he Wonderful things that he was Doing

28 August 2013

Opening Prayer/Worship

Theme: Hope

Topic: The Wonderful things that he was Doing

Reading: Luke 13:10-17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. ¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Introduction

Our Gospel lesson this evening refers to “all the wonderful things that [Jesus] was doing,” which caused some to rejoice and some to be indignant. There seems to be no shortage of doubt and pessimism in the world today and the Gospel calls us to faith and hope. The best tool we have to guard against doubt and pessimism is not louder sermons, argument and fighting but a deeper faith that leads to just living in relation to God, neighbour and the world. The stories of his healing and his teachings are a source of hope for those who believe the Gospel. In this Bible study we will explore the hope we have in Jesus Christ; how this hope can bolster our faith; and, how a healthy sense of hope can benefit the community.

Questions/Discussion

1.  Describe the hope we have in Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 71:1-6

¹ In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
   let me never be put to shame.
² In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
   incline your ear to me and save me.
³ Be to me a rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress, to save me,
   for you are my rock and my fortress. 

⁴ Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
   from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope,
   my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
⁶ Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
   it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you. 

Acts 24:15-18

I have a hope in God—a hope that they themselves also accept—that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. ¹⁶Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience towards God and all people. ¹⁷Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. ¹⁸While I was doing this, they found me in the temple, completing the rite of purification, without any crowd or disturbance. 

Romans 15:13

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

2.  How can we live beyond fear and have boldness of faith? 

Jeremiah 1:4-9

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁵ ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ ⁶Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ ⁷But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ ⁹Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.

Psalm 16: 5-9

⁵ The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
   you hold my lot.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   I have a goodly heritage. 

⁷ I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep the Lord always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
   my body also rests secure. 

Romans 4:22-5:7

Therefore his faith ‘was reckoned to him as righteousness.’ ²³Now the words, ‘it was reckoned to him’, were written not for his sake alone, ²⁴but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. ^5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we^* also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. ⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.

3.  How can we maintain a healthy sense of hope in our faith? 

1 Corinthians 15:14-24

And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. ²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. ²¹For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; ²²for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power.

Romans 12:9-17

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

Ephesians 3:20-4:6

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. ^4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Intercession/Worship

Conclusion

And the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Closing Prayer (Collect for 14^th Sunday after Pentecost)

Almighty God, we are taught by your word

that all our doings without love are worth nothing.

Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts

that most excellent gift of love,

the true bond of peace and of all virtue;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.