Part three of this series on Wisdom will continue to deepen our view of faith in Christ, beyond the confines of the traditions and reductions we humans often default to.
__________________________________
Thaw
- What movie characters can you think of that best depict "wisdom"? Why?
- Who is the wisest person you know, personally? What makes them seem wise?
- What from Sunday's message stuck out to you most?
- What if anything challenged your views the most?
Read
- Isaiah 6:1-3
- What does this vision teach us about God?
- What does what we're taught lead us to believe about our access to His Wisdom?
Leader Note: Help your group explore the idea that if the whole Earth is full of the glory (The word kabod is translated glory, and it also has to do with the measured weight and significance of a thing...) of God, then it's obvious that His wisdom can be found in places we would not expect to find it. At first this thought seems to indicate, for some, that all ideas, thoughts and beliefs are equal. Not the case. What's really being communicated is that there is truth and wisdom to be found throughout the universe, rather than exclusively within one group's understanding of the universe. Followers of Jesus are the people who seek wisdom truth and recognize it as God's no matter where they find it.
- Respond as a group to Arthur F Holmes' quote, "All truth is God's truth".
- How does this quote line up or differ with your perception of Christianity?
- Read Proverbs 4:5-8
- First thoughts?
- Any words you are surprised or puzzled over?
Leader Note: Your group may be surprised to see the word "love". It seems like an affection for Wisdom (Chokmah) should be reserved for God, unless her and God aren't distinct. It costing "all we have" is also note worthy, as that's how Jesus spoke of the Kingdom (see Matthew 13:44).
- Read 1 Kings 3
- Observations?
Leader Note: here are a few observations that are helpful in drawing us forward into God's wisdom. Note that verse 3 presents Solomon as out of compliance with God's law. God doesn't hold this against Him. Note that Solomon didn't treat God like a Genie so as to gain wealth, power and an easier life; he asked God for the thing that would make Him as effective as possible in the role God had already placed him (v6-9). Note that Solomon judged between the two women not by merely calling on a Biblical law, or some rule that they were failing to live by. His Wisdom was, to that moment, Biblically unprecedented (seemingly from outside the faith of his fathers...something brilliant and new)- yet true. You may also note that this wisdom caused the people to fear ("yare", same word for fearing God) the king, because it was just that awesome. Note also that His wisdom had him doing a lot of listening- both to the women and to God.
Apply
- How do these ideas about seeking wisdom, seeking to understand and looking outside of predetermined parameters affect your faith?
- How does this affect how you discuss faith and wisdom (and life, generally) with non-Christians?
- How does this affect who we listen to when we are seeking to let God really stretch us?
- How can this Life Group be a place that exercises this sort of wisdom seeking?
Additional Scriptures
- 1 Corinthians 3
- Acts 17:-16-34
No comments:
Post a Comment