Lesson from Sunday March 7th, 2010

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Today we will focus on the book of Proverbs from which we read two days this last week.  Proverbs is a particular type of writing in the Bible, referred to as Wisdom Literature.  This includes the book of Ecclesiastes and parts of Job and the book of James in the New Testament.  Proverbs are concise statements which capture key insights about life in a memorable manner.   Key features include this memorableness, the way they work with word pictures (one commentator calls the book of Proverbs the photo album of the Bible), their poetic form (particularly the use of metaphor and parallelism), and their focus on experience.  There is an interesting twist on this last point, however, in that even as proverbs focus on concrete human experience, they also teach profound truths.  This combination of simplicity and complexity is a hallmark.  For example, “he who loves money will not be satisfied with money” is a profound statement based on a very understandable first premise (Ecclesiastes 5:10). 

Lesson from Sunday, February 28th, 2010

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What is it? In normal English usage, intercession is the act of interceding (intervening or mediating) between two parties. In our Christian framework it is prayer to God on behalf of another person or persons.

Intercessory prayer invites us into God’s care and concern for us, our families and friends, and the entire world. No concern is too trivial for God to receive with loving attention. The importance of intercessory prayer can be measured by the prominence given to it in the Scriptures. So, let’s examine:

Lesson from Sunday February 28, 2010

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This week the passages covered the fall of Israel as the nation moved from being united under one king to being divided, under separate kings.  David’s sin with Bathsheba and Solomon’s failure to pass a strong faith on to his son play a large part in this.  Still, both David and Solomon do great things for God.  This continues what is now a familiar pattern: God uses flawed people to lead his people and advance his kingdom.  When the Lord appears to Solomon and asks him what request he might grant for him (passage) he asks for wisdom, saying, “I am only a child” (3:7).  He is generally thought to be about 20 years old at this time as he takes on the role of king.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesson from Sunday, February 21st, 2010

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Conversational Prayer

Reflect on some N.T. experiences of early Christians in group prayer.

•     Peter went to the house of Mary where many were gathered for prayer. Acts12:12
•     “They all joined together constantly in prayer“. Acts 1:13-14

Reflect on your personal experience of praying aloud in a group.
___Almost never?   ___Occasionally?   ___Often?