Needed a worship feature for Sunday's service, making the point that we need to listen to God instead of just talk to God.  Here's a dialogue we developed.  Hope you can use it sometime.  (God's part would be an off-stage voice.) 

 

 

Aren't You Listening to me, God?

 

 

Person:     Lord, you know I've been praying a lot lately, telling you what's going on in my life and what I need from you in order to fix everything.

 

God:        Let me tell you how I see things.

 

Person:     I have to admit that sometimes I feel that you just aren't even paying attention, God.

 

God:        I care so much about you and about the world.  My greatest desire is to see each person come to know me and follow me with all his heart.

 

Person:     I don't mean to be critical, but sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a wall.  You never seem to do the things I ask you to do. 

 

God:        My purpose is not just to satisfy your every desire and make you comfortable.  In fact, I have found that you grow more when you are somewhat uncomfortable.

 

Person:     I might as well have just kept all this to myself, or talked to somebody human who might have stepped up and done something about the situation. 

 

God:        There are things that I want you to do.  There are people I want you to help, needs I want you to fill.  But lately you are so consumed with your own situation and problems that you don't see the hurting people around  you.

 

Person:     Aren't you listening to me, God?

 

God:        Aren't you listening to me, child?

 

Person:     If you are God, it would seem that you would be aware of what is going on in my life and that you would do something about it.

 

God:        If you are my child, it would seem that you would be aware of what I am doing in the world and find a way to join me in my work.

 

Person:     Do you have nothing to say for yourself, God?  Why are you so silent?

 

God:        Why are you so deaf?  Why can you not hear me when I speak to you through my Word, when I speak to you through your circumstances, when I speak to you through the people I put in front of your face?

 

Person:     I remember a time when you used to speak to me.  You spoke to me clearly.  I knew exactly what you were saying.

 

God:        And what was different about those days?

 

Person:     Things were better then.  I didn't have this problem I'm facing now.  I was able to give more attention to just listening to you and serving you.  But now I can't hear you at all.  I assumed you weren't talking to me.  But maybe your voice is being drowned out by all the thoughts and feelings that are whirling around in my head because of what is going on in my life.

 

God:        I want you to know that I am right there with you in what you are going through.  But if your problems are the most important thing in your life, then that means that  I  can't be the most important thing in your life.

 

Person:     Now that I think about it, if my problems are the most important thing in my life, then God cannot be the most important thing in my life.  I've got it backwards somehow.

 

God:        Return to me, and I will return to you.

 

Person:     If I will turn back to God, then He will turn back to me.  I've seen it happen before.  God is just waiting for me to give Him the priority He deserves.

 

God:        That doesn't mean I will fix all of your problems.  But I will give you guidance, comfort and encouragement through them.  I will be with you always.

 

Person:     That doesn't mean necessarily that God will fix my problem, but the important thing is that He will be with me in the middle of it, comforting me, encouraging me, guiding me.

 

God:        These problems of life are nothing compared to the eternity which I have given to  you.  Focus on the eternal and these earthly problems will come into perspective.

 

Person:     What is going on in my life is very important, yes, but only for this life.  God will see me through this somehow.  I need to keep my focus on the fact that I'm going to live forever and I need to live like that right now.  Then my personal problems won't seem so important.  There is work to be done.  Kingdom work.

 

God:        It seems that now you are listening to me again.

 

Person:     Thank you, Father, for listening to me . . . and for talking to me . . . and for helping me begin listening to you.

 

 

Most adult teachers want to use creative teaching activities that involve learners in Bible study.  But some passages seem hard to approach.

For example, Psalm 135 is a great passage, but you may have trouble thinking of creative ways to get your students to dig into it.  I spent several hours studying Psalm 135 before I wrote a single line of the Teacher's Toolbox lesson plan for that passage.

Of course the most important thing is to pray, asking God to give insight into how to bring this passage alive to the class, how to make it "exciting Bible study" for them.  It is only as God opens our minds that any of us can effectively teach other adults.  Prayer is the basis of every Daily Prep and Teacher's Toolbox I prepare.

Ultimately God gave me some ways to approach Psalm 135.  In the Teacher's Toolbox, I suggest getting their interest with a brainstorming activity on greatness.  Then guide them through a word study on what "hallelu Yah" means, ending up with the class reading some verses of Psalm 135 but substituting "hallel" for "praise" and "Yah" for "the Lord."  Follow that with small groups discussing different reasons for praising God: He chose me, He rescued me, He established me, etc.  The final application activity has learners writing their own "Hallelujah Psalm" and sharing it with the class.

Every passage in the Bible offers opportunity for exciting Bible study, but we've got to use the right tools to open that door.

In Mark 8-10 Jesus taught His followers what real discipleship involves.  Read those chapters.  Then ask yourself, "How's my discipleship?"  Here are some checkpoints.  

•  I deny myself, turning away from self-centered living.
•  I have taken up my cross, having given my life com­pletely to Jesus.
•  I am following Jesus, letting Him be my guide through life.
•  I am gladly losing my life for Jesus and the gospel, investing my time, energy and resources in God's King­dom.
•  I am unashamed of Jesus and His word and I refuse to keep quiet about Jesus to gain people's approval.
•  I want to be very last, putting the needs of all others above my own.
•  I want to be the servant of all and devote myself to meeting the needs of others.
•  I am childlike, unpretentious.

 

(from an activity in Teacher's Toolbox)

Psalm 9 pictures God as a powerful, sovereign judge sitting on His throne high above the world, having total control over what is happening beneath Him.  Read through that psalm, visualizing God on His heavenly throne.

 

You may also want to read Psalm 11:4-7; Psalm 47:8; and Psalm 2:1-6.

 

Sometimes we forget that God is the ultimate King, the ultimate Judge.  He can overrule the decisions of men and change our situations and circumstances.  That is why we need His help.  That is why we must depend upon Him rather than trying to handle life on our own.

The next time you celebrate the Lord's Supper, think of this phrase: "flesh and blood."

 

Flesh and blood.  That's what Jesus took on in order to come to earth to save us. 

 

Flesh and blood.  That's what Jesus sacrificed on the cross to pay for our sin.

 

Flesh and blood.  That's what we are called to give so that others, too, may come to know Jesus.

 

Have you ever wondered why we send missionaries around the world instead of just sending Bibles, instead of just shipping copies of the Jesus video, instead of just sending money to believers who already live there, instead of just sending emails and blogs and television ads talking about Jesus?

 

The reason we send missionaries around the world is because people need flesh and blood.  Although certainly a person can become a believer simply through reading Scripture, most people come to faith in Christ after they have met someone else who is already a Christian.  They have seen someone seeking to live the Christian life, they have been touched by someone who cares because Jesus cares, they have experienced the love of Jesus through the actions of a human being who is letting the love of Jesus flow through them.

 

Flesh and blood.  That's what it took for Jesus to save us.  Are you being a "flesh and blood" witness to someone else?