{"id":766955,"date":"2018-01-14T00:35:59","date_gmt":"2018-01-14T05:35:59","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-06-23T17:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:04:08","slug":"bible-study-epiphany-2-b-2018","status":"publish","type":"bible_study","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/bible_study\/bible-study-epiphany-2-b-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Study: Epiphany 2 (B) &#8211; 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One line of thinking in modern learning theory is that it takes three or more exposures to a message for us to fully understand or learn it. For the prophet Samuel, those three exposures come at once, just before dawn, in the tabernacle holding the ark of the covenant. The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him\u2014that is, he has not yet gained his prophetic powers\u2014so he hears the calls three times, but does not yet understand them. He goes to the aged Eli and, using language that calls back to Moses and the burning bush, states simply, \u201cHere I am,\u201d each time. Eli quickly realizes the source of the call and gives specific instructions to the young Samuel to let God know that Samuel is listening. God\u2019s response picks up on the listening theme and prophesies in a way that will \u201cmake both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle\u201d (NRSV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Where are you hearing the voice of God calling you today? Are you able to listen, to hear it? How might you find space to better hear that call, and what could you do to respond?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notes in the New Oxford Annotated Bible suggest that this psalm is unique in that it is an \u201cindividual petition\u2026recording an individual\u2019s experience of God.\u201d Being on your own in the ancient Near East would have been an equally frightening and awe-inspiring experience, without the security of artificial light and comfortable housing that we take for granted. The Psalmist depicts God as both an intimidating presence that is far beyond his or her ability to understand and, at the same time, a warm, nurturing deity who \u201cknit me together in my mother\u2019s womb.\u201d The combination yields an overarching message of comfort: comfort that he or she is a part of all God\u2019s creation and, as in Genesis, that creation is \u201cgood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Where do you find your personal experience of God? Is it in the awe of a thunderstorm or a majestic view, or in the innocence of a child\u2019s laugh? How does that experience provide you comfort?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1 Corinthians 6:12-20<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul opens this part of his letter to the Corinthians with a re-statement of their \u201canything goes\u201d slogan: \u201cAll things are lawful for me.\u201d It reminds me of a popular saying from my teenage years: \u201cIf it feels good, do it.\u201d I even remember a song with that as a refrain: \u201cIf it feels good do it, do it if it\u2019s what you feel.\u201d And, while that hedonistic call may sound appealing to an immature teenage brain, I quickly realized it would be an unsustainable way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul is suggesting something similar, and he amends the Corinthian slogan with: \u201cbut not all things are beneficial\u201d \u2013 beneficial to the individual and, more importantly, to the church community in Corinth. As bodies of Christ, he is calling them to treat their physical and spiritual communities with care, to not defile them, because they are no longer their own, but God\u2019s. And that calls them\u2014and us\u2014to a much higher standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Are there parts of your life where you are being \u2018dominated\u2019 (verse 6:12) and not able to be fully open to God? How might you open up that space, either alone or in your church community?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>John 1: 43-51<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Events are happening quickly in this part of John\u2019s Gospel. Jesus heads toward Galilee, taking Philip with him. Philip, convinced of Jesus\u2019 messiahship, urges Nathanael to join. \u201cNot so quick,\u201d one imagines Nathanael thinking, as he questions Jesus\u2019 birthright. He\u2019s not sure Jesus is from the right place\u2014of the right tribe\u2014and this gets in his way. But instead of shutting down, he stays open and, as a result, is amazed. Jesus knows things about Nathanael that any regular human could not. And this simple sign is all Nathanael needs to proclaim Jesus Son of God and King of Israel. By staying open, Nathanael is set to see the most amazing signs imaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How do we let superficial things\u2014like birthplace or alma mater or accent\u2014prevent us from truly seeing another? Where are we missing Christ\u2019s presence in our lives today because we don\u2019t stay open, let ourselves see, and be amazed?&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bible-Study-English-Epiphany-2B-2018.pdf\"><strong>Bible-Study-English-Epiphany-2B-2018<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bible-Study-English-Epiphany-2B-2018.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20) One line of thinking in modern learning theory is that it takes three or more exposures to a message for us to fully understand or learn it. For the prophet Samuel, those three exposures come at once, just before dawn, in the tabernacle holding the ark of the covenant. The word&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,32,52,3],"tags":[250],"class_list":["post-766955","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-epiphany","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-epiphany-2b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":32,"label":"Epiphany"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":250,"label":"Epiphany 2B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":951858,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/766955\/revisions\/951858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}