Thursday, June 30, 2005

Good Morning!

Sorry, but I just couldn't get an email out yesterday.

Remember about the Fourth of July celebration on Sunday, July 3 at the church.

The new unit for this week is Unit 9 , Marks of a Methodist

Focus Scripture for the Week: Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

Today's scriptures: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10; Philippians 2:12-18

-- in both of these sections, Paul outlines the way he wants the Christians in Corith and Philippi to act; not only because it is right way to live, but also so that they will be witnesses to the Christ to others through their living.

-- the truth of the matter is, whether we are talking about Corinth or Philippi 2,000 years ago, or Birmingham, Alabama today, living as committed Christian will make you stand out from the crowd.

-- While he didn't use these exact words, what Paul is outlining is what he considers the marks of a Christian, and asking his readers to aspire to those. As Paul says in the beginning of the passage from Corinthians, he doesn't want the way that Christians are living to "put a stumbling block in anyone's path", because to do so would discredit Paul's - and their's - ministry.

-- if you don't think that happens, that Christians can discredit the ministry of the church by the way they live, just not the newspapers. How many times do you hear of someone in trouble with the law, having some position of responsibility with the church -- pastor, teacher, administrative or just active member. While no one says anything or writes anything specific, you can just see and feel the church being diminished and discredited as the story is reported.

-- as Wesley notes at the end of the long section in this unit, after he has outlined what he considered to be the "marks" of a Methodist, he says that some would say that the marks he outlines are nothing more than what you should expect from any Christian -- which Wesley says is exactly his point. Being a Methodist is not about being a Methodist, it is about becoming a more committed Christian.

-- that said, I hope that you are seeing that there is meaning in your decision to become a Methodist Christian. Often times, we tend to think of the Protestant denominations as interchangable and generic, and not adding any value to our Christian experience. Our tendency is to equate being a Methodist or Baptist or whatever else to have no more value than saying we are an Alabama fan or Auburn fan -- just some identification about who we cheer for. Think about it -- if you asked someone at your workplace where they go to church, and they say Baptist or Methodist or Episcopal -- does their response automatically trigger in you some sense of how they are living out their Christian life? But I think that we are all learning that if we go beyond simply attending a Methodist church to living our lives as a Methodist, then there is whole other level of meaning that we can add to the term Methodist, one that speaks to how we are trying to live out our Christian life.

Today's prayer request: Nelson Ferreiro, a family friend of Megan Douglas

Nelson was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, and had surgery to remove the tumor. However, they could not remove all of it, and he was given 2 - 6 months to live. We need to pray for him and his family

Today's class member prayer:

Susanne Russell

Have a great day.

Jay