COLD AS ICE
A STUDY ON FROZEN RELATIONSHIPS: DAVID & MICHAL
INTRO: Icebreaker #3: “Barrow, Alaska, Coldest Place in America.” It is available online at fbclsl.org, click on Bible Studies and click on Ice Breakers.
Transition: Now that we have discussed some details about the coldest place in USA, let’s transition to some of the coldest events in the Bible.
I. BIBLE VERSE: 2 Samuel 6:20-23
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
And of Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
Recall: This event, the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant home to Israel, had probably been the highlight of David’s life up to this point. Sure, he was a bit flamboyant in his celebration, being so pumped that he was unable to even realize that his own clothes had fallen off, but this was the Super Bowl, and his team just won! And then…he runs into his wife. Are you beginning to get the picture?
The Papez Translation:
A. When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today,
PT: “Buddy, you sure made an idiot out of me today. You’re so-called celebration was stupid, and my family’s name and good reputation is thoroughly embarrassed. And you call yourself a king!”
B. disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
PT: “And to make matters, you exposed yourself to lowly, small, unimportant peasant people. You make me sick.”
C. David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD.
PT: “Wife, I don’t really care what you think. I am theologically correct (notice the scripture reference during a heated exchange, not always with the best motives when this is done by the way). But more importantly, God put me in charge. Not you. Not your father. I am in charge. And I will celebrate regardless of what you think.”
D. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.
PT: “What’s more, is I am not done. If you think that I have somehow screwed up, you haven’t seen nothing yet. I will screw up more, and more, and more, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
E. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
PT: “And about those lowly peasants you talked about…they were impressed.”
F. And of Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
PT: The result of this cold exchange of words, left their relationship empty, and without intimacy. Probably for the rest of their lives.
*Note: there can be an obvious number of different interpretations here. Because the specific topic is cold relationships, it is used in that manner here. This verse can also be used more positively in describing David a man loyal to God in the face of even family adversity. But because the result is a permanently cold relationship, the communication can only be described as something less than desirable.
II. BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 24:10-12
At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
This relationship is NOT between David & Michal, or _______________, but between Us & God. How are we measuring up? Or are we…COLD.
A. Turn Away From Faith.
Article discussing the new “fall away” problem with our current generation (portions underlined will be the stressed sections):
A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity
September 24, 2007
“(Ventura, CA) - As the nation’s culture changes in diverse ways, one of the most significant shifts is the declining reputation of Christianity, especially among young Americans. A new study by The Barna Group conducted among 16- to 29-year-olds shows that a new generation is more skeptical of and resistant to Christianity than were people of the same age just a decade ago.
The study of Christianity’s slipping image is explored in a new book, entitled unChristian, by David Kinnaman, the president of The Barna Group. The study is a result of collaboration between Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project.
Rising Reactions
The study shows that 16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life. In fact, in just a decade, many of the Barna measures of the Christian image have shifted substantially downward, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment among young people. For instance, a decade ago the vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith, including young people, felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society. Currently, however, just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a "good impression" of Christianity.
One of the groups hit hardest by the criticism is evangelicals. Such believers have always been viewed with skepticism in the broader culture. However, those negative views are crystallizing and intensifying among young non-Christians. The new study shows that only 3% of 16 - to 29-year-old non-Christians express favorable views of evangelicals. This means that today’s young non-Christians are eight times less likely to experience positive associations toward evangelicals than were non-Christians of the Boomer generation (25%).
The research shows that many Christians are innately aware of this shift in people’s perceptions of Christianity: 91% of the nation’s evangelicals believe that "Americans are becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity." Among senior pastors, half contend that "ministry is more difficult than ever before because people are increasingly hostile and negative toward Christianity."
The Set of Perceptions
While Christianity has typically generated an uneven reputation, the research shows that many of the most common critiques are becoming more concentrated. The study explored twenty specific images related to Christianity, including ten favorable and ten unfavorable perceptions. Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions were negative. Common negative perceptions include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78%), and too involved in politics (75%) - representing large proportions of young outsiders who attach these negative labels to Christians. The most common favorable perceptions were that Christianity teaches the same basic ideas as other religions (82%), has good values and principles (76%), is friendly (71%), and is a faith they respect (55%).
Even among young Christians, many of the negative images generated significant traction. Half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political. One-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.
Interestingly, the study discovered a new image that has steadily grown in prominence over the last decade. Today, the most common perception is that present-day Christianity is "anti-homosexual." Overall, 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers say this phrase describes Christianity. As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians oppose homosexuality, they believe that Christians show excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians. One of the most frequent criticisms of young Christians was that they believe the church has made homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else. Moreover, they claim that the church has not helped them apply the biblical teaching on homosexuality to their friendships with gays and lesbians.
The ‘UnChristian’ Label
When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was "Christianity is changed from what it used to be" and "Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus." These comments were the most frequent unprompted images that young people called to mind, mentioned by one-quarter of both young non-Christians (23%) and born again Christians (22%).
Kinnaman explained, "That’s where the term ’unChristian’ came from. Young people are very candid. In our interviews, we kept encountering young people - both those inside the church and outside of it - who said that something was broken in the present-day expression of Christianity. Their perceptions about Christianity were not always accurate, but what surprised me was not only the severity of their frustration with Christians, but also how frequently young born again Christians expressed some of the very same comments as young non-Christians."
Changing Allegiances
One reason that Christianity’s image is changing is due to the shifting faith allegiances of Americans. Simply put, each new generation has a larger share of people who are not Christians (that is, atheists, agnostics, people associated with another faith, or those who have essentially no faith orientation). The new book refers to this group as "outsiders" because they are describing what Christianity looks like from an outsider’s perspective. Among adults over the age of 40, only about one-quarter qualify as outsiders, while among the 16 to 29 segment, two-fifths are outsiders.”
Now, there are some real reasons people are angry with the church in general, I understand that. But to see the church as negative, to see what Christ died for as negative, is unbelievable! And it represents a falling away. The first sign of being COLD.
B. Betray & Hate Each Other.
One of the worst cases of hatred I have ever come across is found in a will written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, "Unto my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, . . . I leave the sum of $1.00 to each and a father’s curse. May their lives be fraught with misery, unhappiness, and poignant sorrow. May their deaths be soon and of a lingering malignant and torturous nature." The last line of the will is so vicious I shudder to quote it. It reads, "May their souls rest in hell and suffer the torments of the condemned for eternity."
C. Deceived by False Prophets.
So I am watching my one of favorite TV shows… CSI Miami. Then just for fun, I click on wikipedia to do some biographies on some the actors/actresses. Then I come across a bio for Eva LaRue (the mole for those who watch the show). And her website is all about this new religion: Bahai.
BAHAI: I could have picked anything: Mormon, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Kabbalah (that’s Madonna’s deal), Scientology, whatever. But here is a new one.
The believers of this religion believe:
• the purpose of life is to know and worship God, to acquire virtues, to promote the oneness of humankind and to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization
• all humanity was created by one God and is part of one human race
• work performed in the spirit of service is a form of worship
• the soul, created at the moment of conception, is destined by God to reach the afterlife, where it will continue to progress until it attains the presence of God
Baha’is practice:
• daily prayer and communion with God
• high moral principles, including trustworthiness, chastity and honesty
• independent investigation of truth
• a life dedicated to the service of humanity
• fellowship with the followers of all religions
• avoidance of excessive materialism, partisan politics, backbiting, alcohol, drugs and gambling
(For more information, read a description of Baha’i laws excerpted from A Short Introduction on the Baha’i Faith, by Dr. Moojan Momen.)
Social principles include:
• the abandonment of all forms of prejudice
• assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with men
• recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truth
• the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth
• the realization of universal education
• the responsibility of each person to independently search for truth
• the establishment of a global commonwealth of nations
• recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge
What the heck? One more stupid thing that could pull believers away from Christ and away from faith.
D. Increase in Wickedness.
Wickedness (By Definition):
1. morally objectionable behavior [syn: evil]
2. absence of moral or spiritual values; "the powers of darkness" [syn: iniquity]
3. the quality of being wicked [syn: nefariousness]
4. estrangement from god [syn: sin]
5. the quality of being disgusting to the senses or emotions; "the vileness of his language surprised us" [syn: loathsomeness]
AIDS Story:
I have been teaching Bible lessons for as long as I can remember. But the worst story I had ever heard of took place years ago. A boy and a girl were in college dating, they were “Christian” and they were waiting. As typical, the boy tried to talk the girl into sex repeatedly, but she stood firm and never gave in. Finally, one night, the boy said to the girl, “I really want to marry, I really want to spend the rest of my life with you, but before I give you the ring, we have to sleep together, I have to know what I am getting into physically.” The girl gave in.
While she was boarding her plane to go home for Christmas break, he gave her a present wrapped up in like a ring box in Christmas wrapping. He broke down giving it to her and said this is the most valuable thing he had ever given anyone, and made her promise not to open it until she was home with her parents. She agreed. But knowing that it was an engagement ring, she opened it on the plane almost immediately after the flight took off. But under the wrapping was not a ring box—there was a miniature wooden coffin. And when she opened that up, their was a message inside. The note read “welcome to the world of AIDS.”
Transition to Part III, and the Conclusion:
Philosophical Evaluation: If A + B = C. Then if A + B + C + D = COLD. Right?
Do the math, are you cold?
III. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 3:15-16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Sources:
bahai.us/core-beliefs
Our Daily Bread, February 18, 1994.
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
NAME: __________________________
COLD AS ICE
A STUDY ON FROZEN RELATIONSHIPS: DAVID & MICHAL
INTRO: BARROW, ALASKA
I. BIBLE VERSE: 2 Samuel 6:20-23
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
And of Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
Non-Official Translation: ________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
II. BIBLE VERSE: Matthew 24:10-12
…many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
A. Turn ______________________ From Faith:
The New Generation of Skeptisicm:
B. Betray & __________________ Each Other:
A Father’s Will:
C. Deceived by False ___________________:
Study of a False Religion (_________________):
D. Increase in _________________________:
The Final Story:
III. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 3:15-16
I know your deeds, that you are neither _______________________ nor __________________________. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are __________________________________—neither hot nor cold—I am about to _______________________________________ you out of my mouth.