Adult Teaching Resources February 26, 2017

Transcription

1 Adult Teching Resources Februry 26, 2017 Looking Forwrd (Jnury 1-Februry 26) Mtthew 5:13-20 Slt, Light, nd Lw Mtthew 5:21-37 Then, nd Now Mtthew 5:38-48 Seriously? Mtthew 17:1-19 Keeping Secrets Subscribe to Nurturing Fith to ccess the core Bible content for this lesson. Find links nd videos relted to this lesson. 1 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

2 Keeping Secrets Mtthew 17:1-19 FIT Teching Guide by Dvid Woody This dult teching outline is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Nurturing Fith Journl. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Nurturing Fith Journl to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Nurturing Fith Journl so they cn prepre before the lesson. Bible Bckground While he ws still speking, suddenly bright cloud overshdowed them, nd from the cloud voice sid, This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I m well plesed; listen to him! Mtt. 17:5 Trnsfigurtion one word we don t her often, nd when we do, we most likely her it in church. The word we re more likely to encounter is trnsformtion, but tody s pssge is bout the Trnsfigurtion of Jesus. Our lesson writer gives us gret introduction to tody s lesson by bringing in superheroes to the converstion. Superheroes re usully mild-mnnered men nd women who cn quickly trnsform themselves into something super nd otherworldly. Supermn is the clssic exmple. Tody s lesson is bout Jesus, greter thn Supermn, nd someone whose trnsformtion ws not just super, but supernturl. But, like Supermn, he wnted everything to be kept secret. Tody, we ll explore Jesus trnsfigurtion, wlk with those who witnessed it, nd tlk bout keeping this incredible event secret. Opening Secrets. We ll hve them. We ll sk others to keep them. In the lrge group, sk for exmples of secrets tht we keep or sk others to keep. Plese don t sk nyone to brek confidences of others by giving specific nmes, but insted, sk everyone to think genericlly. For exmple: finding out you re pregnnt; or receiving news of job trnsfer; or plnning surprise prty. Ask for s mny secrets s possible. Write them on the bord or lrge sheet of pper. Then, s time permits, go through the list nd sk for explntions why this might be secret. For exmple, if you find out you re pregnnt, you might wnt to keep it secret until you re pst certin number of weeks in the pregnncy to ensure helthier chnce of birth. Spend some time unpcking the secrets before moving on to the pssge. 2 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

3 Reding the Bible Tody s short pssge is the story of Jesus trnsfigurtion. Trnsfigurtion is word not used in regulr converstion nd most people hve probbly only herd it in reference to Jesus. Your group will spend little more time discussing trnsfigurtion in the Mking Connections section. But, before you get there, red the pssge nd nswer these questions to mke sure everyone hs grsp of the elements of the story. Who went with Jesus to the mountin? Wht hppened to Jesus on the mountin? How does the Bible describe it? Who else ppered on the mountin with Jesus nd the disciples? Wht did Peter offer to do for Jesus, Moses, nd Elijh? Why? Wht did Peter nd the disciples her while on the mountin? Wht did they see fter Jesus touched them? Wht did Jesus tell the disciples s the descended the mountin? Mking Connections Peter, Jmes, nd Jmes brother John went with Jesus up to the mountin. Wht do you know bout those three disciples? Why do you think just those three disciples went with Jesus? Our lesson writer digs deeper into trnsfigurtion. Wht does he sy bout it? Wht does trnsfigured men to you? Wht is the significnce of this event in the life nd ministry of Jesus? Why do you think Moses nd Elijh ppered with Jesus? Wht ws the significnce of tht prt of this story? A voice from the cloud proclimed, this is my Son, the Beloved; with him I m well plesed; When else were those words spoken bout Jesus? Wht do you think Jesus did to ern tht prise then nd in this pssge? Wht do you sy bout Jesus? Why do you think God dded the lst phrse, Listen to him! Who ws God speking to? Wht were the disciples doing, or not doing, tht they needed to be told to listen? 3 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

4 So Wht? Ask your group to form pirs. Remind them tht in the lst verse of our pssge, Jesus ordered the disciples to, Tell no one bout the vision until fter the Son of Mn hs been rised from the ded. (Mtt 17:9) Our lesson writer provides some insight into keeping this mzing news secret. Hve ech pir red the pssge, red wht our lesson writer sys bout keeping it secret, nd then nswer these questions: Why do you think Jesus would wnt them to keep ll of this secret? If Jesus told them it ws oky to shre, who do you think they would tell? How would others rect to their story? If you were one of the disciples nd Jesus told you to keep the mzing experience you hd secret, wht would you do? Relly? Why? Wht do you do with the mzing news of Jesus? How much of wht you know bout Jesus do you keep secret? Why? How much do you openly shre? Why? Wht do you think Jesus wnts you to do? The Chllenge Listen to Jesus this week. With ll the stresses nd chllenges you hve with fmily, bills, work, reltionships, nd everything else tht tkes time nd energy; listen to Jesus. Wht is Jesus telling you? How will his words trnsform you to ministry nd servnt hood? Wht do you need to relese? Wht do you need to embrce? Wht do you need to do in order to focus nd listen to Jesus? How will listening to Jesus trnsform you? Pryer Loving God, we confess tht trnsfigurtion is difficult concept for us. We see it on TV nd in the movies, but we know it to be fiction nd fntsy. Yet, we hve the story of Jesus trnsfigurtion witnessed by the disciples. They were chnged by wht they sw nd herd. Open our ers so tht we might her you spek to us. Open our minds so tht we might understnd. Open us up to the trnsforming love nd grce you offer us. 4 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

5 Digging Deeper by Tony Crtlege Digging Deeper is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Nurturing Fith Journl. Wtch for the shovel icon in the The Bible Lesson, nd then reference tht item in this Digging Deeper resource. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Nurturing Fith Journl to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Nurturing Fith Journl so they cn prepre before the lesson. Supermn The concept of Supermn ws creted by Clevelnd, Ohio high school students Jerry Siegel nd Joe Schuster in They sold the ide to Detective Comics (the forerunner of DC Comics) for $130 nd contrct to continue providing mteril. Supermn hit the comic book stnds in Trnsfigurtion The unusul word trnsfigurtion derives from Jerome s fourth century trnsltion of the Bible into Ltin. The trnsltion ws known s the Vulgte, becuse it ws in the lnguge of the common people (the Ltin word mening common people ws vulgus). Jerome trnslted the Greek word metmorphōthē with trnsfigurto. Normlly, the word is trnslted s trnsformed, or chnged, s in Rom. 12:2 nd 2 Cor. 3:18. Three versions All three gospels contin stories of the Trnsfigurtion (Mtthew 17:1-9, Mrk 9:2-10, Luke 9:28-37), ech with distinctive chrcteristics. Mtthew sys tht his fce shone like the sun, nd his clothes becme dzzling white (v. 2). Mrk mentions only Jesus clothes, which becme dzzling white, s no one on erth cn blech them (Mrk 9:3). Luke lso speks of dzzling white clothes, nd sys the ppernce of his fce chnged (Luke 9:29). All three ccounts sy the three disciples were terrified, but Mtthew is the only gospel to include Christ s comforting words nd touch (17:6-7). Mrk speks of Elijh nd Moses ppering with Jesus, while the other two synoptics list Moses first. Perhps Mrk s prophetic interest ws prmount, while Mtthew nd Luke followed the chronologicl ppernce nd reltive importnce of the two by putting Moses before Elijh. Mrk is lso more likely to point out the disciples foolishness or filures. He lone tells us tht Peter did not know wht to sy when he nd the others were frightened by the overshdowing cloud (9:6). Luke (9:28-36) tells the longest story, nd his version lone preserves the trdition tht the disciples were so sleepy tht they could brely hold their eyes open when Jesus trnsformtion took plce (9:32). This gives more of dremlike qulity to the disciple s experience, emphsizing its visionry nture. Luke is lso the only gospel to divulge the contents of Jesus converstion with Moses nd Elijh: he sys they were tlking bout Jesus imminent deprture (literlly, his exodus ) from Jeruslem deprture tht would come by wy of the crucifixion (9:31). At night? Luke s ccount sys Now Peter nd his compnions were weighed down with sleep; but since they hd styed wke, they sw his glory nd the two men who stood with him (Luke 9:32). The disciples sleepiness suggest the end of long dy nd the possibility tht Jesus trnsfigurtion took plce t night. 5 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

6 Digging Deeper continued Shining like the sun The gospel of John does not include story of the Trnsfigurtion, but it does spek metphoriclly of Jesus s the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5). How do you think the imge of Jesus shining countennce my connect with other imges light relted to Christ, his word, nd his work? Did Moses die? The book of Deuteronomy sys tht Moses went up Mount Nebo lone, where God llowed him to look into the Promised Lnd, though he would not be llowed to enter it. Then Moses, the servnt of the LORD, died there in the lnd of Mob, t the LORD S commnd. He ws buried in vlley in the lnd of Mob, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his buril plce to this dy (Deut. 34:5-6). While the NRSV trnsltes he ws buried s pssive, the Hebrew word, s preserved in the trditionl Msoretic text, is in the ctive voice, nd should be trnslted he buried him. The impliction is tht, fter Moses died t God s commnd, God buried him. Some lter mnuscripts mke the verb plurl, so tht it would red they buried him, but it s hrd to imgine tht the Isrelites would hve buried their gret leder Moses without leving clerly mrked buril site. Tht Moses ws lone with God nd died t the LORD s commnd, long with the observtion tht no one knows his buril plce to this dy led to trdition tht Moses didn t ctully die, but ws tken to heven by God. Evidence of this is found in Jude 9, which sys the rchngel Michel nd the devil disputed over Moses body, nd in the pseudopigrphl Assumption of Moses. Imgine this Consider responding to this lesson by spending some time with eyes closed, imgining wht it would hve been like to be present with the disciples s Jesus ws trnsformed, with Moses, Elijh, nd the cloud of Presence witnessing to his divinity. This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I m well plesed, God sid. Listen to him. Spend some time thinking bout wht Jesus might be sying to you. 6 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

7 The Hrdest Question by Tony Crtlege The Hrdest Question is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Nurturing Fith Journl. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Nurturing Fith Journl to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Nurturing Fith Journl so they cn prepre before the lesson. Why were the disciples so terrified by the cloud? The disciples were Jewish, nd would hve been fmilir with stories from the Hebrew Bible, nd mny of those contined mny references to God ppering within cloud. The thick cloud terrified them becuse they believed God ws in it. Recll some of the mny stories. Memorbly, God ws thought to be present within pillr of cloud tht led the people of Isrel in the wilderness, with fire in its midst during the night. The cloud would rest on the tberncle s long s God wnted them to sty in one plce, nd when it lifted, they would venture on (Exod. 13:21, compre Exod. 16:10, 40:36-39; Num. 9:15-22, 10:11-12, 34). God ppered to Moses in dense cloud (Exod. 19:9-16) when the people rrived t Sini, nd gin when Moses climbed up to meet Yhweh, when the cloud covered the mountin, nd the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sini, nd the cloud covered it for six dys; on the seventh dy he clled to Moses out of the cloud. Moses entered the cloud, nd went up on the mountin (Exod. 24:15-18). When Moses entered the tent of meeting, the pillr of cloud would descend nd stnd t the entrnce of the tent, nd the LORD would spek with Moses (Exod. 33:9-10). When Moses returned to the mountin, the LORD descended in the cloud nd stood with him there, nd proclimed the nme, The LORD (Exod. 34:5). When the tberncle ws dedicted, the cloud covered the tent of meeting, nd the glory of the LORD filled the tberncle, to the extent tht even Moses ws unble to enter (Exod. 40:34-35). God told Moses to instruct Aron not to come into the holy of holies, lest he die, for I pper in the cloud upon the mercy set (Lev. 16:2). When Moses grew wery of ledership nd uttered n gonized pryer, God promised told him to cll out 70 elders to help shre the lod of settling disputes. Then the LORD cme down in the cloud nd spoke to him, nd took some of the spirit tht ws on him nd put it on the seventy elders (Num. 11:25). When Aron nd Mirim complined ginst Moses becuse his wife ws Cushite nd becuse they believed God hd spoken to them lso, God summoned ll three to the tent of meeting. Then the LORD cme down in pillr of cloud, nd stood t the entrnce of the tent, nd clled to Aron nd Mirim; nd they both cme forwrd (Num. 12:5). Yhweh strongly rebuked the pir for resisting Moses, leving Mirim leprous for seven dys (Num. 12:6-16). 7 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017

8 The Hrdest Question continued These re few of the mny references to God s chrcteristic ppernce in cloud during the wilderness period, lter reclled by Nehemih (9:12, 19), in the Pslms (78:14, 97:2, 99:7, 105:39), nd by Isih (4:5). These were not the end of God s cloudy ppernces, however. When Solomon s temple ws dedicted, cloud filled the house of the LORD, so tht the priests could not stnd to minister becuse of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD (1 Kings 8:10-11, compre 2 Chr. 5:13-14). In Ezekiel s inugurl vision of God, he described gret cloud with brightness round it nd fire flshing forth continully, nd in the middle of the fire, something like gleming mber (Ezek. 1:4). In lter vision of the temple, Ezekiel lso spoke of cloud s indicting God s presence (10:3). The pslms could describe God s being surrounded by clouds nd thick drkness, nd prophets used the imge in thretening mnner. In describing judgment tht would come on the dy of the LORD, they spoke of God s pproch in clouds nd thick drkness (Joel 2:2, Zeph. 1:5). These trditions clerly ssocited God s ferful, we-inspiring presence in ssocition with clouds. It s no wonder the three disciples were terrified. I suspect we would hve been no less frid. 8 Nurturing Fith Februry 26, 2017