January 09 Growing In Faith Together GIFT Jesus is the Fulfillment of Prophecy – Old Testament Prophets & Prophecies

DAYS OF ELIJAH These are the days of Elijah Declaring the Word of the Lord And these are the days of your servant Moses Righteousness being restored And though these are days of great trials Of famine and darkness and sword Still we are the voice in the desert crying Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

REFRAIN Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds! Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call Lift your voice! It’s the year of Jubilee! And out of Zion’s hills Salvation comes!

Verse 2 And these are the days of Ezekiel The dry bones becoming as flesh And these are the days of your servant David Rebuilding a temple of praise And these are the days of the harvest The fields are as white in the world And we are the laborers in your vineyard Declaring the word of the Lord!

REFRAIN Behold He comes! Riding on the clouds! Shining like the sun! At the trumpet call Lift your voice! It’s the year of Jubilee! And out of Zion’s hills Salvation comes!

Opening Prayer Service Reading #1 / Pause for silent reflection. Leader: We pray in thanksgiving for the manner in which we are wonderfully made. Response: We thank you, O God. Reading #2 / Reflection Leader: We pray in thanksgiving for God’s promise of everlasting life. Response: We thank you, O God.

Opening Prayer Service Reading #3 / Reflection Leader: We pray in thanksgiving for God’s covenant with Abraham and with all peoples. Response: We thank you, O God. Reading #4 / Reflection Leader: We pray in thanksgiving for the saving power of Yahweh. Response: We thank you, O God. Reading #5 / Reflection Leader: We pray in thanksgiving for God’s calling in our lives. Response: We thank you, O God.

Nine Key Themes of the Old Testament CCC

Theme #1: God Is One First and most important theme. God is a single, divine being who orders all things out of love. For ancient peoples, who worshipped many gods and attempted to control and manipulate their gods, this was a truly radical notion. As “One” God is creator, shepherd, King. God is holy above all things.

Theme #2: God Is Active In Human History God actively guides, protects, cares for, and is involved in human affairs. History of the ancient Israelites shows this to be true. Theirs is a “salvation history.” God operates in the world in a loving way for the good of humans. God is Liberator and Savior, tat, delivering the people from their troubles.

Theme #3: The People Respond To God’s Activity Our response to God’s activity in the world is important. Our response to God comes in the form of friendship, loyalty, and obedience. We must express ourselves fully before God.

Theme #4: Prayer and Praise The psalms are explicit in their prayerful praise of God. All the actions, stories, history of the Israelite people are an expression of praise and gratitude to the One, true God. We should offer explicit prayer and praise to God, but so should all our actions express praise and gratitude.

Theme #5: God Seeks Covenant God pledges everlasting and faithful love to the people. God chose the Israelites as God’s people. God made covenant with the people through Abraham, Moses, David & Jesus. God is like a person—seeking relationship and connection with others. The covenant demands that we not only love God, but also our neighbor.

Theme #6: Tradition Tradition keeps the community alive. Remembering and re-telling the stories of our history keeps us connected to the covenant of love with God. We have an obligation to keep the tradition alive and pass it along to the next generations.

Theme #7: Justice & Morality There is a tension between God’s perfect will and our sinful and selfish response. As humans, we are made with rational minds and free choice. We are confronted with moral choice, and we cannot escape moral responsibility. God shows the way, for God is holy. We must seek to obey God.

Theme #8: Hope For The Future In the midst of struggle and strife, there is optimism about the future. There is hope of a Messiah who will deliver us from all evil. Remember that God created the world, and saw that it was “good.”

Theme #9: The Mystery Of God’s Ways While we are in covenant with God, we cannot fully know and understand all of God’s ways. The Bible is a source of wisdom and insight into the ways of God. We seek to align our ways with God’s ways, as best we can.

Great Stories of the Old Testament Oral Tradition

Telephone

OT Oral Tradition Group Tasks Task #1: Read the story aloud to your group. Task #2: Take a few minutes to discuss the theme, the main points, and the meaning for today of the story. Task #3: Divide into subgroups. Each group has a specific task related to the story.

Group Tasks Subgroup 1: develop a brief introduction to the story by using the following formula: This is the story of... In this story we will hear... Pay particular attention to...

Group Tasks Subgroup 2: develop a brief conclusion to the story by preparing a response to this sentence: “What this story means for us today is... “ Subgroup 3: illustrate the story—draw pictures to help subgroup 2 tell the story.

Group Tasks Subgroup 4: develop a creative way to tell the story in oral tradition, using your own words, and actions (Ex: skit, dramatic reading, narrative, poem, reading together, choral reading). Tell the story with heart and with meaning.

Group Tasks Task #4: When called upon, present the four components of your story to the whole group.

Summary The New Covenant Is Concealed In The Old, While The Old Is Revealed In The New

HOMEWORK 1.LISTEN … do not just Hear … but really LISTEN… to someone for 5 minutes each day. 2.Read an Old Testament Bible story this week. ** No Bible No Breakfast, No Bible No Bed! **

Closing Prayer Service Leader: Worship the Lord with cries of gladness; come before Him with joyful song. Response: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands! Leader: Know that the Lord is God, our maker to whom we belong, whose people we are, God’s well-tended flock. Response: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands!

Closing Prayer Service Leader: Enter the temple gates with praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to God, bless His name; good indeed is the Lord. Response: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands! Leader: Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age. Response: Shout joyfully to the Lord, all you lands!

Shout To The Lord My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like You, All of my days, I want to praise, The wonders of Your mighty love. My comfort, my shelter, Tower of refuge & strength, Let every breath, all that I am, Never cease to worship You!

Shout To The Lord Shout to the Lord, All the earth let us sing, Power & majesty, praise to the King, Mountains bow down, And the seas will roar, At the sound of Your name! I sing for joy at the work of Your hands, Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand Nothing compares to the promise I have in You!