Week 10
The Prophets: Servants of Faithfulness and Proclaimers of God’s Future
Watch
This week God taught us through Pastor David’s message about the problem of evil in this world and in our own lives. As we move from asking WHY to WHAT, we’ll also be exploring how the prophets in the Old Testament fit into this grand story of God overcoming evil once and for all. God sends the prophets to call his people back to their roots as a missional community that rejects evil. In addition, God’s prophets offer a compelling vision of a future act of God that will usher in a new age of salvation and abundance for his people and ALL creation. He is working to restore all of it to LIFE free from the bondage of evil.
Want more? Watch this video on how God deals with evil without destroying humanity.
And this video on the wisdom of Job and the problem of suffering?
READ
In the “Invitation” Book, read Chapter 8: The Prophets: Servants of Faithfulness and Proclaimers of God’s Future
• Day 1: Introducing the prophets
• Day 2: Isaiah, Human Lostness, and God’s Mission
• Day 3: The Prophetic call to practice Justice
• Day 4: God’s mission for the nations
• Day 5: The Prophets and God’s Coming New Age of Salvation
In the Bible read:
• 2 Kings 17:7-23
• Isaiah 6:1-8
• Amos 5:21-24
• Micah 6:6-8
• Isaiah 42:5-7
• Jonah 3:10-4:11
• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• Ezekiel 36:26-27
Ponder
Questions for journaling or discussing with a friend or group:
• God’s prophets were primarily forthtellers to the PRESENT, rather than foretellers of the future. How can we see their wisdom and warnings as authoritative guides for living faithfully as God’s people, TODAY?
• The prophets warned of the two greatest threats: Idolatry and Injustice. What is your understanding of justice? What is your understanding of idolatry?
• Isaiah’s encounter with God at PRECISELY the time in which his security had been stripped away (Uzziah’s death) suggests that the little kings in our lives need to be removed before we can see the true King. What “kings” in your present life prevent you from seeing and serving the King?
• How does Isaiah’s calling and commissioning remind us of the principal problem of our world?
• How would your life be different if you prayed, “Here I am send me!”?
• In God’s Kingdom there is no room for the status quo values rooted in power, exploitation, class status, and militarism. Part of Israel’s witness (and ours today) is its treatment of the marginalized. How would God’s mission be enhanced if we manifested God’s justice in our homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, etc.?
• Read Amos 5:21-24: God refuses to separate our spiritual lives from our daily existence in the world. It matters how we live. How are justice and worship related?
• Where do you see injustice in the world today?
• How would our lives change if we embraced God’s vision of the world? How would we view those we perceive as “enemies” or “others”?
• How does the Bible’s vision of hope differ from the way the world talks about hope?
• How does knowing that God’s future will be an abundant one inspire you to live faithfully for God’s mission today?