Woodland Heights Bible Study for Young Adults

Titus

2007-06-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Paul may have met Titus in Antioch. Some believe the book was written after Paul's first Roman imprisonment. In the book, he gives Titus directions regarding how to choose overseers for the congregations in Crete.

Some scholars think the book isn't by Paul. This belief is based in part on differences in writing style and vocabulary from other books believed to be by Paul. While this sort of analysis can be very helpful, we must be careful not to forget the differences in writing style that occur because of different audiences and also as the preferences and ideas of a writer change over the years.

The book of Titus emphasizes the hope of etarnal life, ie. joy and certainty that come with the quality of living a life committed to Jesus.

Another important theme is grace. Paul describes the badness of the Cretan communities but suggests that some people had become upstanding individuals there.

Sevral verses that piqued our interest:

1:3 Paul views his message as the word of God.

1:7 Overseers in the church need not to be bullies.

2:10 Good behavior is an ornament to good doctrine - it enhances its attractiveness.

4:14 Devotion to good works for urgent needs to not be unproductive.

I Timothy

2007-05-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

I Timothy may have been written just after Paul's first Roman imprisonment.

He had met Timothy in Lystra, and Timothy had travelled with Paul on Paul's second missionary journey. At the time of I Timothy, Timothy was probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He was working in Ephesus as a pastor. Thus, I Timothy is the first of Paul's "Pastoral Epistles."

In Acts 19:23 and following, we read of Paul's experience in Ephesus and of the powerful cult of Artemis there. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, and in Ephesus, she was a major deity and a fertility goddess. Many young girls may have been apprentices in Artemis's temple in Ephesus which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In I Timothy, Paul reminds the church that its basic way of being is to be love. He warns them of false teachers who wanted to replace Christian love with meticulous obedience to the Law of Moses. It seems that Paul is indicating that the actions of a loving Christian will not be unlawful and that the law is there to speak to the consciences of the unconverted.

2:1-7 stress the important and range of prayer in which we ought ought to be engaged.

2:8-13 contains some words that often get taken out of context and create controversy regarding women in the church today. Knowing what we do of the Artemis cult in Ephesus, it seems likely that many women in Ephesus had been thoroughly indoctrinated in the worship of Artemis and may have been bringing their practices into the church. In that unique situation, Paul may have found it necessary to forbid women to teach and then drawn the parallel with Eve and Adam. Paul's relationships with women leaders are attested to in other parts of the New Testament and don't seem to suggest that he really believes all women should be in a subservient role.

Other passages in the letter detail the seriousness with which the qualifications for various offices were to be considered. Paul also interweaves many moments of pure worship into his otherwise instructive discourse. (Ex. 3:14-16, 6:16)

Philippians

2007-05-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

Acts 16:9-40 gives us an idea of the good relationships Paul had with Lydia and the jailkeeper in Philippi as well as a couple of miraculous occurences from his time there.

Acts 28:16-31 describes Paul's period of house arrest in Rome during which time he was able to evangelize Jews and Gentiles, possibly even members of Nero's own bodyguard. In Philippians 4:22 Paul sends greetings to the Philippians from "members of Caesar's own household."

Philippians doesn't address major doctrinal fights as some of the other letters do. Instead, Paul may be addressing everyday living for the church.

2:5 tells us to think as Jesus did, and the verses that follow, which may have been a hymn, describe Jesus' humility. Being worshipful and humble is the way to face our daily problems, and Jesus provides the energy we need to get along.

4:6-7 lets us know that we can take our anxieties to God and find peace.

4:11-12 lets us know that material prosperity is not the sign of right relationship with God. Paul had been impoverished at times and overwhelmed with provisions at others. But Christ was his resource in all situations.

Ephesians

2007-05-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

Many scholars think the letter to the Ephesians was actually written to the neighboring town of Laodicea as there is no reference to the Ephesians in the earliest manuscripts and there is a reference to a letter to Laodicea in Colossians 4:16.

Ephesians emphasizes the character of the church. Once we have been called by grace and have entered into relationship of saving faith with Christ, we should seek to live as the true church.

Rev. Ray Stedman points out that each chapter outlines another aspect of what the church is and what we ought to strive to become:

Chapter 1 - a body with Christ as the head
Chapter 2 - a temple
Chapter 3 - a mystery
Chapter 4 - a new self
Chapter 5 - a bride
Chapter 6 - a soldier

Paul's discussion of spiritual armor in Chapter 6 seems to resonate with a passage Chapter 5 of the Wisdom of Solomon from the Apocrypha in which the armor of the Lord is described.

Philemon and Slavery

2007-04-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Click here for an excellent article about the relationship of the early church and slavery.

Colossians

2007-04-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Colossians was probably written during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome. Philippians and Ephesians come from the same era and share many of the same themes.

Alongside the Gospel of John, the book of Colossians stresses the deity of Jesus to a great extent. Paul seems to have been writing to a church that was mixing elements of legalism, mysticism, and speculation that distracted from the preeminence of Jesus.

In the first chapter, Jesus is referred to as the "firstborn" meaning the preeminent heir who has authority. He is described in this way relative to the created world and to the church.

Jesus is also described here as holding all things together. This reminds us of the ongoing scientific search for what holds everything together from atoms to the universe.

Another phrase used to describe Jesus in the first chapter is " the head of the body, the church." The Greek word translated "head" literally meant head or source. According to scholars of ancient Greek, modern English connotations involving hierarchical power, as in "the head of our company," were not part of the term for Biblical and other writers around that time. Those writers use another word for that meaning, and that word is also used in the Bible to refer to Jesus.

Understanding these shades of meaning is important for understanding passages that apply the term translated "head" to people other than Jesus, such as when the Bible says the husband is the head of the wife.

Easter Snow at Woodland Heights

2007-04-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Romans

2007-04-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

While the Gospels contain the facts about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, Romans explains their significance.

Romans revolves around these points:

All people have sinned

Salvation of the spirit (justification) comes through faith in Christ

The natural outcome of saving faith is a life given to God (sanctification)

Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-25, 6:20-23

Sanctification is important for ourselves and for us to obey God, but it also makes a big difference to the people we encounter.

The following passages outline how to be involved in the sanctification of our lives after putting our faith in Christ:

How to relate to God 12:1-2

How to relate to others in the Church 12:3-21

How to relate to authorities 13:1-7

How to relate to those on the outside of the Church 13:8-14

II Corinthians 8 & 9: Giving

2007-04-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

II Corinthians 8 and 9 provide a lot of information about Christian giving.

In Acts 11:27-29 we read about a famine in Jersusalem. II Corinthians 8 and 9 discuss a collection that is being taken up to help those in need in Jerusalem.

InII Corinthians 8 and 9 we learn of the excellence of some of the believers in Corinth. They had faith, plus a willingness to speak, plus knowledge, plus dilligence. Paul encourages them to add giving to this great combination of qualities.

We also see that the collection is being handled by an upstanding group including Titus and maybe Luke. Paul goes out of his way to make it very clear had respectable these individuals are.

Throughout these chapters we find many reasons why the Corinthians (and ourselves) ought to give. Here are some of the reasons from the chapters.

to add to other virtues

in response to Christ's generous gift to us

to see our commitment through to the end

we will be enriched to continue caring for others' needs

that resourses might be fairly distributed

that when we are in need, others who are able will help

to obey God

God will be thanked

God will be glorified by our giving

The idea that resources should be fairly distributed is striking in our current world in which more than 1 billion people live on $1 a day, and nearly 3 billion (about half the world's population) live on less than $2 a day.

As we journey through Holy Week, it would be worthwhile to consider the suffering of the poor in the world by visiting one of the following sites.

Click here for a site that is filled with statistics that help one to understand the magnitude of the poverty issue and the impact of poverty on issues like health and peace. The sources of all the statistics are cited for those who want to follow up on the information in its original context.

Click here for the United Nations page commited to poverty iniatives. In the media we mostly hear about the UN in terms of diplomatic confrontations between groups of nations, but we rarely hear about its goals regarding human rights, poverty, and so forth.

Corinthians

2007-04-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Corinth was the capital of the province of Achaia and it was positioned with seaports on both the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. It was a city of 700,000, two-thirds of which were slaves. It was also a city where debauchery and prostitution were rampant, so much so that the phrase "to act like a Corinthian" meant that one was wildly involved with immoral behavior. Acts 18 tells a bit about Paul's time ministering there.

While in Ephesus on his third journey he received a letter about the Corinthian believers. I Corinthians addresses the many problematic issues that had sprung up there:

divisions
lawsuits
incest
abuse of the Lord's Supper
immature stewardship of spiritual gifts
denials of the resurrection

The most problematic issue of all was that these situations were tolerated. Those involved in these practices were not opposed and were not repentant.

While we could easily become entangled in thinking about the specific problems of the Corinthian believers, a more general lesson is important for us today. As fellow believers in the body of Christ we are responsible to each other and need to speak God's truth to each other when it seems one is wandering away from God.

Possibly later in the year Timothy and Titus met up with Paul in Phillipi in Macedonia and let him know that some of those issues had cleared up - but not all. Thus, II Corinthians continues to address some of those issues, but also focuses on giving.

The fact that these New Testament letters show the churches repeated wandering from God's way after the miracle of Christ's resurrection is an intriguing parallel to the wanderings of Israel after their miraculous liberation from Egypt in the Old Testament.

Galatians

2007-04-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

During Paul's second missionary journey he worked to establish churches in the communities of the Galatians in Asia Minor. That may have been in the mid-50's.

Paul's letter to the Galatians begins not with a pleasant greeting, but with a rebuke.

Debate had broken out amongst the Galatians about the role and meaning of the Mosaic Law for Christian believers. This issue had already been debated and decided by the Council of Jerusalem in 49.

Paul reminds the Galatians of his authority as an apostle, and in 3:23-23 he clarifies that the law served in the interim until the arrival of the Messiah.

Paul goes on to explain how we ought to live in light of Jesus' coming and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives in 5:13-22.

Thessalonians

2007-04-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

We are surveying Paul's letters in chronological order, or at least in a likely chronological order. The letters are actually ordered in the Bible by length. That places Romans at the beginning, which is appropriate as it conveys a broad explanation of Paul's theology.

In Acts 16:9 and 10 we read of Paul's vision of a man in Macedonia calling to him. This led Paul to Thessalonica which was the capital and largest city of the Roman province of Macedonia. There he preached in the synagogues, saw conversions of Jews and Gentiles, and his preaching provoked some riotous responses. He left for Athens and Corinth where he received reports that the Thessalonians were grappling with perplexing questions.

Some of the Thessalonian believers were concerned about the fate of loved ones who were believers that had died before the return of Christ. I Thessalonians addresses these concerns in 4:13-5:11. II Thessalonians reiterates some of the points Paul made in those chapters and also addresses the misunderstanding that "the day of the Lord" had already occurred.

One general lesson we can take from these books is not to be overly concerned about the end of time, but concentrate on leading holy lives here and now.

Paul's Letters Introduction

2007-03-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

The New Testament consists of 27 books:
21 letters
4 gospels
1 history
1 apocalypse

The first time the exact list appeared was in an Easter letter by Athanasius in 367 where he described these as books that were "right and proper for a Christian to read."

There were similar lists as early as 170.

Most scholars believe Paul's letters are among the oldest materials in the New Testament.

Paul's letters often address specific problems in first century churches. Thus, studying the original context of the letters is crucial to applying their lessons today.

How did Paul's letters become part of the New Testament canon? One theory is as follows:

The book of Acts may have become available around 90. Paul appears prominently in Acts. As various churches read the book, they were reminded that they had letters from Paul and brought out these letters to share.

Paul made three missionary journeys that took him from Antioch to Cyprus, into Asia Minor, and later to Achaia and Macedonia, and finally to Rome where he was executed.

Click here for an article on the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

Paul's Letters Background

2007-03-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

In Acts 6, 7, and 8 we read of the context of the early Christian missionary movement. After the martyrdom of Stephen, Christian preachers like Philip, Peter, and John went north from Jerusalem into Samaria, Caesarea, and Antioch (which is where Paul started his missionary journeys.)

Some striking aspects of the description of the events surrounding Stephen's death include:

The Christians' boldness in lamenting Stephen's death. Lamenting a "blasphemer's" death was not normally allowed.

They scattered, not to flee for safety, but to preach.

Stephen's vision differs from many in the Old Testament. Compared with Isaiah's vision in the Temple, Stephen sees a comforting, inviting God with Jesus. This vision might give us sound ideas for how to pray for Christians facing persecution and martyrdom.

The stoning of Stephen must have been a "penultimate" event moving towards Paul's conversion. While this event did not immediately bring about Paul's acceptance of Christ, it may have put some haunting questions in his mind and heart. Many of our actions and interactions with people might have potential for functioning in a similar way.

Jesus Family Tomb

2007-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

The book that became available this week and the documentary that will be on Discovery Channel tonight are problematic in that they may undermine faith or discourage seekers. It appears that these items suggest that Jesus' resurrection and ascension did not take place and that he and Mary Magdalene were married and had a child. If these things are true, it seems that the early church and the writers of the New Testament are not to be trusted.

In I Corinthians 15:12-28, Paul addressed the importance of the resurrection. Without it, our faith is vain and we are still under the penalty of sin.

None of us has firsthand knowledge of first century life in Jerusalem. We trust authorities who have devoted their lives to studying the era. One authority who is a respected scholar who seems to treat the issues involved in this case with more balance and breadth is Ben Witherington. The following information regarding the evidence discussed in the documentary was gleaned from his blog.

Evidence presented regarding all of the following is heavily debated by authorities:

names on the ossuaries

relevance and application of dna tests

use of statistics

use of Acts of Philip as an historic source

legitimacy of the James ossuary

As much of Christian faith is based on the Bible, we reflect that the authority of the Bible is sensed in the following ways:

A beautiful and cohesive theological message can be discerned in its pages written over the course of hundreds of years.

Most of its writers were passionate about ethics.

Its detail and genius in responding to other philosophies is profound.
Example - the first chapter of John understood in its original context

These and other factors that affirm the Bible's credibility seem to sink in the most through repeated exposure to scripture, Bible study, and commitment to the Bible's teachings. A parallel in sports would be if you attend lots of games you have a better chance of seeing some great plays. If you spend much time with the Bible, you'll have more chances to find its messgae affirmed in your experience.

John 1

2006-07-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

After the prologue of John, we meet John the Baptist as well as several of Jesus' disciples:

Andrew who is bringing somone to Jesus everytime we encounter him in scripture

Peter who is renamed by Jesus based on his potential

Philip who overcomes his prejudices to recognize Jesus as the one Moses had prophesied

and Nathaniel, who may be the same person referred to as Bartholemew in the other gospels.

In tune with the stated purpose of the book,
(. . . these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31)
John the Baptist and these new disciples testify to who Jesus is:

v. 36 John exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

v. 41 Andrew said, “We have the found the Messiah.”

v. 45 Philip said, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.”

v. 49 Nathaniel replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Prologue to John

2006-06-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1, verses 1-18 outline the main themes of John, and it will be helpful to keep these verses in mind as we read and study the rest of the book.

This prologue consists of a rich theological hymn and some more prose-like verses that deal with John the Baptist.

The references in, and influences on this passage are many-layered:

The gospel writer makes the message accessible to Greek readers by incorporating the concept of "logos" - translated "Word" - which referred to the chief organizing factor that kept the universe from becoming completely chaotic.

A similar concept had resonance in Jewish traditions. Wisdom as described in Proverbs 3:13-20 and 8:22-31 could have been in the mind of the Jewish reader of John 1:1.

The language of light and darkness connects to Gensis1:1-5, but could also be an influence from Zoroastrianism.

Verses 10-13 stress that the true God created the world. This contradicts the Gnostic assertions that the true God had nothing to do with the creation of the world and that the God of the Old Testament was not the true God.

Verses 14-18 stress that Jesus did come to earth as real human being. This contradicts the Docetist assertion that Jesus only seemed to be human.

Gospel of John

2006-06-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

We have recently started a study of the Gospel of John.

There seem to be many reasons that this book is often urged on new believers or those exploring an interest in the Christian faith. The most compelling of these is probably the book's stated purpose:

These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31

Regarding the authorship of John, different scholars have suggested that it was written anywhere from 60 to 100 and is the product of at least a community that had connections with John who was a disciple of Jesus, if not a product of John himself. Many believe the book of I John is by the same author, and I John comments on many of the themes found in the gospel.

The Gospel of John begins with a prologue that functions like the overture to a drama in that it presents many of the main themes to be encountered within the body of the work. The prologue also gives us privileged information of which the participants in the story that follows are unaware.

John lacks an emphasis on the endtimes that is pominent in other gospels. Instead, John indicates that the Heavenly Kingdom has broken into the earthly realm of the present. Also, John features miraculous signs, but no exorcisms. These signs are accompanied by theological discourses, but no parables.

Advent Spirituals

2005-12-24T03:29:00.000-08:00

Here are a few highlights of our studies of four spirituals.

"Mary Had a Baby"

This spiritual emphasizes the joy and wonder of new life, even in the midst of the slave experience. It urges us to view each birth as the birth of a possible liberator and to view each mother as the bearer of such a potential worker and witness.

"Rise Up Shepherds and Follow"

In this spiritual, the stories of shepherds and wisemen found in Luke and Matthew are combined. Is this a capsule of the memory of illiterate slaves or is there a deeper theological and cultural point? Perhaps the slave theologian-composers accutely understood the meaning of spiritual leaders such as the wisemen and outcasts such as the shepherds meeting around the child Jesus.

"Children Go Where I send Thee"

Slaves would have loved the opportunities we have to fulfill the Great Comission, but they were not free to go and teach. This spiritual provides a program for how God's mission in the world is to be done - in community.

"Go Tell it on the Mountain"

Here we hear about the angels - God's messengers, supernatural and human. The challenge for us is to be open to God's messengers and to be willing to be such messengers ourselves.

Advent Study: Spirituals

2005-12-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

During Advent, we have been studying some African-American spirituals with Christmas themes. Our guide for this study has been a book by Cheryl Kirk-Duggan entitled Mary Had a Baby.

Kirk-Duggan makes the point that spirituals combine African aesthetics, Afro-American spirituality, European Christian vocabulary and musical influence, and values formed out of the experience of slavery.

As we study each spiritual, we discover rich layers:

historical context

multi-layered texts

creative musical qualities

and spiritual relevance to our contemporary lives.

Psalms

2005-11-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

In preparation for our Advent study of Spirituals, we took a general look at the book of Psalms.

The book of Psalms is a hymnal that includes hymns for many purposes: personal and community prayer and praise, confession, lamentation, remembering history, wedding celebrations, pilgrimages . . .

The book of Psalms links beauty to God's dwelling place and holiness. This is a very different perspective on beauty than our society often presents us.

In reading the Psalms we can notice the many motivations for the Psalmists to worship. These motivations might also inspire our worship.

A Psalm writer's job description:
1. reflect on experience through the framework of relationship with God
2. speak relevantly
3. through worshiping creatively, be a catalyst for the worship of others

Stories of God

2005-11-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

Last week we concluded our study of knowing God's will with the reading of two stories from Rilke's Stories of God. Myja read "God's Hands" and "The Stranger" for us.

These stories imaginatively emphasize many of the themes we have considered: visions of God's creative and redemptive involvement with the world.

The Lord's Prayer, Part 2

2005-11-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

"Give us this day our daily bread" reminds us that we are not self-sufficient. It also expresses a prayer for needs to be met, not that excess be delivered. Finally, it is a prayer for the needs of a group, not only the needs of an individual.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Here our spiritual experience is connected to community and we are reminded that sins are not only between us and God but also have an impact on the rest of humanity.

Several readings of the final phrases appear in the early manuscripts of the prayer:
"lead us not into temptation"
"do not bring us to the time of trial"
"deliver us from evil"
"deliver us from the evil one"

The Lord's Prayer helps us know how to pray when we feel no spontaneous prayer to express or when we are conflicted and do not know how to pray.

The Lord's Prayer, Part 1

2005-11-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

The words "Our Father" suggest something about our relationship with God as well as our relationship with each other.

This prayer is filled with details (such as the word "our") that make it the prayer of a whole group of people, not just that of an individual.

"Hallowed" - This word means "to keep or treat as sacred."

"Thy Kingdom come" - What is meant by "Kingdom?"
Personal salvation?
Christian community?
The spread of the gospel?
The final age of peace and justice?

How does this Kingdom come?

In the original language, the phrase "on earth as it is in heaven" refers to all three of the phrases that precede it:
Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done.

The Lord's Prayer, Introduction

2005-10-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

Since Jesus taught this prayer, it must indicate something of God's will for us.

Isaiah 64:1-9 can be used as a nice meditation that has something of the same tone as the Lord's Prayer, particiularly its emphasis on praise and God's fatherhood.

The Lord's Prayer appears in two contexts in the New Testament:

Matthew 6 - Here it is nested in a passage about not practicing piety to be seen by people, about Christian priorities, and about forgiveness.

Luke 11 - Jesus teaches the prayer in response to a question from the disciples, and it is followed by a discussion of God's love and willingness to respond to our prayers.

The phrase "For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory" was added to the prayer by the early church. It is based on David's prayer found in I Chronicles 29:10-13.

Spiritual Activity

2005-10-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

To know God’s will involves being faithful to God’s commanded principles as given to us in scripture. What commanded principles do you follow? Do you make disciples, feed God’s sheep, love God, love your neighbor…?

The principles you follow shape who you are as a Christian. They are your “career” in life.

Today’s society trains us to seek a career choice and to allow that to be our identity. When we ask the question, “what is God’s will for my life,” I think what we are really asking is, “what work/career am I supposed to be doing?” To look at this from a different direction, let’s reframe the question. Let’s ask, “what is God’s will,” or “where is God working?” Instead of feeling the pressure to understand a specific will for one’s life, one should follow God’s commanded principles (however they manifest in one’s life) and then look to notice where God is working around us.

How do we notice where God is working? This is a question that is still there for discussion. What do you think? Where do you see God working around you, or in you, or through you? I think it is valid and important to name what you observe.

Dreams

2005-10-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

The following is a quotation from an article about Harriet Tubman, the famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. The entire article can be accessed on-line. It appears in the February 2004 issue of Guideposts Magazine.

Once, as a teenager, she intervened to help a slave being attacked by her master, who was so furious that he hurled a heavy lead weight at Harriet's head. . . For days she lay unconscious, without any medical care - only her family's prayers. Wavering between life and death, Harriet had the first of what would be many vivid dreams - dreams she believed came from God.

"I was flying over fields and towns and rivers and mountains, looking down upon them like a bird, and reaching at least a great fence, or sometimes a river, over which I tried to fly. It 'peared like I wouldn't have the strength, and just as I was sinkin' down, there would be ladies all drest in white over there, and they would put out their arms and pull me 'cross."

Harriet took the Underground Railroad almost 150 miles to Philadelphia. For the first time she was a free woman. But she coudn't forget the family and friends she'd left behind. One night in 1851 she had a dream. God told her to go back down South and set her family free. "Oh, Lord, I can't - don't ask me -take somebody else," she pleaded. Bur God insisted, "It's you I want, Harriet."

The following is a quotation from an article about General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, an important peace negotiator in Sudan. The entire article can be read on-line. It appears in the Christian Science Moniter under Special Projects: Africa's Peace Seekers.

On those dark nights, he'd begin to find solace in things like the biblical story of Joseph, who spent years in servitude and prison before achieving great things.

"Even when he was in prison and forgotten," Sumbeiywo says, "he still didn't give up."Joseph was also amazingly humble, Sumbeiywo says, "Look at Joseph's language: He says, 'I don't have solutions, but God does.'

"On his knees, Sumbeiywo would ask God for direction. After drifting off to sleep, he'd awake with a start - and a "vision" or "insight," as Page describes it - about how to proceed. In those early morning hours, he'd write out solutions to the impasse of the previous day. "So many parts" of what became the final agreement," he says, "were written during those nights."

And many times that inspiration gave him the stamina to press on, despite the vitriol spewed at him.

Abraham - Genesis 22:1-18

2005-09-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is a complex story, and can be helpful and relevant to our lives since the situations we face are often complex, too.

This story has been seen in various lights depending on the situations of the readers. Today we might ask who or what we might be sacrificing on the altars of our ambitions, careers, etc.

The Danish writer Kierkegaard is well-known for his explorations of this story.

Some of his ideas follow:

Abraham acts in silence and isolation.
Why?
Abraham is a not a traditional hero, but a "knight of faith."
A traditional hero would perform some great act of renunciation that could be universally appreciated. A knight of faith makes a leap of faith that is personal and may even seem absurd.

There is a conflict between the ethical and the religious.
Here, "ethical" refers to rules that protect society.
"Religious" refers to response to God.
A true religious action may go against the prevailing ethics.

Abraham's religious act is more than obedience to God, it is a leap of faith.
A leap of faith involves trusting that God's plan will be right in the end. A leap of faith exposes a person to the possibility of being proved wrong.

Samuel - I Samuel 3

2005-09-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Samuel is at a hinge in history:
the end of the judges and the beginning of the prophets.

The period of the kings also started during Samuel's life, and he anointed Saul and David.

I Samuel 2:18-21 are tender verses that explain the world of the young Samuel.

Perhaps the blindness of Eli is symbolic of the spiritual state of the people of his time. Hannah's barrenness might also be considered in this light.

The locations of Eli and Samuel relative to God's place of dwelling may also be symbolic of the hearts of these figures.

God's voice comes to Samuel as a familiar voice, one that he mistakes for Eli's voice.

Samuel has to speak God's message to his mentor/teacher/father figure/priest. Perhaps having to perform such a difficult task early in life gave Samuel strength and a sense of identity that would support him in speaking difficult words to powerful men like Saul and David later in life.

Elijah - I Kings 19

2005-09-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

The name "Elijah" means something like "My God is the Lord."

Elijah is referred to more frquently in the New Testament than any of the other prophets.
In Luke 9:8, John the Baptist is compared to him.
In Luke 9:28-36, he appears at the Transfiguration of Jesus.
In James 5:17, his story is used as an example of the power of prayer.

Mt. Horeb may have been the same location as Mt. Sinai.

God not being in the earthquake differentiates God from Baal as Baal was believed to be present in such natural phenomena.

Moses - Exodus 2:23-4:17

2005-09-23T16:08:00.000-07:00

We are examining the stories of Biblical figures who encountered God and learned of God's will through these encounters.

For each of these characters, we ask the following questions:
What was Moses (in this case) doing when he heard fromGod?
How did God appear?
What did God say?
How did Moses respond?
What does this mean for us regarding relating to God and knowing God's will?

The name "Moses" means "to draw out".
This suggests Moses being drawn out of the river as a small child, and also that God used Moses to draw Israel out of Egypt.

The name "Moses" is built on the same root as the names of two Pharoahs: Thurmosis and Rameses.

Moses must have dealt with a variety of ideas concerning God and the gods of Egypt.
At Mt. Sinai, God was revealed as one who is willing to enter human history redemptively.
Later on, Moses would return to Mt. Sinai with Israel to hear from God again.

The names of God in the Old Testament are many and complicated.
In this passage we learn that God is to be called something like "I Am Who I Am".
Perhaps this type of name suggests the infinite capacity of God.

Genesis 1-2:3

2005-09-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

Even if the scientific questions that are frequently linked to Genesis were answered once and for all, religious questions would still remain:

Why were we created?
Who or what was the primary source of life?
Is there any purpose to all the observable processes in the created world?

Thus, we read Genesis 1-2:3 as a passage from a book about God.

Here's a list of things we noticed or inferred about God from this passage:

God is purposeful

God brings order to chaos

God is moral

God evaluates

God is different from humanity in that God has the power to speak and creation happens, whereas we have to work to bring about the physical results of our thoughts

God is powerful

God is personal, not an abstract force

God is the giver of life

God provides

God tells humanity how to live

God's acts affect human history

God's acts determine what we call things

God's acts determine how we experience things

God's image is stamped on humanity

God created humanity with affection and in consultation

Knowing God's Will

2005-09-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

How to know God's will is one of the areas in which our members have expressed interest.

We start our study with a general overview of terms and ideas associated with thinking about God's will.

Our first questions are:
To what degree am I really searching for God's will for my life?
In what ways does my life show it?

It seems that as God is transcendent, God's will must be beyond our comprehension.

God is said to be sovereign. This term suggests that God as creator is free to will regarding the creation.

The scriptures teach that God has entered into various covenants with humanity, and these covenants are thought to be binding on God and humanity.

Within the scriptures, we encounter what is described as the commanded will of God which includes such directions as consecrating ourselves to God, worshiping God, and loving God and our fellow human beings. It seems that being faithful to God's commanded principles might better position us to discern God's voice regarding the personal specifics of our lives.

At least three areas of life seem to be "concentrations of grace", that is, locations and experiences in which many people believe to have encountered God.

1. The Bible - It seems unlikely that God would lead in a direction that conflicts with the overall message of Bible. But we may be led in a direction that conflicts with our interpretation of the Bible.

2. Prayer - In prayer we can address and invite the Holy Spirit; we can express openess to God's will.

3. Christian Community - Some benefits of participating in a local church: Preachers spend much time seeking God's will for their congregations. Sometimes Christian brothers and sisters can confirm our beliefs, and other times they provide a much needed different perspective. The simple and direct questions of children in our midst can open our eyes to the needs around us.

Nancy E. Bedford refers to such questions in an essay entitled "Little Moves Against Destructiveness" (Volf/Bass Practicing Theology). In her church, listening to children's questions like "Why doesn't that man have any food?" opened church members to important new missions regarding basic human needs and dignity.

Bedford provides a thought provoking definition of discernment:
Discernment is faith, hope, and love seeking understanding; discernment is figuring out what to do with the help of God's Spirit.

The idea of love seeking understanding seems to be an important corrective in times when our attempts at discernment lead us into unloving actions.

In future weeks, we will study Old Testament figures who had encouters with God in which they learned of God's will for their lives.