A friend and I tried something this past week and I think it worked.
Many of the people we do life with are thinking deeply about the grievous situation in the Middle East. What if we could help them with some background, practical guidance and maybe renewed hope for God’s purposes?
My friend Joseph and I hosted an event last Sunday night called, “Thinking Biblically about the Israel/Hamas War.” We gave people a bit of the biblical, historical and socio-politcal background that has led to the current situation. We built empathy for both Jews and Muslims. And finally, we all engaged in some powerful prayer.
The agenda was pretty simple:
- Welcome and opening prayer.
- A ten minute video overviewing the history of the plot of land now called Israel.
- A quick dive into the biblical history of the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Isaac.
- A healthy amount of time for question and response.
- Fifteen minutes of prayer
Components that made the effort succeed:
- The people at my church are inclined toward graciousness.
- We solicited written questions ahead of time. We requested them from the front on Sunday morning and by text blast. We also invited questions from the floor at the event.
- Video: We think the video is pretty balanced. Your view may vary, but the more objective it is, the better.
- We had tea and cookies!
- The X factor: My bud, Joseph. He has a good handle on the Old Testament, he’s lived in Israel, has been there several additional times and he wants abundant life for Jews and Muslims. You could probably personally fill the role I played, “The guy who knows a little bit about Muslims.” The “Joseph” part might be a tougher. Is there someone local who fits the bill? If not, bring him in to do it.
This is a timely step. If we had the ability we’d resolve this war, wouldn’t we? Since we don’t, let’s take the opportunity to help and inspire the people of God to pray and take action.
(If you’ve done something similar recently, I’d love to hear about it. Thanks.)