Gooooood Morning!
I hope all is well with you this morning and that you will have a Great Week!
SOCIAL STUFF!
Well this past week I turned 62 years old! It doesn't feel much different than 61 but it sure feels a heck of a lot different than 22! I did sign up for Social Security on Friday and the experience went pretty smooth.
Jane took me to dinner at Red Lobster on Thursday the 22nd, which is my birthday, and we then went to see the play "Sleuth" at the Repertory Theater in Webster Groves. I enjoy going to such things as plays and concerts. I enjoyed the play very much and we had a great evening.
On Friday night, Jane and I joined a few of the senior folks by going to a fish fry at the Ballwin VFW hall and enjoyed an excellent meal and time. If you like fried fish this was a very good experience. Either the VFW or the American Legion has these fish fries every Friday night and so I am thinking Jane and I will be trying these again.
On Saturday, Jane and I went to a birthday party for one of our nieces' children and had a good time.
Yesterday, we went to the Rams football game and saw the Rams get edged out 43-6 by the Indianapolis Colts. It was a pretty close game until the coin toss, which the Rams lost, but then it went downhill from there.
Koinonia Sunday School Class
Attendees: Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Cindie Jones, Josh Schlobohm, Jane and Terry Pursley:
Prayers were requested for:
1. Ester Smith who is experiencing some aging issues that are always tough.
2. A friend of Cyndie Jones by the name of Carol who has been diagnosed with two types of breast cancer.
3. Cory and Jessica Mack whose pregnancy seems to be going well this time while Cory is in Irag.
4. Amanda Vogt who is having to deal with another issue related to cancer.
5. The Ernie Nicewonger family whose 36 year old daughter, Karen, died this past week from cancer.
6. Jimmy and Samantha Pursley (relatives of Terry) who are two good young unmarried people with a young son and who for the first time have started attending a Church with Jimmy's parents. Good kids who just need a little spiritual guidance to help make the road of life a little easier to navigate.
Class Material:
This Sunday we studied Chapters 6 and 7 of the Book of Acts. We studied these two chapters since Chapter 6 is fairly short and the message of the two Chapters are closely united.
At the beginning of Chapter 6 we see the number of "Believers" is growing rapidly and as a result the social issues are also growing. Apparently the sharing of food was becoming complicated because of a language barrier between the Greeks and Hebrews. As a result "hard feelings" were being generated because of the language barrier. This issue was beginning to consume much of the Apostles time so they decided to develop a committee of lay persons to help with the distribution of the food. Seven faithful members where selected to lead this effort. The main point of this section would seem to be that we are witnessing the beginning in the Church of a need for the pastoral and lay members of the Church to work together to create an effective ministry. This symbiotic relationship still exists today and remains just as important.
In Chapter 6 verse 8 we begin reading the story of Stephen, who is the man who will be stoned to death. In verse 8 we find Stephen described as "a man full of God's grace and Power" and who is performing amazing miracles and signs among the people. Of course under the philosophy that "no good deed goes unpunished" two members of a group called "Synagogue of Freed Slaves" challenge Stephen's efforts and evidently they lose their debate with Stephen. Because they lose their debate with Stephen they elect to use the "tried and true" method of lying and wrongly accusing Stephen of blaspheming Moses and even God. These deceitful efforts are effective and Stephen is brought before the "high council" where Stephen was asked "Are these accusations true?"
In Chapter 7 we find Stephen's response to the "high council's" question. Stephen's response is not a simple "No" but rather Stephen spends the bulk of Chapter 7 providing an excellent verbal record of the history of the relationship between God and Israel. Stephen starts with Abraham and moves through the Jewish history up through David, and up to this point Stephen has not caused much anxiety with the high council, but then things take a nasty turn.
Stephen uses this history to accuse the high council and the people by saying:
You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One - the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, even though you received it from the hands of angels."
This condemnation by Stephen infuriated the high council members and the listening crowd to the point where they dragged Stephen out of the city and then stoned Stephen to death!
The lesson I find interesting here is the "church's" ability to "resist" the Holy Spirit. Stephen's message tells us the Holy Spirit is constantly "talking" to us and in return we have the tendency to "resist" the Holy Spirit's message. The "church" of Stephen's day as well as the "church" that existed before and after Stephen, was and is comprised of people who want to love God but only if God conforms to the "church's" visage of who God should be. Stephen doesn't accuse the "Church" of not "Hearing" the message of the "Holy Spirit" but rather he accuses them of "Resisting" the message. BIG DIFFERENCE! I suggest we each need to assess our own "faith experience" and determine if we are doing what the "Holy Spirit" tells us to do, or are we "resisting" the message by altering the message so it fits better with what we, in our opinion, believe the message should be. This is what Stephen challenge the high council members to do and their response was to continue their "resistance" by getting rid of the messenger.
Next week we will study Chapter 8 which starts out with the following sentence in reference to the stoning of Stephen - "Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen." As you know Saul will eventually have his name changed to Paul and will become one of the great leaders of the Christian faith. Next week our study will begin to see how this transformation of Saul/Paul takes place.
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
October 19, 2009
Good Morning to you all!
Well, I am back again and I hope I haven't lost to many readers due to my lack of activity on this blog site. Last weekend I was at the Lake Ozark area on a retreat with my male relatives and so I missed both Church and Sunday School class; thus I didn't do a Blog last week. I am back now and I'll try to be a little more dependable with publishing my blog on a weekly basis.
Social Stuff:
Since I last "blogged" I have
A. Joined and started attending a Men's Bible Study on Tuesday evenings.
B. Attended the family's men's retreat at Lake Ozark.
C. Watched the Rams loose two tough games.
D. Attended the St. Louis Symphony performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
E. Sang a solo during a Sunday church service.
F. Attended a celebration dinner for the Monsanto MS- 150 Bicycle team
H. Played golf with the Salem senior men's team.
I. Attended a Fall Festival/Wurst Mart at a Catawissa Church.
J. Bought a new lawn mower!
K. Tried to figure out how to purchase new health insure (Ugh!)
L. Watched the Baseball Cardinals "pack it in" for the season.
I won't go into any details regarding the above adventures, but I'll just simply say its been a busy and interesting two weeks.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
I want to thank Alan and Josh Schlobohm for leading the Koinonia Sunday School last week while I was off doing the "wild thing" at Lake Ozark!
This past Sunday (10-18-09) we experience the following in the Koinonia Sunday School Class.
Attendance: Genny Mass. Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Allan, Teresa, and Josh Scholobohm, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested and raised for:
1. Safe travel for Denise Kelly and her sister Donna as they journey to visit relataives.
2. David Hartsock who is recovering from a sky diving accident.
3. Karen and David Nicewonger (Alan and Teresa's friends) who are experiencing very difficult and life threatening health issues.
4. Jane Pursley's sore throat and cold.
Thank you's were requested to be sent to:
The United Methodist District Superintendent for our new pastor Suzanne Lyons.
Material Studied: Book of Acts - Chapter 5
Chapter 5 incoproates 3 distict sections.
First: In verses 1 thru 11 we read about the death of Ananias and Sapphria because they lied to the Holy Spirit about money they earned from selling their property. They sold the property for a certain sum but lied about this amount when they turned it in as an offering to the church. Both Annias and Sapphria fell dead when Peter confronted them with this truth. This is a difficult section to lead a discussion upon becasue of the severity of the punshishment for something we all do - not telling (confessing) God the truth. I (Terry Pursley) am not qualified to explain this section but I did offer the following thoughts for consideration. Since God exists on both sides of the "barrier" we we call death, the death experience is not as big an issue for God as it is to those of us created humans on the "life side" of this "barrier". Thus for God, Annias and Sapphria simply transition, in God's reality, from life to death; whereas for us Annias and Sapphria are taken from our reality of "life" to something we cannot understand called "Death". In other words, the death separates us from Annias and Sapphria, but it does not necessarily separate them from God. Thus; the lesson in the death of Annias and Sapphria, for those of us living, is not how creul or just God is but rather how important it is for us to be truthful with God. The scriptures tell us in verse 11 that after the death of Annias and Sapphria, "Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened." Therefore; I suggest the importance of this passage is to heighten in each of us the critical importance of our being truthful with God, and raising the "possible" impact that un-truthfullness" can have, either physically or spiritually.
Second: In verses 12 thru 16 we have the chance to see how great God's power was working thru the apostles and especially Peter. People were lining up just so Peter's shadow might pass over them, because evidently many people were healed by Peter's presence and the faith of the people. It is important to note these verses clearly indicate people were linining up to receive physical healing and there is no record in these verses of anyone asking for their sins to be forgiven. I would ask each of us to reflect upon the prayer requests we raise in our Church services or Sunday School classes. Almost without exception we hear ourselves lifting prayer requests for some type of physical healing but very seldom do we hear people asking for their sins to be forgiven. I'd ask each of us to reflect on this point and perhaps see if we need to adjust our thinking or approach on this point.
Third: In verses 17 thru 42 (end of the Chapter) we see the "Church Leadership" begin to respond negatively to the preaching of the apostles and especially Peter. I use the phrase "Church Leadership" becasue I often paint these leadership people in a more positive light than other do, in large part because perhaps I am more like them than I would like to admit. In these verses the "Church Leadership" is telling the apostles to stop their preaching about Jesus. Peter responds saying he cannot becasue God has told him to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Peter cannot and will not stop doing what God has told him to do simply because the "Church Leadership" tells him to do so. This puts the "Church Leadership" between the proverbial "Rock and a Hard Place". What are they to do? They have tried jailing this group but the group just keeps escaping, with God's help. One "Church Leader" (Gamaliel) provides the rational that helps resolve the issue. Gamaliel says to let this group go becaues, based upon history, if this group is false they will die and their movement go away; however, if what this group is saying is true then the "Church Leaders" would find themselves opposing God if the "Church Leaders" attempt to punish the group. Gamaliel's arument "wins the day" and Peter and the apostles are set free after being "flogged", which I suppose was given "just for good measure"! The result however was Peter and the "boys" just kept preaching as they had been and the number of believers continued to grow. Next week we will see what happens next!
Conclusion:
Next week we will read and discus Chapter 6 of the Book of Acts which discuses the ministry of Stephen and begins a series of events that leads to the rise and preaching of Paul!
In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life
Terry
Well, I am back again and I hope I haven't lost to many readers due to my lack of activity on this blog site. Last weekend I was at the Lake Ozark area on a retreat with my male relatives and so I missed both Church and Sunday School class; thus I didn't do a Blog last week. I am back now and I'll try to be a little more dependable with publishing my blog on a weekly basis.
Social Stuff:
Since I last "blogged" I have
A. Joined and started attending a Men's Bible Study on Tuesday evenings.
B. Attended the family's men's retreat at Lake Ozark.
C. Watched the Rams loose two tough games.
D. Attended the St. Louis Symphony performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
E. Sang a solo during a Sunday church service.
F. Attended a celebration dinner for the Monsanto MS- 150 Bicycle team
H. Played golf with the Salem senior men's team.
I. Attended a Fall Festival/Wurst Mart at a Catawissa Church.
J. Bought a new lawn mower!
K. Tried to figure out how to purchase new health insure (Ugh!)
L. Watched the Baseball Cardinals "pack it in" for the season.
I won't go into any details regarding the above adventures, but I'll just simply say its been a busy and interesting two weeks.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
I want to thank Alan and Josh Schlobohm for leading the Koinonia Sunday School last week while I was off doing the "wild thing" at Lake Ozark!
This past Sunday (10-18-09) we experience the following in the Koinonia Sunday School Class.
Attendance: Genny Mass. Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Allan, Teresa, and Josh Scholobohm, Jane and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested and raised for:
1. Safe travel for Denise Kelly and her sister Donna as they journey to visit relataives.
2. David Hartsock who is recovering from a sky diving accident.
3. Karen and David Nicewonger (Alan and Teresa's friends) who are experiencing very difficult and life threatening health issues.
4. Jane Pursley's sore throat and cold.
Thank you's were requested to be sent to:
The United Methodist District Superintendent for our new pastor Suzanne Lyons.
Material Studied: Book of Acts - Chapter 5
Chapter 5 incoproates 3 distict sections.
First: In verses 1 thru 11 we read about the death of Ananias and Sapphria because they lied to the Holy Spirit about money they earned from selling their property. They sold the property for a certain sum but lied about this amount when they turned it in as an offering to the church. Both Annias and Sapphria fell dead when Peter confronted them with this truth. This is a difficult section to lead a discussion upon becasue of the severity of the punshishment for something we all do - not telling (confessing) God the truth. I (Terry Pursley) am not qualified to explain this section but I did offer the following thoughts for consideration. Since God exists on both sides of the "barrier" we we call death, the death experience is not as big an issue for God as it is to those of us created humans on the "life side" of this "barrier". Thus for God, Annias and Sapphria simply transition, in God's reality, from life to death; whereas for us Annias and Sapphria are taken from our reality of "life" to something we cannot understand called "Death". In other words, the death separates us from Annias and Sapphria, but it does not necessarily separate them from God. Thus; the lesson in the death of Annias and Sapphria, for those of us living, is not how creul or just God is but rather how important it is for us to be truthful with God. The scriptures tell us in verse 11 that after the death of Annias and Sapphria, "Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened." Therefore; I suggest the importance of this passage is to heighten in each of us the critical importance of our being truthful with God, and raising the "possible" impact that un-truthfullness" can have, either physically or spiritually.
Second: In verses 12 thru 16 we have the chance to see how great God's power was working thru the apostles and especially Peter. People were lining up just so Peter's shadow might pass over them, because evidently many people were healed by Peter's presence and the faith of the people. It is important to note these verses clearly indicate people were linining up to receive physical healing and there is no record in these verses of anyone asking for their sins to be forgiven. I would ask each of us to reflect upon the prayer requests we raise in our Church services or Sunday School classes. Almost without exception we hear ourselves lifting prayer requests for some type of physical healing but very seldom do we hear people asking for their sins to be forgiven. I'd ask each of us to reflect on this point and perhaps see if we need to adjust our thinking or approach on this point.
Third: In verses 17 thru 42 (end of the Chapter) we see the "Church Leadership" begin to respond negatively to the preaching of the apostles and especially Peter. I use the phrase "Church Leadership" becasue I often paint these leadership people in a more positive light than other do, in large part because perhaps I am more like them than I would like to admit. In these verses the "Church Leadership" is telling the apostles to stop their preaching about Jesus. Peter responds saying he cannot becasue God has told him to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. Peter cannot and will not stop doing what God has told him to do simply because the "Church Leadership" tells him to do so. This puts the "Church Leadership" between the proverbial "Rock and a Hard Place". What are they to do? They have tried jailing this group but the group just keeps escaping, with God's help. One "Church Leader" (Gamaliel) provides the rational that helps resolve the issue. Gamaliel says to let this group go becaues, based upon history, if this group is false they will die and their movement go away; however, if what this group is saying is true then the "Church Leaders" would find themselves opposing God if the "Church Leaders" attempt to punish the group. Gamaliel's arument "wins the day" and Peter and the apostles are set free after being "flogged", which I suppose was given "just for good measure"! The result however was Peter and the "boys" just kept preaching as they had been and the number of believers continued to grow. Next week we will see what happens next!
Conclusion:
Next week we will read and discus Chapter 6 of the Book of Acts which discuses the ministry of Stephen and begins a series of events that leads to the rise and preaching of Paul!
In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life
Terry
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October 5, 2009
Good Morning Everyone!
Another weekend has come and gone and I hope you had a chance to enjoy it.
Social Stuff:
This past Saturday (10-3-09) Jane and I hosted a garage sale at our home for two of our nephews who live south of Pacific, Mo. They live out in the country with thier parents and thier home location is not conducive to holding a garage sale. Jane helped them set everything up and we had a full day Saturday managing the garage sale. Didn't have that much business and our nephews wound up taking back home much of what they brought, but they seemed to enjoy the process. Both Jane and I were pretty tired at the end of the day.
Last week I played golf twice with some of the senior men from Salem Church and we had a very nice time. We have some pretty good golfers in our senior men and I can learn a lot from them. Since I am the newest member I am also the youngest member and this is nice since I find it harder and harder to find a group of men that fit this category.
I thought both of today's (10-4-09) Church services went well. I was liturgist at the first service and then a choir member during the second service. I sang a solo at both services and as usual I was nervous prior to each service but it seems I did OK and it was enjoyable. I thought the entire service went well. Bob Meinz does a tremendous job with our music and Pastor Lyons does a great job with the service. There are a lot of great people at Salem and both Jane and I are happy to be members there.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Today's Attendees were: Denise Kelley, Bill Nichols, Cyndie Jones, Alan Scholobohm, Teresa Scholobohm, Josh Scholobohm, Genny Maas, Jane Pursley and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Thanks for Genny's granddaughter arriving safely in Australia.
2. Andrew Jones being accepted at Mizzou for next year's fall semester.
3. Continued sever health issues for Cindies friend Chris Jenkerson.
4. Thanks for a "near-miss" of a deer not hitting Alan Scholobohm's car.
5. Teresa's good friend David Heartsock who was badly injured in a skydiving accident.
6. Denise's brother Dough who continues to experience some very difficult personal issues.
A Thank You Card was suggested for:
Helen Ralston for all her work and intgrity with the Church's finances and the card will be sent Monday.
A Thank You card will also be sent to Josh Shlobohm for his outstanding work with the video and audio systems used for the Book of Acts DVD presentation. Josh did a great job setting up the system with a larger screen and louder sound system which made the presentation much better than what was previously used.
Material Studied Today:
We viewed the Book of Acts Chapter 3 today on the DVD and then discussed it during thte class session. The primary action of Chapter 3 is Peter healing a man who had been crippled since birth and then Peter preaching to the resulting crowd about the relationships between the people and Jesus Christ. The DVD did a good job of presenting the scenes and action of healing the crippled man as well as Peter's subsequent message.
A key message occurs in verse 19 when Peter says "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away." This is a timely message for not only the people listening to Peter but to us who are reading Peter's words. We often find ourselves as a "church community", as well as individuals, attempting to achieve justification from a "sin" by rationalizing that what we are doing is in fact not a sin. This strategy is contrary to what Jesus and Peter are telling us. We are told to confess the sin and seek God's forgiveness, and if we do this sincerely then God will "wipe our sins clean" through Jesus Christ. We ought not waste time trying to ratinalize our sins even though we think we or others will feel better about us if our rationalization is compelling. The fact is, a sin is a sin, is a sin, is a sin, etc. and we cannot resolve it though a rationalization process. We can resolve it however if we simply confess it to God and ask for his forgivenss. I realize this confession process for resolving sin sounds to simple and in fact it is, becasue Jesus did have to die and be resurected to allow this process to work, but die he did and thru his resurection our salvation can be accomplished, if we simply confess and ask for forgiveness.
Closing:
Next week neither Jane nor I will be present at Salem becaue I will be attending a retreat at Lake Ozark for the men in our families, and Jane will be in Wisconsin visiting our daughter Amy and grandchildren. While we are away, Alan and Josh Scholobom will be handling the Sunday School class, and Helen and Larry Ralston will be handling my donut responsibilities. I hope everyone does well and as always -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Another weekend has come and gone and I hope you had a chance to enjoy it.
Social Stuff:
This past Saturday (10-3-09) Jane and I hosted a garage sale at our home for two of our nephews who live south of Pacific, Mo. They live out in the country with thier parents and thier home location is not conducive to holding a garage sale. Jane helped them set everything up and we had a full day Saturday managing the garage sale. Didn't have that much business and our nephews wound up taking back home much of what they brought, but they seemed to enjoy the process. Both Jane and I were pretty tired at the end of the day.
Last week I played golf twice with some of the senior men from Salem Church and we had a very nice time. We have some pretty good golfers in our senior men and I can learn a lot from them. Since I am the newest member I am also the youngest member and this is nice since I find it harder and harder to find a group of men that fit this category.
I thought both of today's (10-4-09) Church services went well. I was liturgist at the first service and then a choir member during the second service. I sang a solo at both services and as usual I was nervous prior to each service but it seems I did OK and it was enjoyable. I thought the entire service went well. Bob Meinz does a tremendous job with our music and Pastor Lyons does a great job with the service. There are a lot of great people at Salem and both Jane and I are happy to be members there.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Today's Attendees were: Denise Kelley, Bill Nichols, Cyndie Jones, Alan Scholobohm, Teresa Scholobohm, Josh Scholobohm, Genny Maas, Jane Pursley and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Thanks for Genny's granddaughter arriving safely in Australia.
2. Andrew Jones being accepted at Mizzou for next year's fall semester.
3. Continued sever health issues for Cindies friend Chris Jenkerson.
4. Thanks for a "near-miss" of a deer not hitting Alan Scholobohm's car.
5. Teresa's good friend David Heartsock who was badly injured in a skydiving accident.
6. Denise's brother Dough who continues to experience some very difficult personal issues.
A Thank You Card was suggested for:
Helen Ralston for all her work and intgrity with the Church's finances and the card will be sent Monday.
A Thank You card will also be sent to Josh Shlobohm for his outstanding work with the video and audio systems used for the Book of Acts DVD presentation. Josh did a great job setting up the system with a larger screen and louder sound system which made the presentation much better than what was previously used.
Material Studied Today:
We viewed the Book of Acts Chapter 3 today on the DVD and then discussed it during thte class session. The primary action of Chapter 3 is Peter healing a man who had been crippled since birth and then Peter preaching to the resulting crowd about the relationships between the people and Jesus Christ. The DVD did a good job of presenting the scenes and action of healing the crippled man as well as Peter's subsequent message.
A key message occurs in verse 19 when Peter says "Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away." This is a timely message for not only the people listening to Peter but to us who are reading Peter's words. We often find ourselves as a "church community", as well as individuals, attempting to achieve justification from a "sin" by rationalizing that what we are doing is in fact not a sin. This strategy is contrary to what Jesus and Peter are telling us. We are told to confess the sin and seek God's forgiveness, and if we do this sincerely then God will "wipe our sins clean" through Jesus Christ. We ought not waste time trying to ratinalize our sins even though we think we or others will feel better about us if our rationalization is compelling. The fact is, a sin is a sin, is a sin, is a sin, etc. and we cannot resolve it though a rationalization process. We can resolve it however if we simply confess it to God and ask for his forgivenss. I realize this confession process for resolving sin sounds to simple and in fact it is, becasue Jesus did have to die and be resurected to allow this process to work, but die he did and thru his resurection our salvation can be accomplished, if we simply confess and ask for forgiveness.
Closing:
Next week neither Jane nor I will be present at Salem becaue I will be attending a retreat at Lake Ozark for the men in our families, and Jane will be in Wisconsin visiting our daughter Amy and grandchildren. While we are away, Alan and Josh Scholobom will be handling the Sunday School class, and Helen and Larry Ralston will be handling my donut responsibilities. I hope everyone does well and as always -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
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