February 25, 2006
L'homme Riche et Lazare
Il est dur dans notre société de ne pas avoir été exposé à une multitude de croyances multiples concernant l'après-mort. Quelles sont vos convictions?
Nous allons étudier un passage où Jésus nous parle de l'après-mort, et surtout ce que nous devons en savoir pour cette vi-ci.
Luc 16:19-21
Dressez le portrait des deux personnages. Décrivez la générosité du riche.
vv 22-26
Explication: les théologiens ne sont pas unanimes sur ce fameux lieu. Il est probable qu'on parle ici du Sheol. terme utilisé par les juifs et souvent traduit par le séjour des morts.
Certains y voient ici une parabole qui parle du Paradis et de l'enfer, d'autres voient une description factuelle que Jésus connaîtrait.
Ce qui sera notre focus, ce ne sera pas la nature précise de cet endroit, mais la conversation qui vient, et ce qu'elle nous apprend à nous pour nos vies.
Histoire de contexte, Abraham est le père de la nation juive, puisqu'il est celui qui a reçu les bénédictions de Dieu pour sa foi et qui a formé une première alliance.
Dans ce texte, le sein d'Abraham serait donc un endroit réservé à celui qui met sa foi en Dieu.
Faire un petit dessin du lieu dans lequel ils sont.
vv.27-28
Que ce passe-t-il ici? Pourquoi veut-il que ses frères soient avertis? Pourquoi ne pas avertir les autres?
Pourquoi est-ce qu'envoyer Lazare changerait quelque chose? [réponse: un mort parlant de la mort sait de quoi il parle]
vv.29-31
Ici, la Loi et les prophètes fait référence aux Ecritures. L'ensemble des Ecritures, maintenant, c'est la Bible.
Qu'elle est l'assomption dans la tête du riche? Pourquoi Abraham répondit que la loi de Moïse et les prophètes de l'ancien testament sont suffisants?
Pourquoi est-ce que Moïse et les prophètes ne sauraient-ils pas de quoi ils parlent?
Pourquoi le message d'un mort ne convaincrait pas les gens?
[En réalité, c'est un problème de foi. S'il ne peuvent pas croire un prophète, ils ne coiront pas un mort?]
Résurection de Lazare sans effet: Jean 11:43-48, Jean 12:9-11
Un homme est revenu des morts, et même cette preuve n'a pas été acceptée par ceux qui avaient le coeur dur.
Un autre homme est revenu des morts... Jésus. Depuis 2000 ans, son enseignement est ignoré. Si on se ferme le coeur à la Bible, on ne pourra jamais écouter le témoignage de Jésus.
La question est, veux-tu faire comme l'homme riche et ignorer la Bible? Ou préfères-tu faire comme Lazare, sachant quelle est la conséquence?
Posted by ma at 08:55 AM
Lessons From Sick People
It is interesting how many people in our society will care for God only when things are going badly.
Just as a way to break the ice, could you please tell me when you were the sickest in your life, and how did you feel ten?
Today we'll learn about Jesus' personality in how he dealt with two sick people.
We will use a passage in Luke 8:40-56
Luke 8:40-42
Who is this man? What was his position? What did it imply for him to do this?
[The leader of the synagogue is a man with a proeminent position in
his community. Jesus was a controversial preacher, and it was a big thing for this man to be asking Jesus' help]
What would make him beg Jesus to help his daughter?
A first trait of personality: Jesus is aproachable.
v. 43
Could anyone describe what would be the health-related impacts of this bleeding?
[ Even though it is not written what kind of bleeding it was, I went on WebMD and found a description for uterine bleeding, a condition related to hormonal levels. There are also digestive track bleedings, And diverticular bleeding. If we take the first option, the uterine bleeding, what do we have? One of the obvious symptoms, except the bleeding, is the lightheadedness and fainting. In the case of diverticular bleeding, the blood loss can be so bad that a transfusion is needed. This woman was constantly in a state of weakness.]
And now, what were the psychological impacts of her sickness?
[The Law of Moses declared her "impure" for a week every time she bled. She was socially outcast, because noone had the right to touch her or touch anything she touched herself. She needed help from the outside, but noone would dare touch her...]
How desesperate was she? What were the fruits of her efforts to arrange things? What parallel do we see with our lives?
[We are often facing problems, and nothing we can do will solve ourselves. To many problems, there is no solution than turning
to Jesus. If we look at AA, NA, SA, etc., their 12-step program is centered on God. Our modern day problems are like that bleeding,
and the solution is the same as it was for her.]
How would you compare her social status with the first guy?
A second trait of personality: Jesus is no snub.
vv. 44-48
Why did she touch his cloak? [She had the faith that just touching it would be enough to heal her.]
Was she healed? Was it psychosomatic or real?[v. 46 says that something real happened, that Jesus felt it.]
Why did Jesus stop? Wasn't he busy with a very pressing matter? What of Jesus's character does this tell us?
[Nobody is unimportant for Jesus]
[Your faith in Jesus should not be a secret, and the blessings that he gave are also not secrets. Jesus wanted to break the wall of shame that was surrounding this woman, that people built around her and that she built around herself. Her reaction show a lot of fear, but her confession and Jesus' reaction show her liberation.]
Another trait of personality?
[Jesus cannot help but help those who have faith in him.]
vv. 49-53
Note: Jesus used more than once the idea of sleeping for someone who would be resurrected. In the case of Lazarus, he used
dead only when people did not understand.
What kinds of faith do we see here?
What is Jesus' view of death? [If you have faith that he will resurect you, then you are just sleeping, waiting for him to wake you up]
[Compare with the resurection of Lazarus in Jn 11:11, to see that, for Jesus, the death of the believer is nothing. Jesus sees beyond this earthly living.]
[There is no emergency with God. Resurrecting is not more difficult than healing.]
Another trait of Jesus' character: he looks beyond the immediate, he sees long-term, and he knows what he's talking about.
vv. 54-56
What happened here? What of Jesus' character is showing up here?
[He really wants her to do well. He's not the "I've done what I had to do, byebye" kind of guy, but someone who goes the extra mile.]
Now, why would Jesus ask the parents not to share what happened? How is that coherent with asking the bleeding woman?
[The father already showed his faith, whereas the bleeding woman did not... As far as I remember, Jesus often tells people not to talk about the miracle they lived... (c.f. LK 5:12-15) but they do so anyway. Jesus was very closed when people asked him for miracles out of the blue.
Jesus wasn't a roaming doctor, but someone who brought God's Word, and who would heal people out of their faith for him.
Healing was not his point, it was a side benefit.
]
Posted by ma at 08:47 AM
A Free Meal
Opening question: Who likes to eat? Who likes free stuff? Who would like a free meal?
I would!
Context: Jesus was dining with a religious leader and his guests on the sabbath day. This parable comes talk about the Kingdom of God.
What we will read had a lot of meaning in its day, talking about the establishing of the church, but has meaning for us today.
The passage we will use today is Luke 14:16-24.
V. 16-17
What strings were attached to the invitation?
[No Strings are attached. The man is making a large feast, he has many servants, he has money. In the middle east, hospitality is sacred, and making a guest pay anything is an insult.]
V.18-20
In your opinion, did the guests remember the invite?
[Not mentioned, but we can assume not]
What excuses do we have?
[Evaluate the quality of purchases after the deed, or just "play" with our new toy. Another one is putting a relationship first.]
How sound were those excuses?
[There is no urgency in testing a purchase you already have. Your wife can join you at the banquet. Those answers were really dismissals]
Did you ever make up excuses to to avoid doing something you didn't want, or to do something you wanted before?
[Sharing: told was sick to play on the computer instead of skiing with the family.]
Why would someone choose to spend the evening with 10 stinky ox, instead of having fun at a party? What sense of priorities does this show?
Who would you invite to a party?
[Normally, I would invite the people closest to me, those who are the most interested in me.]
What is the spiritual parallel for us today?
[God is sending an invitation to those who are the "closest". We are in a traditionally christian environment, and God keeps on inviting us towards him. If we look around us, we are seeing a lot of invited people turning down the invitation.]
[I can tell you, I've seen many people interested in God who have been "too busy" to really study the Bible and live a spiritual life. I can tell you that it is possible, though. I personally am finishing a degree in Engineering and I am there with you today.]
How does God deal with the rejection?
V. 21-24
Who are the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame?
[those are the "rejects" of the time. Unable to work, often begging for survival.]
What do we learn from God in this?
[god is offering the free meal to those who are in the greatest need, who are starving. Salvation is offered to those who are thirsty for God]
What about verse 23?
[God wants to save as much as possible. He wants to fill heavens with the willing]
The last verse make it clear, though: There is no room for the unwilling.
Thus, there is a choice. Through me, today, God has invited you for this free meal.
This free meal is the Kingdom of Heaven, a relationship with God, the eternal life after this one, and a fulfilled one in your living.
What is your choice? Will you put priority on studies, on relationships, on material things? Or will you put a higher priority on God?
Posted by ma at 08:44 AM | TrackBack
Bad Impressions of People
Did you ever cast a judgment on someone too quickly? Did you ever make false assumptions on people?
We're gonna look today at a passage today where those false assumptions play a key role. I've seen people say a lot of different things about Jesus and christianity as a whole, that I think this passage will help us clear out some fog.
Before starting, I would like to know what's everybody's vision of Jesus?
The passage of reference for today is Mark 8:27-37.
Verses 27-30
So, how do people see Jesus? [A prophet]
What does Peter see? [The Christ]
The vision of the Christ, at that period of time, was very close to the Judges in early Israel history: a warrior that would rule the people and kick out the oppressors, and would also be a spiritual leader for the nation. There is a passage where people want to make Jesus their actual king.
How could some believe one thing and Peter see something else? How come he's able to say what he said?
[Other passages say that it is thanks by the power of God. but also because Peter has been with Jesus for a long time and knows him more.]
Verses 31-33
Jesus now moves on and addresses the misconceptions about the messiah. He prophecies his own death.
Why does Peter counter? [The text does not mention what he said, but it is a matter of rebuking: proving the other wrong. Peter had a misconception about the christ, and he was offended at Jesus' teachings that went against his vision.]
The final rebuke from Jesus, in verse 33, teaches something important: our own vision of the "right thing" can be corrupted and plainly wrong compare to what God teaches.
Verses 34-38
There is another misconception in society that having a christian life means going to church on sundays and having a somewhat stronger moral sense. This is not what Jesus is teaching.
Jesus, in other passages, tells us to expect persecution.
In this passage, he tells us that our commitment must be total. Life and death is to be commited to God. Death here has two levels of meaning: a first level that refers to actual death for your beliefs, but we also understand, from the context of the passage, death to ourselves, to our selfish lives.
Verse 36 make it clear: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"
And for the one who accepts the challenge of being a disciple, verse 38 imply one thing: sharing the good news again and again. This is radically different than going to church every sunday.
We live in a corrupt generation that has only a christian makeup. Those teachings apply to us more than they did at that time.
--- Conclusion
I'll conclude as follows: in our lives, we are surrounded by misconceptions about a lot of things. We can have misconceptions about what the Bible teaches. And Jesus' answer to this is simple: we have to rely on God's answer, not on our misconceptions.
As a consequence, we are called to make a choice.
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."
There is a choice for you to make
Posted by ma at 08:40 AM | TrackBack
September 29, 2005
Traditions
Traditions are necessary to put beacons in human life. They are part of culture and national identity. Every country has its national holiday after all. But what if tradition looses its meaning?
Matthiew 15:1-2
As a matter of context: The jewish law set standards in personal purity, especially based on what you touch. If you touched blood or a corpse, you had to clean up, etc.
Very orthodox people washed their hands systematically because of their desire to have always "pure" hands. People imitated them, and generation after generation, this became an unwritten law.
Question: was the basic principle good? Can you name a good and not-so-good tradition.
[Sharing: Mothers' day, a given truck of beer at the Poly]
Matthiew 15:3-14
These guys are the most religious of their time... how come that Jesus, who's talking about God 24/7 say that they are hypocrites?
What makes them blind?
Matthiew 15:10-20
Have you ever felt in you anything that is in verse 19? [Exemple personnel]
A lot of reproach has been done to religion... but what is the core problem: God or humans?
Conclusion
Taking the whole passage, what do you personally conclude?
Any religious life lived with bad motives or simply following tradition is bad in Jesus' perspective. What is this provoking in you?
[Après, partage: première communion pour faire plaisir à la grand-mère. Je l.ai fait sans savoir ce que je faisais, surtout pour avoir la paix.]
[Interesting fact: According to the 2001 survey, 43% in Canada are catholic, nearly 75% claims to be Christian]
Posted by ma at 08:43 AM | TrackBack
Les Traditions
Les traditions sont nécessaires pour fixer un point de repère. Elles sont des éléments importants de la culture et de l'identité nationale... on n'a qu'à penser à l'importance de la St Jean Baptiste pour les Québécois.
Que se passe-t-il si la tradition perd sa signification?
Matthieu 15:1-2
Explication du contexte: la loi de Moise ordonnait des standards de pureté personnelle, particulièrement face à ce qu'on touche, comme le sang ou un cadavre. C'est pourquoi il fallait se laver, pour se purifier de ce qu'on touche.
Des gens très orthodoxes, de peur d'avoir touché des choses qu'il ne fallait pas, se lavaient les mains systématiquement.
Le problème, c'est que le principe est devenu tradition, puis une "loi".
Question: à votre avis, le principe de base de la tradition est-il bon?
Question: Nommez une tradition bonne, comme une moins bonne?
[Partage: St Jean Baptiste (bonne), camion de bière à la poly (moins bonne)]
Matthieu 15:3-14
Les scribes et les pharisiens sont les gens les plus religieux de l'époque... pourquoi Jésus les traite d'hypocrites?
Pourquoi les pharisiens sont "aveugles"?
Matthieu 15:10-20
Avez-vous déjà ressenti ce qui est décrit au verset 19? [Exemple personnel]
On reproche à la religion beaucoup de chose, par exemple les croisades. Le problème vient d'où: de Dieu ou des hommes?
Conclusion
Si vous prenez le passage en entier, que concluez-vous?
Une tradition pratiquée qui dérive de Dieu, quand le coeur n'y est pas, ou avec de mauvaises intensions... est-ce bon, selon Jésus? Avez-vous déjà ressenti ça?
[Après, partage: première communion pour faire plaisir à la grand-mère. Je l.ai fait sans savoir ce que je faisais, surtout pour avoir la paix.]
Que pensez-vous d.une vie religieuse qui ne fait que suivre la tradition « parce que » ? Comment qualifieriez-vous votre spiritualité?
[Fait intéresant: selon le rescencement de 2001, au Canada, 43% de la population canadienne est catholique, et près de 75% de la population se disent chrétiens]
Posted by ma at 08:40 AM | TrackBack
September 08, 2005
Worrying
Bible Talk notes on Matthew 6:26-34
Worrying
So... anybody has assignments and papers to hand in? Anybody has finals coming?
Is anybody stressing about that? Personally, I'm a perfectionist, and I tend to stress a lot about my schoolwork.
And there are a lot of stress and worries we live: will we graduate on time? What about my career? Can I afford that cool iPod? And the list goes on and on...
Today, I want to share with you something that has changed my life, worrywise.
I'll just start by putting some context here: this passage is part of what is called the sermon on the mount, where Jesus is talking to its disciples about what a life of faith should look like.
Matthew 6:25
What kind of fundamental worries does Jesus talk about here?
Does anybody remember the pyramid of needs we learnt in high school?
Self-fulfillment: Education, contribution to the world
Esteem: need for respect of self and others
Love: need of socialization, belonging and recognition
Safety: physical and emotional feeling of protection
Physiological: eating, sleeping, hygiene
From this basic model, there is one thing to keep in mind: if the physiological needs are not met, the rest will not necessarly stand. Doing a final without sleeping, without eating will be a lot harder.
Jesus was saying what psychologists rediscovered many centuries later: there is more than physiological needs, but still acknowledges that they are important.
verses 26-27
Jesus is reminding us of birds, and how God feeds them.
And then, he talks about how much stressing won't help us live longer. What are the effects of stress in your life?
[WebMD has a page about chronic stress. It talks about depression, cardiovascular problems, asthma, memory loss, etc. In short, stress is more likely to shorten your lifespan than to extend it. Jesus knew, well before doctors realized it, how dangerous stress was.]
verses 28-31
As an historical reference, King Solomon was the richest king in Israel's history, and was one of the richest rulers of the middle east in his time. This is what Jesus is refering to when he mentions Solomon.
What would be, in your words, the comparison between Solomon and the lillies?
[God made the flowers more beautiful than anything we can build for ourselves, and they are so little overall. God is demonstrating by that how well He can take care of us ]
verses 32-34
Jesus is basically saying to trust God that He is gonna take care about everything. Did something like that ever happened to you?
[Sharing about getting the internship at MobiLuck]
What are the two solutions that Jesus is proposing about dealing with worry?
[Seek God's kingdom and take it a day at a time]
Concretely, what does it mean to seek God's kingdom?
Finally, how can we practically take it a day at a time?
Conclusion
I hope that you will leave this talk feeling that the Bible has deep knowledge about our human nature, and has practical advice on how to live our lives better.
I also hope that you will be curious to find out more about it, not only to know more about it, but to also live it practically.