Some Questions for Thought and Discussion 3
(1) Can you think of any circumstances where
choosing by lot would seem better than discussion, prayer, and then decision?
(2) Would it be a good idea to have a
particular dedicatory ceremony for members of the ecclesia when they are
appointed to a new task?
(3) In Genesis 17:9-14 circumcision is
enjoined on Abraham and his descendants for ever (verse 13). How could we explain to a Jew, considering
that the Old Testament is so definite, that in Jesus this no longer applies
(Galatians 5:2-6 and 6:15-16)?
(4) Leviticus 17:10-14 gives as a specific
reason for not eating blood, “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” If, with the New Testament, we agree that
“nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14) is the reason in Leviticus no
longer applicable?
(5) Is the custom in which men grow their hair
long (and tie it back) any more, or less, biblical than the custom for women to
cut their hair short?
(6) It has often been the practice to
excommunicate a brother or sister who marries a non-member. Dr John Thomas considered such a marriage
inadvisable but not grounds for disfellowship. Is the apostle’s teaching in 1 Corinthians
7:39 that a widow may remarry but “only in the Lord” to be taken as good advice
or as a command to everybody (not just widows)?
(7) How true do you find it in experience that
a single person is able to serve God in a more single-minded way?
(8) Is too much stress laid on getting
married? Is there a stigma attached to
those who do not marry?
(9) In the freer atmosphere of the modern
world do couples put too much stress on individual fulfilment (interests,
careers, sex) to the detriment of serving one another?
(10) It is often assumed that the New Testament encourages
husbands to take the final decision on issues on which the couple cannot agree,
e.g. whether to move house, or how to allocate finance. Can such a view be genuinely supported from
the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 5:24)?
(11) Is it correct to assume that because Paul encouraged slaves
to be submissive even to bad masters, believers today should simply suffer
mistreatment at the hands of bad employers?
(12) James 5:15 complains: “Behold, the wages of the labourers who
mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out.” Do we take care to
buy “Fair Trade” products, although they are dearer? Do we buy the cheapest
good clothing we can find, or do we check to see if the manufacturers are
paying fair wages to the workers who produce the garments?
(13) Can the wearing of hats by sisters be considered to be in
accord with Bible teaching, or contrary to it, or irrelevant to it?
(14) When a visitor comes to our meeting do we ensure that he or
she is welcomed and spoken to? It is
very easy to be so involved with various ecclesial arrangements that there is
not time to speak to someone new.
(15) What are the advantages and disadvantages of appointing a
member of the ecclesia to do a paid job?
(16) Although there is a risk that some members might sit back if
someone was paid to do full-time preaching, would it nevertheless achieve more?
(17) If someone in our ecclesia
did hold his or her hands up in prayer would we be horrified?
(18) Since people do
judge by appearances, what sort of impression do we give?
(19) Do we buy too many clothes or have too many material
possessions?
(20) Are we in danger of forgetting God because of the abundance
of our riches (Matthew 5:21, Deuteronomy 8:12-14)?
(21) Three challenging questions were recently posed for
discussion:
How much is our ecclesia the creation of the world?
How much is our ecclesia the creation of tradition?
How much is our ecclesia the creation of the Gospel?
(22) James 5:14-15 says that prayer and anointing will save
someone who is ill. How do we understand
this?
(23) Do you pull your weight in welfare arrangements within the
ecclesia?
(24) Even though keeping special days or festivals is not an
essential ingredient of Christianity, can these be of help in our spiritual
life?
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