Connecting the dots: Dive deeper study August 12 and 13 2019 Carroll FUMC

Connecting the dots: Dive deeper study

August 12 and 13 2019 Carroll FUMC

My friends and I used to joke about writing a book of things we wish they had taught us in seminary. (Actually, someone beat us to it.) Fortunately, over the last 30 years I have continued to learn and grow beyond what I learned in seminary.  It is a good thing because in the early years of the 1980’s (you might want to cover  your kids ears because this is shocking.) we didn’t have computers, cell phones, projection, the internet, power windows, and a heart bypass surgery would land you in the hospital for almost a month. Without being a lifelong learner, I would have been left in the dust.

How many of you can count? You know 1,2,3. Most of you who can raise your hand can count.  Does being able to count mean you’re ready for the hardest math you can imagine?  No, one could go from counting directly to algebra or trig or calculus without following the learning path in between.

Why should our faith be any different? It isn’t, but people expect it to be. Some people have the idea that as soon as they are confirmed or join the church, they know all there is to know and they are good to go for the rest of their lives.  I’m not talking about other churches.  There are plenty of folks like that in this congregation. Our statistics for children and youth in learning opportunities are amazing.  Our statistics for the number of adults engaged in any kind of learning are way below average.

I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad, but I do want you to know that this is an anomaly in this congregation that I noticed before I came, and Suzi and I have had many conversations about adult education and the challenges we face.

 In this connecting the dots series, we have talked about CONNECTING UP TO GOD and CONNECTING IN TO EACH OTHER. In the next couple of weeks, we will turn our attention to CONNECTING DEEPER IN OUR FAITH. There are a few ways to do that, but today I want to talk about study or learning.

 There are so many scriptures we could use because the Jewish tradition is one of always learning.  Actually, the synagogue was originally not so much a place of worship as it was a place of learning.  The temple was for worship. “Rabbi,” that’s what we call the leader of a synagogue, means “teacher.” When Mary saw Jesus for the first time after the resurrection, she cries out “Rabbani” which means teacher.

Of all those choices I went to Joshua.  It is a great story. Moses had just died and the Israelites, led by Joshua, are getting ready to cross the Jordan into the promised land. God is giving Joshua and the people a pep talk, like a coach before the big game. But he doesn’t say, “we practiced and practiced, you are in great shape, you know the game plan”… no, he says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it”

God didn’t hand them the deed to the land, or a housewarming gift, or the weapons they would need as they conquered Canaan.  No, God gave them a book… This book of the law... the commandments and other laws that eventually became the Hebrew Bible which is our Old testament. This book was to be their guide and they were to meditate on it day and night. 

God didn’t say OK you made it! Step across the Jordan and get your diploma.  He said here’s your Bible (or their version of a bible) “Do not let it depart from your mouth and meditate on it day and night.” Meditating is not just thinking about it: meditating is studying, learning, understanding it, digesting it, growing from it. Meditating on the scripture is letting it draw you into better connection with God and more loving relationships with people. Meditating on them means letting the scripture shape you into the creature God wants you to be. No one expects you to go to Bible study day and night, but since we are people of the book, it sure wouldn’t hurt to have a plan for growing in discipleship through study and learning. I’d say most of that should be scripture or at least scripture based. A church this size should probably have at least two adult classes in addition to duke’s, several ongoing Bible Studies and an occasional special short-term study. But don’t worry. As you grow in your hunger to study, we will be out in front of you preparing the ministries that will help you to do that.

 There are really two parts to study. No matter what the field, there is understanding and then there is applying.

Understanding a 2000-year-old document can be a challenge, but there are a lot of resources to help us.  Living the way God wants us to live is even more of a challenge. But that is why we have each other. 

The new testament passage gives us a glimpse of Jesus both understanding and applying the scriptures in order to help us connect more deeply to God. Jesus said, “I came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.” To fill the law full of meaning. In other words, to make the understanding come alive in the lives of disciples.

 In this passage, Jesus is doing just that. The Pharisees, who were experts in the law, and an actual lawyer were trying to trick Jesus into saying something silly. They asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?”  Given that there were 600+ laws, they expected that he would choose one that they could say, Ah but what about this one.

  He didn’t fall for it. He did two things, he picked two laws and brought them together to summarize the whole intention of the law, then he applied it to their lives.

Jesus replied, “Love God and love neighbor.” 1 John 4:20 Paraphrased says the two go hand in hand. You can’t love God if you aren’t loving neighbor.

The Pharisees were dumbstruck, so Jesus asked them a riddle about the messiah. They were unable to answer and from then on, they were embarrassed to ask him any more questions.

Jesus then proceeded to point out the pharisees' hypocrisy.

 For us I want to turn back to a place where Jesus really brought it down to earth for us.  Do you remember in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, Jesus said, “You have heard it said that you shall not commit murder” That is understanding… that is what the Bible says and that is pretty easy to understand?  Then he moves to applying it.  “I say to you do not be angry.” He moves from an objective understanding of what one was required to do, to a very personal level. Most of us have not killed… but we have all been angry… Maybe this does apply to us.

That is what preachers are supposed to do every week. Some weeks we do better than others. It is kind of like the old “What Would Jesus Do?” 

Let’s see, Jesus never had to deal with internet pornography available in his house 24 hours a day. But what would Jesus have said or done with regards to that? Jesus goes on, “You have heard it said that you shall not commit adultery” OK clear line... we understand that. We can live on this side of the line. “but I say to you do not even lust.” Now Jesus has gone from preaching to meddling as they say… he is reaching right into your heart as you watch someone out of the corner of your eye and right into your living room as you bring up your favorite porn site.

Jesus went on, “You have heard it said “an Eye for an Eye a tooth for a tooth…”  Nice, simple and easy to do… but Jesus applies it to real life, and it is harder “I say to you do not resist evil with evil. He illustrates it with current events his own day with the way the Roman army treated the citizens of Israel.  They assaulted them and forced them to do their dirty work. “If someone slaps you on the right cheek give them the left also. If anyone forces you to carry their equipment one mile, offer to go the second mile.” That is clearly referring to the army.  He is converting the abstract into the concrete, every day, way we live instructions.

There is so much to learn in the Bible and so much to understand… but there is so much more to learn from the Bible and so much more to do as we live it out in life.

My friends, you are great people, but I have to break some bad news though… you don’t know everything… neither do I, and neither does anyone else on the face of the earth… only God. Maybe that's a surprise, maybe it isn’t, but it is true.

 Therefore, join a class, a Bible study, a small group, something to help you in connecting deeper and hold you accountable for studying the Bible and living what you are studying. Why can ‘t you do this at home, online, or using podcasts?  Of course, you can, but remember how people learn. We learn 1% of what we learn through taste1.5% through touch, 3.5% through smell, 11% through hearing, and get this 83% through sight. That might be reading, but it is also watching others learning the same material and struggling together to apply it to your lives.  It makes a real difference.

I can hear some of your thoughts right now.  ‘I’m too old you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. “I’m so busy I don’t know how I would fit that in.”   Let’s try something… a few weeks ago Clay had you trying to think of the 10 commandments, only a couple of you knew them right. Teach 10 commandments. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

10 commandment slides as I go

See? Now you know the 10 commandments if you go home and do that a few more times you be as good as I am and when someone asks you what the 8th commandment is, you will be able to say… ummmm 8- jail- do not steal! Am I right?

We just proved 2 things.  You can teach any dog, old or young, middle-aged and anything else... you can be taught new tricks. And second, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.  If you decide to grow more connected to God by connecting deeper in study, you can.   I’m pretty sure you can.

  Romans 12:2 says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Not transformed in the heart, that will come, not transformed in behavior, that will come too. No. Be transformed BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. Make a habit of studying all you can in order to deepen your faith and connect you more closely with God.