Animate:faith – Salvation: Abundant Life Now

Session 4

Remember the Agreements for Respectful Conversations: Speak only for yourself; Practice Respect; Be Brief - allow everyone to participate; Listen Carefully; Respect Confidentiality; Allow people to pass if they want

Opening Conversation Starter

Check out the image to the right: • Share and experience when you have heard a conversation like this one? • What have you heard about the word “Salvation?” What does that word mean to you and your life? • What ideas about Salvation are you sure about and what are those that your not so sure about?

There are those Christians that believe they know the exact pathway or formula to Salvation – there are other Christians that are not so sure….Martin Luther was one that was not so sure about an “exact path” or formula to Salvation. Martin Luther was fond of offering the question, “how do you know that (a) you believe enough, (b) your belief is sincere, (c) you are contrite enough, (d) your motivations are pure enough, etc.

• Spend some time in your group talking about your understanding of the Christian idea of Salvation. Are you aware of different thoughts about Salvation within the Church of Jesus?

Read the following The Story of Paul and Silas in Prison: Have one person read Acts 16:16-40 – then have another person re-read Acts 16:28-31

DISCUSS

•What is the Jailor seeking, asking for? •When will he get it? • Will this conversation that he has had matter to him when he gets up tomorrow morning? Why or why not? Should it? How? • What about this man’s “household?” Do they get a choice in the matter – why or why not?

Salvation is not an easily definable concept. It is not something that we can touch, see or measure

•How would you describe Salvation to someone? Are there images that you like to use? •How would you describe Salvation moments in your life? Do you feel that you have had them? •What do those moments suggest about what you believe it means or, even, doesn't mean to “be saved?”

(Watch Video)

DISCUSS

•How does Shane picture Salvation? •Where does Shane see Salvation happening? • How does Shane’s ideas about Salvation interplay with your own beliefs • What was the Philippian Jailor seeking? What do those yet outside the Church seek?

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Shane talked about “knots” in his life. His former career was as a pitch man for Guinness and Porsche as a marketing professional.

Discussion – Choose what interests your group to talk about • What role do you think God played in untying the knots in Shane’s life and how do you feel that led to a change in his career? Is a career change

necessary to evidence God’s work in our lives?

• What are some of the good things that you have given up to be here in this group – and (knowing that) why do feel you desire to be a part of this group?

In the video, Shane invites people to rethink the Salvation of God. There are popular stereotypes of preachers offering Salvation – always for a price. There are some pretty negative and, in some cases, well-deserved attitudes about how the Christian Church deals with the notion of Salvation. Maybe you – at some point in your life have bumped up against some of these attitudes.

DISCUSS • What are some of the positive and negative affects of the popular teachings about Salvation? • How well does the illustration to the right line up with some typical views about Salvation –

if you were to take a whack at the “Salvation” carnival game, how far would the dinger rise? • How do passages like James 2:14-26 challenge the stereotypes about Salvation?

Look up Luke 19:1-11 – the Story of Zacchaeus. Read this story in your group – maybe more than once if you need to.

DISCUSS • Does Salvation come up in this story? • When does Salvation start to happen in the story? • Do you think that Salvation came to Zacchaeus because he changed a behavior or a practice or offered restitution to

those he had cheated? • What is the result of the Salvation that has come to Zacchaeus? Is it just something that he “gets” or are there wider implications?

Share your results if you would like to with the group. Theologians, writers and Christians of all stripes have spent centuries trying to unravel the complexities of the term “Salvation.” For some it is a reward for “right beliefs.” For other’s it is what you get for doing more “good” stuff than “bad” stuff. Still others see Salvation as the result of making a right decision before one dies. None of these are outside of the core of Christian doctrine and non of them capture the totality of what Salvation is.

(10min) The illustration below shares with us Jesus’ stated purpose form Isaiah 61 which he quotes in Luke 4 (see bottom rt of the picture). The word “Salvation” is not used but the message offered in Isaiah 61 contrasts the “after death” fixation on Salvation with what Jesus brings to the world…

• What does this maze image speak to you about some of the common beliefs about Salvation? • What does Salvation “in this life” look like and feel like to you (in contrast to a reward you get after death) • What are some of the God moments in your life where you feel like these could be part of Salvation – the opportunity to experience the presence of God? • What are some of the downfalls of experiencing Salvation as something that we are rewarded with after we die?

The maze on the previous page is full of dead ends – many times when we are searching for Salvation – we do hit dead ends in our experience and in our theology. When Jesus explains Salvation, in his quoting of Isaiah 61, he describes his saving work and offers 5 ways to “work out” (cf Philippians 2:12b) our Salvation in the here and now – good news to the poor, release to the captive, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, the Jubilee1 year for everyone.

• How do these matter or not matter to you? • Should these conditions be read literally or spiritually or theologically or all of the above? Why? • Do you see yourself in any of these conditions? • How do these five things that Jesus said the Messiah will do matter to you and the folks of Resurrection? • Does it feel like Jesus is describing other people or You? Why

The following passages represent “Salvation Scenes” in the Gospels – pick one of these and talk about it in your group. Where do you see Salvation here – do you see it at all?

• Jesus and the Samaritan Woman (John 4:25ff) “The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ 26Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ 28Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’

• The Women caught in Adultry (John 8:10-11) “0Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ 11She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’”

• Jesus describing new bith to Nicodemus (John 3:1-10) “5Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ 9Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’”

• Jesus retracing the steps of Peter’s three denials asking him three times if Peter loves him (John 21:15-19) “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ 17He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

In the Old Testament – there are many references to Salvation2. These are Pre-Jesus and Pre-Salvation3 belief. Pick one of the following to talk about in your group

Exodus 15:2 2 Chronicles 6:4 Psalm 27:1 Psalm 62:5-6

DISCUSS • What did Salvation mean in the passage that you chose? • Compare the OT idea of Salvation in your passage to Salvation as it appears in Luke 1:77, Acts 13:47 and Romans 1:16? • What is the meaning of Salvation in the NT passages?

                                                                                                               1  According to the law of Moses (Lev 25) every 50th year slaves are freed, debts forgiven, land returned  2  2/3 of the Salvation references in Scripture come from the OT. The Psalms contain over 50!  3  Some scholars claim that belief in the afterlife is a teaching that developed late in Jewish history. It is true that the Torah emphasizes immediate, concrete, physical rewards and punishments rather than abstract future ones. See, for example, Lev. 26:3-9 and Deut. 11:13-15. However the Torah is also full of references to being “gathered to the people” See Gen. 25:8 (Abraham), 25:17 (Ishmael), 35:29 (Isaac), 49:33 (Jacob), Deut. 32:50 (Moses and Aaron) II Kings 22:20 (King Josiah).  

The Prayer that Jesus teaches us to pray says, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done - on earth as it is in heaven.”

DISCUSS • What does that mean for you? • When you think of Salvation – do you think of it in terms of being freed from something or freed for something? Is there a difference? • How does your thoughts about Salvation affect or influence the decisions that you make as you live your life in the here and now? Does it have any

influence at all? • Many Christians hold that Salvation is essentially the key to a good afterlife – Shane presents a view that gives very little attention to the afterlife and even

subordinates it to Salvation in this life. How does Shane’s ideas of Salvation resonate with you? How do you feel about thoughts of Salvation in the here and now?4

Many Evangelicals have used clocks very differently that Shane does: to count down the amount of time that we have left to make a decision that will impact the eternity of the afterlife – make the right decision is good, make the wrong decision is bad!! In other words decision now – consequences later….Paul’s words in Romans lend themselves to this (Romans 13:11-12).

• Choose one of the following to read in your group 2 Corinthians 6:1-3 Ephesians 5:15,16 1 Peter 4:7-11 1 John 2:15-17

DISCUSS • How does the passage that you read link up time with Salvation? • In what ways do you feel inspired to do something with your Salvation in the here and now?

Next week our Animated Conversation will be on the topic of “The Cross:Where God Is”

with our guest Theological Expert the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber

                                                                                                               4  Shane’s idea resonates with what Jesus says about the The Kingdom of God cf. Luke 17:20-21. Elsewhere (Mark 13:13, and Matthew 25:31, 46) Jesus clearly references eternal life after Jesus comes again.