Adult Teching Resources Mrch 30, 2014 More Thn Meets the Eye Pslm 2 Forgiveness Pslm 32 Preservtion Pslm 121 Worship Pslm 95 Trust Pslm 23 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 Mrch 30, 2014
Trust Pslm 23 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: Before the clss, prepre to ply the recording of The New Pslm 23. Print copies of the hndout (Pslm 23 in KJV nd prphrse) for the Informtion session. Also, print copy of the picture of the Wdi Qelt from the online resource Digging Deeper The drk vlley to be used in the Informtion session. Fellowship Question Use one of the following to brek the ice, to begin discussion, nd led into the study: Thinking bout your lst vction, on scle 1-10 with 1 being very stressful nd 10 being very relxing, how ws your vction? When life gets crzy, is there plce you go to regin snity? Where? Informtion [Distribute the hndout.] Pslm 23 is the best known of ll 150 pslms. It is the plce we go to for ssurnce nd comfort. It hs encourged people to trust in God for thousnds of yers. If you hve ny Bible verses memorized, this pslm is probbly in your repertoire. Let s red it together from the King Jmes Version. [Red Pslm 23 together.] As you see, there is prphrse of Pslm 23 beside the KJV. These were the lyrics to song written by Rlph Crmichel in 1969. Let s listen to tht rendition. [This recording is pprently off on n old lbum, s you cn her scrtches on it.] http:// www.youtube.com/wtch?v=cj7njbmswvc Pslm 23 is Pslm of Dvid, who begn life s shepherd. Mybe this is pslm of reflection looking bck on life nd how God ws present in good nd in difficult dys. There re other pssges in the Pslms nd in the Old Testment where God is pictured s shepherd. 2 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Informtion continued [Hve clss members red Pslm 80:1; 100:3; Isih 40:11] In verse 1, we red I shll not wnt, which is understood I shll not be in wnt. The Bible Lesson writer notes, This is no promise tht we will never wnt more thn we hve, but tht we will not lck God s cre. [Tell story from your life or invite others to shre time when the Lord met needs nd demonstrted divine cre for you.] In verse 3, the pslmist declres, he restores my soul. God my restore our souls in mny wys. Wht is something tht restores your soul? (music, nture, time with loved ones, time lone, serving others, etc.) Now, the pslmist mke grmmticl brek. Up to now, God is referred to in third prty he, the shepherd. The pslmist tlks ABOUT God. With verse four, there is intimcy s the pslmist tlks TO God you. [Pss round the picture of the drk vlley from the online resource Digging Deeper.] The Bible Lesson writer notes, When Middle Estern shepherds tke their sheep into the summer grzing lnds, they often go into the mountins, nd there re no mountins without vlleys, plces tht my be deep in shdow nd frequented by wild nimls or thieves. We will lso wlk in deep, drk vlleys. All of us. Wht re some of the deep, drk vlleys some of us hve wlked through lredy? (deth of loved ones; deth of drems; loss of reltionships; loss of helth, etc.) These deep, drk vlleys re common to ll of us. Yet, we re surprised when we find ourselves in them. Why? The pslmist finds hope in the fith tht you re with me. The Bible Lesson writer notes, The pslm does not promise tht we will fce no hrm in the life, only tht we need not fer it. Philippins 4:7 speks of hving pece tht psses understnding. [ And the pece of God, which trnscends ll understnding, will gurd your herts nd your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV] Hve you seen persons experience this pece? Hve you experienced this in your life? Jesus uses shepherding imge in prble he told. Listen to this prble for how it my hve been informed by Pslm 23. [Hve clss member red Luke 15:3-7.] How might this prble hve been informed by Pslm 23? [Use The Bible Lesson to explin the two different sticks used by shepherd: the rod nd the stff.] 3 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Informtion continued Sometimes we need the Shepherd s club to protect us from evil. Sometimes we need the Shepherd s wlking stick to give us direction or even s shepherd would scrtch [the sheep s] stomch in show of ffection. [from The Bible Lesson] How hve you seen God s club/rod nd God s wlking stick/stff t work in your life? Now, the pslmist tkes nother turn this time of imgery. We go from the green pstures to where? (inside, t mel, etc.) Wht common themes do you see in these two different imges? (provision by God of food nd rest, protection, etc.) The pslmist speks of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. This my or my not refer to the Temple. Mybe this is continution of the host of the house ide God invites us to live in God s presence forever. How does this ide of God s the perfect host strike you? How do you imgine Pslm 23 my hve influenced Jesus fith nd work? Trnsformtionl Exercise Pslm 23 is considered to be one of the most beutiful poems ever written. However, even more importnt thn being model of gret literture, this lyric hs nurtured souls for thousnds of yers. It hs done tht becuse people hve memorized it nd pondered its imges. As they hve gthered to celebrte God s provision, they hve hd these words to spek prise to God. As they hve wndered through deep, drk vlleys, these words hve ssured them tht they re not lone God wlks with them. This week, I wnt to encourge you to meditte on this pslm. Ech dy, tke verse nd ponder its imges. Let God spek to you through different verse ech dy. There re six verses, so you cn begin tody with the first verse. On Sturdy, red through the entire pslm gin. You might wnt to write one verse ech dy on post-it note or n index crd, so you will see it through the dy. This pslm will nurture your soul nd restore your soul, if you will give it some time. [Close in pryer something like this:] Gret Shepherd, we re mzed tht you cre for us like you do. You provide for our needs. You wlk with us when we wlk in deep, drk vlleys. You correct our wndering nd give us cring embrces s you bring us home. Thnk you for these imges tht give us comfort nd ssurnce. 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. 4 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
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. God s shepherd in scripture The biblicl imge of God s shepherd is not limited to Pslm 23. Jcob s blessing of Joseph, from Gen. 49:24, speks of God s the Shepherd, the Stone of Isrel. Other pslms employed the imge, s well. In deep lment, the uthor of Pslm 80 cries out Oh give er, Shepherd of Isrel, Thou who dost led Joseph like flock (v. 1). On hppier note, Pslm 100:3 declres We re his people, nd the sheep of his psture. Isih of the Exile chose the imge of God s shepherd to spek words of comfort to his lost compnions, ssuring them of God s coming redemption nd future cre: Like shepherd he will tend his flock, in his rm he will gther the lmbs, nd crry them in his bosom; he will gently led the nursing ewes (Is. 40:11 [NASB]). The portrit of God s shepherd finds completeness in the New Testment, where Jesus took it s his own: I m the good shepherd; the good shepherd lys down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). Peter would lter refer to Christins s those who hd returned to the Shepherd nd Gurdin of your souls (1 Pet. 2:25, cf. 5:4). Yhweh The key to understnding the importnce of this pslm is found in the first word: Yhweh is my shepherd, the pslmist sys (v. 1). The Bible plces gret significnce on nmes, nd God reveled the nme Yhweh to Isrel. The pslmist does not refer to God in bstrct terminology such s The Lord (which is bout s close s we re willing to come), but uses God s personl nme becuse the pslm is bout personl reltionship between the pslmist nd God. While scholrs re divided on the Hebrew derivtion of the nme Yhweh (if, indeed, it is relted to ny other words t ll), the most likely suggestion is tht it comes from the custive form of the verb to be. God is the uthor of ll existence. As John Durhm used to describe God s explntion of the nme to Moses, I m the ws is, the is is, nd the will be is. I m Mister Is! Food nd wter The pslmist described vrious spects of God s cre, including the bility to ccess food nd wter. He mkes me to lie down in green pstures, the pslmist sys. Fields of green re not lwys esy to find in the non-irrigted res of Plestine. Becuse of the rid conditions, grss my grow only t certin times of the yer, or t certin elevtions. The shepherd s tsk in nomdic society includes knowing when nd where the grss is growing in the territory he is llowed to use. 5 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Digging Deeper continued So it is tht the shepherd wkens the sheep before dylight ech morning, nd leds them out to wht the pslmist literlly describes s fields of grss. Green pstures expresses the sme thought in more poetic lnguge. Once in the fields, the shepherd keeps the flock moving so they will not overgrze ny one spot, for the pstures will be needed gin. Sheep, like humns, need wter s well s food. When the dew is hevy, sheep don t need to drink, but s the dy goes on, fresh wter becomes essentil. In the brren reches of Plestine, wter is s scrce s grss, nd is typiclly found in fst-flowing strems. Since sheep re notoriously timid, running wter mkes them nervous. Sheep my refuse to drink from moving strem, even if they re despertely thirsty. Becuse of this, the shepherd must led the sheep beside the still wters, literlly, beside wters of rest. When the shepherd cnnot find pool or eddy where the wter is quiet, he my build temporry dm to crete pool of still wter. Where surfce wter is not vilble, shepherds resort to deep wells, where they must work even hrder to drw enough wter for the sheep to drink. On being sheep Medittive considertions: (1) Close your eyes nd put your imgintion to work. Visulize yourself s sheep in God s cre. Wht would it be like? (2) The sheep depend on the shepherd for everything. Ask yourself: In wht wys m I utterly dependent on God? Cst -wys Stories of sheep becoming lost or flling into dngerous plces re fmilir. Less fmilir is the phenomenon of becoming cst. Sheep prefer to lie down in shllow depression, becuse it is more comfortble. If sheep is prticulrly ft or hevy with wool, it my ccidentlly roll onto its wide bck, nd not be ble to get up. Sheep in this sitution re sid to be cst, nd will die unless the shepherd finds them nd crefully returns them to n upright position. Rightness, nd righteousness The word trnslted s right in v. 3 could men either rightness or righteousness. The min imge is tht of shepherd leding the flock on the right or pproprite pths to get them where they need to go. The shepherd is creful to do this, not only for the ske of the sheep, but for the ske of his own nme nd reputtion. Who wnts to be known s the shepherd who got lost? When the ppliction is mde to persons, it is proper to think of both right pths nd righteous pths. As we follow his leding, the Good Shepherd will led us in right pths to the plces we need to go, to the people we need to help. At the sme time, the Lord leds us to wlk righteously (though not self-righteously!). Those who follow Christ through pryer, Bible study, nd sense of openness to the Spirit s presence find tht God provides guidnce for both our direction nd our behvior. 6 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Digging Deeper continued More medittive thoughts The pslmist spoke of the shepherd directing the sheep to lie down for portion of ech dy. Does this text sy nything to you bout the importnce of the Sbbth, or of timely vctions? Cn you remember times when you hve felt tht your soul ws ll wrung out nd in need of restoring? Did you experience the restortion of God? If not, why not? The drk vlley Isreli tour guides often point to the deep Wdi Qelt where St. George s Monstery perches on its steep side s n imge of the Vlley of the shdow of deth. Cn we opt out? Some trnsltions begin v. 4 with Even though I wlk... (NRSV, NASB), which seems to suggest tht wlking in drk vlleys is only possibility, to be experienced by the unfortunte. The text, however, is open to nother trnsltion, for the word kî cn be rendered s when s well s if. Even when I wlk through the vlley suggests more certinty, nd is closer to our ctul experience. None of us cn void vlleys ltogether. The vlley of the shdow of deth The trnsltion of this term hs been the subject of much debte mong scholrs. The Hebrew expression uses the word for vlley followed by compound word tht ppers to be formed from the words for shdow nd deth. The most pprent, most literl trnsltion, then, is the fmilir rendering of the King Jmes Version, vlley of the shdow of deth (lso NASB, RSV, NIV). Other trnsltors red the word s poetic description of deep drkness. Thus, we hve versions rnging from the mild gloomy vlley (Jeruslem Bible) to drkest vlley (NRSV) nd vlley of deepest drkness (NJPS, modern Jewish version). Trnsltors of the New English Bible found wy to include both thoughts with vlley drk s deth. None of them sound plesnt. Coopertive sheep, or not? Pslm 23 is written from the perspective of coopertive sheep. Keeping in mind both vv. 3 nd 4, think on this: If I m unwilling to follow the shepherd on the pths of righteousness, cn I expect him to be with me when I stumble into pths of drkness? Cn you think of times when you hve felt especilly close to God? Did these occur more often in green pstures, or in the drk vlleys? Tble, or tblelnds? Some interpreters ignore the shift from shepherd to host in vv. 5-6, stretching the lnguge to retin the pstorl metphor. Phillip Keller, for 7 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Digging Deeper continued instnce, speks of the shepherd tking his sheep to the high tblelnds, where he prepres the tble by removing poisonous weeds from the psture (Keller, 105-106). Furthermore, he explins You noint my hed with oil s reference to the shepherd s provision of ointments to protect the sheep from flies nd infections (Keller, 114-119). This mkes impressive devotionl reding, but probbly stretches nd misses the point of the originl text. (A Shepherd Looks t Pslm 23, [Zondervn, 1970], 105-6, 114-19). Oily hir Literlly, the phrse mens you mke ft, with oil, my hed! Anointing oil ws often scented (Exod. 25:6), nd ws used to denote the choice of new king (1 Sm. 10:1; 16:13; Ps. 133:1-2), s well s to greet guests (Lu. 7:46). Oil is sometimes used in scripture s symbol of joy. As Job reclled his dys of blessing, he spoke of oil gushing from the rocks (Job 29:6), nd when Isih proclimed the Lord s coming delivernce, he spoke of how God would give the people of Isrel grlnd insted of shes, the oil of gldness insted of mourning (Is. 61:3). In prising the new king, one of the pslmists exulted: God, your God, hs nointed you with the oil of gldness beyond your compnions (Ps. 45:7, cf. Heb. 1:9). A hymn in prise of unity sserts How very good nd plesnt it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like precious oil on the hed, running down upon the berd, on the berd of Aron, running down over the collr of his robes (Ps. 133:1-2, NRSV). It is this imge tht the pslmist evokes when he speks of sitting t God s tble, being welcomed into God s extrvgnt hospitlity with the nointing oil of gldness. A cup of joy Wine, like oil, could signify joy (though the cup of wrth imge is lso common). Qoheleth spoke of drinking wine with joy (Ecc. 9:7), while both Isih nd Jeremih proclimed the loss of joy in Isrel by the imge of vineyrds tht produced no wine. According to John s gospel, Jesus first gret sign ws the turning of wter into wine, which brought joy to the guests t the wedding fest (John 2:10-11). The joyful effects of drinking wine cn lso be likened to the presence of God s Spirit, if negtively: Do not get drunk with wine, Pul sid, but be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). The uthor of Pslm 23 knew wht it ws to touch the Spirit of God. His life is sturted with the presence, the power, nd the provision of Yhweh, his hevenly host. As result, he celebrtes: My cup runneth over! Cn you think of other biblicl imges in which God is pictured s joyful host, nd Christins re invited? Does your church set side times for pure fun nd rejoicing? Cn you think of wys to help your church lern to celebrte? 8 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
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 it men tht God s goodness nd mercy shll follow me? God s goodness is here denoted by the very common word tôv. Tôv cn be used in mny senses, from djectives such s good nd beutiful to the comprtive better (s in Ps. 118:8-9), nd the noun form goodness. Tôv my hve qulittive sense (referring to tht which is plesnt or of fine qulity), or it my hve morl sense, denoting good s opposed to evil (Gen. 3:5; Amos 5:14). God is good (Ps. 25:8; 34:8; 100:5; Mk. 10:18), nd cretion reflects the divine goodness (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, et l), including humnkind (Gen. 1:31). The Lord continully blesses the erth with goodness (Ps. 73:1; 145:9), for which his people offer prise (Ps. 118:5; 135:3; 136:1). As God is good, God s people re clled to be good (Deut. 12:28). Throughout the Deuteronomistic History (Deuteronomy-2 Kings, with the exception of Ruth), Isrel s fortunes rise nd fll on the bsis of whether the people nd their leders choose to obey God nd do good, or to reject God s wy nd follow evil. Wisdom literture such s the book of Proverbs uniformly upholds the virtue of goodness (Prov. 11:27), even s the prophets hbitully exhort the people to do good, nd not evil (Amos 5:14-15). At lest one prophet took stb t defining the goodness tht is expected of God s people: He hs told you, O mortl, wht is good; nd wht does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, nd to love kindness, nd to wlk humbly with your God? (Mic. 6:8, NRSV). Living out the goodness of God is our gol, in sense, but God s goodness is lso stimulus to better living. As child is encourged in good behvior by the kindness of her prents, so the goodness of God motivtes people to be good nd to do good, seeking God s presence dy by dy. The word trnslted s mercy is chesed, specil word denoting specil kind of love, so rich in mening tht we hve difficulty expressing it in one English word. The bsic mening of chesed is love, but there re lso elements of kindness, mercy, nd loylty. The KJV often trnsltes with mercy or the compound term lovingkindness, which sounds bit rchic, but comes close to the intended mening (cf. Hrris, 307). God declred God s nture to Moses with this term: Yhweh, Yhweh, god merciful nd grcious, slow to nger, nd bounding in stedfst love (chesed) nd fithfulness, keeping stedfst love (chesed) for the thousndth genertion, forgiving iniquity nd trnsgression nd sin (Exod. 34:6-7, cf. Num. 14:8-9; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 103:8; Joel 2:13; 9 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
The Hrdest Question continued Jon. 4:2). Chesed, then, refers to the love of God in ll its richness, love tht is stedfst nd enduring. God s chesed is not only constnt (Ps. 42:8; 92:2), but lso eternl (1 Chron. 16:34, 41; Ps. 100:5; 106:1; 136). In scripture, perhps the clerest humn picture of this fithful love is the prophet Hose, who pursued his chosen Gomer with love tht ws stedfst, despite her less thn fithful response. I will tke you for my wife forever, he sid, I will tke you for my wife in righteousness nd in justice, in stedfst love (chesed), nd in mercy (Hos. 2:19, NRSV [Heb. 2:21]). Throughout the Old Testment, God pursues Isrel with stedfst love, despite the people s unfithfulness. In the New Testment we see Jesus, who goes the finl mile in demonstrting God s fithful love s he died on the cross. This demonstrtion of his love motivtes us to love him in return: We love him, becuse he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Like the pslmist, we re lso pursued by the bundnt goodness nd the stedfst love of God. As the lesson writer points out, these terms re often combined in the writings of those who would offer prise to God: Give thnks to the Lord, for he is good; for his stedfst love endures forever (Ps. 106:1; 136:1; 1 Chr. 16:34; Jer. 33:11). Becuse of love, God does not give up on us. He pursues us gently with blessings of goodness nd the ppel of stedfst love. The poet recognizes tht this is not brief chse, but life-long reltionship. As long s he lives, wherever he goes, God s goodness nd stedfst love will be close behind, tirelessly driving him more deeply into the joys of divine hospitlity. 10 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014
Pslm 23 KJV 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shll not wnt. 2 He mketh me to lie down in green pstures: he ledeth me beside the still wters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he ledeth me in the pths of righteousness for his nme s ske. 4 Ye, though I wlk through the vlley of the shdow of deth, I will fer no evil: for thou rt with me; thy rod nd thy stff they comfort me. 5 Thou preprest tble before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou nointest my hed with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness nd mercy shll follow me ll the dys of my life: nd I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. The New 23 rd Becuse the Lord is my shepherd, I hve everything tht I need. He lets me rest in medows green nd leds me beside the quiet strem; He keeps on giving life to me nd helps me to do wht honors him the most. Even when wlking thru the drk vlley of deth, vlley of deth, I will never be frid, for He is close beside me. Gurding, guiding ll the wy, He spreds fest before me In the presence of my enemies He welcomes me s his specil guest. With blessings overflowing, his goodness nd unfiling kindness shll be with me ll of my life, And fterwrds I will live with him, I will live with Him, forever in his home, forever in his home. (The New 23rd, Rlph Crmichel, Lexicon Music, INC., 1969) 11 Nurturing Fith Mrch 30, 2014