These are the readings for this week:
- Isaiah 64:1–9
- Psalm 80:1–7, 17–19
- 1 Corinthians 1:3–9
- Mark 13:24–37
Prepare. Advent is the season to anticipate
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Advent 2017 - First Sunday
December 3rd is the first Sunday of Advent in 2017.
These are the readings for this week:
Prepare. Advent is the season to anticipate
the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. During the week, use this
guide as your preparation — both for daily personal study and reflection, and as
preparation for the Sunday gathering. The elements in this guide include: the
Sunday readings; space to respond to the readings; questions about the
readings; activities for group sharing; and a program for the Advent
celebration during the Sunday gathering.
These are the readings for this week:
Prepare. Advent is the season to anticipate
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Philemon and OIA
We're taking advantage of our three-week study of Philemon to add to the tools in our Bible study toolkit. We're going to be using a variation of the inductive study method (so-called) presented by Peter Krol in his book, "Knowable Word". The method is straightforward in its approach and very accessible to anyone wanting to learn to study on their own.
The acronym, OIA, stands for three steps in your study:
Observation - what does it say?
Interpretation - what does it mean?
Application - how should I change?
These could also be defined as "what", "why", and "so what"; or as "what the original author said", "what that meant to the original audience", and "what it means in our context".
While I generally organize my study a little differently than Peter Krol has presented it, I think we'll benefit from trying this out.
You can purchase the book, but Peter has kindly provide a summary guide that you can use as a reference. We handed out a few in class today, but you can print it from here.
The acronym, OIA, stands for three steps in your study:
Observation - what does it say?
Interpretation - what does it mean?
Application - how should I change?
These could also be defined as "what", "why", and "so what"; or as "what the original author said", "what that meant to the original audience", and "what it means in our context".
While I generally organize my study a little differently than Peter Krol has presented it, I think we'll benefit from trying this out.
You can purchase the book, but Peter has kindly provide a summary guide that you can use as a reference. We handed out a few in class today, but you can print it from here.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Some New Testament Prayers
This is the first post for the new Sunday Community study on the Disciples' Prayer. Posts for this study will be available sometime during the week for the following Sunday and may contain supplemental information for the study that isn't in the study guide. And sometimes they may just be placeholders where you can post comments.
This week, as part of the study you were asked to look for a prayer from the New Testament and compare it to the Disciples' Prayer. Here are some possible passages you could choose.
This week, as part of the study you were asked to look for a prayer from the New Testament and compare it to the Disciples' Prayer. Here are some possible passages you could choose.
- Acts 7:59-60
- Ephesians 3:14-21
- Colossians 1:9-12
- Ephesians 1:15-23
- Philippians 1:3-11
- Jude 1:24-25
As is true of every post, you are welcome to post a comment for me or for other members of the Sunday Community.
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Perspective.
I'm sitting at my computer this morning, and the sound of the rain is heavy on the metal roofs that cover the cars in the parking lot outside my window. "Lotta rain. A whole lotta rain." For a moment, the sound is pounding down on my perspective as hard as the rain on the roofs.
As the tribes of Israel prepared to cross the Jordan into Palestine, Moses preached the Law to them. In a passage on loving and obeying the Lord your God, he delivered these words: "For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:10-12 ESV)
I try to imagine how the Old Testament might read if the Willamette Valley was the promised land. For those who came west in the 1800s it was the promised land. Would the images of soil, trees, rivers, mountains, and sea have been the dominant ones? Would it have been a land flowing with fish and farmland? Would sunshine have been the asked for blessing? Or would rain have remained high on the list of God's blessings?
Sitting here at the computer, where the rain this morning feels more nuisance than anything else, I need a promised land perspective. My life is like the land that God cares for. His eyes are always upon it. I need to drink the water from heaven.
That's the perspective I need. With so much that I am thankful for on this day, I can add the sound of the rain to my thanksgivings. And relish the soaking it portends.
- Thanksgiving 2016.
As the tribes of Israel prepared to cross the Jordan into Palestine, Moses preached the Law to them. In a passage on loving and obeying the Lord your God, he delivered these words: "For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:10-12 ESV)
I try to imagine how the Old Testament might read if the Willamette Valley was the promised land. For those who came west in the 1800s it was the promised land. Would the images of soil, trees, rivers, mountains, and sea have been the dominant ones? Would it have been a land flowing with fish and farmland? Would sunshine have been the asked for blessing? Or would rain have remained high on the list of God's blessings?
Sitting here at the computer, where the rain this morning feels more nuisance than anything else, I need a promised land perspective. My life is like the land that God cares for. His eyes are always upon it. I need to drink the water from heaven.
That's the perspective I need. With so much that I am thankful for on this day, I can add the sound of the rain to my thanksgivings. And relish the soaking it portends.
- Thanksgiving 2016.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Creating Application Statements or How do I make a circle and spokes for Q3?
I want to expand the description for developing application statements given in Q3 of the study guide for Session 8 of Tales of the Sea. The basic idea is that once we've developed a biblical principle from the text, we need to consider practical ways to apply that principle to our life.
Application implies doing, even when that doing may involve our mental or emotional capacities instead of or in addition to actions we might take. For example, suppose developed a principle from Jonah's prayer in the fish such as "In all circumstances I can remember Who God is and praise Him." The doing for this principle might include a re-examination of my current circumstances in light of this fresh perspective. It might include a decision to start every morning reading a psalm, or singing a song. In this case, I've identified some mental processing, and a physical action as part of the application of the principle.
Sometimes it's a pretty straightforward process to move from a principle to application. If I'm reminded of the value God places on forgiveness and there's a situation in my life that requires my forgiveness, then extending forgiveness in the situation is exactly what I need to do. Having said that, it might still be difficult to forgive in this situation, so my application might involve actions that prepare me to do so -- praying for a forgiving spirit, talking to someone who can help talk me through it, considering the forgiveness I've received, etc. Application is generally not a one-time, there I did it, activity.
What about the situation where I'm not quite sure how the principle applies to my life, or I'm pretty sure I'm not considering the principle as thoroughly as I might. That's where the concept of the circle and spokes can be useful. The idea behind this technique is to take the principle and examine it in light of all areas of my life. The principle is written in the circle, and the spokes define different areas of my life. The most important consideration after developing the principle is figuring out "What are the areas of my life?"
In the study guide, I've given you three lists that are someone's approach to dividing up a life into areas and activities that cover the bases. This would be their idea of what the spokes should be. OK, so the first set is not just "someone's" approach, but Jesus' way of looking at the aspects of our being -- heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let's use that approach to work through the process of developing personal application steps from a principle we've discovered in the book of Jonah.
In the picture above, I've drawn a circle and spoke approach for the principle (1) Go where and when God calls me. The spokes (2) for heart, soul, mind, and strength have been added to the drawing. Now, I just have to do some serious thinking about all of this.
I understand strength to be about my resources - physical strength, health, financial assets, skills, etc. (Remember this is my list and yours may differ.) One of my conclusions is that I'm out of shape -- physically and financially -- to be able to easily drop what I'm doing to go a long distance from where I am, say to Nineveh. This doesn't mean I should just avoid answering a true call, but it does mean that there is work I should be doing with an understanding of the potential call to a really big life change. I can also see that I don't always fully engage my strength in my going now. (This blog entry could have been written on Monday, not this morning.)
Hopefully, you can see how moving around the spokes will surface related, but different application steps to consider for this principle.
And that is what the circle and spokes are all about. While you can use one of the lists of spokes from Q3, you may want to develop your own list. Or maybe you already have one that you gleaned somewhere else or have already developed. Just make sure the list is thorough when it comes to thinking about how, and where, you live your life.
Application implies doing, even when that doing may involve our mental or emotional capacities instead of or in addition to actions we might take. For example, suppose developed a principle from Jonah's prayer in the fish such as "In all circumstances I can remember Who God is and praise Him." The doing for this principle might include a re-examination of my current circumstances in light of this fresh perspective. It might include a decision to start every morning reading a psalm, or singing a song. In this case, I've identified some mental processing, and a physical action as part of the application of the principle.
Sometimes it's a pretty straightforward process to move from a principle to application. If I'm reminded of the value God places on forgiveness and there's a situation in my life that requires my forgiveness, then extending forgiveness in the situation is exactly what I need to do. Having said that, it might still be difficult to forgive in this situation, so my application might involve actions that prepare me to do so -- praying for a forgiving spirit, talking to someone who can help talk me through it, considering the forgiveness I've received, etc. Application is generally not a one-time, there I did it, activity.
What about the situation where I'm not quite sure how the principle applies to my life, or I'm pretty sure I'm not considering the principle as thoroughly as I might. That's where the concept of the circle and spokes can be useful. The idea behind this technique is to take the principle and examine it in light of all areas of my life. The principle is written in the circle, and the spokes define different areas of my life. The most important consideration after developing the principle is figuring out "What are the areas of my life?"
In the study guide, I've given you three lists that are someone's approach to dividing up a life into areas and activities that cover the bases. This would be their idea of what the spokes should be. OK, so the first set is not just "someone's" approach, but Jesus' way of looking at the aspects of our being -- heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let's use that approach to work through the process of developing personal application steps from a principle we've discovered in the book of Jonah.
In the picture above, I've drawn a circle and spoke approach for the principle (1) Go where and when God calls me. The spokes (2) for heart, soul, mind, and strength have been added to the drawing. Now, I just have to do some serious thinking about all of this.
I understand strength to be about my resources - physical strength, health, financial assets, skills, etc. (Remember this is my list and yours may differ.) One of my conclusions is that I'm out of shape -- physically and financially -- to be able to easily drop what I'm doing to go a long distance from where I am, say to Nineveh. This doesn't mean I should just avoid answering a true call, but it does mean that there is work I should be doing with an understanding of the potential call to a really big life change. I can also see that I don't always fully engage my strength in my going now. (This blog entry could have been written on Monday, not this morning.)
Hopefully, you can see how moving around the spokes will surface related, but different application steps to consider for this principle.
And that is what the circle and spokes are all about. While you can use one of the lists of spokes from Q3, you may want to develop your own list. Or maybe you already have one that you gleaned somewhere else or have already developed. Just make sure the list is thorough when it comes to thinking about how, and where, you live your life.
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