Class Lesson February 13, 2011

Hey Gang,

Last week we started our lesson series on the book of Hosea. Our opening question was this -  what's your definition of love? Many of you acknowledged the 3-types of love in the bible: Agape - meaning God's unconditional love, Eros - the sensual love we experience in marriage, and Phileo - the brotherly love we experience with others. The initial point of the lesson was that we tend to put these three expressions of love in separate boxes and God wants us to experience, understand and live-out an agape love in our marriages and in our relationships with others. One love expressed in three ways kind of like the Trinity.

1 John 4:16 says that, "God is love..." Marriage is ordained by God and illustrates His relationship with His people. There is no greater tragedy than the violation of these sacred vows. Hosea the prophet to Israel (Northern Kingdom) is commanded by God to marry an unfaithful woman (Gomer) in order to show Israel that they had committed spiritual adultery against the Lord and that their sin of idolatry was as painful to God as Gomer's unfaithfulness to Hosea.

In the movie Fireproof, Caleb is on the verge of divorce from his wife Catherine because he had loved other things when he should have been loving his wife. He doesn't understand the love he is suppose to have for Catherine until he comes to the cross of Jesus. His apology to Catherine is very telling in that this is the sin of Israel too - she loved other things beside God. Watch Caleb's apology below:

Caleb's Apology 

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Hosea demonstrated through his love for Gomer the kind of love God felt for Israel. This week we examine the loyalty that God expects of His people.

Moses said that God loved Israel because He loved her (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). God's love is totally of grace - that's what makes grace so amazing. God chose Israel in spite of what she was, not because of what she was. He knew her sin, her weakness, her bent to evil. God's love for Israel was not blind and neither was Hosea's love for Gomer.  Israel's response to God's love should have been humble gratitude, devotion, and loving obedience. However, it didn't take long for Israel to reveal her latent idolatrous heart. Remember what Kirk Cameron said, "In marriage the heart of my problems is the problem of my heart."

Give a little thought this week about what it means to be loyal to God. The tribes of Israel were unfaithful toward God, so was restoration even possible? Hosea 6:1-3 give the indication that it was if they returned to the Lord - what did that mean?

Are there behaviors, public or private, that you need to repent of? Do you ever find yourself pushing convictions aside, as if the small sins are not that big of a deal? Or do you sometimes see yourself just going through the religious motions to deal with the sins in your life?

Our lesson this week is from Hosea 6:1 - 7:2 and it outlines the loyalty God expects from each of us that claim to follow Him.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan

 

Class Lesson February 6, 2011

Hey Gang,

This Sunday we begin a new 4 week series entitled "God's Outrageous Love" all from the book of Hosea. As I turn to the book of Hosea I find myself in the final segment of the Old Testament with the writings of those called the "minor prophets." Of course, it isn't their message that is minor, it's just that their books are shorter and more focused. Hosea's prophesy is  considered a "living parable," in other words, he is called to live out his message. His prophesy is also called a love story, not the silly, "love ya' man" or "baby, I need your lovin" kind of love, I'm talking about God's unconditional kind of love. Hosea demonstrates for us the very depth and magnitude of God's love for Israel and for us as we read and learn how God Loves the Unlovely. The song "Your Grace Still Amazes Me" comes to my mind as I read this story.

The first time God spoke to Hosea...

The book of Hosea contains no preface aside from the opening sentence or two. There is no wading into this pool - we immediately jump off the deep end and the interesting thing is that Hosea does too. Think about this, here's a godly man, minding his own business when suddenly, he hears a command from the Lord! And what a command, you can almost see Hosea saying, "You want me to do what?" This reminds me of Bill Cosby's portrayal of Noah when God first spoke to him about building an ark. Watch it below and see if you agree:

Bill Cosby's Noah 

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If you thought Noah's command was strange, imagine what it must have been like for Hosea when his first message from God was to go, find a prostitute, and marry her! For Hosea to say, "Who is this really?" wouldn't have been an unreasonable question for him to ask. However, here's the difference, Hosea recognized the voice of God and he responds, not as Bill Cosby might have imagined, but in an immediate, humble obedience. God spoke - Hosea obeyed. You can hardly begin reading this book and you see that "Hosea did it." If I push everything back for a moment, before plunging into the rest of this story, I have to stop and marvel at Hosea's ability to hear, recognize and then obey the voice of God, even though what he has heard must seem highly unreasonable and questionable. This is rather remarkable, don't you think?

How can a child who is given an abundance of love, mercy, and grace treat a Father with so much disrespect?

Hosea is also a story of family troubles, and family relationships are always the most sensitive of our experiences. The primary family relationships are marriage and parenthood. Unfaithfulness in a marriage is one of life's most bitter betrayals and destroys the bond of love and trust. Dishonor of parents by their children is one of the most painful and destructive experiences for parents and children. The book of Hosea uses both of these traumatic family relations to communicate the pain to God caused by human sin. God pictures Himself like a husband to Israel and later as a dishonored Father. This dark side of our sin shows the seriousness of sin against God; it's like being unfaithful to a loving and trusting spouse, or dishonoring the parents who gave you life and love. 

We will see a powerful love and a painful betrayal in this story. We will see the beauty of marital sex and we will see the dirty side of sex in the marketplace. We will see the anger of God as He declares the coming destruction as a result of their sin, and we will see God's mercy as He promises restoration. There's nothing in Hosea that lends itself to a relaxing late night read before bed - this book is an emotional roller coaster. God is truly the God of Second Chances!

So, sit back in your chair and quietly tip toe into the book of Hosea as we begin with God's Outrageous Command in Hosea 1:2-3 and then His Severe Indictment in chapter 1:4-9 and finally His Miraculous Grace in chapter 3:1-5. This book is for adults only!

Hope to see you Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan

 

 
 

Class Lesson January 30, 2011

Hey Gang,

Last week we had a great discussion on sacrifice and the radical road it becomes when we move from gift to demand or salvation to discipleship. David Platt opened our eyes to what Jesus called followers to in His day and our day should be the same. Jesus said that those who follow Him will leave behind security, money, convenience, and even family for Him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

But Who Do You Know

Who Lives Like That? Do You?

Radical 

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This week we finish our 5 week series on The Roads Less Traveled with a lesson on meditation. Now a lot of people hear meditation and they immediately think of cults and Eastern religious teachings like Buddhist followers with their legs crossed in a pretzel formation and their hands out as they repeat a mantra. They think, this has no place in a Christians life. Some people are just very active, so quiet times of meditation don't fit well with them. Are you someone that has trouble staying focused with quiet Bible reading, do you fall asleep or find yourself easily distracted? Christian meditation is a spiritual discipline that is very much needed for the journey of discipleship. In order to receive its blessing, we must build into our daily schedules a time set aside for the meditation made possible by listening to God as He speaks to us through His Word and we speak to Him in prayer. 

SHH H

 

Ponder these thoughts: Why is silence so hard to deal with? Do you ever surround yourself with noise intentionally? If so, why do you think we do this? Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." If I'm not still, and if I don't listen, how is Jesus going to give me rest? When was the last time you spent some time in silence? We will see and experience this week the practice of meditation as expressed in the Psalms and by Jesus. Psalm 19:14 is one of the most memorable uses of meditation, it says, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer."

Come to class this Sunday with a quiet spirit and with the expectation of connecting with God through meditation and prayer - you won't need a prayer pillow, the Baptist chairs will do just fine. We will be quietly meditating through Psalm 119:11-16; Mark 1:35-39; and Psalm 1:1-3. Please no televisions, cell phones or iPods this week!

Hope everyone has a blessed rest of the week as we prepare to hear and meet God in the silence of our meditation on Sunday.

In His Love,

David & Susan

Class Lesson January 23, 2011

Hey Gang,

Last week's lesson on service was pretty eye opening with Rob Bell's video on just how blessed America really is and the fact that God has blessed each of us for a reason - so that we will bless others, especially those in need. Now if you didn't get to see the video, you can watch it below by clicking on the link.

God Bless America - He Has

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We have been saved to do good works, the Bible says, and the evidence of our faith is not our talk but our walk - it's the action we commit to in serving others. Our lesson pointed out that serving is not a do-good-to-feel-good action for followers of Christ; it's a way of life. Now, maybe you are beginning to think that there's a good reason why these roads are so less traveled. Maybe you are beginning to think that what started as 5 separate roads are intertwined so much that maybe they are all ways of walking down the same road - Jesus said it's a narrow road and that few will travel it. We began this journey together in community, which was God's design for us to travel. We learned as we walked along that humility is the best way to travel this road in order to help ourselves and to help others in and out of our community. You might even have heard along the way that this life journey you are on is not about YOU, imagine that. Those of you that are walking this new road of humility are the ones with the greatest means of serving God and others, but it will require a sacrifice and that's our lesson this week.

Maybe now you are thinking, "Can I stop here and not go any farther?" The answer is NO, you have to finish the walk. Well look, sacrifice - that's one of those ancient principles that's not really logical or practical today, I mean think about it. Or maybe you're thinking, I plan on sacrificing to follow Jesus when I don't have so many other responsibilities. Hey, I donate some money and time; surely that's enough. Or how about this, I have too much to lose to commit myself fully to Christ - yea that's it...too much to lose. OK I know that didn't sound very good, so what this sacrifice going to require of me - the short answer is E V E R Y T H I N G.  Now, you've heard this before, so stay with me here.

We will begin in Luke 9:23-24, 57-62 and see how Jesus defines sacrifice. You should question what it really means to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ? Why? Because Jesus says that you must do these things to follow Him. You should also question how serious Jesus is about your relationship with Him and your family. We will then take a look at Luke 21:1-4 and see how sacrifice is best demonstrated. You will probably begin to question what you already give. And finally we will hear from Paul in Romans 12:1-2 on how we should repeat our sacrifice daily in hopes that it will transform each of us by the renewing of our minds. 

This will be the hardest road we have traveled, in fact I'm not sure any of us have been down this road before - it's a difficult road to walk. You see, salvation includes gift and demand. It comes through God's grace; it includes the obligation of ethical living that reflects Christ's character. When it comes to sacrifice, how can we discover that the hard is what makes it great?

Now if you're thinking about sleeping in this Sunday - I wouldn't do that! Stay on the road and let's see where it leads. This lesson is not for the faint at heart, but it is for the heart! Remember Elton John's song Sacrifice? I'll close with his video and pray we don't see sacrifice - just a simple word.

Sacrifice 

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I hope that everyone has had a blessed week and that you are preparing for Sunday's message from God's Word.

In His Love,

David & Susan

Class Lesson January 16, 2011

Hey Gang,

Well, we have traveled down two of our five "Roads Less Traveled" lessons on Community and Humility. Remember these are spiritual disciplines that promise to make a difference in our walk with God, our growth in faith and our fruitfulness in God's kingdom. When I think about last week's lesson on humility, the first four words in Rick Warren's book  The Purpose Driven Life come to my mind, remember what they were?   ---  "_____   ______   ________   ________"

Here is the answer: "It's Not About You"

Did you remember that? Did you know that if you really grasp the meaning of just these four words that it would completely change your entire life and your relationship with every one you encounter. Did you know that if you really understood just these four words that you would gladly, without hesitation travel down each one of these five roads less traveled.

Remember the roads...

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverge into the wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by

and it made all the difference

This week we travel down the road of Service and it too is a lonely road. Our lesson this Sunday is entitled "A Lifestyle of Service."  It's important to note that Humility and service go together. When we are humble, we tend to serve others. The greatest people are those who serve others in Christ's name, not those with worldly power. 

There's a bumper sticker that's very popular in this country, it says, "God Bless America." When you see this bumper sticker don't you think that,  God has. God has blessed America. Don't you think that you've been richly blessed? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 begins with "...Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth,..." Now I always assumed this verse was for somebody else, I mean, specifically somebody rich. If you read on it says, "...which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,..." That phrase, the God who richly provides us with everything - all that we have is a gift. Think about it, Food - gift. Clothes - gift. Roof - gift. That breath that you just took - it's a gift. Do you believe this, that everything you own is in some way a gift from God? Everything?

The first Christians picked up on this in a letter called Ephesians. One of them wrote that we're saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ in order to do "mitzvoth," in order to do good deeds. We're saved to do good works. And so we're commanded to do "mitzvoth" and to be generous and willing to share. Are you a generous person? With your money? Your time? Your stuff? If God has blessed us so richly then why is the road of service (blessing others) so less traveled. Why do people with so much still want to be served rather than serve. Maybe we just don't want to spend time serving in menial ways - we are saving up for the more important jobs. Or maybe we know we should serve in some way and help someone but we can't seem to fit it in with everything else going on in our life. And then some of us may actually feel that the poor and homeless choose to be this way, so who am I to change that.

This week's lesson will redefine greatness and explain to us that every day we have an opportunity to be and do great things, but once again, it's not about you! Jesus will say whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Jesus will also challenge you this week to consider the talents (gifts) that you have been given - what are you doing with them? You and I will be held accountable for these gifts and how we served or blessed the least of these.

Be in prayer this week for the following:

Dunaways - pray for Justin as he starts back to Clemson. Joshua for wisdom about a relationship. Sheila has an unspoken requests and also continued healing from illness.

Thomas' - Pray for Suzie Mefferd in the loss of her Dad. Pray for Megan and Kasey as they begin the planning process of wedding.

Scheesers - Please continue to pray for our daughter, Allison and her healing following her surgery.

I hope you all have a blessed rest of the week as we prepare to hear God's word Sunday on how we should seize every opportunity to serve the least of these among us each day.

See you Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan

Class Lesson January 9, 2011

Hey Gang,

Last Sunday we began a 5-week series on "The Roads Less Traveled" taken from Robert Frost's poem:

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference.

This could also be called our "Ventura Highway" series for those of you that remember this epic tune. Anyway our series lists these "roads less traveled" as disciplines in our Christian life to be followed. Chewin' on a piece of grass walkin' down the road, tell me how long you gonna stay here Joe, I'm sorry where was I, OK so, if we will commit to venture down these less traveled roads - our choice will make all the difference in our spiritual growth, our walk with God, and our fruitfulness in God's kingdom. This sounds like a worthy lists of New Year resolutions to me, think about it - I will mature in my faith, grow in a closer walk with God and become more useful in His kingdom ... I'm motivated - how about you?

Last week we began with the road of community. Now the church is a community of Christian faith, hope, and love. The church has some things in common that help bind the group of people together, but there are also differences that exists within the church like spiritual gifts, ages, cultures, and levels of maturity in faith. Paul taught us last week the importance of unity within the church, of oneness amongst the body of believers and that our diversity is one way we grow as Christians - by learning how to love other people that have different gifts, opinions, maturity levels, and perspectives than ours - this is how we learn. You see, we learn lessons from others about making our marriage work, raising kids, working in our jobs with integrity, and how we should handle conflict like Jesus would - all by being together in community! This is how community works.

This week we will attempt to venture down the road of humility as Jesus exemplified when He washed the disciples' feet the night before He was crucified. 

What does your Ventura Highway walk say about you?

 

Which verb best describes the way you walk down the road of life? Some people swagger down life's road expecting others to exclaim, "Wow, look at him go!" or "Isn't she something?" Others skulk down the road hoping nobody will notice them or require anything of them. The swaggers think they own the road. The skulkers don't think they're worthy enough to be on the road. 

There is a better way to walk. God's people can stride confidently down the road less traveled. It's a walk of purpose. It's a walk of humility. It's a walk that will make all the difference in how you get along with people and yourself. So, as you stride (stroll) through your lesson this week, you will notice three road signs to follow: How is humility defined in Philippians 2:1-4? How is humility taught in Luke 14:7-11? And how is humility exemplified in John 13:3-5, 14-15?

Now where are you on this subject right now? Maybe you are thinking, I really don't need this lesson - I'm already humble and quite proud of it! Or maybe you are like this humble fellow below:

Wherever you are - we all can use and need a dose of Christlike humility, so take a walk down this lonely road this week (bet you won't run into anybody) and let's talk about your venture this Sunday.

In His Love,

David & Susan

 







   

Class Lesson January 2, 2011

Hey Gang,

Well, I'm praying that this is going to be a Happy New Year for each one of you in 2011.

This Sunday we begin a 5-week series entitled "The Roads Less Traveled" you remember the poem by Robert Frost - "Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Our new series introduces 5-Spiritual Roads (Disciplines) less traveled, but if taken and practiced they promise to make all the difference in our spiritual growth, walk with God, and fruitfulness in God's kingdom. The 5-Spiritual Disciplines are: Community, Humility, Service, Sacrifice, and Meditation.

This week's lesson is entitled: A Lifestyle of Community. Paul will explain to us in Ephesians 4 what the foundation, purpose and characteristics of community are all about. Now, give a little thought this week to who your models might be for following Christ? Who are you watching and learning from? Here's a tougher question: Are you an example or model for someone else? 

In today's world, people desperately need examples or models who can show us how to love our spouse and make a marriage last; how to relate to our kids; how to do business with integrity; and how to handle conflict like Jesus would. These are all lessons we learn from others. These are all lessons we learn from community.  Now maybe you feel like your religion is a private matter and you shouldn't have to share it with anyone or maybe you think, "What is the big deal with being with others in church? Why can't I just be a Christian on my own?" Well, we will talk about that because you see, when we come to Christ, we become part of His body - the church. The church is not an afterthought so we'd have something to do on Sundays. It's not an activity to prove what good people we are. The church is vital to people as we interact in loving community.

I hope that you have a blessed rest of the week and year - hope to see you Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan