habakkuk: a midrash [week four]

well, gang - here we are at the end!

as i review the series, i truly believe there is so much to chew on - things that we ought to wrestle with and be shaped by.

in particular, i think of the ideas of...
...salvation rhetoric, that god speaks in a certain voice that recalls his prior promises
...the burden of a prophet, that it can be a heavy thing to carry god's word
...trust in god, in his character and his dominion
...debunking a theology of happiness, without deteriorating into an infatuation with UNhappiness
...the freedom to argue and speak openly to god about our struggles
...giving god the freedom to say 'enough is enough' pipsqueak :)

these issues rarely come up when we engage the new testament, and spending time in habakkuk has given us access to levels of faith i think we would otherwise ignore if we chose only to focus on the didactic bits of paul's letters. truthfully, i'm personally challenged by the text in a way that's more specialized than what's typical.

it's been a very good experience for me, so thanks for participating in it :)

now, for week four, let's try and engage the following things

#1 what does the text of chapter 3 mean after spending almost a month in chapters 1 and 2? do you feel like habakkuk's "response of praise" is more meaningful because of the time we've spent in the bad bits? do you feel like it's a more character-driven response? or, do you feel like he "rolled over" so-to-speak and just tried to placate god? what would you have done at that point? what have you done at similar points?

#2 james armstrong is joining me for wk.4. he's a very different voice than myself, or john, or randy, or ben, or lori - what does he bring to the text that is fresh? how does this "outside" perspective challenge our "westwinds" perspective? in what ways is it healthy for us to hear a totally unfamiliar voice?

#3 would there have been a better response from habakkuk at the end? a more true response? do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing that habakkuk wrote/spoke the whole book publicly - in front of a nation - rather than privately before god? how honest/confident in your words/responses would you feel if you had to do your god-arguing that way?

i'm excited to hear your thoughts!

habbakuk: a midrash [week three]

hi all - hope this posting finds you well!

#1 what movement do you sense through the whole series? do you feel like there is a progression of emotion? of interpretation? do you feel like we're getting deeper into the book each week?

#2 what was your favorite thing that was said this week [p.s. i'll be passing this on to jvo, lori, and ben because these are the best kinds of feedback to receive EVER!]? was there one thing that stuck particularly in your mind? something that "opened a door", so to speak, in your spirit?

#3 is there anything in the text of habakkuk that hasn't yet been brought out in the series that you see represented? is there something you feel like we're missing from the book itself? i.e. when you read the book, are you baffled as to why we haven't yet mentioned ______ ?

#4 what possible application is there to our 21st century lives of the book? how could habakkuk intersect with the lives of ordinary people in our workplaces? our schools? typically, the minor prophets in the ot are not given 4 week's worth of attention in american evangelical churches - why do you think that is? what do you think we as a Church are missing when we leave out these kinds of books and their material from our congregations?

ok - thanks everyone

and don't forget to wish randy, lance, and i luck on our marathon this sunday!!!

habakkuk: a midrash [week two]

hey gang - thanks again for your participation on the sermon review team!

i'd like to hear from you how you're processing the series so far, so help me out by responding thoughtfully to these few questions.

#1 where do you feel the major 'movement' was from week 1 to week 2? did you sense a change or a shift in tone? what did chapter 2.1 bring to the conversation of habakkuk's complaint vs. god in this regard?

#2 how did the idea of salvation rhetoric strike you? does it bother you that god seems to be changing his modus operandi with his people? do you feel like god is being unjust? do you feel like perhaps the people deserved it? does anyone? do we?

#3 in what ways can habakkuk be faith-forming for us? what prayer-life is he modeling? what honesty? can we embrace god in the way he seems to be embracing him early on? do you find that helpful?

#4 what would you hope would be brought out in weeks 3 and 4? there is a significant shift in tone in chapter 3 [which we'll deal with in week 4], but i'm more interested in tensions you might be feeling from the text that haven't yet come out in our conversation?

ok - thanks everyone and have a great week!

p.s. don't forget to pray for randy and i as we do our marathon next sunday - we'll need it :)

habakkuk: a midrash [week one]

hey gang - we're beginning a new series this week that will ultimately take us through the whole book of habakkuk.

in your experience this weekend, i'd love for you to think and reflect on the following questions.

#1 what benefit is there to having a more conversational style of preaching [i.e. having dave/jvo/randy all talk]? in what ways does that reflect a "midrash"? do you think the american church in the 21st century would benefit from an awareness that there is more layers to a text than just the obvious? how so?

#2 what most resonated with you during this week's sermon? was there one point, or maybe a phrase, that stuck with you? do you feel like you "got a window" into the life and times of this prophet and his book? do you feel a little more equipped to understand this part of the bible now?

#3 what crossovers do you see between habakkuk and our series on jeremiah? in addition to them being alive during the same period of time, how do you understand the differences between the two men and their responses to crisis?

ok - that's all for this week. please let me know how you're thinking and processing all of these experiences and feel free to comment about larger god-motivated happenings in your life as well!

cheers,

david