Download In the World for March 26 here.
A PASSIONATE DEBATE
Conservative justice Antonin Scalia’s death last year left the US Supreme Court divided 4-4 on many issues. This week, the Senate passionately debated the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the court. Many see the Senate hearings as a battle for the spirit of the nation. The dream of conservatives is that a court with the 49-year-old Justice Gorsuch on it would bring more traditional rulings for decades to come. Liberals have visions of a court more attuned to what they might call the spirit of our times.
A PROPHETIC CALL
The prophet Joel lived in and prophesied to the nation of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, during a time when the country was devastated by a locust plague. He viewed Judah as a nation whose supreme judge was God and whose national spirit was formed and guided by the Spirit of God. The Lord promised to restore Judah to a place of honor among the nations and to make Jerusalem a place of deliverance and salvation.
- Why do both sides of the Senate view the stakes of the Gorsuch nomination to be so high?
- Is it better for the Supreme Court to “tilt” to the left or the right? On what issues and why?
- Regardless of which direction the court moves, do you see a need for America’s spirit to be restored to what it was in a previous era? Explain.
- Does Joel’s call to return to the Lord (Joel 2:13) speak to us today? If not, why not? If so, how?
- Does Joel’s promise that Judah would not be an object of scorn (Joel 2:19) offer you hope for the Christian faith to be more highly regarded in our nation? Why or why not?
—Charles R. Boatman
http://www.standardlesson.com/downloads
Copyright © 2016 by Standard Publishing, Part of the David C. Cook Family. All rights reserved.
Each download is for the use of one church only.
© 2021 David C Cook. All rights reserved. |