Friday, June 3, 2005

Good Morning!

Hope to see all of you on Sunday morning!

The new unit for this week is Unit 5, Living Prayerfully

Focus Scripture for the Week: Genesis1:1-2, 31

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Today's scripture:Colossians 1:15-20

What did we learn this week? The emphasis, to me, was that we take away a renewed sense of the power and glory of God. And I think that what the author was trying to do hear was get us to really focus on that and try to take away more than just a token or casual appreciation of that.

I think that even the hardest heathen has a sense of God being around, being present. There is a common understanding that most people have about God. But I think we were supposed to think about this week is the real implications of what that should mean to us as Christians -- if God is really this big, this powerful, this all-knowing -- then shouldn't our lives reflect that reality. To me, the two ways that should change the way we live our lives are (1) a constant awareness and appreciation of God's invovlement in our lives, and (2) a confidence that we can rely on God to keep his promises, because he has that ability.

I think that this was a hard unit this week -- because we had to try to shake off years of our casual, worldly, stereotypical vision of an aloof, and occassionally present God and see the vision of an actively and constantly involved God who in control of everything single beat of creation.

Today's prayer request: The Johnston's, a family of a student from Megan's school

One of their children died from a seizure on Wednesday morning -- we need to remember this family due to their sudden loss.

Today's class member prayer:

Terry Shinabarger

Have a great day.

Jay

Thursday, June 2, 2005

Good Morning!

The new unit for this week is Unit 5, Living Prayerfully

Focus Scripture for the Week: Genesis1:1-2, 31

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Today's scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

- Traveling day today, so pressed for time this morning. My one thought about this scripture today is that it is about us individually -- some of the other readings that we have had this week about God and his works have focused on the vastness of his presence and power -- this particular scripture adds some depth to that in saying that each of us personally is valued and known by God -- which only adds to our wonder at what he able to do.

Today's prayer request: Monica's nephew, Alex Lloyd

Alex is going to have a long-term presence on our list, due to the condition of his hip and the long term nature of his treatment

Today's class member prayer:

Lynn Rocksvold

Have a great day.
Jay

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Good Morning!

Just fyi, I should be in town this Sunday.

The new unit for this week is Unit 5, Living Prayerfully

Focus Scripture for the Week: Genesis1:1-2, 31

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Today's scripture: Genesis 17:1-8

-- In the spirit of this week's unit, God made an amazing promise to Abraham -- primarily in terms of the scope of the promise -- it covers all time, it covers billions of people, it promises him a homeland for all time for him and his people - a land that he didn't possess at the time. Only a God who could already know the beginnning and the end of time could make that promise.

-- In the Wesley readings for this week -- the first one has a very vibrant example of what God's constant presence means to all of creation. The image of a hand holding a rock in the air, to me, is one of the simplest but most effective visuals of God's power.

Today's prayer request: Nelson Ferreiro, a family friend of Megan Douglas

Nelson was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, and had surgery to remove the tumor. However, they could not remove all of it, and he was given 2 - 6 months to live. We need to pray for him and his family.

Today's class member prayer:

Carl McKinnney

Have a great day.

Jay

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Good Morning!

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. I'm out of town this week, so I might be sending these a little later than usual this week, due to issues with internet connections, etc.

The new unit for this week is Unit 5, Living Prayerfully

Focus Scripture for the Week: Genesis 1:1-2, 31

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

Today's scripture: John 1:1-18

-- The Reflections section for this week lays out very simply what our unit is about this week -- our prayer life is shaped by our image of God. If we perceive God as a small and limited being, then our prayer life will be small and limited, And if we perceive God as small and limited, what does that do to our ability to completely trust him with our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our salvation?

-- The focus scripture for this week and the first daily reading from Genesis are intended to remind us about how big God is, and what he has accomplished. Sometimes, the power of these two passages can be diminished because we are so familiar with them, but break them and down and really think about what they say -- God was here first. He made everything. He is in involved in everything. How amazing is that?

Today's prayer request: Monica's nephew, Alex Lloyd

Alex is going to have a long-term presence on our list, due to the condition of his hip and the long term nature of his treatment.

Today's class member prayer:

Megan Douglas

Have a great day.

Jay