Category: Five

Jesus still committed to his mission is most certainly aware of the crucifixion he will endure – and also the victory he will secure.  While He taught the disciples that we can not know in advance the day He’ll return, He also gave clear instructions as to what we should be doing until that day and the Holy Spirit to empower every believer in that endeavor. Don’t let fear drive our away from today’s message but let the love of Christ and for others compel you to faithfully fulfill your calling in step with the spirit and others.

Podcast: Coming soon

Section 120b | Instructions regarding the Son of Man’s Coming

Traveling through Samaria and Galilee
Luke 17:22-37
22 He said to the disciples,¹  “The days will come,² when you will desire to see one of the days³ of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away, nor follow after them,⁴ 24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of the one part under the sky, shines to the other part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.⁵   25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all.⁶ 30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!⁷ 33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. The one will be taken, and the other will be left. 35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken, and the other will be left.” 36 “Two will be in the field: the one taken, and the other left.”⁸ 37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?”⁹ He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the vultures also be gathered together.”¹⁰

Group Dialog:

1. What question was asked of Jesus in vs 20? How is this teaching similar/different from His answer to the Pharisee?
2. To what natural phenomena, timing, and past events in Biblical history does Jesus’ compare His Second Coming?
3. What happened in Noah’s day? Lot’s day?
4. How good are you at holding on to hope? Are character and promises enough? Share a time when you held out in hope and rejoiced after a long period of waiting, or even suffering.

Study Notes:

You’d think that gratitude would come naturally to most, especially to those who have no hope or other recourse, but the human heart and mind is at times fickle.  In today’s study we will consider our own readiness for gratitude and what preoccupies our mind.

Podcast: Coming soon

Section 120a | Healing of ten Lepers while passing through Samaria and Galilee

Traveling through Samaria and Galilee
Luke 17:11-21
11 As he was on his way to Jerusalem,¹ he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered into a certain village,² ten men who were lepers³ met him, who stood at a distance.⁴ 13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”⁵  14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.⁶  15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God⁷ with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet,⁸ giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”⁹ 19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”¹⁰ 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; 21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”¹¹ 

Group Dialog:

1. Refer to Harmony’s Map to locate Perea, Jerusalem and the boarder of Galilee and Samaria. Use the menu to navigate to section 120a and the likely region where this took place. Why is it significant that Jesus took such a route “on his way to Jerusalem”?
2. What illnesses and other social ills cause people in your community to be cast away and kept at a distance?
3. How are we to treat people who are outcasts and foreigners (Luke 14:13; Galatians 2:10; James 2:5-6)?
4. Did Jesus always require that those he healed have faith? (See: Jesus the Healer and His Miracles)
5. Why didn’t the other 9 return? We can’t know. Perhaps the better question is why have you not returned to show God gratitude, worship and service after you’ve experienced his mercy?
6. How does gratitude transform your own disposition and subsequent actions?
7. To whom do you owe your gratitude? What have you done to express that?
8. For what reasons do you feel you owe your gratitude and worship of God?
9. When have felt the need to take a ‘step of faith’ and then experienced a miracle or blessing of God?

Media: “Where are the other nine?” song by Geoff Moore

Study Notes:

It was the winter of A.D.30 – just months before Jesus’ triumphal entry and his own crucifixion that we read the story of when Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. The story is one of devotion and destiny – not only Jesus’ but also of Lazarus, his sisters, and the disciples – especially Thomas.

Audio: Coming soon

Section 118a | Sickness and Death of Lazarus

John 11:1-16
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus¹ from Bethany,² of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair,³ whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.”⁴ 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.”⁵  5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.” 8 The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”⁶ 9 Jesus answered,“Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world.⁷ 10 But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.” 11 He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”12 The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. 14 So Jesus said to them plainly then,“Lazarus is dead. 15 I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.” 16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”⁸ 

Section 118b | Lazarus Raised from the Dead

John 11:17-44
17 So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days⁹ already. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away.¹⁰ 19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them¹¹ concerning their brother. 20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house.¹² 21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”¹³ 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.¹⁴  26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe¹⁵ that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”¹⁶ 28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.” 29 When she heard this, she arose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep¹⁷ there.” 32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.¹⁸ 36 The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” 37 Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”²⁰ 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.” 45 Therefore, many²¹ of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in Him.²²

Group dialog:

1. What are the disciples reactions to going back to Judea? (v. 8, 16)
2. Jesus waited two more days (vs 6) before leaving to help or comfort his friends. What can we learn about God’s love, timing and intentions from this story?
3. What did Jesus mean by: “I am the Resurrection and the Life”?
4. How was Jesus glorified (more) by waiting until Lazarus had died?
5. What do Martha and Mary’s reactions and dialog with Jesus show about their knowledge of Jesus’ power, their relationship with him and their faith in Him?
6. How do imagine the conversation and mood of those gathered changed after Lazarus came out of the tomb?
7. Think of a time that a friend let you down, and yet remained your friend… What choices did you make to sustain the friendship and what blessings have came about since?
8. John 12:9-11 tells a bit more of Lazarus’ story. What would you do if you were granted an extension on life here?
9. How is faith formed? In your own experience do you gain more by others stories or by your own trials and troubles?

Study Notes:

Among the parables of Christ, this passage warms the hearts of most – if not convicting their souls. But convicting or consoling Jesus is certainly calling us all to action and he is vividly illustrating to the very peers of Nicodemus the same message he shared nearly two years before as recorded in John 3:16 – that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Podcast: Coming soon

Section 116 | Parables in Defense of Association with Sinners

Luke 15:1-32
1 Now all the tax collectors¹ and sinners were coming close to him to hear him.²  2 The Pharisees³  and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”⁴ 3 He told them⁵ this parable. 4 “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them,⁶ wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one that was lost, until he found it?⁷ 5 When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I tell you that even so there will be more joy⁸ in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. 8 Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins,⁹ if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it?¹⁰ 9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors,¹¹ saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.’ 10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.” 11 He said, “A certain man had two sons.¹² 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ He divided his livelihood between them. 13 Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living.¹³  14 When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs.¹⁴ 16 He wanted to fill his belly with the husks that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. 17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. 19 I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 “He arose, and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat, and celebrate; 24 for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.¹⁵ 25 “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants to him, and asked what was going on. 27 He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ 28 But he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out, and begged him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ ”¹⁶

Group Dialog:

1. SHEEP: Have you ever had an incorrect perception of someone? How have your own priorities clouded your
2. COIN: The coins represent something of value, and all three parables concern the restoration of “lost relationships”. What act of God (directly, through nature or another person) initially brought you into relationship with him?  Tell of another time since “being born again” that God restored your relationship with him again?  Marvell at the implications and significance of each persons story.
3. SON: How would you describe the son’s character? What causes him to “come to his senses”? Do you relate to either of the brothers? If so, which one and why? What judgments have you made on those that have strayed from living a life for God? Read vs 32 – what good news does Jesus have for the Pharisees?
4. What does this story teach us about the character of God? What brings him joy and what he hopes to do?
5. Who do you know that needs to be found, reconciled and return to a right relationship with God? What prayers and help do you need to help that individual?
6. Luke’s primary audience was Greek (Gentiles) and his is the only Gospel to include this story- what effect might this story have had on them? Can you think of people you know who might really appreciate this story?

Learning Objectives: God’s mercy and compassion, repentance, reconciliation, joy, spiritual responsibility of believers, and the mission of God.

Media: 

The Orthodox church has a “kontakion hymn” suited for this passage:¹⁷

I have recklessly forgotten Your glory, O Father;
And among sinners I have scattered the riches which You gave to me.
And now I cry to You as the Prodigal:
I have sinned before You, O merciful Father;
Receive me as a penitent and make me as one of Your hired servants.

Notes:

Week 90 | Section 103

The second half of what we call the “Golden Rule” calls us to “Love your neighbor as yourself” so as we’ll see, the stewardship of others and being in community is not an option.  Neither we nor others are defined by our circumstances or past experiences, but by the power of God at work in us and our choices in the sacrament of this present moment.¹ As we are a most fickle ally it is most fortunate for us that our destiny is in the hands of our merciful kinsman redeemer.

Podcast – coming soon

Section 103 | Story of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37
25 Behold, a certain lawyer² stood up³ and tested him, saying, “Teacher,⁴ what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”⁵ 28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly.⁶ Do this, and you will live.”⁷ 29 But he, desiring to justify himself,⁸ asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”⁹ 30 Jesus answered,¹⁰ “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan,¹¹ as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “He who showed mercy¹²–¹³ on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do¹⁴ likewise.”¹⁵

 Group Dialog

1. Why do you think the question as to how one can be certain of their future is so common?
2. How are mercy and love similar and distinct?
3. What is your experience in following the Golden Rule? What undermines your ability to go and do likewise?
4. How have you learned to overcome your fears and and restrain reactive violence and self preservation in its various forms?
5. Speak about the characteristic of integrity and ongoing role of mercy in our lives as you ponder this reading.
6. What segregation do you see in your community (neighborhood, family, church, workplace, school, etc)? How then have you aimed to exercise the ministry of reconciliation and be an agent of mercy?

Learning Objective

Whether you believe in evolution from sludge or creation both views recognize a universal connection and bond from the very origins of all that is. Love unites persons in communion. The notion of creation and Jesus’ redemption reconciles all humanity as a single family, so we must learn to treat one another as brothers and sisters, no less than neighbors, and extend love and mercy to both.

Notes

Week 89 | Sections 102 a,b

In this episode we learn about when Jesus commissioned the 70 (or 72). While some of the disciples had spend up to two years with Jesus, all of those commissioned were now responsible to share good news aligning all their attention, intentions and actions to do his will, to go, and be disciples who make disciples.

Scripture

Section 102a | Commissioning on the Seventy

Luke 10:1-16
1 Now after these things,¹ the Lord also² appointed seventy others^{3 4}–⁵, and sent them two by two⁶ ahead of him into every city and place where he was about to come. 2 Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.⁷  4 Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way.⁸ 5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 If a son of peace⁹  is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house.¹⁰ 8 Into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you. 9 Heal the sick¹¹ who are there, and tell them, ‘God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’¹²  10 But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’¹³ 12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.¹⁴ 16 Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”¹⁵

Section 102b | Return of the Seventy

Luke 10:17-24
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”¹⁶  18 He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.¹⁷ 19 Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.¹⁸ Nothing will in any way hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.” 22 Turning to the disciples, he said, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.” 23 Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see, 24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.”¹⁹ 

Group Dialog

1. What passages, in addition to this, clarify the “Gospel message” we are to believe and share?
2. Why do you suppose Jesus’ selected out of the multitude of disciples just 70 more witnesses? Was it based on vocation, maturity, or perhaps immaturity and the need to learn a lesson?
3. What is your personal account(s) of how that message changed your life?
4. How might your (lack of) understanding of sovereignty, grace and spiritual empowerment/authority affect the ministry of proclamation?
5. What are the consequences (temporal and eternal) of unbelief and rejection of the message?
6. Why do you suppose Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs?
7. How is your sense of success, challenged by this passage?
8. What would happen in your life (and in those you know) if you valued most on what Jesus rejoices in this passage?
9. In your church (or small group) how many laborers of the Gospel are there? Two by two, how many towns or people might your church reach?
10. What are the necessary requirements for being “sent on mission”? Are the specific duties and goals from this passage that we should universally apply to missions today? Do you feel qualified? Do you feel called? What are you doing?

Photo

Learning Objectives

Go and be vulnerable. In your vulnerability you will be blessed even more because of your dependence on the Lord whom sent you.

Notes