Global Hearted

We discuss Genesis 9 and 10 primarily, also talking some about 8 and 11, including diving deeper into some pieces we skimmed over in the last episode.

We discuss more about the flood narrative, including parts of the story that are hard to understand or don't make sense, and we try to think about why certain interpretations may be arrived at and what our Muslim friends might be thinking when they come to the text.

After the evil we saw last episode in 6:1-8, now we are discussing 6:9-22, the beginning of the flood narrative

Genesis 6:1-8, Preparation for the flood narrative. Who are the heroes of old, and who emerges like a flower in a concrete jungle?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves?

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

Before you read, let everyone know these questions will help guide the discussion about the passage:What aspects of this passage stand out to you?Do you find anything that is confusing?What does this passage teach us about God? What role does God have in the narrative?What role does the man have in the narrative? What significance does the man’s naming of the animals and the woman have?Why was the woman made? What role does the woman have in the narrative?What does this teach us about ourselves? 

In this episode, we begin to talk about Genesis 2, and explore how you can read it with your Muslim friends.

Diving Deeper into Genesis 1

Questions to think about asking⦁ What did you like in this passage?⦁ What did you not like in this passage? (What did you find objectionable or disturbing?)⦁ What does this passage tell us about God?⦁ What does this passage tell us about humans?⦁ What does this passage tell us about ourselves? 

Questions to think about asking⦁ What did you like in this passage?⦁ What did you not like in this passage? (What did you find objectionable or disturbing?)⦁ What does this passage tell us about God?⦁ What does this passage tell us about humans?⦁ What does this passage tell us about ourselves? 

Questions that you can ask your Muslim friends about Genesis 1 What did you like in this passage?What did you not like in this passage? (What did you find objectionable or disturbing?)What does this passage tell us about God?What does this passage tell us about humans?What does this passage tell us about ourselves?

Questions that you can ask your Muslim friends about Genesis 1 What did you like in this passage?What did you not like in this passage? (What did you find objectionable or disturbing?)What does this passage tell us about God?What does this passage tell us about humans?What does this passage tell us about ourselves? 

Resource recommendations:Poole, Garry. Seeker Small Groups: Engaging Spiritual Seekers in Life-Changing Discussions. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 2003.YouVersion App - https://www.bible.com/appNETBible Online - https://netbible.org/ 

We explore more about reading Deuteronomy, how it influences the New Testament, and where we might start reading the Bible with our Muslim friends.

We continue laying the groundwork on how to read the Bible with our Muslim friends by talking about different places that we could start reading with them.

Parallels between Deuteronomy and The Gospel of John5:10 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations 14:21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”10:12-13 So now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? Only to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 14:23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.11:1 You shall love the LORD your God, therefore, and keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always. John 15:9-10 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.11:1 If you will only heed his every commandment that I am commanding you today—loving the LORD your God, and serving him with all your heart and with all your soul— John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.11:22 If you will diligently observe this entire commandment that I am commanding you, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,  19:9 provided you diligently observe this entire commandment that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God and walking always in his ways….  30:6 The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.  John 17:17-19 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.30:19-20 Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days 

We are beginning a new series! This one is on reading the Bible with our Muslim friends. Reading the Bible with Muslim friends is different from the typical, church-oriented, Bible study. It is exploration of a familiar book for us but a completely new one for our friends. The endeavor enriches our faith and opens the Word to us in new ways.

A review of our first series on Living Incarnationally. This would be a great place to get someone who may not want to invest all the time into the whole series beforehand to get an overview.

What is contextualization, and how do we do it? (Note, this is a replay of Episode 2 after we re-recorded it)

When we say we are free from the law and we are forgiven, what do we really mean? Do we mean that we are free to go out and do wrong knowing that God will forgive us? When we get the opportunity to talk about what we believe with our friends of the world religions, it is important that we speak of our faith in ways that will not cause them confusion.

In our last episode, we talked about the importance of being careful not to let a broad understanding of a religion dictate what we think our hosts in a frontier culture believe, but of having humility and leaning on direct experience in understanding what is really important to them. In this episode, we are going to return to a theme that you have talked about before, building bridges across the faiths.

What is it that Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus really believe? How do we find out? And how can we transfer lessons we have learned about the diversity of Christianity to other contexts?

The first principle states that the greater the cultural distance between cultural groups, the less certain we can be that the messages communicated between the groups will be understood. The second principle states that if the hosts are to capture the meaning intended by the outside communicators, the outside communicators need to use the forms of the hosts.

The first principle states that the greater the cultural distance between cultural groups, the less certain we can be that the messages communicated between the groups will be understood. The second principle states that if the hosts are to capture the meaning intended by the outside communicators, the outside communicators need to use the forms of the hosts.  

This week, we are going to talk about some more tension that we have to hold together, specifically how to value the religious cultures of the people we seek to reach.

The Scripture reveals God, His holiness, and His responses to human sinfulness in culture in a nuanced manner. Genesis 4 portrays God as mysteriously present to humans, preserving and blessing them in spite of their resistance to him.

The gospel is like leaven that permeates human cultures with God’s presence and goodness, all the while allowing cultural diversity to remain.

Anthony discusses how Jesus’ representatives have to detach the gospel from their own cultural base and take it across social, cultural, and religious boundaries so it can enter and transform new communities and their cultures. We'll see this moving of the gospel from one community and cultural base into new communities and cultural bases brought out from the Book of Acts and the epistles.

Here are Anthony's outlines for the Paul's sermons The sermon at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:16-41). ⦁ Paul begins by steeping his message in Israel’s history (vv.17-22).⦁ Paul points out God made a promise to David about a Savior (v.23).⦁ Paul points out that John the Baptist knew he was not the promised one (vv.24-25).⦁ Paul explains why Jesus was rejected and killed by the rulers and residents of Jerusalem (vv.26-29).⦁ Paul speaks of God raising Jesus from the dead (v.30).⦁ Paul points out that Jesus appeared to his disciples for many days and these disciples are now witnesses of his resurrection (v.31).⦁ Paul quotes from the Psalms and Isaiah to validate his point that Jesus is the promised, resurrected Messiah (vv.33-37).⦁ Paul explains that God’s purpose in this was to provide forgiveness and release from sins (vv.38-39).⦁ Paul warns them about rejecting his message with a verse from Habakkuk (v.40-41).  The sermon at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22-31).⦁ Paul begins by complimenting the Athenians for being religious (v.22).⦁ Paul draws everyone’s attention to the altar of the unknown god (v.23).⦁ Paul introduces them to this unknown god: This god is different. He does not live in shrines because he is the Lord of heaven and earth. In addition, humans are not the ones who care for him; God is the one who cares for all humans (vv.24-25).⦁ Paul explains that this God made all the peoples of the earth from one ancestor. In addition, God is near to everyone; and he puts people in specific locations on the earth so that they will seek for him and find him (v.27).⦁ Paul supports his argument by quoting verses from Greek poetry (v.28). The first is from Cretica by Epimenides of Crete and the second is from Phainomena by Aratus.⦁ Paul explains since God made human beings we ought not to think that humans can make this God out of silver or gold (v.29).⦁ Paul explains that God now expects humans to turn to him (v.30).⦁ Paul warns his Athenian listeners that God has fixed a time when a man will judge the world (v.31).⦁ Paul says that God confirmed his appointment of this man as judge by raising him from the dead (v.31). 

What do people need to know in order to follow Jesus? We tend to answer that question in one of two ways. Last episode, we talked about the first way, knowing and agreeing with specific ideas. This episode we will talk about second way: that people need to know just enough about Jesus that they want to follow him. Once they start to follow him, they will begin a lifelong journey of coming to experience and understand the riches of who Jesus is and of being alive in him.

What do people need to know in order to follow Jesus? We tend to answer that question in one of two ways. This episode will discuss the first way, which is based on the assumption that people need to know and agree with specific theological content before they can become true followers of Jesus.

What is the Engel Scale?  A primer here from Wikipeida - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engel_scale

Building a bridge to others also requires us to have a bridge to Jesus. How can we build that bridge?

How can we be sensitive, and find the right way to be effective in considering the emotions of others?

The calling to authenticity shapes the way we serve. The calling to integration begins with allowing Jesus to shape every aspect of our lives.

We need to be shaped by Christ in our approach to frontier missions. Two key theological points to consider, first, the presence of God and second, God's active involvement in the world.

If you are like most believers, you learned about Jesus primarily through a relationship with one of his followers.  What would have happened if you had never met that person?  Sadly, more that one quarter of the world's population find themselves in this situation.  They have no one they can ask about Jesus.  There are many barriers to overcome to be able to build those relationships.  How can we overcome these deeply embedded barriers of suspicion and mistrust?

What is contextualization, and how do we do it?

Dr. Ralph Winter’s 1974 address shaped a lot of the modern American frontier paradigms.  https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.frontierventures.org/pdf/TheHighestPriority.pdf  A followup by R.W. Lewis from 2018 about clarifying what the Frontiers are now, https://joshuaproject.net/assets/media/articles/ijfm_35_4-lewis.pdf