Adult Teching Resources September 25, 2016 Fith Mtters: Lessons From Hebrews (August 7-28) Jeremih 18:1-11 Getting Into Shpe An Apostle s Apprentice Lessons from Timothy (Sept. 11-Oct 23) 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Bd Strts Cn Be Redeemed 1 Timothy 2:1-7 It s Not About You 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Find Contentment Where You Are www.nurturingfith.net Subscribe to Nurturing Fith to ccess the core Bible content for this lesson. Find links nd videos relted to this lesson. 1 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Find Contentment Where You Are 1 Timothy 6:6-19 FIT Teching Guide by Rick Jordn This dult teching outline is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Before the Lesson: Mke copies of the hndout, It s All God s, for the Trnsformtionl Exercise. Look up the website, www.globlrichlist.com, nd type in your income. Fellowship Question (Use one of these to brek the ice, to begin some discussion nd led into the study): Wht is your erliest memory of owning your own money? When you give wy money, wht re the top three recipients of those gifts? (for exmple, my church, higher eduction, medicl reserch, etc.) Informtion [Divide into smll groups of 3-5 per group.] [Write on the bord, A welthy person ] Tody, we re going to see wht one Biblicl pssge sys bout money. But before we red the pssge, it will help us to think bout money nd welth in the US. In your smll groups, come up with wy to define wht welthy mens in the USA. You ve got few minutes, then we will shre nswers with the lrger group so, we will need spokesperson from ech smll group to give us something to put on the bord. [Give some time for discussion. Then, cll the group together nd write nswers on the bord.] Were your definitions bsed on income? Strems of income? Money in the bnk? Attitudes? Here is the wy one survey describes welth: No finncil constrints on ctivities. Tht ws wht hlf of the investors interviewed by the USB 2013 Investor Wtch survey responded when sked wht it would tke to be welthy. According to this threshold, if you don t do something, such s buy ycht or visit the Interntionl Spce Sttion, becuse you re worried bout the price tg, then you re not rich. This is n importnt point. It shows tht our mesure of wht it tkes to be rich is directly linked to contentment. You my hve $1 million in the bnk, but if you dig your neighbor s privte jet nd you cn t fford one, you probbly won t consider yourself rich. 2 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Informtion continued If you hve n expensive tste for vctions, jewelry, or crs, it s going to tke ultr-welthy levels of income to stisfy your hunger for luxury. [my emphsis. Andrew Lthm. https:// www.supermoney.com/2016/05/much-money-tke-considered-rich-us/] [Write this website on the bord: www.globlrichlist.com. Invite clss members to tke their smrt phones to look up the following site. Give them time to connect to the site nd to type in their own income. Techer, you will wnt to do this, s well.] Were you surprised by wht you found? How mny of us were in the top 50% of the world s welthy persons? How mny were in the single digits? Of course, we re tlking bout welth in the USA, however, the sme rticle points out: If you go globl, it relly isn t tht hrd to mke it to the top 1% richest people on the plnet. An nnul income of just $32,000 is ll you need. The verge lborer in Ghn would hve to work 200 yers to ern $32,000. This highlights the huge income (nd cost of living) gp between countries. Another study sys you re welthy if you cn stop working now nd, drwing from your present svings nd investments, live your current stndrd of living for t lest ten yers. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stnley-millionire.html] Thus, ten yers worth of svings would be much less for the worker in Ghn, but if they hd it, they would be considered welthy, reltively speking. Let s see wht our Biblicl text sys bout money. [Hve clss member red I Timothy 6:6-10.] Wht do you think the writer mens by there is gret gin in godliness combined with contentment? Wht is gined? The other dy, I ws visiting my prents grvesite. As I st on bench, funerl procession entered the cemetery. It ws very odd procession becuse, following the herse, there ws moving vn nd line of pickup trucks. I could lmost her my prents lughing converstion, Looks like somebody found loop hole. Yes, mybe you cn tke it with you. Although I ws very curious, I did not pproch the bereved to discover why moving vn would follow herse into cemetery. I think our text is telling the truth. We bring nothing into this world nd we cn tke nothing out of it. However, we often live s if the gol in life is to die with the most toys. Wht would it look like if this Biblicl text shped our lives? It is strtling wht we will do for more money or the things money will buy. Slve ownership, for exmple. Why did people own slves in our country? It ws ll bout finnces. Slve owners sometimes rtionlized tht life s slve in the New World ws better thn being free in Afric where there were mny tribl wrs. John Woolmn (October 19, 1720 October 7, 1772) ws North Americn merchnt, tilor, journlist, nd itinernt Quker precher. In his journl, he offers his thoughts nd experiences with slvery, including this: 3 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Informtion continued Another person mentioned the wretchedness of the Negroes, occsioned by their intestine wrs, s n rgument in fvour of our fetching them wy for slves. To which I replied, if compssion for the Africns, on ccount of their domestic troubles, ws the rel motive of our purchsing them, tht spirit of tenderness being ttended to, would incite us to use them kindly, tht, s strngers brought out of ffliction, their lives might be hppy mong us. And s they re humn cretures, whose souls re s precious s ours, nd who my receive the sme help nd comfort from the Holy Scriptures s we do, we could not omit suitble endevours to instruct them therein; but tht while we mnifest by our conduct tht our views in purchsing them re to dvnce ourselves, nd while our buying cptives tken in wr nimtes those prties to push on the wr nd increse desoltion mongst them, to sy they live unhppily in Afric is fr from being n rgument in our fvour. I further sid, the present circumstnces of these provinces to me pper difficult; the slves look like burdensome stone to such s burden themselves with them; nd tht, if the white people retin resolution to prefer their outwrd prospects of gin to ll other considertions, nd do not ct conscientiously towrd them s fellow-cretures, I believe tht burden will grow hevier nd hevier, until times chnge in wy disgreeble to us. [my bold emphsis] [Dougls V Steere, editor. Quker Spiritulity: Selected Writings. John Woolmn. The Journl of John Woolmn. New York: Pulist Press. 1984. p. 182.] Our forefthers were willing to enslve persons to benefit themselves. Wht re some wys tht we re still reping the results of their dulled consciences nd self-interest? Our ttitude towrd money is tied to our sense of contentment. How hve you delt with the question, How much is enough? John Woolmn lso noted of the slves: Men nd women hve mny times scrce clothes enough to hide their nkedness, nd boys nd girls ten nd twelve yers old re often strk nked mongst their mster s children. These re the people by whose lbour the other inhbitnts re in gret mesure supported, nd mny of them in the luxuries of life. These re the people who hve mde no greement to serve us, nd who hve not forfeited their liberty tht we know of. These re the souls for whom Christ died, nd for our conduct towrds them we must nswer before Him who is no respecter of persons. They who know the only true God, nd Jesus Christ whom He hth sent, nd re thus cquinted with the merciful, benevolent, gospel spirit, will therein perceive tht the indigntion of God is kindled ginst oppression nd cruelty, nd in beholding the gret distress of so numerous people will find cuse for mourning. [my emphsis] [Ibid. 184.] Some would sy tht 21st century Americns continue to enjoy lifestyle of luxury tht is supported in gret mesure by persons who re pid very little nd forced to live in poor conditions. Do you gree or disgree? Wht do you think Jesus would sy bout living wges? The uthor of this letter is not done tlking bout money, but he tkes brek to refocus on God nd godliness. [Hve clss member red I Timothy 6:10-12.] 4 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Informtion continued Wht is it tht the recipient of this letter is to shun? Compre the love of money with the things tht re to be pursued. How would these chrcteristics combt greed? Timothy is told to fight. Is this fight with n outside person, or is it n internl fight? Wht re the struggles we fight within ourselves when it comes to money? it s not the fight to overcome the best of the competition tht he s tlking bout but the fight to overcome the worst in ourselves. [Frederick Buechner. Gme. Whistling in the Drk: A Doubter s Dictionry. HrperSnFrncisco. 1993. p. 57.] If we re going to live godly life, including our wy of deling with money, there is fight we must hve with socil expecttions, s well. How would you describe tht fight? This pssge is counterculturl - much more so for us thn for its first herers It relly is struggle to resist the welthy wy of life which promises us contentment nd dmns others to destitution. The odds re overwhelming. Ntions pride themselves in protecting such contentment. Ntionlism luds our wy of life. Fith mens turning the bow up strem ginst the previling current. [Willim Loder. http://wwwstff.murdoch.edu.u/~loder/ CEpPentecost19.htm] The fight we hve bout money is internl in brodly spiritul wy, s well. Richrd Foster notes tht money is spiritul power: When the Bible speks of money s spiritul power, it does not men something vgue nd impersonl No, ccording to Jesus nd ll the writers of the New Testment, behind money re very rel spiritul forces tht energize it nd give it life of its own. Hence, money is n ctive gent; it is lw unto itself; nd it is cpble of inspiring devotion. [Richrd J. Foster. Money, Sex, nd Power: The Chllenge of the Disciplined Life. Sn Frncisco: Hrper nd Row. 1985, p. 26.] Now, the uthor of this letter sks us to tke ll our thoughts bout money nd plce them in front of God. [Hve clss member red I Timothy 6:13-16.] Wht hppens when we tke our thoughts bout money nd our feelings for money nd plce them in front of God? (the temporl melts in the presence of the eternl; in the eternl scheme of things, the love of money seems very petty; our entitlement nd hording of welth seems to be the opposite of God s chrcter; etc.) The uthor of this letter is not nti-welth. He does sy tht the love of money is the root of ll kinds of evil, but he does not condemn persons who hppen to hve welth. As we noted t the beginning of this lesson, our perception of whether or not we consider ourselves welthy my be bsed on vriety of criteri nd there will lwys be someone who is welthier thn we re. But, if we re finncilly worth more thn 90% of the world s people, we hve to consider ourselves to be welthy persons. The writer gives us who re welthy some spiritul instruction. 5 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Trnsformtionl Exercise continued [Hve clss member red I Timothy 6:17-19.] How does being generous ffect our perception of money? How does being generous ffect our spiritul life? Let us give with gld nd generous herts. Giving hs wy of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know tht they cn give. Just the very ct of letting go of money, or some other tresure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed. [Foster. 35.] Trnsformtionl Exercise One wy our life with money cn be trnsformed is to consider ll the pssges of the Bible tht spek of God s ownership of ll tht is nd of our being mere stewrds of God s possessions. [Distribute the hndout, It s All God s.] In the next few minutes of silence, red over these pssges nd the quottion from Richrd Foster s book. Consider how your spiritul life could grow with different perspective bout your personl welth. God s ownership of ll things ctully enhnces our reltionship with him. When we know truly know tht the erth is the Lord s, then property itself mkes us more wre of God. For exmple, if we were stying in nd cring for the vction home of fmous ctress, we would be reminded of her dily by the very ct of living in her home. A thousnd things would bring her presence to mind. So it is in our reltionship to God. The house we live in is [God s] house, the cr we drive is [God s] cr, the grden we plnt is [God s] grden. We re only temporry stewrds of things tht belong to Another God s ownership of everything lso chnges the kind of question we sk in giving. Rther thn, How much of my money should I give to God? we lern to sk, How much of God s money should I keep for myself? The difference between those two questions is of monumentl proportions. [Foster 42f.] [After some time for reding nd reflection, close in pryer something like this:] All tht we see is yours. All tht we think we own is yours. Free us from money s powerful hold within us. Give us generous spirits. Bless our generous behviors. Amen. Comments or Questions for Rick Jordn? You my send comments to the lesson pln uthor t rjordn@ cbfnc.org. Rick is lso vilble to led workshops nd conferences on Christin Eduction, with prticulr emphsis on how best to use the FIT Fith model. 6 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Digging Deeper by Tony Crtlege Digging Deeper is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. 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 Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Being rich in Ephesus The letter of 1 Timothy ssumes tht Timothy ws in Ephesus, which ws home to mny welthy people. Some of the richest lived in elborte terrced homes with lrge hlls, indoor plumbing, nd complex ventiltion systems designed to ctch the rising breeze. Spcious rooms were decorted with elborte mosic floors nd beutiful fresco pintings on the wlls (see below). The most luxurious home excvted to dte belonged to the high priest of the fmous Temple of Din possible trget of Pul s ditribe ginst those who use religion to pursue welth. Godliness nd contentment The word trnslted godliness is eusēbei, which is not bsed on root contining the word God, but speks to life mrked by reverence for God tht results in true piety, in sincere religion. The word rendered s contentment is utrkei, which crries the ide of sufficiency or contentment: of hving enough. The verbl form ppers in v. 8, where Pul sys tht if we hve food nd clothing, we will be content with these. The word lso ppers in 2 Cor. 9:8, where it is trnslted enough, s Pul wrote And God is ble to provide you with every blessing in bundnce, so tht by lwys hving enough of everything, you my shre bundntly in every good work. Pul used cognte form of the word in Phil. 4:11, where Pul sid I hve lerned to be content (utrkē) with whtever I hve. Ruin nd destruction The pursuit of welth is trp tht cn plunge people into ruin nd destruction, Pul sid, which is surprisingly severe conclusion. The words trnslted s ruin nd destruction re roughly synonyms, nd both imply destruction tht is both violent nd pervsive. Pul s piring of the words, s with senseless nd hrmful desires, serves to dd emphsis to his point, s does his use of the word trnslted plunge, which ws commonly used to describe ships or people sinking into the se. In ll, Pul hs drwn picture of people, weighed down by their possessions, who re destined to sink into se of ruin. Prosperity pins? One could rgue tht the predominnt culturl vlue (or religion?) of Americ the one we hve exported throughout the world is tht of mterilism. The desire for more possessions nd the use of things s mesure of worth seems to be endemic in our society. Esy credit mkes it possible to live well bove our mens through wht some hve clled rented prosperity. Wht re some of the mny pins tht cn result from living beyond our mens? How cn the pursuit of possessions impct our personl fith, nd the helth of our churches? 7 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Digging Deeper continued Pul nd virtues Pul ws fond of listing virtues to which Christins should spire. W. Hulitt Gloer notes tht other Puline lists cn be found in 1 Cor. 12:4-7; 2 Cor. 6:6-7; Gl. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:2-3, 32 5:2; 5:9; Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:12; 1 Tim. 3:2-4, 8-10, 11-12; 4:12; 6:11, 18; 2 Tim. 2:22-25; 3:10; nd Titus 1:8; 2:2-10. Lists from other writers include Heb. 7:26, 1 Pet. 3:8, nd 2 Pet 1:5-7. Gloer notes tht the list of six virtues in I Tim. 6:11 cn be viewed either s three pirs (righteousness-godliness, fith-love, stedfstness-gentleness) or s two groups of three with the first three directed towrd God nd the lst three directed towrd other people, s follows: 1. Righteousness (dikiosynēn), living in right reltionship with God nd others 2. Godliness (eusebein), wy of life tht is cceptble to God nd mkes God known to others 3. Fith (pistin), trusting God to the point of obedience 4. Love (gpē ), gpe love, tht is, self-giving love towrd others 5. Stedfstness (hypomonēn), the sme word often trnslted ptience, but here the focus is the bility to hold on, to persevere in the fith, not to give up, but lwys to be full of hope, even though ll the signs point otherwise 6. Gentleness (prupthin), either () meekness or humility or (b) gentleness, tht is, the qulity of not being hrsh or cruel in deling with others or positively treting others in kind nd considerte mnner. (W. Hulitt Gloer, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentry [Mcon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2010], 201-02.) Rel riches Did you notice how Pul uses vrious forms of the word rich in these verses? They ll derive from noun, verbl, nd dverbil forms of the sme Greek root, plouteō. We get the English word plutocrt from it, n unflttering description of rich person who uses his or her welth to gin outright power or to influence elected officils. Cn you think of modern dy plutocrts who use their welth to swy elections, pressure politicins, or work the system to their own dvntge? In Greek, the word cn crry both negtive or positive connottions. Pul first speks of people who re rich nd who put their trust in riches, but contrsts tht with those who hope in God, who richly provides us with ll we need for meningful life, nd who re rich in good deeds, building firm foundtion for the future. Which of these riches re most pplicble to your life? 8 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Digging Deeper continued Shring Studies consistently show tht poor people tend to be more generous thn the welthy. A study published by the Chronicle of Philnthropy (relesed Oct. 6, 2014) showed tht Americns who erned t lest $200,000 gve nerly five percent less to chrity in 2012 thn in 2006, while Americns mking less thn $100,000 gve five percent more nd the poorest Americns, with income s of $25,000 per yer or less, incresed their giving to chritble cuses by nerly 17 percent (from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ ktisvchuk/2014/10/06/welthy-mericns-re-giving-less-of-their-incomes-to-chritywhile-poor-re-donting-more/#1380f3165b6d). You my hve observed this relity in everydy life. Why do you think the poor re more inclined to be generous thn the rich? 9 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
The Hrdest Question by Tony Crtlege The Hrdest Question is designed to support The Bible Lesson by Tony Crtlege, printed in Bptists Tody. You cn subscribe to either the digitl or print edition of Bptists Tody to ccess the lessons. Plese lso ensure tht ech person in your clss hs copy of Bptists Tody so they cn prepre before the lesson. Wht commndment did Pul chrge Timothy to keep? Pul s forceful directive to Timothy in vv. 13-16 sys he is to keep the commndment without spot or blme (v. 14). Wht commndment did Pul hve in mind? Cn we know? Commenttors fll into two generl schools. Some think the commndment reltes to specific chrge tht Timothy would hve received t his bptism, or t lter commissioning service. It is unlikely tht Pul would hve known of ny prticulr chrge given t Timothy s bptism, for Timothy ws described s disciple who ws well spoken of by the believers in Lystr nd Iconium when Pul met him (Acts 16:1-3). If Timothy hd tken vows in the context of some type of forml commissioning service, we know nothing of them. A gift of prophecy hd been given to Timothy when council of elders hd lid hnds on him, ccording to 1 Tim. 4:14, nd in 2 Tim. 1:6 Pul speks of the gift of God tht is within you through the lying on of my hnds. These texts suggest forml commissioning nd recognition of giftedness. They sy nothing of Timothy hving mde ny prticulr pledge t the time, but there would hve been no point in lying hnds on Timothy if he hd not been chrged to fulfill some commission. Other writers believe the commndment Pul intends is generl summry of Christin teching tht Timothy hd received, especilly from Pul. This could include the chrge to shun greed nd pursue righteousness, godliness, fith, love, endurnce, nd gentleness (v. 11), nd to fight the good fight of fith (v. 12), s well s to keep wht hd been entrusted to him nd void the profne chtter nd contrdictions of wht is flsely clled knowledge (v. 20). Lter, Pul would spek of himself s hving kept the fith (2 Tim 4:7), which could be nother summry reference to following God s commnd. Still, the use of the rticle, of the commndment, could suggest prticulr commndment or concept so well known to Timothy tht Pul need not spell it out. Willim D. Mounce concludes, nd I m inclined to gree, tht the commndment is more generl, encompssing Timothy s commitment to Christ nd his ministry, commitment to prech the gospel tht included righteousness, godliness, fith, love, endurnce, nd meekness in contrst to the opponents techings, nd commitment tht demnded persevernce until the Lord returned. The commndment includes more thn ny one prt of the immedite context nd in fct encompsses it ll (Pstorl Epistles, vol. 46 of Word Biblicl Commentry [Grnd Rpids: Zondervn, 2000], 359-360). 10 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016
Hndout It s All God s Who hs clim ginst me tht I must py? Everything under heven belongs to me. Job 41:11 The erth is the Lord s, nd everything in it. Pslm 24:1, I Corinthins 10:26 for every niml of the forest is mine, nd the cttle on thousnd hills. I know every bird in the mountins, nd the insects in the fields re mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, nd ll tht is in it. Pslm 50:10-12 To the LORD your God belong the hevens, even the highest hevens, the erth nd everything in it. Deuteronomy 10:14 God s ownership of ll things ctully enhnces our reltionship with him. When we know truly know tht the erth is the Lord s, then property itself mkes us more wre of God. For exmple, if we were stying in nd cring for the vction home of fmous ctress, we would be reminded of her dily by the very ct of living in her home. A thousnd things would bring her presence to mind. So it is in our reltionship to God. The house we live in is [God s] house, the cr we drive is [God s] cr, the grden we plnt is [God s] grden. We re only temporry stewrds of things tht belong to Another God s ownership of everything lso chnges the kind of question we sk in giving. Rther thn, How much of my money should I give to God? we lern to sk, How much of God s money should I keep for myself? The difference between those two questions is of monumentl proportions. [Richrd J. Foster. Money, Sex, nd Power: The Chllenge of the Disciplined Life. Sn Frncisco: Hrper nd Row. 1985, p. 42f.] 11 Nurturing Fith September 25, 2016