10.18.20 Huddle
INTRO QUESTIONS
- Halloween is coming up. What is your favorite costume you have ever worn for Halloween?
- What is the most ridiculous costume you have ever wore for Halloween?
SERIES INTRO
This week we are starting a new series called Talking Points: Relationships, Politics, and Culture. Our guiding text of the series will come from Luke 6 in what scholars refer to as The Sermon on the Plain.
CONTEXT/QUESTIONS
Matthew 5-7 is known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus’ longest and perhaps most well-known teaching. Then, we see a very similar, yet noticeably different, teaching in Luke 6 that is referred to as The Sermon on the Plain.
What is going on here? Does this prove that the Bible is full of contradictions? No!
Is this the same message in both instances simply given different names by different writers?
Perhaps. Some scholars argue that based on the order of the sermon, and the fact that the healing of the centurion’s servant follows each one, that the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain are two perspectives of the same sermon/situation. Those that hold to this idea argue that the Greek word for “level place” (pedinos) can refer to a flat spot in the mountains and is used this way in other various instances . . . which is why one reader chose to describe it as a mountain and the other a plain.
While this position is plausible, the more popular position is that the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain are not two recordings of the same instance. Here is why this position makes perfect sense. Jesus was an itinerant preacher. He traveled around from town to town teaching whoever would listen. A number of times, large crowds simply formed around Jesus and asked Him to give them a message right off the cuff. As a traveling preacher/teacher, Jesus almost certainly gave similar messages at different times and locations. He didn’t need to dress it up or workshop his message from town to town, His message was about what it looks like to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God. That message of hope is what He carried from town to town and taught when the opportunity presented itself. That fact alone makes sense of why the two messages are similar yet also noticeably different.
- Based off the limited context from above, what is your initial thought on the question of the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain? Do you feel like they are two recordings of the same instance or Jesus giving two different messages at two different times/locations?
- Does the fact that they are not identical mean that the Bible is full of contradictions? Why or why not?
CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
So much is going on in our country right now. As we move into a very heated political season and in light of ALL the mess that makes up 2020, Why would anyone bother with a 2000-year-old document? How is it even relevant to today?
Well, many scholars call the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain the “Constitution” of the Kingdom of God. With that in mind, let’s read Luke 6
READ LUKE 6:17-49
Prepare your group. This is a bit long and will take about 5 minutes to do. Split up between multiple readers if necessary.
LUKE 6 QUESTIONS
- What stood out to you from this text?
- What from this text inspires you?
- What from this text “messes” with you?
- What from this text humbles you?
- What does it mean to see yourself first as a citizen of the Kingdom of God?
- What would it require for us to actually live like that?
CLOSING PRACTICE
We are undertaking a community practice over the next few weeks. The challenge is for everyone in our community to read the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49) every day until the election. Keeping this text at the front of our hearts and minds can inspire us, encourage us, give us peace and keep us united during a time that is historically divisive and anxiety inducing. Among your group, talk about how you will help each other engage this practice.
CLOSE IN PRAYER