"Revealed in Rejection" International Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending January 31, 2010

Purpose: To acknowledge that Jesus' message challenges our presuppositions and demands a response

Scripture Text: Matthew 13:54-58 (NRSV)

Matthew 13:54-58
(54) He came to his home town and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? (55)Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? (56)And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?’ (57)And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour except in their own country and in their own house.’ (58)And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

One of my favorite pastors used to say, “The most difficult part about preaching is thinking you can say anything that will impress your wife.” It is difficult to make an impression with those that know you best. That is the situation Jesus is in when he returns to his hometown of Nazareth. After the Diaspora, synagogues were established in almost all Jewish communities, and they were the cultural center as well as a center for teaching and sharing in the history of the Jewish people.

Jesus had probably attended the synagogue many times as a boy and young man, but prior to this he had never been asked to read from the scripture as far as we can tell. I experience some of the same thing when I return to my own little country church and the little “snotty nosed kids” that I knew when I was a young man are now the leaders of the congregation.

It is hard for us to accept that people are anything different than what we remember. When my wife and I were first married we went to a small church, but this small church was the home church for one of the leading evangelist in America at the time. He was known in church circles all over the world but if he happened to be home on a Sunday and chose not to come to church, he was the biggest sinner in town, according to some members. Of course, he felt, if he came, the pastor would automatically ask him to preach that morning, and he could not win.

In order to get a better understanding of this event you need to read it in Luke 4:16-30, in that passage we find that Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2a, which says "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour,” When he had finished reading the passage he sat down and simply said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus had just told them he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and they should recognize that he had done all of the things mentioned in this passage. Of course this created quite a stir amongst the congregation and the leaders of the synagogue. They knew very well he was the brother of James, Joseph, Simon and Jude and his sisters, and the son of Mary, in fact wasn't he a carpenter's son. Where does Jesus get off trying to pass himself off as something other than what he was; “a carpenter's son.”

Probably for the same reason, our home town evangelist, never held evangelistic meetings in our church, Jesus “did not do many deeds of power” in the Nazareth community. It is difficult for us, because of our presuppositions, to receive the message that God is trying to communicate to us. Maybe that is why we hate to hear even constructive criticism from friends and family, we cannot separate the message from the messenger. We pay good money to hire a stranger to tell us what our friends and family already knows about us. Jesus could perform miracles and interpret scripture, but in Nazareth he will always be a carpenter's son. We should not make the same mistake! Jesus was God incarnate, and He came to redeem mankind and to proclaim “the year of the Lord's favour,” He came to us and He brought God's grace with him; the long-suffering Jesus became one of us. The fact that Jesus did not finish the passage from Isaiah that says “and the day of vengeance of our God” shows both his grace and His coming again, as judge.

If you read the entire story from Luke you will see it was not just Nazareth, but Jesus refers to the entire Jewish nation, when he speaks of the fact that there were many widows in Israel when Elijah went to Sidon to minister to a widow there, and there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, but none was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. Jesus is preparing them for the fact that He has come to the entire world, not just to Nazareth and Israel. Just as Nazareth rejects Jesus, so does all of Israel. Do you get it?

"Equipped for New Life" Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending May 31, 2009

Purpose: To claim God's power to stand firm against the spiritual forces of evil.

Scripture Text: Ephesians 6:10-18 (NRSV)

Ephesians 6:10-18 (10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. (11)Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12)For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (13)Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (14)Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.(15)As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. (16)With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17)Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

(18) Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

As in last weeks lesson, the very first line, tells us what should happen if we want to be successful Christians. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power”.

The second point I would make is that it is God's armor we are to put on, not our own. God has provided us with all we need to defeat the enemy, but unless we are willing to put it on, it has little value or protection against those powers that would defeat us. The “cosmic powers” require special armor. There may be some powers that we can defeat with just the “sword of the spirit”. There may be other powers we can defeat with the “breastplate of righteousness”. We must always be ready “to proclaim the gospel of peace”. Verse 14 says “Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist”. But we must revert back to verse 11, “put on the whole armor of God”. We must be willing to put on all of the combat gear that God has made available to us, as his followers.

It may be hard for us as American Christians to comprehend the struggles that others face. Since the beginning of the Iraq war the number of Chaldean Christians has decreased by a million believers. The Syrian Orthodox has lost forty percent of their followers since the 2003 invasion. There is disturbing information now out about the population growth of Europe and Russia. The Russian army may be made up of forty percent Muslims. Islam will soon be the majority religion in France, Spain and England and within a short period of time it will replace Christianity as the most popular religion in the world.

This should be a sobering thought to all believers, we know that Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world; we have read and heard many stories of families being torn apart.

Certainly these “cosmic powers” will require all of Christendom to put on the “whole armor of God”. One of the area's that has changed in America is we are no longer just social Christians, we no longer attend church just because the doors are open, it is no longer socially necessary to attend church, in fact the opposite now seems more socially acceptable. Those that choose to attend are doing it for the right reasons, the church may now just play a small role in our current culture, but our resolve should be stronger than ever and our mission more defined, we are at war with the world. Those that make up the community of believers are in a definite minority. In verse 13, we are called to do all we can do; and then, when there is nothing you can do, stand – knowing you do not stand alone, and we stand with all of the armor God has made available to us.

The final call is for us to be alert and to pray always, and always pray in the spirit, and always persevere in supplication for the saints. Why should we be heartened by what is going on in our churches? Is our strength in numbers, or is it in the armor? How can we come out of today's woes stronger?

"New Life in the Home" Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending May 24, 2009

Purpose: To recognize that God calls all Christians, male and female,young and old, to lives of mutual submission.

Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4 (NRSV)

Background: Ephesians 5:1-6:4

Ephesians 5:21-33
21) Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

(22) Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. (23)For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. (24)Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

(25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (26) in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, (27) so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. (28)In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (29)For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, (30)because we are members of his body. (31)‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ (32)This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. (33)Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

Ephesians 6:4
(6)Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. (2) ‘Honor your father and mother’—this is the first commandment with a promise: (3) ‘so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’ (4) And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

As I read the title for today's lesson, it made me very nervous. I am not sure at my age “New life in the home” would be the title I would have chosen, I am trying my best to stay out of the “home”. All of that aside, the make up of the home is a very important part of the family unit. As our leaders have taught us we must use the scriptures, tradition, experience and reason, to help us as we interpret the bible. It is why we study the bible and not just read it.

The traditional family of the first century in an eastern culture, would be considerably different than today's family structure, therefore some statements made by the writer need the light of today in our existing culture to shine on them to make them relevant for today. That is not discounting the scripture, it is simply applying truths after studying, and using what we have been taught and have reasoned by experience.

There are too many examples of women leaders in both the Old and New Testament to make an assumption that women have no place in God's church. The writer of Ephesians is talking about mutual submission.

In today's world, there are many examples of relationships that fail, or are very difficult. On TV there are some reality programs that try and deal with the conflicts and problems of a relationship. “Jon and Kate plus Eight” offers an example of a husband and wife struggling with their relationship and eight children, and that may not survive the present difficulties they are going through. Another program called “Wife Swap” whose premise is two mothers and wives swap places for a short period of time and deal with each others dysfunctional families. Usually one is real strict while the other is laid back and does not believe in discipline. Amazingly they come out of the experiment with a better understanding of what is important for a family relationship.

Our text covers many of the problems these TV programs highlight. Relationships are difficult, and they are especially difficult if God is not involved in the marriage or in the home. Our relationships need to be based on the same love that Christ has shown to His church. If we claim the name of Christ our relationships need to reflect His love, whether it is husband and wife, employer/employee, parents and children, or older parents and older children.

This subject is so important that it is covered almost identically in two books of the bible, this passage in Ephesians and the passage in Colossians 3:18;-4:1.

Is there a secret for making a relationship work that you would like to share? There are many single parent families, how does this scripture text apply to them? How can the Church best minister to these families?