Weekly Study

Read: I Kings 18:1-46

Reflect:

• Another man, another mountain. This mountain is the home for Baal worship—it’s the place where the god of fertility is worshiped. This man is Elijah, whose name means, “My God is Yahweh.” Those two bits of information should prepare any reader for the potential conflict that is sure to ensue.
• On this mountain, God confronts the gods. There’s a contest to see which god can and will actually respond.  Elijah’s God wins the contest with no questions asked. The God of Israel strikes fear into the hearts of the prophets of the lesser gods. The prophets of Yahweh eliminate the prophets of Baal and Asherah.
• Israel cries out words that haven’t been heard for years, possibly decades, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” On this mountain, God is once again given pride of place in the minds of His people. For at least a moment they are again in allegiance to Yahweh. And God honors that allegiance with an end to the drought that their disobedience had originally produced. Everything points to the power of keeping covenant with God.

Respond:

• If Mount Carmel reminds you of the god of produce, what do these cities remind you of? Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Miami?
• What would it take to convince you that God is truly God? Do you long for some sign, a miracle, something spectacular?
• What keeps you from ascribing allegiance to God? How can we help you make that decision?

Pray: Pray that your allegiance is fully given to the God revealed in Scripture. Pray for our BOOST activities, that they point clearly to God. Ask God to help Madison Park be a strong light pointing to the Biblical God.

Read: Exodus 20:1-2

Reflect:

• It was like a lightning bolt struck when I realized the 10 commandments started with grace. How had I not seen that before? What did that imply about the law? Why was that so significant and yet so understated, both in the text and in people’s preaching and writing? Discovering this simple fact changed everything.
• For many, including me, keeping the law (especially the 10 commandments) was all about keeping God happy. If a person kept the 10 commandments it meant they were a good person and had a chance to go to heaven. Even though I never went to church I “knew” that much anyway.
• But law is not about establishing a relationship with God. Keeping the law is the intention of those grateful for God’s grace. We keep the law of God not as a means of attaining favor but of expressing gratitude. We cannot earn salvation but we can express gratitude for the salvation we’ve received in the gracious activity of God. To know the law of God is to know the character of God. To keep the law is to say thank you to God.

Respond:

• When, and under what circumstances, did you learn that the law was not a means of salvation?
• How do the 10 commandments impact you? What do they tell you about God’s character?
• With which of the 10 do you struggle most? How have you addressed the struggle?

Pray: Thank God for grace. Pray that your character and behavior are clear reflections of your gratitude. Pray for the folks you know who need to experience God’s grace.

Read: Exodus 19:1-25

Reflect:

• It took 3 months for Israel to get from Egypt to the desert of Sinai, to the base of the mountain from which God would speak. From that mountain, God reminded Israel, through Moses, of His incredible grace, mercy and blessing (v4). Then, He tells them how to be His “treasured possession” (v5). And who wouldn’t want that?
• Israel is not only God’s special people; they are to be His representatives to the rest of the creation (v6). To all of that—including the idea of keeping the covenant, Israel said a resounding “Yes” (v8).  However, vowing allegiance is not the same as being in the presence. That they could not do. In fact, without considerable preparation they could not even listen in.
• Sinai is the most vivid instance (up to this point) of God disclosing Himself. He’s visible in nature and in human events (when we are told it’s Him), but this is the first time we have an extended aural disclosure. God reveals Himself and His will clearly and unequivocally. There should be no question about who God is and what God wants.

Respond:

• Mountains are often actual or symbolic places of interaction with God. Describe a “mountain top experience” you’ve had with God.
• Do you ever consider doing the kinds of intense preparation for entering God’s presence (worship/prayer) that Israel did to listen to God?
• What did God reveal to you yesterday in worship?

Pray: Thank God for willingly disclosing Himself to us. Pray that we treat time with God with the same, or similar, respect as Israel. Ask God to help you see Him and hear Him.

We were all gathered at a campfire—probably 50-80 high school kids and sponsors. It was a cold summer night in the mountains where campfires served a purpose, but this one wasn’t lit yet.  We shivered to the light of a kerosene lantern.  The speaker told the story of Mt. Carmel and Elijah’s prayer for God to send fire from heaven.

The rather strong smell of gas in the air should have been a warning, but since few knew what was planned, no one really paid attention. Suddenly, at the time in the story when God sent fire to consume the altar, a flame came from high above the students’ heads. It was a roll of flaming toilet paper sliding down a thin wire from a nearby roof.

The effect was everything we’d hoped for and more. The oohs and aahs that accompanied the first sight of falling flames, unfortunately turned to shouts of fear and a stampede away from the campfire. The overly effusive use of gas meant there was a strong explosion and fire ran down the tracks of gas in the dirt. Suddenly the hillside and lake were on fire.

It was a mountain top experience few will ever forget. No one was hurt. But no one really got the point. We didn’t shout “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God” as Israel did. Students shouted a number of other things—some not repeatable here.

Mountain top experiences should be remembered—for what they teach us about God. They should be remembered for how they’ve impacted our Christian life. But they can’t be maintained as experiences. They are fleeting, as you would expect.  But their influence, that’s another matter.  Their influence strengthens us, assures us, moves us. Their influence empowers us to live above the mediocrity of the valley.

I trust that as we become more and more familiar with The Story, as we become more engrossed in what God is doing among us, that we will be more and more committed to Him and His ways. I trust that we’ll no longer live at base camp—instead, we’ll set our sights on the top of the Spiritual experience.

For a printable version of this week’s devotional, see the attached file:  Insert 02-19-2012

Read: Exodus 19:1-25

Reflect:

• Sinai rises up out of the desert of Saudi Arabia (the speculated modern location). It was an intimidating sight made even more frightening by the presence of clouds, smoke, thunder and lightning.  Beyond that, there was the voice of God. Followed by the instructions about touching and not touching. It was an experience that awed and frightened the Israelites.
• But more than any of that, it was the place of revelation. It was here that God spoke. It was here that God revealed His ongoing, living will for the people He’d just released from Egyptian bondage. It was here that they received their instructions about how to honor, worship and obey God.
• This mountain becomes the touchstone for much of Israel’s history. Just the mention of Sinai (or Horeb) brought back memories of commitment and sacrifice. It produced memories of failure and punishment. It became the symbol of living under a system in which one simply could not succeed. The law could not be kept. But more importantly, any mention of Sinai brought the memory of God’s voice.

Respond:

• When you think of when and where you heard God’s voice, what do you recall?  Is it a particular place? An experience?
• Read Mark 9:2-8. What is the connection to Sinai?
• How do you explain that God has fulfilled the law given at Sinai through His son Jesus?

Pray: Thank God for being open about Himself and revealing Himself to us. Thank God for being a God who wants us to know Him and know His will. Pray that we are open to what He reveals to us through His word(s).

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Reflect:

• We are not our own. That’s a hard truth to grasp in our very self-centered, self-serving world. Yet it’s true. If we are those who know God through Jesus, we have given over the control of our lives to God.  Our sole purpose is now to honor God and glorify Him. And that becomes our goal in life—our primary purpose—and drives our lives forward.
• Sexual sin is a particularly difficult sin because it involves body and spirit. Most sin involves the spirit—we are torn in the heart and soul.  But sexual sin is a sin against the very body itself. Yet, it is the body that is the temple of God’s spirit. It is our body that is to be used to glorify God and we find ourselves using it to glorify self.
• Most (at least many) Christians use this text to control or condemn smoking, drinking and other drug use. Some use it to ban tattoos and piercings as well.  Paul uses it to suggest that sexual immorality is wrong. He doesn’t condemn sexual activity—only the immoral abuse of sexual activity. Within the confines of a marriage between a man and a woman there is nothing wrong with sexual involvement. Outside of those confines, it’s sin.

Respond:

• How do you explain to a child that their body belongs to God? What can help them understand know the importance of that?
• What can you do, personally, to be sure you are elevating the Lord and glorifying God in your body?
• What would you suggest to a family in which the trust of relationships has been broken? How do you think they can repair those trusts?

Pray: Thank God for His grace. Pray that you are, in fact, honoring God in your body. Pray that Madison Park is successful in pointing people to the beauty of a righteous life.

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Reflect:

• It’s incredibly easy to get drawn into the thought process of elevating certain sins and making them the worst kind of sin possible. In fact, it’s very easy to make some sins seem unforgivable. Homosexuality is one of those sins. It is often presented as the worst of all sins. It’s included in this text, listing several sins.
• Nine specific sins (or expressions of sin) are mentioned.  All receive the same response: those who commit them are excluded from the kingdom. None are given a graver punishment. None are singled out. The more egregious sins of murder or child abuse are not included.  The sins of greed, drunkenness and reviling (speaking evil of) are included. As is homosexuality.
• It isn’t that some sins are worse or some less bad. It is simple, all sin is abhorrent. God wants us to learn to not sin…no matter what sin it is.  And these Corinthian believers—they were involved in these sins.  They did them. Yet, they were now forgiven and made clean. Not only that, they were made saints and set on a path of looking like Jesus. They were made as if they had no sin.  That’s how God approaches us…without respect to sin we’ve committed and not as those who need forgiveness.

Respond:

• So, if you were to make a descriptive list of your sins, what would be on that list?
• Do you have trouble dealing with certain sins in other people’s lives? Or, looked at differently, are you less offended by some sins than others?
• Are you among those who are “washed, sanctified and justified”? If not, what are you waiting for?

Pray: Thank God that He does not hold our sin against us.  Thank Him for His willingness to not only forgive us but to shape us into those who look like Jesus. Pray that your life takes on more and more the character of Christ.

Read: Genesis 19:1-29

Reflect:

• It’s a study in contrasts. When you read of how Abraham treated these guests and how Sodom and Gomorrah mistreated them, you can’t help but notice the incredible contrast. Abraham welcomed them in, fixed them a meal, gave them a place of refuge and rest (as did Lot). But the men of these cities extended no such courtesy. They merely wanted to use and abuse these travelers.
• No doubt is left in the text. The men of the city had evil intentions. They planned to rape these visitors. And there is no doubt that the association of homosexual behavior to Sodom and Gomorrah is legitimate. In fact, we get the word sodomy from this story.
• Remarkably, even though there were not 10 people in the city and God destroyed the area (5 cities in all), He did see fit to protect Lot and his daughters.  What is unclear is why Lot was so hesitant to leave and why he settled in a city so close to those destroyed by God. Something seems wrong in Lot’s desire to stay too close to a place of wickedness.

Respond:

• Describe your reaction to this story. Intrigue? Repulsion? Questions? Why do you respond the way you do?
• How would you explain the context (Abraham’s hospitality and Sodom’s inhospitality) to someone?
• What sins do you associate with Sodom and Gomorrah? Why is that?

Pray: Ask God to help you be sensitive to the sinfulness of the world around you so you are not attracted to it. Pray that we are hospitable to others and that we don’t see them as objects of our lusts.  Pray for our small groups as they are meeting tonight.

Read: Genesis 18:16-33

Reflect:

• After receiving Abraham’s gracious hospitality, the three guests headed for Sodom with Abraham as a traveling companion. They were on their way to discover whether or not the sin was as bad as was reported. When God told Abraham His plans, Abraham confronted God. It appears that Abraham was concerned for Lot.
• The interaction is fascinating as God and Abraham “barter” over the city. Abraham gets God to agree not to destroy the city if even 10 righteous people could be found. There were not 10 in the city.  The city was a wicked place.
• It’s hard to imagine a city where not even 10 people could be found that had a basic core of right behavior. We don’t know how big the city was, though estimates based on the cemeteries found in the area vary from several hundred to several thousands. Ten could be 1% if the population was 1,000 or it could be a miniscule percentage of 100,000. 1% of Quincy would be about 400 people. Are there 400 righteous people in Quincy?

Respond:

• If you had to estimate how many people were righteous in Quincy, what would that number be?
• Would God count you in that number if He were looking at our city through the lenses He used then?
• If not even 10 righteous people could be found among 10,000, just how bad must that city have been?

Pray: Pray that God can find hundreds of righteous people in Quincy, IL.  Ask God for His mercy to be extended to us as a city that we might have time to reach the un-churched for Jesus. Pray that your life is a testimony of God’s immense grace.

Read: Ezekiel 16:49-50

Reflect:

• In a lengthy passage, decrying the sin of God’s bride, Ezekiel records God’s frustration with Israel. In the passage he uses the image of the city of Sodom as an example of the kinds of unfaithfulness that she had committed. The specific sins he condemns are: pride, selfishness, and complacency toward the underprivileged.
• Few people, if asked to name the “abominations” that God detests, would choose those sins of arrogance and refusal to help the needy.  We’re far more apt to choose murder or stealing or some form of sexual perversion, especially homosexuality. But those don’t make it in this list. These are “respectable” sins—only minor sins of selfishness and pride.
• Yet these sins violate the very character of God.  Throughout the Old Testament God gives instructions on taking care of the poor.  Embedded in the law itself are commands to leave the corners of the fields and to leave the fallen harvest upon the ground…all for the foreigners and the poor. Somehow, since days of Moses and Israel, we have forgotten to look for the obvious sins which God abhors.

Respond:

• Read Proverbs 20:10, 23.
• What forms of injustice occur around us each day? Do you believe the church is aware of such mistreatment and unfair practices?
• How can the church (you) respond to the issues of injustice in our community?

Pray: Thank God for being worthy of our praise. Acknowledge His worth and righteousness. Pray that you are sensitive to the injustice around you and ask for readiness to do what you can to help.