Weren't able to hear the teaching conversation in person this weekend? Catch up with OUR PODCAST.
SCRIPTURES FROM SUNDAY:
John 11:38-44, 12:1-2, 9-11; Romans 6:8-13; Ephesians 4:1b-6, 11-16
REFLECT/DISCUSS:
· Name something you are “in process” with. How long have you been working on this? Are you comfortable with things that take a while to unfold- or do you prefer to put your energy into stuff you can complete relatively quickly?
· Lazarus was buried according to the customs of his day wrapped in strips of cloth. Does it strike you funny that Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb knowing his hands, feet and face were still bound? Why didn’t Jesus just have a couple of people carry Lazarus out of the grave?
· In addition to getting unwrapped from the burial cloths, what else might Lazarus’ recovery process have included after being dead for 4 days? Do you see any parallels for our spiritual growth process?
· Are there any parts of your life where you still feel bound? Where you need strengthening? That you have been offering to other things but want to start offering to God instead? Name them and talk with God/others about them.
· Do you think it is significant that Jesus asked other people to help Lazarus get free of His grave clothes? Who has God sent to help you in your process of discovering new life in Jesus and growing toward maturity? Take a minute offer prayers of thanksgiving for them.
· After some time passes, Jesus stops to have dinner with Lazarus on His way to face His own death in Jerusalem. Why might Jesus have wanted to see Lazarus at that particular time?
· What effects does Lazarus’ resurrection have on those who see him afterward? How do you think Lazarus felt about becoming a target? About helping others start believing in Jesus? Do you think we face the same tension as Jesus’ people today?
· Lazarus was a living billboard for what Jesus can do. Are you? Who is watching your life for signs of God’s love, power and transformation? Who has God placed in your life so that you can help them get unwrapped? Pray for them and for your own witness.
2 comments:
I'm really grateful for this series, but for kind of a sideways reason.
I take it as part of my protect-the-family responsibility to keep an eye out for bad thinking. One doesn't have to try real hard to see that if people just stopped and thought for a moment, they might save themselves a lot of grief. (If you still doubt it, check out www.whatstheharm.net.)
But that's not as easy as it sounds. There was a case I came across recently (I can provide citations for the curious) in which a family basically watched their infant die a terrible death because they preferred to pray over him instead of seeking medical attention. Doctors said that his condition is well understood, and that his life could have been saved right up to his death if he had been brought in.
For a long time, I really struggled with why God would allow these things to happen. After all, what would someone who is wondering whether faith in God is at all effective think on seeing this story?
Even Christians might say that the parents were wrong not to avail themselves of medical science. But what's the message there? That medical science is more effective than God? That one is better putting one's trust in medical science than in God? That doesn't seem right.
After this series, I don't feel like I necessarily have answers -- but I've been able to make some steps, I think, and I'm grateful for any progress.
Thanks for sharing Anonymous.
FWIW, I'll take progress over answers any day. Lots of people have answers. Not everyone is making progress. :)
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