Feb 05 2024
1. Tim talked about Jesus’ symbolic move from the synagogue, which we see unfolding between last week & this week’s scripture passages from Mark 1. Tim talked about understanding this movement as a lesson: the problems in the synagogue are leaking out into the village. No shalom in the synagogue = no shalom in the home…or in the individual (physical) body.
Think about and discuss this idea with the group. How does this baseline idea strike you? As part of your discussion, consider this concept’s application today. If we are paralleling this concept in our lives & world now, what stands in the position of the synagogue? Do home and personal body/self remain in that other position, or is more rearrangement needed? What are some alternate ways of stating this same idea with today in view?
2. One big idea Tim shared was, “God doesn’t promise to fix the world for us. God is trying to fix the world through us and with us.”
What does this mean for us? What’s the difference between relating to and engaging with God with an expectation that God wants to fix the world for us versus an expectation that God wants to fix the world through us and with us?
How do these different baseline understandings & expectations show up in the different ways we engage with and relate to God directly?
What’s practically different for an individual person engaging with God under one idea versus the other? What’s different for a group or community?
How do the words we use in prayer, in worship, in discussion, and study shift moving under one idea or the the other?
3. Tim talked about the Greek word “daimon,” which is often translated into English as “demon.” He suggested a different modern concept might be a good word to use instead: ideology. He said, “Jesus seems to want us to participate in naming our ideologies and casting them out.”
Take some time as a group to do just that. What are some of the “daimons” you might name as ongoing struggles both in yourself and in communities to which you contribute?
As you think through some of ideologies and daimons that you see most impacting you and others today, consider, too, Tim’s teaching that along with an invitation to name these daimons, we’re also given the power & authority to finally deal with them. What surfaces for you in response to this idea?
Considering that “Jesus charged his followers to take responsibility for the peace of our world,” which daimons seem like the priorities to you? Why? Which do you feel like you have the most ability to impact right now in your life and world?