July - Reading 17

Good evening -

Our Scriptures in today's schedule are:

Luke 11:1-13

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Psalm 142

2 Chronicles 10-12

May God bless the reading of His Word.

 

Good evening all -

Glad you were able to join us this evening, rsr.

Our reading of 2Chronicles takes a new turn tonight as much of the information for the rest of the Book will be new and unique to the text of this Scripture. Because of the Chronicler’s heavy emphasis upon David, the passages dealing with the divided kingdom will focus almost exclusively on the Judean realm. The northern kingdom, Israel, is only addressed when there is a direct correlation or relationship to Judah.
The Chronicles seem to avoid Solomon’s involvement in the division of the kingdom and lay the blame primarily on the cruel, heavy-handed Jeroboam. The Chronicler also assumes that the audience is familiar with the stories in 1Kings 11 as he gives this narrative as we see evidenced in 2Chronicles 10:2 and 10:15.
Chapter 11 shows the overlying theme of the Book of repentance = retribution and forgiveness. 11:21-22 give us the reason for the blessing of Abijah over his older brothers which is an insight not provided by the Book of 1Kings. Chapter 12 supplies the obvious reasons for the defeat at Shishak. Just as repentance brought blessing, disobedience wrought punishment. Thus the Chronicles carry far more theology and doctrine than the historical narrative provided in the Books of Kings, at least on this occasion.

Chapter 11 of Luke opens with some of Christ’s instructions on prayer. The abbreviated Lord’s Prayer found in this Book is very similar to the one found in Matthew. One lesson that is obvious from verse one is that Christ prayed often, not just when in times of need. It is through this time of meditation and communication with the Father that He renewed Himself. The basic template of the Lord’s prayer gives us an outline of how our own prayers should be formulated: acknowledgement of God and His position, thanksgiving and petitions.

In 1Thessalonians 5 we read more about the end times. This message is identical to Christ prophecy of the Second Coming. The Master will return in a flash and unexpectedly. The comparison to labor is not to the pain of such, but the inevitability of the event.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Sunday School lesson – 11/14/05

Luke 11

Each Passage of chapter 11 has parallels in Matthew though the situations are somewhat different and context varies the Message to a certain degree. Certainly for a full understanding of the Gospels as a whole, both Books should be studied and if time allowed we would examine the parallels in full context. Time being limited as it is by the scheduling of this class, however, requires that we delve into Luke's Message today with mere mentions of Matthew's accounts. I would encourage the student to read the parallel accounts in their own studies to glean the fuller implications of these important lessons.

Luke 11:1-4 The Lord's Prayer

This familiar Passage is paralleled in Matthew 6:9-13 where we find the version that more closely resembles our liturgical recitation of the modern day. In Matthew the prayer is presented as a part of the Sermon on the Mount whereas in Luke it is in answer to an inquiry by one of the Disciples. It is not unreasonable to assume that Jesus presented this prayer as a model on more than one occasion. This would also help explain the slight variance in wording as Jesus warned against mechanical, formal worship.

The Gospel of Luke has emphasized on many occasions thus far Jesus' consistent practice of praying. He prayed at His baptism. He withdrew frequently from the crowd in order to pray. He prayed all night on a mountain in 6:12. He was praying when He was Transfigured. He was praying when Peter declared Him the Messiah. This earnestness in prayer no doubt initiated the unnamed disciples desire to know how to pray. John, too, had taught his disciples as the old Jewish prayers known by the followers of Christ were no longer adequate. Christ begins with instructions with the assumption that prayer would be made. He does not say "if you pray" but "whenever" you pray.

The prayer begins with an address of God as "Father." The concept of God as "Father" is not alien to the Old Testament but the references are quite rare, the title being used a mere 15 times. Also, the intimate use of the term being used here by Jesus was quite revolutionary from Jewish thought. In the Old Testament references God is viewed as the Father of the Jewish nation or used in conjunction with the term "king". Here, however, Jesus is addressing God as Father in the way a mortal child addresses a parent. The paraphrase of "Daddy" would be considered an accurate rendering.

The Lukan edition of the Lord's Prayer then moves into five petitions. The first two look forward to the end of the age when a final resolution is made to bring an end to sin and rebellion. The is a calling for God's name to be "hallowed," that is to say, "Holy." The second is for God's Kingdom to come. God's name is already holy. Men do not make it so by prayer or any other means. God, however, will affect the recognition of this holiness. Likewise, the coming of the Kingdom in this context is the time when all men will know God as the Sovereign Ruler of this universe.

The prayer then moves into more personal petitions. The KJV translates the request for daily bread quite well: Give us day by day our daily bread. The imagery of daily provision may call to mind the Israelites in the wilderness receiving manna. It is not a petition for luxury or future security but rather a request that each day's needs are met and recognition that such provision has God as its source.

Though the wording is slightly different, both Luke and Matthew show in the Lord's Prayer that forgiveness of our own sins is related to our forgiveness of other's who sin against us. It is important to note that God does not forgive our sins because we forgive our brother, but we forgive our brother because God forgives us. Though we may recite this phrase weekly in church, it presents a challenge to us that many may not be up to. The terms "sin" and "debt" are synonymous in Christian teaching as Jesus displays in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:32-35. At this point also the student may be curious as to why the Lord's Prayer we recite today in our congregations uses the term "trespasses" instead of "sin" or "debt." The origin of the use of the term seems to be traceable to the 1300's and perpetuated by the Anglicans. The Scottish Presbyterians persisted in the use of term "debts" after the Reformation. Ecumenical councils in the 20th century more or less homogenized the Prayer with the use of the term trespasses.

The fifth and final petition in Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is that we not be led into temptation. One should not confuse the issue by thinking that it is God who would lead us to temptation. To the contrary, this is a recognition that our own weakness in a given situation will lead us to sin. Without the aid of God, we would not be able to cope with those situations.

Luke 11:5-13 The Insistent Friend

The Parable of the Insistent Friend is used to demonstrate the need for persistence in prayer. All too often when God does not respond to a believer's prayer immediately or on the believer's terms, he will lose faith either in God's existence or in His role as a loving Father. Prayer is not a magic device with which we can control the actions of God. To the contrary, we must have faith that God answers our prayers in the way in which He knows is best.

The Parable concludes with the three imperatives to ask, seek, and knock. These verbs are presented in the present tense. In other words, the instruction on prayer is to "keep on seeking, keep on knocking, keep on knocking." The believer should never falter in his faith that that God responds to the seeking of His children.

 

Our Scriptural readings for tomorrow are:

Luke 11:14-28

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Psalm 143

2 Chronicles 13-16

 

Our Scriptural readings for tomorrow are:

Luke 11:14-28

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Psalm 143

2 Chronicles 13-16

 

Our Scriptural readings for tomorrow are:

Luke 11:14-28

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Psalm 143

2 Chronicles 13-16

 

Our Scriptural readings for tomorrow are:

Luke 11:14-28

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Psalm 143

2 Chronicles 13-16

 

Our Scriptural readings for tomorrow are:

Luke 11:14-28

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Psalm 143

2 Chronicles 13-16