Month: February 2022

Where I went to college, most classes were theory-based. There was even a class called “theory of accounting”, which seemed odd since the numbers are the numbers despite whatever theory you apply to them. The graduate school I attended was different. It was application-based which was a nice change. It seemed very practical and useful.

In the same way, it’s very important to study the character and nature of God, which will always be a critical element of any Christian education, but it’s also nice to have very practical/applicable lessons. For today’s lesson, we’ll apply some of our recent studies to the headlines about Russia invading the Ukraine. Every news outlet has the same headline today (something about the invasion) and it is difficult to find any voices speaking words of comfort or reassurance right now.

That brings us to today’s verse which is from Ecclesiastes 7:14 and says:

In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider— God has made the one as well as the other So that man will not discover anything that will be after him.

The first part of this verse is easy – ‘in the day of prosperity, be happy’ – but the second part is more challenging. Note that it doesn’t say “don’t be sad” when you face adversity. It says consider that God made both prosperity and adversity because we might get lax and stray away from Him if there was only prosperity.

If you asked my opinion about the most important word (other than “God”) in today’s verse, I would say it’s the word “consider” and here is why……

As I write this, Russia is actively invading Ukraine, the stock market has been down for several days and the futures are way off, sanctions are being imposed, energy prices are high, politicians on both sides are blaming each other and the world is on high alert. But we know the truth and the truth is that this is part of the plan, and we know it will ultimately all work to glorify God and draw us closer to Him (at least until we stray again). As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes.

So, here’s a simple, two-step plan I would recommend today:

1. Stop watching the news or at least stop watching as much; then use that extra time for #2
2. Consider where God is moving today in the world, in our community, in your family, and in your life.

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being “most anxious”, where do you think most people fall on that scale today vs. a couple of weeks ago? And how about you personally?
2. The idea that God “makes” or allows adversity can be a challenging concept. If He’s a good and loving heavenly Father, then why don’t we have sunshine and unicorns every day?
3. There was a lot of adversity that came out of the “great recession” that started in 2008, but can you think of any good things that resulted from that period? If so, please share with the group.
4. Do you agree that the “simple” two-step plan above is a good strategy to help settle our minds and hearts today?
5. If you were explaining to someone the value of this two-step plan, what would you include as some of the benefits?

Today, we have two scriptures. The first is from Psalm 90:12 which says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. Moses wrote these words after leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and serving as their leader in the desert for many years. He is encouraging the people to make the most of every day and try to make wise decisions because we never truly know how many days we have left.

The second scripture is a passage from Luke 16-21, which says:

And Jesus told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

The point of Jesus’ story is that this man will never truly be happy, no matter how much wealth he accumulates. He will always strive for more and, in doing so, will be distracted from loving God and loving people.

One of our recent lessons focused on storing up treasure in heaven vs. on earth. Today’s scriptures and lesson take that message one step further to emphasize the importance of doing it now. For example:

• Are you planning to spend more time with your family and friends once you are more established in your career and/or have more financial stability? Don’t wait – spend more time with them now.
• Are you going to focus on giving more time and/or money to your favorite charities once your schedule is more manageable? Don’t wait – give more now.
• Is your goal to get in better shape and eat/drink more responsibly “soon”? Don’t wait – make those changes now.
• Have you been meaning to spend more time praying and reading the Bible? Don’t wait – put it on the calendar and guard that time.

Each of our days are numbered, so here are a few questions to help us do more to make each day count:

1. Since there are a limitless number of “good” things we can start doing, how would you advise someone to do more to make each day count without getting stuck in analysis paralysis?
2. If part of the answer is that we should stop doing certain things, what are one or two things you might like to give up?
3. If you can identify a couple of things to give up, what then would be something you would like to move up your priority list?
4. If the core message of today’s discussion is so simple, why do we struggle with it?

We’ve talked about how we can summarize the Bible in one sentence (The Bible is the story of God pursuing us). No matter where we focus our attention, He is always running toward us, trying to bring us closer to Him. There is no better verse to describe this pursuit than John 3:16, which says:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In today’s lesson, we will focus on how we should then respond, knowing these two truths:

1. God always pursues us, and
2. We are called to be the hands and feet of God on earth by modeling His love for others

We’ve talked a lot about what it means to show love to others – patience, kindness, not envying, not being rude, not boasting, not being easily angered and all the other elements of love. But today’s lesson is focused on how we should pursue others (just as God pursues us) so that we can then love them.

It’s easy to be loving once we know someone needs our love, but we can’t love them until we become aware of their need. If they don’t tell us, then we might never know. But if we call, email, or visit them regularly to check in, we’ll know more about what is going on with them and better understand how we can love them.

For example, a parent may hesitate to engage with their children regularly, especially as they get a little older, because they might worry about bothering them or taking them away from friends or other activities. The fear of being seen as a nuisance or a bother may outweigh our desire to pursue a deeper relationship with a child. But even in the worst-case scenario in which the child really sees it as a bother, the only negative result would be that the child might think, “why does my dad keep trying to talk with me?”. Ok…..that’s no big deal at all, especially compared with the potential good that can come from deepening and enriching the relationship through actively pursuing them.

And the same may be true of any relationship. We might think “they’re busy” or “I don’t want to interrupt them” or “it would be weird for me to be the one that always reaches out first”. But, again, the potential rewards far outweigh the risks.

When we pursue others, we are modeling the love of God who always pursues us. God will bless & honor these actions. And, being intentional about pursuing others will remind us that God is pursuing us, which may help us remember to quit running away so He can catch us more frequently.

Questions:

1. Do you agree that the fear of being a nuisance or appearing awkward/weird can keep us from pursuing others more frequently?
2. The lesson suggests the risks of pursuing others are not as great as we make them out to be. Do you agree or disagree?
3. Is there anyone in your life you should pursue more regularly? If you are comfortable doing so, please share your examples with the group.
4. Do you agree that pursuing others can also help us grow closer to God? If so, in what ways?
5. If you wanted to create a plan to be more intentional about pursuing others, where would you start and what would be some of the key steps?

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about practicing spiritual disciplines and how practice can help us play the “game” of life better. Even though that is a simple concept, we all still struggle with it. And when we fall short in our practice, we often face fear, worry, and anxiety.

We can’t eliminate fear, but we can work on controlling it, which we’ll discuss today with a story about King Jehoshaphat from 2 Chronicles 20. It says that Jehoshaphat was a good king and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. This book begins with three large armies coming to attack King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. His advisors told him “A vast army is coming against you from Edom…..”. We are told that he was alarmed, but he didn’t panic. Instead, he “resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.” So, his first step was to turn his eyes to God and seek guidance from Him.

The next thing he did showed far more faith than most of us have. Verse 21 says that Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out “at the head of the army”, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

The king sent singers to stand in front of the army as a sign that he believed his God, the one true God, was more powerful than any army he could send into battle. And God honored the king’s faith by causing the attacking armies to fight each other until every one of them was dead. The story goes on to say that it took three days for Jehoshaphat’s men to collect all the plunder. And finally, verse 26 says that they assembled and praised the Lord.

So the formula they followed was:

1. Face a seemingly insurmountable challenge
2. Inquire of the Lord (and let Him fight the battle)
3. Collect the plunder/blessings that God provided because of their faith
4. Praise the Lord

All of us fight battles, and sometimes the odds seem insurmountable. When you fight your battles, is your first instinct to go to God for His guidance? Do you focus your praise on him no matter how tough the circumstance? That’s something that all of us struggle with, so to help us improve in this area, here are a few questions to think about.

1. What are some examples of modern-day “battles” that we face?
2. When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, is your first instinct to turn it over to God and praise Him, or do fear and anxiety creep in?
3. What are some examples of “plunder” that we can collect by praising God foremost, even in the face of our most challenging circumstances?
4. Do you think God allows us to face certain challenges so we will be drawn closer to Him?
5. Would it be effective to plan ahead before we find ourselves facing challenges? If so, what are some proactive steps we can take before we are in the battle?