FIRST BAPTIST RAYTOWN TIME MANAGEMENT, PART 2 MARCH 15, 2015
TIME MARGIN MARCH 15, 2015 PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying Luke 10:38-42 and Ephesians 5:15-17. 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 Brandon, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: God calls us to make the most of our time, prioritizing Christ and His kingdom over all else. TEACHING AIM: You need to make a conscious effort to prioritize your time, creating margin for Christ s kingdom and learning to say no to say no to those thing that are less important. 2 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. 1 Would you describe yourself as busy? Why or why not? At this point in life, what responsibilities, goals, or pursuits most strongly demand your time? 2 How do you allocate your time among these things? What values and priorities do you employ to do so? 3 What should probably be receiving more of the time you already have? What should be receiving less? When your margin decreases... We live in an incredibly busy world it seems like there are countless events, people, and pressures competing for our attention and time. Given that time is a limited resource, if we are not wise, these many competing pressures can overwhelm us like they did Martha. By looking at the example of Mary and Martha, we will see that God calls us to use our time wisely for His glory, creating margin for Him and His kingdom work. Your stress increases and your relational intimacy decreases. UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read Luke 10:38-42. Compare and contrast the two sisters in this story. What stands out to you about each? Martha assumed the main role as hostess. Perhaps she took pride in being an excellent hostess. In contrast, Mary was the quiet, 3 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 contemplative type and was seated at the Lord s feet, listening to His Word. The custom in the first century was for disciples, typically men, to sit at their teacher s feet. Because preparing a meal entailed much work, Martha naturally interpreted Mary s action as avoidance of work. Even though she was wrong, Martha s reaction was normal. Preoccupation with good things, however, can divert people from more important things. Which sister do you identify with more, and why? Why was it so difficult for Martha to stop and listen to Jesus? How are we like Martha today? How did Martha s busy actions affect her relationship with Mary? With Jesus? How do you schedule time wisely? Say No to many good things so that you can say Yes to the best things! While Martha made the wrong choice, Mary made the right choice, for nothing is better than choosing to hear Jesus words. The choice she made kept her focused on the truth rather than on the trivial. Feeding one s soul is more important that feeding one s body. There was plenty of meat and bread sitting right before her in the presence of the Lord Himself. What was Jesus reaction to Martha s interruption (vv. 40-42)? What was the one thing Mary chose? Why was it better? The one necessary thing was to be ministered to by Jesus. Jesus knew that spiritual nourishment was far more important than physical nourishment. Jesus commendation of Mary reminds us that our most precious possession is the relationship we have with God through Christ. Of all the things we need to prioritize, there is nothing more important than making time for our relationships with Jesus. There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. Charles H. Spurgeon 4 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 What different forms of busyness take over in your life? How do they hinder your opportunity to listen to Jesus? What are some good things you need to say no to so that you might make margin for the best things? Read Matthew 11:28-29. Do you have trouble resting? Why or why not? Why is intentionally making time to rest essential to our spiritual health? How might your walk with Christ suffer if you neglect to do so? Reasons we fall into the trap of being overly busy: Its easy to become busy with smart phones and tablets a touch away. Being busy for many people is a kind of high. > Have a volunteer read Ephesians 5:15-17. What might a close look at your calendar reveal about your values and priorities? According to verse 15, what is the first step to living a life of wisdom? Why do you think the first sign of wisdom that Paul gave was the careful use of time? Paul s charge for us to live in wisdom comes on the heels of the previous verses in Ephesians 5, which help us understand what lives changed by the gospel look like. Living in wisdom means taking every opportunity to glorify God and reflect the gospel to those around us. When we resolve to live in the light, we choose to pursue Christ above all worldly pursuits. Part of the reason we do that is so our lives will testify to others about God s grace, mercy, and love. Being busy is a status symbol for many people it makes them feel important. Being busy allows us to avoid dealing with life s really big issues death, loss, suffering, etc. We do not know how to not be busy. Americans in particular are famous for not knowing how to be unoccupied. - http://www.nytimes. com/2007/03/31/business/31shortcuts.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 5 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 What does it mean to be careful or look carefully when it comes to time and living? Why is it important to remember that the days are evil as we seek to use our time to glorify God? The verb rendered making the most of is literally redeem or buy back. Once gone, wasted opportunities can never be recovered. We are called to take advantage of the moments as we are given them. Foolish persons have no strategy for a disciplined use of time. Believers are to take care to use opportunities to the full because the days are evil, meaning we live in a fallen world that is constantly tempting us with ways we might waste our time. Knowing this, believers are called to steward their time carefully by prioritizing Christ and His kingdom and cutting back the time we give to lesser pursuits. What command did Paul give the Ephesians in verse 17? Why is this an example of wise living? Be very careful, then, how you live not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV How can we know if we are being foolish? Living under the influence of the Holy Spirit is the primary characteristic of children of light. Being filled with the Spirit also explains how we re to be very careful to how we live, the command that begins verse 15. This reiterates our need for the Spirit s help to live as imitators of God. How can we be more careful in how we use our time? What does wise time management look like? What does it have to do with God s will? The key is in not spending time, but in investing it. Stephen R. Covey 6 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 Would you consider an overscheduled person to be wise or unwise? Why? Six Reasons to Slow Down: APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 What is the greatest thief of your time? What are some ways we can be poor stewards of our time? In each of these examples, what is the focus of our lives? 2 What are one or two ways you need to steward your time differently this week in order to make margin for seeking Christ? 1. Busy becomes the fastfood that feeds your life. 2. Busy invades and then replaces human relationships. 3. Busy is contagious. 4. Busy creates and/or becomes addiction. 5. Busy becomes anger. 6. Busy promotes denial. 3 How might taking time for your personal relationship with the Lord affect the way your life is scheduled? Why are we so quick to let this go? Why is it so important? - http://www. huffingtonpost.com/cosmin-gheorghe/6-huge-reasons-for-slowin_b_5401508. html 4 How can you add more margin in your daily life? What does that practically look like? 5 How do we know if we are on the verge of being overscheduled? What can we dowhen this happens? 7 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
TEACHING PLAN MARCH 15, 2015 P R A Y Close in prayer. Ask God to help the group identify the weights and sins that keep them from seeing and seeking His kingdom. Pray that we would identify distractions in our overscheduled lives and focus on what matters most. Ask that as the work of Christ overwhelms all lesser concerns, joy and abundant life would be obvious in the people at First Raytown. FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information: > Try this activity this week: How has your overscheduling changed since this past week s study? Is there anything God s Spirit is prompting you to make more time for? What matters that is missing in your life? Intimate time with God? Intentional times of rest? What changes do you need to make this week to prioritize these things? > The challenge to memorize Ephesians 5:15. 8 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
COMMENTARY MARCH 15, 2015 LUKE 10:38-42 It is uncertain how this passage relates to the preceding material. Some have suggested that it is an example of how to seek eternal life (cf. 10:25 and 10:42). Others argue that it is a continuation of contrasts: priest/levite Samaritan; Martha Mary. Others see a literary relationship and the completion of a chiasmus in which in 10:27 we have (A) Love of God (B) Love of Neighbor followed by (b) Samaritan s Love of Neighbor in 10:29 37 (a) Mary s Love of Jesus in 10:38 42. Thus the love of the injured man (10:29) by his Samaritan neighbor (see 10:36) is now complemented by Mary s love/reverence for God and his Son. If the tradition found in John 11 12 correctly associated Mary and Martha with Bethany, this last interpretation is quite possible because Luke then intentionally placed this incident after the preceding materials. Notes: 10:38-39. According to John 11 12, Mary and Martha lived in Bethany, which lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The city is mentioned in Luke 19:29. A woman named Martha opened her home. The term opened or welcomed is also found in 19:6 and Acts 17:7 (see Jas. 2:25). The name Martha is the feminine form of the Aramaic term Mar and means mistress. Martha appears to have been the mistress in charge of the house. She had a sister called Mary. John 11:1 also mentions that she was the sister of Martha. Who sat at the Lord s feet. This was a disciple s proper place (Acts 22:3; cf. also 8:35). Listening to what he said. Listening is a durative imperfect and emphasizes a continual listening. She was listening to what he said (literally his word ). For the importance of the term word, see comments on 1:2. 10:40. But Martha was distracted. Martha also wanted to hear Jesus, but the tyranny of the urgent prevented her from doing this. By all the preparations that had to be made. The Greek is literally with much serving. The same term, serving, is used in 8:3; 4:39. Martha s service for Jesus got in the way of her sitting lovingly at his feet. 10:41. Martha, Martha. Compare 22:31; Acts 9:4; 22:7; 26:14; and also Luke 6:46; 8:24; 13:34; 23:21. You are worried and 9 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
COMMENTARY MARCH 15, 2015 upset about many things. Martha was too easily distracted by less important things. Compare John 6:25; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35. Ultimately such worries choke out the word of God (Luke 8:14). 10:42. But only one thing is needed. This is the more probable reading and translation. There is a need to focus on what is most important, for although serving is good, sitting at Jesus feet is best. What is better. Better is literally good, but in koine Greek the positive adjective (good) could be used for the comparative (better) or even the superlative (best; see Matt. 5:19; 22:36). Although there is a comparison between two things here, the superlative is to be preferred, for nothing is better than what Mary chose. It is best to sit at Jesus feet and hear God s word. What feeds the soul is more important than what feeds the body. It will not be taken away from her. The it has been interpreted several ways: she will not be forced to stop listening; the blessings of the kingdom of God or her heavenly reward will not be lost; she will be remembered in history for this. Clearly the first interpretation is true, but it is possible that more may be intended as well. Notes: Within this short passage is a clear emphasis on the importance of hearing Jesus word (Luke 10:39). The centrality of this theme is evident from the use of the term word, in the sense of the divine proclamation, over forty times in Luke-Acts. The one thing needed above all else is the proclamation of how one can inherit eternal life/be saved. For only by hearing the word, retaining it, and persevering can one be fruitful (see 8:15,21). To listen to Jesus as Mary did is the best thing one can do, even better than serving. One should not press this account into advocating a life of contemplation over a life of service, or of celibacy over marriage (see 1 Cor. 7:28-35). Nor should one see here a disparagement of the command to love one s neighbor relative to the command to love God. One serves a neighbor best when one loves God, and one loves God in part by serving one s neighbor. One other issue that should be mentioned involves again the great reversal. In contrast to common rabbinic practice, Jesus encouraged women to listen to his teaching and become part ofhis ministry (8:3). 10 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
COMMENTARY MARCH 15, 2015 EPHESIANS 5:15-17 5:15. A single verb form in Greek is translated by the phrase pay careful attention. Its basic meaning in the original was see or look at. Often it was used in the sense of consider or pay attention to or see to it. This general exhortation covers all the particular instructions that follow. Paul s concern was for believers to think carefully about how they walk. He had used this same verb earlier in the letter as a way to speak about lifestyle or behavior (2:2,10; 4:1,17; 5:2,8). The apostle noted two contrasting ways to live. One is the way of the unwise; the other is the way of the wise (sensible or prudent). God s wisdom has already been lavished on believers (1:8; see also 1:17; 3:10). Thus to live wisely is simply to live in accordance with the principles for success God has made clear through His Word. Notes: 5:16. Wise people make the most of the time. The noun translated time refers primarily to the opportunities or occasions that come our way. The verb rendered making the most of is literally redeem or buy back. Once gone, wasted opportunities can never be recovered. Thus we are called to take advantage of the moments as we are given them. Foolish persons have no strategy for a disciplined use of time. Believers are to take care to use opportunities to the full because the days are evil. Paul did not mean that his times were necessarily worse than other times. Though we may sometimes feel this way, our times are no more difficult a time in which to live a good Christian life than those of earlier generations. Until Jesus returns, spiritual forces of evil will be furiously at work in the world (see Eph. 6:12). All times are challenging for living as a follower of Jesus. Thus believers should beware of our natural tendency to fritter away time. 5:17. A second sign of wisdom is commitment to the Lord s will. It is a special mark of being foolish (which is essentially the same as unwise from v. 15) not to take into account what God has already made clear as His intentions and commands for living. Here are a few New Testament teachings that are specifically stated as the will of God for believers: To give thanks in all things (1 Thess. 5:18) To do good and thus put to silence one s persecutors (1 Pet. 2:15) 11 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown
COMMENTARY MARCH 8, 2015 To abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:3) These are aspects of what some Bible students call God s general will applicable to every believer. But what about His particular will for specific persons or congregations? (Whom shall I marry? Whom should we call as our next pastor?) Certainly there is such a particular will of God. For example, Paul referred to his call to become an apostle as God s will (see Eph. 1:1). When we believers have fully committed ourselves to following God s general will for all Christians what is plainly revealed in the Scriptures only then may we ask with confidence for His guidance as to His particular will for our lives. We may not find this revelation in chapter and verse. We will find, however, that there are Scripture principles that guide us. Furthermore, after careful thought, prayer, and seeking counsel of mature believers, we can discern with confidence God s will for a particular situation. 12 Time Margin First Baptist Raytown