Slavery, Sojourner Truth, and Us Today

In chapter 7, "Wrestling Match", Philip Yancey quotes Sojourner Truth. Her prayer was haunting, so I had to see if it was online. Here is a part of her prayer as she was trying to retrieve her son (who was sold to an out-of-state slaveowner).

'Oh, God, you know how much I am distressed, for I have told you again and again. Now, God, help me get my son. If you were in trouble, as I am, and I could help you, as you can me, think I would n't do it? Yes, God, you know I would do it.'

You can find the quote of her prayer in this chapter of her online biography: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/truth/1850/1850-19.html.
I read the entire biography, located at The Narrative of Sojourner Truth website, trying to locate the quotation. It was so intriguing that I couldn’t stop. Then, when I read in Christianity Today about the movie "Amazing Grace" that’s coming out February 23rd, I decided to get more involved. Click on "The Amazing Change," here or in the linked article to find out about it. Slavery is evil and it is here today. Let’s see what we can do about it.

Prayer Study-Session Four (for 2/4/07)

[See "Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?" icon in the left panel.]

Study Guide for Chapters 6 & 7: “Why Pray” and “Wrestling Match”

In chapters 6 & 7 Philip Yancey raises some of the most common questions about prayer: What should I pray for? How many times? Will one person praying have as much effect as many praying together? Do I just need more faith? What about unanswered prayers? Does prayer really matter? What if I gripe at God?

Fortunately, here and in the rest of the book, he addresses those questions honestly. The study guide for this week helps probe chapters 6 & 7 and helps us formulate our own answers to these perennial questions.

A. A verse to memorize: Prayers by Jesus

Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

B. Book/Bible Study

Chapter 6: “Why Pray?”

1. Yancey’s primary answer to the title question is, “Because Jesus prayed.” List at least three things you can learn about prayer from reading about Jesus’ prayer life.
2. The last paragraph on page 79 lists “three rather large assumptions”. What are they, and how do they influence your attitude toward prayer?
3. Your questions and comments:
   
   

Chapter 7: Wrestling Match”

1. With which of the “God-wrestlers” mentioned in this chapter do you identify?
2. “The opposite of love is ________________”, Yancey says. Do you agree with him on this? Why or why not?
3. Your questions and comments
   

C. Class Discussion

1. How does the “key principle” stated on page 82 fit with your concept of prayer?
2. Your comments

Prayer Study-Session Three (for 1/28/07)

Study Guide for Chapters 4 & 5: “The God Who Is” & “Coming Together”

This is our third session studying “Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?”, by Philip Yancey. These two chapters explore two related questions: Who is God, and how can we connect with Him in a personal relationship? You can get a copy and study with us by clicking on the book’s icon in the left panel.

A. A verse to memorize: Prayer and the Holy Spirit—Romans 8:26 (NIV)

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

B. Book/Bible Study

1. While prayer is universal, concepts of God vary widely. How does one’s practice of prayer reveal his/her concept of God (including what Yancey calls “afterimages”)?
2. What kind of being is the One we call “God”? How do we know?
3. If God is everywhere, unlimited by time and space, how can we detect His presence?
4. According to Yancey, why did Jesus pray?
5. Compare other personal relationships you know of with Yancey’s description of how we can have a personal relationship with God.
6. Explain “My feelings of God’s presence—or God’s absence—are not the presence or the absence.

C. Class Discussion

1. Select one of the 6 questions above that you would like to hear someone else answer.
2. Your questions and comments

Prayer Study-Session Two (1/21/07)

Study Guide for Chapter 3: “Just As We Are”

(If you are new to the study and do not have a book, you can order one by clicking on the icon in the left panel.)

With twenty-two chapters and only thirteen weeks in our study, we will look at two chapters most weeks. This week we will study only one chapter. It is packed with information and challenges. [Correction: last week’s verse to memorize was Mark 9:24, not Luke 9:24.]

A. A verse to memorize: John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

B. Book/Bible Study

1. Yancey describes us “Just As We Are” with six terms. Only two of these are positive virtues. Is this a good way to describe us? Why not use more positive terms?
   
   
2. Which of the six terms (the section headings) comes closest to describing your most common state of mind as you pray?
   
   
3. If God knows us at our core and loves us anyway, why spend so much time on our sin and confession?
   
   
4. Notice the quotation (page 35) from a character in an 1884 novel by Henry Adams: “Why must the church always appeal to my weakness and never to my strength!”
1. Is the church any different now than it was seen in 1884 by that character?
2. How do you respond to this complaint?
3. What would be the result if the church always appealed to our strength and never to our weakness?
4. What do you think of Yancey’s answer to this complaint?
   
   

C. Class Discussion

1. This chapter suggests we come to God in prayer “just as we are”. Recall “Just As I Am” the “invitation hymn” sung at every Billy Graham Crusade. Compare the text of that hymn with the various selections for the “Hymn of Invitation” sung at worship services you’ve attended over the past weeks or months. What is the “invitation” presented in each hymn?
   
   
2. Compare these four items in Chapter 3: (1) the F. Buechner footnote on page 32; (2) “Bearing Secrets” on pages 34-35; (3) the Rilke poem on pages 38-39; and (4) the footnote on page 43 on Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. What do they all have in common? Which speaks best to you?
   
   
3. Your questions and comments.

Prayer Study-Session One

This is the first week of our study of “Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?” by Phillip Yancey. If you still don’t have a copy of the book, you can order one by clicking on the icon on the left panel.

Last week we introduced this study and distributed the books that were ordered. This coming Sunday we will discuss the first two chapters. As noted previously, we will follow an ABC pattern to try to get at the heart of each chapter in our preparation for discussion.

Chapter 1: Our Deepest Longing

A. A verse to memorize (or meditate on): Luke 9:24

B. Book & Bible Study (Outline or summarize the chapter and ponder these questions)

1. Did this chapter whet your appetite for the rest of the book or leave you less interested?
   
   
2. What is your response to the last paragraph of the chapter (on page 17)?
   “If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer. Most of my struggles in the Christian life circle around the same two themes: why doesn’t God act the way we want God to, and why don’t I act the way God wants me to. Prayer is the precise point where those themes converge.”
   
   
3. One of the best features of Yancey’s book is his honesty. He admits that his consistency in prayer and his level of satisfaction both fall short. How would you describe your own experience with prayer?
   
   
4. Your Questions and Comments:
   
   
   

Chapter 2: View From Above
A. A verse to memorize: Psalm 46:10

B. Book & Bible Study: We saw in chapter one that “prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet”. This chapter shows the different perspectives of the two parties who are meeting.

1. Recall your own experience on a mountain (or a tall building). How did you feel looking up from below versus looking down from above?
   
   
2. Picture rivulets of melting snow joining together to form a rushing stream . How can this help you see the flow of God’s love and grace?
   If you want water, how does the “view from above” help you find it?
   
   
3. Meditate on Psalm 46:10. Describe in your own words the two parts of that sentence that are separated by the word “and”.
   

Your Questions and Comments:

Why Learn About Sharia?

Yesterday I posted “Islam—Definitions” with a link to an article about radical Islam. One of the terms to be defined is “sharia”. This link to Sharia In Action shows why it is imperative that we know what Sharia involves; and that we are prepared to stand against those whose goal is to impose Sharia in every country in the world. It’s hard to believe this from PowerLine:

“Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi is an Iranian teenager who was sentenced to be hanged for murder by an Iranian court. I had been unaware of her case until I read about it in the Power Line Forum last night. According to her account, Nazanin was with her sixteen-year-old niece and their two boyfriends when they were approached by three men who tried to rape them. The boyfriends fled, and Nazanin defended herself with a knife she carried in her purse. She stabbed one of the men, who later died. So far, at least, I haven't seen any version of the facts that differs materially from Nazanin's account.

Nazanin was prosecuted for murder and sentenced to hang. The verdict was apparently set aside by an ayatollah, and she is due to be retried tomorrow, January 10.”

Islam--Definitions

A wise professor of mine once said that definitions are the key to mastering any subject. If you can accurately define these terms, you have a very good handle on Islam and who it is that attacked the U.S. on 9/11 (and whom we will be fighting for years to come). If you can’t define more than 25% of these terms, you need to read this article

The War Against Global Jihadism, which is a brief introduction to Islam (and especially to the radical elements of Islam that have declared war against us). [Hat Tip to Hugh Hewitt] Hint: go to the article, and for each term you don’t know, hold down the control key and type F to bring up the “Find” window. Then find each term as it is mentioned in the article. If you still have trouble defining the term, go to http://www.wikipedia.com/ or check our some of the sources listed at the bottom of the article.

1	Islam
2	Muslim
3	Jihad
4	Jihadism
5	Jihadi, jihadist
6	Shia, Shiites
7	Sunni, Sunnites
8	Wahhabism
9	Twelvers
10	Imam
11	Ali
12	Koran, Qur’an
13	Caliph, Caliphate
14	Mahdi
15	Khomeini
16	Sharia, Shariah
17	Golden Age
18	Ottoman Empire
19	Andalusia
20	Sayyid Qutb

Mere Mission and Simply Christian

Mere Mission

N.T. Wright talks about how to present the gospel in a postmodern world.

Interview by Tim Stafford posted 1/05/2007 04:00PM

N.T. Wright is a world-renowned New Testament scholar—author of Jesus and the Victory of God, The Resurrection of the Son of God—and bishop of Durham in the Church of England. He is also a keen observer of culture.

Christianity Today senior writer Tim Stafford caught up with Wright as he drove from meetings at Windsor Castle to his diocese in Durham. They talked about communicating the gospel in a post-Christian society.

Prayer Study-Session One

The Koinonia Class at Calvary Baptist Church in Denver starts its study of “Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?” this Sunday, January 7, 2007. [If you haven’t already ordered a book, you can get one from Amazon.com by clicking on the book’s icon in the left panel.] Those of you who are not in the class, or cannot be present, can still participate by following the study guides I post here and by entering your comments online [by clicking on the word “comments” at the end of each post].

Each week we will follow this basic ABC outline: A verse to memorize (or meditate on if you don’t want to memorize it); Book study (taking either one or two chapters a week); and Class discussion). This week’s guide will serve as a pattern for what is to come.

A. A verse to memorize.

1. Topic: Prayer and Faith. Luke 9:24 “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.’” (Luke 9:24 NIV)
2. To memorize it, break it into pieces and then add pieces one at a time until you can quote the entire verse verbatim. With the verse itself, memorize the topic and the verse reference (quoted before and after the verse to make the reference stick in your mind as well as the verse itself). I typically use the New International Version (NIV). Use whatever translation that you have and like. I recommend using only one translation so you don’t get confused.

B. Book Study.

1. Take a moment to reflect on what you expect out of this study. Do you expect to learn something new, get some questions answered, change your prayer patterns, or . .?
   
   
2. Scan the table of contents. Which of the five parts appeals to you most? Why?
   
   
3. Before you start with the book, jot down any verse about prayer that you know. Don’t be concerned here about verbatim accuracy. Just write down what you remember.
   
   
4. When you think about your own prayer life, what about it is satisfying? What would you like to change?
   
   

C. Class discussion. Bring your own insights and questions to class. Since we won’t have time for all the questions this study elicits, if you have a particularly burning question or insight, post a comment below.