1st and 2nd Peter
How many of you have heard of the Serendipity Bible for Groups? I love their introductions to chapters and their "Open, Dig, Reflect" questions. "Open" questions get groups to reflect on comfortable questions about how the scripture applies to life. The "Dig" questions are designed to "scratch, sniff, sift, and search...for clues of "what's going on here" or "what do you think?"...Always open ended to give the group a chance to talk about their own point of view". "Reflect" questions are designed to share on a deeper level.
The introduction to Peter talks about the FIRE in Rome in A.D. 64 (now called C. E. instead of A. D. to be politically correct). Three of the "wards" in Rome were totally destroyed, ten suffered damage. It was widely believed that Nero set the fire. In fact, it was well known he did nothing to contain it. Nero had a passion for building, and he needed a scapegoat to blame. The Christians received the "honor". Nero advanced the idea of Christian martyrdom.
The theme of 1st Peter is to encourage people to "Rejoice in that you participate in the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 4:13).
Open Questions: If you couldn't live in this country, where would you choose to live?...What did you do as a child that got you into the most trouble?...What is the authority figure you find the hardest to respect?'...As a child, how did you picture your Prince Charming or "girl of your dreams"?
2nd Peter is called "one of the most neglected books of the New Testament" (Barclay, The Letters of Peter and Paul, pg. 335). It deals with "laxity of lifestyle based on defective doctrine" (Serendipity New Testament for Groups, pg. 450).
I recommend purchasing a copy of a Serendipity Bible for questions to consider.
I like the questions, though I am at a loss to find the connections with 1 and 2 Peter. Where else would I live? Thailand, the land of smiles. The people are the friendliest I have met anywhere and it is so laid back. I stole a STP sticker from the gift shop at Astroworld and was caught by a security guard. Obama. I had no 'girl of my dreams' when I was young. Girls terrified me. My dream was to own a Kawasaki dirt bike.
ReplyDelete