Make copies of the Sermon
Notes handout to distribute to each member of the class.
The Son to Worship (Matt. 1:18-25)
Begin by reminding learners that some of the elements of Jesus’ birth were
normal. Not only was He born to a Jewish mother, but He also entered the world
through the normal process of labor and delivery. After discussing these
elements, have learners read Matthew 1:18-25 and list the
ways Jesus birth differed from any other birth. Some of these
differences include the following:
He was born to
a virgin.
He was
conceived through the Holy Spirit.
He received His
name from the Lord.
Say: Dr. Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary, chose the virgin birth as the topic of his address to graduates in
December of 2005. Let's read the following article and summarize the
four lessons we should remember about the virgin birth.
Akin Reminds Graduates of Lessons of the Virgin
Birth
“Few teachings of Scripture have been more wonderfully
adored or more fiercely disputed” than the virgin birth, Akin said. He also
noted that prior to the 18th century, “the church always affirmed the
historical reality of the virgin birth.”
The first
lesson to remember from the virgin birth is that God still does the
supernatural, but He primarily does so in the lives of servants who exhibit
humility and piety, like Mary. God works in those who desire to exalt Him
rather than themselves.
“God will bless you if you keep yourself pure before
Him,” Akin said. “God always blesses purity.”
Akin also reminded the graduates that the virgin birth
tells them that God still speaks to His children, citing Joseph as an
example of a man whose plans and life radically changed because he was
willing to believe God works miracles.
What the angel told Joseph to do -– marry and care for a
woman who was pregnant before her marriage -– was neither logical nor
culturally acceptable, but Joseph did it anyway.
“You don’t have to understand [God’s
plan],” Akin said. “All you have to do is obey. If you obey, God will bless
and use you for His glory.”
The third thing that Scripture
teaches, Akin said, is that God still keeps His promises. The virgin birth
of the Savior is a fulfillment of prophecy from the Old Testament Book of
Isaiah and the culmination of God’s promise to bless all mankind, Akin said.
“Though humans may fail, God never
will,” he said. “Though others may fail you, God keeps His promises.”
The final lesson to remember from
the virgin birth is that God blesses those who exalt the name of Jesus.
Akin reminded the graduates that as
children of God and future leaders of the church, and particularly Southern
Baptist churches and organizations, they are servants of the one who has the
name above every name.
“Make sure you take with you -–
proudly, humbly and believing -– that wonderful name of Jesus,” Akin said.
Source:
Hall, Jason.
Akin Reminds Graduates of Lessons of the Virgin Birth.
Baptist Press, December 20, 2005. Accessed August 20, 2007. Full
article available at www.bpnews.net.
Ask:
What are four
important points we should never forget about the virgin birth?
What connection
is there between Jesus’ unusual birth and our need to worship Him?
Why was it
important for Joseph to have a better understanding of these unusual
circumstances? Why is it important for us to investigate the unusual
circumstances of Jesus’ birth and draw conclusions about His identity?
What does the
name Immanuel add to our worship as we consider the identity of
Christ?
What ultimately
convinced you to worship Jesus as the Son of God?
Say: After receiving the angel's message, Joseph accepted the
truth, married Mary, and obediently named the baby Jesus. Only Jesus makes
salvation possible and is worthy of our worship.
The Desire to Worship (Matt. 2:1-3,7-8)
Enlist a volunteer to read Matthew 2:1-3,7-8. Emphasize that
the wise men were a class of advisors in the ancient Near East who studied the
stars and brought recommendations to the king for consideration. Note that they
were Gentiles who most certainly did not believe in the exclusivity of the God
of the Hebrews.
Say: Something caused these wise men to seek and worship
Jesus.
Ask:
What did the
wise men see that caused them to to leave their homeland to go to Jesus?
How was Herod’s
reaction to the news about Jesus different than the wise men’s reaction?
Why do people
have different reactions to the story of Jesus?
Summarize the discussion by saying that both the wise men and Herod declared
their desire to worship Jesus, but only the wise men took actions that indicated
sincerity. Like the wise men, we demonstrate our sincere desire to worship Jesus
by the words we say and the actions we take.
Read the following article and summarize some of the ways people make
worship about something other than Jesus.
Ticky-Tacky Worship Wars Divert Attention from
God, Consultant Says
Drums in worship; choir robes or regular clothes;
hymnals versus projection screens; and the question of outdated organs.
These are all tensions that can cause worship wars among church members,
said Robert Wagoner, music events consultant for LifeWay Christian Resources
of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"Differing opinions about these decisions tend to hurt
worship services," Wagoner told church leaders attending the National
Conference for Church Leadership, at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center,
Ridgecrest, N.C. He led the conference, "How to Strengthen Your Worship
Without Starting a War.
"Not that drums or choir robes or hymnals or screens or
projection systems or organs or anything of these things are evil," he said.
"None are. People can get their feathers ruffled over ticky-tacky things."
Wagoner said Jesus called Christians to worship God in
spirit and truth. "Did Jesus say, 'Those who worship the father must use the
1991 Baptist Hymnal or wear choir robes or have drums or unplug the organ
and put it in the corner?'" Wagoner asked. "These things are not the issues,
and when they are, don't you know that breaks the heart of Jesus. If it were
so important, Jesus would have said more about it."
Jesus required his followers to prepare their heart for a
worship encounter with the Holy Spirit, he said. When people worship in
spirit, they are worshipping in sincerity and from the heart. "A lot of
people miss it by about 18 inches. Their worship is all in their minds."
Source: Lacky, Terri.Ticky-Tacky Worship
Wars Divert Attention from God, Consultant Says. Full article available at
www.lifeway.com.
Ask:
How do you
think God feels about worship wars?
How are worship
wars more reflective of our culture rather than our hearts?
How do we keep
Jesus at the center of our worship?
How do we
respond to the "Herods" of the world who say they want to worship Jesus
but really oppose Him?
The Way to Worship (Matt. 2:9-11)
Ask learners to read Matthew 2:9-11 and
list what the wise men offered to Jesus in order to worship Him. Answers might
include: their time, their talents (recognizing and following the star), and
their treasure (gold, frankincense, and myrrh).
Ask:
What is wrong
with viewing worship only as what occurs in the church building?
What do you
think it cost the wise men to travel to Bethlehem in order to worship Jesus?
(Encourage learners not to think in dollars and cents).
Read
Ken Hemphill’s article, which challenges us to see worship in the context of our
whole lives. After reading the article, present some of the common elements of
Sunday morning worship, such as giving, praying, and so forth, and ask learners
how these elements should advance the kingdom beyond the church walls.
Worship to
the Ends of the Earth
Warren Wiersbe
has defined worship thusly, “Worship is the believer’s response with all
that he is —- mind, emotions, will, and body —- to all that God is and says
and does. This response has its mystical side in subjective experience, and
its practical side in objective obedience to God’s revealed truth. It is a
loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a
deepening response as the believer comes to know God better.”
Worship may
sometimes be entertaining, but it is not about entertainment. Authentic
worship is the believer’s response to the self-revelation of God. Worship
originates with God and demands the response of His people. Worship’s
primary goal is to give glory and honor to God, and, when authentic, always
results in the edification of the worshipper, leading him/her to serve the
living God Who is the object of worship. Thus, worship involves both giving
and receiving, commitment and blessing. True worship is balanced, involving
the mind, emotions and the will of the worshipper. It incorporates both
attitudes (such as reverence, awe, joy and respect) and actions (such as
bowing, praising, serving and giving). It will always call us to the ends of
the earth with the passion that all nations and peoples will be able to
worship their rightful King.
For the
participant, worship involves praise through music, prayer, the reading and
preaching of the Word, and an appropriate response by the commitment to
serve. Music, for many, is the central thread of worship which knits the
various elements in a symphony of praise presented to the Father. The style
of music will vary from context to context and from continent to continent.
Music that is culturally suitable and theologically sound should be chosen
with the singular purpose of leading God’s people to focus on and adore God
alone. It should be presented positively and powerfully with a desire to
offer the King our best. We should sing the hymns and choruses with
attention to the words since these are covenant commitments to the King of
kings.
Corporate prayer
should be a central component of worship and not an after thought that
allows the participants on the platform to shift positions while “every head
is bowed.” Prayer provides the opportunity for the worshiping community to
come boldly before the throne of grace in the presence of the Creator and
King. It enables us to verbally acknowledge His presence, to stand before
Him in praise, to confess our sins, to seek forgiveness, to offer ourselves
to God as tools through whom He can advance His Kingdom, to ask provision
for our daily needs, to intercede for the nations and to offer thanksgiving
to our gracious God.
The reading and
reciting of Scripture should be a central component of our worship. The Word
of God has inherent dynamic power. The preaching of the Word is the
centerpiece of worship. It is very simply declaring the truth of God in the
power of the Holy Spirit. The sermon must first be an exposition of God’s
Word which will address man’s most critical needs and concerns. The role of
the worshipper is not to critically evaluate the sermon or the skill of the
one delivering it, but to listen for the voice of God and respond with
obedience.
Worship through
the giving of our offerings should never be misconstrued or presented as a
means of subscribing our budget or paying our bills. It is a vehicle for
expressing our dependence upon God and our gratitude for His loving
provision for all our needs. The giving of His tithe and the presentation of
our offerings is an acceptable and appropriate sacrifice of a priestly
people. Tragically, we have divorced the giving of money from its
theological foundation and thus we have trivialized it, making it little
more than a punch line to a trite joke about a Baptist meeting. If we are
serious about advancing the Kingdom, we will rejoice when given the
opportunity to worship God through our gifts with the sure knowledge that He
provided all that exists with the intention of reaching the nations.
Authentic
worship always calls for the worshipper to respond through commitment. The
call to commitment is the natural and spontaneous outflow of true worship.
Every time we worship, we should each ask ourself: “What has God said to me
and what must I do about it?”
Source:
Hemphill, Ken. Worship to the Ends of the Earth. Full article available at
www.lifeway.com.
Ask:
Why does
genuine worship require total commitment?
Can one truly worship Jesus without bringing Him gifts? Explain your
answer.
What sacrifices
does God require of true worshipers of Jesus?
What gifts can
you give Jesus to celebrate His birth?
Remind learners that
one of the best gifts we can give Jesus is our surrendered lives. Choosing to
live for Him despite our sinful desires is an important act of daily worship to
Christ our King. Distribute to every learner a copy of the Sermon
Notes handout. Challenge learners to use it in a worship experience to take
notes on the minister's message and to respond appropriately. Close the session
with prayer.
EXTRA! is a supplement designed
to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by
LifeWay Church Resources.
EXTRA! is produced by Publishing
Services and Multimedia, LifeWay Church Resources, Copyright 2007, LifeWay
Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
SPECIAL NOTE: Some Internet
addresses given in EXTRA! are outside the LifeWay Internet domain. Because of
the changing nature of the Web, EXTRA! editors cannot be held responsible for
content on pages outside their control. At the time of this posting, the
specific pages mentioned have been viewed and approved by the EXTRA! editorial
staff. However, at the time of your viewing, the information on these pages may
have changed. Links from the specific page addresses referenced in this material
possibly could link to inappropriate material.
EXTRA! Weekly Supplemental Teaching Plans
Adult
Bible Studies for Life
Bible Studies for Life EXTRA
Before reading today's verses, enlist a volunteer to read Daniel 1:1-2
and summarize Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Judah in 605 B.C. Explain that God
allowed the people of Judah to be taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, because of generations of disobedience.
Read Daniel 1:3-5. Daniel, whose name meant “God is my judge,”
was among the youth taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. Daniel would have been
about 17 years old when he was deported. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz,
chief of his officials, to chose from among the sons of Judah, which included
the royal family, those youth who were educated, wise, good looking and healthy
for the purpose of assimilating them and preparing them for serving the king.
Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they be educated in the Chaldean language, culture,
history, and philosophy; divination; astrology; the reading of omens from animal
parts; and interpreting dreams. They also were to be well fed with food and wine
from the king's table. He did not order them to learn the religion, for
he believed that if they were trained to be skillful, faithful, and fit for
business, then they would serve faithfully despite any religious beliefs they
already had. Though they were his captives, he treated them honorably and with a
respect due to those who were wealthy.
Ask:
Why did King
Nebuchadnezzar choose the young Hebrew men?
Why do you
think King Nebuchadnezzar determined that three years of training was
necessary?
Why do you
think he chose to train,educate, and use them, rather than make them
lowly servants?
Say: The young Hebrews needed to be assimilated into the
dominant culture if they were to serve faithfully. There is no indication that
the Babylonians has anything but the best intentions in providing the royal food
and drink to the trainees. At the same time, they probably had no idea their
values and actions would conflict with that of the Hebrews because the
Babylonians operated according to their cultural values and
assumed the conquered Hebrews would do the same.
Verse 7 tells of
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah being given new names, which was another
attempt at assimilating them into the Babylonian culture.
Ask:
What were the
new names given to the Hebrews?
Why was it
important to change their names?
Was it
significant that they were given names of Babylonian gods? Explain your
answer.
How was
renaming them the "politically correct" thing to do?
Read the following
article:
Merry Christmas, Charlie
Brown!
McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--It almost did not air. Network executives thought
it moved too slowly for a Christmas special. They also were convinced that
the absence of a laugh track, a staple of 1960 era comedies, would be the
kiss of death.
However, what most concerned the suits at CBS was the religious content.
The climax of the 30-minute program focused on a main character quoting
Scripture.
The executive producer even insisted that the Bible could not be read on
network television. However, the creator of what has become a Christmas
classic refused to edit or otherwise water-down the content.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the
animated classic that features the Peanuts characters created by Charles
Schultz. The storyline not only exposes the crass commercialization that
characterizes too much of American Christmas, but it also highlights the
real reason for the season. And after four decades, it continues to be
popular.
The so-called experts are still scratching their collective heads over
the success of Charlie Brown. Explanations for the show’s longevity abound.
Some suggest the popularity is due to the genius of Schultz and the
popularity of the characters he created. Others insist that it is the
craving for nostalgia of the baby-boom generation that fuels the seasonal
success of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Contrary to expert speculation about Charlie Brown’s success, I believe
the popularity of Charles Schultz’s story about the round-headed boy’s
search for the true meaning of Christmas runs deeper than superficial
sentiment for characters or the desire to reminisce. The success of “A
Charlie Brown Christmas” is anchored in truth.
In a society that is on the verge of committing politically correct
suicide, “Charlie Brown” dares to declare the simple truth that the reason
for the season is the birth of Jesus Christ.
When Charlie Brown shouts in desperation, “Isn't there anyone out there
who can tell me what Christmas is all about?” Linus responds, “Sure, Charlie
Brown, I can tell you.” He then takes center stage and quotes verbatim the
King James Version of Luke 2:8-14.
With simple eloquence, the blanket-clutching character unashamedly
announces, “For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a
Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
Linus’ quotation stands in stark contrast to a popular culture that seeks
to ban the Guest of Honor from His own celebration. The message of “A
Charlie Brown Christmas” is the supernatural reality that God sent His only
begotten son into the world so the world might through Him be saved.
In the 40 years since Charles Schultz first communicated the simple truth
of Christmas through his beloved Peanuts characters, American culture has
grown more secular and politically correct. However, the hearts of
individuals still yearn for truth and meaning.
In the vast wasteland that characterizes much of the American Christmas
experience, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is an oasis of truth. Year after
year, thirsty souls have taken time to drink deeply the profound truth that
God became a man.
Source: Boggs, Kelly. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!
Full article available at www.lifeway.com.
Accessed August 20, 2007.
Ask:
Why must believers be aware of our culture's subtle attempts to
assimilate people and maintain political correctness?
Respond to this statement by Boggs: "In a society that is on the verge
of committing politically correct suicide, 'Charlie Brown' dares to
declare the simple truth that the reason for the season is the birth of
Jesus Christ."
In a culture that expects Christians to assimilate, how can we stand
firm for the truth?
Daniel 1:8-15
Enlist a volunteer to read Daniel 1:8-15.
Point out that because Daniel and his friends made up their minds that they
would not defile themselves with the king’s choice food and wine, they asked
permission to be excused from eating the king's provision. Daniel and his
friends were in a different society where they were serving under pagan
leadership, but they remained firm in their devotion to the God
of Israel. The Babylonians had changed their names, but they could not change
their character.
Ask:
Why do you think Daniel and his friends decided
to draw the line here?
What agreement did they make with the chief official
in verses 11-14?
Why was the chief official concerned?
Say: When God’s people are in “Babylon,”
they must be careful not partake of her sins. People of faith must determine
when and how to say no, and then take action, even in the face of a dominant,
sinful society. Daniel and his friends may have felt God prompting them to
take a stand on this issue. Because of their obedience, God further blessed the
young men, and the results were unbelievable: “At the end of 10 days they looked
better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king's food" (v.
15).
Divide the class into groups and distribute the Case
Study handout. Depending on how much time you have, you can
either give each group all of the cases, or provide one to each group. Allow
enough time for group discussion before calling on each group's response.
Ask:
What do you think motivated the Babylonians
to attempt to assimilate the youth into their culture?
How does our culture attempt to assimilate God's people today?
What is necessary for Christians to be able to reject
those things in our culture that cause us to sin?
What "assimilated " areas in your life need to be
examined and surrendered to the Lord?
Say: We are faced daily with issues on which we must take a
stand. Where will you draw the lines in your life so that you will not become
exactly like what is normal in the culture's practices and values?
Daniel 1:17-21
Enlist a volunteer to read Daniel 1:17-21.
Explain that at the end of the three years of training, the king examined and
interviewed the trainees. Impressed by Daniel and his friends, the king found
that none of the others could compare to them. Verse 17 reminds us that they
excelled not because of the Babylonian education system, but because God gifted
them and enabled them to succeed. The king probably had no idea of the stand
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had taken three years earlier.
Say: Because these four youth responded to God with complete
obedience, even in Babylon, God blessed them by giving them knowledge
and abilities above all others. They did not excel through their own strength;
God gifted them with this wisdom. These four young men served in the king’s
court and presided over his affairs for many years while remaining faithful to
God.
Ask:
What can we
learn from the example of Daniel and the three Hebrews about standing for
the Lord, even in an ungodly society?
Why is it
important to establish godly boundaries in our personal lives?
How can
we teach godly boundaries and values to your children in a way that will
empower them to take a stand when faced with making hard choices in an
increasingly sinful society?
Have volunteers look up the following verses and read them aloud:
1 John 2:15-16
Romans 12:2
1 Peter 1:14-16
Ask these questions for personal reflection:
As you hear
these verses, how is God challenging you to evaluate your life and draw
lines you will not cross in order to honor Him?
What will you
do to serve God more effectively despite society's hostility to the
desires and commands of God?
Say: In 1989, some very brave people in Beijing, China
organized demonstrations and took a stand against the Chinese Communist Party.
But one man took a very bold stand, and has become known as the "unknown rebel"
as a result of his determination. Display the following picture and read
excerpts from the following article:
The Unknown Rebel: With a single act
of defiance, a lone Chinese hero revived the world's image of
courage
Monday, April 13, 1998--Almost
nobody knew his name. Nobody outside his immediate neighborhood had read his
words or heard him speak. Nobody knows what happened to him even one hour
after his moment in the world's living rooms. But the man who stood before a
column of tanks near Tiananmen Square — June 5, 1989 — may have impressed
his image on the global memory more vividly, more intimately than even Sun
Yat-sen did. Almost certainly he was seen in his moment of
self-transcendence by more people than ever laid eyes on Winston Churchill,
Albert Einstein and James Joyce combined.
The meaning of his moment — it was no more than that — was
instantly decipherable in any tongue, to any age: even the billions who
cannot read and those who have never heard of Mao Zedong could follow what
the "tank man" did. A small, unexceptional figure in slacks and white shirt,
carrying what looks to be his shopping, posts himself before an approaching
tank, with a line of 17 more tanks behind it. The tank swerves right; he, to
block it, moves left. The tank swerves left; he moves right. Then this
anonymous bystander clambers up onto the vehicle of war and says something
to its driver, which comes down to us as: "Why are you here? My city is in
chaos because of you." One lone Everyman standing up to machinery, to force,
to all the massed weight of the People's Republic — the largest nation in
the world, comprising more than 1 billion people — while its all powerful
leaders remain, as ever, in hiding somewhere within the bowels of the Great
Hall of the People.
Occasionally, unexpectedly, history consents to disguise
itself as allegory, and China, which traffics in grand impersonals, has
often led the world in mass-producing symbols in block capitals. The man who
defied the tank was standing, as it happens, on the Avenue of Eternal Peace,
just a minute away from the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which leads into the
Forbidden City. Nearby Tiananmen Square — the very heart of the Middle
Kingdom, where students had demonstrated in 1919; where Mao had proclaimed a
"People's Republic" in 1949 on behalf of the Chinese people who had "stood
up"; and where leaders customarily inspect their People's Liberation Army
troops — is a virtual monument to People Power in the abstract. Its western
edge is taken up by the Great Hall of the People. Its eastern side is
dominated by the Museum of Chinese Revolution. The Mao Zedong mausoleum
swallows up its southern face.
For seven weeks, though, in the late spring of 1989 —
the modern year of revolutions — the Chinese people took back the square,
first a few workers and students and teachers and soldiers, then more and
more, until more than 1 million had assembled there. They set up, in the
heart of the ancient nation, their own world within the world, complete with
a daily newspaper, a broadcasting tent, even a 30-ft. plaster-covered statue
they called the "Goddess of Democracy." Their "conference hall" was a
Kentucky Fried Chicken parlor on the southwest corner of the square, and
their spokesmen were 3,000 hunger strikers who spilled all over the central
Monument to the People's Heroes. The unofficials even took over, and
reversed, the formal symbolism of the government's ritual pageantry: when
Mikhail Gorbachev came to the Great Hall of the People for a grand state
banquet during the demonstrations--the first visit by a Soviet leader in 30
years — he had to steal in by the back door.
Then, in the dark early hours of June 4, the
government struck back, sending tanks from all directions toward Tiananmen
Square and killing hundreds of workers and students and doctors and
children, many later found shot in the back. In the unnatural quiet after
the massacre, with the six-lane streets eerily empty and a burned-out bus
along the road, it fell to the tank man to serve as the last great defender
of the peace, an Unknown Soldier in the struggle for human rights.
As soon as the man had descended from the tank,
anxious onlookers pulled him to safety, and the waters of anonymity closed
around him once more. Some people said he was called Wang Weilin, was 19
years old and a student; others said not even that much could be confirmed.
Some said he was a factory worker's son, others that he looked like a
provincial just arrived in the capital by train. When American newsmen asked
Chinese leader Jiang Zemin a year later what had happened to the symbol of
Chinese freedom — caught by foreign cameramen and broadcast around the world
— he replied, not very ringingly, "I think never killed."
In fact, the image of the man before the tank
simplified — even distorted — as many complex truths as any image does. The
students leading the demonstrations were not always peace loving and
notoriously bickered among themselves; many were moved by needs less lofty
than pure freedom. At least seven retired generals had written to the
People's Daily opposing the imposition of martial law, and many of the
soldiers sent to put down the demonstrators were surely as young, as
confused and as uncommitted to aggression as many of the students were. As
one of the pro-democracy movement's leaders said, the heroes of the tank
picture are two: the unknown figure who risked his life by standing in front
of the juggernaut and the driver who rose to the moral challenge by refusing
to mow down his compatriot.
Nine years after the June 4 incident, moreover, it's
unclear how much the agitators for democracy actually achieved. Li Peng, who
oversaw the crackdown on them, is still near the top of China's hierarchy.
Jiang, who proved his colors by coming down hard on demonstrators in
Shanghai, is now the country's President. And on a bright winter morning,
Tiananmen Square is still filled, as it was then, with bird-faced kites and
peasants from the countryside lining up to have their photos taken amid the
monuments to Mao.
Yet for all the qualifications, the man who stood
before the tanks reminded us that the conviction of the young can generate a
courage that their elders sometimes lack. And, like student rebels
everywhere, he stood up against the very Great Man of History theory. In
China in particular, a Celestial Empire that has often seemed to be ruled by
committee, a "mandate of Heaven" consecrated to the might of the collective,
the individual has sometimes been seen as hardly more than a work unit in
some impersonal equation. A "small number" were killed, Mao once said of the
death of 70,000, and in his Great Leap Forward, at least 20 million more
were sacrificed to a leader's theories. In that context, the man before the
tank seems almost a counter-Mao, daring to act as the common-man hero
tirelessly promoted by propaganda and serving as a rebuke — or asterisk, at
least — to the leaders and revolutionaries who share these pages.
The
second half of the century now ending has been shadowed by one overwhelming,
ungovernable thought: that the moods, even the whims, of a single
individual, post-Oppenheimer, could destroy much of the globe in a moment.
Yet the image of the man before the tank stands for the other side of that
dark truth: that in a world ever more connected, the actions of a regular
individual can light up the whole globe in an instant. And for centuries the
walls of the grand palaces and castles of the Old World have been filled
with ceremonial and often highly flattering pictures of noblemen and
bewigged women looking out toward the posterity they hope to shape.
Source: Iyer, Pico.
The Unknown Rebel: With a single act of defiance, a
lone Chinese hero revived the world's image of courage, April 13, 1998. Full
article and photo available at
http://www.time.com/time/. Accessed August 21, 2007.
Close by asking the following rhetorical
questions:
How far will you go to take a stand?
Where will you draw the line, refusing to defile
yourself or be assimilated into today’s culture?
EXTRA! is a supplement designed
to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by
LifeWay Church Resources.
EXTRA! is produced by
Publishing Services and Multimedia, LifeWay Church Resources, Copyright
2007, LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
SPECIAL NOTE: Some Internet
addresses given in EXTRA! are outside the LifeWay Internet domain. Because of
the changing nature of the Web, EXTRA! editors cannot be held responsible for
content on pages outside their control. At the time of this posting, the
specific pages mentioned have been viewed and approved by the EXTRA! editorial
staff. However, at the time of your viewing, the information on these pages may
have changed. Links from the specific page addresses referenced in this material
possibly could link to inappropriate material.
