ContentsSession 1: February 21Your Success Story 2 Session 2: February 28 Your Second Chance Story 9

Session 3: March 6Writing a New Chapter in Your Life 17

Session 4: March 13 Your Heroic Story 25

Session 5: March 20 Your Story of Forgiveness 33

Written by Dr. Mike Watson, Pastor of Adult DiscipleshipFirst Baptist Concord2016

Curriculum is available online at fbconcord.org/guides

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IntroductionStorytelling is one of the most historically powerful methods of communication. Regardless of the culture that is examined, the lore that accumulates provides a sense of identity and cohesion among the people. Storytelling is the art of communicating and re-communicating the body of lore that provides the backbone to societies, tribes, regions, and nations. In fact, in the era commonly referred to as prehistoric, the only way to communicate the importance of identity was through the repeatedly told stories in a culture’s verbal or oral history.

One of the great testimonies to the power of storytelling is the fact that, with all of the advancements in technology, science, and art over the centuries, one of the few things that has gone uncompromised is this element of story. No matter if the form is hieroglyphics in caves and tombs, rough sketchings of characters on reeds woven together, paintings on pottery, laws written on papyrus scrolls, chronological histories in books, motion pictures, music, blogs, or a 140-character tweet, all of these forms of media have at the heart of them the communication of the identity of a culture. In other words, they tell a story.

Jesus certainly not only understood this, but also leveraged a tremendous

amount of His earthly ministry in the potential of a masterfully told story. The stories Jesus told are called parables and they fill the pages of the Gospels. Jesus’ stories are so effective that it is likely that, for those that are not familiar with the Bible, the passages they most readily identify are those stories.

As we begin our sermon series, “Storytelling,” we are getting ready to embark on a brief survey of some of Jesus’ most popular stories. As we do so, we will spend some time in our group study looking at an actual biblical figure that exemplifies the truth that Jesus communicates in His stories. This week, we will be looking at the Parable of the Talents in the sermon. To help us put flesh to the truths of this parable, we’re going to relive the story of a young woman in the Old Testament named Esther.

Biblical BackgroundThe events recorded in the book of Esther occurred at a time of significant unrest and chaos in the history of Israel. During this time, the people of Judah were nearing an end to their exile. The Babylonians, who had taken them into exile originally, had been defeated by the Persians. The Persian king, Darius, initially released a contingent of Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, led by Zerubbabel and Ezra. Several years later, Nehemiah was allowed to return to rebuild the walls

Session 1Storytelling: Your Success StoryFebruary 21, 2016Sermon Passage: Matthew 25:14-30Curriculum Passage: Esther 4:13-17

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of Jerusalem. The events of Esther are historically sandwiched in between those two efforts of restoration in Jerusalem. Several factors make it difficult to specifically date Esther, most notably that it is anonymous. However, the king in power at the time of the events, Ahasuerus (more commonly known as Xerxes) reigned from 485 – 464 BC, so the events must have occurred during that 20-year window.

Esther serves two functions in the Scriptures. The lesser of the two is that it explains the origins and significance of the Jewish Feast of Purim, which was instituted well after the feasts decreed by God to Moses. The more significant contribution to the overall canon of Scripture is that Esther demonstrates the faithful nature of God to sustain and protect His people, no matter how great the foe. In spite of never specifically mentioning God in the entire book, Esther clearly depicts the sovereign acts of God in human history to preserve the remnant of His covenant people.

Where we enter this story in our study this week, Esther has been taken from her home as a youth and forced into a pageant of sorts. The pageant was to determine who the most beautiful young woman in the kingdom was so that she could then become Ahasuerus’ next wife. Historically, Ahasuerus (Xerxes) is known for his weak moral fiber, so this was not a coveted position to win no matter the means. Ahasuerus had no knowledge that Esther was a Jew, which would prove significant.

As Esther was adjusting to life in Ahasuerus’ harem as the new queen, her cousin Mordecai had a confrontational encounter with Haman, Ahasuerus’ second-in-command. Scripture makes a point of the fact that Haman was an Agagite and Mordecai a Jew. The significance of those distinctions goes all the way back to the first Israelite king, Saul, who killed King Agag of the Amalekites. Since that event hundreds of years earlier, there had been tremendous animosity between the two peoples.

The evidence of the volatile nature of the relations the descendants of Saul and Agag is the relatively small matter that incites Haman’s murderous plot. Mordecai volitionally violates Persian protocol of bowing to royal officers when Haman passes before him. As a result, Haman seeks and gains Ahasuerus’ royal authority to have all of the Jews in his kingdom killed. It is in the shadow of this impending genocide that our text takes place.

The Text Having learned of Haman’s plot, Mordecai is deeply grieved. The traditional manner of expressing such deep grief involved the tearing of one’s clothes and wearing sackcloth. This was illegal in Persian culture, so Mordecai was actually placing his life in even more imminent danger than it was already in. When Esther is told of his public conduct, she fears for his safety and sends him garments to cover himself in. Mordecai refuses them,

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which ultimately leads to a conversation through messengers as to the details of Haman’s plot. To this point, Queen Esther was completely unaware.

During their conversation, Mordecai sends a copy of Ahasuerus’ decree, inspired by Haman, for the destruction of the Jews. Surprisingly, the Scripture also tells us that Mordecai “commanded” Esther to intercede for her people. This is extremely bold, given that she is now the queen. However, as his rent garments attest, Mordecai has no time or desire for niceties. He was the living definition of a desperate man.

“Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.’” (Esther 4:13)

This verse is Mordecai’s response to Esther’s hesitancy to intercede for the Israelites to King Ahasuerus. After Mordecai commanded Esther to plead to the king on Israel’s behalf, Esther explained the intricacies of Persian court protocol. Specifically, if she came before the king without being summoned, the law stated that she should be killed. The only way for her not to be killed was for King Ahasuerus to extend his scepter to her. She further explained that the likelihood of her being summoned in time to prevent Haman’s plot was extremely low, as she had not been summoned in over a month.

In response to Esther’s hesitancy in the face of grave risk, Mordecai helped her see a broader picture of the situation. There was risk either way. If she did not appear before the king to thwart Haman, she would surely be discovered as a Jew, at which point her fate would be the same as all Jews. Esther never argued that she was not in a strategically ideal place to be a voice for the Jews. She understood the situation and the opportunity that had presented itself. However, she hesitated at a seemingly insurmountable task.

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Perhaps the most well-known verse in Esther, this passage details Mordecai’s contrasting of two worldviews. That may seem like an overreaching statement, but consider what is being said. “For if you keep silent at this time” refers to the evidence of Esther’s faith being placed in the order and certainty of her own situation. Keeping silent means that she trusts her ability to navigate the situation and that her relationship with King Ahasuerus will protect her from the coming genocide. Her faith is in man. Incidentally, trusting other pagan kings instead of God for protection is one of the historical events that led to their exile in the first place.

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“Relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place” refers to the other worldview – one based in the power of sovereign God to bring about the deliverance of His covenant people. The very clear implication from Mordecai is that God is going to act in accordance with His character and faithfulness. The only thing that is contingent is whether or not Esther will be a part of what God is doing. Either way, God saving His people is an absolute certainty, regardless of what earthly threat may present itself. Mordecai is trusting in the character of God for protection.Ultimately, Mordecai points out that when considering involvement with what God is doing, there is no option of inactivity. Esther had to choose to be a part of God saving His people or to act against it by refusing to challenge Haman. To make sure she understood the stakes, Mordecai states plainly that she and her father’s house will perish for opposing the work of God.

More importantly, though, Mordecai challenges Esther to consider the orchestration of events by God already evident in her position. Furthermore, noting how God had worked through the events of her life to bring it to this point, what must she do in consideration of that? What was God’s purpose in doing that? The fact that she was in the kingdom in the first place was incredible. A Jewish girl wins a kingdom-wide pageant to become a foreign king’s next queen just in time to act on behalf of God’s covenant

people – her people – so that they are not eradicated from the face of the earth? Probably not a coincidence. Having heard it explained by Mordecai in those terms, Esther responds.

“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’” (Esther 4:15-16)

Esther resolutely identifies with her people. She tells Mordecai to gather all the Jews in Susa and fast. This was no normal fast though, as Esther specifies that it was to include night and day. Fasting generally included the day, but to fast at night was out of the ordinary. Recognizing that her commission was one that depended on divine intervention for success, Esther sets aside time to seek God and prepare herself spiritually before undertaking it. Esther believed that prayer and seeking God mattered and was effective. What is more, when she vows that her attendants (“young women”) would join in the fast as well, she is speaking behalf of pagan women. That means that Esther is going to have to share her faith in God with them first.

Session 1

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Interestingly, Esther’s going to see the king was not contingent on what happened during the fast. The fast was the spiritual preparation for the visit to the king, but the visit was already decided upon. She was going. This is an incredible reversal of attitude and understanding in Esther from her stance from verse 11. She moves from being scared to death to act to willingly putting her life in jeopardy for her countrymen. This change is brought about, as we deduce from the text, by her deepened insight into how God was at work all around her.

At the close of chapter 4, Esther still does not know how her leap of faith on behalf of God’s people will be resolved. She might very well be struck down for breaking the royal law. Her obedience, though, is not based on a known conclusion. Rather, her obedience is based on knowing the One to whom she is being obedient. While in our culture we might find success in the result, God sees “success” in faithful obedience.

The Text in LifeWhen we think about the Parable of the Talents from this morning’s sermon or the life of Esther, some shared elements emerge that are helpful when evaluating our own success stories. First of all, it is imperative that we understand that we are part of God’s redemptive story in the world. The aspect of Esther’s communication with Mordecai that moved her from fear to faith was realizing that there was

something – Someone – greater than humanity at work in the events. She realized that she was a part of God’s work among and for His people. When we fail to recognize that we are each an integral part of what God is doing in the world around us to bring glory to Himself, we will never be able to boldly step into the opportunities that God presents to us.

Second, there is frequently risk involved in following God. In the Parable of the Talents, the risk was for the servants to steward and increase the talents they were entrusted with. For Esther, the risk was significantly larger in that it could cost her life. While the severity of the risk varies, the presence of risk is a part of following God in a series of faith steps. The crisis of faith that Esther experienced in her conversation with Mordecai, as well as the crisis of faith felt by each of the three servants in the Parable of the Talents, are models of the crossroads that God brings each of us to repeatedly throughout our faith journey. What decides how we respond at those crossroads is who we view as being at the center of the matter. If we are the center, we will be concerned with our safety, security, comfort, convenience, etc. But, if God is the focal point, then our focus is on faithfulness, boldness, and obedience.

Third, our success stories require action. That is to say that when God brings us to those crossroads, just thinking about what to do next is not enough. God draws us to move. Esther decided to go to the king and did. The two servants that multiplied their

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master’s money considered how and then did it. Every time God brings us to a place in which we have the opportunity to serve as His instrument, His witness, or people, the decision to act must be followed by real action.

Fourth, when we respond with faithful action, we are changed. When faith is put into action, our lives are shaped by the Holy Spirit into increasing Christlikeness. There is joy and fervor in our relationship with Christ. We sense His pleasure when we respond to Him with faith-filled obedience. Intimacy with Christ deepens. Real life with Jesus makes our former life of checklist faith seem empty and lifeless. This is when our story becomes a success story.

Session 1

Questions to Consider1. When was the last time someone

challenged you to step up your obedience to Christ in a practical way? How did you respond?

2. Read Ephesians 2:10. How does that verse shape the way you understand your purpose and your significance to God?

3. What challenges or needs in your frequently traveled spheres has God especially equipped you to meet? What are you going to do about it?

4. When was the first time you witnessed God supernaturally intervene in a situation to bring about healing, freedom, or deliverance?

5. Who in your life helps you discern those opportunities that God presents for you to take new steps of faith?

6. What are some descriptors that you would apply to someone’s life that never took deeper steps of obedience to follow God in new challenges? What would their perception of God be like?

7. What have been some of the practical crossroads you have experienced in your journey with Christ so far? Which one has been the toughest?

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Notes

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know everything she was telling me. She began telling me a story about one of her children being a prodigal for many years. That was a new term to me at the time, so I asked her to explain. With tremendous candor, she described a child that was completely different than the ones I had met. The child she described was absolutely out of control, physically violent, prideful, frequently broke a whole host of laws, and for many years they fully expected to receive a phone call in the middle of the night letting them know the child had been killed in some illegal activity.

Despite being raised in a Christian home and taught the Word from an early age, the prodigal strayed. Thankfully, as the story continued, there was eventually a story of repentance, brokenness, and reconciliation. However, reconciliation only came after extensive intervention of great severity that, quite frankly, I didn’t even know was legal. It took years. Years of pain, heartache, soul-wrenching prayer, and surrender to God.

In light of the story, I was even more amazed at her radiant joyfulness. She explained that there were many days, weeks, and months in which the only thing she could cling to was that she knew God was a God of second chances. If He would offer her a second chance, she was sure He could do the same for any prodigal. This is everyone’s second chance story.

Session 2Storytelling: Your Second Chance StoryFebruary 28, 2016Sermon Passage: Luke 15:11-32Curriculum Passages: Psalm 51:10-12; 2 Samuel 12:13-14, 24-25

IntroductionHave you ever known someone that you would describe as radiating joy? I have been blessed enough to know a few over the years. In doing so, I’ve noticed a group of characteristics that seem to be generally true for radiantly joyful people. Most noticeably, there is a deep, abiding resilience that seems to allow them to endure hardship without it compromising their joy. Of the characteristics, this is the one I am most envious of — this sort of spiritual Teflon. It is not so much that they do not feel the sorrow or experience the grief; rather, experiencing the grief does not define them or their outlook.

This spiritual fortitude and resiliency can sometimes give off the faulty impression that the person has no worries or no significant history of trials. I discovered how erroneous that impression can be in an impromptu conversation several years ago with one of my radiantly joyful friends. We were discussing parenting and, as the conversation drifted into increasingly deeper waters, I was dumbfounded at her knowledge of parenting difficult children. I had met all of her children, adults at that time, and found them all to be respectful and a pleasure to be around.

When my surprise at her depth of insight could be contained no longer, I asked how it was that she came to

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Biblical BackgroundVery few people whose lives appear on the pages of Scripture could be said to have experienced God’s favor more frequently than David. Although the “runt” of his family, he was anointed as the king of Israel by Samuel while he was just a boy. He was viewed as being too small for much of anything by his father, so much so that he was not even invited to the meeting when Samuel came to anoint the next king. His father, Jesse, lined up all the older, stronger sons for Samuel, being certain it was one of them. Instead, Samuel had to ask Jesse if there were any other sons, after eliminating all of David’s brothers. David was brought in from the field where he was watching sheep and immediately anointed.

Even after his anointing, though, David’s life was a roller coaster of divine confirmation and public resistance. He famously killed Goliath, whom the entire Israelite army cowered in front of, despite being too small to wear armor. He became a musician in King Saul’s palace to soothe the tormented soul of the king. He was eventually driven from the palace due to Saul’s jealousy and spent years on the run from his wrath. All the while, though, God’s hand was assuredly on David, protecting him and sustaining him as he waited to become king over Israel.

Approximately 30 years after his anointing, David finally ascended to the throne in Israel. His reign ushered in a time of prosperity, global prominence,

and, most importantly, God’s favor, that had never been seen before in Israel’s history. Due to David’s humility before God on the battlefield and in his palace, he became the gold standard, so to speak, for kings in Israel. His reputation for victory, regardless of the sphere, rapidly spread throughout the region. This is the David that was revered as a man after God’s heart.

However, one of the most magnificent things about the Bible is its transparency with regard to those whom God used for His purposes. As wonderful as the humility of David was, David was no more immune to pride than anyone. The name Bathsheba is synonymous with the fall of David. His reliance on God gradually faded to self-reliance, then ultimately to self-absorbed sinfulness. Acts previously regarded as unthinkably sinister for David suddenly characterized his life as lust turned to rape, then to deceitful cover-up, and ultimately to murder. To say David had become prodigal is the grossest of understatements. But, as we see, God is a God of second chances.

The Text After David had exhausted all of his manipulative wiles in trying to cover up his atrocities, he receives a strange visit from Nathan that began with an even stranger story. Under the guise of seeking the king’s ruling on a civic matter, Nathan tells David a story of such repulsive selfishness and theft that David is instantly enraged. Declaring immediate death upon the wretched

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man Nathan described, David is horrified at Nathan’s rebuke, “You are the man!” Confronted with the treachery of his recent actions, the once great king was faced with the decision of killing Nathan for his bold insubordination or accepting the conviction with a humble heart.

“David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)

It would be difficult to overstate the radical change in David in the passing of a few moments. He whirls on his spiritual heels from unchecked fleshly indulgence and selfishness, driven by pride, to a brokenness of spirit and contrition that can only be brought about by an encounter with the living God. In this case, Nathan was the emissary of God. It should also not be overlooked that David, who if he were any other king would have had Nathan killed on the spot, actually confesses to Nathan. The conviction David was under led him to shatter numerous royal boundaries in regard to vulnerability. We see evidence of his brokenness splashed all over the pages of Scripture, but perhaps none so clearly as Psalm 51.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

The word “create” is the same word used throughout the first chapter of Genesis. It has in mind the idea of bringing about something from nothing. In commenting on this passage, renowned preacher and scholar Charles Haddon Spurgeon explains, “…but he does not say, ‘Make my old heart clean;’ he is too experienced in the hopelessness of the old nature. He would have the old man buried as a dead thing, and a new creation brought in to fill its place.” All of creation is the work reserved for God alone. Therefore, when David petitions for a new, clean heart, God is the only source possible for works of such redemption.

The rest of the verse is no less significant. In the second half of the verse, David paints the picture of the prodigal’s return. Whereas the first half of the verse refers to the creation of something new, the second half refers to a return. David acknowledges that at one time in the past, he demonstrated a spirit that was right before the Lord. Now, in the face of conviction for his atrocities, he longs desperately to experience the freedom of that relationship with God. David desires a removal of the barriers he himself has placed between God and himself. David wants to come home, from which he had wandered so far.

“Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11)

Session 2

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to say all of those instances were in good times. For as many moments like the slaying of Goliath and dancing without restraint before the ark of the covenant as it was brought back to Jerusalem, there were equal moments such as the years he spent running from a jealousy-enraged Saul and the situations which led to the writing of Psalm 23 (“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”). At the writing of Psalm 51, though, David is at a point of desolation, shame, and guilt that makes the joy of God’s salvation seem like another lifetime. He longs for the return of the divine joy — for things to go back as they were, so to speak.

Once David has been returned to joy, he knows that he will likely fall from it again, having such a keen, new awareness of his own frailty. David knows the limits of his own strength. Precisely for that reason, he asks that God be the one that empowers him to stand. David tried to make himself stand and fell miserably as a result. He knows he cannot, in his own might and determination, stay in a covenantal relationship with God. He is dire need of God’s graceful restoration.

“Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet, so he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.” (2 Samuel 12:24-25)

David now deals with the somber consequences that he has personally witnessed in the life of one that committed such high-handed sin against God. Specifically, as a youth, David had witnessed for years the awful repercussions of prideful sin as he dwelled in and around the palace of King Saul. After being anointed by Samuel, Saul rapidly devolved into an absolute failure as king over God’s people. He routinely discounted the guidance of Samuel as he communicated God’s wisdom and direction. Instead of being humbled by the increasingly obvious reprimands from God through Samuel, Saul only grew more prideful. Ultimately, in one of the most haunting verses in the Bible, we learn that, immediately after Samuel anoints the boy David as the next king of Israel, “…the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.” (1 Samuel 16:14)

David realized the gravity and danger of his pride, which had led to his downfall with Bathsheba. It not only cost the life of the fruit of their union, but it placed David in the same high-handed position as his predecessor, Saul.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12)

David had experienced, on numerous occasions prior, the joy and exultation that came with being in intimate fellowship with the Father. That is not

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One of the central promises of the covenant that God made with David was the promise that David would always have a descendant on the throne of Israel. Even while David was still reigning, he had considerable concern as to whether God’s restoration of him meant that this promise was still intact. The likelihood is that this passage occurs several years after David’s initial encounter with Bathsheba. Solomon was not the first-born son to David and Bathsheba (likely the fourth, according to 1 Chronicles 3:5). So why does the author of 2 Samuel skip the first three sons?

As we know from reading the Old Testament, Solomon was the son that would succeed David as king. The author is not in any way dismissing the first three sons. Rather, the author is emphasizing Solomon as the continuation of the divine promise. David had faltered in unfaithfulness to God. God never falters. David’s restoration was confirmed by the author. It is tremendously significant that verse 24 closes with “…Solomon. And the LORD loved him…” The comment about God loving Solomon affirms that Solomon is the next in line to continue the covenant of God.

It is worth noting that, just like the prodigal in the parable of Jesus, David’s return to his Father did not mean that there were no lasting consequences for his acts. Just like the prodigal, though accepted by his father in the parable, never regained the fortune

he had squandered, David also paid an irreplaceable price for his sin. The child that was the result of his assault on Bathsheba died, just as Nathan said. What is more, rampant familial dysfunction characterized David’s final days. God’s loving grace restored David to fellowship with God, but the earthly, physical ramifications for his sin never left his house the remainder of his life.

The Text in LifeSecond chance stories, by necessity, mean that at some point in the past, we realize that we have made a drastic mistake. Whatever the circumstances of that life-altering mistake, the common denominator is an unchecked obsession with ourselves. That unchecked obsession with ourselves usually manifests itself by our trying to meet our own fleshly needs our way. As we learn in the parable of the prodigal son, as well as in David’s treachery with Bathsheba, is that refusing to follow the Father’s leading in our lives only leads us down a dead end street that is going to require a painful U-turn.

Thankfully, our heavenly Father is one that not only watches down the road to await our return to Him (as the parable describes), but also paved the way to make it possible. Our entire faith system as Christians is predicated on God coming to get His children, drawing us to Himself through the leading of the Holy Spirit. So what are some specific points of application?

Session 2

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First, we must recognize our own sinfulness and take responsibility for it. Our second chance story begins with such an acknowledgement; we call it repentance. In a culture in which it is the default to blame our wrongdoing, selfish choices, and failures on others (see Adam and Eve in Gen. 3), it is critical to own our own fallenness and call it what it is. We are prideful, rebellious, and desire to meet our needs our way. This is not supposed to feel good. It didn’t for the prodigal in the parable, and it most certainly did not for King David.

Second, we humbly ask for God’s forgiveness. This is also not easy. It is not easy because the anatomy of sin has pride as its core. Admitting we were wrong and need help is the greatest of threats to pride. We exercise this humility in the presence of those we’ve wronged – both God and one another.

Third, we accept forgiveness from God. This step is actually frequently left out in most explanations of salvation. We move right from confessing sin to salvation, but the acceptance of forgiveness is the link that binds those two realities together. Have you ever been forgiven for something, but still didn’t “feel forgiven?” Here is why: the enemy wants nothing more than for us to believe that even God cannot forgive us. When we confess our rebellion and sinfulness to God, His Word promises us that we are forgiven. We don’t have to talk Him into it. He put on flesh and

came and died so that we could be forgiven. When we confess our sin, we cannot guarantee that the people we’ve wronged will forgive us. However, we can confidently accept that sins confessed in humility and brokenness to God are forgiven (1 John 1:9).

Fourth, we surround ourselves with others that will help us not to continue to commit the sin we just confessed. One of the benefits of being in biblical community with others is asking for and receiving prayer and support for those areas of our lives in which we know we struggle. The enemy wants us to be isolated so that we are easy prey. Let’s not be.

Ultimately, when we read Revelation 21, we know that we are all prodigals. Those who have accepted Christ as their Savior are on their way back home. When we finally reach home in the new heaven and new earth, our Father will proclaim over His prodigal children, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Rev. 21:3)

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Session 2

Questions to Consider1. When you consider the sin

of David with Bathsheba or the prodigal demanding his estate from his father, what is your response to their sin? How does that compare with your view of your own sin?

2. Why do you think it is important to consciously accept forgiveness, as mentioned above?

3. If you were going to pick six snapshots of moments in your life that depict the trajectory of your journey with God, which six moments would you pick? Why?

4. Who in your life has permission to confront you (if needed) when you are wrong or blinded to your own sin? When was the last time you told them you need for them to do that?

5. What area of your life do you feel like you need prayer from others over most? Who is joining you in prayer?

6. What passages other than 1 John 1:9 do you remember that speak of God’s promise to forgive us when we confess our sins in humility?

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Notes

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Session 3Storytelling: Writing a New Chapter in Your LifeMarch 6, 2016Sermon Passages: Matthew 9:17; Luke 6:46-49Curriculum Passage: Joshua 14:10-12

IntroductionChange. There may not be a more polarizing word in the English language. For many people, just reading that first word was enough to send cold chills down their spines. I know, because I am one of those people. Still others read that word and are so excited about the unscripted blank slate that lies on the other side of the door they are about to open that they can’t decide whether to open the door or run through it! If you put both of those types of people on the same relay, problem-solving team, or road trip, you are going to have an extremely volatile, but most likely entertaining adventure. Transition just does something to people at the core of who we are – individually and corporately.

What transforms change into mission, though? How does change for change’s sake morph into an adaptation that will allow kingdom growth and the galvanization of God’s people for His glory? The key resides in knowing that someone is in charge and that the someone is good and trustworthy. When we talk about writing a new chapter, it is predicated on knowing who the author is. If that author is us, God help us all, literally. But, if we understand that there is a metanarrative, a great

story being unfolded, written by our sovereign King, and that we are a part of it, all of a sudden change can become challenge. Transition becomes training. Our power and effort give way to the irrefutable power of Almighty God. Then we see change differently because we know the One who is opening the door for us to walk through.

All of that is not to minimize the nervousness that can accompany change. That is a natural part of being a human being. We all experience it to some degree. However, it is to say that even in those moments of isolation when we feel as though we are not sure if the sun is going to rise from the east, west, or south tomorrow morning, God is still writing the story. God is still the one drawing us forward. Because He is in control, we can walk – even if slowly – into the grand new adventure He is calling us to with the confidence that He will never leave us or forsake us.

Our passage this week deals with a part of history like that. In a life already full of numerous gigantic transitions, Caleb should have been ready to pack it in for an easy life. But Caleb knew the Author, that He was still drawing him forward, and that he wanted to be a part of it.

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Biblical BackgroundJoshua’s leadership over Israel began where Moses’ leadership ended. Joshua had incredible shoes to fill, so to speak, in leading Israel. He had seen all that Moses had endured at the hands of the recalcitrant Israelites. When God commissioned him to lead the nation into the Promised Land at the opening of the book, God repeated the exhortation for Joshua to “be strong and courageous” three times in the first nine verses. This assured Joshua both that the task at hand would be every bit as difficult as he believed it to be and that God would sustain him and prosper him as Joshua was faithful.

As Joshua established his leadership of Israel, God reproduced select miracles through which He showed His power in the life of Moses. For instance, where Moses led the people through the Red Sea on dry land, Joshua led them through the Jordan River. Joshua led Israel into repeated battles to drive out the indigenous peoples that already populated the Promised Land. God showed His favor and dominion by thwarting foes in supernatural ways, particularly in the cases of Jericho and Gibeon. Alas, even as Joshua aged, there was still much work remaining with regard to completely driving the indigenous peoples out of Canaan. God commanded Joshua to divide the whole land into parcels for each of the tribes of Israel.

There is tremendous mention of land in the book of Joshua. Joshua was careful to record with great detail the boundaries of each tribe’s section. The reason for this is that in Joshua we read the account of God fulfilling the second half of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15. The first part of the covenant was to make a nation, which we see developing through the Torah, particularly in Numbers. The second part of the covenant is that God would give the people a land to call home. When Abraham received that promise, he was standing in Canaan. Now, hundreds of years later, the people that were the result of the first part of God’s covenant were contending to take possession of the land that fulfilled the second part of God’s covenant.

In our text for this week, we listen in on a conversation about the dividing of the land between Joshua and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb were the only two from their generation of Israelites that were allowed to enter Canaan. Approximately forty years earlier, twelve spies had entered the Promised Land to see if they could take it like God had said. Ten of the spies said that it was impossible due to the danger of the land and the enormity of its residents. The people voted in favor of the ten spies, refusing to enter the land, despite God’s assurances. The two remaining spies, Joshua and Caleb, were the only ones of their generation that did not die in the wilderness.

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The Text Having fought their way into the land, the Israelites began to settle the Promised Land. Prior to the majority of the conflicts beginning, some of the tribes of Israel (tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) decided to settle on the east side of the Jordan River, just outside Canaan. Their arrangement to do so was contingent on them fighting alongside the remaining tribes to secure the land to the west of the Jordan River. That being said, Joshua first allocates land to those two and a half tribes settling to the east of the Jordan.

When the allotment turns to the tribes settling inside the Promised Land, the first to approach Joshua is Caleb. Caleb starts the conversation with Joshua by placing all of his coming comments in context. The context goes all the way back to the defining event that Joshua and Caleb shared, namely being sent into the Promised Land as spies over four decades earlier. Caleb is pointed to make the point that, while all his brothers (the other spies) terrified the people with their report, he adhered fervently to the insight God had given him. Most significantly, Caleb remembered that Moses had sworn to give him this land because Caleb had wholeheartedly followed God.

“And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now,

behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.” (Joshua 14:10)

In this verse, there are a couple of things that should be noticed in particular. First of all, Caleb at no time wavers in his belief that God is to receive all of the credit for the fact that he is still alive. This makes an incredible amount of sense, as Caleb and Joshua have witnessed all of their brothers in their generation fall in the wilderness due to their lack of faith. In addition, his years on the earth have not been easy years. The math would indicate that, since Caleb was 85 years old, he was approximately 38 years old when the Hebrews left Egypt. Thus, the first 38 years of his life were lived in harsh slavery in Egypt, being born 2 years after Moses killed the Egyptian. Since leaving Egypt, Caleb spent the next 40 or so years of his life in the wilderness, walking. When he finally got out of the wilderness in his late 70’s, he began the military conflicts that involved the Jews moving into the Promised Land. By all considerable means, Caleb’s body should have been broken and frail at this point in his life, after over eight decades of perpetual physical abuse. Caleb understands full well the only One that could receive praise for his strength and vitality was God and His faithfulness.

Second of all, there is a strong tone in Caleb’s speech of one coming to collect on a promise made. The technical term for this literary element is juridical speech. It is not so much that Caleb feels entitled, as it is that

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it. If other duties and responsibilities require his administration and leadership, he is more than ready for the challenge. Quite to the contrary of the typical scenario in which the strife of life gradually melts away our resolve and vigor, the more Caleb faithfully pursues the promises of God for His people, the more his strength abides.

“So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:12)

“This hill country” refers to Hebron, which was the home of the Anakim. The Anakim were a race of giants that had long been a lingering opponent for God’s people, all the way back to Abraham. Their particular significance at this point in Scripture is that these giants were the ones who were in the land that the ten spies saw and were terrified by 45 years earlier (Numbers 13:28). Caleb had also seen them in Canaan all those years ago, so this was unfinished business for Caleb.

Joshua had dispossessed the Anakim in Hebron earlier (Joshua 11:21, 22). However, they were evidently still in the area, even if outside the city. Compiling everything that Caleb knew about the Anakim, he knew full well it would likely be the fight of his life. They were giants,

Caleb is relying completely on the faithfulness of the One who made the promise 45 years earlier. He is right to do so because, as he points out, the promise was made by Yahweh, through His servant Moses. Caleb fully believes that God has preserved him specifically to fulfill the promise that was made all those years ago.

“I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.” (Joshua 14:11)

To further drive his point home, Caleb states declaratively and incredibly that his strength as an 85-year old man is the same as it was as a 40-year old man. The longer that Caleb addresses Joshua, the more the reader gets the sense that God has supernaturally empowered him to accomplish this new challenge.

Of particular note is the phrase Caleb uses to close this verse. The idiom “for going and coming” refers to the taking care of daily affairs. More significantly, it is the same phrase used by Moses when passing the mantle of leadership to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:2: “And he [Moses] said to them, ‘I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in….” Caleb is making a claim that he still has many years of vibrant leadership and service to God before him. If that leadership and service be in the context of military battle, so be

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known to live in strongly fortified cities, with a history of animosity against God’s people. They were militarily savvy and known as great warriors.

In the face of such a challenge, the words of Caleb continue to reveal a man who is not done yet. He is continuing to look to God for the next step in His continuing plan for His people. That is an important distinction to make because he is not simply ambitious. Rather, Caleb believes that God will use him as He continues to move on behalf of his people. The verbiage makes this clear. The idiom “It may be…” does not mean what we use it to mean. In the original language, it does not refer to a vague possibility, but to an assured confidence. The strength of “It may be” is inextricably linked to the faith of the person speaking. For Caleb, he is certain that God has prepared and will sustain him through this new challenge. Precisely because of this, he is ready for it – not for his glory, but for God’s. He will drive them out, just as the Lord has said. He will be the willing and excited vessel that God will carry out His will through. Caleb is ready for a new chapter.

The Text in Life People handle change and transition differently. It is important to acknowledge that, while there is a right and wrong attitude with which to process change, there is no right or wrong way to process the transition as long as the manner for doing so is God-honoring. Some handle change cautiously, asking many questions, and investigating

details. Some charge into transition headlong. While pace may vary, the critical element in processing change, as believers, is understanding that change and transition is a necessary part of God moving His people forward. The evidence of God moving His people forward is on every page of Scripture.

Understanding that, there are a series of questions that we can consider in evaluating the changes and transitions that we experience. First, is there a way that God can bring glory to Himself in this transition? To answer this question, we need to be prayed up as believers. By that I mean that we cannot just answer “no” and decide transition is bad. Answering this question fairly requires periods of prayer and study of God’s Word. It might involve fasting or extended times of prayer with a group of close friends. Honestly, it might also involve a season of pouring out one’s heart to God with frustrations, fears, anxieties, and even anger over the transition. The Holy Spirit deals with us in all these things and can open us up to understanding we did not have previously.

Second, are there signs or evidences that God has prepared me for a challenge like this? Many times that is the case. We can observe strengths or competencies that God has allowed to build in our lives that would be of service in a transition. Our experiences can bring about a type of tested wisdom that uniquely prepares us for new seasons of ministry as well.

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Third, is there a sense of stagnation in my spiritual life? At some point, all believers get stuck in a rut spiritually. Those rut times last longer for some than others. Regardless, those seasons of restless stagnation often prepare us to say “yes” to a new challenge.

Fourth, what can I offer to be a part of the transition? Evaluating how we can leverage our resources, strengths, abilities, talents, etc. is a huge question to answer. Just like Caleb taking stock of his life, there is likely many ways to lean into new opportunities. Being in an active role frequently alleviates some of the paralysis-by-analysis that can accompany processing change. Involvement translates into ownership. Ownership empowers us to shape and mold even new experiences in the unique way God has crafted us to do so individually.

Fifth, do I dislike the substance of the change or do I just dislike change? Frankly, only one of those options is okay. Disliking the substance of a change can mean that the plan is poorly designed, it is unhealthy for my family, it will be dangerous for those involved, I don’t want to be laid off, or a whole host of valid excuses that could make a change or transition a bad thing. However, just disliking change because it changes things is difficult to justify as the people of God. Salvation is change. Sanctification is change. Abraham left home. Noah built a boat in the desert. Moses went home and then left with over a million of his closest friends. The

Israelites went into the Promised Land – eventually. Jesus left Heaven for earth. The apostles went from being fishermen to fishers of men to disciples to founders of the New Testament church. Paul went from hating the church to planting the church. All of this is change that required indescribable transition.

The truth is that as long as we breathe oxygen and profess Christ as Savior, God is not finished using us for His glory. Sometimes that will involve transition of various degrees. However, that transition can be exactly what God is using to catapult us into the next great season in our relationship with Him. When we prayerfully evaluate the opportunity, how God has prepared us for it, and the Gospel-oriented possibilities ahead, we are ready to know and experience God in ways we never have before.

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Session 3

Questions to Consider1. How would you explain the

difference between a person’s pace of change and their attitude of change? Why is it important to know the difference?

2. How would you rate your openness to change? Do you process slowly or more rapidly when transition occurs?

3. What was the last new challenge you undertook that you felt God had uniquely prepared you for? How did you come to that conclusion? What did you do?

4. What are some signs that you notice when you start to become stagnant or restless spiritually?

5. Who in your life helps you talk through/pray through/process transition most effectively? What is it about them that makes them so helpful?

6. What transition in your life so far has been the most challenging? How have you witnessed God’s faithfulness in it?

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Notes

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Session 4Storytelling: Your Heroic StoryMarch 13, 2016Sermon Passage: Luke 10:25-37Curriculum Passage: Joshua 2

IntroductionJesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is perhaps His most widely identifiable parable. It is so widely known that the term ‘Good Samaritan’ is widely used in secular spheres all over the world to describe someone who willingly risks and sacrifices time, resources, effort, convenience, etc. to help a complete stranger in trouble. In talking about this with Jay Smith, he sent me a story he had collected.

On October 18, 2013 in Buffalo, New York, 37-year-old Darnell Barton was driving a bus filled with high school students over a bridge when he spotted a young woman perched on the wrong side of the guardrail. Sensing something wasn’t right, Barton slowed to the side of the busy arterial road and opened the bus door. From his seat behind the steering wheel, the driver called to the woman asking her if she was okay. When the young woman looked at Barton but didn’t respond, he left the bus and approached her. Barton told the Buffalo News, “She turned back to look at me and then back at the traffic and that’s when I kind of lunged and got my left arm around her body.” Barton proceeded to talk her into climbing back over the guardrail as he guided her with his large arms. Together they sat on the pavement.A surveillance camera shows a pedestrian and a bicyclist going by the distraught woman without stopping to help. But Barton, who acknowledges

having grown up in church, said he could hear his mother’s voice in his head prompting him to do the right thing. As a result he gave her some encouraging words. The two conversed until first responders showed up. Barton told a reporter “The Bible says we are to be ready in season or out of season. You’ve got to be ready. If you’ve got time to do anything you’ve got time to do the right thing.”When Barton got back on his bus he received a standing ovation from the high school students. Then he finished his route, wrote up a report, and went home. Nicknamed “Big Country” by his coworkers, there is little doubt that the heroic driver has a big heart.

The actual parable was set on the road to Jericho when Jesus told it. It was a road widely known for treacherous travel. Due to its rocky terrain, bandits frequently lay in wait for the hapless travelers that could easily be set upon and robbed. As it turns out, this was not the first biblical account of Jericho being involved in a heroic deed from a foreigner outside of the Jewish people. Hundreds of years earlier, Jericho was the home of a different type of hero story.

Biblical BackgroundAs mentioned in last week’s lesson, the book of Joshua chronicles a significant paradigm shift in the nation of Israel. For just short of the last five decades, they had only known one leader – Moses.

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Compounding the matter was the fact that Moses had been such an obviously anointed leader for God’s people. Moses was God’s agent to face down Pharaoh, which brought with it multiple visible miracles. Moses was the one that instituted the plagues against Egypt, under God’s direction and power. Moses was the one that walked in front as the entire Hebrew people walked out of Egypt, no longer as slaves, but as free men and women. Moses was the one that walked to the banks of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army raining down upon the trapped Hebrews and, again under God’s direction and power, walled off the sea so the people could walk through on dry land. Moses was the only one that was in God’s presence for 40 days, resulting in the giving of the Ten Commandments.

All that to say, Moses was an incredibly tough act to follow. Joshua felt every bit of that pressure. Despite being God’s called successor for Moses, Joshua was intimidated by the mantle of leadership he was to undertake. That is why the opening chapter of Joshua is filled with God’s repeated admonition that Joshua be strong and courageous. God repeatedly reminded Joshua that the same power that enabled Moses to seemingly do all those miraculous deeds was the same power that would now empower Joshua to lead God’s people as a nation.

As a type of confirmation of Joshua, God replicated many of the miracles that defined Moses’ visible ministry in the leadership of Joshua. For instance, just

as Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, Joshua led them into the Promised Land. Moses led the Israelites across the walled-off Red Sea; Joshua led them through a walled-off Jordan River. Both were referred to as a servant of the Lord, marking their divine calls to lead God’s people. Most notably for the purposes of our study this week, where Moses sent spies into the Promised Land, Joshua sent spies into Jericho. While chapter 1 of Joshua marks Joshua’s transition into leadership after the death of Moses, chapter 2 marks the beginning of his leading the people of God forward, under the direction and power of God.

The TextAfter the closing encouragement to Joshua to be strong and courageous to end chapter 1, chapter 2 opens with immediate action. Joshua sends two men on a clandestine mission to survey the land that the Israelites will soon be overtaking. The opening verse introduces us to the main characters, as it were, of this hero story.

“And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’ And they went and came into the houseof a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.” (Joshua 2:1)

So the primary characters are the two spies and Rahab. Some effort has been made in the past to redefine who Rahab was and soften this depiction

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of her. Some translations in the past have described her as “the keeper of an inn.” Frankly, to do so dilutes the shock and strategy of this story. The spies enter the heavily fortified city in secret and immediately look for the place where they would be least likely to be discovered. Regarding this passage, John Calvin notes “her house was contiguous to the wall of the city…its outer side was actually situated in the wall. From this we may infer that it was some obscure corner remote from the public thoroughfare; just as persons of her description usually live in narrow lanes and secret places.”

Inclinations to sanitize this passage obscure the essence of what is happening. The spies, having successfully infiltrated the city, had to wait for morning light to be able to view the land in fulfillment of their mission. There was only one place they could lodge that would not risk their being discovered. This, by the way, is the same reason that Philip went to Samaria when fleeing the persecution of the Church in Acts 8. No Jewish man would have gone to Samaria to find him, so it was the ideal hiding place. In that regard, Rahab’s home was the ideal hiding place for the spies.

Apparently, however, the spies were not as stealthy in their approach of the city as they thought. Their presence in the city had become known, the news of which had made its way all the way to the king.

“And it was told to the king of Jericho, ‘Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.’ Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.’” (Joshua 2:2-3)

The king, upon learning of the arrival of the spies, sends messengers to Rahab to demand that she turn over the men based on the reason for their presence. The fact that the king sends messengers reflects the reputation of the destination. Clearly, hiding there was a prudent decision for the spies. Certainly kings used messengers for a variety of reasons, but for matters pertaining to the safety of the kingdom, the king would normally have been present.

The presence of the spies being known to the king immediately puts their lives in danger. What is more, having the spies in her home immediately places the life of Rahab in danger. The spies would have been executed as invaders. Rahab would have been charged with treason and executed. The result is the same no matter if the offending party is a citizen or outsider. The Israelite spies, then, are at the mercy of a woman they do not know, with their very lives hanging in the balance. If we allow ourselves to mentally place ourselves among the spies, who are stashed away inside Rahab’s home, it is not difficult to imagine how fervently they must have prayed for a miracle.

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encounter with the spies. This episode occurs at the genesis of her faith in God. Faltering is to be expected. She had already exercised faith in accepting the spies into her home and interceding for them with the king’s messengers. Calvin again explains, “and still the act of Rahab is not devoid of the praise of virtue, although it was not spotlessly pure. For it often happens that while the saints study to hold the right path, they deviate into circuitous courses.”

The important fact not to be lost in the discussion over the deception is that Rahab risked her life for the lives of the two men she had hidden in her house. After her excuse, the search party quickly took flight to apprehend the spies. Scholar Martin Woudstra observantly notes that “the narrative does not state explicitly that the spies were the recipients of special divine care. Yet it is strange that the king’s messengers were so quickly persuaded of the accuracy of this woman’s words and that no search of her house was instituted.” This is a subtle hint of divine intervention. Instead of making a thorough search of the house, the messengers took the word of a woman whose reputation and profession maligned her to the margins of society. The follow-up question to all of this is why Rahab would have risked her life to save another in the first place.

“Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, ‘I know that the LORD has given

“But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, ‘True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.’ But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.” (Joshua 2:4-6)

The obvious issue to be addressed in this collection of verses is the matter of Rahab’s complete deception as a method of keeping the spies safe. This is one of the great tensions in Scripture: does the result of the method justify the method? To say that her lie was acceptable because it prevented the execution of God’s people doing God’s work makes honesty less important than saving a life. Scripture takes a strong stance against lying, so this cannot be the answer. Still, surrendering innocent lives just because an army or mob insists upon it is tantamount to being an accomplice to murder.

The best way to understand this passage is to acknowledge that Rahab’s actions saved the lives of the Israelite spies. However, in doing so, she did not choose the God-honoring path. Her lie reflects a moment in which she believed more in her own capability than she did in the power of God to accomplish His purposes, no matter how unlikely. That stands to reason, since she was not a part of the people of God prior to the

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you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.’” (Joshua 2:8-10)

Rahab’s speech to the spies actually goes on further than these verses, but these are representative enough to make the point. Rahab risked her life for the lives of the spies because she perceived that God was at work among them. This is an incredibly significant realization because Rahab actually uses the name “Yahweh” when describing what was occurring in Israel. In addition, she confirms the impact of God’s power at work in Israel by describing the way in which the Canaanites of various tribes lost heart at the sound of Israel’s coming. So great had the reputation of Israel become in a short time due to the favor of God upon them that their enemies and potential enemies were unnerved just knowing the Israelites were in their general area.

Rahab’s knowledge of the history of Israel is vast and impressive. She not only mentions the parting of the Red Sea but, more pertinent to the plight of her own people, the destruction of Og and Sihon (Deuteronomy 2:26 – 3:22).

Knowing all of these things, Rahab understood that she had to choose to either be a part of what God was doing in and through Israel or she could choose to try and thwart the plan of Yahweh. We know she chose to become a part of what God was doing, historically. Her reasoning? She knew that being a part of what God was doing not only saved the lives of the spies, but would also save her life as well.

The Text in Life The danger in telling hero stories from lives like Rahab’s is that we can erroneously believe that we have to similarly put our lives in danger in order to be considered a hero. That is not the case at all. If we consider the example from this morning’s sermon on the Good Samaritan, we know that all it takes is to selflessly give of ourselves to serve or help others. As believers, doing so also means Gospel-focused service. In light of that, here are some practical application points for being a hero to others.

First, we must be able to identify those that are in need of saving. While it is natural and good for believers to want to be at church and with one another, there is also a danger there. From time to time, we can become so involved with church activities and our relationships with other believers that we insulate ourselves from those that need to be exposed to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. When we get to the point that we can no longer identify any

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non-believers that we have personal friendships with, it is a pretty good sign that we have unintentionally become insulated from the world around us.

Second, we must cultivate our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives. This is an indispensable part of any hero story because it is the difference between noticing someone needs help and being moved and prompted to be the one that helps. Frankly, in many cases when we observe someone in need of help, we are unsure what to say or do first. One of the promises of the Holy Spirit is that in such times, He will provide us with the words we are to say. Again, all of this is predicated on our sensitivity to and awareness of the Holy Spirit. That grows as we pursue God in prayer and learn how He speaks through Bible study.

Third, must boldly step into the risk of helping others. This may sound like an odd step, but consider our two examples for this week. The Good Samaritan had to not only notice the man’s need for help, but also bandage him and take him to a place where he could heal. Jews and Samaritans hated one another. The likelihood that he would be rejected was always a possibility. Likewise with Rahab — she risked her life to separate herself from her countrymen and attach herself to God’s people. However, when she lied to the messengers seeking the spies, she had no way of knowing whether or not the spies would reject her request for protection, given her immoral

lifestyle. There is always an element of risk in extending a helping hand to others, but it is a risk that heroes take.

Calling ourselves heroes sits about as well with believers as calling ourselves saints. However, just as Christians are called saints because of what Christ did as opposed to their own merits, we are similarly called to be heroes because of what Christ did. Our initiative to influence others for the Gospel follows the model that Jesus left for us in His earthly ministry. Willingly placing aside our personal agendas, resources, and conveniences in favor of ministering to those around us who may be broken, alone, in danger, or without Christ is the grandest of all ways in which we model the heroic life of Christ.

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Session 4

Questions to Consider1. Who was the spiritual hero(es)

that led you to faith in Jesus? How would your life be different if it weren’t for them?

2. When was the last time someone extended a kind word, practical help, or needed prayer to you in a season in which you desperately needed it? How did that act shape your view of God?

3. Hero stories are largely based on believing that God works through His people. Do you still believe that God desires to work through His people? How does that belief specifically shape your daily life?

4. What percentage of your important relationships would you say are with those who do not know Christ yet? How do you feel about that percentage? How would you like for it to change?

5. Whose life that you know would you most like to be a part of God saving? Are you praying for that to happen? Who is praying with you?

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Notes

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Session 5Storytelling: Your Story of ForgivenessMarch 20, 2016Sermon Passages: Matthew 18:23-34; Luke 23:34aCurriculum Passage: Acts 7:54-60

IntroductionDr. Robert Smith is one of the most important men in my life. He was my preaching professor in seminary for each of my degrees. More than that, however, he was a friend to me and a father in the ministry. He still is. What makes this even greater is that all of this is true despite the fact that we could not be more different. Still, when I see him and speak with him, God stirs something in my soul as though I’ve reunited with a brother coming home from a long journey. I don’t see him often, but every time I do, I’m changed. When we care about people to this depth, difficult news is especially heartbreaking.

A few years ago, I received a phone call from my brother that sounded different — the bad kind of different. The conversation was short and to the point. He had just learned that Dr. Smith’s son had been murdered while working at a fast food restaurant the night before. Dr. Smith is widely loved by everyone that has ever had him as a professor, preacher, or friend, so I knew it would be difficult to reach him. I was surprised when he picked up on the second ring. For whatever reason, even after 20+ years of friendship, I still introduce myself by my whole name. The conversation was difficult.

“Dr. Smith? It’s Mike Watson. I just heard.” He wept and so did I. We spoke briefly, I told him I loved him about a half-dozen times, interspersed with prayers and saying “I’m so sorry” over and over. I was a father of one at the time, with a second on the way, and for the life of me, I could not put words together to describe the pain he must have been feeling.

A few years later, within the last year and a half, I was listening to a preaching seminar he had done at the school earlier that year. He was doing a sample sermon on forgiveness. As usual, I was hanging on every word. Then he mentioned his son, and I pulled the car over. He began talking about what God had shown him about forgiveness through the grieving process. As he described his experience, he mentioned something I’ll never forget. He mentioned that he was preparing to go meet the young man, now incarcerated, who shot his son. It was important to him that the young man knew that he was forgiven.

Forgiveness may be the most often thrown around word in the Christian experience. It is at the core of what makes one a Christian. Yet, as in so many other instances, its frequent use can sometimes rob it of its depth. Forgiveness is not easy. Forgiveness

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is not trite. Forgiveness costs us the right to be angry, resentful, and bitter. To forgive is to walk in the footsteps of our Savior, who first forgave us.

Biblical BackgroundThe book of Acts serves as the second of two volumes that Luke wrote to Theophilus. The first volume was the gospel that bears Luke’s name. Each volume references Theophilus as the recipient at the opening of the book. There remains considerable debate whether Theophilus was an actual person or a representative name given to a group of believers to which Luke was writing. Either way, Luke is clear in his purpose for writing both volumes: to give as historically accurate an account and explanation of the person and work of Jesus Christ as possible.

The work of Christ for Luke includes the beginning of the New Testament Church. Acts opens with Luke re-telling of the Ascension of Christ and the imparting of the Great Commission to His followers. From there, the focus of the action of Acts centers on the apostles and the birth of the Church. “Birth” is the appropriate word to use here, as the beginning of the New Testament Church marked an event never before seen in human history. Just like birth, there were considerable pangs and pain that accompanied the suddenness of the Church’s beginning.

As the growth of the Church moves from its initial location in Jerusalem to

the surrounding regions due to ongoing persecution, the Church begins to change in its focus and form. Where initially the Church was made up of Jews in Jerusalem, the persecution saw the believers take the Gospel to surrounding areas, bringing new sets of challenges. Acts 15, for example, chronicles the Jerusalem Council, in which the Church leadership decides on how to greet Gentile believers, which had never before been a part of the equation.

There is a tendency to view the period of the Church’s birth as a sort of utopian society. When passages like Acts 2 spell out the love the Church demonstrated to one another, it is easy to overlook a lot of the other textual clues that give insight into the challenges of the Church. However, a careful reading of the early chapters in Acts show that shortly after the New Testament Church came into existence, they experienced several problems that are inherent when large groups of broken people get together. One of the significant problems that arose was a sense of classism among the believers. Even as the Church was caring for its own, there arose a sharp dispute between the Hebrew widows and the Hellenistic widows. The difference between these two groups was not racial; they were all Jews. The difference was language. The Hellenistic Jews were those who were raised in Greco-Roman culture. Consequently, the Hellenists spoke Greek. The Hebrew widows, on the other hand, spoke Hebrew or Aramaic.

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As the argument escalated, it threatened the delicate unity of the new Church. However, in a form of brilliant leadership, the Apostles knew that they could not neglect their primary role of teaching to oversee food distribution as well. So, seven deacons (servants) were selected based on their evident Christian faith and good repute, in order to oversee the food distribution. One of those deacons was Stephen.

The Text Leading up to our text, Stephen was working tremendous miracles and signs among the people. He was a Hellenistic Jewish Christian, which made his selection to oversee food distribution extremely savvy on the part of the early Church’s leadership. As he was serving, Stephen finds himself in a theological debate with some Jews from the synagogue of the Freedmen. This would have meant they were former slaves who had been freed. They, like Stephen, were originally from areas outside of Palestine and, therefore, Hellenists. Unlike Stephen, however, they were not Christians. Thus the debate is sparked, most likely revolving around the messiahship of Jesus. When it became obvious to the Jews that they could not rival Stephen’s wisdom in his ability to explain the Gospel, they began a slanderous brushfire that accused Stephen of blasphemy against Moses and God.

Before he knew it, Stephen was standing before the high priest being asked if the charges of blasphemy were

true. Instead of answering yes or no, Stephen launches into an eloquent and powerful apologetic of the Christian faith, tracing Jesus’ messianic identity all the way back to Abraham. Reading through Luke’s account of Stephen’s defense in chapter 7 leaves little question why his initial opponents were unable to match his wisdom. Stephen closes with a strong confrontation of the Jews as the stiff-necked betrayers and murderers of Jesus. There is equally little question as to why the Sanhedrin responded as they did.

“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.” (Acts 7:54)

What the court had heard was that Stephen, who had been accused of blasphemy, had turned the tables and said that the Scriptures declare that the Jews were actually the ones who were the blasphemers. Having listened to the whole of Stephen’s defense of the Gospel to this point, his accusers could restrain their rage no longer. Make no mistake, in that moment they hated Stephen. They were not feeling conviction, they were not cut to the heart — they were filled with murderous hate. They ground their teeth at Stephen. It takes little imagination to picture the room full of Jews with jaws clenched so tightly that one could hear their teeth grinding, their mandibles popping from the pressure, their faces reddened with an uncontrollable rage. These are the faces of men who are on the brink of bloodshed.

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“But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” (Acts 7:57-58)

Like hounds released for the hunt, the Jews cried out as they mobbed Stephen. They ran with fingers in their ears to prevent having to endure any more of the supposed blasphemy from Stephen. When they reached him, they pushed him out of the city because according to Jewish law, no one could be killed within city limits. The typical practice for stoning was not necessarily as typically depicted. Generally, the picture is given of a crowd hurling rocks at someone until they are knocked down, disoriented, and finally killed. Stoning may have taken that form at some point, but typically the person being stoned was pushed down a hill or into a ditch where they could not escape. At that point the crowd would hurl large stones down the hill onto the person. This made the stones pick up speed as they traveled and also made it more likely that the person would be struck in the head. Eventually the person was crushed by the avalanche of stones hurled upon them.

The witnesses laying down their coats refers to Mosaic Law for stoning (Deut. 13:9-10; 17:7; Lev. 24:14). Those who were witnesses to the punishable crime – in this case anyone who heard the supposed blasphemy firsthand – threw

“But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (Acts 7:55-56)

What little amount of control the crowd had left was now immediately exhausted. In the face of a seething crowd, Stephen’s response could not have been more opposite. Instead of being possessed by a frenzied hate, Stephen actually worships. He is allowed to see into heaven, observing the glory of God and the ascended Christ at His right hand. As was his custom according to his gift, Stephen worships through proclamation. Stephen is enraptured in the manifest presence of God, noticing nothing of the smaller scene in which he was currently standing. No hate or threat of violence could draw his attention away from the Most High.

It is interesting that this is the only time in the New Testament where the phrase “Son of Man” is uttered by anyone other than Jesus in the Gospels. Tremendous variance has been recorded as to the significance of Jesus standing in the vision Stephen saw. Though important, the investigation of those options (there are several) obscures the greater point. The vision of Christ assures Stephen, and consequently all believers, of the new, living way to God through His death, burial, and resurrection. Stephen was foreseeing that which he would soon see in eternity.

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the first stones. In order to throw those stones, the witnesses would remove their outer garments. After the first wave of stones were hurled by the witnesses, the entirety of the people were to join in.

This brings up another interesting point. According to Mosaic Law, the only way in which blasphemy was punishable by stoning was if the offender actually said the covenant name of God (“Yahweh”), which Stephen did not do. Additionally, there was no convened court for sentencing and the Roman governor did not sign off on the execution, both of which were legally required. At this point, the incredible similarities between Stephen and Jesus begin to become more obvious. Like Jesus, Stephen was condemned for affirming Jesus as the Christ. Just like Jesus, Stephen was subjected to a prejudiced, kangaroo court whose verdict was assured before the proceedings commenced. Just like Jesus, Stephen was martyred by the Jews outside Jerusalem. Still there remain two other distinct similarities to Jesus.

“And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling on his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)

The first of the final two similarities between Stephen and Jesus is the

verbalizing of the taking of one’s spirit. Jesus, in Luke 23:46, utters “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Though similar, Stephen’s utterance is slightly different in that he asks that Jesus receive his spirit. This is significant because it gives evidence of a high Christology already at a very early stage in the life of the New Testament Church.

The second of the final similarities is the prayer for the forgiveness of those who are executing them. Yes, forgiveness for those who are executing them. This is a level of compassionate forgiveness that is only possible through Christ. Throughout the entire encounter, ranging back to the start of Stephen’s speech, as the crowd grew increasingly hostile and hateful, Stephen grows increasingly peaceful and serene. As shocking as it is then, it is a suitable description of his death to say “he fell asleep.” Scholar F. F. Bruce describes it this way: “Having prayed thus, says Luke, Stephen “fell asleep” – an unexpectedly peaceful description for so brutal a death, but one which fits the spirit in which Stephen accepted his martyrdom.”

The Text in LifeIt is easy to become indignant at the crowd for their brutality and hate toward Stephen. However, it is precisely in that indignation that conviction accompanies it. The reason for the conviction is that we must realize that, were we in the story, we would have been in the crowd. Why do I say that? Because the Scripture teaches us that while we were enemies

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of God – filled with hate and having no longing for Him – He died for us. This is the essence of our forgiveness story.

Everything we know about forgiveness as believers grows out of the experience of salvation. In that experience, we acknowledge that we are sinners, devoid of anything good, and in need of Christ’s forgiveness. We embrace that forgiveness is nothing we can procure for ourselves, but something that Jesus died to offer us. There are some important implications for our understanding of forgiveness.

First, believers do not have the right to not forgive. When we struggle to forgive others for the wrong, hurt, shame, and even betrayal they have heaped on us, we simultaneously deny the depth of our own need for forgiveness. Our forgiveness required the execution of the only perfect person that ever lived. When I forgive others, I’m releasing a grudge held by one broken person against another broken person. That is not to say forgiveness is easy or intuitive. It is neither of those things. However, for the Christian, it is also not optional.

Second, forgiveness is something the Holy Spirit does in us. Having said Christians don’t have the right to not forgive, it is also important to realize Christians only have the power to forgive others because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Consider Stephen — does anything from that passage seem like something Stephen could muster up by pulling himself up by his bootstraps

or psyching himself up with a lot of positive thinking? Absolutely not! The strength to forgive grows as the Holy Spirit bends us into the image of Christ. Conversely, as a Christian, if I’m not pursuing spiritual development through prayer, Scripture memory, worship, giving, etc., there is a great likelihood I’m also struggling to forgive others.

Third, forgiveness frees me. There is an old saying that goes something like, “refusing to forgive someone is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Scripture tells us repeatedly that vengeance is to be left to the Lord. He is better at it than we are. Our place is to forgive through the power of Christ so that we are not shackled and defined by the wrongs other people have perpetrated against us.

Fourth, forgiveness must be remembered. By that I mean we must remember our own. Easter is perhaps the greatest reminder of how greatly we’ve been forgiven. However, forgiveness is something that feeds our worship and intimacy with God on a daily basis. Failing to remember forgiveness impacts our attitude of gratitude and the joy with which we walk through life. It is to our detriment to let our forgiveness become some kind of spiritual white noise that is always playing in the background but never paid attention to.

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Session 5

Questions to Consider1. When was the first time

you can remember being moved to ask someone to forgive you for something? How did they respond?

2. What practices do you use to prevent harboring bitterness toward those who wrong you?

3. How do you notice that your relationship with God is impacted when you have enmity between you and another believer?

4. How easy is it for you to apologize when you know you’ve wronged someone else? How do you usually feel after you’ve done it?

5. What are some ways that you can remember your own forgiveness?

6. Do you think that forgiving is an instant thing or that it is something you have to continually work at? Why do you think so?

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At First Baptist Concord, our mission is helping one another trade checklist faith for real life with Jesus.

Our core values, which drive everything we do as a church body, are:• Passionate Influence• Biblical Truth• Missional Living• Authentic Relationships• Thriving Families

Our path, which helps us fulfill our mission, has four elements:• Worship• Connect• Life Groups• Training

For more information about our church or for help finding a class, Bible study, life group, information about a specific ministry or a place to serve, etc., email connect@fbconcord.org or call (865) 966-9791. You’re also invited to join us for Discover Concord, a one-time class held the first Sunday of each month at 10:45 AM in the training center behind Connection Point.

Sunday School classes: fbconcord.org/sundayschool

Life Groups: fbconcord.org/lifegroups