Friday, April 28, 2006

Good Morning   

 

Survived my field trip with two bus loads of 5th and 6th graders to Chattanooga. 

 

Just got my schedule for this weekend, and I won't be a church on this Sunday.  Just as an fyi, I'll be out of town next Sunday as well (in Chicago), so I'll miss the next two weeks.  As scary as things are right now in our reading, that is probably just as well. 

 

Don't forget the diaper shower on Saturday for Christie.  For more info, go to our blog at leapclass.blogspot.com for a previous post on the subjet.

 

Today's Reading:   Revelation 10:1-4 , read Barclay pages 61-62

 

-- starting chapter 10 -- almost halfway through Revelation, and the pace is picking up.

 

-- as Barclay notes, we are now in an interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets.

 

-- obviously, an angel of great power and great authority is featured in this passage, and undoubtedly he has something important to say.  It is interesting to not that John was not told to seal what the angel was going to say, but what the seven thunders said.  Why seal their words?  As Barclay says, we shouldn't really try to figure it out -- we don't have enough information, and we'll have to trust that God did not want us to know for our own good.  I will say that it supports in a way that John is seeing the full picture of the future, even the "top secret" things and words that God did not want us to know when he chose to reveal these things to John.

 

Today's Scripture 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

Ephesians 6:10-11

Today's prayer requests:    Christie Peebles

 

Just need to remember Christie as she hangs on till her due date.

Today's class member prayer: 

 Wes Russell    

Jay

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Good Morning   

 

I'm off early this morning on a field trip with Rachel to Chattanooga, so very short note today. 

 

Just got my schedule for this weekend, and I won't be a church on this Sunday.  Just as an fyi, I'll be out of town next Sunday as well (in Chicago), so I'll miss the next two weeks.  As scary as things are right now, that is probably just as well. 

 

Don't forget the diaper shower on Saturday for Christie.  For more info, go to our blog at leapclass.blogspot.com for a previous post on the subjet.

 

Today's Reading:   Revelation 9:13-21, read Barclay pages 59-61 

 

-- the sixth trumpet sounds, and things get much, much worse.

 

-- 1/3rd of humanity is killed by these forces, so we move from the locusts sting to a castrophic lost of life across the globe.

 

Today's Scripture 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

Today's prayer requests:   Margaret Rose Severance, Brigette's grandmother

She has been on list for a while, as she recovers from her broken leg -- getting around on walker now, but still needs our prayers.

Today's class member prayer: 

 Kelley Thaxton    

Jay

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Good Morning  

 

Just got my schedule for this weekend, and I won't be a church on this Sunday.  Just as an fyi, I'll be out of town next Sunday as well (in Chicago), so I'll miss the next two weeks.  As scary as things are right now, that is probably just as well. 

 

Don't forget the diaper shower on Saturday for Christie.  For more info, go to our blog at leapclass.blogspot.com for a previous post on the subjet.

 

Today's Reading:   Revelation 9:3-12, read Barclay pages 57-59 

 

-- just a couple of notes about today as Barclay elaborates on the demonic locusts.

 

-- while obvious in the scripture, note that the locusts that will swarm the earth here will not do what they are best known for, which is to eat every bit of vegetation in sight.  They will only be here to attack people (except those with the seal of God).  Note that their attack comes after the four trumpets which have just wreaked havoc on the natural elements of the earth, so this plague spares further damage to the earth.

 

-- Barclay also solves the riddle of why five months -- he notes that this is the normal life span of a locust.  I actually doubted that information, so I looked up on the internet, and that is right on -- depending on the type of locust, they live for three to six months, with several specifically mentioning five months.  So not just a random, odd number from John.

 

-- The other odd mention in Revelation is of the king of these locusts -- Apollyon -- the angel over the bottomless abyss -- obviously a fallen angel.

 

Today's Scripture 

 

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?. 

 

Micah 6:8 

 

Today's prayer requests:   Dr Page

Dr. Page is Ron and Brad's finance teacher at Auburn, who has lymphoma, and is not doing well.  We need to remember him as he struggles with the disease and the treatment. 

Today's class member prayer: 

Brandon Herring   

Jay

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Good Morning 

 

Today's Reading:   Revelation 9:3-12, read Barclay pages 55-57

 

-- one point to make about this scripture/plague -- the first four trumpets were plagues from above -- hail with fire, mountain thrown into the sea,  a falling star, and the dimming of the stars, sun and moon.  Beginning with the fifth trumpet, the plagues begin to come from the earth and below the earth.

 

-- the one note of hope in this section -- the locusts will not harm those who had been sealed by God.  So, it terms of our discussion of the Rapture, and the idea that those who had been sealed would be taken up prior to the trumpets, you can see here that those who have been sealed will be on earth, but spared the pain of the locust/scorpions.  Of course, how popular will Christians be when they are not afflicted with this particular plague?

 

-- again, Barclay says that John took much of his material from the book of the prophet Joel in this section, which to me is a real discounting of John's word that this is a vision, rather than some different thoughts cobbled together from other books and works.

 

-- for some footage of locusts, follow this link http://www.irinnews.org/film/Eighth_Plague.htm, which is about a major locust outbreak in 2004 in Africa.  The name of the report -- the eighth plague -- refers to the plague of locusts that Moses brought down on Egypt.       

 

Today's Scripture 

 

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. 

 

Galatians 6:10 

 

Today's prayer requests:   Saundra Aaron

Valerie's brother's mother-in-law continues to go through treatment for cancer.  Need to remember her and her family in her struggles.

Today's class member prayer:  

 

Megan Douglas  

Jay

Monday, April 24, 2006

Good Morning 

 

Don't forget that the LEAP Class will be having a diaper shower to celebrate the imminent arrival of little Jenna Rose Peebles.  The shower will be at Monica and Joey's house at 4613 Nicholas Drive in Letson Farms on Saturday, April 29 at 6 PM.  Joey and Monica will provide the chicken fingers and drinks.  We are to bring a dessert and/or side as well as diapers for Jenna Rose.  Christie is primed and ready for delivery.  The doctors are hoping she can hold on until at least May 10th, so we need to be prayerful about that.  Email or call Monica (phimpactyouth@aol.com) to let her know that you are coming and if you have any questions. 

 

Here is the Rapture information from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture.  References to a lot of different theories, but if you work your way down towards the end towards the History section, you'll see that belief in the Rapture is actually a relatively new thing.

 

The article also refers to the movie I was discussing about the Rapture, and I had one bit of information wrong -- it wasn't Mimi Driver, it was Mimi Rogers who starred in the movie, and she was married to Tom Cruise from 1987 - 1990.  According to Wikipedia, she is the one who introduced Tom Cruise to Scientology.  Here Wikipedia entry is here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimi_Rogers

 

Also, here is a review of the film The Rapture by Roger Ebert http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19911027/REVIEWS/110270301/1023

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation  9:1-2  Read Barclay 53-54

 

-- this scripture opens with the blowing of the fifth trumpet, and we start to shift from natural terrors -- fire, earthquakes, darkness -- to the release of demonic and/or supernatural terrors on the earth.

 

-- Barclay discusses the abyss and how it relates to ideas of hell, and the abyss is considered an intermediate place of punishment, not the ultimate/final place of punishment, which is the lake of fire and brimstone. 

 

-- an interesting thing is the idea of the abyss as a place of punishment for angels who have sinned, as noted in the non-Bibilcal book of Enoch.  Barclay references Enoch quite a bit, because of it's possible/likely influence on John, and because, while it was not included in the Bible, it does reflect the thinking of the Jews during John's day.

 

-- Brad's fear meter is now at 9.25, on a scale of 1 - 10, and his Hope meter is now down to 4.

 

Today's Scripture

 

 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

 

 1 Thessalonians 4:17 

 

Today's prayer requests:   Angie, co worker of Brigette Severance

Angie is someone who have had on our prayer list due to brain tumor discovered about six weeks ago, and she had to have immediate surgery.  Her tumor was classified as a Stage 3 tumor, and she's undergoing radiation.  We need to remember her in our prayers.

Today's class member prayer:

Joey Harbarger 

Jay