Aha!
Commentary
Sometimes when I watch some Christians, I get the idea that they have a major spiritual affliction called "anxiety." They seem to focus their energies on finding ways to be certain that they believe the right things, do the right things, and think the right things, so God will be happy with them and be sure to give them some great reward.
What a terrible thing -- to live as though God were some sort of unwilling tyrant, holding his good gifts behind his back until we have done some deserving thing. Nothing could be further from the biblical image of God.
When one reads the Bible carefully one is struck with the sense of surprise that seems constantly at the bottom of the praises of the poets and prophets of Israel.
It is as if they had somehow stumbled onto something they had not expected. In fact, it is as if they had expected the opposite. And then, suddenly, the light shines into some corner of life and they exclaim, "Aha!"
That sense of surprise is at the base of their exultation. They are surprised at the goodness of God. They are more surprised that he is good to them, the undeserving. That surprise wells up within them and a heart of gratitude finds a voice in words of gratitude and thanksgiving.
If those who are always looking for ways to ensure that God will give them wonderful things would just relax and begin to look around them, they might find an "Aha!" or two here and there and maybe even write a poem -- at least sing better in church the next week.
OUTLINE I
Why Prophets Survive
Jeremiah 31:7-14; Isaiah 61:10--62:3
Introduction: Begin with some review of the circumstances of Jeremiah's day (contemporary to First Isaiah) and the Third Isaiah's day. Review the messages of the three Isaiahs (judgment, hope, and anticipation). Do some work on the nature of prophecy.
A. Is Prophecy Prediction? If it is, one of several things are true: 1. Prophets are clairvoyants who can divine the future and we ought always to listen; 2. Prophets are good guessers or conclusion-drawers -- we know one is a prophet by who guesses right; or 3. God chooses special people who are allowed to peer through the keyholes of the locks on the future and see what is going on.
B. Problems: The problem with all these is the same. If the future is already determined in detail and if there is some way of knowing it in advance then we are locked in. (So why repent or plan?) And God is locked in. (So why pray?)
C. What Prophecy Is: The Scripture lessons for today best illustrate what prophecy is -- prophecy is not a word about the future but a word about God. Prophets can speculate on the future and keep a pretty good batting average, not because they are clairvoyant or better guessers or know where the keyholes are. They know about God and how he is going to act. They are always proclaiming that God is going to act, and whatever he does will be in a spirit of grace and salvation.
Conclusion: Is God doing anything now? If he is, what is it? Apply insights to personal and world situations and see what you can make of it.
OUTLINE II
No Birthday; Another Anniversary
John 1:1-18
Introduction: Begin by doing some work on the logos concept. Remember that by the time the Gospel of John is written (110 A.D. or so) the church is now largely Gentile (Greek) and there is a need to bring the message of faith to those Greeks in thought form they can understand. They had no heritage for understanding a concept like "messiah" (Jewish) so John had to look for something else. See Barclay's Commentary on the concept of logos for some help.
Who Is Not The Word: It might be interesting to your congregation to see the lengths to which the author of the Gospel of John goes in his effort to make sure that it is clear to everybody that John the Baptizer was not God's annointed one, but a herald. There is more of it scattered throughout the Gospel, so dig it out. There must have been a sizable "John sect" arising, or that much work would not have been required.
Who Is The Word: It takes a while, but he gets to it in verse seventeen. Jesus Christ! Jesus (the man) is the Christ (Messiah, Logos). Verse fourteen makes certain that the Gnostics get the word. There were those who were of the opinion that any savior couldn't possibly be human. For a definitive word on this matter check out the material written by the same author in 1 John 4:1-3.
The Real Christmas: There is a Christmas story in Luke 2 and in Matthew 2, but reconsider. Those are "stories," vehicles for the truth. The truth, the message, is in John 1. That message is about what God was doing. This is no birthday. It is another anniversary, an anniversary of God once again doing what he has always done, acting to offer salvation to his creation.
OUTLINE III
Choice and Destiny
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18
Introduction: There are those in every congregation who are certain that all of us are predestined, that our day of death is already written down on some tombstone in heaven and that the ticket has already been reserved for our eternal destination. Their theme song is "Que Sera, Sera" and they make remarks like, "That's the way the cookie crumbles," "That's the way the mop flops," and talk of bullets having their name on them, their number coming up, and on and on and on.
Choice: One can read the author's language in the narrow exclusivist sense if one wishes. There were those in the Old Testament who did. You can find good texts for such in the Book of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and even Jonah (which is really not for the narrow view). It was with these that Jesus clashed. They were certain that God chose only them and could not believe that their God would ever have anything to do with the heathen.
Destiny: Some believe that our eternal destiny is already in the blueprints, and there isn't really much to do but let it all work out as God has determined.
Conclusion: Read the Ephesians words again. While the writer exults in the knowledge that these gifts are indeed his and given to those he addresses, there is nothing here that is exclusive. God has chosen all and destined all. Whether we let that be effective for us is up to us. That is why the writer prays for his readers. He is glad for them and their faith and wants that to continue to be vibrant and alive. Remind the hearers that they, too, have been chosen and destined for salvation. Whether it is theirs is up to them.
What a terrible thing -- to live as though God were some sort of unwilling tyrant, holding his good gifts behind his back until we have done some deserving thing. Nothing could be further from the biblical image of God.
When one reads the Bible carefully one is struck with the sense of surprise that seems constantly at the bottom of the praises of the poets and prophets of Israel.
It is as if they had somehow stumbled onto something they had not expected. In fact, it is as if they had expected the opposite. And then, suddenly, the light shines into some corner of life and they exclaim, "Aha!"
That sense of surprise is at the base of their exultation. They are surprised at the goodness of God. They are more surprised that he is good to them, the undeserving. That surprise wells up within them and a heart of gratitude finds a voice in words of gratitude and thanksgiving.
If those who are always looking for ways to ensure that God will give them wonderful things would just relax and begin to look around them, they might find an "Aha!" or two here and there and maybe even write a poem -- at least sing better in church the next week.
OUTLINE I
Why Prophets Survive
Jeremiah 31:7-14; Isaiah 61:10--62:3
Introduction: Begin with some review of the circumstances of Jeremiah's day (contemporary to First Isaiah) and the Third Isaiah's day. Review the messages of the three Isaiahs (judgment, hope, and anticipation). Do some work on the nature of prophecy.
A. Is Prophecy Prediction? If it is, one of several things are true: 1. Prophets are clairvoyants who can divine the future and we ought always to listen; 2. Prophets are good guessers or conclusion-drawers -- we know one is a prophet by who guesses right; or 3. God chooses special people who are allowed to peer through the keyholes of the locks on the future and see what is going on.
B. Problems: The problem with all these is the same. If the future is already determined in detail and if there is some way of knowing it in advance then we are locked in. (So why repent or plan?) And God is locked in. (So why pray?)
C. What Prophecy Is: The Scripture lessons for today best illustrate what prophecy is -- prophecy is not a word about the future but a word about God. Prophets can speculate on the future and keep a pretty good batting average, not because they are clairvoyant or better guessers or know where the keyholes are. They know about God and how he is going to act. They are always proclaiming that God is going to act, and whatever he does will be in a spirit of grace and salvation.
Conclusion: Is God doing anything now? If he is, what is it? Apply insights to personal and world situations and see what you can make of it.
OUTLINE II
No Birthday; Another Anniversary
John 1:1-18
Introduction: Begin by doing some work on the logos concept. Remember that by the time the Gospel of John is written (110 A.D. or so) the church is now largely Gentile (Greek) and there is a need to bring the message of faith to those Greeks in thought form they can understand. They had no heritage for understanding a concept like "messiah" (Jewish) so John had to look for something else. See Barclay's Commentary on the concept of logos for some help.
Who Is Not The Word: It might be interesting to your congregation to see the lengths to which the author of the Gospel of John goes in his effort to make sure that it is clear to everybody that John the Baptizer was not God's annointed one, but a herald. There is more of it scattered throughout the Gospel, so dig it out. There must have been a sizable "John sect" arising, or that much work would not have been required.
Who Is The Word: It takes a while, but he gets to it in verse seventeen. Jesus Christ! Jesus (the man) is the Christ (Messiah, Logos). Verse fourteen makes certain that the Gnostics get the word. There were those who were of the opinion that any savior couldn't possibly be human. For a definitive word on this matter check out the material written by the same author in 1 John 4:1-3.
The Real Christmas: There is a Christmas story in Luke 2 and in Matthew 2, but reconsider. Those are "stories," vehicles for the truth. The truth, the message, is in John 1. That message is about what God was doing. This is no birthday. It is another anniversary, an anniversary of God once again doing what he has always done, acting to offer salvation to his creation.
OUTLINE III
Choice and Destiny
Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18
Introduction: There are those in every congregation who are certain that all of us are predestined, that our day of death is already written down on some tombstone in heaven and that the ticket has already been reserved for our eternal destination. Their theme song is "Que Sera, Sera" and they make remarks like, "That's the way the cookie crumbles," "That's the way the mop flops," and talk of bullets having their name on them, their number coming up, and on and on and on.
Choice: One can read the author's language in the narrow exclusivist sense if one wishes. There were those in the Old Testament who did. You can find good texts for such in the Book of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and even Jonah (which is really not for the narrow view). It was with these that Jesus clashed. They were certain that God chose only them and could not believe that their God would ever have anything to do with the heathen.
Destiny: Some believe that our eternal destiny is already in the blueprints, and there isn't really much to do but let it all work out as God has determined.
Conclusion: Read the Ephesians words again. While the writer exults in the knowledge that these gifts are indeed his and given to those he addresses, there is nothing here that is exclusive. God has chosen all and destined all. Whether we let that be effective for us is up to us. That is why the writer prays for his readers. He is glad for them and their faith and wants that to continue to be vibrant and alive. Remind the hearers that they, too, have been chosen and destined for salvation. Whether it is theirs is up to them.
