Faith Lessons on the Life and Ministry of the Messiah (Church Vol. 3) Leader's Guide

by Ray Vander Laan

• ISBN13: 9780310678588
• ISBN10: 0310678587
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-01
• Publisher: Harpercollins Christian Pub

Summary

The completely new Faith Lessons GroupWare takes your small group on a round trip to ancient times, places, and customs, and back again. This lively, interactive journey is more than fascinating--it's faith-inspiring and life-changing. Your job as a group leader is simplified with this all-new Leader's Guide: fresh, clear, and easy to follow, designed to minimize your preparation time and maximize your effectiveness. You are not left to guess at anything. This volume contains all the material in the Participant's Guide, including maps, photos, sidebars, and other study aids, plus instructions and tips that will take you step-by-step through each faith lesson. Filmed on location in Israel by Focus on the Family Films, Faith Lessons is a unique video series that brings God's Word to life with astounding relevance. By weaving together the Bible's fascinating historical, cultural, religious, and geographical contexts, teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan reveals keen insights into Scriptures' significance for modern believers,. These illuminating " faith lessons" afford a new understanding of the Bible that will ground your convictions and transform your life. Thanks to Ray Vander Laan and That the World May Know Ministries, you can understand their significance in a way that transforms your faith today. Filmed in Israel by Focus on the Family, Faith Lessons on the Life and Ministry of the Messiah helps small groups understand Jesus from the mindset of a citizen of those times. Using the new, proven Zondervan GroupWare approach, this powerful curriculum provides a dynamic way for participants to engage with biblical truths in a life-changing, group-interactive format. Faith Lessons on the Life and Ministry of the Messiah includes an all-new Leader's Guide and Participant's Guide designed for maximum clarity, relevance, and ease of use. Drawing on Ray Vander Laan's video presentations, participants will enjoy spirited discussions and find practical applications that turn faith lessons learned from past millennia into faith lessons lived today.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction

How to Use This Guide

Session 1

In the Shadow of Herod

Session 2

My Rock and My Fortress

Session 3

The Time Had Fully Come

Session 4

No Greater Love

Session 5

The Rabbi

Session 6

Language of Culture

Session 7

Misguided Faith

Session 8

Living Water

Excerpts

IntroductionBecause God speaks to us through the Scriptures, studying them is a rewarding experience. The inspired human authors of the Bible, as well as those to whom the words were originally given, were primarily Jews living in the Near East. God’s words and actions spoke to them with such power, clarity, and purpose that they wrote them down and carefully preserved them as an authoritative body of literature.God’s use of human servants in revealing Himself resulted in writings that clearly bear the stamp of time and place. The message of the Scriptures is, of course, eternal and unchanging — but the circumstances and conditions of the people of the Bible are unique to their times. Consequently, we most clearly understand God’s truth when we know the cultural context within which He spoke and acted and the perception of the people with whom He communicated. This does not mean that God’s revelation is unclear if we don’t know the cultural context. Rather, by learning how to think and approach life as Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Esther, and Paul did, modern Christians will deepen their appreciation of God’s Word. To fully apply the message of the Bible, we must enter the world of the Hebrews and familiarize ourselves with their culture.That is the purpose of this study. The events and characters of the Bible are presented in their original settings. Although the videos offer the latest archaeological research, this series is not intended to be a definitive cultural and geographical study of the lands of the Bible. No original scientific discoveries are revealed here. The purpose of this study is to help us better understand God’s revealed mission for our lives by enabling us to hear and see His words in their original context.Understanding the World of the HebrewsMore than 3,800 years ago, God spoke to His servant Abraham: “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you” (Genesis 13:17). From the outset, God’s choice of a Hebrew nomad to begin His plan of salvation (that is still unfolding) was linked to the selection of a specific land where His redemptive work would begin. The nature of God’s covenant relationship with His people demanded a place where their faith could be exercised and displayed to all nations so that the world would know of Yahweh, the true and faithful God. God showed the same care in preparing a land for His chosen people as He did in preparing a people to live in that land. For us to fully understand God’s plan and purpose for His people, we must first understand the nature of the place He selected for them.By New Testament times, the Jewish people had been removed from the Promised Land by the Babylonians due to Israel’s failure to live obediently before God (Jeremiah 25:4 – 11). The exile lasted seventy years, but its impact upon God’s people was astounding. New patterns of worship developed, and scribes and experts in God’s law shaped the new commitment to be faithful to Him. The prophets predicted the appearance of a Messiah like King David who would revive the kingdom of the Hebrew people.But the Promised Land was now home to many other groups of people whose religious practices, moral values, and lifestyles conflicted with those of the Jews. Living as God’s witnesses took on added difficulty as Greek, Roman, and Samaritan worldviews mingled with that of the Israelites. The Promised Land was divided between kings and governors, usually under the authority of one foreign empire or another. But the mission of God’s people did not change. They were still to live so that the world would know that their God was the true God. And the land continued to provide them opportunity to encounter the world that desperately needed to know this reality.The Promised Land was the arena within which God’s people were to serve Him faithfully as the world watched. The land God chose for His people was on the crossroads of the world. A major trade route, the Via Maris, ran through it. God intended for the Israelites to take control of the cities along this route and thereby exert influence on the nations around them. Through their righteous living, the Hebrews were to reveal the one true God, Yahweh, to the world. They failed to accomplish this mission, however, because of their unfaithfulness.Western Christianity tends to spiritualize the concept of the Promised Land as it is presented in the Bible. Instead of seeing it as a crossroads from which to influence the world, modern Christians view it as a distant, heavenly city, a glorious “Canaan” toward which we are traveling as we ignore the world around us. We are focused on the destination, not the journey. We have unconsciously separated our walk with God from our responsibility to the world in which He has placed us. In one sense, our earthly experience is simply preparation for an eternity in the “promised land.” Preoccupation with this idea, however, distorts the mission God has set for us.Living by faith is not a vague, otherworldly experience; rather, it is being faithful to God right now, in the place and time in which He has put us. This truth is emphasized by God’s choice of Canaan, a crossroads of the ancient world, as the Promised Land for the Israelites. God wants His people to be in the game, not on the bench. Our mission, as Christians today, is the same one He gave to the Israelites. We are to live obediently within the world so that through us the world may know that our God is the one true God.

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Excerpted from On the Life and Ministry of the Messiah by Ray Vander Laan
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.