Questions for Reflection - "A Clash of Wills"

1. How do you respond to the question, "Why do you Christians believe in a Bible so full of violence?"
2. N.T. Wright describes the drama of redemption as a five act play. How might it help to place Judges in context of the overall plot? How do the five acts relate to each other? Act One- Creation; Act Two- Fall; Act Three- Israel; Act Four- Jesus; Act Five- Christian Movement (Age of the Church)
3. From the viewpoint of Act Three, how is God's redemptive work described in Judges 4? What does Deborah represent? What does Barak learn?
4. What does Deborah's example say about women in God's work of redemption? Who are some other well known women leaders in the Bible?
5. How might Jael represent how God answers the problem of violence?
6. Read Matthew 5:38-45. In light of Acts Four and Five, how does God answer the problem of violence?
7. Where can you help to break a cycle of violence?

For further reading:
N.T. Wright. Evil and the Justice of God. IVP. 2006
N.T. Wright. The Last Word. HarperSanFrancisco. 2005

Prayer of Confession
Almighty God,
We confess that we forget that you are almighty. We confess sometimes we think we are stronger than you. Please forgive us for we have made a mess of so many things. Hear our prayers, even as we cry out to you in this silence, in Jesus' name.

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Westminster Presbyterian Church Pastors: Rev. Dr. Richard H. Thompson, Rev. John Burnett, Rev. Jennifer Kates Witten 32111 Watergate Road, Westlake Village, California 91361 (818)889-1491    fax (818)889-7132 E-mail: info1@wpcwestlake.org Please notify the church of any problems with our site.