YH Bible Study Fall 2009 Schedule

"A Pattern of Prayer":
The purpose of the study is to look at examples of people's prayers in the Bible to inform our view of God & how we pray, AND, to open up avenues for us to expand our prayer as a group together. We'll be looking at the prayers of Jesus, Abraham, David, Job, Habbakkuk, Solomon, Elijah, Ezra, Daniel, Paul, Moses, Mary, John, Aaron, and Jude (and maybe more)

WHEN: Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 PM

THE SCHEDULE (subject to change)

September 1
Study 1: The Lord's Prayer

September 8
Study 2: Prayer Changes the Way God Acts

September 15
Study 3: Hearing From God

September 22
Study 4: God's Perspective/Will

September 29
*Fellowship night

October 6
Study 5: Petition & Faith

October 13
Study 6: Confession & Forgiveness

October 20
Study 7: Obedience & Humility

October 27
*Fellowship night

November 3
Study 8: Ministry & Growth

November 10
Study 9: Intercession

November 17
Study 10: Thanksgiving

November 24
*Thanksgiving break

December 1
Study 11: Praise

December 8
Study 12: Benediction/Blessing
*Worship Night

Sex Without Shame

Interesting article from Sojourners Magazine related to one of our studies this summer: "Sex Without Shame"

Somewhere between the earlier demonization of sexuality and our current movement toward celebrating something passing itself off as “sexual freedom” must be a healthy balance, a middle way—no, a higher way. That higher, redemptive way must be informed by both the positive affirmation of sexuality as God’s good gift, on the one hand, and on the other hand our capacity for the sexual exploitation of each other.

Some points/suggestions:

1. We need to talk openly and directly about sexuality in our homes and churches.
2. We need to recognize how embodied our lives are, and we need to embrace the fundamental goodness of that embodiment
3. To love sexuality and live faithfully, we need to keep in mind the Sexuality Big Picture.
4. We need to become thoughtful critics of exploitative sexual images in our culture.
5. We cannot assume that all that passes for sexual freedom actually is.
6. Finally, we need to recognize that what we really yearn for in life is intimacy rather than the stimulation of genital nerve endings.

Study 10: Unashamed

Isaiah 54

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54:1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.

4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
7 For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.

9 “This is like the days of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your wall of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
16 Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
17 no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Study 9: Shame & Rage

Passages:

Rage, Unrighteous Anger: Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14)

• "But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, 'Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?' So he turned and went away in a rage." (Verses 11-12)

Righteous Anger: Moses (Exodus 32)

• Moses: "And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it." (Verses 19-20)
• God: "Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made." (Verse 35)

Questions & Discussion:

1. Why does Naaman go out in a rage?

• The word for "anger" used here means: fury, burning anger, hot displeasure, wrath
  
• Anger is helpful because it is a sign something is being protected, either good or bad. [see Changes That Heal quotation, below]
• Naaman had expectations that weren't met (interesting that *anger* is the emotion after have expectations not met --- not something else, like sadness)
• Can see shame linked to Naaman -- he's sick & a leper; even going to ask for help is really vulnerable
• Elijah maybe didn't give Naaman the attention he was hoping; disappointment causes anger
  

2. How does rage (misplaced anger) manifest itself in your life?

• Held-in irritations
• Angry feelings
• Sarcasm
• Hurtful or destructive fantasies
• Critical remarks
• Prejudice & rejection
• Hate
• Rage because we suppress feelings
• Revenge (manipulation)
  

2b. If it's true that anger reveals something you are protecting ... What are you protecting?

• Injustice
• Compassion/empathy can transfer to anger
• Entitlement to dignity
• Anger seems 'easier' than feeling the hurt in a given circumstance
• We may be protecting something bad, like our pride
  

3. Is misplaced shame connected to rage?

• Shame keeps anger hidden --- then it's hard to see why it is that we're angry
• Anger is a natural protest against isolation (which comes from misplaced shame)
• Shame keeps us from expressing expectations
  

4. Is there well-placed shame connected with rage?

• Anger only exists in a world of imperfection; may experience shame ("who I am") for experiencing anger, for the imperfections
  

5. How do we battle misplaced shame and rage-reactions?

• Ask God to reveal the reason for anger
• Take TIME to pray & God will reveal it
• Rework the ideal --- anger may have to do with things not meeting the ideal standard, but the ideal *needs* to come from God (not my own), and we should continually renew that vision of God's ideal
• Expect badness & weaknesses (imperfection) in everyone --- embrace & love people!
• Expect faults from this world --- stuff just happens
• Monitor your responses to the less than ideal; What makes you angry? Why?
• Learn/practice to *love* the less than ideal
• Be intentional; realize God is bigger
• No one else "makes you angry" -- you get angry [recognize boundaries]
• Ask forgiveness from the person you are bitter at (in certain situations)
• Express expectations but check motivations
• People can change but we can't change them
• Need to be needier
  

6. What is the difference between righteous anger and rage? How can you discern the difference in yourself?

• Rage is reactive, destructive
• Righteous anger is constructive
• Rage leads to other negative emotions, situations
• Righteous angry tends toward hope
• Righteous anger: injustice, according to God's standards
• Rage: injustice, according to our subjective standards
• Righteous anger will still bear the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)!
• Rage: fear-based
  

7. Do you, like Moses, feel anger for shamelessness? Are we meant to?

8. Do you feel misplaced shame for righteous rage?



From Changes That Heal, on Anger:

Anger, our most basic negative emotion, tells us that something is wrong. We tend to protect the good we don’t want to lose. Anger is a signal that we are in danger of losing something that matters to us.

When people are taught to suppress their anger, they are taught to be out of touch with what matters to them. Ephesians 4:26, citing Psalm 4:4, says, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” It is good to feel angry because anger warns us of danger and shows us what needs protecting. But, we are not to sin in our attempt to resolve the problem. This would mean to resolve it in some unloving way and would ultimately hurt us as well as the other.

Major consequences for denying our angry feelings rage all the way from psycholphysiological disorders, such as headaches and ulcers, to character disorders, such as passive-aggression, to the inability to work, to serious depression and panic. Any way you look at it, denying anger keeps one from getting problems solved.

Another problem with denying anger is that it turns into bitterness and leads to a critical and unforgiving spirit: “See to it that no on misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15). Bitterness leaves the door open for Satan to come in and take control.

Instead of denying anger, we must own it and find its source. As we examine our anger, we can find out what we are trying to protect. Anger may be protecting an injured vulnerability or a will that was controlled. We may be under condemnation from someone and need to get out from under perfectionism. Whatever the source, anger tells you there is a problem, and it should never be denied.

We may discover that our anger is protecting something bad, such as pride, omnipotence, control, or perfectionism. Maybe we feel angry because we are losing control of another person. In either case, if we deny our anger, we can’t get to the source. Anger, then, is helpful because it is a sign something is being protected, either good or bad.