Serve God Sunday School Lesson Topic Discussion

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Serve God Sunday School Lesson Topic Discussion

1.What are some innovations in the activitiesor schedules of your church that would be valu-able in helping people hear God's messages?If your students need something to jumpstarttheir thinking on this question, ask them whathas been helpful from the past in allowing a freshlook at the depths of God's Word (examples: lake-side services, conferences, retreats). Some ideasthey may suggest include moving the place ortime of worship once a month, having the minis-ter preaching on the steps of the church as peo-ple arrive, or showing appropriate clips of moviesthat illustrate secret sins.

2.What misconceptions. routines, slogans,and habits do people hold onto today that paral-lel the comfortable lies and behavior of theJewish people in the text? How do today's lieshamper the effectiveness of the church? What dowe do to expose those lies?

As the church builds bridges into the sur-rounding culture, secular thinking can get intothe church as a result. A two-way street is in-evitable in this regard. It is not uncommon tohear people at church repeating slogans theyheard from movies and to see those slogans be-come part of their lives. The primary difficultyarises when these snippets of pop psychologylead people to trust in something other than God.Certain church traditions, which may haveserved valid purposes in the past, can becomepointless routines at best and delusions at worst.People who find undue comfort in a saying, set-ting, or tradition place themselves in danger.Discuss how individuals as well as entire con-gregations can be lulled into spiritual sleepthrough false trust in these areas.

3. If God sent a specific message to Christianstoday, what list of sins do you think He wouldgive to expose how people act one way in wor-ship and another way the rest of the week?Put your students' answers into two lists: a listof sins of commission (lying, stealing, murder,etc.) and the sins of omission (failing to helpthose in need, neglecting use of spiritual gifts,etc.). Include both the spiritual and social conse-quences in the discussion.

For those who live in consumer-drivendemocracies, a pointed discussion on covetous-ness (the Tenth Commandment) will be inorder. Bring in some glossy ads from the Sundaypaper and discuss how these entice people towant more. Discuss how covetousness ties withidolatry (Colossians 3:5).

4.In what ways could God refer to today'schurch as a "den of robbers"? What can thechurch do to rectify this situation?

Methods of corruption exist today that did notexist in the first century AD. One example is aperson who hands to the church treasurer acheck made out to the church, then asks for alesser amount in change-in order to claim onhis or her income tax return the full amount ofthe check as an offering.

A second situations would be shady businessleaders who attend church to give themselves anaura of respectability and to make business con-tacts. The result is to use the church in a waythat God does not intend. A third possibilitycould be a church's decision to pour its fundsoverwhelmingly into buildings and stained glasswhile the physical needs of the community'spoor are ignored. (There is nothing wrong withstained glass, but a certain balance is called for!)There are many other examples.

5.If you were asked to be a spiritual account-ability partner by another Christian, what stepswould you take to help your friend ensure thathis or her worship does not become an emptyritual?

An accountability partner should be good atboth gentle encouragement and the ability to askpointed questions. Some examples are, "How isyour prayer life?" "How are you really doing inyour private worship?" "What did you do yester-day to draw closer to God?" "In your responses tonse, have you been less than fully open and hon-est on any of your answers?"

The accountability partner's goals include cel-ebrating growth, inquiring about weak spots, andhelping one's friend find ways to enhance his orher walk wills the Lord. Every class and churchcan encourage members to have such partners.

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