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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

Wrestling and Tools

The importance of the tools of prayer and God’s word in wrestling with big issues and discerning truth.

 

Context

• The story of Jacob wrestling has long been used as a metaphor for times when people of faith have felt as if they have been wrestling with God as they have prayed earnestly and persistently over deep issues. When finally those prayers have been answered, the senses of exhaustion, relief and gratitude have been powerfully visceral. For two years Jewish, Palestinian and many other people have been wrestling in prayer for the release of loved ones and for lasting peace and justice. On Monday the moment longed for by many came and the wrestling could stop, even if only temporarily.
• The issue of fake news is becoming ever more problematic. The BBC recently offered a little quiz to see how good we are at knowing the difference between real and fake news stories. As the problem becomes greater so does the need for the tools to discern what is true and in accord with God’s will, rather than following ‘teachers to suit our own desires' (2 Timothy 4:3).
• A highlight for many in the autumn TV schedules is Celebrity Traitors. In a picturesque Scottish castle nineteen well-known people are metaphorically wrestling with each other to discern who is telling the truth, who is being deceitful, who is a faithful and who is a traitor - all in the pursuit of £100,000 for their chosen charity. But who has the tools in their box to expose the ‘hypocrisy of liars’ as 1 Timothy 4:2 puts it? 1 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5 is remarkably similar to 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 - truth was a big issue!

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

You might like to reflect on the fragile but hopeful peace story in Israel and Gaza. Threads to weave together could include:

• What it feels like to wrestle in prayer and what it feels like when those prayers are eventually answered.
• The importance of persisting in prayer. When the Good Friday Agreement was signed two friends were going to their church - a church in which they had been praying for years for peace in Northern Ireland. One said "I can’t believe what has just happened. Peace in Northern Ireland at last.". To which their friend gently replied "Yes but should we be surprised? How long have we been praying about this?".
• Note the ending of the wrestling match in Genesis, when ‘the man’ blesses Jacob. From conflict to blessing - the need for prayers for Israel/Gaza continues.
• If you want to focus on the 2 Timothy reading and the Roots theme of A toolbox of faith, you might like to explore the BBC fake news quiz. Then explore how God’s Word and the faithful teaching of, and listening to, God’s Word are key tools in helping us to know what is true and what is false and so be ‘equipped for every good work’ (2 Timothy 3:17).
• As Paul makes consistently clear in his letters, God’s truth is embodied truth in the person of Jesus Christ. The Body of Christ (the Church) is called to live a godly life in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). We learn how to do this best in community. It is significant that, in Luke’s idyllic portrait of the early Church in Acts 2, three of the first four practices, or Holy Habits, of the Church that he mentions are the apostles' teaching (which expounded God’s word), fellowship and prayer. The first believers were not left to their own devices to discern God’s truth and learn how to serve God in the world. They discovered these things in fellowship, in community, and in communion (the fourth practice is breaking bread). We are wise if we do the same.

 

Questions for discussion

• How have the past two years felt as you have prayed for Israel and Gaza? How did you feel on Monday when you saw news of hostages being released? How did you feel when you saw Gaza families returning to the ruins of their homes? How do we need to continue to pray for the blessings of true justice and peace for all? What other people or situations do we need to continue to wrestle in prayer for?
• What are the risks of fake news? For:
  • The world?
  • Younger people?
  • Older people?
  • Matters of faith?
• What tools has God give us to discern who is truthful and what is true?
• As a Christian community what opportunities do we offer for exploring God’s Word, praying together and a depth of fellowship that enables truth to be embodied amongst us? Might we need to refresh them or create some new opportunities?

 Andrew Roberts is a husband, father, Methodist Minister and the author of Holy Habits. He enjoys watching football and cricket and once appeared on national TV dressed as a giant sunflower (BBC Get Your Own Back).

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Who do you listen to?

2 Tim 4:3-5

³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations.

There was a great article this week about tiny premature babies’ brains developing much better if they listen to their mum’s voice.

The researchers recorded the mothers of the babies reading stories about Paddington Bear. They then played the recordings to the babies twice an hour every hour until the date they were supposed to be born and then checked the babies’ brains with an MRI scan.

The result??

The babies who had spent time listening to their mum reading Paddington Bear had more connected brains, particularly the bits of the brain that will help them understand language later in life.

The power of Paddington! Or more accurately the power of a parent. Perhaps the babies listening to their mothers tells us that what you hear is profoundly important. Tuning in and listening carefully to a trusted source can impact you in all sorts of positive ways. But of course, the exact opposite is also true. We can tune into words that actually do us damage, tell us things that are not true, put thoughts into our heads that are unhelpful, unpleasant and will ultimately make us very unhappy.

Paul talks about the power of tuning into words in 2 Timothy. He describes people who stop listening to the truth and instead start listening to untruth. He’s warning us that what we hear affects what we think about, what we hear affects how we see the world and what we hear ultimately affects how we behave. But the interesting thing about Paul’s warning is he explains that sometimes we only hear what we want to hear, even if it’s unhelpful or bad for us. We do the exact thing he talks about in the Bible reading – we tune our ears into all sorts of negative things even when it hurts other people and is filled with things that are not true. Paul describes it as only listening to what our itchy ears want to hear! It’s like Paul knew about the power of an algorithm on TikTok or Instagram, pushing us all sorts of unfiltered and often untrue words… It’s like he knew we have to work hard to fill our ears with the truth, with good things and listen carefully for words that will build us and others up.

 

Questions

• What do we listen to?
• Are we ‘itching our ears’ with words that damage us or hurt others?
• Do we try to hear words of truth and light?
• Who should we listen to?

 

Activity

Make a Paddington Bear style tag and write on the words of 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

'All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.'

 

Fiona Dorman is a freelance leadership consultant and mediator.

Views expressed are the authors' own. Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by Roots for Churches Ltd.

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