Thursday, August 11, 2005

Good Morning!

Just fyi, Administrative Board meeting is tonight at 7P, if you are a member.

The new unit for this week is Unit 15 -- Holiness of Life

Focus Scripture for the Week: 1 Peter 1:15

As he who called you in holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.

Today's Scriptures: Hebrews 12:1-16

Today's Discussion:

-- one of my favorite bits of scripture is the beginning of this passage -- "since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" -- this is encouragement to all Christians to live the right kind of life, as those who went before us in the faith are watching us. I think that this scripture particularly resonates for us at Pleasant Hill, because of the history of our church at this same spot for 170+ years. I know that I like to sit in the old sanctuary before our class begins, and think about all of those who had worshiped there in that very same building, beginning way back in the 1870s. And then we also have the cemetery, which is also a reminder of that great cloud of witnesses that particularly surround us at Pleasant Hill.

-- we had talked earlier in the week again about how we should take from our class the idea of encouragement -- the idea that you are part of a group that has a common purpose, and that all aspire to a common goal, and how that should help us stick to our devotional efforts and living the right way. This passage in Hebrews just expands that to a much bigger audience.

-- I think the other thing I get from this passage is the idea that living a holy life takes strength and effort. It is not an easy path. I think that we would all agree to that idea -- that the calling to live a holy life is difficult. I think that a lot of that difficulty is because living a Christian life is counter to what the world is all about -- it is easy to slip into a worldly life. And that is why we need encouragement -- from each other, and from this cloud of witnesses who have gone before.

Question for Sunday:

-- what is the most difficult part of living a Christian life today?

Today's prayer request: Our bosses and others in positions of authority at our workplaces.

Part of our Christian calling is the idea of serving faithfully in our roles as employee and citizen. Let us pray for those in authority at our workplace -- pray for them to make good decisions, to be fair and to be honest.

Today's class member prayer:

Nicole McKinney

Have a great day.

Jay