June 2010
Blessed are those who are generous,
because they feed the poor.
Proverbs 22:9 NLT
Saturday Gather
Noon Grace
Eat
Review of rules and expectations, behaviors, etc
Session #1
1:30 Car Wash
4:00 Music
Session #2
Play Time
Session #3
Quiet Games & writing letters
Session #4
Music
Session #5
“Camp fire” and stories
Sleep
Sunday Session #6
9:00 Part for separate church services
9:30 Sunday school
10:30 Worship
Communion
Sharing with congregation about famine
After EAT!!!
Worship
Session #1 – B Attitudes
The Holy Spirit led me to our verse this year, Proverbs 22:9. Let’s hear it from a couple other versions.
NLT – Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.
KJ – He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
NKJ – He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.
NIV – A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
NRS – Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.
Any verse stand out to you, or you particularly don’t like?
Does this verse make you think of any other verses? Sure, the Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount found in Luke 6:1-26 – let’s turn there now.
Possible review of page 1537 in Life Application Study Bible, especially what Blessed really means in 5:3-12 (2).
Session #2 – Hunger in the New Testament
Does the bible ever tell us if Jesus was hungry? Sure!
Luke 4:1-2 – Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry.
Mark 3:20 – Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and his disciples were not even able to eat. (and again, not first time it happened)
Mark 11:12 – The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit.
His disciples?
Matt. 12:1 – At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.
Mark 6:31 – Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat…..
Paul?
Philippians 4:12 – I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
1 Corinthians 4:11 – To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
Last Supper –
Matt 26:20 – one of last acts with all 12 disciples was to eat together.
Session #3 – Hunger in the Old Testament
Isaiah 49:10 – They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.
1 Kings 17:6 – The ravens brought him (Elijah) bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1 Kings 17:15b – So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.
Genesis 41: 53-57 – Joseph and famine.
2 Kings 4:42-44 – A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
“How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says; ‘They will eat and have some left over.’”
Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
Gen. 2:16 – And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
(for when you eat of it – God already knew that they would eat of it)
Psm. 107:9 – fills hungry w/good things.
Deut. 24:14-15 – Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
Read note on page 282 under 24:10-22.
Session #4 – Jesus Meets Needs
Luke 9:15 & John 6:12 -5,000 fed
Mark 8:1-10 – 4,000 fed
John 2 – water into wine
John 6:35 – Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder He called Himself the bread of life.
But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life.
Matt. 11:4-6 – Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’”
John 14:6 – Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus says He is the only way to God the Father. Some people may argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it.
Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should be saying, “Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!”
Session #5 – What are we to do?
Matt. 25:31-40 ends with, “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
1 Tim 5:3-5 – Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.
And the note on page 2040
Acts 6:1 – widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Galatians 2:10 – All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
The need for believers to care for the poor is a constant theme in Scripture. But often we do nothing, caught up in meeting our own needs and desires. Perhaps we don’t see enough poverty to remember the needs of the poor. The world is filled with poor people, here and in other countries. What can we do to help?
Prov. 14:31 – He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
God has a special concern for the poor. He insists that people who have material goods should be generous with those who are needy. Providing for the poor is not just a suggestion in the Bible; it is a command that may require a change of attitude.
Session #6 – How do we do it?
Revelation 7:16 – Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon the, nor any scorching heat.
One of the 24 elders is speaking to John here. He is speaking of the ones clothed in white, who died in the great tribulation.
The entire passage is:
“That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
and serve Him day and night in His Temple.
And He who sits on the throne
will give them shelter.
They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
For the Lamb on the throne
will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
James 2:5-6a – Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have insulted the poor.
When James speaks about the poor, he is talking about those who have no money and also about those whose simple values are despised by much of our affluent society. Perhaps the “poor” people prefer serving to managing, human relationships to financial security, peace to power.
This does not mean that the poor will automatically go to heaven and the rich to hell. Poor people, however, are usually more aware of their powerlessness. Thus it is often easier for them to acknowledge their need for salvation.
One of the greatest barriers to salvation for the rich is pride. For the poor, bitterness can often bar the way to acceptance of salvation.
Lev. 19:9-10 – When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.
God instructed the Hebrews to provide for those in need. He required that the people leave the edges of their fields unharvested, providing food for travelers and the poor. It is easy to ignore the poor or forget about those who have less than we do. But God desires generosity. In what ways can you leave the ‘edges of your field’ for those in need?
What Bible woman gleaned from the fields? Ruth in Ruth 2.
Here are eight common excuses for not helping the poor and needy;
1) They don’t deserve help. They got themselves into poverty; let them get themselves out.
2) God’s call to help the poor applies to another time.
3) We don’t know any people like this.
4) I have my own needs.
5) Any money I give will be wasted, stolen, or spent. The poor will never see it.
6) I may become a victim myself.
7) I don’t know where to start, and I don’t have time.
8 ) My little bit won’t make any difference.
Instead of making lame excuses, ask what can be done to help. Does your church have programs to help the needy? Could you volunteer to work with a community group that fights poverty? As one individual, you may not be able to accomplish much, but join up with similarly motivated people and watch mountains begin to move.
Reference: The Life Application Bible