Friday, July 15, 2005

Good Morning!

Sorry I didn't send anything out yesterday -- I was in traveling in Nashville, and the hotel's internet service wasn't working, so I couldn't get on line.

FYI, I will be at church this Sunday.

The new unit for this week is Unit 11, The Means of Grace

Focus Scripture for the Week: 1 Peter 1:2

May grace and peace be yours in abundance

Today's topic: Acts 2:37-47, 2 Peter 1:3-11, Luke 22:14-23, Mark 6:45-52

-- these are the four remaining verses for our study for this week -- the one that I found most interesting was the one from 2 Peter.

-- there are two things in particular that I really liked about this passage. First, the first verse would be a good memory verse -- "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Our lesson for this week is about how we tap into that power, through our participation in the various means of grace. We are all somewhat like electrical appliances -- we have to be plugged in to a power source in order to work, and the means of grace are how we do that.

-- second, in the 2 Peter passage, in the remainder of the passage, there is a sense of our constant improvement, of growing in faith and our Christian life. Verse 8 says "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure . . . ". Peter here is referring to the same concept that Wesley adopted thousands of years later -- that idea of moving on to perfection, that the story of our Christian life is about striving to be better everyday, and that comes from "plugging in" as often as we can to the source of the power that will move us in that direction.

-- Just a reminder of the five, as outlined by Wesley-- reading scripture, prayer, hearing the Word preached, communion and fasting.

Today's prayer request: Alex Lloyd, Monica's nephew

Alex is a long term prayer request, due to his hip condition and the treatment he is receiving to correct it. He is currently recovering from his surgery of a few weeks ago, and appears to be doing well, but there is a long way to go yet.

Today's class member prayer:

Lynn Rocksvold

Have a great day.

Jay