Study Guide for the week
This week as we continue The Voyage, we learn about the importance of shipmates. When you board the ship you don’t know who your shipmates will be, unless you are the captain. Then you can choose. Mostly, you take who you get. There are shipmates who make the journey more challenging. In some cases shipmates can literally save your life. So, what happens when you enter uncharted territory or what if you find yourself shipwrecked? How can ordinary, imperfect human beings work together in unexpected situations for the good of all? One thing seems certain, no human was meant to navigate or sail a ship (a metaphor for the church) alone.
Monday, August 16, 2010 – Read Genesis 2:18-25; 1:26-28. One purpose of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons with God at the very center of the community. The Bible traces the formation of this community from the creation in the Garden of Eden (Genesis), to the birth of the church (Acts), all the way to the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation). What does it mean to explore the dimensions of human formation moving from individual to family to tribe to people to nation to all humanity? All through history God is our primary companion. Yet God has given us human companions. Adam was “alone” at first. God gave him a partner, someone to share the burden and stewardship. Noah was isolated from other humans in a faithless world. When God saved Noah, God saved his family as well. How has God formed you from individual, to family member, to be part of a community or church? How has God companioned you? Who are your human companions?
Tuesday, August 17 – Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-10. The desire for satisfying relationships is woven into the fabric of our being. We were created in the image of God, to be relational (Genesis 1:27). The essence of God is a Trinity united in loving relationship. Christ gave himself up for us to bring us back into right relationship with God and one another. We long for a few people who understand us, who genuinely care about and for us, people to whom we can trust our hearts, and we can form deep bonds. Sometimes human relationships fall short. We don’t always know how to navigate the sea of relationships. There is a place where you can find a companion to lift you up if or when you fall. The church can offer tools to explore. How can you be intentional about creating satisfying relationships? Connect with your pastor. Consider meeting others and going deeper through a learning opportunity or a small group.
Wednesday, August 18, – Read Numbers 11. There are times when the captain becomes very aware of his or her need for shipmates. You might remember Moses’ call to ministry in the burning bush story of Exodus 3. Numbers 11 reveals that Moses has gone from burning bush to burning out. Moses discovered that “I am not able to carry this people alone, for they are too heavy for me” (Num. 11:14). Moses could have given up, but God came up with an alternate plan. God did not ask Moses to recruit volunteers for Moses’ ministry. He told Moses to gather seventy men to bear the burden of the people along with Moses so he didn’t have to do it all himself. How often do we try to go it alone, do it all ourselves? Finally, we listen to God and seek his will. Then, we gather people for God so that God can give what is necessary for ministry, a share of God’s Spirit, the Spirit that empowers ministry. God called multiple talents into service for the sake of all Israel. How often do we gather to listen to what God has to say, remain open to God’s presence, and consider how God equips us for communal life or ministry? This story foreshadows Jesus’ own ministry.
Thursday, August 19 – Read Matthew 4:19-21; Mark 1:19. When Jesus began his public ministry, he went out to find companions, men like Peter who even denied Christ, but who shared his life and mission. He knew it would take a crew, and in this case a very diverse crew. To accomplish a mission you need mates who can collaborate and engage in team-work. The first time the word “equip” is used in the Gospels is when Jesus finds a father and his two sons in a ship, preparing (Greek – kartatizo) their nets for the work. This does not mean that you do the work all by yourself, but you equip, prepare, or strengthen something or someone for a mission. That is what Jesus did with the disciples and it is what the church is called to do. He taught and equipped very unique people to do the work. Any crew needs many gifts and skills. Each serves a particular function. Read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. Each shipmate or disciple is first called, then equipped, and given gifts by the Holy Spirit to do the work. In this case, build up the community of believers, to help build the church. Have you heard the call of Jesus? Do you know your skills? Have you discovered the gifts of the Holy Spirit for your part in the mission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)?
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The Importance of Ship-Mates
In preparation for this Sunday’s sermon it might be helpful to
1. Make a list of friends you could call on in a moment’s notice if you had a need in the middle of the night.
2. Read the scriptures in this email..
3. Watch a rerun of the old Show Gilligan’s Island
As always, I appreciate any feedback on this series of sermons comparing our spiritual life to a life at sea.
F
Genesis 7:13
The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark.
Jonah 1:7-8, 10
The sailors said to Jonah…“What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them so.
Acts 2:41-47
So those who welcomed Peter’s message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
- I. We Were Built for Companionship
A. Your need for companionship and the Bible us of the term “one another”
B. Two primary aims of Christian Companionship:
II. Keys to Developing and Sustaining Life-Enriching Relationships
- Taking the initiative (even when you don’t feel like it)
- Being a life enriching companion to others
- The strange friends God may call into your life: Lessons from Gilligan
D. Paul on what it takes to sustain life-enriching relationships (Colossians 3:12-15)
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