I began teaching the high school sunday school class at our church at the beginning of this month. They were studying Acts, which is a book that I really like, so I decicded to continue this study.
A friend of mine turned me onto an excellent professor at Ozark Christian College, Mark Moore, who has posted his lectures online (www.markmoore.org) and he has a course on Acts. Mr. Moore has so much knowledge, including interpretations of the original greek words, his lectures are incredibly interesting.
I was afraid that the high schoolers in my class would not want to listen to a college course for their sunday school lessons. Not only do they enjoy listening, they voted to start at the beginning of the study instead of picking up at chapter 8 where the teacher before me had left off. We are really enjoying this lecture series and each week I am amazed at the level of knowledge Mr. Moore has on his subject area. He makes studying the Bible fun even at a nitty gritty level. Often he will spend many minutes on one passage or even one word in the book. He goes to great length to discuss how we can be certain that Luke is the author of both Luke and Acts. Also, Moore stresses that the importance of studying this book for Americans is huge because it is the book that concerns salvation for Gentiles which most of us are.
If you have a chance, download some of these MP3 files from www.markmoore.org under resources and enjoy learning the Bible in a really in depth unique way.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Find a church that fits!
For a couple years right after our daughter was born my husband and I quit going to church. My hometown church, from when I was little, had disbanded and the church that I tried next was not inviting or good for my spirit.
I knew that I would not settle for a church that didn't feel like a family, the way that the one I grew up in did. Also, it is really easy to get into the habit of sleeping in on Sunday mornings. While I was not attending anywhere I could feel the void in my life. My comfortable conversations with God happened less and less. I knew that I was not setting a good example for my husband (who did not grow up in the church)or the children. The Holy Spirit nagged at me and told me every Sunday that I needed a church.
God stepped in and took over in only the important way that He can. He used my best friend, Leah. Leah and I were very close in every aspect of our lives except for religion. She was raised Lutheran and had attended a local church in Des Moines that she and her mother had gone to since Leah was younger. She knew I was a minister's daughter and in fact, my dad had married her and her husband. She called me about the Bible only when she had questions like, "Does it really say this?" One day she recieved a letter from her church telling her that they had cancelled her membership because she had not met her giving pledge for the year. She called me in tears and we talked about how I didn't feel that was a very Christian thing to do and that no, not all churches operated like that. We sort of bonded over our personal definitions of what it means to be a Christian and what one looks for in a church.
I told her how I had been feeling that I needed to get my kids in church because it was weighing heavy on my heart that I was not making that a manditory part of their lives. We decided that we would look for a church together. We tried a few and settled on Franklin Avenue Christian Church in Des Moines. In that church body we found exactly what I was looking for, a family. Leah and I started attending just the two of us and all the kids (together there were 8 of them). Soon, our husbands (who are also best friends) began attending with us and getting involved.
That was over six years ago and now Leah's and my families are completly entrenched in the life at our church. The payoff for getting back in the regular church life is that I have great spiritual people to lean on and learn from, an extended family, prayer warriors who love to pray for me, and very importantly my children are being molded into strong Christian people. My heart almost expolded the other day when my 10 and 11 year old had to write thier definition of what it meant to be smart. They both came up with detailed descriptions of what it means to be wise in the Lord. In this day and age kids of all ages seem to have a sense of entitlement to whatever they want whenever they want it. This flies in the face of Jesus's teachings.
So today my prayer for you is that if you are not regularly attending church that you keep looking until you find one that is a fit for you. Even if you won't do it for yourself, do it for your children!
I knew that I would not settle for a church that didn't feel like a family, the way that the one I grew up in did. Also, it is really easy to get into the habit of sleeping in on Sunday mornings. While I was not attending anywhere I could feel the void in my life. My comfortable conversations with God happened less and less. I knew that I was not setting a good example for my husband (who did not grow up in the church)or the children. The Holy Spirit nagged at me and told me every Sunday that I needed a church.
God stepped in and took over in only the important way that He can. He used my best friend, Leah. Leah and I were very close in every aspect of our lives except for religion. She was raised Lutheran and had attended a local church in Des Moines that she and her mother had gone to since Leah was younger. She knew I was a minister's daughter and in fact, my dad had married her and her husband. She called me about the Bible only when she had questions like, "Does it really say this?" One day she recieved a letter from her church telling her that they had cancelled her membership because she had not met her giving pledge for the year. She called me in tears and we talked about how I didn't feel that was a very Christian thing to do and that no, not all churches operated like that. We sort of bonded over our personal definitions of what it means to be a Christian and what one looks for in a church.
I told her how I had been feeling that I needed to get my kids in church because it was weighing heavy on my heart that I was not making that a manditory part of their lives. We decided that we would look for a church together. We tried a few and settled on Franklin Avenue Christian Church in Des Moines. In that church body we found exactly what I was looking for, a family. Leah and I started attending just the two of us and all the kids (together there were 8 of them). Soon, our husbands (who are also best friends) began attending with us and getting involved.
That was over six years ago and now Leah's and my families are completly entrenched in the life at our church. The payoff for getting back in the regular church life is that I have great spiritual people to lean on and learn from, an extended family, prayer warriors who love to pray for me, and very importantly my children are being molded into strong Christian people. My heart almost expolded the other day when my 10 and 11 year old had to write thier definition of what it meant to be smart. They both came up with detailed descriptions of what it means to be wise in the Lord. In this day and age kids of all ages seem to have a sense of entitlement to whatever they want whenever they want it. This flies in the face of Jesus's teachings.
So today my prayer for you is that if you are not regularly attending church that you keep looking until you find one that is a fit for you. Even if you won't do it for yourself, do it for your children!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Making Connections in Differences
I find it easy to get down on myself with thoughts that I am not doing enough or doing things well enough. I have a father who has been a minister and grandparents that were missionaries to Japan for 50 years and somewhat of a legend in their circles. I will sometimes find myself doubting that I made the right decisions in life because I did not follow directly in their footsteps. My path in life led me to find that I have a talent for math and statistics. I have also discovered that I have a passion and a talent for education. I am one of the rare people who get to say that they love their job. Because I enjoy what I do, does not mean that I have made a wrong choice in life. There are passages in the Bible that tell people like me that it is okay to have different talents.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) says:
"There are different kids of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."
I find great comfort in this verse because it quiets the doubt that arises within me sometimes. Self doubt can be paralyzing and can cause us to go backwards or just not go anywhere at all. The Bible shows us that we all have different gifts but if we rely on the one and only Lord we can be glorifying Him in whatever we do.
So, no matter where your talents lie, take Him with you; to the office, the sports team, or the gym. Let God shine through your daily activities. Use your gifts, just make sure that you recognize who they come from!
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NIV) says:
"There are different kids of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."
I find great comfort in this verse because it quiets the doubt that arises within me sometimes. Self doubt can be paralyzing and can cause us to go backwards or just not go anywhere at all. The Bible shows us that we all have different gifts but if we rely on the one and only Lord we can be glorifying Him in whatever we do.
So, no matter where your talents lie, take Him with you; to the office, the sports team, or the gym. Let God shine through your daily activities. Use your gifts, just make sure that you recognize who they come from!
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