"A Hopeful People": Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending November 29, 2009

Purpose: To celebrate that waiting in hope for Christ's return is an act of faithfulness.

Scripture Text: 2 Peter 3: 1-13 (NRSV)

2nd Peter 3:1-13
(1)This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you (2) that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken through your apostles. (3)First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts (4) and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ (5)They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, (6) through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. (7)But by the same word the present heavens and earth have reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.

(8) But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. (9)The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (10)But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

(11) Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness,(12)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? (13)But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

This Sunday is the first Sunday of our church calendar, the beginning of a new year for our churches. It is also the first Sunday of Advent. Most of us think of Advent as a time of anticipation and expectation, awaiting the birth of the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. However, it is more than the birth of a babe, we should also be looking to the day when Christ will return in all His glory at the end of time as we know it, and we will join Him in a new creation. So Advent should also be a time of repentance, and searching our hearts, confessing our sins and looking for new ways we can point the world to a Christ that can save and redeem.

It is clear from this writing that Peter wants to make certain that the churches adhere to the words taught by Christ and the Apostles as well as the prophets of old. As we had stated in our commentary on 1st Peter, the fact that Christ had not returned was a bit of disappointment to Peter and the other Apostles. They fully expected the return of Christ in that first generation after the resurrection. Now realizing that it might not happen, Peter was preparing the community of believers for a later return of Christ.

In verse 5, Peter explains, in Near Eastern logic, the creation. Heaven and earth were created out of chaos. He goes on and says the present earth and heavens will be consumed and destroyed by fire. That will come as God judges the earth and the heavens, and all of civilization as we know it will be judged by fire.

It is God's grace that delays the end or Parousia (final judgment). Not because He is slow, but because He is patient. God does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance. Notice it does not say everyone will be saved, only those that come to repentance. It is God's choice that everyone is given a chance to repent.

We are called as followers to be holy and righteous in our living, and the sooner the message is heard the sooner the end will come. Those that have been repentant, and lived lives of holiness and godliness will be given a new home on a new creation, “Where righteousness is at home.”

What do you think repentance is? What does it mean to repent? When we say Christ will come again are we implying He is not here now?

A Faithful People: Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending November 22, 2009

Purpose: To grasp that our participation in the divine nature enables us to live godly lives.

Scripture Text: 2 Peter 1:3-15 (NRSV)

2 peter 1:3-15
(3)His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (4)Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. (5)For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, (6)and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, (7)and godliness with, and mutual affection with love. (8)For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(9)For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. (10)Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. (11)For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

(12) Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. (13)I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, (14) since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. (15)And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

My thoughts on this particular passage may not express the same thoughts as those contained in the Adult Commentary for the UMC. I had trouble with the commentary as presented in the denominational teachers guide. The first was the authorship of this epistle; they imply that Peter was not the writer and would rather have us believe an individual that hijacked Peter's identity in the late 2nd century is really the writer. This is a modern belief because of writing style, rather than accept the fact Peter may have written several letters to the churches of Asia Minor, and this writing may have been penned by someone other than Silas/Silvanus that was the scribe of the first letter by Peter. Certainly if the writer was not Peter he was guilty of claiming to be Peter and to have witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus (v-18). I am amazed sometimes that those that are 2000 years from the event think they know more that those that argued for the canonization 1700 years ago. I am willing to step out in faith and accept Peter as the author and also accept it was a different scribe, which did the actual writing.

The reason for a second letter going out to the churches was Peter, as well as Paul and possibly John, was distressed that the church was deviating from the teachings of Jesus as witnessed by the true Apostles and starting to follow off chutes of Jesus and the Apostles original teachings. Peter attempts to bring them back to the original teachings of Paul and the other Apostles. From the text we can see that both Peter and Paul's time was growing short, it was obvious now that Christ would not return within their lifetime and they wanted those that they had witnessed to, to understand the importance of living a moral and good life.

To me this passage is about the divine power or Holy Spirit that has given us everything we need to live a successful Christian life. Part of that is our ability to be good, and to live a holy life. We have within us, by the divine power that is alive in us because of our faith in everything that we have heard and experienced, the power to overcome the corruptness and worldly lust that is all around us. It is our responsibility to respond to the love that God has shown to us, to live a holy and good life knowing it is not our own goodness or holiness that sets us apart for God, but rather our obedience to His call on our life.

Peter lists seven virtues that a person with the divine power in their life will exhibit:

• FAITH, the basis for belief in His promises;
• GOODNESS, or moral excellence, always our goal;
• KNOWLEDGE, not book smarts, but acknowledging God's gift of His Son;
• SELF-CONTROL, choosing how we handle life's temptations;
• ENDURANCE, putting our trust in God with knowledge that He is faithful for the long haul;
• GODLINESS, giving God the honor and glory he deserves by trying to emulate His goodness;
• MUTUAL AFFECTION, loving one another and respecting one another.

If we allow these seven virtues to work within us we will have productive and fruitful lives, and if we lack any of these virtues we are nearsighted and blind to all that God has done for us, including forgiving our past sins and transgressions.

In verse 10 Peter seems to be encouraging those that have made this commitment to be baptized, confirming the call of Christ on their lives. In the first century church there was no infant baptism, only a believer’s baptism.

Peter closes this portion by sharing that his death may be near, just as Jesus had told him. He also makes a reference that provides some friction between two beliefs, one that the soul is housed within the body (or visa versa) and while the body stays on earth the soul goes on to be with the Lord. Immortality of the soul was a common belief amongst the Greeks. The Jewish tradition teaches a second belief, that the soul and body are intertwined and one can not exist without the other, hence the importance of the resurrection. In our own beliefs, we recite the creeds that state we believe in the resurrection of the body, but many of us really believe in the eternal soul without the body, or that the two will be joined together again after Christ returns to claim and unite both body and soul.

Is your belief soul and body separate? Or is it that the soul remains with the body until the resurrection of the dead?

Peter is trying his best to make certain they do not forget his teachings, and will remember what he has taught them along with the other Apostles, and not listen to these other teachings that are coming from what some call the sub-apostles or a generation removed from those that walked and talked to Christ while He was on this earth.

A Suffering People: Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending November 15, 2009

Purpose: To consider what it means to share in Christ's sufferings

Scripture Text: I Peter 4:12-19 (NRSV)

I peter 4:12-19
(12) Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (13)But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.(14)If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. (15)But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief-maker. (16)Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name.(17)For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

(18)And ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?’ (19)Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

First from a historical standpoint, Peter's letter is not being written to a group of believers in Asia Minor that is suffering persecution in the same sense as those that will suffer at the end of the first century. Christians under heavy persecution by the state would come a generation later as recorded in the Book of Revelation, by the Apostle John. Even Peter, who may have been feeling some pressure from Nero, was not being persecuted like he will suffer within a few years at the hands of the Roman government when Nero blames Christians for the great fire that destroys much of Rome, and Peter is crucified upside down (by his own request) because of his belief

The persecution that Peter speaks of seems to be more like segregation, becoming a Christian caused many to be segregated from their family and friends; they were in a sense cut off from community. Many may have lost jobs, and certainly friends because of their belief. Not unlike what happened to those in the African-American community during our first 200 years, or what is happening today to those from Muslim countries within our borders. Being a Christian in the first generation after Christ's death on the cross, cost people their family and friends.

In her book “Traveling Mercies; Some Thoughts on Faith” Anne Lamott tells of her hesitancy to leave a life of drugs, alcohol, and adultery. She knew she would have to give up her friends and the lifestyle she was living. She would be laughed at, and chastised because she would no longer be part of that community. Many of those within this new community of Christians that Peter addresses will suffer the same consequence.

We can sense Peter’s compassion and love for these early Christians, when he addresses them with “beloved.” Peter addresses both the “fiery ordeal” and the “joy” that comes from suffering for the sake of Christ. One thing this does not mean is that suffering pain because of sickness or injury, or being poor, or even breaking the law, is the same as suffering for our belief in Christ. While it is true that suffering some of life's hardships can bring us closer to Christ, that is different than suffering because of Christ. In the same way it is not always God's will that we suffer sickness or accidents or other catastrophes in our life, but we do have a chance to turn those events into positives when they allow us to become closer in our walk with Christ, and in our ability to share our faith with others.

Peter makes certain they understand the difference between suffering because they broke the law “by being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or even a mischief maker,” and suffering because they named the name of Christ. Notice in verse 17 the judgment begins with the “Household of God;” being a Christian does not remove you from God's judgment; it only forces you to trust in God's grace and mercy during that judgment, and to continue “to do good.”

Today there are parts of our own hemisphere where Christians are persecuted, like
Cuba and Venezuela. I would encourage you to go CSI website and see where Christians are being persecuted today. I would also challenge you “to do good,” until Christ returns.

A Chosen People: Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending November 8,2009

Purpose: To examine what it means to be God's chosen people

Scripture Text: I Peter 2:1-10 (NRSV)

I peter 2:1-10
(1)Rid yourselves therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. (2)2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— (3)if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

(4) Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and (5)like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6)For it stands in scripture:

‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’

(7)To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’,
(8)and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

(9) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.(10)Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

For centuries Christians have used the words “chosen people” to put down anyone who does not believe or look like us, as something less than us. Let me start by saying everyone was chosen by God to receive His love and grace, unfortunately not everyone was, or is willing, to receive that love and grace God chooses to save everyone, some choose not be saved. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” That has always been the great theological debate, God's sovereignty, verse man's free will.”

The history of slavery, is a good example of God's chosen, not doing His will. In our society today it can also be said “the chosen” have not always treated the homosexual with the love and grace that Christ seems to teach. Being God's chosen does not mean we are to oppress those that are different from ourselves. “Love one another, as I have loved you.” It also does not mean we are to wink at sin, and pretend it is not going on.

If we take verse one of our text literally, we should “rid ourselves of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.” Wouldn't that make for an exciting church? Peter is writing to 1st century Christians that have a lot of spiritual learning to do and there is plenty of room for growth, because they have spent centuries not knowing that a loving caring God even existed. Most of Peter’s audience would have been heathens prior to hearing the message of a risen loving Christ. Peter tells them most of the world will reject what God is offering, but if they choose the Lord, they will find that He is good.

Peter also encourages them to build a spiritual house, become a holy priesthood. I take that to mean we should be offering spiritual guidance and comfort to those that have not yet accepted God's gift of love and grace. Those that have not accepted God's gift will stumble and fall because they have rejected the very thing that could save them. Our task as Christians is to proclaim the message of God's love to everyone, because God really wants everyone to receive His blessing. God wants everyone be a benefactor of His mercy, but those that have received the light must be willing to share the light. As Christians we have been called out of the darkness into a marvelous light.

Peter reminds us that it is not how the world sees us, but rather how does God see us. The world may see Christians in much the same way as the world saw Jesus, despised and rejected, our hope and confidence must rest in the merciful redeemer God, the one that has called us from the beginning to accept His love, mercy and grace, and our thanks for that, is our obedience to share the light and the message of God's goodness, from the very beginning God has been good, not only in His creation, which He declared as good, but also in His love. “While we were sinners Christ died for us.” That proves God's goodness.

Why not make a personal commitment to share the “good news” with someone this week.