Lord, I believe!

Discipleship Questions for

Sunday March 2, 2008

Scripture Readings:

First Reading: 1Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm Reading: Psalm: 23

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

Gospel: John 9:1-13

1Sam. 16:1

          The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.”

          The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’  3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 4.  Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed stands here before the LORD.”  7  But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 8  Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”  9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.”  10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”  11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

          “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.”

          Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”  12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.

          Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” 13  So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Psa. 23:0

          A psalm of David.

Psa. 23:1

          The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2                  He makes me lie down in green pastures,

          he leads me beside quiet waters,

3                  he restores my soul.

          He guides me in paths of righteousness

                   for his name’s sake.

4        Even though I walk

                   through the valley of the shadow of death,

          I will fear no evil,

                   for you are with me;

          your rod and your staff,

                   they comfort me.

Psa. 23:5

          You prepare a table before me

                   in the presence of my enemies.

          You anoint my head with oil;

                   my cup overflows.

6        Surely goodness and love will follow me

                   all the days of my life,

          and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

                   forever.

Eph. 5:8

          For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)  10 and find out what pleases the Lord.  11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,  14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

          “Wake up, O sleeper,

                   rise from the dead,

          and Christ will shine on you.”

John 9:1

          As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John 9:3

          “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 9:6

          Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.  7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

John 9:8

          His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”  9 Some claimed that he was.

          Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

          But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

John 9:10

          “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.

John 9:11

          He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

John 9:12

          “Where is this man?” they asked him.

          “I don’t know,” he said.

John 9:13

          They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.

Discipleship Questions:

1. Why has our Lord given us the Season of Lent?  To encourage us to allow the Lord to cleanse us for our sins to the end that our “imago Dei” will be fully revealed.  Please discuss what it means to be “made in the image of God.’ (Gen 1:26)
2. Please read the Old and New Testament readings.  Do you notice any recurring themes?  Discuss.
3. One of the recurring themes that I noted was that God chose the most unlikely people to reveal His truth i.e., the young David and the blind from birth man.  What could this tell you about the way God often seems to operate in His world?
4. David was “a man of good presence and the LORD is with him.” (1Sam 16:18).  Think about those words “a man of good presence and the LORD is with him.”  I don’t know about you but I would love to hear those words at my Memorial Service.  Can anyone say that about you today?  It’s through the process of cleansing that this will happen.  Discuss how you can cooperate with our Lord is your cleansing this Lenten Season.
5. Please read the following notes from my sermon and discuss:  “Randi and I attended a Memorial Service for a woman by the name of Carol Matthewson.  She died of complications associated with her morbid obesity.  Her son, an ordained Presbyterian Minister in his eloquent Homily said, in effect, “My mother was judged and rejected by the world because of her weight – but look around  you – look at all of you.  She, she, she, she, by the grace of God – profoundly touched and blessed all of your lives!” 

A person rejected by the world but chosen of God!  A most unlikely person!  The Lord was clearly with her!”  Ah! 

Let me ask us a question, “What do you want people to say at your Memorial Service?”  “the Lord was with him – the Lord was with her!”

That’s all that I need to be said at my Memorial Service.  That will be MORE – OH!  Much MORE than enough for me?

Will this be able to be said over your dead body?

There are some of us for whom this can be said even now but if you’re like me there’s still some scouring to be done!

Let us then let our good Lord have His way in our lives.  May we willingly cooperate in our cleansing to the end that our true selves – who were made in the Imago Dei – be revealed!

I want to conclude with an insight I gained from recently reading Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

Hester Prynne who had been caught in adultery and forced to carry the symbol of her sin – the scarlet letter “A” for “Adulterer” - on her breast for the world to see and disdain for the rest of her life became the most unlikely heroine of this magnificent novel for you see that God used this instrument to scour Hester of any pretentions and over many years to reveal a majestic and humble woman.

Towards the end of her life great men and women of her community came to her for counsel and advice and upon her death the community came out to celebrate her life and inscribed on her grave stones were the words:

Her symbol of offense “The Scarlet Letter” became her Coat of Arms -  "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules."   What did they mean?

The last words describe a coat of arms on a shield. The sable field is a black background; gules means red. Thus on this shield, the coat of arms is a red letter (letter gules) appearing against a black background (sable field). 

Ah!  They were words depicting her Royal Coat of Arms – “On a black field embolden the Red Letter A.”

The letter of disdain and derision was turned by God’s scourging into her Royal Coat of Arms!  From a sinner to a saint – this is the journey of every one of us – will we submit willingly to the cleansing or not!”