Editor’s note: This issue contains the final uniform lesson for the 2017-2018 International Sunday School calendar. And, it marks Jim Brashler’s last regular lesson in the Outlook. Jim has been sharing insights on the Scriptures for over seven years, and we are incredibly grateful for his time, talents and energies that have brought these lessons to life. Starting with the next issue, the 2018-2019 lesson commentaries will be written by Suzi Park and Richard Boyce. UNIFORM LESSON FOR August 26, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Colossians 3:5-17 Do you think it is possible for people to be so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good? That was the judgment of a former colleague of mine with whom I stocked grocery store shelves and built displays of produce. He was a very practical person who doubted the sincerity of people who wore their piety on their sleeves. In his opinion, “church people” spent a lot of time praying and going to church meetings and that was … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR August 19, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Romans 12:9-21 Christian theologians are challenged to connect their theology to the lived experience of believers. We should all be grateful for the many pastors and teachers whose ability to bridge the distance between theological reflection and the realities of daily life help the followers of Jesus lead lives of faithful discipleship. The cynical comment that theologians go down the deepest and come up the muddiest reflects an all-too-common attitude of pragmatic activists who prefer doing to thinking. Even the followers of John Calvin are not exempt from the temptation to minimize the theological basis for ministry. That theological base must be connected to the real world in which believers live every day. No book in the Bible is more explicitly theological than the epistle to the Romans. Its first 11 chapters contain Paul’s most profound theological principles. That is why the first verse of chapter … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR August 12, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Most people are familiar with fundraising letters that have been carefully crafted to persuade the persons who receive them to make a donation. Professional fundraisers know that no matter how sophisticated their donor research has been, only a small percentage of those letters will result in a gift. Therefore, they typically send thousands of requests for money in the hope of meeting their goal. Political fundraisers send written appeals and numerous email requests for financial support. Churches also depend on contributions they solicit from faithful members. By basing their appeal on a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the congregation, they get a much higher positive response than the mass mailings aimed at the general public. The results of the annual stewardship drive are eagerly awaited by the budget committee and the leaders of the … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR August 5, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Romans 2:1-16 The focus of our Bible study shifts from passages in the Gospels about the justice Jesus taught to the justice the apostle Paul describes in his letter to the Romans. That letter is reliably dated to 55 or 56 A.D., approximately 25 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus but 25-35 years before the Gospels were written. Understanding the letters of Paul nearly 2,000 years after they were written is a challenging task. Paul, a Pharisaic Jew whose allegiance to Jesus came about as the result of a life-redirecting encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the Damascus road, wrote theologically profound but also very practical letters to new congregations that were inventing what would develop into Christianity. The letter to the Romans was written to a congregation Paul had not established but hoped to visit. It constitutes a carefully argued statement of the gospel Paul preached for some 20 … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR July 29, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 14:15-24 What is more festive and a source of happy memories than a gathering for a celebratory meal? Perhaps it was at grandpa and grandma’s house, or it might have been a family reunion picnic in the park, or it could have been a backyard barbeque with relatives and neighbors. Does your family photo album preserve the memories of such happy occasions? Gatherings for a shared meal (although not always festive occasions) play a prominent role in the Gospel of Luke. Luke records three times when Jesus attends a dinner party in the home of a Pharisee (Luke 7:36;11:37;14:1). Jesus joins his newest disciple Levi and his tax collector friends for dinner (Luke 5:29). Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 people (Luke 9:16-17). Jesus celebrates a Passover meal and institutes the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:14-20). And in Luke 24, Jesus shares a meal with the Emmaus travelers and enjoys a fish supper on the beach with his … [Read more...]

UNIFORM LESSON FOR July 22, 2018 Scripture passage and lesson focus: Luke 13:22-30 For many people in American society, “getting in” is highly desirable and often says something important about our identity. The comedian Groucho Marx reportedly said, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept a person like me.” On the other hand, many people are eager to get accepted into organizations or communities that reflect their personal values or aspirations. Getting a house or an apartment in the “right” neighborhood or joining the most desirable civic organization can be important for some people. For others, getting accepted into the membership of a socially prominent church, synagogue or mosque is desirable. For a different group, getting into the esteemed country club is a goal. Getting into the most desirable college or university often consumes the efforts of many 17- and 18-year-olds and their parents. And that may only be the first step, because getting into the … [Read more...]