Equipped for New Life- Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending May 31, 2009

Purpose: To claim God's power to stand firm against the spiritual forces of evil.

Scripture Text: Ephesians 6:10-18 (NRSV)

Ephesians 6:10-18 (10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. (11)Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12)For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (13)Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (14)Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.(15)As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. (16)With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (17)Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

(18) Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

As in last weeks lesson, the very first line, tells us what should happen if we want to be successful Christians. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power”.

The second point I would make is that it is God's armor we are to put on, not our own. God has provided us with all we need to defeat the enemy, but unless we are willing to put it on, it has little value or protection against those powers that would defeat us. The “cosmic powers” require special armor. There may be some powers that we can defeat with just the “sword of the spirit”. There may be other powers we can defeat with the “breastplate of righteousness”. We must always be ready “to proclaim the gospel of peace”. Verse 14 says “Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist”. But we must revert back to verse 11, “put on the whole armor of God”. We must be willing to put on all of the combat gear that God has made available to us, as his followers.

It may be hard for us as American Christians to comprehend the struggles that others face. Since the beginning of the Iraq war the number of Chaldean Christians has decreased by a million believers. The Syrian Orthodox has lost forty percent of their followers since the 2003 invasion. There is disturbing information now out about the population growth of Europe and Russia. The Russian army may be made up of forty percent Muslims. Islam will soon be the majority religion in France, Spain and England and within a short period of time it will replace Christianity as the most popular religion in the world.

This should be a sobering thought to all believers, we know that Christians are persecuted in the Islamic world; we have read and heard many stories of families being torn apart.

Certainly these “cosmic powers” will require all of Christendom to put on the “whole armor of God”. One of the area's that has changed in America is we are no longer just social Christians, we no longer attend church just because the doors are open, it is no longer socially necessary to attend church, in fact the opposite now seems more socially acceptable. Those that choose to attend are doing it for the right reasons, the church may now just play a small role in our current culture, but our resolve should be stronger than ever and our mission more defined, we are at war with the world. Those that make up the community of believers are in a definite minority. In verse 13, we are called to do all we can do; and then, when there is nothing you can do, stand – knowing you do not stand alone, and we stand with all of the armor God has made available to us.

The final call is for us to be alert and to pray always, and always pray in the spirit, and always persevere in supplication for the saints. Why should we be heartened by what is going on in our churches? Is our strength in numbers, or is it in the armor? How can we come out of today's woes stronger?

"New Revelation in Christ" - Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending May 17, 2009

Purpose: To proclaim against all opposition that the church be a diverse community of persons demonstrating God's impartiality and love for all people.

Scripture Text: Ephesians 3:1-13 (NRSV)

Ephesians 3:1-13
(1)This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— (2) for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, (3) and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, (4) a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. (5)In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: (6) that are the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

(7) Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. (8)Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, (9) and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; (10) so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (11)This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, (12) in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. (13) I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

As we continue in our study of Ephesians for the balance of this quarter, today's lesson provides a real challenge to each of us as well as our churches. As we have stated, in earlier commentary, Paul's reason for writing this circular letter to the early churches of Asia was an effort to bring together both Greek and Jew in the body of Christ.

The point of this portion of scripture seems to be; we are all equal in God's sight, Jew, Greek or whatever we are (v6) “fellow heirs, members of the same body, sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel”. Paul reveals he has been given an understanding of the (v4) “mystery of Christ”.

Back in the book of Genesis in chapter 11, God had scattered the people and given them diversity in language because they were content to settle a small portion of his creation. God intended for all of us to be diverse and unique, God also intends for all of us to love one another. Our diversity is not something to make us afraid, but rather is something we should embrace, it is part of the mystery of God, and it is in our, (v10) rich variety that the rulers in “heavenly places” will realize that God's church has received the wisdom of God.

In verse 17 of this chapter, the writer says “and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love”. Paul seems to imply that the church's faith, and love for one another is what will separate them from the rest of God's creation.

From the beginning God had a plan, and that plan has been revealed to Paul and to the prophets, this mystery was hidden from the, (v5) “sons of men”. From the tower of Babel to the resurrection of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, from the calling of one man named Abram an establishing a nation of separated people, all was part of God's plan. Who could be more diverse that the sons of Isaac, (Jacob and Esau) or even the sons of Jacob.

God wants us to be diverse, it is by showing our love for those that are different in culture, race, ethnicity, and even in beliefs, that we can show the world that the love of Christ in our hearts is what makes us part of God's family. I think that God calls his people to love those that are unloved and unlovely, those that may have a different sexual orientation than others, we are called to love them all, and I do not see any exceptions to God's law of love.

Is it easier to love those that are different than us, or do you find it harder to love some of those you know more about? Can our knowledge of someone get in the way of our love? Why is Ephesians 3:17 so important in our ability to love?

"Resurrected Unto New Life" Easter Sunday School Lesson

International Sunday School Lesson
For Week Ending April 12, 2009

Purpose: To celebrate Christ's resurrection and the new life it makes possible.

Scripture Text: Luke 24:1-12 (NRSV)

Luke 24:1-12
(1)But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. (2)They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in, they did not find the body. (4)While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. (5)The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. (6)Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, (7)that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ (8)Then they remembered his words, (9)and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. (10)Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. (11)But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. (12)But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

My Thoughts by Burgess Walter

The events of Friday came to sudden end, after Jesus groaned His last breath, and gave up the ghost. His body was given to Joseph of Arimathea for burial in Joseph's tomb. Because of the Sabbath beginning at sunset there was not sufficient time to prepare the body of Jesus properly, for burial. I think it was evidence of God's grace that the suffering was over so soon and that the body was removed from the cross. Under normal conditions the body would have been left to hang, while the wild animals and birds of prey would feast on the remains. God provided Joseph of Arimathea to claim the body and remove it from the cross.

Our lesson begins with the women returning to the grave sight to better prepare the body of Jesus for internment. These women were an important part of Jesus ministry, Mary Magdalene was not the prostitute everyone believes her to be but rather a business women whom Jesus had cast out demons. In Luke 8:3 it says “they provided for Him out of their resources”. In Luke 8:1-3 we learn of two other women Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Sussana. These Three women plus Mary the mother of James and others went to the tomb on Sunday morning to give a proper burial for Jesus.

As we have noted in earlier lessons Luke uses the women to discover the empty tomb and to share this news with the eleven. Because a woman's testimony had no legal standing, what they said they saw was treated rather indifferently (idle tale) by the eleven, with the exception of Peter. The greatest event in the history of the world was ignored because of the sexist small-mindedness of eleven men.

Even now, the United Nations Development Fund for Women recently released a report that accuses Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai of fast-tracking an anti-woman's rights law. The “Shia Family Law,” while not available for public review yet, is reported to forbid wives from leaving their home without permission from their husbands, to grant custody of children only to fathers and grandfathers, and to require women to meet their husband's sexual demands. How far have we come in the last 2000 years?

The women of Luke received a special blessing because they knew what they saw, after Peter makes his own inspection he too is “amazed at what had happened”.

The Gospels tell the story of the resurrection from differing view points, but the story remains the same, Christ is risen. In modern day events, it is like the Kennedy assassination, Kennedy is dead, but there are those who still dispute how it happened and who was responsible. The women knew the truth, and Peter believed when he saw the empty tomb, the others only believed when Jesus appears to them. Still others only believed when they see the nail scars in the hands and the sword wound in the side. What does it take for you to believe? Do you believe the witness of five or six women? What evidence do you need? Does a changed life make it believable?