Adult Teching Resources Mrch 10, 2019 Epiphny (Jnury 6-Mrch 3) Not Your Typicl Techer Luke 9:28-43 Climbing Higher Lenten Seson (Mrch 10-April 14) Deliberte Devotion Deuteronomy 26:1-11 A Joyous Confession Genesis 15:1-21 (RCL 1-12, 17-18) A Hir-Rising Prediction Isih 55:1-9 A Stunning Invittion Joshu 5:1-12 (RCL 9-12) A Cutting Reffirmtion 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 Mrch 10, 2019
FIT Teching Guide by Dvid Woody Bible Bckground Then you, together with the Levites nd the liens who reside mong you, shll celebrte with ll the bounty tht the LORD your God hs given to you nd to your house. Deuteronomy 26:11 Tody, we begin the seson of Lent in the church yer. For our studies, we will explore four texts tht del with divine grce nd humn commitment. For our lesson tody, we remember how God ws reveled to God s people through the story of the Exodus. Opening After everyone hs rrived nd is redy for clss to begin, sk ech person to find prtner. Idelly, tht prtner will not be spouse. Ask ech person to shre their fmily s fith journey. Who ws involved in forming your fmily s fith story? Where did it tke plce, or in wht plces did it hppen? When did it begin? A Joyous Confession Deuteronomy 26:1-11 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. Wht were the mjor fctors or situtions tht contributed to the overll story? How hs their fith story (or lck of fith story) informed where you re tody? Give ech prtnership time to shre with ech other. Then, s time llows nd volunteers re willing, open the floor for lrger group shring. 2 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
Reding the Bible Wht will God s people tke in the lnd they possess nd settle? (some of the first fruit of ll the fruit of the ground) Wht re they to do with it? (put it in bsket nd go to the plce tht the Lord your God will choose s dwelling for his nme) Where will they go nd wht will they sy? (they will go to the priest, they will sy Tody I declre to the Lord your God tht I hve come into the lnd tht the Lord swore to our ncestors to give us. ) Wht will the priest do with the first fruits? (tke them from your hnd nd set it on the ltr of the Lord your God) Wht story will they recll nd repet? (the Exodus, vv 5-10) Wht will hppen fter the gift hs been offered? (together with the Levites nd the liens who reside mong you, shll celebrte with ll the bounty tht the Lord your God hs given to you nd your house.) Mking Connections Wht is your definition of grtitude? Wht is your definition of confession? How do both inform your reltionship with Christ? Wht gift(s) hs God given you? Wht hve you done with tht/those gift(s)? How does using those gifts enhnce your understnding nd reltionship with Christ? Our Lesson Writer sys, The tithes nd offerings we bring to church re likewise wy of cknowledging tht our lives nd our bility to ern income re gifts of God. Most of us del in csh rther thn crops, nd don t hve to wit until hrvest seson to bring n offering. Still, the idel is to think of our tithes s being the first fruits of our income. Do you think of your tithes s first fruits? Why or why not? Wht do you consider your tithes in reltion to this pssge? If you re sked bout your religious ffilition or experience, wht is your confession? Wht highlights of bullet points in your fith story do you commonly recite in your personl fith sttement? Our Lesson Writer sks, Wht is t the hert of our confessions? Whether we recite something like the Apostle s Creed or similr confession of fith, the focus is not on rules for living, but on our belief tht God in Christ hs intervened to deliver us from bondge to sin, to empower us with the Spirit, nd to bring us into the Kingdom of God. Wht is t the hert of your confessions? How do you respond to God for ll God hs done nd is doing for you? Is the wy you respond enough? 3 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
So Wht? Ask everyone to find their prtners from the beginning of lesson. Shre with everyone the thoughts from our Lessons Writer s we begin the seson of Lent, The beginning of Lent is n idel time to remember how fortunte we re, to confess our filures s well s our fith in the Lord who hs redeemed us nd to remember God s cll to show kindness to ll. Ask ech person to shre with their prtner their remembrnces of good fortune, confessions of filure, nd confessions of fith from their fith journey. Then, sk ech person to shre with their prtner wht they desire this Lenten seson. As time llows, open the floor for volunteers to shre, focusing on wht ech person in your group desires for this Lenten seson. As clss, ssign ccountbility prtners to help ech other chieve wht they desire during Lent. The Chllenge This week, sy out loud your confession of fith, either privtely or publiclly. Sy it every dy so tht it becomes fmilir nd comfortble. Pryer Loving God, tody with begin Lent. It s not the hppiest of times in the church yer, but it gives us time to slow down nd look within s you continue to mold us nd shpe us. As we remember the story of the Exodus, remind us of our own fith stories tht keep us close to you. Amen. 4 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
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. No creeds? One of the shrpest criticisms ginst the fundmentlist turn in the Southern Bptist Convention ws tht the doption of the 2001 revision of the Bptist Fith nd Messge sttement mde it creedl body. Southern Bptists hd no officil sttement of fith until 1925, when pressure from emerging fundmentlism led to the doption of generl but not binding sttement of beliefs. The sttement ws updted in 1963 fter nother controversy sprked by strong conservtives who objected to the progressive scholrship being tught in seminries nd published in professors books. Still, tht sttement declred itself to be non-binding, strongly ffirming the priesthood of the believer nd regrding Jesus Christ s the criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted. The 2001 revision included section clling for wives to be submissive to their husbnds, nd explicitly stted tht women could not serve s senior pstors. More to the point, the new document deleted the sttement tht Jesus should be the criterion for interpreting scripture. It ffirmed the priesthood of the believer only in the plurl ( priesthood of believers ), denying individul interprettion. Other revisions chnged the understnding of church utonomy nd soul competency. Finlly, the document declred its sttements to be instruments of doctrinl ccountbility which gve it creedl sense. God s giver The Hebrew verb mening give is ntn. This ws commonly used s nme mong the Hebrews, including the prophet Nthn (2 Smuel 7, 12) nd severl others in the Hebrew Bible. In the New Testment, Nthnel s nme reflects Hebrew roots, mening something like God gives. The plce the LORD your God will choose For mny yers fter entering the lnd, Hebrews worshipped t number of different sites, some more legitimte thn others. When the Northern Kingdom split from Judh fter Solomon s deth, King Jerobom estblished temples t both Bethel nd Dn. Shrines re lso known from Beersheb, Ard, Lchish, nd other sites. Prctices vried widely t these sncturies, however. Mny incorported polytheistic elements relted to the worship of Bl nd Asherh. One of the primry purposes of this nd mny similr pssges in Deuteronomy ws to insist tht the temple in Jeruslem ws the only legitimte plce of worship. Even there, ctivities nd furnishings reltive to the worship of other gods occsionlly intruded (see 2 Kings 23), but once clensed, it ws esier to enforce cultic uniformity t single site. Why, then, does the text not mention Jeruslem? Although written or edited by someone who believed Jeruslem ws the only proper plce to worship, the text purports to hve been spoken by Moses, who would not hve known where the cultic center would be. 5 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
Digging Deeper continued Thus, the writer hs Moses refer to the plce the LORD your God will choose s dwelling for his nme s euphemism for Jeruslem, where the Ark of the Covennt cme to rest in n elborte temple thought of s the home of Yhweh s erthly presence (see lso Deut. 12:5-7; 14:23-24; 16:2, 6, 11, nd others). Wndering? The word typiclly trnslted s wndering, vr, does not normlly hve tht mening. Its primry mening is to perish, to die, to be destroyed, or in some cses, to be lost. A strightforwrd trnsltion would be perishing Armen ws my ncestor, but tht would mke little sense in the context. Since the pssge ppers to contrst the settled life of Isrel in the lnd with the nomdic lives of the ncestors, trnsltors tke cue from the possible mening to be lost, with the extended mening to stry, which leds to wndering s the perceived best sense of the text. Armen? Both Jcob nd his grndfther Abrhm hd spent considerble time in the city of Hrn. Hrn ws originlly considered prt of northwestern Mesopotmi, but lter becme prt of Syri, known in the Bible s Arm. Jcob ws born in or round Hebron, in southern Judh, but fter fleecing his brother Esu of his birthright nd blessing, he ws forced to flee. Following his prentl instructions, Jcob trveled to the region tht ws clled Pddn-rm in Gen. 28:5-6, seeking both snctury from Esu s wrth nd wife from within the extended fmily. Hving spent most of his dult life there, Jcob could hve been considered n Armen when he returned. Corporte identity As we study the Isrelites ncient credo, notice tht ech worshiper would spek s member of the corporte community, pst nd present, s if he or she hd been there in Egypt, rther thn just remembering the ncestors. Wht? No lw? Commenttors often note tht the confession of Deut. 26:5-9 mkes no mention of the covennt estblished between God nd Isrel t Sini/Horeb, or of the giving of the lw. Despite the nrrtor s deep interest in the sttutes, commnds, nd ordinnces found in the lw, it is unlikely tht he composed the credo, which is focused clerly on promise nd fulfillment. The confession, probbly hnded down through the ges nd reflected in other texts tht joyfully recll God s mighty works nd delivering power, joyfully remembers how Isrel hd been oppressed, but God herd their cry, liberted them through displys of gret power, nd brought them to promised home. Tht God would hve certin expecttions of Isrel is given: inserting cluse bout receiving the lw would hve mde the confession more cumbersome nd drwn ttention from the centrl themes of promise nd fulfillment. 6 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
Digging Deeper continued Milk nd honey As nice s milk nd honey sounds, people don t generlly live on those products. In the text, they serve s symbols of the suitbility of the lnd s future home. Milk could not be bundnt unless the lnd contined sufficient grsslnds s psture for cttle, especilly gots, who provided most of the milk used during tht time. Such lnd could lso be suitble for growing grin crops such s brley nd whet. Similrly, n bundnce of honey would require the presence of bees, which implies lnd filled with fruit trees, grpe vines, nd other flowering plnts. Honey ws sign of fertility s well s sweetness. 7 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019
The Hrdest Question by Tony Crtlege Who wrote Deuteronomy, nd why does it mtter? 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. Our text is found in the book of Deuteronomy, which ws probbly written in two stges. Although the book consists minly of speeches ttributed to Moses nd n old trdition held tht Moses ws the uthor, criticl scholrs believe it ws ctully written much lter. Hebrew ws still developing lnguge in the time ttributed to Moses, nd the proto- Cnnite lphbet first used for writing Hebrew hd not yet been invented. The book reflects time when the people hd left their nomdic wys behind, settled in the lnd, nd tken up lifestyle of vrious grrin pursuits. Some scholrs believe n erly version of the book my hve been written by priests living in the Northern Kingdom, Isrel, nd brought south to Judh during the seventh century BCE, probbly fter Isrel hd fllen to the Assyrins. It is likely tht this erly version of Deuteronomy ws the book of the lw sid to hve been discovered by the high priest Hilkih during temple renovtions under King Josih. A reding of the book inspired Josih to hve its messge vlidted by consulting the prophetess Huldh, who ffirmed tht Judh ws in dnger of destruction due to its history of worshiping other Gods. Josih thus begn cmpign of religious reform in Judh, destroying both pgn nd Yhwistic worship sites, clensing the Jeruslem temple of elements representing Bl nd Asherh, disestblishing the work of Yhwistic priests outside of Jeruslem, nd reestblishing the Pssover (2 Kings 22-23). The prophet Jeremih ws ctive t this sme time. Themes nd lnguge found in the book of Jeremih re so similr to Deuteronomy tht t lest one scholr, Richrd Elliott Friedmn, hs speculted tht Jeremih nd his scribe Bruch could be responsible for writing t lest prts of the book, which ppers to hve been expnded during the erly yers of the exile, when the core of the book becme foundtionl for n exmintion of Isrel s pst reltionship with God (Who Wrote the Bible? [Hrper Collins, 1997]). Exilic theologins perhps inspired by Jeremih nd other prophets concluded tht the people s filure to keep the covennt outlined in Deuteronomy hd prompted God to discipline them by llowing the Bbylonins to conquer Judh nd crry its leding citizens into exile. This understnding llowed them to insist tht Isrel s god Yhweh hd not been defeted by the Bbylonins leding god, Mrduk, since Yhweh hd voluntrily sent them into exile. The messge from the pst lso offered hope for the present nd future: the sme covennt theology promised tht if the people proved fithful, God would bless them. Thus, the expnded version of Deuteronomy lid out specific ctions to be tken s mens of explining where the Hebrews hd gone wrong nd how they should behve if they were to become more obedient nd regin God s fvor. 8 Nurturing Fith Mrch 10, 2019