Monday, September 26, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Hope you all had a good weekend.

 

The new unit for this week is  Unit 22, The Ministry of All God's People  

 

Focus Scriptures for the Week:  

 

Ephesians 4:11-12

 

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

 

Today's Scriptures:  1 Corinthians 1:1-9

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- the scripture for today doesn't give us much instruction, but note that we usually dismiss completely the introductory comments to Paul's letters.  But there are a couple of things that we should note about this section.

 

-- first, we should note how Paul lives out the idea of always giving thanks to God.  Even in his letter, before he gets down to business, he is giving praise and thanksgiving to God.  Just as we open all of our church meetings with prayer, Paul does more or less the same thing in the opening lines of this letter.

 

-- second, note that Paul was writing to correct some of the actions and beliefs of the Corinthian church.  But note that before he gets to that, he starts on a positive note.  Paul, as someone who was supervising or responsible for the church in Corinth, took a positive approach to correct their behavior and beliefs.  He doesn't sugar coat his comments later on, but he establishes an air of love in the beginning to be the backdrop for his other comments.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

-- how do you approach correct others -- whether they are your children or those who work for you?

 

Today's prayer request:    Our bosses and others in authority at our work place.

 

Since today is Monday, let's start it off well by remembering our employers and supervisors -- that they manage with respect and ethics and fairness.  Let us also pray that we as supervisors do the same.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Melissa Herring

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay