Good Morning All!
What a great weekend for being outside and enjoying life!
Jane and I finally got out with our bikes and rode them in the Route 66 Park area (Times Beach) on Friday and had a great time. Yesterday (4-27-09) we went with our daughter (Amy) and her children to Grants Farm and really enjoyed ourselves. We would encourage everyone to get out and enjoy the many outdoor venues the St. Louis area has to offer.
KoinoniaSunday School Information:
Yesterday (4-26-09) our Koinonia Sunday School Class was attended by Betty Caswell, Denise Kelly, Allan & Teresa Schlobohm as well as Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
A. Continued health recovery after surgery for both Betty Caswell and Dee Vogt.
B. God's help with Bill Vallely's lung health issues and
C. Continued spiritual help for Allan the Teresa's family following the loss of Terasa's mother.
During our study period we reviewed and brought to an end our discussion of the Book of Exodus, highlighting once again the aspects that Exodus establishes the beginning of our contemporary church both from a spiritual and physical worship view point. We also noted that while both the church structure (Tabernacle) and the robes for Arron and his priests were very ornate, such ornate dressings were not applied to Moses, even though Moses was the leader. We compared this to Jesus who also was not given ornate robes even though he was the Son of God! This led us to understand that while we can take great comfort in being "Christ-like" Christians it is always important to remember we must do so with the same humility exhibited by both Jesus and Moses.
At the conclusion of our Exodus study be began our discussions on the Book of James. We reviewed the introduction and leaned that James is a Book that was written only about 15 years after the death of Jesus and yet was written to discuss the "thorny" inter-play of Faith and Works. The Book was addressed to Jewish-Christians who were spread throughout Asia Minor and who were not physically located close to a central church community. It struck me as amazing that only approximately 15 years after Christ's death, and before Paul had begun his ministry, that a detailed narrative regarding the relationship of Faith and Works needed to be published by James.
We will begin reading and discussiing from Chapter 1, vs 1 of the Book of James next week (May 3, 2009.
Thanks again to everyone who attends our class and to those of you who read this blog. Please continue to give to me your feedback regarding this blog site and how I might structure it to better serve us all.
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry Pursley
April 27, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Good Morning - April 20, 2009!
Well - here is my first "blog entry" and I'll be interested to see how it works. As I start I will focus on my Koinonia Sunday School class here at Salem in Ballwin United Methodist Church and basically share what we accomplished in our last class and discuss where we are headed. My goal in beginning this is to give my class members a chance 1) to catch up on what we are doing in our class and 2) what is happening with our class members. I hasten to add this blog will not come close to replacing your presence in our class and thus I ask you to join us each Sunday whenever you can. Please feel free to provide comments and suggestions for improvement so this "blog" becomes a positive part of our Salem Church experience.
This last Sunday was April 19, 2009.
Class Members Present were - Bill Nichols and Terry Pursley.
Prayers Requests: Bill Nichol's nephew Mark Nichols and Bill's Friend Drew Geison, as well as my mom and Todd and Amy Koerber with their soon (6-23-09) to arrive new child.
Material Studied - Bill and I completed the reading and study of Exodus. We summarized the Book of Exodus as being primarily focused on three basic themes.
1. The development of a spiritual relationship between God and People (the Church). Previously the relationships had been developed between God and Individuals (Abraham, Issac and Jacob) but in Exodus we see the transition to a relationship between God and the People (i.e. the people have to put the blood on the doorposts at passover - not just Moses). Moses simply facilities the transition but God begins to develop a direct relationship with the people and lays the foundation for our modern day "Church".
2. The development of a physical relationship between God and People through the design and construction of the first worship building structure (Tabernacle.) and clothing (priestly robes) is discussed in much detail in Exodus. When we look around our Church building and service today we see the remnants of the physical structure first established by God in Exodus.
3. The development of an judicial administration system (Judges) to manage the affairs of the new church society was established. This organization of legal jurisprudence is a primary foundation for the structure of our modern society's legal structure and establishes the fundamental principle that every person has the God given right to have his or her case heard before an impartial judge. It also establishes the principle that there is a "right and wrong" way of conducting our lives and that forgiveness and punishment are both very real consequences.
In closing, the "parting of the Red Sea" is historically the most prominent event most often remembered in Book of Exodus, when in fact I suggest the three aspects I mention above are the most important aspects affecting our lives today and are ones we should also remember.
Next Week: We will begin a study of the Book of James whose main theme can be considered to be the "hand-in-glove" relationship of Faith and Good Deeds (Works). We will study how our faith is to be reflected in our actions of everyday living.
Quote of the week (somewhat accurate!): From Bill Nichols to Terry Pursley regarding the planting of tomatoes - "If you don't plant your tomatoes in the sunlight all you'll get is pickles."!
Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!
Terry
4-20-09
This last Sunday was April 19, 2009.
Class Members Present were - Bill Nichols and Terry Pursley.
Prayers Requests: Bill Nichol's nephew Mark Nichols and Bill's Friend Drew Geison, as well as my mom and Todd and Amy Koerber with their soon (6-23-09) to arrive new child.
Material Studied - Bill and I completed the reading and study of Exodus. We summarized the Book of Exodus as being primarily focused on three basic themes.
1. The development of a spiritual relationship between God and People (the Church). Previously the relationships had been developed between God and Individuals (Abraham, Issac and Jacob) but in Exodus we see the transition to a relationship between God and the People (i.e. the people have to put the blood on the doorposts at passover - not just Moses). Moses simply facilities the transition but God begins to develop a direct relationship with the people and lays the foundation for our modern day "Church".
2. The development of a physical relationship between God and People through the design and construction of the first worship building structure (Tabernacle.) and clothing (priestly robes) is discussed in much detail in Exodus. When we look around our Church building and service today we see the remnants of the physical structure first established by God in Exodus.
3. The development of an judicial administration system (Judges) to manage the affairs of the new church society was established. This organization of legal jurisprudence is a primary foundation for the structure of our modern society's legal structure and establishes the fundamental principle that every person has the God given right to have his or her case heard before an impartial judge. It also establishes the principle that there is a "right and wrong" way of conducting our lives and that forgiveness and punishment are both very real consequences.
In closing, the "parting of the Red Sea" is historically the most prominent event most often remembered in Book of Exodus, when in fact I suggest the three aspects I mention above are the most important aspects affecting our lives today and are ones we should also remember.
Next Week: We will begin a study of the Book of James whose main theme can be considered to be the "hand-in-glove" relationship of Faith and Good Deeds (Works). We will study how our faith is to be reflected in our actions of everyday living.
Quote of the week (somewhat accurate!): From Bill Nichols to Terry Pursley regarding the planting of tomatoes - "If you don't plant your tomatoes in the sunlight all you'll get is pickles."!
Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!
Terry
4-20-09
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Welcome to my first and brand new Blog! I am sure I will be stumbling as I go here but if you can bare with me I'll see if I can improve as I go along.
My first goal in creating this Blog is to provide a space for following my sunday school class with information about what we have recently studied and what we intend to do in the near future. If this works well I'll keep it going and perhaps expand into other areas of interst, but for now I will implement the "KISS" philosophy and keep it simple.
Have a Great Day and Enjoy your Life.
Terry
My first goal in creating this Blog is to provide a space for following my sunday school class with information about what we have recently studied and what we intend to do in the near future. If this works well I'll keep it going and perhaps expand into other areas of interst, but for now I will implement the "KISS" philosophy and keep it simple.
Have a Great Day and Enjoy your Life.
Terry
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