Worship Guidelines (Instructions about Worship), 1 Timothy 2; The Adult Sunday School Lesson for 3-6-11

ATTENTION:  Please note that this is The Adult Sunday School Lesson, Worship Guidelines aka Instructions about Worship, on 1 Timothy 2 for the 3-6-11 International Sunday School Lesson.  You will find the 2-27-11 lesson, Jesus is Coming Again aka Coming of the Son of Man, directly beneath this message and on the right side.

Jed

Worship Guidelines

or

Instructions about Worship

1 Timothy 2

International Sunday School Lesson

March 6, 2011

Commentary

By

Jed Greenough

I love you!  I really do.  You don’t know me, but if you could just think of me as if you did, would you please let it make a difference.  You see I don’t want you to read my commentary today and shut down and leave or worse yet, never visit this site again.

You know we will be in an area of the scriptures that people tend to avoid because of disagreement and next week will be the same.  We can get through this together, remember we love each other.

I think it only fair to say that the reason that I did that little bit of pleading with you is because I know that from my point of view it is easier to take the scriptures, all of them, than it is for some of you.  I really honestly feel though that just as I don’t want you to flee from me and go find a voice that is in total agreement with you, we shouldn’t pick and choose the scriptures we like or don’t like.

Some of us that follow the International Sunday School Lesson or Uniform Series as some of you know it, will be studying 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 3:14-16 while others of us will study all of 1 Timothy 2 and you don’t need me to tell you why that is.

Paul had this to say to Timothy about these Instructions about Worship otherwise known as Worship Guidelines, “I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience.  Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.” 1 Timothy 1: 18a-19.

Unless you have had your conscience seared, those words have got to mean something to those of you that do not hold with, like, follow, obey or believe the scriptures that you are not following.  All I would pray is that you prayerfully consider that our God who does not change, who always has been, knows just as much today as He did when these inspired words were given to us, just as He had a plan once long ago that was not followed in the garden.

Well, enough said, please see the expanded thoughts for discussion below.

For Discussion:

1.      This will certainly be an interesting class for some this time around and I would urge all to consider the feelings of all parties involved and yet still be true to the scriptures.

2.      Discuss how we need to remember all authority in our prayers whether they are in the church, school, work or government at any level and whether we agree with them or not.

3.      As if there weren’t enough tough scriptures in today’s passage, discuss verse 4 in light of Romans 8:28-30 or Ephesians 1:4-5.

4.      Consider verse 5 and the fact that without Jesus as our mediator we would find out what Hebrews 10:31 means by, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

5.      All, regardless of sex, should be expected to lift up and not tear down the Apostle Paul who was appointed by Christ and not by us.

6.      Note that in verse 8 according to the NIV Study Bible, “The Greek for this word does not refer to humankind but to male as distinct from female.”

7.      Societally and culturally times can change how we view things, but what is key to note is that we that are men are not worthy of mention but the splendor of women’s beauty can bedazzle the senses and why modesty is a good idea.

8.      Why do you think that God would want this order between the sexes as described in verses 11-14?

9.      What was a woman’s place in religious education in Jewish society as compared to Christian?

10.  Too often when considering verses 11 and 12, the very necessary 13 and 14 are left out.

11.  Do you think that Paul and those in his day knew something with regard to verse 15 that is lost on us today?  I would only be guessing.

Join me in the weeks ahead for the following International Sunday School Lessons:

3-13-11: Leadership Qualities (Qualifications of Worship Leaders) 1 Timothy 3:1-13

3-20-11: Leadership Priorities (Prepare for Leadership) 1 Timothy 4:6-16

3-27-11: Compassionate Service (Worship Inspires Service) 1 Timothy 5:1-8, 17-22

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Jesus is Coming Again (Coming of the Son of Man), Mark 13:14-27, 31; The Adult Sunday School Lesson for 2-27-11

ATTENTION:  Please note that this adult Sunday school lesson, Coming of the Son of Man aka Jesus is Coming Again on Mark 13:14-27 is for the 2-27-11 International Sunday Sunday School Lesson.  You will find the 2-20-11 lesson, Jesus Came to Serve, directly beneath this message and on the right side.

Jed

Coming of the Son of Man

Or

Jesus is Coming Again

Mark 13:14-27

International Sunday School Lesson

February 27, 2011

Commentary

By

Jed Greenough

Let me begin by saying that today’s passage, along with its corresponding accounts in the gospels, Matthew 24 and Luke 21, are some of the most abused and misused of passages!  I ask you to disabuse yourself, if possible, of the teachings that you may have swallowed hook, line and sinker!  I would have you be prepared and not deceived by those who so readily serve up their theories as fact.  Please note that this is one of the main thrusts that Christ puts forward for your benefit and many of the verses that follow are not included in the scripture for today.  He said:

Mark 13:5a, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”

Mark 13:6, “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.”

Mark 13:9a, “You must be on your guard.”

Mark 13:12, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child.  Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.”

Mark 13:21-23a, “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.  For false Christs will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible.  So be on your guard;”

I hope you fathom the importance that Christ placed on warning the reader to not be deceived concerning this time and to be on guard.  Of course, that means then that you have a responsibility to your brothers and sisters to make sure that they too are so warned.  Too many believe far too easily what is taught on this passage and the other subjects concerning Christ’s return and judgment.

As today’s passage begins we see reference to an “abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong” followed by the rather odd, “let the reader understand”.  Matthew 24:15 interjects “spoken of through the prophet Daniel” in between those two and Luke 21:20 reads, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”

So many who study this passage have had their minds polluted by fiction writers on what will happen in Jerusalem in the last days that it is hard for them to take the scripture on face value alone.  I ask you to consider, is it sufficient enough for just Jerusalem to be the holy place, does there really have to be a rebuilt temple, where is the holy place now, is it within each of us, what if your theory is wrong and you fail to recognize the truth because you are looking to have your theory materialize?

The times of which we are reading will be the worst ever.  We know from all the scriptures that people will be betrayed to death because of their faith in Christ Jesus.  There never has been a time such as this where if God did not stop it there would be no one left alive.  That though, is what this time will be like and thus why Christ so wants you to have a guarded mind.

Yes, there will be those who say Christ is here and the signs that accompany it will deceive many, but you will not fall for that, will you?  You know until you “see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” that the rest will be just deception.  It will be just what the angels said in Acts 1 would happen after Jesus was taken up in a cloud, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

What I want to impress upon you, is that no one will miss it; you won’t have to be told that He is over here or over there.  Matthew 24:30 tells us “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky.”  In Revelation 1:7 we read these stirring words, “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the people of the earth will mourn because of Him.  So shall it be!  Amen.”

This is the time, as it says in verse 27 from today, that the angels will gather His elect.  Paul says this about that time:

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

 ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”

 ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 ⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

So, be prepared, steel yourself, don’t be deceived, and look for the only sign that matters, His coming on the clouds!  But before that happens, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.  For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.”  (LK 21:34-35)

For Discussion:

1.     Read also Matthew 24 and Luke 21

2.     Consider some of the challenges in interpreting this prophecy in a way that for certain separates what applies to Jews and what applies to Christians, very difficult indeed.

3.     For those who are steadfast in their beliefs in their understanding of prophecy, I implore you to prayerfully consider that you may be wrong.

4.     What could happen in today’s world that would cause Israel to be surrounded by armies?

5.      Pray for Jerusalem.

Join me in the weeks ahead for the following International Sunday School Lessons:

March 6, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Worship Guidelines aka Instructions about Worship on 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 3:14-16

March 13, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Leadership Qualities aka Qualifications of Worship Leaders on 1 Timothy 3

March 20, 2011 Adult Sunday School Lesson, Leadership Priorities aka Prepare for Leadership on 1 Timothy 4:6-16

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.