May 25, 2009

Happy Memorial Day to you All!

I hope you had a great weekend! I am running late in publishing this week's message but Jane and I have had a busy three day weekend.

Social Stuff!

Last Friday, Jane and I went to see our granddaughter graduate from pre-school - "Teeny Tots" over in Freeburg, Illinois. Much pomp and circumstance involved here as these 4 and 5 year old people make the big leap from pre-school to kindergarden. After the graduation we went to a picnic in the park and then we went over to Eckerts where we picked strawberries. This was great fun and even better after we went home and made/ate strawberry shortcake! Really good stuff!

Saturday, I rode my bike 30 miles at the 66 park layout while Jane went back to Amy's to help clean. After my bike ride I drove over to Freeburg where we went to see the movie Midnight at the Museum movie. We all seemed to like the movie but I was surprised by how much the grandkids liked it.

Sunday, we enjoyed both Sunday School and Church and then went over to Jane's family for an impromptu family gather that really turned out nice. Lots of good food and converstation.

Today (Monday) we had intended to ride our bikes again but got rained out. We did have time to barbecue a lunch for my mom which we took and ate with her at Delmar Gardens. We then watched the Cardinals get beat 1 to 0 by the Brewers which was a real bummer. Jane and I then came home and did absolutely nothing for the rest of the afternoon.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Yesterday's Sunday School class was attended by Denise Kelly, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Genny Maas, Cindy Jones, and Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for: Bill Vallely who is going to the Mao Clinic with his lung ailment, Donna Dependahl's 13 year old daughter who is experiencing difficult personality issues, Lisa Kirk's father who is suffering with cancer, Teresa's 104 year old Great Aunt Mimi who just broke here elbow, Jack Griswald who is Alan's friend, Ernie's Nisongoner's daughter who is diagnosed with cancer, and Cindy's friends the Litzinger family.

Studied Material: James Chapter 3 vs 13 thru Chapter 4 vs 10

In Chapter 3 vs 13 thru 18 James tells us to live honorable lives by doing good with a humility that comes from the wisdom of understaning God's ways. We are told to resist bitter jealousy and sefish ambition and to be peacemakers because ".. those who are peacemkers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of rightousness". (Ch 3 vs 18 - New Living Translation Version.)

In Chapter 4 vs 1 thru 10 we learn about the importance of drawing close to God. We learned in these verses that the quarrels and fights among us generally spring from struggles we have within ourselves and which "spill over" into our external realtionships with others. In other words when we are not a peace within ourselves we find our selves quarrling with others in an attempt to resolve our internal struggles. We also learned our internal struggles are due in large part because we do not ask and/or rely upon God to help us; thus we are not at peace and we live in a state of both internal and external turmoil.

In class we discussed verse 4 in detail. It reads "You adulterers! Don't you realilze that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself and enemy of God." At first glance this verse could be interpreted to mean we must separate ourselves from the world; but upon a closer look we glean another reading. James begins this verse with the phrase "You Adulters! which means that he is refering to those of us who "confess" a relationship with God but then "cheat" on God by entering into relationships with wordly issues that erode the relationship with God. The analogy I used in class to help explain this point is - Jane and I have a unique and sacred relationship as a husband and wife which does not preclude me from being friends with other women but it does preclude me from having any deeper relationships with these women. Similarly, when we enter into a relationship with God we are not prevented from working within the world but we are prevented from entering into relationships that supplant our relationship with God. If we let the World supplant our relationship with God then we have become spiritual "Adulterers" and broken our "vow" with God.

Verses 7 thru 10 are very meaningful but we emphasized verse 8 which reads - "Come close to God, and God will come close to you." Each of us needs to come closer to our God and in return He will come closer to us. The analogy I used in class was - What grandparent "draws back" when a grand child climbs into their lap? No - grandparents hug their grandchildren when they come close and similarly when we draw close to God he will encircle us with his love! We all thought this was an experience we wanted to enjoy!

This completes my thoughts for this week. I hope you find them enjoyable and helpful. Next week we will begin class at verse 11 of Chapter 4 and be discussing the warning against judging others and of self-confidence. In the meantime -

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!



Terry Pursley

May 18, 2009

Good Morning to you All!

I hope you had another good week and great weekend! Looks like we are going to have a dry and nice weather week so I hope you will be able to enjoy at least a part of it.

Social Stuff!

Jane and I had another full weekend. Friday morning we went over the the Times Beach "66 Park" are and rode our bikes for about 12 miles. This park has nice flat biking and walking trails with picnic sites. One trail travels along the Meramec River and is quite nice. Friday night we went out to eat at a restaurant on the "Hill" called "Anthonino's Taverna" and it had good food although the crowd was a little loud for casual conversation. Saturday, we did yard work in the morning and then went over to help the Men's Club with their Barbecue which we thought went very well. The Men's Club and all their helpers do a great job!. We took dinners over to my mom's at Delmar Gardens and had a pleasant meal and conversation with her. Sunday, we went to first service at Salem to hear Ben Barnett preach, and so we could leave immediately after the choir sang in the second service to go visit our Daughter's family at the Art Fair in Bellville, Illinois. This Bellville Art Fair is an annual event and is very nice. It is said to be one of the biggest and best such art fairs in the United Sates, and while I am not qualified to comment on this claim I can say Jane and I have enjoyed going to it. Our Daughter Amy is part of a Dance Team that was dancing during the Fair and although Amy being 8+ months pregnant is not able to dance, she did choreograph one of the dances that was performed. We enjoyed the dance, the Fair and the grand kids so it was a great time. After the Fair, Jane and I drove back towards home but stopped off and saw the movie "Angels and Demons" and we both liked it very much. It stars Tom Hanks and is a quick moving adventure story about events centred on the Catholic Church in Vatican City.

One last social note - As I announced in First Service, I have signed up to ride in the American Diabetes "Tour de Cure" bike ride scheduled for June 6, 2009. I intend to ride 30 miles and I am soliciting donations to sponsor my ride with collected donations going 100% to the American Diabetes Association for their work with Diabetes. If you would care to donate, I'd ask to give me a check made out to "American Diabetes Association" so I may turn it in by June 2, 2009. No gift is to small and I thank you for your consideration. Here is a link if you desire to go to the American Diabetes Association web site and pledge an amount of money for my ride:
http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC355418030?px=4749343&pg=personal&fr_id=5609

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Date: May 17, 2009
Members Present: Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Genny Maas, Jane and Terry Pursley
Prayer Reqyests: Todd and Amy's family, Drew Geison - cancer, Mark Nichols - brain aliment, Billy Vallely - serious lung issues, John Kelly - urologist tests, and Jane's dad (Bob Stoltz) is having a bladder medical procedure performed this Wednesday.

Material Discussed: "James" Chapter 2 vs 14 thru Chapter 3 vs. 12

Chapter 2 vs 14 thru 26:

The relationship of "Faith" and "Good Deeds" is discussed in Chapter 2 vs 14 thru 26, and we found this section can be troublesome because of a misinterpretation of what the verses say. At first glance it appears "James" is saying that "Faith" alone is not enough but that "Good Works" must also be present. To support this view Verse 17 clearly says "So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless." (New Living Translation version).

To better understand what James is saying it is important to also read verses 15 and 16 because these verses provide the context for what James is saying. Verse 15 and 16 read "Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" - but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good dose that do?" These verses clearly indicate James is not talking about the relationship of faith to our personal salvation but rather the relationship between our faith and the well-being of "others". James is telling the early Christians, as well as us today, that our faith in Jesus Christ must lead us to help others; otherwise, our faith has no impact on the lives of others. I believe the following is an excellent example of what James is speaking of:

If Jesus had not taken action to die on the cross and be resurrected, then Jesus' faith would not have paid the price for our sins. It was only by doing something for us (i.e. dying on the cross) that allowed Jesus to give us the opportunity for salvation.

Similarly, the faith of the Koinonia Sunday School class, would not be sufficient to help Circle of Concern persons during Thanksgiving if all we did as a class was sit in our room and reflect upon how faithful we are!! James tells us our faith only has meaning for others (i.e. Circle of Concern folks) if we get up and prepare and serve them a meal.

James is not saying it takes more than Faith to be saved; instead, James is saying it takes more than Faith to impact the lives of others!

Chapter 3 verses 1 thru 12:

In these verses James talks about the evil power of our tongues (speech). James cautions us to be careful about what we say, because what we say can have devastating impacts upon others. We can well imagine how important this was in the early Church because the "Good News" of Jesus Christ was only being distributed by "Word of Mouth"; therefore, it was vitally important that the credibility of the speakers not be diminished by foul and lying language. Today - people who speak for God, must be careful to not speak badly in everyday discussions because this tends to erode the quality of the conversation they have when speaking of God.

Many of us have been in circumstances where poorly chosen "words" have clearly hurt other people. This many times happens in church meetings or discussions when good people simply, and often inadvertently, say things that hurt other people. It is therefore critically important in the life of any church; including Salem, that people carefully use language that conveys a positive aspect even on controversial topics. We must always remember that Christ died for us even when we were sinners; therefore, people are always more important than things and conversations must always be couched in terms that address the issues, and not demean the people who have differing views.

Next Week's Materials: Start at James Chapter 3 verse 13 and go as far and God wants us to go.

Well - That is it for this week. I hope you enjoy this blog site. I again encourage comments to help make it better so please do not hesitate to let me know your thoughts.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!



Terry

May 11, 2009

Good Morning All!

Looks like another wonderful weather day in store for us today and I hope you get a chance to enjoy it!

Jane and I had a great weekend. Saturday we went out early to Alton, Illinois where we joined a "Trailnet" bicycle ride event and rode our bikes about 17 miles. Trailnet is a St. Louis area bicycle club that is actively involved in the St. Louis community and sponsors many local bicycle rides throughout the spring, summer and fall seasons. They are an environmentally friendly organization and you may have seen them in the area news reports since they help support many local activities. Anyway, their sponsored bike rides provide numerous route lengths and this last Saturday we had the choice of riding 17, 37 or 51 miles. Since this was our first "Trailnet" ride of this year we opted for the short route and it was the smart thing for us to do. Half-way thru the ride there was a sponsored rest stop at a location where the Lewis & Clark "Departure Days" festival was taking place and we had the opportunity to visit with some of the festival participants who were exhibiting various crafts from the Lewis and Clark era. It was very interesting and made for a good rest stop. After the bike ride, Jane and I went to "Fast Eddies- Bonare" over in Alton. We had never been there and we had heard it was an "interesting" place. We really enjoyed it. The food is fairly inexpensive because evidently they make their money on the "beverage sales". We ordered 24 ea "peel and eat" shrimp and a Fat Eddie's Hamburger and they were both very good. Jane had a coke and I had a little more "robust" beverage and we really enjoyed the "outdoor" court in which we ate. Once we finished at Fast Eddies we came home and we had Jane's mom and dad over for a "Mother's Day" dinner. Our two daughters and grand kids joined us along with Jane's sister and her husband. I fixed most of the meal on the barbecue grill and all turned out well. It was a great day from sunrise to sunset!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Members Present: Bill Nichols, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Denise Kelly, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for: Bill Vallalie' serious lung ailment, Denise Kelly's sons on-going life issues, Alan's continued neck/back pain issues, Amy and Todd Koeber's tough work and pregnancy issues, and Salem Church in general.

Studied Material: The Book of James Chapter 1 vs 19 thru Chapter 2 vs 13.

This was a very enjoyable section as it relates very much to our everyday lives. Chapter 1 vs 19 thru 27 talks about it being important to not only listen to God's Word but we must also do what God's Word says for us to do. "We must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry". However; we must not only KNOW that it is right to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry, but we must also PRACTICE and DO these things. Without the "doing" the "knowing" has limited value!

In Chapter 2 vs 1 thru 13 we learn about the danger of being prejudice against people based upon their outward appearance. This section is written around our being more favorable to people who dress nicely and appear wealthy over those who are not dressed nicely and who appear to be poor. Verses 8 and 9 tells us that it is Scripturally right to "love your neighbor as yourself", but if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin and guilty of breaking the law! This concept is then carried forward by telling us that breaking any Law of God is just as bad as breaking any other Law of God; therefore, breaking the law (sinning) by showing favoritism for one person/people over other persons/people separates us from God just as much as committing the sin of murder! This section closes in verse 13 by saying (New Living Translation version) "There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you."

Now there is a great point to ponder!!

Next Week: We'll start at James Chapter 2 vs 14 and go as far as God wants us to go.

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!


Terry

May 4, 2009

Good Morning All!

I hope everyone had a Great Weekend.

Jane and I rode our bikes last Friday on the Grants Trail in South County and it was a very nice time. The weather was overcast and we hit a light sprinkle on the southern third of the trail but it wasn't bad and we enjoyed it very much. It's neat the Trail goes directly behind Grant's Farm and we got to see many of the Clydesdale horses up-close. You can also evidently park your bike near the Grant's Farm entrance and walk into Grant's Farm without paying the $11 parking fee. This would make the whole Grant's Farm experience free. The Trail is about 8 miles long and nearly flat so it is easy to ride - or walk.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Yesterday's (5-3-09) class was attended by Bill Nichols, Allan and Teresa Schlobohm, Denise Kelly, and Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Terry and Jane's nephew - Tom Useted has acquired a new job in Portland, Oregon and this was a long time coming and is a praise.

2. Continued prayer for Betty Caswell as she recovers from her neck surgery.

Studied Material:

We covered Chapter 1, Verses 1 thru 18 of the Book of James. The items noted were

A. This Book is written only about 15 years after the death of Jesus and is addressed to Jewish Christian in the outlying areas.

B. James identifies "troubles" as opportunities to increase our joy thru our faith.

C, We should make sure our faith is in God alone and not divided among various sources.

D. Rich people are often lacking in humility and this can widen the gap between God and the Rich; thus poor people are often more blessed than the Rich simply because the Rich have divided allegiances.

E. God does not tempt people to do wrong. It is people's desires that tempt them and this can lead people to sinful acts and eventual death.

F. God never changes and gave us life thru his true word. Of all his creation - people are God's most prized possession.

Next Week: We will begin our study with Chapter 1 Verse 19 of the Book of James.

Thanks to all of you for your support.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!



Terry Pursley
May 4, 2009