Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Good Morning! 

 

Just fyi, I've added a link to the Appalachia Service Project web site on the blog.  Just a reminder that the blog has all of our back emails, along with links to the Pleasant Hill web site and the United Methodist Church web site features such as book and movie reviews.  Blog is at http://leapclass.blogspot.com.

 

Also, still wanting to hear any feedback on suggestions for a possible next study -- we have four weeks left in this book.

 

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:  Matthew 12:46-50

 

Today's Discussion: 

 

-- the scripture today is brief bit from Jesus, making the point that we have a spiritual family that we belong to -- in his case, those who shared the responsibility of doing God's will.  We have a similar relationship with our church and our class.  We hear the term used all the time about "brothers and sisters in Christ" to refer to our fellow believers, but we don't always feel or expect that level of spiritual kinship.

 

-- the first four readings from Wesley this week speak to the power that can be gained from our spiritual family.  In the first couple, he talks about the Methodists, both from the standpoint of asking them not to leave the church of England (which Methodism grew out of, and had conflicts with) and encouraging them with the power of staying part of a larger group that could do good works.  In the next couple, he talks about the opposite side -- congregations and groups that had gone cold because they had ceased to gather together to share and support each other.

 

-- practically speaking, being a Christian is a task that requires being with other Christians, to share, to encourage and to worship together.  While all of the Christian denominations are organized to bring Christians together in worship and study in one way or the other, the Methodist Church has a particular emphasis on the power of small groups to grow the faith of individuals.  And this isn't just an old fashioned idea.  The fastest growing and most contemporary church in America today -- Saddleback Church where Rick Warren preaches (he of Purpose Driven Life fame) is specifically about small groups.  It's growth is all about small groups where people can share and be encouraged.  If that is something that modern American Christians want from their churches, the Methodist Church tradition makes us particularly suited to be ready to address those needs.

 

Question for Sunday:  

 

-- how can our small group be more vibrant and active and vital?

 

Today's prayer request:   Our soldiers in Iraq

 

This is something that has definitely gotten pushed off our front page, but we still have a significant number of soldiers in harm's way in Iraq who we need to remember.

 

Today's class member prayer: 

 

Andrew Peebles

 

Have a great day.

 

Jay