COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS
CONTEXTUAL BIBLE STUDY THEME: COVENANT
Thursday 26 September 2013
TEXTS and QUESTIONS
TEXT 1: GENESIS 9:7-17
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Q |
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Groupwork |
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Initial responses to passage: What jumps off the page?
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3s FB
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Close reading: Name the features / characteristics of the covenant that God is establishing. Complete the phrase: The covenant is….
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FGp
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Theological reflection 1: What does this passage tell us about God’s relationship with a) humanity b) creation?
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Gps FB |
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Theological reflection 2: What does this passage tell us about humanity’s relationship with creation?
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FGp |
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Relating to context of today: Consider the sign of the rainbow. What do rainbows signify for people today? How do people react to them?
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Gps FB |
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Application to context of today: What kind of signs do our churches offer to people today – including in relation to ecological issues?
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FGp |
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Personal / community implications or action: What will you personally take away from this encounter with Scripture and one another?
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3s FB |
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Code for groupwork style: 3s FB working in groups of 3, followed by feedback to the full group Gps FB working in larger groups, followed by feedback to the full group FGp working in a full group |
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TEXT 2: HEBREWS 8:8b-13
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Q |
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Groupwork |
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1 |
Initial responses to passage: What jumps off the page?
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3s FB |
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Close reading: How does the passage describe a) the old covenant b) the new covenant?
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FGp
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Theological reflection: The author of Hebrews quotes a passage from Jeremiah. What teaching points do you think he is trying to make to his readers?
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Gps FB |
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Relating to context of today: What would you say are the points of similarity and of difference between a religious covenant and a modern day contract or agreement?
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FGp |
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Application to context of today: In the light of that discussion, what advice might you offer to churches who are exploring or entering into covenants with one another
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Gps FB |
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Personal / community implications or action: What will you personally take away from this encounter with Scripture and one another?
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3s FB
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Code for groupwork style: 3s FB working in groups of 3, followed by feedback to the full group Gps FB working in larger groups, followed by feedback to the full group FGp working in a full group |
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GENESIS 9:7-17 (New Revised Standard Version)
7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.”
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
Hebrews 8:8b-13 (New Revised Standard Version)
8 God finds fault with them when he says:
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah;
9 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors,
on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
for they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord.
10 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach one another
or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a ‘new covenant’, he has made the first one obsolete. And, what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.