Friday, October 28, 2005

Good Morning!

Hope everyone has had a good week. This is the last day of the last unit of this study. I won't have our books until next Sunday, so we will have a week off, though I'll send an email everyday just to keep that going.

I probably will not be at church on Sunday -- just have this week and next to go with the Fall Softball Season. But you should be able to discuss this week's unit as well as any overall impressions/observations that you have about the study.

Remember, as a group, one of the things we are supposed to do is to encourage each other -- so if you have a story about how this study has helped you, or how just your efforts to develop a daily prayer and study habit have impacted you, that would be great to share.

As always, note that all the back emails are on the web at leapclass.blogspot.com. I think there are over 110 posts on the site as of today.

Unit 26, Going on to Perfection

Focus Scripture for the Week:

1 Timothy 6:11-12

But as for you . . . pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called.

Today's Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-48, Colossians 1:24-29, Matthew 7:13-20

Today's Discussion:

-- three different scriptures today, but the first one from Matthew is the one that is flagged as our key scripture for the week.

-- it doesn't really sum up our unit, but it gets back to an important point -- the role of love in our lives and how it impacts our relationship with others. Last week, the focus was on loving your neighbors, which we all take as loving everyone. This week, in this passage, just to make sure that we know that we are supposed show love to everyone, the scripture is focused on loving our enemies..

-- the point Jesus is making in this scripture, as he talks about God sending rain to the righteous and unrighteous -- is that God loves everyone, and that if we are to follow God's command and example, we need to love everyone.

-- at the end of this passage, it connects with our topic for the week with the line "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect." As it comes at the end of a passage about love, it is easy to make the connection that this idea of going on to perfection is really tied up on our ability to love God and love others, and to do it actively, rather than passively. The more we are engaged in living our faith, the more we are going on to perfection.

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Question for Sunday:

-- do you have a better feel/better ideal of what Wesley meant by going on to perfection? Is it a more accessible concept/idea than it was before, or is it still an intimidating goal?

Today's prayer request: Our hurricane victims

We need to remember the people whose lives are still turned upside down from Katrina, Rita and Wilma, as well as remembering the thousands of people who are helping the victims.

Today's class member prayer:

Nicole McKinney

Have a great day.

Jay