Disciple Fast Track Into the Word Into the World Luke-Acts Study Manual
Disciple Fast Track Into the Word Into the World Luke-Acts Study Manual
eBookDisciple Fast Track Into the Word, Into the World Luke-Acts Study Manual - eBook [ePub] (Disciple Fast Track Into the Word, Into the World Luke-Acts Study Manual - eBook [ePub])
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Overview
This 12-week study immerses you in the books of Luke and Acts.
Disciple Fast Track Into the Word Into the World is an adaptation of the original, bestselling Disciple Bible Study Into the Word Into the World. The study is ideal for busy people who want to fit an in-depth Bible study into their schedule. The study retains the familiar Disciple format with its theme word, theme verse, statement of the human condition, daily and weekly assignments, and prayer.
Into the Word helps readers deepen their understanding of Scripture and make connections between what they already know and what they are reading. Each week you will encounter three spiritual disciplines, learn what they are, and how you can engage those disciplines. The first discipline varies from week to week, then moves into Sabbath and prayer. In every session, you commit to how you will respond to Scripture in terms of ministry in the world.
Into the World identifies some needs in the world for which ministry is needed and suggests possible responses, then invites participants to summarize the scripture message that will shape their ministry and to decide what response and commitment to make to that message. Each week you will be guided in experiencing the gift of Sabbath rest and renewal. Classes meet for a total of 24 weeks, studying Genesis–Exodus and Luke–Acts for 12 sessions each. Daily preparation is manageable, with 3–5 chapters of the Bible to read each day.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781501845925 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Abingdon Press |
| Publication date: | 07/18/2017 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 997 KB |
About the Author
Susan Wilke Fuquay is a United Methodist Christian Educator who most recently worked at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more than 25 years, Susan has been directly involved with Disciple Bible Study. She co-edited the youth version of Disciple. She was a Disciple trainer at National Training Events for many years and has personally facilitated more than 30 Disciple groups. In the past two years, Susan has personally led more than 200 people through the Fast Track Model.
Elaine Friedrich, a theoretical practitioner, has years of professional and academic experience in education, organizational management, and leadership development in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Elaine is a consummate teacher, with a contagious enthusiasm and love for lifelong learning, and She holds a doctorate in Higher Education from the University of North Texas in Denton and is currently the Director of Digital Discipleship and Faith Formation at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia. Prior to this, she worked 13 years at Strayer University as faculty, dean, vice president and senior vice provost.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Good News for the Whole World
OUR HUMAN CONDITION
Despair darkens the sky. Is there any hope? It feels like nothing will ever get better. Perhaps some things take place "in God's time." Who knows the moment a baby is to be born? Maybe God is active but am I missing it? I get preoccupied with other matters. How can I be ready to receive from God?
My commitment for "God's Word in My World" from our last session is:
ASSIGNMENT
As you read the assigned Scriptures this week, read slowly to spot unusual side stories. Look for Jewish customs and rituals. Watch as subthemes are introduced. Be aware of parallels between John the Baptist and Jesus.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
Study
Through our disciplined reading and study of Scripture and the resulting insights, God works to change us.
How do I expect God to change me through my study?
How will I practice this spiritual discipline this week?
Sabbath
Sabbath reminds us of the continuing covenant between God and people made known in a special way in Jesus Christ. As you observe Sabbath, recall that Jesus said Sabbath was made for people, not people for Sabbath.
Prayer
Pray daily before study:
"Save your people, God!
(Psalm 28:9).
Prayer concerns for the week:
MESSIAH
Day 1 Read Luke 1:1-25, 57-80 (birth of John).
Day 2 Read Luke 3:1-20; 7:18-35 (John's ministry and question to Jesus); Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9 (John's death).
Day 3 Read Luke 1:26-56 (Annunciation and Magnificat); Luke 2:120 (birth of Jesus).
Day 4 Read Luke 2:21-52 (Jesus in the Temple, as a baby, at twelve).
Day 5 Read Luke 3:21-38 (baptism of Jesus, Jesus' genealogy); Luke 4:1-13 (temptation in the wilderness).
Day 6 Read "Into the Word" and "Into the World" and answer the questions or provide responses.
Day 7 Rest, pray, and attend class.
INTO THE WORD
Who is Jesus? Luke wants us to know. So he arranged his material, selected hymns and prophecy that help depict the kind of Savior Jesus is.
The Birth of John the Baptist
Why does Luke's Gospel begin with John the Baptist? Because Luke wants us to understand clearly that Jesus is firmly grounded in Israel. Basic to Jewish belief about Messiah was that Elijah, or one like Elijah, would come as a forerunner to prepare the way. Even today, in the Jewish Seder meal at Passover, the faithful pause to look for Elijah.
John's father, Zechariah, and his mother, Elizabeth, were pious folk, both descendants of Aaron. They lived in a little town in the southern hills of Judea (Luke 1:65). Zechariah was a priest. A village priest would be called to Jerusalem twice a year to help for a week in the Temple. Then they would draw lots to see who might offer the sacrifice or burn the incense. Out of the eight hundred or so priests available each week, a man might never be chosen for a significant task.
Zechariah's lot was drawn to offer prayers for all Israel by lighting the incense, morning and evening. What a privilege. What were his prayers? Besides his pastoral obligations, he had a personal heartache. Elizabeth was barren. A picture of Jewish devotion, this childless couple, in the eyes of the people, must be in disfavor with God. Under the Law, barrenness was grounds for divorce. Elizabeth stood in the tradition of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson's mother, and Hannah, all of whom, as they grew older, pleaded with God for a child.
A messenger of God appeared. Notice the familiar pattern. The angel told Zechariah not to be afraid. Elizabeth will bear a son; there will be great joy. He must be raised a Nazirite, like Samson and Samuel. The rules about Nazirites are in Numbers 6:1-8. As usual in divine visions of this nature. Zechariah expressed doubt, for he and Elizabeth were getting old. The angel Gabriel reaffirmed the promise but made him unable to speak until the child's birth because he had doubted.
Zechariah left the Temple and returned home. Soon Elizabeth conceived. She said the Lord "has shown his favor to me by removing my disgrace among other people" (Luke 1:25). When the son was born, all the relatives and neighbors in their little village rejoiced (a common theme in Luke). They came on the eighth day for the circumcision and naming of the baby (1:59-60).
Custom ruled a Judean village. Of course the boy would be named after his father, or at least after his grandfather. But no, Elizabeth said the child's name was John, meaning "God shows favor." John comes from Johanan, a name used in the priestly line of Zadok. The neighbors were puzzled. "What then will this child be?" (Luke 1:66).
NOTES
His tongue loosed, the old man burst into words of praise. "Bless the Lord God of Israel" (1:68). The hymn is now called "Benedictus" for the first word in the Latin translation. Old Testament imagery abounds.
Zechariah referred to John, his son, as a prophet of the Most High. "You will go before the Lord to prepare his way," he said. To do what? "You will tell his people how to be saved through the forgiveness of their sins" (Luke 1:76-77). So he grew up, not drinking any wine, not cutting his hair, avoiding everything dead — human or animal — living in the wilderness, existing off the desert until the time for his public ministry to begin (1:80).
The Ministry of John
Let us now follow John's ministry before studying Jesus' birth. In Luke 3:1-2 Luke gives us the full range of political and religious leaders in his world. John began to preach his message of repentance to everyone who would listen — Jews, Romans, Greeks, Samaritans. His baptism was not the Jewish baptism for converts to Judaism. He asked for repentance, for a change of life. Divine forgiveness was symbolized by baptism in the Jordan. His was a frightful message: "You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives" (3:7-8). The time of judgment was imminent; the time to repent and change was now. It was not enough simply to be a Jew, a child of Abraham.
John continually stressed that he was a voice "crying out in the wilderness: / 'Prepare the way for the Lord'" (3:4). His baptism was only water, symbol of inner repentance and spiritual cleansing. One greater than he was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The promised one, said John, would bring complete judgment, separating the wheat from the husks (chaff) (3:17).
Notice how John rooted his message in the law of Moses. If you have two coats, share one. Break bread with the needy. Be honest in business. Don't extort money from the poor. He reminded them of the Ten Commandments.
He used Herod Antipas as a gross example of adultery. In Matthew 14:1-12 Herod's stepdaughter (identified by Josephus, the Jewish historian, as Salome) danced for him and asked for John's head on a platter as a reward. Herod hesitated for two reasons: First, prophets in Israel always received a certain deference; but more, his political ambitions and standing with Rome would be harmed by killing a man so popular with the people.
He fulfilled Salome's demand, however, and had John beheaded. Later, after Jesus' crucifixion, when Herod went to Rome asking to be king, he was rebuffed by the emperor. He was exiled along with Herodias to the frontier territory of Gaul.
While John was still in prison, he sent disciples to ask Jesus straight out if he were really the one to come. Jesus' reply picked up the signs of the Kingdom that both he and John were expecting to be fulfilled (Luke 7:18-35). As for John, Jesus said to the crowds, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A stalk blowing in the wind?" (7:24). On the contrary, John the Baptist stood in the tradition of fearless prophets — Nathan before King David, Elijah before King Ahab.
NOTES
The Annunciation
Luke, the doctor, indicates Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy when the angel spoke to Mary (Luke 1:26). Mary was betrothed, a legally binding engagement, usually made by the parents, broken only by divorce or death. Read Deuteronomy 22:13-21 to understand how strict the law was that a girl be a virgin. Joseph was a descendant of King David, and Mary probably was also, so Bethlehem was their family city.
When the angel greeted Mary, he told her not to be afraid. "You will ... give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus" (Luke 1:31). The name Jesus is a Greek derivative of Joshua, meaning "God saves."
"How will this happen since I haven't had sexual relations with a man?" Mary asked (1:34). A wondrous expression now comes from the angel. "The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (1:35). Do you remember the cloud of God's Presence that overshadowed the Tabernacle?
When we read about God's call to Moses in the Old Testament portion of this study, we heard Moses' lame excuses. Isaiah's response to God's call was "Mourn for me!" Jeremiah protested that he was only a boy. No one in the Bible, except Jesus himself, made so full a surrender, showed such willingness to serve, as did Mary in her response to God. "I am the Lord's servant. Let it be with me just as you have said" (1:38).
Mary hurried to see her relative. When Elizabeth saw her, the baby (John the Baptist) leaped in her womb as if he already recognized the Savior (1:43-44). The two women shared a common experience: They both were caught up in the mystery of God; they both were pregnant. We can imagine they laughed together in that tiny village in the hills of Judea. The one woman was old. Her son, tough like Amos, intense like Elijah, would end the old era. The other woman was young, a virgin. Her son, greater even than Moses or the prophets, would usher in the new era.
In Mary's song, called the "Magnificat" from the first word in the Latin translation, seeds of spiritual revolution sprout forth: "He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations" (1:51). A political revolution brews: "He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones" (1:52). An economic revolution looms on the horizon: "He has filled the hungry" and "sent the rich away empty-handed" (1:53). A revolution would occur in Jesus that would transform human attitudes, topple empires, and cause economic systems to be turned upside down.
Where do you see evidence of this revolution in the world today?
NOTES
The Birth of Jesus
Luke 2:1 begins the familiar Christmas story, but Luke was less interested in the details of nativity than he was in teaching who Jesus is. Luke located the event historically within the forty years of relative peace under the Roman emperor Augustus. He fixed the place as Bethlehem, reminding us that Jesus was descended from King David.
The baby was born in a barn or cave, wrapped in peasant cloth, and laid in a feed trough. What person, no matter how poor or oppressed, could be intimidated by so humble a child? God announced the glorious event to shepherds, the lowest of the low. The shepherds were generally hirelings, poorly paid, who found it impossible to keep ceremonially clean and who could seldom go to synagogue or Temple. They were not looked upon as good Jews. God saw to it that the poor heard the good news first. The words Savior and Christ jump out of the angel's announcement to the shepherds (2:11).
Luke, the Gentile evangelist, carefully commented that Joseph and Mary completed the Jewish rituals according to the laws of Moses (2:22). In accordance with the custom of Abraham and the law of Moses, the parents took Jesus for circumcision and naming on the eighth day (2:21).
Two further sacrifices were required. The religious law honored the first fruits of harvest and the firstborn child or animal. The male child first opening the womb would receive a double portion of his father's possessions, the father's blessing, and succession to authority. The child was offered to God and then redeemed, or bought back, to remember that God had spared the firstborn Hebrews when death passed over them in Egypt. The redemption price was five silver shekels in Hebrew money, to be paid one month after birth. Because Roman money was not allowed in the Temple, money changers in the Temple traded Roman money for Hebrew shekels so that the coins could be used in Jewish worship.
Religious law required another ritual, the sacrifice of purification (Leviticus 12:2-8). A woman who had given birth was ceremonially unclean until she offered sacrifices about forty days after the birth of a son, twice that many days after the birth of a daughter. Imagine the tremendous hardship for the poor or for those who lived at a distance to travel to the Temple with a new baby to offer sacrifices. Apparently Mary and Joseph combined the two, redeeming the firstborn and offering the purification sacrifice at the same time. The usual sacrifice, a lamb and a turtledove or pigeon, was expensive. Special provision was made for women in humble circumstances who could not afford a lamb. They could offer two turtledoves or pigeons, a compassionate rule (12:8). That was what Mary did. The mother of Jesus could give only the offering of the poor.
A devout old man named Simeon had spent his life praying for the Messiah. Many such people lived in Israel. Simeon was convinced that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. He took the child in his arms, praised God and said, "My eyes have seen your salvation" for "all peoples," declaring revelation and glory for Gentiles and Jews (Luke 2:29-32). His song in Christian liturgy is called the "Nunc Dimittis," from the Latin translation of "now dismiss."
NOTES
Simeon cast the shadows of the cross on the child. Some people would rise, but some would fall; and Jesus would reveal the secret thoughts of the heart. A sword would pierce the innermost being of Mary (2:34-35). Then an eighty-four-year-old widow named Anna, who practically lived in the Temple, praying and fasting, also saw the child. She knew immediately that she had seen the one who was to redeem Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph had performed everything "required by the Law of the Lord" (2:39).
We can assume that Jesus had celebrated his bar mitzvah in Nazareth. He came to Jerusalem at the age of twelve as a man of Israel, a "son of the law." He sat with the teachers in the Temple. But when the time came to go home, Jesus was not with the group of pilgrims. Mary and Joseph had to go looking for him. What parents has not lost a child in a crowd? How human of Mary to say, "Your father and I have been worried" (2:48). Yet Jesus' sonship focused now on his Father God. He started as a baby in the Jerusalem Temple, his Father's house; he would return to Jerusalem as the Human One (Son of Man) to die there.
Jesus Made Ready
Jesus was baptized, as Matthew's Gospel puts it, "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Luke is less interested in the form of the event than in the meaning, for the Holy Spirit came in power "like a dove" upon Jesus, affirming his divine sonship (Luke 3:22), proclaiming him God's Christ to the world.
Jesus did not wander from the water of baptism to wilderness any more than the Israelites strayed into Sinai. He was "led by the Spirit" (4:1). What kind of a Savior was he to be? What would be his message, his style, his deeds? So little time. Every act, every word must proclaim and usher in God's kingdom.
The forty days and nights of fasting and prayer brought Jesus to physical and spiritual vulnerability. Now he did not hear God's voice declaring, "You are my Son" (3:22). Now he heard the devil speak. The first words challenged him: "Since you are God's Son ..." (4:3).
The temptations were real, as temptations are real for us. The first temptation was economic. Jesus could minister by helping the poor, feeding the hungry. A desperate need, then and now. But Jesus knew that manna by itself does not fully satisfy. We are called to live totally dependent — breath by breath, step by step, trusting in God's word, even as the Israelites were dependent in the wilderness. Jesus quoted Moses, "People don't live on bread alone. No, they live based on whatever the Lord says" (Deuteronomy 8:3). Bread is necessary; faith is eternal.
The second temptation was political. The pious Jews were petitioning God for Messiah, a king like David, who would drive out the Roman army, restore Jewish coins with palm branches on them instead of Caesar's face. Every Jew felt the crushing oppression of the foreigners. Political uprising would require all the intrigue, the violence, the political compromise of the world. It would require the devil's own strategies. Again Jesus quoted Deuteronomy: "It's written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him" (Luke 4:8).
NOTES
The third temptation was religious. The people would demand a sign, a wonder, a dramatic demonstration of supernatural power. Would it get their attention if he jumped off the top of the Temple? Would miracles really convert people? Notice that the devil fortified his argument by quoting Psalm 91:11-12. Look in Exodus 17:1-7 for the full context of Jesus' reply to the devil. Jesus, tutored by that spiritual tragedy, quoted Moses: "Don't test the Lord your God" (Luke 4:12; see Deuteronomy 6:16).
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Disciple Fast Track Into the Word, Into the World Luke-Acts Study Manual"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Abingdon Press.
Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
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Table of Contents
1. Good News for the Whole Word Messiah,
2. Teach Us to Pray Prayer,
3. Teach Us How to Live The Way,
4. Sign of God's Rule Kingdom,
5. Learning to Follow Humility,
6. Sent as Witnesses Resurrection,
7. Acts of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit,
8. The Gospel Begins to Spread Expansion,
9. Rejoice in the Lord Joy,
10. Staying Strong Through Trials Courage,
11. Boldness for the Gospel Unstoppable,
12. Ordering Our Lives Priority,