While the Gym is getting some new lights and paint job we will be having a coffee fellowship time in the Fellowship Hall. We will start up again on the 25th of March.
*Linda Olson will continue to run a study of 1 John in the library.
Weekly Lessons
February 18/25
In these two weeks we will continue to hear from Pastor Brett and the Youth as they share with us some best practices for short term missions. Come and be part of the discussion.
February 11th
This week we will be starting a three week series looking at what it means to be on mission. We will be utilizing the resource “When Helping Hurts” to guide us through. Come join Pastor Brett and some youth as they help us think through this topic. Specifically, we will be looking at short term missions.
Preparation: Consider what it means to be on mission. What does that mean and what does that look like? In what ways have you been on mission?
February 4th
This week we will be enjoying a guest speaker. Come prepared to listen and to learn.
January 28th
This week we will look at the role God plays in interpreting scripture correctly. Last week we looked at the role of the reader (us) and I suggested that our role is to meditate on God’s word. In other words, our role is to read it and then think about it. So this week we are going to explore how God interacts with our meditations of his Word in order to bring about understanding and application in our lives.
Preparation: Read 1 Corinthians 2. Now turn your attention to verses 14 and 15. Below are three examples of these verse from three different translations of scripture. What is Paul suggesting here as to how the Spirit brings about understanding?
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. (NASB)
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. (NLT)
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (KJV)
January 21st
Imagine you are meeting three friends at Denny’s for breakfast tomorrow morning and as you arrive you tell them something exciting you have been dying to share with them. You sit down and before you order you quickly announce, “I saw a man on a hill with a telescope!” Now your friends unfortunately do not think your story is that exciting so you ask them why not… One by one they begin to re-tell your story:
Friend 1 says, “So there’s a man on a hill, and you were watching him with your telescope…”
Friend 2 interrupts saying, “No, no, no. He said that he saw a man on a hill who has a telescope.”
Friend 3 interrupts saying, “You both are crazy! He clearly said that he was on a hill and he saw a man who had a telescope.”
…
Now this is kind of a silly story but I do think it illustrates something important. It highlights the complexity in interpretation. A relatively simple sentence like, “I saw a man on a hill with a telescope,” can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Now, it is quite inconsequential to interpret the previous statement correctly, however, when it comes to the Bible we can all agree that the stakes are higher. So how do we interpret God’s word well? For the next two weeks we will explore this question. This week we will focus on the role of the reader (Humanity) in correct interpretation and next week we will focus on the role of the Holy Spirit (God) in correct interpretation.
Preparation: Read Acts 8:26-40. What does this story tell us about the role of the Holy Spirit in correct interpretation? What does this story tell us about the role of the Court Official? Put yourself in the shoes of the Ethiopian court official… What took place in order for him to come to a correct understanding of the text he was reading?
Homework: I suggested that in order to interpret the Bible well our role as the reader is to meditate on it. Christian meditation can be defined as such, “Deep thinking on the truths and spiritual realities revealed in Scripture for the purposes of understanding, application and prayer.” So, in other words, our responsibility is to read the Bible and think about what we read. Spend some time meditating on Philippians 4:4-9. As you do, consider the questions: What keeps you from meditating on scripture and what are meditating on instead (aka what are you worrying about)?
January 14th
This week we will address a bad habit when it comes to reading our Bibles. Glenn Paauw, the author of “Saving The Bible From Ourselves,” calls this bad habit ‘snacking on the Bible.’ What he is referring to is the tendency for us to take small bite size bits of the Bible instead of feasting on large chunks. He writes,
“Snacking on the Bible is addictive for all the usual reasons something becomes addictive: it’s easy, it feels good at the moment and the alternative seems complex and difficult. But why should we worry about it? It may involve only taking in small pieces, but it’s still the Bible, right? Isn’t it better than not reading the Bible at all?”
We will take a look at these questions and look for evidence of this bad habit in our own encounters with God’s word.
Preparation: The favorite verse of every competitor/athlete is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This verse by itself seems to suggest that Jesus will indeed help you kick the 50 yard field goal or complete the bike race you signed up for.
Read this verse in the context of all of chapter 4 or even the whole book of Philippians. How does the meaning of this verse change or clarify as you do that?
Homework: We looked at four verses in sunday school that are clarified in their meaning when they are read in context (Jer 29:11, Phil 4:13, Matt 7:1, Matt 18:20). I would encourage you to look up some other popular verses you are familiar with and read them in the context in which the were written. Does the cultural understanding of these verses change or clarify when understood in context?
January 7th
This week we will attempt to answer this question… what is the Bible? It is an important question to consider and it is interesting to see that the Bible has a lot to say about itself.
Preparation: Here is a link that contains several of the verses where the Bible (sometimes referred to as scripture, God’s word, the law, etc) is testifying to what it is. What conclusions can you draw as to what the Bible is from these verses?
Homework: I gave some examples of how harmonization can hinder our understanding and appreciation of scripture… Can you come up with other examples where harmonization can hinder or help our understanding?
Adult Sunday School 