Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art Works

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Christians and criticism.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Here's another Sunday School lesson.

Sunday School Lesson - Criticism - Upload a doc

Labels: bible, bible studies, christianity, teaching

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Action and planning.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

::We've been using K.P. Yohannan's book Reflecting His Image in our Sunday School class. Here is the lesson for tomorrow that I've been working on today. I'm using both chapters nine ("Starting from Zero") and ten ("Giving up the good") to make up this lesson.::

Action or Distraction?

"Active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often [a man] feels without acting, the less he will ever be able to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel."

-- C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

I. "Doing" or "Being" Good

Is good something we "do" or that we "are"?
Think of all the conferences, programs, materials -- all the time and energy we spend talking and thinking and deciding and debating as Christians...are we "doing" good or "being" good or talking about it?
Do all those activities, which are good, indeed, stopping us from what our focus should be?
"Eventually we become overly familiar with the things of God." -- K. P. Yohannan
What does Yohannan mean? What danger is there in "becoming overly familiar" with something?
In all our doing, do we miss the point?
Jesus did many things. He is our example for many good actions (social justice, etc.). However what was His main purpose? (Luke 19:10)
How does Mark 10:18 apply to this discussion? Are we sometimes deluded into thinking we can do good with our actions and easily lose focus on God by focusing on our concept of "good"?

II. Regaining Focus from All That Good

It is easy to list things we need to get rid of in our lives that are harmful, but what about those things that seem good in nature, and do good things?
What are some of the "good" things in our lives/ministries/churches that have become a distraction from the focus on winning the lost for Christ?
Last week we talked about when God's glory leaves, and why we shouldn't hang onto the shadows. Does this apply here, too?
Thinking about C. S. Lewis' quote and what we are told about faith and works in James 2:20, how do we find the necessary balance of doing without losing focus? What is the key?

Planning, In the Flesh

I. Room for planning?

In Christ's call to us, is there time to sit, think, and plan? Does that sound like a good and wise thing for us to do?
Thinking is not the same as praying. Thinking is our human mind attempting to use our logic and reasoning abilities to come to terms we can accept in our life. These are generally not God's terms.
What do you think of the following statement by Yohannan: "We want to plan and control our lives while we walk with the Lord."

II. What faith requires

In thinking about Yohannan's statement, is it even possible to walk with the Lord and remain in control in any measure?
Is it possible for God to be our king if we only allow him to do it as long as He tells us his plan ahead of time?
If we had the knowledge we want (to know what was going to happen, to have things logically explained, for God to lay out his plan before or as it happens, etc.), would we really be a follower?
Is there any room for faith in this kind of equation? (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Following and trusting God means we are "blind" in a sense, for we do not walk by sight. What do you think of this analogy?
How, then, do we truly walk with the Lord? (According to Yohannon, we must remove everything that we have looked at in ourselves in which we have been putting our faith and trust in, such as acceptance, approval, security, importance, abilities, rights, etc.)
Do you think we tend to focus on what we see inside of ourselves because we can see it, whereas the Lord asks us to follow and trust blindly at times?
How do we remove the focus on self and focus on the Lord?

III. Not in the flesh

The story of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac (Genesis 21) is a great example of God having a plan and putting in in action in a way that is undeniably Him and not the machinations of humans.
Yohannan points out that throughout the Bible, God regularly waited for people to see their own inability or get to a point of human desperation so that it was unquestionably His work.
Does God ever accept a "product of the flesh", as Yohannan puts it in his book? Does He bless the things we do in the flesh?
Do things done in the flesh still seem to succeed or seem to have results for good? Why or why not?
If things done in the flesh seem to do good for God's kingdom, is it really "good"?
How many of you have felt the frustration in your life as you try to do something -- accomplish a personal or professional goal, further a program or some other effort you thought you were supposed to do for God, etc. -- that ends up being effort in the flesh?
Why does it seem, sometimes, that non-Christians often succeed by the works of their own efforts? Or, better yet, why wouldn't they succeed -- shouldn't it make sense that they would?
"Our plans, our strength and our works, based on anything we find in ourselves, will all burn up." -- K. P. Yohannan
What does Jeremiah 17:5-8 tell us?

Summary

So what about action and planning, then? What place does it have in your life, as a Christian? Which comes first? How do we maintain balance?
On some level, I find all of this a huge relief. I know who I am inside, and my weaknesses and failings, my very severe blindness, and I am relieved that it is not up to me, that I am being led by a God who already knows. That all my clever efforts are worthless in the end, unless God is directing them. I am relieved to be free from the fruitlessness of the "schemes of man", which are doomed to fail in the long run, and pass away.
We are all blind. Some are led by the Light, and some are following more darkness.

Links of interest related to topics raised here:

Labels: bible, bible studies, christianity, teaching

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When the glory leaves.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

::We've been using K.P. Yohannan's book Reflecting His Image in our Sunday School class. Here is the lesson from last Sunday that I taught, using chapter one ("Clinging to the Shadows").::

Passage of scripture: 1 Samuel 4:1-10

Q. What happened here? Why were the Israelites not victorious, like they had been in similar battles in the past?

The Israelites assumed past experience and victories meant that God was still with them

Q. Were their actions or the method of how they took the Ark into battle wrong? i.e. Didn't they do it like they always had in the past, or was their failure due to something they forgot to do?

Their actions were the same as they'd always done it. Or, as Yohannan put it, they had "genuine actions" that were tied to "past shadows."

I. God's Glory Leaves?

God's glory had left Israel, and they did not even know it.
We are like the Israelites; sometimes we find ourselves clinging to the shadows of the past victories when God's glory was still around.
God's glory can leave a fellowship, an organization, a ministry, a church...our lives.
When God's glory leaves, say, an organization, does this mean that they no longer do good or valuable work? (No, we may still value what they are doing.)
Often, a ministry or organization started as genuine before God, and He blessed it, but it became rehearsed and mechanized and started operating in the flesh and on the power of man.
There is no room for God's glory if the glory is going to man. God will remove his glory and let us have the personal glory we are seeking.
What causes God's glory to leave? (Self-centeredness, a desire to protect or preserve the organization above all else, a loss of God being the absolute focus and purpose and reason for being, when self-preservation and our own goals take center, etc.)

II. Keeping God's Glory

How do we keep God's glory from leaving? We lay aside our plans, wishes, and ambitions.
What does this do? It forces us to focus on Him daily, since we aren't substituting these other things as our lifeline.
It is a daily effort! It needs to happen each day, this setting aside and refocusing, and it takes effort.
Daily we need to: humble myself (James 4:10); seek things of God above (Col. 3:1); repent (a humbling act); turn from what causes our hearts to wander.
What causes our hearts to wander? (Materialism, personal glory, seeking comfort and ease, seeking other's approval, spiritual pride, lack of concern for suffering and needy, seeking honor from others, pretense, etc.)

Final thoughts:

Do I daily stop and see if I'm clinging to shadows, spiritual experiences and victories from the past as a substitute for God in the present?
What kind of spiritual fruit do I exhibit? What kind of spiritual fruit might a person who God's glory no longer inhabits exhibit?
What happens to my spiritual life if God begins to remove His glory? (Rehearsed spiritual "performance", emptiness, distance from God, feelings of being abandoned by God, etc.)

Labels: bible, bible studies, christianity, teaching

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Faith tested.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

::This was the Sunday School lesson I taught today.::

Scripture passage: Genesis 22:1-12

Starter questions:

Why do we test a person? (To see what they'll do, because we don't know and want to find out. This is for our benefit.)
Does God test us? (Yes.)
Why would God test a person? (For our benefit, not His.)

Unthinkable Command

1. Severe Test - Genesis 22:1-2

Tests of faith may involve things that: defy logic; come in the form of a challenge or command; we find almost impossible to accept or obey; happen suddenly and unexpectedly.
Genesis 22:1 - There is no doubt as to God's intent, which is to test Abraham.
Genesis 22:2 - This verse underscores the severity of the command God gave Abraham.
God had tested Abraham before by asking him to leave family and native land, asking Abraham to trust him during famine, and making him wait a very long time before fulfilling his promised son Isaac.
Abraham is listed in the "Faith Chapter" in Hebrews. Do you think all this testing had anything to do with him being considered a hero of faith?
This latest test was extremely severe, in that Isaac was the result of another test of faith, and the only hope for the promise God had made to him about being made a great nation. It seemed to conflict with God's own plan.

2. Prompt Obedience - Genesis 22:3-5

Q. How did Abraham respond to God's test? (He obeyed God promptly)
Q. How did Abraham approach the test? (He brought along what was necessary to carry out the command to sacrifice Isaac, i.e. he obeyed fully and not half-heartedly)
Abraham shows us trust in the very God asking him to do something difficult, trust even when not understanding God's test

Withholding Nothing

1. Faith in God - Genesis 22:6-8

Q. Abraham was ready to do what God asked. What does verse eight tell us? (He still trusted God that even though he was ready and had a sacrifice -- Isaac -- he believed God would provide something else.)
Hebrews 11:17 - Abraham's conviction was faith
Hebrews 11:18 - He based his conviction on God's earlier promise of a son.
Hebrews 11:19 - He knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead.
Abraham displayed something interesting about tests of faith: Working our way through a test of faith requires faith in God.

2. Willing to Obey - Genesis 22:9-12

Q. How is obedience linked to faith? (We demonstrate our faith by obeying.)
Q. What does faith look like? When does it become apparent? (Faith is obedience. It becomes apparent in the face of what looks like an impossible or illogical situation.)
Q. What about disobedience? How does that affect our faith? Why might God want us to obey Him? (Obedience builds our faith in God and brings us closer; disobedience hurts and weakens us, creating distance.)
Q. What do our actions have to do with faith? (Abraham's actions in Genesis 22:9 showed his faith.)
Q. How does what we do affect our own faith? How does it affect how people see our faith?
Faith requires action, and our action requires faith; it is a circular relationship, both building on each other.
James 2:20 - Without action that displays confidence in God, our faith is dead.
Q. What is the "fear of God" (Genesis 22:12), and what does that have to do with faith? (It is an awe or respect of God. We obey and hold nothing back because of it.)

Summation: So, then, why does God test believers?

Job 23:10 - Trials purify, like heat purifies gold.
Psalm 119:71 - Trials teach us.
James 1:2-4 - Trials develop character.
1 Peter 1:6-7 - Trials prove the genuineness of our faith.

Our class discussion: We talked about how the word "faith" has so many meanings, and how if we think of it as mere belief or something inward and personal, a test of faith requiring action might present a huge problem. Generally, our discussion was about the difficulties of facing trials when they are actually happening to you, and how it takes faith to believe that the command/request/direction you think you should obey is really what you heard and is from God.

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The material for this lesson came from the Assembly of God Radiant Life Adult Sunday School lesson guide for Sept/Oct/Nov, 2007. This is presented in a much shorter version than the full lesson provided in the guide so as to allow for more discussion and to fit the time allotted for the class.

Labels: bible, bible studies, christianity, teaching

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Losers.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

Will and I briefly talked about the idea of losing, being a loser, and what winning really consists of. I never did much with it, not sure what to write just yet. Will, however, has given a sermon on that subject. Go read it.

Labels: christianity, teaching

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Is God just?

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 3 comments link this post

::Again, like the last time I taught Sunday School, I dreaded teaching the lesson. I couldn't see how I could teach a lesson with a question that I couldn't even come close to answering. The teaching material I had to work from was well-written, but the answers were just so pat and organized that even if they were "correct", I couldn't bring myself to sound so much like I'd "arrived" and had no struggles. So, I abbreviated the lesson and opened it up to discussion by asking questions that came to mind as I worked through the material.::

Scripture passage: Psalm 68:1-6, 18-22

Rejoice in God's Justice

1. Judgment for the wicked - Psalm 68:1-2

Q: Define the following terms - Justice, Mercy, Grace
In the verses above, David calls for God to judge the wicked and that they be shown no mercy.
Q: Why does God have the right to judge? (His right to judge is rooted in His holy character.)
Q: Why does the fact that He is holy mean that He must judge, and not that He "gets to" judge? (Would God be holy if he did not judge? Because He is holy, He must judge sin when people fail to repent of wickedness.)
So, then, do you agree with the following statement: Being holy requires judgment of sin.
Q: Should human beings be judging sin? (We are not holy like God, and should not be judging people in the same way.)
The fact that God must judge people for their sin is not the same as Him wanting to do so. He does not desire to condemn people, but because He is holy, he must judge sin.
Back to the three words we defined earlier (Justice, Mercy, Grace). God is just and judges as such, but He would much rather extend mercy and grace to those of us sinners who would receive it.
Q: Why is it important to understand God's nature and attributes in order to be confident in His determination to bring about justice? (We can't possibly understand how a holy God responds to sin. We are born sinners and have participated in sin, and we don't remotely possess the kind of revulsion towards sin true holiness requires. God is pure and holy by nature, unlike us.)
David rejoiced in God's justice because it was the triumph of God's righteousness.

2. Rejoice for God's People - Psalm 68:3-6

Q: In these verses, what do the godly find themselves doing? (Exulting in the Lord.)
Q: Where in this passage do we see another aspect of God's justice, one where He isn't the judge? (His intervention on behalf of the widows and fatherless. He took up their cause. He also provides for the lonely and frees those who are captive.)
Q: What does this say about God?
Q: What does this say about what He expects of us? (We are to seek justice for the vulnerable in society. We are to try to exhibit the same character as God.)

Rejoice in God's Salvation

1. Acknowledge God as Our Savior - Psalm 68:18-19

David gave thanks to God and acknowledged that only He was the source of salvation, i.e. only God can be trusted to save us.
Q: Why do we often forget to thank God for our eternal salvation?

2. Deliverance from Our Enemies - Psalm 68:20-22

Q: Why does it seem like evil people have the power to interfere with the advancement of God's Kingdom? Doesn't this seem unjust of God, to allow them free reign? (Rather than having free reign, their attempts to oppose God's interests are used to bring about the very purposes they seek to hinder.)

Our Class Discussion: This lesson brought up many comments about people saying things like "I don't believe a loving God would send people to hell." I pointed out that perhaps that was, based on what we talked about, a very confused statement. Sending people to hell was in no way connected to God's love. Instead, it was connected to His holiness, which ties in to the fact that He must judge. By trying to use the loving attribute of God as a reason why he would never judge, people conveniently ignored this very other important attribute of God: holiness.

We also talked a bit about the concept of seeking justice for the vulnerable in society, and just who the vulnerable were. I asked if those present thought that Christians in America (Evangelicals, et. al.) had a reputation for this, and if that reputation was or was not deserved. There was discussion on the many good things that Christians do in this regard, but that much of the Evangelical cause had gotten tied up in politics that didn't seem to show concern for the vulnerable.

The lesson was truncated, and the last part a little rushed. We spent a good deal of the class talking about God's holiness and judgment, and whether or not we could really understand the statement that "God is just."

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The material for this lesson came from the Assembly of God Radiant Life Adult Sunday School lesson guide for June/July/August, 2007. This is presented in a much shorter version than the full lesson provided in the guide so as to allow for more discussion and to fit the time allotted for the class.

Labels: bible, bible studies, christianity, justice, teaching

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Prayer of Forsakenness.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this post

::I took one look at the lesson I was to prepare and teach for Sunday School this morning, and thought, at first, no way. I cannot teach that, God. It's too close to home. Sometimes, I guess, the best lesson I can learn is the one I'm forced to teach, and so I found myself, over the week and finally this morning on the way to church, thinking about the subject matter and preparing. This comes at a time when I'm feeling very much what I'm supposed to be talking about, a number of different things going on in my life that have culminated at the current moment to this very topic: feeling abandoned.::

Scripture Passage: Psalm 22:1-22

Experiencing Abandonment

1. Feeling Forsaken - Psalm 22:1-5

When we believe someone will help us in some way, but doesn't come through, we feel forsaken. We may not actually be forsaken, but we feel it.
In this passage, David is frustrated because it seemed to him that God was indifferent to his cries for help.
Q: Why do we sometimes feel abandoned by God? (Depression brings on feelings of abandonment; God does not help immediately; we put our faith in humans and they fail us)
Q: What can we do when we feel abandoned by God? (Not give up hope, v. 2; understand the difference between what we feel and what we know; continue to express trust in God, v. 3-5)

2. Feeling Worthless - Psalm 22:6-8

If we feel forsaken and alone, we think less of ourselves (Psalm 22:6 - David calls himself a "worm")
Q: When someone is abandoned, whose fault do they often think it is? (We often blame ourselves, thinking we are worthless and that we did something wrong to deserve being abandoned)
Q: When we feel abandoned by God, is the feeling the same? Are we every truly abandoned by God?
Q: What are some things we go through when we feel abandoned? (We lose our sense of self-worth and we don't want to be around other people but prefer to be alone - this compounds feelings of worthlessness; other people do not understand our feelings and our reaction to those feelings and so the leave us alone because they feel uncomfortable around us)
Q: What should be the Christian response to depression? Can a believer just "snap out of it"? Is it important or harmful for them to work through those feelings no matter how long it takes? How can we show a struggling believer that God delights in them?
Q: What do we do that inadvertently causes a person to feel abandoned or rejected? (Ignore them; not make time for them; remind them you are busy; give them the seconds or left-over time and attention; make them feel as if they are not needed or necessary; not give them a serious place in our life; etc.)

Overcoming Negative Thoughts

1. David's Method (Psalm 22:9-11, 19)

(v. 9) David turns his focus from himself back onto God. (Focusing on self only increases our feelings of depression and abandonment as it becomes an inward, selfish thing. Being alone or beginning feelings of loneliness can heighten these feelings.)
(v. 1, v. 11) David's complaint is turned into a prayer.
(v. 19) David asks God to stay close to him.

2. Change in Heart

Q: What happens to David by the time we reach verse 22? (He no longer feels abandoned, but is praising God)

Summation: When we feel forsaken, abandoned, and depressed, we withdraw from other people and from God. We blame God and we blame ourselves, all the while focusing on ourselves. We rely upon our feelings instead of what we know to be true about God. It is during this time that we need to do the very opposite: reach out to more people, praise God, focus on God and other people. The very hardest thing to do during such a time is the very best way to get out of the dark feelings.

Our Class Discussion: This lesson raised a lot of questions and discussion on how Christians view, deal with and sometimes ignore the very real aspects of depression and similar struggles.

We talked about prescription drugs that are used to treat depression, and the benefits vs. the abuse of these drugs.
We talked about an example of depression/suicide that happened in our own church a number of years ago, and whether we should or should not have handled it differently as a church body.
We talked about the Name It/Claim It/Health Wealth/Power of Positive Thinking teachings out there and how a) they do not deal with different personalities, struggles, and the reality that the Christian life is not always upbeat and happy, and b) they actually cause guilt and emotional harm to those whose lives are difficult. David and the Psalms was used as an example as well as the concepts of picking up the cross daily, being a servant, being broken, and some of the teachings of the Beatitudes.
We talked about whether teaching kids songs about how being a Christian is "being happy all the time" was a bad idea.
We talked about how different personality types might not understand each other. I mentioned how second-best means feeling worthless means feelings of abandonment. At least, for melancholy personality types such as myself. I noted that I couldn't speak, nor understand, other personalities just as they would likely not understand the way a melancholy person thinks.
The difference between knowing and feeling was emphasized, how feeling worthless didn't mean that a person was worthless. However, the feelings were real and the person had to struggle and deal with it all the same.

Personal thoughts: I think of how God wants our first fruits. In the same way, people who are valued in my life deserve the firsts of my time. That is, they deserve, even if it just a small moment or gesture, the first of my thoughts, the first of my time. When my nephew buzzes my Yahoo IM with a homework question, and I'm in the middle of a painting, I do not ignore him until I finish. I cover my paint and if it dries out, it dries out. This same lesson I must apply to my life in a greater sense. People that matter to me deserve my firsts. Not my seconds, not my "I'll get to you when I get to you", not my left-overs. The message is clear, when I do that: you have value.

Giving my firsts, my bests, in time and energy shows what I value. Giving what's left shows the opposite, what I value less. That is my challenge for myself, and for you. Give people worth by investing your best in them. Investing with second-rate material builds a second-rate feeling in people. They aren't able to be their best if they don't see anyone giving that to them. Or perhaps, a better way would be to say that trying to build a person up with cut-rate materials is not building at all, but tearing down.

UPDATE: Here's a post with links to the topic of Christians and medication for depression.

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Labels: bible, bible studies, religion, teaching

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Three words.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

Mike informed me that although he will be taking care of most of the morning devotion sessions in Nicaragua this year, he'd like me to do two of them. Whenever I express trepidation about this, or teaching Sunday School, or anything of the sort, I get the impression that people thing I'm trying to weasel my way out of something. This is not the case; I feel very unqualified to be doing anything of the sort. I don't expect people to have perfect, flawless lives before they teach or preach, but for some reason I kind of expect that of myself. But it is important that I be willing and just trust God in what He's doing, and so I am now thinking about what I might want to talk about.

I wrote down three words on a piece of paper yesterday, as I was contemplating these two morning sessions. Three words, out of the blue, with a connection I don't see yet:

Separation
Sleep
Silence

I will be using these as some kind of jumping-off point. This often occurs, and is how I find things to blog and journal about. A word or concept without any seeming connection finds its way into my thoughts and I start to mull it over and research it in the Bible.

Stay tuned. I'll keep this post updated on where this leads.

Labels: bible studies, idea generation, teaching

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Christians and criticism.

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Action and planning.

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When the glory leaves.

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Faith tested.

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Losers.

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Is God just?

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Prayer of Forsakenness.

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Three words.

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