Discussion Questions

1. Psalms 2, 33, 46, 49, 57, 66, 72, 96, 98, 100, 105, 117, and 145 are mentioned in the chapter as having a mission orientation. Choose three of them and discuss what each says and implies about mission.
2. In what ways is Abraham a good example for missionaries today?
3. In what ways is Abraham not a good example for missionaries today?
4. In what ways is Jonah a good example for missionaries today?
5. In what ways is Jonah not a good example for missionaries today?
6. “Centripetal” mission refers to mission directed toward a center. As discussed in the chapter, many feel that this is the primary model of mission in the Old Testament, where the temple was the center toward which the nations were drawn. What are examples of centripetal orientation toward mission today?
7. Abraham’s descendants were to be a “blessing to the nations.” In what ways did Israel successfully bless the nations?

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Bibliography

Adrian, Victor. 1967. "The Missionary Message of the Old Testament." In The Church in Mission: A Sixtieth Anniversary Tribute to J. B. Toews, edited by Abram J. Klassen, 17–32. Fresno, CA: Board of Christian Literature, Mennonite Brethren Church.

Dobbie, Robert. 1962. "The Biblical Foundation of the Mission of the Church." International Review of Missions 51: 196–205.

Dyrness, William A. 1983. Let the Earth Rejoice! A Biblical Theology of Holistic Mission. Westchester, IL: Crossway.

Gladding, Sean. 2010. The Story of God, the Story of Us: Getting Lost and Found in the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.

Kaiser, Walter C. 1996. "The Great Commission in the Old Testament." International Journal of Frontier Missions 13 (January–March): 3–7.

———. 1999. "Israel's Missionary Call." In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 3rd ed., edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 10–16. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.

———. 2000. Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.

Keyes, Richard. 1992. "The Idol Factory." In No God but God, edited by Os Guinness and John Seel, 29–48. Chicago: Moody.

Kidner, Derek. 1967. Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: InterVarsity.

Köstenberger, Andreas J., and Peter T. O'Brien. 2001. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.

Marlowe, W. Creighton. 1998. "Music of Missions: Themes of Cross-Cultural Outreach in the Psalms." Missiology: An International Review 6 (October): 445–56.

Peters, George W. 1972. A Biblical Theology of Missions. Chicago: Moody.

Piper, John. 1993. Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Williams, Don. 1989. Signs, Wonders, and the Kingdom of God: A Biblical Guide for the Reluctant Skeptic. Ann Arbor, MI: Vine.

Wright, Christopher J. H. 2000. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, edited by A. Scott Moreau, s.v. "Old Testament Theology of Mission." Grand Rapids: Baker Books.

———. 2006. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity.

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