Sabbath School From Home

The foundation of prophecy is perhaps hope. In the end, the Bible says in so many ways, God and goodness do triumph. Prophecy seems to use this long-term hope for the future as a lens through which to examine and evaluate present actions. We examine the beginning of the book of Ezekiel, where a prophet is called to speak God's words "whether the people listen to them or not". 

Animal sacrifice is one of the most pervasive symbols in the Bible, and yet is foreign to modern society. One interesting aspect of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament is that God sometimes declared he rejected it! Does this perhaps illuminate what might be the actual substance behind this ritual? We explore how "simply going through the motions" can perhaps be valuable spiritual discipline and yet can also be dangerous disengagement from the mission of God in our world.

God seems entirely willing to work with imperfect people, cultures, and institutions. This episode follows on from our last one, exploring issues of human government and nation-states. There's an interesting connection with themes in a recent Ezra Klein Show podcast from the New York Times. Jesus reminded the people who were proud of being Abraham's descendents that God could make stones into children of Abraham. Maybe even some secular institutions can be used by God for his purposes. When Christ wanted to typify the sort of spiritual illness to which self-righteous religious people are susceptible, he contrasted a pharisee with agent of the state (tax collector).Sorry for some audio quality being lower than usual this week.

Nations fall short of God's ideals, but removing government usually leads to anarchy. When listing the nations descended from Noah, Genesis 10 points out that Nimrod built a kingdom including places such as Babel and Ninevah. That's somewhat foreboding given our knowledge of the subsequent stories. Although it is good to be counter cultural, is the government (or government in general) always bad? 

Marriage is a strong but tricky image throughout the Bible. It is interesting to see that God is able to reveal aspects of himself through this image both when marriage is at its best and also when it doesn't go as hoped. 

Genesis is a foundation for many of the symbols and images that become significant throughout the Bible. But it is fascinating to reconsider just how detailed these introductions actually are. What is the resolution of the imagery in Genesis, and does it add value forwards through time? Could some of it only make sense in retrospect? We focus particularly on themes of "the lamb" and sacrifice, and it seems much is left unresolved (from our Christian perspective) in the book of Genesis itself.

One principle of prophecy is that God wants to be understood. But it does sometimes seem strange then that He chooses such mysterious analogies and images. This new season will explore a few of these allusions, images, and symbols. One key issue with prophecy is whether these aspects should be interpreted literally or figuratively, but there are numerous other contrasts that could be explored: prosaic-vs-poetic, understated-vs-exaggerated, right-vs-wrong, etc. Maybe some Biblical passages don't neatly fit into some of these categories.

"Love and Justice" is often narrowed to "Love or Commandments". This may not be the most helpful juxtaposition. The Adventist lesson guide this week asks "how could we express love to God, or love to others, if we are violating any one of the Ten Commandments?" In one sense this seems reasonable (the Commandments do relate to loving God and others). But in the light of Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount it seems equally reasonable to suggest that no sinner truly "keeps" the Ten Commandments. Does that really mean we are incapable of expressing love?

What does God's concern for justice mean for us today? This Psalm is only brief, but resonates deeply with numerous bible passages about God's passion for justice. How can we engage with Him in "upholding the cause of the poor and the oppressed", and how do we make sure to avoid "defending the unjust"?

How much does understanding actually help us to cope with suffering? An interesting feature of the Sabbath School lesson this quarter is that it consistently assumes there is comfort in knowing why bad things happen. This may well be true in some situations, but we ponder on the story of Job who was never told the answer to this question. The question of what more God could have done is posted in Isaiah 5, but not about God's actions to prevent suffering. Instead, it is an expression of God's yearning for his people to exhibit justice and become "the vines he delights in". Perhaps we can do this even without really understanding pain and suffering.

Are there rules for the Cosmic Conflict? The lesson this week sets out to explore the "rules of engagement" in the conflict between God and Satan. Is this a helpful framing of the situation if Satan - the great deceiver - disregards any rules and tries to cheat? The idea has value in attempting to explain why God might not step in sometimes as we wish, but we explore a surprising alternative idea.

What about celebrating what God does, more than analysing what he might not prevent? This conversation grows out of the previous episode, revisiting the idea of comparing or weighing good versus evil in the world. In a profound sense it seems that goodness really must outweigh all the suffering. This is the fundamental core of hope in the Christian message, and there are some provocative ways in which this idea can intersect our experience.

How does God's love and providence work with our free will? A lot has been said over Christian history about how we might understand God's will, His providence, and the difficult wording of predestination used in this opening passage of Ephesians. Our discussion turns to the implications these somewhat theoretical ideas have on the very practical experience of pain and suffering. There are obviously multiple ways to put it all together! We reflect on how it tends to be more fruitful to focus on God's Love and Grace.

When is it more important to love kindness? Exploring aspects of perverted justice invariably leads to any number of scenarios that defy the just/unjust categorisation. What are we to do in such situations? While Micah 6 calls us to do justice, it also reminds us to love kindness.

What does it mean for God to love justice? The idea of justice appeals to everyone who feels ripped off, but "God's judgement" can sound threatening. There are aspects of justice that are difficult for us to comprehend, let alone achieve. 

Divine wrath can be a difficult concept to put alongside a "loving God". In fact, this attribute of God is perhaps more prominent in the Bible than in many contemporary expressions of Christianity. It makes sense for us to tend to avoid thinking about it, given the abundance of situations in which human anger is unhelpful. We discuss how anger might fit in to our understanding of God? Is anger ever ok for us? Can we have rigeous indignation without it simply being self-righteous indignation?

God is passionate and compassionate. We (meaning humans in general and Seventh-day Adventists in particular) tend to be somewhat distrustful of emotions, but it turns out that similar critiques can be applied to reason and other aspects of human experience. One intriguing emotional word used in the Bible to describe God is "jealous", but elsewhere we read that love is not jealous! This is slightly unfair word play because many translations use "envious" or other words instead of jealous, but stimulates interesting conversation. Maybe God's jealousy in the OT is an expression of love.

This belated episode explores what it means to "be pleasing to God". Some disruptions are referenced at the start of the conversation, and others persisted long enough to delay this episode by more than a week (sorry)! Thinking about pleasing God often leads Christians to ponder the corruption of sin - but the Parable of the Lost Sons in Luke 15 is a great way to remember that sin doesn't eliminate God's love for us. Indeed it was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us!

Is anger incompatible with love? This question from the quarterly introduction leads in many productive directions. It comes up in this context because many Christian traditions picture God's justice as somehow being associated with His anger. We explore a few lines of thinking about anger and love, and also have a preliminary go at the related question "How do Love and Justice go together?"

We start a new season looking at the God of Love and Justice. There's a lot in Christian history that suggests love and justice are somehow opposing attributes of God. We suspect this may not be the case, and in this introductory episode on this theme we tackle a few of the questions in the Sabbath School introduction. When discussing God's love, Isaiah 53:11 is a helpful reminder that there doesn't need to be a contrast between sacrifice and delight. 

It is important to focus on the resurrection as we conclude an exploration of John's gospel. This is a well-known passage, but worth revisiting. It is interesting that nobody seems to recognise the resurrected Jesus at first encounter, and we explore some other aspects of this chapter.

John's gospel includes an extensive interaction with Pilate as part of the crucifixion story. There may be no "book of Pilate" in the Bible, but there are some interesting aspects of this character worth exploring. There are themes of power, control, and God's mission. This is not the most important part of Jesus going to the cross, but we turn to it as a stimulus for good conversation.

How can it be best for the followers of Jesus if He goes away? This is a simple statement Jesus makes in John 16, but it seems at first glance quite counterintuitive. The answer hinges in the text on the Advocate who is to come, and we explore this idea. We apologise for this episode being published a week late!

We look at seven "I am" statements from Jesus in the gospel of John. It is interesting to see some patterns in these various passages. People listening typically have difficulty accepting what Jesus is saying, and there's plenty to ponder in what he claims to be. We end up realising the importance of not just "having truth", but finding effective ways to express it.

John loves the phrase "eternal life", but what does it tell us? This phrase in John serves a similar role as the phrase "Kingdom of God" in the synoptic gospels. We explore how these different phrases can help inform each other, and land on some challenges that arise from this theme. There's even a touch of mystical mathematics!

It is interesting to explore how Jesus fulfills themes and concepts from the Old Testament.

"Blessed are those who believe" sounds wonderful, but what does it really look like? The resurrection of Lazarus is a fantastic story, and features in quite positive detail two characters who are typically maligned: Thomas and Martha. We explore their actions and statements in this story to ponder what it might look like to be blessed for believing.

Is the majority usually wrong? The lesson study guide this week poses this idea as a comfort for people who feel like they are in the minority, like Adventism is within Christianity on some issues. Ironically, denominations mean that "minorities" tend to cluster together into communities of worship where they can feel the sense of belonging that is enjoyed by a majority. We explore this idea through the story of disciplies finding it difficult to follow a train of thought Jesus has about eating his body.

The Samaritan woman at the well prompts us to explore the role of testimony. We spend some time rehabilitating this woman's reputation somewhat, and exploring how Jesus interacts with her. There is power in her testimony and "many from the village believed", but what about her experience and proclamation was so compelling?

John 1 records this strong and confident statement as a profound witness of Jesus as Messiah. The story is about Jesus calling his early disciples, and them also calling others. It seems at first glance that they really "got it", calling Jesus "the Son of God—the King of Israel!” And yet, we know from the rest of the story that they were regularly confused by Jesus and his actions. It seems possible to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and simultaneously misunderstand most of what he is trying to achieve. That's worth pondering.

Analogies are so compelling that we need to be careful to keep them the right way around. Humans are story-telling creatures and so good analogies and narratives captivate us. The opening "prologue" of John's gospel introduces many of the central themes that reappear throughout the book. Perhaps it is possible to get things mixed up if we end up focussing more on the analogy than on Christ himself.

What features of a miracle make it a "sign of divinity"? The well-known story in John 6 tells about Jesus miraculously feeding the 5000, and it seems an interesting context to explore the nature of God.

A well-known miracle makes us think a bit harder about "signs". The healing at the Pool of Bethesda is a great story, but the more we look at it the more questions arise. One obvious one is why just this man was healed when there were 5 covered porches of "sick crowds" by the pool. It is also fascinating that John records this miracle as a sign that can help believers maintain confidence in Christ, and yet the religious leaders who witnessed it were far from persuaded.

Jesus is risen, go and tell! The Book of Mark seems to have multiple endings, and the earliest manuscripts lack the final few paragraphs we typically find in our bibles. There's a lot to ponder in the resurrection story, but it turns out that the original ending to Mark is not perhaps as abrupt as it first appears.

In John 3:16 we find that God gave himself for us.  In 1 John 3:16 we find that we are to give ourselves for others.  The cross is not just the center of our own salvation story, it is a call for us to embrace the suffering that comes when we live to establish God's kingdom by sharing His love. 

The Last Supper is a remarkable overlap of ritual and routine. The menu for the meal recorded in this chapter was almost certainly quite familiar everyday food for Jesus and his disciples, and yet it was also a Passover meal with deep historical and ritual significance. This same juxtaposition shows up in the various ways that Christians celebrate communion - is it the actual body of Christ, or could it be best done with a Big Mac and diet Coke? However we find the most meaning in this story and tradition, it seems clear that Jesus claiming the Passover meal as representing his own body is a vivid picture of God's gracious desire to save.

The destruction of the temple seems to be blended here with the end of time, and things are not super clear. This chapter is almost entirely a sustained speech by Jesus, which is prompted by some observations about the impermanence of the temple. Some of it seems quite specifically about the temple in Jerusalem, and this makes the most sense of some of the details. Other sections sound a lot like the apocalypse, which is how the Adventist church usually reads it. We discuss wars, famines, and rumours-of-wars - but can't help comparing the weighty topics of this chapter against the way Jesus points out a generous widow in the preceding verses.

A number of challenging statements are made in this chapter of Mark. We focus on the story of Jesus cursing a fig tree, which seems somewhat unfair given that it was not the season for figs. There's something interesting here because when the disciples ask about it Jesus answers with comments about prayer. We find a few connections, but are unable to fully resolve our questions about this passage. Helpfully there are plenty of other passages that make the important things clear - even in this part of Mark.

Is it possible that Jesus enhances the gift by allowing Bartimaeus agency in choosing it? At first it seems almost strange for a proven healer to ask a blind man what he wants, and yet that is the conversation between Jesus and Bartimaeus. We explore this story and some others with similar phrases to ponder the depth of choice and agency that God seems to want embedded in His creation.

A lot happens for the disciples once Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah. It is fascinating to connect this conversation Jesus has with his disciples with the story of the Transfiguration which happens soon afterwards. The preceding healing of a blind man is the only recorded time that Jesus has to touch twice to heal, and it could be a masterful teaching technique. The disciples are confused by their inability to cast an evil spirit out from a young boy, and the explanation Jesus provides is not all that clarifying!

In an encounter that sounds provocative we learn some deep truths about the Mission of Christ. We can't fully understand why Jesus responded to the Syrophoenician woman as he did, but her response teaches us as well as His disciples. She understood the vast power of God (thus her request was for mere crumbs), and she reminds us that there were crumbs below the table precisely because the children had dropped dropped and rejected them. There's a challenge for all of us who want to be the Children of God.

The strong emphasis on the authority of Jesus continues through a number of stories. We briefly discuss Jesus calming the storm at the end of Mark 4, and then spend some time examining the demon-possessed man in Mark 5. The second half of this chapter tells of a woman healed and a girl resurrected, but we can't add to the stimulating comments way back in episode 8 of season 2 of this podcast! We get a bit deep in the geography of the Gerasenes, Gennesaret, and the Decapolis - but find our way back to an important reflection on what these stories are trying to tell us about Jesus.

Mark 4 presents a number of seed stories, and we go looking at even more. It is interesting to see how useful the agricultural analogy of seeds are for Jesus and other biblical writers. We explore a few examples growing out of this chapter, and end up somewhat sympathetic to the disciples who later "asked him what the parables meant".

Mark's rapid story-telling presents a healing and a confrontation with religious leaders. The paralysed man being lowered through the roof is a well-known story, but has plenty to discuss. The four faithful friends are one of the best examples of the power of intercession, and it is interesting to honestly examine whether we might be inclined to an attitude similar to "the teachers of religious law."

It's interesting that the first "healing" in Mark is casting out an evil spirit. This is a short episode recorded in somewhat adverse circumstances, and we notice the emphasis on Jesus' authority and authenticity. We look forward to exploring these themes as we progress through Mark.

We're looking forward to a season exploring the Gospel of Mark. One of the interesting themes in this opening chapter is time.

How do we keep our awe and attention on the Love of God as the story ends? The Adventist church has various more-or-less clear pictures it regularly tells about the closing stages of the Great Controversy. It is certainly not unique in its fascination with the apocalypse and transition to a restored resurrected eternity. We discuss a few details which seem not to mesh all that well with the loving revelation of God in the life and ministry of Jesus, and conclude with a resounding endorsement of focussing on His love.

In the great controversy, what is Truth opposing? The lesson this week states it is a battle between "truth and error", but quotes from John 8 where Satan is called the "father of lies". It doesn't seem that error means exactly the same thing as lies, and so we explore this passage in John to see what might be the opposite of Truth. We strongly suspect the issue at hand might go deeper than erroneous intellectual ideas.

We look honestly at the world in light of "the upcoming conflict" between God and Satan. The lesson this week takes a deliberate focus on the Catholic church and the pope, but we can't help looking broader for the Beastly powers mentioned in Revelation's description of end times. Our lived social experience no longer resounds to the great dichotomy between catholic and protestant - indeed there's a variety of societal divides which seem far more entrenched. Illicit drugs and family violence are deeply destructive of human society and does not seem any exaggeration to call them beastly tools of the devil. We don't have all the answers, but feel drawn to reflect on the primary importance of true worship in the care for poor and widows and orphans.

Deception is a key theme when discussing spiritual conflict and controversy. The topic for this week is satanic deception, which the Adventist lesson guide identifies quite specifically with spiritualism. 2 Thessalonians 2 has a lot to say about a "man of lawlessness" instigating grand deceptions, but we find some of the details are not straightforward to understand. We are drawn to a question from the lesson that has broader relevance beyond its context: "what kind of deceptions will people face in the last days?"

How does God's law reveal His character? We explore how God's Law (and the Sabbath) impact our picture of who God is. Are they the only way (or even a good way) of understanding God's character?