Good Morning - Monday, September 12, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Good morning from Montgomery.  Good to see all of you on Sunday.   Note that we had some more conversation about the Appalachian Service Project that our class is sponsoring, and I believe we settled on the week of July 23 - July 30, 2006 as our week.   We would working in Lee County, Virginia.  I think that next week there will be a meeting at the church to start recruiting volunteers -- we need at least 7 - 10 for each workgroup.

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 20, The Way to Heaven   

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Hebrews 11:16   

 

They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

 

John 12:26

 

Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.  Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

 

Today's Scriptures:  2 Peter 3:11-18   

 

Today's Discussion:   

 

-- just a couple of notes today in the interest of time.

 

-- when I read the title of this unit, my first thought was that we were just repeating what we had studied in last couple of weeks.  It struck me as being old material.  But after reading the Reflections section and the scripture, it became clear to me that this was a different slant, a different topic.  I think that the author makes a very good point in his initial paragraph -- heaven isn't something that we take seriously or talk a lot about.  We talk about being saved a great deal, but we don't really talk about heaven.

 

-- I have a first couple of impressions about this lesson:

 

(1)  we should think of our life with God as a seamless experience, encompassing this life on earth and our life to come.

 

(2)  when we think about it in that way, then that will lead us to live our lives in certain way, a better way, a more faithful way. 

 

The sentence in the Reflections section that really meant something to me is this one:  "As the center of this response (to the gift of salvation) was love for God and love for neighbor that resulted in a balanced holy life that included social and personal holiness"  This week's lesson will be one, I think, about learning how we should respond to salvation.

 

Question for Sunday:   

 

-- what is your vision of heaven?

 

Today's prayer request:    The people of the Gulf Coast. 
 

Things are much better and brighter today than last week, and a lot of that has to do with all the prayer that area and those people are getting.  We need to continue to remember those in particular who have lost someone, or simply don't know where their family members might be.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

 Chris Wesson 

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay