|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
| Ask students to turn to Matthew 5:38-48 (they may have located this passage in the previous activity already.) Ask students to go to the dartboard, remove their paper, and place it in their Bible at the Matthew passage. Ask students to go through the passage, quietly on their own, and substitute their person’s name for each word in the passage that refers to an enemy, such as “evildoer,” “ anyone,” “ enemy,” or “unrighteous.” RESPOND (5–7 minutes) Play the CD. Ask students to think about what God might be calling them to do that is pro-active in relationship to the person named on their card. They should refer to the Bible text—it makes some strong suggestions about how to be pro-active. Ask them to write down what God is saying to them. Encourage students to take their card home and follow through. Close with a prayer, naming each student one at a time, and asking God to give them strength and courage to follow through on what they wrote on their cards. INSIGHTS FROM THE SCRIPTURE: The story of the prophet Elisha releasing the prisoners with a meal is one of great mercy. It has the enemy—the Arameans—coming to capture Elisha because he’d been “snitching;” to Israel about the Arameans’ strategy in fighting Israel. In the midst of coming to capture Elisha, the raiding party is blinded by the prayer of the prophet. The word for blindness used here is only used one other time in the Bible (Genesis 19:11). The definition is unknown, but both uses of the term involve a spectacular or miraculous act (1), and both are used for deliverance from danger. When Elisha tells the army they are at the wrong city, and leads them to Samaria, the story shows that the army was more deceived than blinded. When Elisha shows up in Samaria, leading the enemy into the king of Israel’s hands, the king is naturally quite overjoyed. He’s ready to kill them, and asks Elisha if that’s what he should do. Continued... |
|||||||||
| Back |
Page 5 of 6
|
||||||||
