A Christian's Hope

“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.”
– Dalai Lama

“Hope is the dream of a waking man.”
– Aristotle

“To me, we're marketing hope.”
– Joel Osteen

Is a Christian’s hope different than regular hope? Buddhist hope?  Is hope important?

1)    Do you often think about or experience hope?


2)    When is it hardest for you to have hope?

(Colossians 1:3-6) We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in our prayers for you.  We thank God because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. You have these because of the hope which is kept safe for you in heaven. Some time ago you heard about this hope in the Good News which is the message of truth. This Good News is present with you now. It is producing results and spreading all over the world as it did among you from the first day you heard it. At that time you came to know what God’s kindness truly means.

3)    How can our hope be stored up in heaven?

 (Titus 1:2-3; 3:7) My message is based on the confidence of eternal life. God, who never lies, promised this eternal life before the world began.  God has revealed this in every era by spreading his word. I was entrusted with this word by the command of God our Savior.

(Romans 8:24-25)  We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time.  However, not only creation groans. We, who have the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts, also groan inwardly. We groan as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the freeing of our bodies from sin.  We were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen?  But if we hope for what we don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

4)    Is there any tension or contradiction in Paul’s letter to Titus and to the Romans? Can hope be for something certain and something unseen?

(Titus 2:11-14)  After all, God’s saving kindness has appeared for the benefit of all people.  It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world.  At the same time we can expect what we hope for—the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good things.

5)    So what is hope supposed to help us do? How might that work?



Some scripture on hope:

•    Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,
•    Psalm 31:24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.
•    Romans 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
•    Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
•    1 Thessalonians 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
•    1 Timothy 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
•    Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

6)    What does hope give us? Have you ever experienced one of these passages?

1 Peter 1: The God’s Word translation often puts faith as confidence. (3, 13, 18-21)
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! God has given us a new birth because of his great mercy. We have been born into a new life that has a confidence which is alive because Jesus Christ has come back to life. …

13 Therefore, your minds must be clear and ready for action. Place your confidence completely in what God’s kindness will bring you when Jesus Christ appears again. …

18 Realize that you weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed. 19 Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb with no defects or imperfections. 20 He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time. 21 Through him you believe in God who brought Christ back to life and gave him glory. So your faith and confidence are in God.

7)    What is Peter teaching us about hope?



8)    Look back at the quotes on the first page. How would you respond to those speakers?


9)    One more quote:

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” 

– Martin Luther King, Jr. 

What was Rev. King getting at? Is he using hope in the scriptural sense?

(1 Corinthians 13:8-13)  Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used.  Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete.  But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used.  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways.  Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.  So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

10)    What is Paul saying that faith, hope and love have in common? We seem to think more about faith and love… what does hope add to our lives in Christ?


Post script: The first question in this study brought up a not uncommon sentiment: "I hope I win the lottery." It reminded me of the story this fall of a man who won the lottery, then waited to collect. He lived his life as if he had not won it, though he had certain knowledge that he had. It relates pretty directly to how Peter and Paul teach us about hope, for we are certain of our hope, also. Here's the news story from USA Today.

Post post script: To some extent this study was inspired by this comic. it's a bit in your face, especially for our group that has some beloved members with terminal illnesses. But it's a good wake up for those not dealing with the temporary nature of this world, which includes me much of the time.

References:

• http://www.biblestudyguide.org/articles/hope/hope-heaven.htm
• Hope quotes
• http://bible.org/article/hope

Psalms and Politics

Image from the Sunday Drive Home blog

Adapted from Eugene Peterson studies on the psalms, particularly Where Your Treasure Is, using materials from Rev. Deanna Wildermuth.

After we read each psalm, let’s share what we noticed and what we might have had questions about. If we didn’t cover them already, then we can look at the questions.

Read Psalm 2
1)    Do you feel like the nations still rebel against the Lord?
2)    What is the comfort for believers here?




Read Psalm 14
3)    To us this sounds like atheism. Would it have meant the same thing then?
4)    Do verses 2 and 3 include us? Does this psalm tell us to do anything?




Read Psalm 46
Peterson writes about Psalm 46: “Healthy prayer does not withdraw. But neither does it confront. It is not so much a dealing with what is wrong with the world or myself as a way of dealing with God in the world and in myself. Evil (in the form of violence in the psalm) is dealt with indirectly: it is absorbed into the forms and ceremonies of prayer. Prayer frees us from the assault of brute experience by setting us in the energies of grace experience. In the process, violence itself is changed.”
5)    How do you think violence is changed through prayer? What are the “energies of the grace experience”?
6)    Psalm 46 starts with the opposite of positive thinking. How does the worst case scenario prepare us to say in the midst of the inevitable crisis, “We will not fear”? Does it change your attitude regarding violence and evil?




Read Psalm 62.
7)    If someone’s telling you to wait on the Lord, or to trust in God only, it implies you’re not trusting God only or not waiting on Him. What tempts Christians away from trusting ad waiting on the Lord?
8)    How can we balance the need to take action (being the body of Christ) with the idea of waiting on the Lord?



Read Psalm 77.
9)    That sounds like self-pity at the beginning. Is it okay to complain in prayer? What good does it do?
10)    How does the psalmist get out of their self-pity?
11)    Dealing with politics, it can be easy to doubt. Has there been a time that caused you to doubt? How did you deal with it?



Read Psalm 82.
12)    “Among the gods” and “You are gods”?? What’s up with that?
13)    (Might be too political) Verses 3 and 4 prompt the question: what role should Christians want our government to have for the oppressed and the poor? Is this telling us to do something for the poor and the oppressed?




Read Psalm 110.
14)    Might sound familiar. It was the most referred to psalm in the New Testament; quoted 7 times, alluded to 15.  Examples of texts: Matthew 22:42-45; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 22:69; Acts 2:34-35; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22. Also in the Apostle’s Creed.
What makes this psalm so important?
15)    Does this psalm refer to things that Jesus has already done, is going to do, both or neither?




Read Psalm 114.
Psalms 113 to 118 are used at festivals. For example, this song is sung before the Passover seder.

Peterson writes about Psalm 114: “Prayer that enters into relationship with earth and sky, sea and mountains plays. It skips and dances. We do not live in an iron clad universe of cause and effect. In the presence of the God of Jacob there is life that is beyond prediction. There is freedom to change, to become more than we were in the presence of the God who ‘turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.’ ”
16)    How does he get that we do not live in an ‘iron clad universe of cause and effect’ from this psalm? What might he mean? Do you agree?
17)    Have you ever experienced prayer as playful?

What We Are

Give a short talk for Lakeshore Fellowship's first family night. Parents meeting together while their kids are in middle school or K-5 ministry. The theme I was given was individuality, based on Ephesians 2:10.  I had the following Prezi:

What We Are on Prezi

Ephesians 2
We can believe this because it’s scripture. But, what’s the hardest part to believe? To really make sense of? (Small group discussion.)

Sir Ken 15:18-17:45
Ken’s big point is helping students find their element. I think of parenting the same way. How do we find out where our children’s greatest strengths are? Especially when we can see that it can make such a difference. From this I get both the idea that strengths are not always obvious and can even appear negative, and that this parenting thing is the hardest job.

Individuality
From despair.com, if you can believe it. But if you’re a Christian you actually believe this. Paul seems to know that it’s hard to believe because he writes…

Ephesians 5:1-2
God’s children, each and every one. And we’re supposed to imitate God as a parent. No pressure. 

Temple Grandin
Often when we talk about individuality we just talk about the warm fuzzies. Temple’s story makes clear the strengths and challenges. She has abilities that are rare and challenges that she has faced only through support. It’s one of the best parenting stories I know. (Small group discussion: what are the strengths and challenges you have to deal with?)

With your whole Very
Jesus’ pick for the greatest commandment comes from the section of Scripture known as the Shema to the Jews.  When we look at that passage from Deuteronomy, the connection to parenting is clear. Looking at the Hebrew language raises some alternate interpretations. Instead of the love God full out, pedal to the metal feel of most English translations, it sounds like loving God as come-as-you-are, for the long haul, and this prase that seems to sound as odd in Hebrew as it does English: love God with all your very. With your peculiarities, your extremes, your gifts and your problems. Very comforting to me.

Ephesians 6:18
How can we do this? Paul told us this, too. Through prayer and all together.

Community: one of my favorite images for cooperation. Because it’s hard, and because we’re only complete together.

Pray: Together for all of us.

P.S. Remember the “God has made us” part of “God has made us what we are.”

Work

Work effort activity job employment trade profession livelihood making occupation duty task undertaking

“Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.” – Voltaire

0)    What makes something you do into work?


Genesis 2:15-18

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man. He said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. 17 But you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because when you eat from it, you will certainly die.” 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”

1)    The biggest misconception about work is that it’s a consequence of the fall. What does it mean that there was work even pre-Eve?


Genesis 3: 17-19

Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’ The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat food that comes from it every day of your life. The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat wild plants. By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.”

2)    How did the Fall change work?

John 5:16-21, 36

16 The Jews began to persecute Jesus because he kept healing people on the day of worship. 17 Jesus replied to them, “My Father is working right now, and so am I.” 18 His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of worship, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father. 19 Jesus said to the Jews, “I can guarantee this truth: The Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. Indeed, the Son does exactly what the Father does. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. The Father will show him even greater things to do than these things so that you will be amazed. 21 In the same way that the Father brings back the dead and gives them life, the Son gives life to anyone he chooses. …  36 But I have something that testifies more favorably on my behalf than John’s testimony. The tasks that the Father gave me to carry out, these tasks which I perform, testify on my behalf. They prove that the Father has sent me.”

3)    Jesus and the Father have work? How is that possible? What does it mean about work?


Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

I accomplished some great things: I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. I made gardens and parks for myself. I planted every kind of fruit tree in them. made pools to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves. In addition, slaves were born in my household. I owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered silver and gold for myself. I gathered the treasures of kings and provinces. I provided myself with male and female singers and the pleasures men have with one concubine after another.  So I grew richer than anyone in Jerusalem before me. Yet, my wisdom remained with me. 10 If something appealed to me, I did it. I allowed myself to have any pleasure I wanted, since I found pleasure in my work. This was my reward for all my hard work.

But when I turned to look at all that I had accomplished and all the hard work I had put into it, I saw that it was all pointless. It was like trying to catch the wind. I gained nothing from any of my accomplishments under the sun.

4)    Whoa. What does Solomon discover about work?


Ephesians 2:10

God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.

5)    Is what we consider our work the work to which God has called us?


1 Corinthians 3:3-9

When you are jealous and quarrel among yourselves, aren’t you influenced by your corrupt nature and living by human standards? 4 When some of you say, “I follow Paul” and others say, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting like sinful humans? 5 Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to do. 6 I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because only God makes it grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work. 9 We are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field.

6)     What is the planting and watering metaphor saying? How does God interact with our work?


Isaiah 28:23-26

Open your ears, and listen to me! Pay attention, and hear me! Does a farmer go on plowing every day so he can plant? Does he continue to break up the soil and make furrows in the ground?
When he has smoothed its surface, doesn’t he scatter black cumin seed and plant cumin? Doesn’t he plant wild wheat in rows? Doesn’t he put barley in its own area and winter wheat at its borders?
God will guide him in judgment, and his God will teach him.

7)    What is something that you have learned about work from God’s teaching?


Proverbs

• 21:5 The plans of a hard-working person lead to prosperity, but everyone who is always in a hurry ends up in poverty. 
• 21:25 The desire of a lazy person will kill him because his hands refuse to work. 
• 22:29 Do you see a person who is efficient in his work? He will serve kings. He will not serve unknown people. 
• 24:27 Prepare your work outside, and get things ready for yourself in the field. Afterwards, build your house. 
• 28:19 Whoever works his land will have plenty to eat. Whoever chases unrealistic dreams will have plenty of nothing.

8)    What proverb would you write about work or what saying do you like about work?


2 Thessalonians 3:6-10

Brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we order you not to associate with any believer who doesn’t live a disciplined life and doesn’t follow the tradition you received from us. You know what you must do to imitate us. We lived a disciplined life among you. We didn’t eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, we worked hard and struggled night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. It’s not as though we didn’t have a right to receive support. Rather, we wanted to set an example for you to follow. While we were with you, we gave you the order: “Whoever doesn’t want to work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”

9)    Why would they give that order? How does it fit with the previous scriptures on work?


James 2:14-26

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”     and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

10) Deeds here is 'works' in the King James. Is this work in any of the senses we've talked about it?

References:
Biblical Worldview of Work by Kenneth Boa
Job Satisfaction and the Value of Work
Work by Steve Bishop
Ethics of Work by James Eckman

Image credit: Sean MacEntee @ Flickr

Habakkuk

Forgot to post this last month. Sorry!

This year I'm back to monthly studies for the men's group with no youth study.

20 Questions on Habakkuk

Habakkuk is a man of mystery, mentioned only in his own short book (nestled between Nahum and Zephaniah) and apocryphal writings. (A truly weird story that involves dragons and Habakkuk being transported to feed Daniel in the lion’s den.) He lived around the time of the Babylonian (aka Chaldean) rise to power (ca 600 BC), probably contemporary to Jeremiah and Zephaniah. His book has long been treasured for its style of writing as well as its message.

Read 1:1-11
1)    How would you put Habakkuk’s question in your own words?


2)    Have you ever asked anything similar?


3)    How does God answer?


4)    Is there anything today that feels like an injustice that God is allowing? How might that injustice be serving God’s purposes?


5)    After all God’s glowing description of the Babylonians, what do you think is meant by “So they will be guilty, because their own strength is their god.” ?


Read 1:12-17
6)    How does Habakkuk respond to God’s answer?  What new question does God’s answer prompt?


7)    What makes you feel like Habakkuk feels in this passage? How do you deal with it?


Read 2:1-3
8)    Habakkuk seems patient. What helps you be patient when waiting on God? Do you wait on God?


9)    What is the Lord telling Habakkuk in the beginning of his response? Does it apply to us in the post-Resurrection era in any way?
Read 2:4- 20
10)    How would you sum up the Lord’s response here?


11)    Is it an answer to Habakkuk’s question?


12)    How does it connect with the Lord’s first answer?


13)    What’s the relevance of this warning for today? Do you see any connections with the modern world?


Read Habakkuk 3
14)    Question – answer; question – answer; psalm? How is this psalm of Habakkuk a response to the question and answer session?


One question I had about the psalm was the beginning.
In Exodus 33:2, Moses’ final blessing begins: “The Lord came from Sinai. For his people he rose from Seir like the sun. He appeared like sunshine from Mount Paran.”
In Isaiah 63:1, Isaiah writes “Who is this coming from Bozrah in Edom with his clothes stained bright red? Who is this dressed in splendor, going forward with great strength? “It is I, the Lord. I am coming to announce my victory. I am powerful enough to save you.”
Edom is another word for Teman, and was known as the inheritance of Esau, south of Judah; the Edomites were traditional enemies of Israel.
15)    What meaning might it have had for the Jews to imagine God coming from the south?


16)    What other questions do you have about the psalm?


17)    Is there any description of God here that really resonates with you?


18)    One neat sermon on Habakkuk 3 talks about how this is a good chapter for anyone who feels like they’ve got a handle on what God would or wouldn’t do. How does this chapter address that?


19)    Have you ever been able to rejoice in the Lord in terrible times? Can you share it?


20)    What’s one thing you can take away from this reading of the book of Habakkuk?

Re RePeter

Note: occurred to me I never posted the modification of the RePeter youth bible study that we did in the men's group. It added some good discussion, and lead to the Go Forth evangelism study we did this month. 

Go Forth

Note: Our men's bible study this month was a bit different than usual. Instead of our usual digging into scripture, we went through the materials from Evangelism Explosion, which was a James Kennedy program for equipping his churchmembers to talk to people about salvation.  I asked the men to bring the scripture and personal connections to the topic.  As it is, this was way too long for an hour plus. But, going through the basics of salvation was clearly worth it, even for this bunch of experienced guys. I've added a couple of the scripture connections they added in parentheses.

Recent bible studies we’ve done have had a big message or discussion point about sharing Christ with others. Pastor Lee shared his Evangelism Explosion (EE) text and some of his experiences. From the text it sounds like it started as a visitation program to people who had tried Pastor Kennedy’s church.

Presentation of the Gospel
The two questions
1) Do you know for certain if you die that you will go to heaven?



2) If God were to ask “why should I let you into heaven?” what do you think you would say?


The big points. 

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

3)    As we go through these, let’s consider how we make sense of it, how we might explain it to someone else, and what Bible verses or stories it brings to mind. You don’t have to know chapter and verse – we’re just looking for connections.

A.    Grace.

• Heaven is free.
• We can’t earn it.
• This completely free idea is the only way it could work.

B.    Sin. Ps 53:3 “Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Matthew 5:48, 1 John 1:8-9)

• We are all sinners: thoughts, words, and deeds - done and left undone.
• We cannot save ourselves.

C.    God.

• God is merciful.
• God is just.

D.    Jesus.

• He is God and Man.
• Salvation is through Him and what He did.

E.    Faith. (Rom 10:9)

• Not acknowledging Jesus existence, his crucifixion or even his resurrection.
• Salvation is through Jesus alone. Knowledge, assent, and trust.

Two Passages on this:

Ephesians 2:1-9 You were once dead because of your failures and sins. 2 You followed the ways of this present world and its spiritual ruler. This ruler continues to work in people who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us once lived among these people, and followed the desires of our corrupt nature. We did what our corrupt desires and thoughts wanted us to do. So, because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else. 

4 But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. 5 We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness[a] that saved you.) 6 God has brought us back to life together with Christ Jesus and has given us a position in heaven with him. 7 He did this through Christ Jesus out of his generosity to us in order to show his extremely rich kindness in the world to come. 8 God saved you through faith as an act of kindness. You had nothing to do with it. Being saved is a gift from God. 9 It’s not the result of anything you’ve done, so no one can brag about it.

Romans 3: 21-26 Now, the way to receive God’s approval has been made plain in a way other than Moses’ Teachings. Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets tell us this. 22 Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ.
There is no difference between people. 23 Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory. 24 They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his grace through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin. 25 God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past. 26 He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus.

4)    What connections do you see between the gospel presentation points and these two passages?


Then what?
5)    In EE and Billy Graham revivals this is where they ask the person to make a statement of faith or pray the sinner’s prayer. What would you do with someone at this point?


Smoothing the Way
Some features of the EE method are to: create a transition to the gospel, earn a right to ask personal questions, find out where the person is, create a desire to hear the gospel, ask permission to share

Testimony

1 Peter 3:15 “Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect.”

• People argue doctrine; testimony is your personal experience.
• Chance to share what’s good now about salvation: fellowship, peace, love, forgiveness, new perspective, freedom in a real, concrete way.
• OK if you don’t remember becoming a Christian. Telling your own story with your own facts.

6)    How does being saved make a difference in your life?


Objections 

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 Don’t despise what God has revealed. 21 Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good.

• avoid argument, be positive, acknowledge truth.
• OK to postpone if it’s extraneous. “That’s a different question. What I was trying to say…
• OK to answer later. If it’s a relevant question, but you don’t have an answer, say so and that you’ll think about it and get an answer.
• Common objections:

• What about all the non-believers?
• God wouldn’t send anyone to hell/hell isn’t real.
• Why believe the Bible?
• It can’t be free/works must play a part.
• Atheist/materialist/agnostic/pagan.

7)    How do you answer these? What other objections do you hear?


Follow up. It’s about discipleship, not a single big moment. Works come in as a response to grace. A thank you.

In addition to the study, I brought this list culled from some recent blogposts, linked below, from a Christian writer.  I meant these for discussion - please take his notes with a grain of salt.

Cliches Christians Should Avoid. From 3 different articles by Christian Platt. See http://urli.st/zq7
I’m uncomfortable with some of these, but his full list (29 items long) includes some things I wish Christians wouldn’t say (like “God helps those who help themselves” or “God must have wanted another angel”) so they are at least worth considering and maybe answering. If nothing else, they show potential sticking points.  For the following: would you avoid these in talking to people about Jesus, or are they important to include?

“Can I share a little bit about my faith with you?” Too often, Christians presume we have something everyone else needs, without even knowing them first. Ask someone about their story, but maybe not the second you meet them. Christian evangelism often is the equivalent of a randy young teenager trying to get in good with his new girlfriend. When your personal agenda is more important than the humanity of the person you’re talking to, most people can sense the opportunism from a mile a way.

“Do you accept Jesus as your personal lord and savior?” Again, this is not in the Bible. Anywhere. And for me, it goes against the whole Christlike notion of the suffering servant. People tried to elevate Jesus to the status of Lord, but he rejected it. So why do we keep trying? Plus, the whole idea of a lord is so antiquated, it has no real relevance to our lives today. Be more mindful of your words, and really mean what you say.

“Jesus died for your sins.” I know, this is an all-time Christian favorite. But even if you buy into the concept of substitutionary atonement (the idea that God set Jesus up as a sacrifice to make good for all the bad stuff we’ve done), this is a abysmal way to introduce your faith to someone. I didn’t ask Jesus to die for me, and if I’m not a Christian, I really have no concept of how that could possibly be a good thing. he whole idea of being washed clean by an innocent man’s blood is enough to give any person nightmares, let alone lead them into a deeper conversation about what Christianity is about.

Are you saved? I’ve addressed the theological understandings of hell and judgment in other pieces, but regardless of whether you believe in hell, this is a very unattractive thing to say. First, it implies a power/privilege imbalance (ie, “I’m saved, but I’m guessing you’re not based on some assumptions I’m making about you), and it also leaps over the hurdle of personal investment and relationship, straight into the deep waters of personal faith. If you take the time to learn someone’s story, you’ll like learn plenty about what they think and believe in the process. And who knows? You might actually learn something too, rather than just telling others what they should believe.

Christianity is the only way to God/Heaven. You may believe this with your whole heart, and I’m sure you have the scriptures at the ready to support it. But consider the possibility that either those you’re speaking with think differently about this, or if they haven’t put much thought into it, that what you’re saying feels like an ultimatum or a threat.  Yes, there are texts to support a theology of exclusive salvation, but there also are some to support a more universalist notion of salvation (John 1:9 – “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”). And think about how such a statement might sound to someone who has lost a loved one who was not a Christian, at least by your standards of what that means. And theologically speaking, it opens up a whole Pandora’s Box in answering for the fate of all those who lived before Christ, who never hear about him, and so on.

Antidotes to the Clichés to avoid:

1. Listen more; talk less.
2. Stop trying to fix everything.
3. See yourself in the “Other.”
4. Pray.
5. Quality over quantity.
6. Share generously of yourself.
7. Be open to the possibility that you’re wrong.
8. Apologize.
9. Own your love.
10. Make sure your life reflects your faith.