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Home Group Notes on 'Imitation'
One of our core values or common practices as a church is:
Imitation – learning from Him, doing what He asks us to do and wondering what would Jesus do?
3 Key Practical Questions tonight:
1. How are we doing at following Jesus?
2. How could we better help each other to follow Jesus?
3. How are we doing at inviting others to follow Jesus?
[Here’s how I am going to lead that this week with my home group:]
Why not take Communion together as part of worship this week? You could read 1 Cor 11:23-34 and consider Jesus death and resurrection as an action of the past (remembrance and victory), the present (Jesus with us), the future (invitation to the feast of the Lamb).
[Needs: Pens/paper]
Checklist for you to consider at the outset and give yourself marks out of 5 for each:
Desire for our behaviour to please God!
Enthusiastic about giving Jesus authority over every area of our life
Willingness to wrestle with God’s word - the Bible - the instruction manual!!
Seeking opportunities to ask real life questions (in community with other Christians)
Being transparent - giving others permission to ask Qs! - change of heart not just behaviour...
Desire to be more like Jesus!
Discuss together what you wrote...
Q. What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus in London in 2009?
(in order to answer the above, what did it mean for disciples to follow Jesus in Palestine 2000 years ago?)
Read together Acts 2:42-47 (our dream church!)
“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
We looked on Sunday at the cultural expectations for being a disciple in Palestine in 1AD:
The practice of imitating a rabbi (being a teacher’s disciple):
a) desire to honour God by doing the right things
Rabbis were the teachers who had been given the authoritative role to interpret God’s Word for the living of a righteous life – defining what behavior would or would not please God.
b) Willing Submission to Authority
If a rabbi ultimately agreed to a would-be-disciple’s request, and allowed him to become a disciple, the disciple-to-be agreed to totally submit to the rabbi’s authority in all areas of interpreting the Scriptures for his life.
c) Wresting with the Word of God
Yeshivas, or groups of disciples intensely dialoged over an aspect of life and Scripture’s claim on it = a standard part of rabbinic teaching methodology. Studying their rabbi’s view of Scripture and wrestling with the texts to comprehend God’s way for the conduct of their life was the main priority of a disciple and the yeshiva experience.
d) Real Life Questions
Life questions > searching the Scriptures for authoritative direction. e.g. “no work” on the Sabbath. How should that command work itself out in specific terms? The rabbi would authoritatively address such daily practical questions concerning righteous living and that response was understood as coming through Scripture as defined and interpreted by the rabbi.
e) Transparency a continual daily relational living experience where either the rabbi would ask questions of the disciple as he closely observed the disciple’s daily life, or the disciple would initiate a discussion by raising an issue or asking a question based on some aspect of his daily life. By always asking questions, the rabbis were concentrating on developing discernment in the mind of the disciple, not the imparting of “how to” formulas.
f) Emulation While not overtly required, disciples invariably had a deep desire to emulate their rabbi. This often included imitating how their rabbi ate, observed the Sabbath, what he liked and disliked, as well as his mannerisms, prejudices and preferences.
Summary The essential qualities of first-century disciples were desire and submission and assumed that emulation, biblical literacy, community, transparency and a willingness to wrestle with God’s word where a “given.” [Doug Greenwold on bible.org]
Discuss together and read examples of where you can see these facets exhibited in the lives of the disciples in the New Testament and where Jesus departed from this or added to this.
Discuss together how your home group community can better help each other to follow Jesus on a daily basis - maybe make some agreements together about this.
Discuss together how your home group is doing at making new disciples - how might you do this better?
Pray! |
Robin Plummer, 21/04/2009 |
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