I owe, I owe, so its off to work I go

Does work seem like a curse to you sometimes? This week we will examine the notion that work is not a "four-letter" word, but something that God can "sacredize" (make holy) if we let him. Did you have a job that was particularly demanding? Maybe you still do. God can be honored in your performance of that job.

Post Sunday ruminations

We had a good lesson on Sunday. We sure found out some interesting things about one another. I'm going to try and welcome God's piercing gaze into my innermost self a little more. Maybe I can find out more about myself in the process.

Is there someone who really knows you?

Our first lesson for August begins at the right place. This lesson thinks about knowing God in our daily life. The scriptures are very familiar to you. Psalm 139 and Proverbs 3: 5-6 (one of my favorites and perhaps your's too.)

Psalm 139 tells us that God knows us intimately. He knows everything about us. Its not just that he knows what we look like, but he can see right through us and tell what is at the very core of our existence. The really remarkable thing is that even though God really knows us that intimately, he still loves us and guides us and keeps us. How many people do you think there are out there who are afraid that if their friends knew all about them they wouldn't be their friends anymore? I'm glad that God is not like that. Since God knows us that well it only makes sense that we should trust him.

More to come . . . .

Our new Study begins August 1, entitled "Living Faith in Daily Life" We will explore the question "what difference does faith make when Sunday is over?" Topics include "Knowing God in Daily Life", "Enjoying the Life God Gives", "Building Community", and "Setting Right Priorities in a Money-Centered World."

Don't miss this new study!

Looking forward to fall: September 12th - BHBC Block Party
September 15 - Wednesday programming returns - including a Family Fellowship Meal!
September 19 - Sunday activities return.

Devotional

Hebrews 6:19 (New International Version)
19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
The hope that the writer of Hebrews is talking about here is the hope that we have in God and the promises he has made. This hope is an anchor for our soul in difficult times. We don't get washed away when difficulties come to our lives when we have our soul anchored in God's promises. I have need that word this summer. I have been to two funerals already this summer. My father-in-law died last month, and just this last week my father's sister, my aunt has met her eternal reward. My family has needed something to anchor our soul to in the midst of these difficulties.
Lloyd Ogilvie describes three kinds of anchors in his book A Future and a Hope, the lunch anchor, the working anchor and the storm anchor. Hope, Ogilvie says, is our "storm anchor." We can "stake our lives on His unchanging plan and purpose."* I'm glad for a storm anchor in my life. I trust that God is that same anchor in your life as well.

*Lloyd Ogilvie, A Future and a Hope, Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988, 139.

This was the devotional that I posted 7/19 for my online classes. I'll have to tell you, I am getting tired of funerals and weddings. I have been to two of each this last month and that's enough. I am trying to learn to depend on God as an anchor in the storm more and more.

I will post some thoughts from my funeral sermon next time.

No Bible Study on July 4th - there will be one worship service only at 10:30 am.

Class resumes on July 11th. Our next study will begin the first Sunday in August. In the interim time, it will be "teacher's choice" for the lessons. Watch the blog for more information!

Ok, this is not related to Sunday School, but I saw this interesting article that talked about the restoration of ancient, 4th century paintings of Peter, Paul, John and Andrew in a catacomb under a modern office building in Rome. These pictures are pretty neat.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_archaeology

Pharisees and Publicans

This week's lesson also discusses prayer. We have been talking a lot about prayer, it seems, in these lessons.

This week's characters are 1. A Pharisee
2. A Publican or tax collector as the New International Version
describes him. The older term comes from the Latin publicanus
which meant public servant.

We know a lot about the Pharisees. They were those "separated ones" who were religious leaders in Israel and appear frequently in the Gospels.

Tax collectors were reviled by the Pharisees because they worked for the Roman Empire. They collected taxes and made their living by taking more than they should and extorting the Jewish people.

Which group would you rather identify with in this parable?

New Blog

Hey,

This is the first blog for our Sunday School class blog spot. We are finishing up with the parables of Jesus in Luke in a couple of weeks and we will be starting a new curriculum soon. Hopefully this blog will be a way for us to communicate before and after Sunday and discuss the lessons and whatever else you are interested in.