Bible Study 8th February 2022.
Introduction:
This coming Sunday we pick up again in studying the themes laid down in our Methodist Membership Tickets of “The Methodist Way of Life”.
We started on this journey in the weeks leading up to advent and Christmas when we looked at the themes :
Worship
We will pray daily.
We will worship with others regularly.
We will look and listen for God in Scripture, and the world.
Learning and Caring
We will care for ourselves and those around us.
We will learn more about our faith.
We will practise hospitality and generosity.
And now in the weeks ahead we will pick up the themes of Service and Evangelism.
Service
We will help people in our communities and beyond.
We will care for creation and all God’s gifts.
We will challenge injustice.
Evangelism
We will speak of the love of God.
We will live in a way that draws others to Jesus.
We will share our faith with others.
And so the readings we are looking at this evening are all around the theme of the first of these topics:
We will help people in our communities and beyond.
Readings:
Isaiah 58:6-14. New International Version
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: The Lords Will for us
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, Result of doing the Lord's Will
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;Our Response to Gods Blessing
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, Terms and Conditions apply
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, The results God Promises
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath.More T&C’s-No Complacency
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honour it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Footnotes
a.Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
Comment
1).When you hear the words “to fast”, what do you think of?
We tend to think of fasting as abstaining from food or certain luxuries or treats.
In Isaiah 58, God puts a new spin on fasting
58:6 A fast that I choose. This verse presents a different idea of fasting: to rescue the oppressed and provide for the needy (Matt. 25:34–40).
2) Gods action to our actions
Isa 58:8 Then. This word connects human responsibility and the coming of God’s kingdom.
As we obey God, there is light and glory following. The glorious kingdom of God (9:2; 60:1–3; Luke 1:78, 79) will dawn with God’s blessing and protection and with His healing. It is the establishment of a new order, with the presence of the God of glory as our rear guard. Like the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness (4:5, 6; Ex. 13:21; 14:20).
Reformation Study Bible
The prophet turns the argument from the negative to the positive by presenting “the fast that I [God] choose” (Is. 58:6). This fast includes: Loosing the chains of injustice, setting the oppressed free, sharing food with the hungry, providing the poor wanderer with shelter, clothing the naked, caring for one’s family (Is. 58:6-7).* Isaiah paints a picture of the values that must characterize the people of God, in stark contrast to those of most surrounding cultures. External religion or religious performance that can co-mingle with a work ethic characterized by a lack of concern for one’s laborers (where laborers or employees or subordinates are mere instruments for personal or business development), or by a leadership style that is given to strife, quarreling, backbiting, shortened fuses and uncontrolled anger — these breach our loyalty to God. A claim is made on the people of God because of the prior forgiveness of our sins in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The promise following on the heels of the invective in chapters 58 is the breaking forth of all of God’s promises in the midst of God’s people: “Your light will break forth…. your vindicator will go before you…. the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard” (Is. 58:8-9; cf. Is. 52:12).
Theology of work Bible commentary
3. The spiritual and ethical dimensions of faith (58:1-14)
An Overview.
In 58:1 the prophet refers to a particular type of rebellion that is then explicated in the succeeding verses: empty religious observance (fasting) designed to achieve selfish ends (vv.2-3a) that have no correlation with righteous, ethical behavior (vv.3, 6, 7). It is the height of hypocrisy for one to fast while at the same time one exploits his workers and engages in strife. A genuine fast will result in correcting injustice, freeing the oppressed and those in bondage, feeding the hungry, and providing shelter and clothing for those in need. When these things are done, then God hears and responds (vv.8-9).
The prophet concludes by insisting that the people rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (v.12) and that they keep their priorities straight by keeping the Sabbath (vv.13-14). If they do, God will bless them.
Asbury Bible Commentary
———————————————————————
Luke 10:25-37. New International Version
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Footnotes
a.Luke 10:27 Deut. 6:5
b.Luke 10:27 Lev. 19:18
c.Luke 10:35 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).
Key Verse:
Luke 10:27. New International Version
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’[b]”. All of the above summarised by Jesus
Footnotes
a.Luke 10:27 Deut. 6:5
b.Luke 10:27 Lev. 19:18
Comment
1) What do you think is meant by loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and your neighbour as yourself
2) Overview
Who is my neighbour? (Luke 10:25-37)
A Jewish teacher of the law came to Jesus to test him with a question about eternal life. His question showed that he thought of eternal life as something to be obtained by some special act. Jesus’ reply showed that obtaining eternal life is inseparably linked with the way people live their daily lives. If they do not put God before all things and their neighbour before themselves, they can have no assurance of eternal life (Luke 10:25-28).
The teacher was disappointed with this answer and, in an attempt to excuse his own failings, asked how anyone could know who was or was not his neighbour (Luke 10:29). In reply Jesus told a story in which a traveller was beaten, robbed, and left to die. Two Jews, one a priest and the other a Levite, deliberately passed him by, but a Samaritan stopped and helped him (Luke 10:30-35). Jesus then forced the questioner to answer his own question. The example that he had to follow was not that of the religious purists, but that of the despised foreigner. If a person loves his neighbour as himself, he will act kindly towards anyone that he happens to meet, even enemies (Luke 10:36-37).
Bridgeway Bible Commentary?
3) Acting kindly to all. How can we do this?
4) Prayer and Benediction