year’s wages) and poured it on Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her tears and hair. Of course the room was in a silent uproar and Simon thought to himself, “Surely Jesus knows what type of woman this is.” Now this woman of ill repute sacrificed everything because she truly understood how Jesus was and what He meant to her. Note the difference in the name change. Mary truly understood what it was like to be healed by Jesus, she was a different person as her encounter, she was known as Mary, no longer by her old name.
At the beginning of the class, we asked people to define what the church needs to do to make people feel welcome when they come. I believe that Jesus embodied what we put on the board and if we want to be like Him, then we should welcome people that come into the church not like Simon, but like Mary. Have we truly been changed? As Shane has been here, he has talked a lot about getting out of our comfort zone and really being Jesus to people. I, for one, find myself like the Pharisee sometimes, willing to stay in my comfort zone and not really embracing the change that I have experienced. But I would ask you all to be more like Mary, no longer the sinful woman, the person who has changed that is willing to forsake our most prized possessions to show others who Jesus really is.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Has God Spoken to You?
Scripture: Luke 8:1-15; John 9:1-12; Luke 6:46-49
Speaker: Evan Polly
Date: 1.4.09
The Parable of the Sower
The parable is about a farmer sowing seeds, and how where the seeds fall
impact how much they will grow. Jesus ends the parable with “He who has
ears to hear, let him hear.”
Through the parable, Jesus was explaining that the word of God is always
being spread, but the degree to which it is heard depends on the heart of
each person. Class discussion highlighted the need to be “prepared to
hear” the many ways that God is actively trying to reveal his will to each
of us.
C.S. Lewis, the famed Christian author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was an
atheist until the age of 33. He fought greatly up to the moment of his
conversion, but eventually gave in and admitted that “God was God”. He
felt pursued, and could no longer deny the steady word of God that was
being received in his life. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our
pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is his
megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Reading from John 9: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
When asked by his disciples why a man was born blind, Jesus replied, “but
this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Was “the work of God” that was to be displayed the healing miracle that
Jesus performed, or was the work of God displayed in the way in which the
blind man led his life? How can God communicate to us if physical healing
doesn’t occur? Is He shouting in our pain to rouse a deaf world?
The Story of Victor
In October 2008, several New Beginnings Church members went to the Kansas
City Rescue Mission to volunteer. We assisted with preparing dinner. One
“client,” really stood out to me, partially because of the cast on his arm,
and partially because of his huge dreadlocks. But more importantly, it was
his demeanor that was different. He was so outgoing, and made such an
effort to create an atmosphere of comfort for the volunteers. I sat down
next to him, just because I was so drawn to his personality.
I introduced myself and learned his name was Victor, and I asked him, “so,
what did you do to your arm?” He said that he was shot, five times, and
told me where the bullets had come in and gone out of his body. One of them
was his arm, which caused the need for the cast. But others were through
his chest, and he said that one just barely missed his spinal cord, and
that three bullets had narrowly missed vital organs. Victor said this had
happened about three months ago, and that just a week ago, he ran into the
police officer who had found him after being shot and had delivered him to
the paramedics, and that the police officer was shocked and surprised to
see Victor walking, because the paramedics didn’t think he would make it.
I was amazed at his story already, and then Victor said, “I thank God for
this.” He said that he was leading his life in a destructive way, and that
getting shot brought him here, and surrounded him with positive Christian
influences. He said he was changing his life for the positive, and his
love of others was returning. Victor said that if he ran into the man that
shot him on the street, he would tell him thank you.
Reading from Luke 6: The Wise and Foolish Builders
In this passage, Jesus describes the differences between those who hear his
words and put them into practice (the wise builders with a foundation on
rock), as opposed to those who hear his words and do not put them into
practice (the foolish builder with no foundation whose home is destroyed
the moment the torrent struck). This underscores the importance of being
obedient to God's word once received.
Final Thoughts
Victor recognized God's loving hand at work through his painful situation.
He has faithfully acted to enter into lifechange as a result. May we each
have the ears to hear. Let us have the openness of heart to enhance our
relationship with God, and to perceive the many ways that God tries to
reveal Himself to each of us. Let us also strive to have the courage, and
faith, to put God's will into practice when it is revealed to us. May it
be so in our week…
The Parable of the Sower
The parable is about a farmer sowing seeds, and how where the seeds fall
impact how much they will grow. Jesus ends the parable with “He who has
ears to hear, let him hear.”
Through the parable, Jesus was explaining that the word of God is always
being spread, but the degree to which it is heard depends on the heart of
each person. Class discussion highlighted the need to be “prepared to
hear” the many ways that God is actively trying to reveal his will to each
of us.
C.S. Lewis, the famed Christian author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was an
atheist until the age of 33. He fought greatly up to the moment of his
conversion, but eventually gave in and admitted that “God was God”. He
felt pursued, and could no longer deny the steady word of God that was
being received in his life. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our
pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is his
megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Reading from John 9: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
When asked by his disciples why a man was born blind, Jesus replied, “but
this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
Was “the work of God” that was to be displayed the healing miracle that
Jesus performed, or was the work of God displayed in the way in which the
blind man led his life? How can God communicate to us if physical healing
doesn’t occur? Is He shouting in our pain to rouse a deaf world?
The Story of Victor
In October 2008, several New Beginnings Church members went to the Kansas
City Rescue Mission to volunteer. We assisted with preparing dinner. One
“client,” really stood out to me, partially because of the cast on his arm,
and partially because of his huge dreadlocks. But more importantly, it was
his demeanor that was different. He was so outgoing, and made such an
effort to create an atmosphere of comfort for the volunteers. I sat down
next to him, just because I was so drawn to his personality.
I introduced myself and learned his name was Victor, and I asked him, “so,
what did you do to your arm?” He said that he was shot, five times, and
told me where the bullets had come in and gone out of his body. One of them
was his arm, which caused the need for the cast. But others were through
his chest, and he said that one just barely missed his spinal cord, and
that three bullets had narrowly missed vital organs. Victor said this had
happened about three months ago, and that just a week ago, he ran into the
police officer who had found him after being shot and had delivered him to
the paramedics, and that the police officer was shocked and surprised to
see Victor walking, because the paramedics didn’t think he would make it.
I was amazed at his story already, and then Victor said, “I thank God for
this.” He said that he was leading his life in a destructive way, and that
getting shot brought him here, and surrounded him with positive Christian
influences. He said he was changing his life for the positive, and his
love of others was returning. Victor said that if he ran into the man that
shot him on the street, he would tell him thank you.
Reading from Luke 6: The Wise and Foolish Builders
In this passage, Jesus describes the differences between those who hear his
words and put them into practice (the wise builders with a foundation on
rock), as opposed to those who hear his words and do not put them into
practice (the foolish builder with no foundation whose home is destroyed
the moment the torrent struck). This underscores the importance of being
obedient to God's word once received.
Final Thoughts
Victor recognized God's loving hand at work through his painful situation.
He has faithfully acted to enter into lifechange as a result. May we each
have the ears to hear. Let us have the openness of heart to enhance our
relationship with God, and to perceive the many ways that God tries to
reveal Himself to each of us. Let us also strive to have the courage, and
faith, to put God's will into practice when it is revealed to us. May it
be so in our week…
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