introduction
The aim of this week is to look at God’s attitude to the poor and oppressed in terms of justice, and how we individually respond to this. Make sure that you allow God’s Word to impact your heart, challenging your lifestyle and not just stimulate your mind.
welcome
Often a great welcome is ‘how has your week been?’
worship
Create your own psalm. Each person writes a stanza (eg. Four lines) and then you put the psalm together. One idea would be to take the theme of creation and each person could write his or her bit on a different part of creation. Then use what is written as a basis for worship.
word/witness
When it comes to understanding the place of social action in the Christian life, the scriptures speak loudly and clearly. The following exercise is a “scripture feast”.
group work
Allocate the following scripture references to group members in the sequence they appear (you may want to write and number each one on a piece of paper first). Depending on the size of your group, each member may have several scripture references to read out. Everyone sits in a circle and takes it in turns to read scripture references in a quiet and reflective atmosphere, pausing without discussion in between each one (you could light a candle, or play some music).
As you listen and reflect let God’s Spirit speak to you and impact you by what you hear. Make a mental note of the scriptures that impact you the most.
Amos 5: 21-24 Micah 6:8 Isaiah 58: 3-10
Proverbs 31:8-9 Matthew 7: 21-23 Matthew 23: 13-15
Matthew 23:23 Matthew 25: 31-46 Luke 6; 46-48
Jeremiah 22:13-16 1 John 3: 16-18 James 2: 14-17
[James 5: 1-5] [James 1:27] [Exodus 22: 25-27]
Deuteronomy 24: 17-22 Isaiah 1: 15-17 Matthew 22: 34-40
[James 2: 8] 1Corinithians 13: 1-8 [Matthew 16: 24-26]
[Matthew 23: 11-12] Acts 4: 32-35 Luke 8:21
Psalm 72: 12-14 [Isaiah 42: 1-4] Isaiah 61: 1-3
John 20:21 1John 2:5-6.
(If there are too many references for the size of your group you can omit the ones in brackets).
Go round the group and tell each other which scriptures most affected you and why. (Make sure that you go round the group and give everyone a chance to share their response before getting into group debate). What feelings were evoked? Try to be real about any struggles and questions that the scriptures have provoked.
application
Having read and talked about God’s word, consider your response. As James says, faith without action is dead. Split into twos and talk to each other about what action you might take to ensure your Christian lifestyle reflects God’s priorities for a gospel that is good news to the poor and oppressed. Everyone will be in a different place on his or her “journey” and that is OK. What is important is that you work out what your next step is, even if you feel there are many steps to take.
Write on a piece of paper what you think your next steps into social justice issues might be. Share this in your pair and stick the piece of paper in a prominent place in your room.
Commit to reading the ”justice” scriptures every day for the next week and praying for God to show you how he wants you to respond. Keep a journal of what you hear and feel as you read and pray, then share it with a friend or prayer partner
