Come to me all….

International day with Polish emphasis, to be held in the Crieff SDA church, Gwydyr Road, Crieff PH7 4BS.

• 10am Sabbath School (English and Polish Sabbath School classes);
• 11:15 Worship service – in Polish with English translation;
• Bring and share lunch;
• 3:00 Baptismal service.

Speaker Anna Radosh (Polish Ministries Coordinator, BUC)

BE PART OF THIS INNOVATIVE TRAINING DAY FOR ALL THOSE INVOLVED WITH CHILDREN!

This training day is a FREE 2-part Children’s Ministries Training course.   It is for:

• Sabbath School Teachers and Superintendents
• Mums and Dads
• Holiday Bible School Teams
• children’s Ministries leaders
• Kids in  Discipleship Ministry Leaders

The first wave of the course will be held in Crieff Church on 19th September 10am – 4pm. and is repeated in Glasgow church on 24 October, and Aberdeen church on 21 November.  The trainers vary slightly in each venue, but the content is the same – so if you can’t make the date in Crieff, you could join one of the other groups.

Topics to be covered:

• Child Development and Faith Growth
• Reaching every Child you teach
• Caring for the  Whole Child

The second part of the course will be early in 2011, when the following topics will be covered:

• Effective Leadership
• Successful child Evangelism
• Developing a Child’s Spiritual Life

The Presenters in Crieff will be Heather Haworth from the BUC, and Karen Holford and Jeniffer Oroko from the Scottish Mission.

Register your interest with your Pastor, local church Children’s Ministries leader, Muriel Logan, or Carole Peacock at the SM office.

Phone 01764 653257, or E-mail: office@sdascotland.com

Soup and roll lunch provided

Sabbath School is for all ages – a chance to have some discussion within smaller discussion groups split into ages – Beginners, Kindergarten, Primary/Junior, youth and adults.  All are welcome to join in or to listen.  At the beginning of a new quarter, the book of Romans is at the centre of the adult studies.

Ideally, in our study of the book of Romans, after a study of the historical background, we should begin with Romans 1:1 and then go through the entire book verse by verse. Because only one quarter has been allotted to the study of the book, we have had to be selective in what parts we can study. The book could easily take four quarters, not one, to explore. Hence, only the key chapters, in which the basic message is contained, will be covered.

It is extremely important that a student of the book of Romans understand the book’s historical background. Without that background, it will be difficult for the student to know what Paul is saying. Paul was writing to a specific group of Christians at a specific time for a specific reason; knowing, as much as possible, that reason will greatly benefit us in our study.

We must, in our imagination, go back in time, transport ourselves to Rome, become members of the congregation there, and then, as first-century church members, listen to Paul and the words that the Holy Spirit gave him at that time.

Amazingly enough, though written a long time ago and in a whole other context, the book has messages relevant to His people today, in every land and in most every situation. Hence, we need to heed prayerfully the words written here and apply them to our lives.

This week’s study has the title ‘Paul and Rome’, and the texts we will be looking at will be:

Acts 28:17–31; Rom. 1:7; 15:14, 20–27; Ephesians 1; Phil. 1:12.

The Scottish Mission is organizing a weekend retreat for women at the Atholl  Centre, Pitlochry, PH16 5BX, from Friday evening 12th November to Sunday after lunch on 14th November.

Malika Bediako, the  South England  Conference Women’s Ministries Leader will be the visiting speaker, and the theme for the weekend is “Daughters of God, Lavished with His love”.  Karen Holford will also lead out in some prayer sessions.

Accommodation is in twin-bedded or family rooms, fully catered for a Vegetarian diet.

Cost is £80 per person, with a discount of £10 for students, over 60’s and the unwaged.  Please send a deposit of £25 per person, the balance to be paid by 15th September.  Cheques payable to ‘Scottish Mission of SDA’,  send your booking form and non-returnable cheque to Carole Peacock, Scottish Mission Office, SDA Church, Gwydyr Road, Crieff PH7 4BZ.  Last date for applications is June 5th as we  need to know who is coming to enable us to book enough places.

Application forms available from the Mission Office (01764 653257 / Email: office@sdascotland.com)  or your local Women’s Ministries Leader, or pastor.

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Does taking care of our health make us more gracious with others?

Someone burdened with health problems can never be as helpful as someone whose body is strong and healthy. And Jesus is clear that we are to love one another (John 13:34-35. But if taking care of our health is such a weighty matter, how can we be buoyant in daily living without being burdened down by the seriousness of our task?

1. Moral law and natural law: A unity

(Psalms 19)? Psalm 19 divides into two parts naturally, one celebrating the natural order, the other the moral order. To what extent are we justifying in saying that both the natural and moral orders are equally dependent on God’s creative and sustaining power?

Note: In Adventist history, the first focus of the community was on the moral law, the decalogue. But it was not long before health concerns and natural law became prominent in the thinking of the community. Ellen White’s comment is pointed in that respect:

It is just as much sin to violate the laws of our being as to break one of the Ten Commandments, for we cannot do either without breaking God’s law. We cannot love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength while we are loving our appetites, our tastes, a great deal better than we love the Lord. We are daily lessening our strength to glorify God, when He requires all our strength, all our mind. By our wrong habits we are lessening our hold [70/71] on life, and yet professing to be Christ’s followers, preparing for the finishing touch of immortality. 2T 70 [1868]

Experientially, the challenge lies in the fact that taking care of our health is something that appears doable and manageable. And because Adventists stand solidly in the free-will tradition which calls us to fulfill our responsibilities, two dangers began encroaching upon the community, dangers that still haunt us today: Those who can too easily become arrogant; those who can’t too easily become discouraged. The temptation to think that we can eat our way into the kingdom is a real one. At the same time, however, we are aware at least to some extent, that while our stomachs may be reasonably healthy, our hearts are not. Those issues came to a head in the great General Conference of 1888 where Adventists had to come to the grips with the fact that we are not saved by our obedience to natural and moral law, but by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Ellen White’s pointed words are astonishing in that respect:

Let the law take care of itself. We have been at work on the law until we get as dry as the hills of Gilboa, without dew or rain. Let us trust in the merits of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. – MS 10, 1890, EGW1888 2:557.

2. Helping each other towards the kingdom: Heb 10:23-25.

Hebrews is remarkably blunt in noting the importance of mutual dependence on each other:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV)

Note: Modern sources reinforce the idea of “social support” as being crucial for our common life. In the following quotes, C. S. Lewis speaks of the life of faith in general; Peter Berger comments on how vulnerable a theological movement (Neo-Orthodoxy) can be when it flies in the face of our modern secularizing culture:

C.S. Lewis: Have we now got to a position from which we can talk about Faith without being misunderstood? For in general we are shy of speaking plain about Faith as a virtue. It looks so like praising an intention to believe what you want to believe in the face of evidence to the contrary: the American in the old story defined Faith as ‘the power of believing what we know to be untrue.’ Now I define Faith as the power of continuing to believe what we once honestly thought to be true until cogent reasons for honestly changing our minds are brought before us. The difficulty of such continuing to believe is constantly ignored or misunderstood in discussions of this subject. It is always assumed that the difficulties of faith are intellectual difficulties, that a man who has once accepted a certain proposition will automatically go on believing it till real grounds for disbelief occur. Nothing could be more superficial. How many of the freshmen who come up to Oxford from religious homes and lose their Christianity in the first year have been honestly argued out of it? How many of our own sudden temporary losses of faith have a rational basis which would stand examination for a moment? I don’t know how it is with others, but I find that mere change of scene always has a tendency to decrease my faith at first – God is less credible when I pray in a hotel bedroom than when I am in College. The society of unbelievers makes Faith harder even when they are people whose opinions, on any other subject, are known to be worthless. – “Religion: Reality or Substitute?” in Christian Reflections, 42

Peter Berger: “Put crudely, if one is to believe what neo-orthodoxy wants one to believe, in the contemporary situation, then one must be rather careful to huddle together closely and continuously with one’s fellow believers.” – The Sacred Canopy, 164

Additional New Testament passages underscore the truth that we are called to help each other:

1. Gal 5:13-14: “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – personal revision of NRSV
2. Rom 15:1-7: “We who are strong ought to patiently bear the weaknesses of those who are not strong. We should try to please them instead of ourselves. We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them. Even Christ did not try to please himself. But as the Scriptures say, ‘The people who insulted you also insulted me.” And the Scriptures were written for our instruction that through patience and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of patience and encouragement grant you harmonious thinking among yourselves, according to Christ Jesus. Then with one heart and voice, you may praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So open your hearts to one another as Christ has opened his heart to you, and God will be glorified.” – personal translation, drawing on CEV and Phillips.

3. Practical steps: What can we do?

If we really are to care for each other, then we ought to find good ways to help each other become more healthy. How can we do that effectively without becoming obnoxiously meddlesome?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: What guidance does the Bible give us in establishing good nutrition?

The Bible says very little about what constitutes a health diet. Some of the laws given to Israel may appear to be health related when other factors were clearly involved. That means that we must use our heads – and seek for divine guidance that we may know how to eat and live.

1. When we seek to establish good nutrition, should we follow broad principles or specific rules? If one is too preoccupied with specific rules, it would be very easy to miss the principles involved. Paul’s counsel in 1 Corinthians 10:31 is that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (NIV). Here are some key issues, some key passages to consider:
   • Original diet: Gen 1:26-30. The original diet was vegetarian. After the flood, God allowed humans to eat flesh food (Gen 9:3-4). What rationale can we offer today for returning to the original diet.
   • Clean and unclean animals: Lev 11 and Deu 14. Two separate chapters in the books of Moses make the distinctions between clean and unclean animals and birds. Is the prohibition against unclean animals absolute, or might there be circumstances in the interest of health where unclean animals could safely be eaten by a conscientious believer?
   • Maybe nothing to do with health? Deut 14:21. Modern believers are so accustomed to finding “rational” grounds for biblical laws, that it is easy to overlook non-health factors in some of the Mosaic legislation. Here are two examples from Deut 14:21.
     • An animal that dies of itself. The health reason for not eating an animal that dies of itself is so obvious to us, that we fail to read the rest of the verse: “you may give it to aliens residing in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner.” Clearly something other than health is involved here, especially if we value Jesus’ command to treat others the way we would want to be treated. In that connection, in the name of Jesus’ second command, Ellen White reprimanded a brother for selling diseased animals for food:

     The Lord marked the transaction of carrying to market that load of animals that were so inferior that they could not be profitable to keep, therefore were prepared for food and carried to market to be bought and introduced into the human stomach. One of these was placed upon our table for some time to feed our large family in the days of our poverty. You were not the only one to be blamed in this. Others of your family were alike guilty. It matters not whether it was designed that they should be bought and eaten by us or by worldlings. It is the principle of the thing which displeased God; you transgressed His command. You did not love your neighbor as you did yourself, for you would be unwilling to have the same thing done to you. You would consider yourself insulted. An avaricious spirit led to this departure from Christian principles, and caused you to descend to a species of trading which advantaged yourself at others’ disadvantage. 2T 153 [1868]

     • Not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk. The prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk is completely mystifying to us and Scripture gives no explanation. Apparently, a solution suggested by archaeological discoveries, Canaanite fertility rituals were involved here. The symbolism was so strong that God forbid Israel to have anything to do with it. Interestingly enough, this law is the basis for the modern orthodox Jewish prohibition against eating meat and milk together.
   • Eating with joy: Deut 14:22-27. Given our modern concerns about alcohol, it is startling to heard God telling Israel to convert their tithe into money and buy whatever they wish: “oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire” (Deut 14:26). But the following words are also crucial: “You shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your household rejoicing together.” In other words, eating is supposed to be a joyous experience. To use Adventist jargon, the question of alcohol was not yet “present truth” for Israel. But to have a joyous attitude toward’s one diet was very important. Ellen White’s comment in that connection is worth noting:

   Some act as though that which they eat were lost, and anything they could toss into the stomach to fill it would do as well as food prepared with so much painstaking. It is important that we relish the food we eat. If we cannot do this, but eat mechanically, we fail to be nourished and built up as we would be if we could enjoy the food we take into the stomach. We are composed of what we eat. In order to make a good quality of blood, we must have the right kind of food, prepared in a right manner. 1T 682 [1968]

   • Making changes slowly. There is no specific biblical passage that counsels how we are to deal with changes in diet and other health habits, but judging by how God deals with deviant behavior, one can conclude that God is willing to be patient with those who are reluctant to move to a better way. In that connection, Ellen White reminded the church of how important it is to move ahead cautiously in dietary matters:

   We must go no faster than we can take those with us whose consciences and intellects are convinced of the truths we advocate. We must meet the people where they are. Some of us have been many years in arriving at our present position in health reform. It is slow work to obtain a reform in diet. We have powerful appetites to meet; for the world is given to gluttony. If we should allow the people as much time as we have required to come up to the present advanced state in reform, we would be very patient with them, and allow them to advance [21] step by step, as we have done, until their feet are firmly established upon the health reform platform. But we should be very cautious not to advance too fast, lest we be obliged to retrace our steps. In reforms we would better come one step short of the mark than to go one step beyond it. And if there is error at all, let it be on the side next to the people. 3T 20-21 [1872]

2. Are people more important than our own dietary habits? Rom 14:13-23. Though Paul’s primary concern is not misusing our freedom to hurt others who still may be haunted by old scruples, his counsel in Romans 14 and in 1 Cor 8 is the same: Don’t ever hurt someone because of food! The key line is found in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (NRSV).
3. Attitudes and diet: Transformed by the renewing of your minds (Rom 12:2). Paul’s famous verse in Romans 12:2 points to the value of having the right attitude when we address issues of diet. A merry heart does good like a medicine (Pro 17:22), even in matters of diet. The point is brought out forcefully by Ellen White as she was writing to someone who was too “worried” about food:
   

   Exercise will aid the work of digestion. To walk out after a meal, hold the head erect, put back the shoulders, and exercise moderately, will be a great benefit. The mind will be diverted from self to the beauties of nature. The less the attention is called to the stomach after a meal, the better. If you are in constant fear that your food will hurt you, it most assuredly will. Forget self, and think of something cheerful. 2T 530.1 [1870]

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Has the follower of Jesus fallen from grace if he or she slips into clinical depression?

The theme for our lesson this week is happiness and healing. It is not difficult to find verses that set the standard high for our joy: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice” (Phi 4:4). That is a wonderful ideal, but what happens when we fall short?

Sighing and crying for the abominations in Israel (Ezekiel 9)? Or, giving thanks to the Lord for his goodness (Psalms 136)?

Is it possible for us to choose our emotions? The ideal seems to be joy and rejoicing, but the sighing and crying for the evils in Israel is clearly a theme that surfaces from time to time, especially in the prophets. And finally there is simply the deep drop into depression as in Psalm 88. How would each of these three reactions likely affect our health and should we take steps to encourage the “right” perspective and declare the wrong ones to be inappropriate for Christians? What about Jesus’ cry on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – a quote from Psalm 22. Is that a cry that we could or should pray in the right circumstances?

Grappling with deep depression: The Psalmist (Psalms 88) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:2-18).

Psalms 88. In his little book, A Cry of Absence, the noted church historian, Martin Marty, tells how he stepped out of his historian’s discipline into the real life of pain as his wife was dying of cancer. Each midnight, at the time for taking pain medications, Marty and his wife would share a psalm. He would read the even-numbered ones, she would read the odd-numbered ones. In the second edition of A Cry of Absence, he reproduces a dialogue that emerged when it was time for Marty to read Psalm 88, certainly the darkest of all the lament psalms. This is the conversation as he recorded it:

Martin Marty, A Cry of Absence (New York, Harper and Row, [1983] 1993), xi -xv [preface in the 1993 edition only: ISBN: 00606554023]:

SHE: What happened to Psalm 88? Why did you skip it?

HE: I didn’t think you could take it tonight. I am not sure I could. No: I am sure I could not.

SHE: Please read it, for me.

HE: All right:

. . .I cry out in the night before thee. . .

For my soul is full of troubles . . .

Thou hast put me in the depths of the Pit,

in the regions dark and deep . . .

SHE: I need that kind the most.

Is that kind of stark realism sometimes necessary for us if we are to maintain our health and happiness? Is happiness really possible in the midst of deep physical or psychological pain?

1 Kings 19: Elijah. After a brilliant victory over Baal and his prophets on Mt. Carmel, Elijah was thrown into a panic by Jezebel’s threats. He fled for Mt. Horeb/Sinai where he hoped to meet a God violent enough to handle his problems. Surprisingly, the God he met there was not a violent one at all, but a God of a very quiet voice (1 Kings 19:11-14). En route to the rendezvous with his God, Elijah slipped deeper and deeper into depression, finally stopping under a solitary broom tree and asking the Lord to take his life. He had had enough (1 Kings 19:4-9). Ellen White’s comments on Elijah’s experience are revealing, noting God’s tender care for those who are thrown into deep depression:

If, under trying circumstances, men of spiritual power, pressed beyond measure, become discouraged and desponding; if at times they see nothing desirable in life, that they should choose it, this is nothing strange or new. Let all such remember that one of the mightiest of the prophets fled for his life before the rage of an infuriated woman. A fugitive, weary and travel-worn, bitter disappointment crushing his spirits, he asked that he might die. But it was when hope was gone, and his life-work seemed threatened with defeat, that he learned one of the most precious lessons of his life. In the hour of his greatest weakness he learned the need and the possibility of trusting God under circumstances the most forbidding. Prophets and Kings, 173

In that same connection, Ellen White notes that our moment of greatest darkness can be the moment when divine help is nearest:

To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly.” 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience. Desire of Ages, 528

What practical steps can we take to move from the depths out into light and joy?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Does moral integrity affect our physical health?

The Bible is full of examples of those who have stood firm, maintaining their integrity. It also provides us with a host of examples of those who compromised their integrity, often with catastrophic consequences.

1. Jesus stands firm: Is he our example (Mat 4:1-11)? If we try to put ourselves in Jesus’ sandals, how would we react to each of these challenges to “integrity”?
   • Turn stones into bread (Mat 4:3-4). None of us has the ability to turn stones into bread. We wouldn’t even try. But Jesus had just come from his baptism and had heard the affirming voice from heaven. He had the ability to turn stones into bread. Would he perform a miracle on his own behalf?
   • Throw yourself down (Mat 4:5-6). This would have been a more daring temptation. Who would entrust their own fate to an “angel”? Jesus flatly refused.
   • Worship me! (Mat 4:8-9). Would any of us be tempted by the Devil if he offered us the whole world?
2. In what way would these temptations be adapted to our weaknesses? To what extent was Jesus tempted far beyond anything that we might have to face?
3. Good examples of integrity in action:
   • Gen 39:6-12: Joseph and Potipher’s wife. What enabled Joseph to react with horror at a temptation that must have been quite alluring to his physical nature? In a world where we are constantly bombarded with sexual temptation, how can we maintain our moral integrity?
   • 1 Sam 24:1-10: David refuses to attack Saul. David showed remarkable restraint in refusing to lay a hand on Saul. What made the difference. David refused to touch Saul, but was quite willing to sacrifice Uriah the Hittite.
   • Daniel 6:1-10: Daniel continues to worship publicly. Daniel’s example of continuing with his public worship habits contrasts sharply with Esther’s choice of concealing her life of faith – until the very last minute. How does one determine whether a public display is appropriate and helpful? To keep silent as Esther did can serve God’s purposes. But does it represent a loss of integrity on the part of the one who keeps silent?

What practical steps can we take to ensure that we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:1-2)? This passage from the pen of Paul can be looked at from both sides of the question: How does one preserve and enhance one’s integrity through the renewing of the mind? And what are the negative consequences when we fall short of the mark? Is guilt (and guilt feelings) something that is universally experienced? Or does it vary from person to person? Is it possible for guilt or the prospect of incurring guilt to be a positive force in the life of the Christian? In short, does guilt keep us out of trouble?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Moderation or abstinence: Which is better and when?

The topic for our discussion this week is “temperance,” a word that has a rather stuffy feel about it. But the issues are still very contemporary. We will address the advisability of abstinence and moderation.

Alcohol has always been a major concern for Adventists when the topic of temperance arises. And the Adventist position has always been total abstinence, in spite of the voices suggesting that moderate use is preferable to abstinence. A sobering study was cited in the Adventist Review a number of years ago (1992) that showed children of moderate drinkers being more likely to become heavy drinkers than either children from abstaining homes or those from homes where there had been heavy drinking. Here are the results:

Does Scripture provide us with a rock-solid argument for abstinence from alcohol? Starting with the drunkenness of Noah (Gen 9:20), a number of passages can be cited that highlight the dangers of alcohol: Immediately following the disaster of Nadab and Abihu as reported in Leviticus 10:1-2, God prohibited Aaron and his associates from drinking wine or strong drink, implying that alcohol had played a role in the tragedy. The strong words of Proverbs 20:1 can also be cited: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

But then there is that fascinating passage in Proverbs 31:4-7:

It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to desire strong drink;

or else they will drink and forget what has been decreed,

and will pervert the rights of all the afflicted

Give strong drink to one who is perishing,

and wine to those in bitter distress;

let them drink and forget their poverty,

and remember their misery no more.

Does the passage in Proverbs 31 point to the sedative or medicinal use of alcohol? Would that be different than its recreational use?

Turning away from alcohol as the primary example, what does Scripture tells us in general about abstinence vs. moderation? These passages are worth noting:

1. Galatians 5:22-23: “Self-control” is part of the fruit of the Spirit.
2. 2 Peter 1:5-9: “Self-control” is listed as one of Peter’s cluster of virtues.
3. Ecc 7:15-17: The wise man cautions against being too righteous, too wise, or too wicked.

Should one deny strong cravings or meet them halfway? In some situations, moderation rather than abstinence seems to be preferable. A striking illustration of this is supplied in Ellen White’s counsel to a man who was being far too rigorous with his pregnant wife, depriving her of adequate nourishment:

B has been very deficient. While in her best condition of health, his wife was not provided with a plenty of wholesome food and with proper clothing. Then, when she needed extra clothing and extra food, and that of a simple yet nutritious quality, it was not allowed her. Her system craved material to convert into blood, but he would not provide it. A moderate amount of milk and sugar, a little salt, white bread raised with yeast for a change, graham flour prepared in a variety of ways by other hands than her own, plain cake with raisins, rice pudding with raisins, prunes, and figs, occasionally, and many other dishes I might mention, would have answered the demand of appetite. If he could not obtain some of these things, a little domestic wine would have done her no injury; it would have been better for her to have it than to do without it. In some cases, even a small amount of the least hurtful meat would do less injury than to suffer strong cravings for it. Testimonies 2:383-84 (1870)

How far can one generalize from that last statement about the danger of strong cravings?

Asceticism vs. Hedonism. In some devout circles, a strong ascetic impulse tends to limit one’s freedom to actually enjoy one’s food. In such a situation, the example of John the Baptist seems to take precedence over that of Jesus: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Mat 11:18-19). Does the modern believer have a choice between those two contrasting models?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Where does the Bible tell us that we need fresh air?

The purpose of this lesson is to encourage us to get plenty of fresh, clean air. But as with the lessons on exercise and water, the Bible hardly says a thing about the health benefits that come fresh air. The Bible will have to come to our aid indirectly. Where would we start to make the case for fresh?

Fresh air to start with: Gen 2:7. The air or “spirit” which animates human beings is a very physical thing, and it came directly from God. Everything about the biblical account emphasis the corporality, the physical nature of human existence. That contrasts sharply with the Greek view that could not see the body or the material world as good. For the Greeks, the ultimate good was to escape from the body into a realm of pure spirit, not spirit in the sense of real air, but spirit in the sense of an intangible entity that was totally unencumbered by the material. Does the creation perspective motivate us to take better care of our world? Better care of ourselves?

God gives us air and breath: Acts 17:25. When speaking to the Athenians, Paul was not shy about noting that God gave life and breath to all living creatures.

Air: Our responsibility: Gen 1:26-28. At creation, God gave human beings the awesome responsibility of having “dominion” over creation. What then should we do to clean up the air and make it more suitable for people, animals, and plants?

Atmosphere: Physical and Spiritual: Rev 21:4. In both Testaments, the biblical authors describe the new world in terms of freedom from pain and sorrow. The “atmosphere” is very positive, both spiritually and physically. To what extent is the spiritual “atmosphere” connected with our physical one? Can we be stronger spiritually if we are in a world where the physical air is pure and clean?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: How does rest make us stronger and more efficient?

Our theme this week focuses on rest and restoration. These are key biblical passages to consider:

Weekly rest, nightly rest, daily work: Genesis 2:2-3, Genesis 15. In the early chapters of Genesis, God provided for daily rest by turning off the lights at night; but he also gave us a weekly Sabbath, a full 24 hours of rest. It’s clear that he expected Adam and Eve to be involved in productive labor. But to what extent does the daily rest and the weekly rest enhance our ability to function during the non-resting times of the day and week? Is one more important that the other? The daily rest is more rigorously “enforced” by natural forces; the weekly rest is very much a matter of personal choice. But that choice enhance its usefulness?

Urgent rest interrupted: Mark 6:30-46. In the interest of encouraging a more balanced life, one that is not always haunted by the specter of continuous work, Christians have appealed to Jesus’ words to the disciples when he told them to come away and get some rest. But there is a problem with the Gospel story: Jesus and his disciples didn’t actually get any rest! The people tracked down the Master; he had compassion on them; he taught them; he fed them. To what extent should we allow our down time, our vacation time, to be interrupted by human needs? If we never actual get any rest, aren’t we at risk of collapse, or at least at risk of diminished effectiveness?

Rest for all creatures: Exodus 23:12. To ancient Israel, God declared the Sabbath to be a time of rest not only for his chosen people, but also for their slaves and their animals. To what extent should believers seek to shape our modern world so that everyone can get some rest? Adventists have been reluctant to support even non-religious Sunday legislation. But are their alternatives that would encourage our hectic culture to be more restful?

Spiritual rest: Matthew 11:28-30. Come and I will give you rest, says Jesus, and not just physical rest. How does one arrive at the kind of contentment which Jesus’ statement suggests? What is it about following Jesus that could and should give us rest for our souls? To what extent is the knowledge that Jesus is God incarnate give us the kind of perspective on God that would allow us to rest content rather than constantly trying to prove ourselves to him (and to ourselves!)?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Can our attitudes make us sick? Can they help us get well?

Our theme this week links faith and healing. We want to explore how attitudes and mental perspectives can play a role in our physical well-being, both in making us sick and in helping us get well. Several factors are significant:

Fear: Genesis 3:8-10. In the garden, transgression triggered a response of fear in the hearts of Adam and Eve. Was that “helpful” to them given their new status as sinners? To what extent is fear a positive factor in enabling us to keep our bodies healthy? With reference to the “fear” of the end, this quote from C. S. Lewis is worth noting. Would it have broader application as well?

“Perfect love, we know casteth out fear. But so do several others things – ignorance, alcohol, passion, presumption, and stupidity. It is very desirable that we should all advance to that perfection of love in which we shall fear no longer; but it is very undesirable, until we have reached that stage, that we should allow any inferior agent to cast out our fear.” – C. S. Lewis, “The World’s Last Night, in The World’s Last Night and Other Essays”, 109

Trust in divine power: Hebrews 11. From one perspective, it would be wonderful if we could trust in divine power to deliver us on a consistent basis: “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them” (Psalms 34:7). The trouble is that Scripture itself makes it clear that physical deliverance is never a sure thing for believers. In Acts 12, for example, Peter was delivered from prison. But at the beginning of the same chapter it tells how Herod killed James. In Hebrews 11, some escaped from the sword by faith (Hebrews 11:34) but some were killed by the sword by faith (Hebrews 11:37). How does the Christian come to the point where “faith” is willing to encompass any possibility? And is such “resignation” helpful for one’s health and well-being?

A merry heart: Prov 17:22. Proverbs tells us that joy is good medicine. Is joy or the “merry heart” something that we can choose? Or are we programed one way or the other? Why is it that nearly half the psalms are laments and complaints? Is the realism that is willing to admit that the Lord has “let us down” important for our health? Can it add to as well as detract from our health?

Worry: Mat 6:25-34. Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives, our food, or our clothes. Indeed, he says we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today (Mat 6:34). Paul tells us not to worry about anything (Phi 4:6), but in real life he admits that he is under “daily pressure because of his worries for all the churches” (2 Cor 11:28). Is a worry-free life an ideal that cannot be fully realized? Should we worry if we worry too much?

The Miraculous: Mat 17:14-20. In the case of the epileptic boy, Jesus was not able to heal because of lack of faith, apparently the lack of faith in the hearts of the would-be healers and the lack of faith in the one desiring healing. In our modern world, it is often difficult to believe in miracles since we are so accustomed to “rational” explanations for everything. To what extent is the ability to believe in miracles a positive factor in healing? Must we also be prepared for God’s refusal to heal? This sobering quote from C. S. Lewis on the effectiveness of prayer points in that direction:

Prayer is not a machine. It is not magic. It is not advice offered to God. Our act, when we pray, must not, any more than all our other acts, be separated from the continuous act of God Himself, in which alone all finite causes operate.

It would be even worse to think of those who get what they pray for as a sort of court favorites, people who have influence with the throne. The refused prayer of Christ in Gethsemane is answer enough to that. And I dare not leave out the hard saying which I once heard from an experienced Christian: “I have seen many striking answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic.”

Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” When God becomes man, that Man, of all others, is least comforted by God, at His greatest need. There is a mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, be-[10-11] yond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle. – C. S. Lewis, “The Efficacy of Prayer,” in The World’s Last Night and Other Essays, 10-11.

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: Why should Christians care for this world when we expect a new one in which all the problems will be taken away?

To Serve the Earth. What are the implications for the environment of each of these verses from the early chapters of Genesis:

1. “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28)
2. “Fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion….” (Gen 1:28)
3. “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden by serve [till] it and keep it.” (Gen 2:15) Note: To “serve” is the root meaning of the word translated as “till” in 2:5 and 2:15. In other words, whatever “dominion” might mean, it should result in human’s “serving” the earth.

The Sabbath: How might the gift of the Sabbath encourage believers to be more attentive to the needs of the earth? The following verses are significant:

1. Genesis 2:2-3: God rests on the Sabbath
2. Exodus 23:12: Rest for animals and slaves
3. Mark 2:27-28: “The Son of Man” is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus nudged his Jewish listeners to turn the Sabbath day into a day of service, not just of rest. The Aramaic original behind “Son of Man” is simply the generic word for “man” (human being). Could Jesus be saying that “human beings” are “lords” of the Sabbath?
4. Matthew 25:31-46: Judgment linked with the treatment of God’s children.

Note: Those who God’s true followers serve cover an interesting array of needs. They are hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and imprisoned. What does our care for the environment say about our ability to meet each of those needs? If the church were to develop a plan that would cover all those kinds of people, what would it look like?

(from Good Word Online):

Leading Question: How does the Bible help us know whether we are drinking too much water or too little?

If, as in last week’s lesson, the Bible says very little about our need for exercise, it says even less about our need for water. There are good passages which speak of the renewing and cleansing power of water, but none that speak of its health benefits. Given that fact, how does the Bible inform our decisions about the use of water?

1. Is it possible to distinguish between those “laws” in the Bible which are strictly ritual and those with health implications? Leviticus 11:40 declares that those who carry a carcass are unclean until evening, even though they wash their clothes according to the law. Can we surmise why that kind of rule might have been in place? Leviticus 13 and 15 also speak of the cleansing power of water, but the ritual requirements are also specified. How do we know which of these laws are to be followed by believers today?
2. Do the changing laws within the Old Testament, and between the Testaments, give us the right, indeed the mandate to determine on the basis of “sanctified reason” which laws no longer apply? Here are three examples, all of which involve symbolism that had weighty meaning when the laws were first given:
   1. Changes within the Old Testament:
      • Defective males (Deut 23:1 and Isaiah 56:3-5): Rejected, then welcomed.
      • Illegitimate children (Deut 23:2 and Judges 11 [Jephthah]): Rejected then Spirit-filled.
      • Foreigners: Moabites and Ammonites (Deut 23:3-6 and Ruth [cf. 1 Kings 14:21]): rejected, then included in the royal lineage. Ruth was an ancestor of Jesus.
   2. Changes between the Testaments: Circumcision no longer mandated: Acts 15.
3. When might our “reason” lead us away from God’s will and how can we make sure that it doesn’t happen?
   1. Anything which leads us to hurt others would certainly be off limits (cf. Gal 5:13).
   2. The community of believers can keep us within the limits of God’s will. Acts 15:28 contains a powerful statement of how that can work. At the first General Conference when the community was struggling over questions of what would apply, they talked it through and prayed it through until they came to this conclusion: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” In short, when we fear that our reason might be leading us astray, the company of good brothers and sisters in Christ can give us sound counsel.

Come and hear  Pastor Duane McKey. who is the Vice President for the Southwestern Union in the USA. He will take  a short programme following the morning service. He has a very exciting approach that will be especially interesting for our younger people. Please encourage everyone to attend!