Adult Teching Resources Februry 14, 2016 Trnsfigurtion Sundy Who Needs King? Pslm 99 Seson of Lent (Februry 10-Mrch 26) Who Needs Rescuer? Pslm 91 (RCL 91:1-2, 9-16) Who Needs Light? Pslm 27 Who Needs God? Pslm 63 (RCL 63:1-8) www.bptiststody.org Subscribe to Bptists Tody to ccess the core Bible content for this lesson. www.nurturingfith.net Find links nd videos relted to this lesson. 1 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016
Who Needs Rescuer? Pslm 91 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: Hve blnk pper nd pens to be used for the Trnsformtionl Exercise. Fellowship Question Use one of the following to brek the ice, to begin discussion, nd led into the study: Nme one item you use for protection from some hrm tht could come to you. Who is someone you re responsible to protect? Informtion We do not hve emotionl ttchments to most things tht we rely on for protection winter cot, toothbrush, n insurnce policy, etc. We feel more secure if we hve them, but if toothbrush wers out, we do not tke it personlly. When our protection is bsed on persons, however, we do tke personlly buse, betryl, or bndonment. Tody s pslmist wnts to ssure the worshipers tht God cn be relied upon for protection. Let s brinstorm things we need protection from. Wht comes to mind? (disese, hrm in n ccident, economic crisis, terrorism, etc.) [Distribute pens nd the hndout of Pslm 91.] As we listen to the first six verses of this pslm, listen for the imges the pslmist uses to illustrte God s protector. Circle the imges nd the verbs tht signify God s protector. [Hve clss member red Pslm 91:1-6.] Wht imges did you notice? (shelter, shdow, refuge, fortress, deliver, cover, fithful, shield nd buckler) Think of times you hve needed protection. Do ny of these imges spek to your sitution? How? If not these pictures, how would you illustrte God s protection in your sitution? The pslmist is confident tht God will protect God s fithful children from most nything, even if others close by re engulfed in troubles. 2 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016
Informtion continued [Hve clss member red Pslm 91:7-10.] A populr pstor of the 1960s commented bout this pssge, God is not n insurnce compny Men nd women, it just is not true No one cn blme the pslmist. His thought hd not proceeded further, but the modern [person] who hs listened to Jesus ought to know better He supersedes ll pslmists nd prophets nd poets, nd He did not sy to Peter, Peter, follow me! Your fishing business will prosper. You nd your fmily will be immune from disese. He sid to His men, All the evil things tht hurt other people will hurt you, nd on top of tht, men will persecute you But if you endure to the end, you will be sved. (Leslie D. Wetherhed. Key Next Door. Nshville: Abingdon. 1960. p. 103f.) Does this sentiment ring true for you Becuse you hve mde the Lord your refuge no evil shll befll you, no scourge come ner your tent. or is it just not true? We know tht good people suffer t times. How then cn we interpret wht the pslmist is sying? (Is he nive? Overprotected? So entrenched in the theology tht God protects the good nd punishes the wicked tht he refuses to see tht the opposite seems to be true t times? Etc.) Without doubt, the promises of Pslm 91:9-16 cnnot be spoken universlly, without qulifiction. The broder witness of the pslms, of scripture, nd of Christin experience tech tht God s disciples ber no specil immunity to evil. In fct, Christ s disciples re clled to suffer with the world nd to pick up their crosses nd tred in Christ s footsteps. (Rolf Jcobson. https://www.workingprecher.org/preching.spx?commentry_id=430) If we re not comfortble procliming wht the pslmist proclims, wht cn we sy with confidence bout God s protection? Consider the sitution of best friend visiting their bereved loved one. On seeing their friend, the bereved weeps in deep sorrow. The friend hugs the bereved nd sys, It s going to be oky. We re here for you. How might tht relte (or not) to wht the pslmist is sying? (Troubles will come to everyone. It s going to be oky does not tke wy or chnge the sitution, but still gives ssurnce nd hope. Etc.) [Hve clss member red Pslm 91:11-12.] This is text tht mny persons use to proof text gurdin ngels. There is theology bout gurdin ngels tht hs little to nothing to do with God. For exmple, there is populr website bout ngels (www.ngels-online.com) where one cn red testimony fter testimony of persons who sy they hve hd personl encounters with ngels, but sy nry word bout God. Wht do you think bout these stories? The fct is, we do not know lot bout ngels. According to the Bible, ngels worship nd serve God. God sends ngels to deliver messges to certin people. And, ngels cn provide protection. But we relly hve more questions thn nswers bout ngels. 3 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016
Informtion continued Billy Collins, Americ s Poet Lurete (2001-2003) wrote poem clled, Questions About Angels. [Ply the video of Collins reding his poem. http://bigthink.com/videos/questionsbout-ngels. The poem my be found here: http://www.poetryfoundtion.org/ poem/176044#poem.] Although we do not know lot bout ngels, ccording to the gospels, both Jesus nd Stn believed in them. Stn even used this very pssge in his infmous tempttions of Jesus. [Hve clss member red Luke 4:9-13.] Stn quoted this pslm, but Jesus refuses to fll to Stn s tempttion. Wht ws the tempttion Jesus ws offered in this story? The very fct tht the promises of Pslm 91:11 find themselves on the lips of Stn in Luke 4:10, shows rther definitively tht promises tht my be true in one context cn be ptently untrue in nother context. (Rolf Jcobson. https://www.workingprecher.org/preching. spx?commentry_id=430) How could truths from this pslm be tken out of context from the whole of Scripture? The pslmist concludes this song with more words of confidence, this time from the mouth of God. [Hve clss member red Pslm 91:14-16.] These re words tht cn give us comfort without lying on us the expecttion tht we must be perfect before God will protect us. If the erlier words re overconfident, these re more relistic. Where do you see phrses tht indicte tht even good people my hve problems? We re not told who the udience of this pslm is. Is it select group those who dwell in the shelter of the most high some scholrs sy tht mens those few persons who live in the Temple. It is directed to sints, priests, mybe even the king? Or, is the pslm written to broder udience nyone who hppens to be worshipping in the Temple? We re not told, precisely. However, The Bible Lesson writer notes, The pslm is not ddressed to prt-time believers, to persons who pry only when in trouble, red scripture when ferful, or prctice ritul spects of religion with little reference to fith in their dily life. Rther, it concerns those who consciously seek God s presence ll dy, every dy. 4 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016
Trnsformtionl Exercise [Distribute pper nd pens.] Jesus knew this pslm nd hd pondered its mening before his wilderness tempttions. More thn likely, his prents hd red this to him nd explined its mening. Imgine you re Joseph or Mry, teching your son bout this pslm. How would you explin to him wht this pslm mens in wy tht would guide him in difficult times? Write out prgrph or put in bullet points wht it is you would wnt Jesus to know. [After some time for reflection nd writing, sk if nyone would like to shre wht they would hve sid to Jesus. Close in pryer something like this: We trust in you, O God. When trouble comes, we hide ourselves in you. Give us the confidence in you tht this pslmist, nd our Lord Jesus, hd. 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. 5 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 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. He, or Me? The Hebrew text of v. 2 begins with first person verb: I will sy to Yhweh, or I sy (this) concerning Yhweh. The erly Greek trnsltion clled the Septugint trnslted the verb s third person, he will sy, nd this is followed by the NRSV, while NET begins with first person verb, s do NIV11, HCSB, nd NAS95. Note tht the reminder of the verse is lso in first person: My refuge nd my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Following the Hebrew text gives us first person speech in response to v. 1. This might hve been spoken by n individul worshiper, or through nother priest or singer representing the one who trusts in God. Old nmes for God When Melchizedek encountered Abrhm in Gen. 14:18, he ws identified s priest of El Elyon, or priest of God Most High. In God s ppernces to Abrhm in Gen. 17:1, 28:3, nd 35:11, we red I m El Shddi, usully trnslted s I m God Almighty ( El is generic word mening God: the plurl form Elohim ws used s stndlone nme for Isrel s God). The nmes were not lwys preceded by El: In tody s text, the text speks of One who dwells in the shelter of Elyon, who bides in the shdow of Shddi. A hpx wht? The term trnslted s buckler in v. 4 is hpx legomenon, mening tht it occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible, mking it difficult to trnslte. Becuse it ppers to be relted to the root concept of circle, it is often tken to describe round shield, or buckler. Treding on lions? Some ncient nd modern interpreters hve found the imge of treding upon lions problemtic, nd hve sought to emend the text so tht the words trnslted lion nd young lion could indicte other smll but dngerous reptiles tht could esily be stepped on. The Greek Septugint, for exmples, trnsltes them s sp nd bsilisk ( mythicl reptile htched by snke from chicken s egg). The two terms re good Hebrew words for lion, however, so stretching them to give reptilin sense is unnecessry. The point of the pssge is tht one who trusts in God cn step on dngerous cretures without fer including, perhps, resting lion lying cross the pthwy. Fire insurnce We noted in the Bible study tht loving God in hopes of receiving divine protection on erth is bsed on selfish motivtion. This leds us to sk if further if trusting in Jesus primrily to escpe the thret of hell nd find the hope of eternl life is not likewise bsed on selfish motives. Would we still serve Jesus, believing it is the right nd loving thing to do, if the hope of heven were not prt of the brgin? Tht s question worth sking. 6 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 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 does Pslm 91 relly promise? Although we ve ddressed the problem of interprettion in the Bible study, persons who re teching this lesson or simply seeking dditionl insight might profit from the following quottions from scholrs who hve wrestled with the sme question. Mrvin Tte, in the Word Biblicl Commentry, doesn t relly confront the conundrum. He speks of Pslm 91 s n enduring encourgement of fith, which sks us to respond to its ffirmtions we re chllenged to ground our endevors in trust in Yhweh, trust which will not fil nd which leds us long wy where we will see more nd more of the sving work of God until finlly our knowledge will be complete (Pslms 51-100, Word Biblicl Commentry [Wco: Word Books, 1990], 459). Tte then cites Artur Weiser s offering fine summry of the pslm. Writing when mn ws still considered to be gender-inclusive lnguge, Weiser emphsized the pslm s encourging spects: The hymn is sturdy comrde; its boldness nd unbroken courgeous testimony to God hs lredy enbled mny mn to overcome ll sorts of tempttions. By virtue of the soring energy of its trust in God it leves behind every erthly fer, every humn doubt nd ll inhibiting considertions, nd lifts mn up bove the depressing relities of life to the hopeful certitude of fith which is ble to endure nd to mster it. Weiser goes on, however, to offer qulifiction tht Tte did not include in his cittion, cknowledging tht the perfect protection we might seek is not gurnteed: True, the Christin s trust in God requires further rediness to submit to God s will, even when he hs resolved to del with us in wys other thn those we expected the venture of fith to tke (The Pslms: A Commentry, Old Testment Librry [Phildelphi: Westminster Press, 1962], 613). John I. Durhm, writing in the Brodmn Bible Commentry, points to the importnce of perspective when considering the bounty of blessing the pslm seems to promise. It is just here tht the difficulty resides, he writes, in the pslmist s dy s in our own. For the trust the pslmist hd in mind demnds perspective different from the one most men hve. It demnds belief in God s Presence which is sufficiently strong to lter priorities. It is the fith which our Lord so often commended (cf. Mrk 11:22-24; Luke 12:22-31), nd the fith which will chnge even one s view of wht the benefits of trust relly re. For the poet of Pslm 91, these benefits were bound up in delivernce nd security. For our Lord, they were bound up in the will of the Fther. For the Christin, they re the profit of selfforgetful discipleship (Mtt. 16:24-25) ( Pslms, in The Brodmn Bible Commentry, Vol. 4 [Nshville: Brodmn Press, 1971], 360). 7 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016
The Hrdest Question continued Finlly, Bernrd W. Anderson nd Stephen Bishop, in brief but helpful volume on the pslms, observe: The dnger of this pslm is tht it my encourge one-sided nd immture view of wht divine protection mens. In too much populr piety, fith in God offers n insurnce ginst trouble, nd pryer is form of mgic. Anderson nd Bishop go on to note the New Testment clims tht Stn cited precisely this pslm to tempt Jesus to cll on ngelic protection. Stn s test is insidious, they comment, becuse it is bsed on truth, not flsehood: God s fithfulness is indeed shield nd rmprt (v. 4c). But this truth cn esily be distorted, even by people of religious fith. It must be red in the lrger theologicl context of Scripture which shows tht, in wys pst our understnding, God s purpose embrces ll the ups nd downs of humn life nd tht in everything God works for good with whose who love him (Rom. 8:28) (Bernrd W. Anderson, with Stephen Bishop, Out of the Depths: the Pslms Spek for Us Tody, 3rd ed., rev. [Westminster John Knox Press, 2000], 186-87). 8 Nurturing Fith Februry 14, 2016