My next Sunday school lesson...

[MMXII]

Next Sunday, February 19th I'm teaching Sunday school again and would love for your input. It was nice the last time when I got to add your input to my lesson.

The scripture for the lesson is 2 Timothy 3:10-4:8

10You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
6For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

In the lesson book there is a paragraph that is very informative.

In Greek mythology Odysseus was the king of Ithaca and a hero of the Trojan War. While he was absent from home fighting the war, he entrusted the care of his household and his son, Telemachus, to his faithful friend Mentor. Ever since, the name of Odysseus's friend has been synonymous for a wise and trustworthy counselor.

Some questions for you...

Since only the Bible is inspired by God, we don't need commentaries to muddy the water and bring in people's opinions...how do you respond to that statement?

How do you think godly mentors work and why it's important?

Should specific expectations be included in ministerial job descriptions? Or do the general expectations of 2 Timothy 4:2-5 give us all the job description that ministers need?

When should you seek out someone to be a mentor to you?

Thanks friends God bless you.

 

[MMXII]

Bumpity, bump bump...

I saw that you peeked 17 times...now get answering!!

 

[MN John]

Since only the Bible is inspired by God, we don't need commentaries to muddy the water and bring in people's opinions...how do you respond to that statement?

Part of the answer to this question will rely on your view of what inspired means. I believe that the Bible is inspired in that the Holy Spirit gave the authors the ideas that they were to convey. The authors then used their own brains, vocabulary, and writing styles to express these ideas.

The ideas were divinve, but the authors were human. The original records were probably the closest thing to an exact expression of what God wanted them to say. Since then, we have copied and translated them many times.

Since I am an imperfect and sinful human being, I am not capable of infallibly interpreting the Word of God. So I need the help of scholars who have put more brainpower into discerning the meaning than I have. I also don't live in the same cultural context of the authors. So I need help from scholars who are more familiar with the idiom and culture just like I would need for interpreting correctly any writing from another language and culture.

The Word itself is primary and we have to weigh any interpreter's claims against the whole of Scripture. But in general, commentaries enhance our understanding, especially when we know the source of the commentary is sound and trustworthy.

To take this one step further ... "Since only the Bible is inspired by God, we don't need sermons to muddy the water and bring in people's opinions." would be another possible way to pursue this question.

 

[MN John]

How do you think godly mentors work and why it's important?

When should you seek out someone to be a mentor to you?

I'll take on these two together.

A godly mentor is just a godly man or woman who has more knowledge, training, wisdom, expertise, and/or experience than you. They are not divine oracles, just people who we trust because of their character and commitment to God and who may know more than us or be able to see us from a different perspective.

We can always benefit from a mentor. We should seek one on a formal basis anytime that we need additional wisdom beyond our own ability to discern. We ae surrounded by informal mentors all the time such as Sunday school teachers. In my opinion, if feasible, two things every person should seek to have are an accountability partner and a spiritual mentor.

 

[MN John]

Should specific expectations be included in ministerial job descriptions? Or do the general expectations of [bible]2 Timothy 4:2-5[/bible] give us all the job description that ministers need?

2 Timothy gives qualifications for the job in general. But today we are seeking to fill particular positions. These particular positions have specific job duties associated with them. So of course we need to list those expectations like we would in any other job description.

 

[MMXII]

Thank you John for your input