The Future!
Bible Study
A Faith For All Seasons
A Small Group Bible Study Of Life’s Changes
Object:
"Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever." With those words of the Apostle Paul, we have come full circle. In light of all the changes in our culture, our world, our homes, churches, schools, and families, we cling to that one constant: that God is changeless.
Throughout the course of this study, you have experienced changes, too. Some have had children come or go, others have had job transfers, terminations, or promotions. Maybe you moved into a new home, or bought a new car, or have had an intimate relationship that has come undone. If so, this study has been a sort of "laboratory" for you. Others in your small group have nurtured you through; the studies, hopefully, have provided you with provocative questions to ponder, and of course, you have learned firsthand -- again! -- that God is only a prayer away. In the midst of the change, you have been surrounded by God's Spirit, God's Word, and God's people.
But what about the future? In this span of months, so much change has happened, so what sort of changes does the future hold? Your small group will likely disband, your focus on "change" will end with this study, but still you will be deeply affected by changes in your life. And in the dark nights of the soul, you will perhaps be afraid of the changes that are to come. My prayer is that you will flashback to this final session, as you ponder the changes that are yet to come, because in this session there is hope! I wish you all the best!
Opening Prayer
God of creation, you know the future and the past; you know our lives intimately. As we consider the future, may we do so with confidence, knowing that wherever we go, and whatever we do, you will be our comfort and our guide. Bless us and keep us, in Jesus' name. Amen.
For Starters
At the end of session seven, you were given a homework assignment: to jot a description of what your life will be like ten years from now. It is total speculation, but your list is likely to be a wonderful mix of goals, dreams, fears, faith, humor, and imagination. Share your descriptions around the group, and have some fun with it!
A Word From Others
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet here, but today is a gift; that's why it's called "the present"!
-- Anonymous
The best way to look at the future is with your back toward it!
-- Pastor Philip Natwick
Any fool can count the seeds inside an apple; only God can count the apples in one seed.
-- Dr. Robert Scheuller
Some people think being a Christian is akin to this; you are stalled in a brutal Minnesota blizzard, and then God arrives in some heavenly tow truck, delivers hot cocoa to you in the cab, and then hauls you to safety. The truth of the matter for Christians is this: We are trapped in a blizzard, and God comes and sits with us in the cab of the truck until the storm passes. That's what it means to be a Christian.
-- Robert Farrar Capon
If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
-- Yogi Berra
Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
-- The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6-7 (GNB)
Getting Personal
Nobody knows the future. Agreed? We might be able to look ahead a day or two and assume what's going to happen, but beyond that, we don't have a clue as to what the future holds. In some ways, that's too bad. If I knew IBM stock was going to soar in value next month, I'd sell my house, take the proceeds, and buy all the "big blue" I could! If I knew for certain that the Twins would win the World Series in October, I'd find a way to get to Las Vegas and put a month's salary on them, but since I do not know these things for sure, it is too great a risk to assume that they will come to pass.
On the other hand, sometimes not knowing the future is best for us. If you knew that you were going to die in eighteen months, your life would likely be miserable. If you knew that your son would grow up to be an addict or a convicted felon, you might choose not to have children. What if you knew you would go into work one day next month and be fired? Knowing the future would negatively affect the present.
You see, life is both a risk and an adventure. There is a certain risk in getting out of bed in the morning, but we usually are willing to take that risk with no guarantees of the future. By the same token, taking that risk is what makes life exciting and fun. Knowing what is around every bend would be boring! Knowing what was going to happen every moment of our lives would become monotonous and dull. Would we really want to know the future?
But Someone does know the future ... every moment of it ... because he created the concept of time. God, in his wisdom, knows what will happen every moment of your life. He knows the joy that is to come, and he knows the sorrow. (Why he doesn't prevent the bad stuff from happening is one of life's greatest mysteries, but we are convinced that he knows it all.) Trusting a God who knows the future ... in fact, holds the future ... is probably one of the greatest sources of comfort to Christian people. God is omni-everything! (They're called "the Omnis": God is omniscient because he is all knowing, omnipotent because he is all powerful, and omnipresent because he is everywhere.) Perhaps the greatest evidence of the omni's Psalm 139.
Looking At Scripture
LORD, You have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions. Even before I speak, you already know what I will say. You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding.
Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother's womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there -- you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. O God, how difficult I find your thoughts; how many of them there are! If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked! How I wish violent men would leave me alone! They say wicked things about you; they speak evil things against your name. O LORD, how I hate those who hate you! How I despise those who rebel against you! I hate them with a total hatred; I regard them as my enemies.
Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.
-- Psalm 139 (GNB)
About The Text
How much do you know about David, the psalmist who penned these words? Perhaps you know that he was Israel's greatest king; from shepherd boy to ruler of God's people in a few short years! He killed Goliath in a single shot. He was a faithful and obedient follower of God, and Jesus came from the lineage of David. But did you know that David was also an adulterer, a murderer, and a liar? He initiated an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. Then he had her husband, Uriah, sent to the front lines in battle, where David knew that Uriah would be killed, and then he lied to cover it up. What a man of contradictions!
But the point David makes in Psalm 139 is that God knew all this about him, and still God guided, and blessed, and journeyed with David over a lifetime. The future ... that "thing" that is always just around the corner ... was as unpredictable for David as it is for us. Had he known what was to come -- both the good and the bad -- he would have shuddered to move forward. But God knew, and he filled David with enough courage to live it out.
Going A Bit Deeper
There are three tremendous truths in this psalm which are worthy of our consideration and discussion. Please take the time to do that now.
Truth Number One
There are no secrets from God! He knows everything that we think, say, and do.
1. If God already knows everything we think, say, and do, why do we need to pray? Why do we need to tell God our sins (confession)? And why do we need to ask God for specific things, if he already knows?
2. Have you ever tried to hide something from your parents? Can you share any of that?
3. This truth illustrates God's unconditional love. Are humans capable of this sort of love for one another?
Truth Number Two
We are never (ever!) out of God's mind.
1. Do you ever feel far away from God? Why is that?
2. Are you -- in fact -- far away from God when you have these feelings?
Truth Number Three
God knows how and when our lives will end ("every day of my life was written in your book before any of them had ever begun").
1. Does this seem like "predestination"? Does that violate your sense of free will?
2. What is the greatest fear you have about the end of your life? (For example, is it in the act of dying, the potential suffering, the concern you have for those you leave behind, or does it have to do with the afterlife?)
3. Why is it significant that our days are recorded in God's "book"? Set aside the concerns you may have had regarding predestination and consider instead, God's interest and love for you. (Do you keep baby books for your children?)
A Closing Thought
Remember "Black Monday"? The stock market dropped that day by 508 points; it was a greater percentage drop than the market slump in 1929 that sent the nation into The Great Depression.
I was serving a congregation in Oregon on Monday, October 19, 1987. On Tuesday, October 20, I received a call from Jim and Heidi (names have been changed to protect their identity), asking me to come to their home that evening. Jim owned a small company that was extremely profitable, and it allowed him and his family to have everything; a beautiful home with acreage and horses, a boat, a mountain home, country club membership. The works! But Jim told me that he was severely marginalized in the market. That means that he was buying stock on credit, with his business as collateral. When the market crashed, the loans came due. Immediately.
That next day, Jim was losing his business, his mountain home, his two cars, and all that he had set aside for his children's education. All gone. Heidi and Jim were in anguish. They were finished. Their livelihood, their reputation in the community, their security, their dreams would all be lost by the next day. Their future was black.
Seven years later, as I prepared to leave Oregon for another congregation, Jim took me aside and reminded me of that terrible night. He said it was the lowest point of his life. He also said it was the turning point in his life! His faith, and Heidi's faith, too, had soared in the seven years since Black Monday. His commitment to his family was renewed, their appreciation for their friends deepened, their love for their church was increased, and their trust in God became the anchor of their lives. All of this happened as a result of this single, tumultuous day.
You see, Jim and Heidi thought the future was secure, but they learned what all of us eventually learn; that life changes. They learned that the future is uncertain, always uncertain. Ironically, the worst thing ever to happen to them became the best thing that ever could have occurred. Because now their future is secure. It's not a cliché, it is truth. For Jim and Heidi, for Marsha and me, and for you, friend, the only certainties in this life are Jesus Christ and change.
Thanks be to God!
Closing Prayer
(Pray this benediction out loud together)
As you go on your way, may Christ go with you
May he go before you to show you the way
May he go behind you to encourage you;
Beside you to befriend you, above you to watch over
Within you to give you peace. Amen.
For Further Reading
Barna, George and Hatch, Mark. Boiling Point. The Barna Group.
Kushner, Harold. When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986.
Throughout the course of this study, you have experienced changes, too. Some have had children come or go, others have had job transfers, terminations, or promotions. Maybe you moved into a new home, or bought a new car, or have had an intimate relationship that has come undone. If so, this study has been a sort of "laboratory" for you. Others in your small group have nurtured you through; the studies, hopefully, have provided you with provocative questions to ponder, and of course, you have learned firsthand -- again! -- that God is only a prayer away. In the midst of the change, you have been surrounded by God's Spirit, God's Word, and God's people.
But what about the future? In this span of months, so much change has happened, so what sort of changes does the future hold? Your small group will likely disband, your focus on "change" will end with this study, but still you will be deeply affected by changes in your life. And in the dark nights of the soul, you will perhaps be afraid of the changes that are to come. My prayer is that you will flashback to this final session, as you ponder the changes that are yet to come, because in this session there is hope! I wish you all the best!
Opening Prayer
God of creation, you know the future and the past; you know our lives intimately. As we consider the future, may we do so with confidence, knowing that wherever we go, and whatever we do, you will be our comfort and our guide. Bless us and keep us, in Jesus' name. Amen.
For Starters
At the end of session seven, you were given a homework assignment: to jot a description of what your life will be like ten years from now. It is total speculation, but your list is likely to be a wonderful mix of goals, dreams, fears, faith, humor, and imagination. Share your descriptions around the group, and have some fun with it!
A Word From Others
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not yet here, but today is a gift; that's why it's called "the present"!
-- Anonymous
The best way to look at the future is with your back toward it!
-- Pastor Philip Natwick
Any fool can count the seeds inside an apple; only God can count the apples in one seed.
-- Dr. Robert Scheuller
Some people think being a Christian is akin to this; you are stalled in a brutal Minnesota blizzard, and then God arrives in some heavenly tow truck, delivers hot cocoa to you in the cab, and then hauls you to safety. The truth of the matter for Christians is this: We are trapped in a blizzard, and God comes and sits with us in the cab of the truck until the storm passes. That's what it means to be a Christian.
-- Robert Farrar Capon
If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
-- Yogi Berra
Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
-- The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6-7 (GNB)
Getting Personal
Nobody knows the future. Agreed? We might be able to look ahead a day or two and assume what's going to happen, but beyond that, we don't have a clue as to what the future holds. In some ways, that's too bad. If I knew IBM stock was going to soar in value next month, I'd sell my house, take the proceeds, and buy all the "big blue" I could! If I knew for certain that the Twins would win the World Series in October, I'd find a way to get to Las Vegas and put a month's salary on them, but since I do not know these things for sure, it is too great a risk to assume that they will come to pass.
On the other hand, sometimes not knowing the future is best for us. If you knew that you were going to die in eighteen months, your life would likely be miserable. If you knew that your son would grow up to be an addict or a convicted felon, you might choose not to have children. What if you knew you would go into work one day next month and be fired? Knowing the future would negatively affect the present.
You see, life is both a risk and an adventure. There is a certain risk in getting out of bed in the morning, but we usually are willing to take that risk with no guarantees of the future. By the same token, taking that risk is what makes life exciting and fun. Knowing what is around every bend would be boring! Knowing what was going to happen every moment of our lives would become monotonous and dull. Would we really want to know the future?
But Someone does know the future ... every moment of it ... because he created the concept of time. God, in his wisdom, knows what will happen every moment of your life. He knows the joy that is to come, and he knows the sorrow. (Why he doesn't prevent the bad stuff from happening is one of life's greatest mysteries, but we are convinced that he knows it all.) Trusting a God who knows the future ... in fact, holds the future ... is probably one of the greatest sources of comfort to Christian people. God is omni-everything! (They're called "the Omnis": God is omniscient because he is all knowing, omnipotent because he is all powerful, and omnipresent because he is everywhere.) Perhaps the greatest evidence of the omni's Psalm 139.
Looking At Scripture
LORD, You have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions. Even before I speak, you already know what I will say. You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding.
Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you.
You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart. When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother's womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there -- you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. O God, how difficult I find your thoughts; how many of them there are! If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked! How I wish violent men would leave me alone! They say wicked things about you; they speak evil things against your name. O LORD, how I hate those who hate you! How I despise those who rebel against you! I hate them with a total hatred; I regard them as my enemies.
Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts. Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.
-- Psalm 139 (GNB)
About The Text
How much do you know about David, the psalmist who penned these words? Perhaps you know that he was Israel's greatest king; from shepherd boy to ruler of God's people in a few short years! He killed Goliath in a single shot. He was a faithful and obedient follower of God, and Jesus came from the lineage of David. But did you know that David was also an adulterer, a murderer, and a liar? He initiated an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. Then he had her husband, Uriah, sent to the front lines in battle, where David knew that Uriah would be killed, and then he lied to cover it up. What a man of contradictions!
But the point David makes in Psalm 139 is that God knew all this about him, and still God guided, and blessed, and journeyed with David over a lifetime. The future ... that "thing" that is always just around the corner ... was as unpredictable for David as it is for us. Had he known what was to come -- both the good and the bad -- he would have shuddered to move forward. But God knew, and he filled David with enough courage to live it out.
Going A Bit Deeper
There are three tremendous truths in this psalm which are worthy of our consideration and discussion. Please take the time to do that now.
Truth Number One
There are no secrets from God! He knows everything that we think, say, and do.
1. If God already knows everything we think, say, and do, why do we need to pray? Why do we need to tell God our sins (confession)? And why do we need to ask God for specific things, if he already knows?
2. Have you ever tried to hide something from your parents? Can you share any of that?
3. This truth illustrates God's unconditional love. Are humans capable of this sort of love for one another?
Truth Number Two
We are never (ever!) out of God's mind.
1. Do you ever feel far away from God? Why is that?
2. Are you -- in fact -- far away from God when you have these feelings?
Truth Number Three
God knows how and when our lives will end ("every day of my life was written in your book before any of them had ever begun").
1. Does this seem like "predestination"? Does that violate your sense of free will?
2. What is the greatest fear you have about the end of your life? (For example, is it in the act of dying, the potential suffering, the concern you have for those you leave behind, or does it have to do with the afterlife?)
3. Why is it significant that our days are recorded in God's "book"? Set aside the concerns you may have had regarding predestination and consider instead, God's interest and love for you. (Do you keep baby books for your children?)
A Closing Thought
Remember "Black Monday"? The stock market dropped that day by 508 points; it was a greater percentage drop than the market slump in 1929 that sent the nation into The Great Depression.
I was serving a congregation in Oregon on Monday, October 19, 1987. On Tuesday, October 20, I received a call from Jim and Heidi (names have been changed to protect their identity), asking me to come to their home that evening. Jim owned a small company that was extremely profitable, and it allowed him and his family to have everything; a beautiful home with acreage and horses, a boat, a mountain home, country club membership. The works! But Jim told me that he was severely marginalized in the market. That means that he was buying stock on credit, with his business as collateral. When the market crashed, the loans came due. Immediately.
That next day, Jim was losing his business, his mountain home, his two cars, and all that he had set aside for his children's education. All gone. Heidi and Jim were in anguish. They were finished. Their livelihood, their reputation in the community, their security, their dreams would all be lost by the next day. Their future was black.
Seven years later, as I prepared to leave Oregon for another congregation, Jim took me aside and reminded me of that terrible night. He said it was the lowest point of his life. He also said it was the turning point in his life! His faith, and Heidi's faith, too, had soared in the seven years since Black Monday. His commitment to his family was renewed, their appreciation for their friends deepened, their love for their church was increased, and their trust in God became the anchor of their lives. All of this happened as a result of this single, tumultuous day.
You see, Jim and Heidi thought the future was secure, but they learned what all of us eventually learn; that life changes. They learned that the future is uncertain, always uncertain. Ironically, the worst thing ever to happen to them became the best thing that ever could have occurred. Because now their future is secure. It's not a cliché, it is truth. For Jim and Heidi, for Marsha and me, and for you, friend, the only certainties in this life are Jesus Christ and change.
Thanks be to God!
Closing Prayer
(Pray this benediction out loud together)
As you go on your way, may Christ go with you
May he go before you to show you the way
May he go behind you to encourage you;
Beside you to befriend you, above you to watch over
Within you to give you peace. Amen.
For Further Reading
Barna, George and Hatch, Mark. Boiling Point. The Barna Group
Kushner, Harold. When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986.
