BARCLAY PRESS. Carol Williams is director of Christian education at Jackson Friends Church, Massillion, Ohio.

Transcription

1

2 WRITERS Richard Sartwell pastored in Ohio and Oregon for more than three decades and has just completed an additional decade teaching and working with students at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Carol Williams is director of Christian education at Jackson Friends Church, Massillion, Ohio. Joshua Bunce teaches Bible and ministry classes at Barclay College, Haviland, Kansas. BARCLAY PRESS 211 N. Meridian St., # 101, Newberg, OR

3 [ I LLUMINATE ] 1, 2 Timothy; Titus; Philemon; 1, 2 John For the love of Christ compels us Unit 1 June 1 Christ s Transforming Love / 5 June 8 The Outpouring of Love and Grace / 11 June 15 From Father to Son / 17 June 22 Values to Live By / 23 June 29 Be Equipped! / 29 Unit 2 July 6 Paul s Farewell / 35 July 13 What Love Requires / 41 July 20 The Message / 47 July 27 Light and Darkness / 53 Unit 3 August 3 Counsel for End Times / 59 August 10 We re God s Children! / 65 August 17 The Mark of the Christian Community / 71 August 24 Love Is Not Optional / 77 August 31 Counsel to a Friend / 83 Illuminate (USPS ), Editorial and business office, 211 N. Meridian St., # 101, Newberg, Oregon 97132, is published quarterly by Barclay Press (publisher of Christian education curriculum for the Evangelical Friends Church North America Region) at 211 N. Meridian St., # 101, Newberg, Oregon. $3.80 per quarter. $6.00 per quarter for large-print edition. Second-class postage paid at Newberg, Oregon. POSTMASTER Send address changes to 211 N. Meridian St., # 101, Newberg, OR Printed in U.S.A. Scripture text New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [ ILLUMINATE] F RIENDS BIBLE STUDY June, July, August 2014 summer quarter Volume 3, Number 4 Editorial Team: Cleta Crisman, Dan McCracken, Aj Schwanz, Ron Woodward, and Judy Woolsey

4 ILLUMINATE scope and sequence fall winter spring summer Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy 1, 2 Samuel Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes Psalms Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther Luke John Matthew Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians Major Prophets Mark Acts Joshua, Judges, Ruth 1, 2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles Minor Prophets John James, 1, 2 Peter Exodus, Numbers Romans, Galatians 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1, 2 John Hebrews 1, 2 Corinthians, 1, 2 Thessalonians Revelation Illuminate uses New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) for the printed lesson text. The scholarship of this translation along with the use of genderinclusive language make NRSV a good basis for these studies. Churches and individuals are encouraged to use their preferred Bible translation when studying these passages. Scripture texts have been selected with attention given to providing a comprehensive, although limited, study of the Bible. The outlines for these Bible studies and the lesson materials are prepared to support and reflect the faith and practice of evangelical Friends.

5 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Christ s Transforming Love Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 Timothy 1:12-17 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Christ s Transforming Love /5

6 Beyond the Selected Text Psalm 51:1-19 Matthew 18:21-35 Luke 18:9-14 Acts 9: Corinthians 15:1-11 Ephesians 2:1-10 Hebrews 4:12-16 Focus on the Word by Richard Sartwell Introduction For the next six weeks our lessons come from a section of the New Testament often called the Pastoral Epistles. These letters two to Timothy and one to Titus were written to encourage and give guidance to these men and others as they served the early church in pastoral roles. Both Titus and Timothy were recruited by Paul on his missionary journeys and were in a sense his agents in a part of the world newly evangelized with just a few Christian congregations. At the time of the writing of these letters, that particular area was known as the Roman Province of Asia Minor. It is in the modern era a part of Turkey. While most of the letters of Paul included in the New Testament are addressed to whole churches (e.g., to the saints at Corinth ), these three brief letters attributed to Paul and addressed to individuals are nevertheless more than personal letters. They address the kinds of things important to new congregations: the importance of right doctrine and healthy relationships, guidance on a few matters of church organization, and, as we ll see in today s lesson, the mission of our loving God in Christ: to save sinners. 6\ For the love of Christ compels us

7 1 Timothy 1:1-2 Greeting The opening words of this letter follow the typical pattern of correspondence of the time: identifying the sender and the recipient and including a greeting. Paul usually referred to himself as one called or sent by the will of God as a way to underline his authority in writing. Here he uses the phrase by the command of God (v. 1, emphasis added). Perhaps this change is meant to remind Timothy and others who knew Paul s story of conversion that it really did bring him into confrontation with the One who addressed him and instructed him with authority. Paul s authority came from the One who commanded him. Paul refers to Timothy as his loyal child in the faith. Though they were not related by blood, (Timothy was the physical son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother), Paul and Timothy share the close relationship of a mentor and the one he has taught and nurtured. Timothy traveled with Paul on some of his missionary trips. We can imagine the conversations they had as they debriefed following visits to various cities, talking about the kinds of challenges they faced in seeking to convince people of the hope they found in Jesus Christ. Those kinds of travels and conversations about what really matters in life had drawn them close. The greeting Paul uses in verse 2 is interesting in that the common pairing of grace and peace is amplified with the addition of mercy. Mercy points to the compassion of God in not punishing us as we deserve. Paul and others are beneficiaries of the grace of God (God s unmerited favor), but here he seems to be mindful of God s compassion and forecasts his later emphasis on the mercy he received from God. Questions to Consider 1 Timothy 1:1-2 We often see the bumper sticker that says Question Authority. What difference does knowing someone personally make for you in accepting or not accepting her or his authority? Is there anyone in your circles of friendship or acquaintance who you are seeking to encourage and nurture in the faith? Christ s Transforming Love /7

8 1 Timothy 1:12-14 However amazing grace may be, how much can we really understand it unless we also understand God s mercy? We don t like to dwell on the sin in our lives. But in the most secret place of your heart, are you aware of how much you need God s mercy and grace? Whose life represents the most dramatic conversion you ve personally been aware of? Why? 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Where do people get the idea of God as the Angry Man Upstairs? Does the church and its representatives add to this image of God? When was the last time you felt overwhelming joy at the thought of God s love for you expressed in the mission of Christ to save sinners? 8\ For the love of Christ compels us 1 Timothy 1:12-14 God s Mercy Paul is filled with gratitude that God has found him trustworthy for service as an apostle. Paul seems astonished that God could use him because of his past. When he writes that he had been a blasphemer and a persecutor and violent man (v. 13), he is clearly referring to the kinds of activities described in detail by Luke in the book of Acts where the specifics of Paul s actions are cited. His behavior towards the new followers of Jesus was something that now grieved him. As a zealous man defending his Jewish faith, he had people put in chains and then in jail for their Christian faith. He watched with approval as Stephen was tortured and killed. He forced some to blaspheme the name of Jesus. And this is the man who now preaches salvation in Jesus Christ? How can this be? It is of course his conversion, one that gave us the familiar phrase a Damascus road experience, used to describe dramatic change. But in our passage Paul makes clear that God was merciful to him. As noted above, the word mercy as used here refers to compassion and pity. Paul says God was merciful to him because of his ignorance and unbelief. Paul seems to be saying, If God can forgive me, save me, and use me, then nobody is beyond his grace and mercy! Grace and mercy were not just biblical word studies for Paul, nor mere concepts to appreciate and talk about. The grace and mercy of God were at the core of his personal experience and defined who he had become. When Christians today repeat the ancient words Kyrie eleison ( Lord have mercy on me ), they are, whether they know it or not, using the word mercy just as Paul did, and in the deepest sense asking for the mercy of God to also be part of their experience.

9 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Love for Sinners Paul s emphasis in the previous verses on the wonderful changes that the grace and mercy of God had brought into his own life now shifts to the promise and hope for others in his own time and for all future time. In verse 15 Paul summarizes the good news: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The phrase, Ths is a true (or faithful) saying, is used four more times in the pastoral letters (1 Timothy 3:1; 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8). Paul uses different language in some of his other letters to make the same point. And perhaps all these references take us back to the familiar words of John s gospel: God so loved the world that God gave that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). Eternal life that is not only unending, but is different in quality than the life without Christ. How ironic that in our time so many are uncomfortable with using sin language and yet God s mission in Christ is focused not on condemning sinners (John 3:17), but saving them from their sin! God s motive is love. Offering grace and mercy, God seeks to free us from the actions and attitudes that drag us down and fill our lives with regret and sadness. Contemplating the loving heart of God and the actions of God in saving sinners, Paul is moved to express the doxology of verse 17. He uses language that emphasizes the uniqueness of God. Some believe that this language may be borrowed from a form of prayer common in that time. That may be, but who can doubt that Paul repeats the words with great joy and sincerity that he and we are the focus of love coming from this God. Living Out 1 Timothy 1:1-2, Experiment with a prayer of reflection each day this week. Ask the Holy Spirit to let you see within any instances of sin. (See Psalm 139:23-24.) At the same time, ask God to show you how you are being or may be transformed by grace and mercy. Let this exercise be a way of taking inventory and giving you the way to be specific in your thanks to God for what God has already done in your life and what you are still asking God to do in you. Christ s Transforming Love /9

10 Friendly Perspective by Carol Williams Can any of us truly understand the transforming power of the love of Christ? We are limited by time and space, but God has no such limits. In fact, he is love. And that limitless love drove him to the cross so that we might be reconciled to him. Perhaps the hymn about his love, written by F. M. Lehman, helps us to gain an understanding of his limitless love: The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell; The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child, he reconciled, And pardoned from his sin. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure The saints and angels song. The world cannot show any of us this wonderful, agape love. It is found only in Christ Jesus. Sometimes in the Christian community, we take this perfect love for granted. We enjoy its benefits forgiveness, confidence, hope, and peace but then we gloss over the requirements. Christ calls us to walk daily with him and let him invade our very being. So perhaps our prayer should be, Lord, may I be more like you today than I was yesterday. 10\ For the love of Christ compels us