BIBLE FELLOWSHIP TEACHING PLANS OCTOBER 2, 2016
USING THIS CURRICULUM PREPARATION This section is designed to guide your study preparation. First, you will be encouraged to read the Bible passages through, consulting the commentary provided as you need it to bring clarity or better understanding. Note that the commentary for each passage is provided within the heart of the study so that you can consult it more easily within the context of the passage you re teaching, or even read from it in your group if needed. Second, you will be encouraged to read through the entire teaching plan. Reading through the entire teaching plan ahead of time helps to ensure you have the best possible experience with your group. Some of the questions may not work for you or your group, and you might also come up with new questions that will work great with your group. Third, you will be encouraged to pray for all involved in worship and study each week. HIGHLIGHTS This section is designed to give you the big picture of the passages you will study and the teaching plan itself. The Biblical Emphasis simply states the main idea of the Bible passage(s) you will study. The Teaching Aim simply states the one thing you are aiming to communicate to your group through the study. INTRODUCTION, UNDERSTANDING, AND APPLICATION These sections represent the actual teaching plan you will use with your group. The Introduction Section is designed to engage all members of your group, regardless of their spiritual maturity, around the teaching aim of your study. The Understanding Section is designed to equip you to facilitate a group discussion on the texts or topics assigned. The questions will range from basic comprehension to specific application. Commentary from LifeWay Christian Resources is provided on each passage as well. The Application Section is designed to help you and your group not just hear the Word, but do what it says (James 1:22).
SPIRITUAL FORMATION GRID The 16 sessions in this series unpack the biblical truths summarized in the Spiritual Formation Grid. Sessions 1-4 explore who God is. Sessions 5-8 explore what God does. Sessions 9-12 explore who we are as a result of who God is and what He does. Sessions 13-16 explore what we do as a result of who God is, what He does, and who we are in Him. THIS WEEK: WHO GOD IS LORD
CALVARY DEUTERONOMY 6:4-15 OCTOBER 2, 2016 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying Deuteronomy 6:4-15. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for Pastor Rob, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: God has revealed Himself to us as the Lord of all things. God s people are to realize and passionately affirm that He is their Source of life and well-being. TEACHING AIM: We respond to the lordship of God with love and humble submission. MEMORIZE: Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 4 God As Lord Calvary
INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 Define the term Lord. Where else is this term used outside of the Bible? 2 What does it mean to say that God is Lord? What makes God the Lord? One of the marks of our culture is our tendency to take what we have for granted. Children never think to ask their parents, Where did all these material things we enjoy come from? Encouraged at an early age to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, we assume that all we enjoy is the fruit of our labor. Communities enjoy flower gardens and trees, yet many citizens never ask, Who planted these and cares for them? Even the physical universe is taken for granted; few people ever pause to wonder, Why is there something rather than nothing? Yet, we know that God is the source of life, and of all we see and enjoy. Even our accomplishments hinge on the health and opportunities that He provides for us. This absolute power and stewardship over all things is what makes God Lord. The Lord is the Source of our life and wellbeing. UNDERSTANDING & APPLICATION Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Verses 4-5 are known as the Shema, after the first Hebrew word of verse 4 (listen, or hear). What truth is expressed in the Shema? What command does it contain? 5 God As Lord Calvary
Why do you think Jesus identified this as the greatest command (Matt 22:36-38)? The first declaration is a statement about the uniqueness of Israel s God. The assertion is that the Lord is one. The word rendered the Lord is, of course, God s personal name, Yahweh. Declaring that Yahweh is one that denotes there is no other existing Deity. The second declaration is that God s people are commanded to love the Lord. When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment in the law, He responded by quoting this verse. The measure of our love for God is to be greater than all other affections. We are to love Him wholeheartedly (all your heart). Likewise, we re to love God with all our soul. The Hebrew term rendered soul can refer to physical appetites, emotions, and the spiritual nature (see Ps. 19:7). A supreme love for God results in submitting every human appetite and desire to His will. Finally, we are to love God with all our strength. This term refers to every talent and resource we possess. We are to give our best efforts in serving and worshiping the Lord. As the Israelites prepared to enter the promised land, why would they need to be reminded even commanded to love God? Is loving the Lord only about actions (obeying His commands, doing what pleases Him) or is it also about feelings (gratitude and affection for Him in light of all He has done)? Explain. What does it mean to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength? What does this look like on a practical level on a typical day? 6 God As Lord Calvary
Reflect on the significance of the Lord to you. When has He been most central in your life? How do you keep Him in a place of honor and significance? In modern thought and usage, love is thought of primarily as an emotion over which we have little or no control. In the Scriptures, however, love is primarily an act of the will rather than a product of emotion. We choose to love regardless of our often inconsistent emotions. This is the nature of God s love for His people, and it is the love He expects from us toward Him. Does the Shema hold significance for Christians as well as Jews? How can believers today carry out the instructions of the Shema? How could we do a better job of following them? What are some ways we could carry out the instructions in verses 7-8 literally? What are some ways we could fulfill them figuratively? Why is it important to remember God s words and talk about them with others? How might this practice manifest itself for you on a typical day? What daily and weekly habits will you commit to that will help you remember God as Lord and appreciate His ongoing involvement in your life? How can we hold each other accountable in these areas? 7 God As Lord Calvary
Families are instructed to teach the ways of God to the next generations. Primary responsibility for teaching children spiritual truth cannot be delegated by parents to others. Parents have a unique relationship with their children and a responsibility to teach them about God in daily life (when you sit in your house... walk along the road... lie down and... get up). The commands of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 clearly call for lives totally and passionately dedicated to the Lord. COMMENTARY DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9 6:4-5. These two verses are commonly known as the Shema (shuh MAH), after the first word of verse 4 in Hebrew. This was considered the greatest commandment; Jesus Christ, when asked which commandment was greatest, cited this passage (Mk 12:28-30). The Shema is the foundational principle for the Ten Commandments, and they in turn contain the essence of God s covenant with Israel. It is divided between a statement asserting the nature of God and one enjoining a certain response to that understanding. He is described as being One of a single essence. Other interpretations are that the Lord alone is our God or the Lord our God is one Lord. 6:6. The Shema must be more than a mere abstraction: it must first be deeply ingrained in the heart (that is, the mind; v. 5) and then put into action. 6:7. The old adage that repetition aids learning is an ancient one as this verse attests. Parents must repeat the words of the Shema and the rest of God s instruction to their children and not in a hit-or-miss manner. There must be strong intentionality that issues in constant instruction by word and deed about devotion to God. By a figure of speech (merism) Moses described the unremitting process of education by speaking in terms of opposites. To sit and to walk suggest being at rest and being active, that is, in 8 God As Lord Calvary
any situation. To lie down and to get up naturally call to mind nighttime and daytime, that is, all the time. The kind of love God requires is one that is full time and under every circumstance. Children must therefore be taught to love Him in the same way. 6:8. Though the command to bind the commandments is most likely figurative language, such practices were taken literally in postbiblical Judaism and remain part of contemporary conservative Jewish custom. 6:9. The doorposts of Israel s houses and their gates must be identified as those dedicated to covenant compliance by the affixing of the law to them as well. Small metal boxes known as (Hb) mezuzah are to this day attached to doorways of Jewish homes to signify the commitment of their inhabitants to Judaism. These also contain Scripture portions (vv. 4-9; 11:13-21). > Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 6:10-15. When the Israelites occupied the land of Canaan, what were some of the blessings they would enjoy without having to work for them? What did Moses caution them not to forget? Why was it important for the Israelites to remember Egypt where they had come from? What are some material blessings you enjoy today that you did not have to labor for? What spiritual blessings are yours that you did not earn? The people of Israel were on the verge of unprecedented and sudden prosperity. Moses warned them about the dangers of forgetting God when they achieved material wellbeing. 9 God As Lord Calvary
In an attempt to ground them in humility, Moses reminded the people that it would be the Lord their God who would bring them into the land. Their possession of the land was in fulfillment of divine promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land would be a gift from God. Moses warned the people of Israel to be careful not to forget the Lord, and recognized that prosperity, if not kept in perspective, can produce an environment that encourages forgetting God. When wealth becomes our source of trust and security, we foolishly imagine that money will provide the solution to whatever problems we face. Everything we have comes from the Lord. How do you typically connect with the Lord when you are dealing with trouble? What about when life is going smoothly? How are these different? Why is that? Why would someone in a position of security and comfort need to be careful not to forget the Lord? When are you most likely to go through the day with scarcely a thought of the Lord? What are the consequences of not being mindful of the Lord? What are some effective ways to remember the Lord and what He has done for us? How might observing verse 13 help us keep the Lord close to our hearts and minds? Moses urged Israel to fear the Lord. This fear was not to be a cowering dread of God, but rather a proper respect and reverence leading the people to worship Him. Above all, the Israelites were to be loyal to Yahweh and were never to follow other gods. Moses described these other deities as the gods 10 God As Lord Calvary
of the peoples around you. As followers of Jesus, we cannot deny that today we continually face similar enticements from a secular, immorality-dominated culture. God s warning to the ancient Israelites is a clear and present warning to us as well. We dare not choose to forget the guidance and blessings God has given us as His people in Christ. We must not join in the culture but should always remember the Lord and worship Him. The lordship of God leads us to love and worship Him alone. How are you sharing your love of God with other people? COMMENTARY ON DEUTERONOMY 6:10-15. 6:10-12. The nation that stood on the east bank of the Jordan River had seen God work in spectacular ways. Those who were nearing 60 years of age had been 19 at the time of the troubles of Kadesh Barnea. They had been old enough to remember the events of Sinai, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the destruction of the Egyptian army. They had seen a whole generation of rebels die in the wilderness. If encounters with the miraculous could create godly people, they would have qualified. In addition, they were soon to witness still more of God s work. They were about to enter the land God had sworn to give their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead of inheriting a land of ruins and devastation, they were about to take possession of cities they did not build, houses filled with goods they did not provide, and wells they did not dig. In addition, they would inherit orchards and vineyards. Moses warned them that the leading spiritual danger they would face on entering the land would be forgetting the Lord. What adversity would not do, prosperity and satisfaction could. They were to be on their guard against spiritual lethargy. 11 God As Lord Calvary
The life of the spirit is one that is cultivated. Human experience bears out the suggestion that the most critical threats to godly living come at the moment when we think we have life by the throat. Israel, said Moses, should be careful that they did not forget the Lord who had brought them such benefits. The absence of dangerous enemies would suggest that they could relax. They must, instead, cultivate the inner life and water the garden of devotion to God. 6:13-15. In the course of developing their relationship with God, it would not be enough simply to worship Yahweh. Israel would have to worship Him exclusively. They were to serve Him only and take oaths in His 88 name solely. They were to disregard the attractions of other deities who were worshiped by the peoples around them. To do otherwise meant offending the Lord, who was dwelling daily among them. His anger would burn against them if they were so ungrateful and foolish as to join themselves to other gods. That mistake could prove fatal, leading to physical death or removal from the face of the land that God was giving them. P R A Y Pray to the Lord and confess your desire to love and obey Him with all that you are. Ask Him to help you submit to Him completely. Praise Him for being the good and gracious Lord of your salvation. 12 God As Lord Calvary