Good Morning!
Actually I am writing this Sunday (1-17-10) but I thought I'd keep the title dated for Monday.
Social Stuff:
Fairly calm period this past week. I did re-join the chorus group I sang with this past Christmas season and it was fun to sing. My family had a belated Christmas dinner with my Mom this past Saturday at Delmar Gardens since she had been ill over the actual holiday season. Jane did a great job preparing the Christmas dinner and we, along with my brother Jeff's family, had a good time. Mom still struggles but she is aware of enough to enjoy being with her family.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Bill Nichols, Ginny Maas, Betty Caswell, Denise Kelly, Cindie Jones, Jane and Terry Pursley
Prayers were requested for:
1. The people of Haiti.
2. Bill's nephew Doug who is diagnosed with leukemia.
3. Bill's sister-in-law, Darlene, who may have uterine cancer, and
4. Bill's brother Dan (Husband of Darlene and father to Doug) who is having to deal with both of the above illnesses.
5. Bill Vallalie who continues to struggle with his lung disease and who is now hoping for a lung transplant her in St. Louis later this Spring.
6. Jane's mom who is struggling with joint pain and an overall weakening of her strength.
7. Terry's mom who is recovering from shingles and diminished mental awareness.
8. A friend of Denise's' (Dot) who is dealing with an irregular heart beat.
9. Jane's cousin Laurie who is dealing with the affects of cancer treatment.
10. Jane and Terry's niece who is approaching 5 years of breast cancer recovery.
11. Thad and Lila Killingbeck, Oregon friends of Terry and Jane, who are doing well including Thad's recent acceptance of Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Class Material: Acts Chapter 19.
Chapter 19 is broken into four distinct sections.
In Verses 1 thru 7 we see Paul explaining the difference between the baptism of John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus. Paul explains the baptism of John is for the repentance from sin, but John had explained there was another (Jesus) who was greater than John whom the people should believe in. When the people heard Paul's explanation they became believers of Jesus and where baptised in the name of Jesus, upon for which they received the Holly Spirit and began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
In Verses 8 thru 12 we find Paul preaching boldly for over two years in Ephesus and with great Power from God. The verses explain Paul's power was so great that simple items like handkerchiefs or aprons, that had touched Paul, had the ability to heal people when these items were placed on sick people.
In Verses 13 thru 22 we read about a group of Jews that were traveling about trying to cast out demons using the name of the Lord Jesus. However; when these Jews attempted to cast out a demon from a particular man the demon responds by asking who these Jews were. The demon says he knows Jesus and Paul but he does not know these Jews. The demon then comes out of the man and severely beats the Jew's who had been attempting to cast out the demon. This story seems odd to us today, but at the time this story evidently had great impact upon a great number of people. The scriptures records this story spread through the city and brought great fear to all the people to the extent many became believers and many, who had been practicing sorcery, took all their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The scripture records that the number of such documents that were burned were worth approximately $1 million in today's money value.
In Verses 23 thru 41 the scripture tells us of a certain silversmith in Ephesus named Demetrius who had a large business manufacturing silver idols for the Greek god Artemis. Evidently the success of Paul's preaching was impacting Demetrius' business and so he incited a riot in order to have Paul's people thrown out of the city. The crowds became large and loud and had they not been controls may of escalated into serious trouble for Paul and his people. Fortunately, the mayor of Ephesus told the crowd to stop their activities and bring formal charges against Paul's people so the courts could deal with the issue. The mayor indicated that he was not aware of anything Paul's people or preaching had none that violated the law and if the crowd continued to harass Paul's people then the Roman government may get involved and crush the uprising.
Lessons Learned: From these above four sections we learn -
1. There is more to baptism than just repentance from sin. More importantly, baptism is the public act of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and receiving the Holy Spirit.
2. Paul was a powerful messenger for God. Not simply in his ability to speak and argue well but he was also so filled with the Holy Spirit so God's power greatly flowed through him to help and heal others.
3. Acting in the name of Jesus without being a believer can be dangerous business .
4. Business philosophy based on other than God's principles are bound to suffer if not out right fail.
The early Christian Church was a powerful and dynamic force whose growth could not be stopped. We must understand today that each of us is a part of this same Christian growth process and we should not assume all this "scripture stuff" is nothing more than a little "easy reading"of the "early days". As Christians we are part of a powerful force for God and we need to act accordingly!
Well that's it for today. I hope my writings and musings are of some interest and help stir an interest in the Bible teachings. Please remember my writings and thoughts are mine alone. No one of authority has reviewed or approved my writings so as always I encourage everyone to read the scriptures on their own and let the Holy Spirit guide you and your unique understanding.
Till next week - Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry Pursley
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
January 11, 2010
Good Morning Everyone!
Well its a "little" warmer here today so I suppose we should be pleased but I could use a little more warmth myself. I suppose this will make us all appreciate the warmth of Spring when it arrives.
Social Stuff:
Jane and I were pretty well laid up this past week with colds. Jane a lot worse than I was. Jane stayed home all week were I was able to get out a little. We watched some football this weekend on TV and wasn't the Cardinal/Green Bay game a great one? The outcome was not what Green Bay fans wanted but the game itself was outstanding. Felt bad for any team that lost that game.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Alan, Teresa, and Josh Schlobohm, Ginny Maas, Denise Kelly, and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Jane Pursely's health
2. Amanda Vogt's health.
3. Bill's Nephew - Doug - who has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.
4. Denise's brother - Doug - who is going thru some tough personal issues.
5. Denise's new office where she has recently moved to and seems to be causing here some illness.
Class Material: Today we studied the Book of Acts, Chapter 18
In Chapter 18 we find Paul traveling to Corinth where he began preaching in the synagogue and where Paul meets the husband and wife team of Aquila and Priscilla. The scripture indicates Paul spent some time preaching in the synagogue and as usual the local Jewish leaders became upset with Paul and in fact Paul had to move from the synagogue to the home of Titius Justus who was a Gentile. In a vision, "the Lord" asked Paul to not be afraid and to continue preaching the "Good News" which Paul did from this location for the next 18 months. During this time period the Jews remained up-set with Paul and brought Paul before the local governor with the charge that Paul was teaching people to violate the Jewish laws. The Governor however refused to hear the case because the charges had nothing to do with the Government's Laws but rather the Jewish laws. The Jewish leaders became so upset with this ruling that the Jews lashed out by beating one of their own leaders - Sosthenes.
After preaching 18 months in Corinth, Paul traveled to Syria taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. They stopped briefly in Ephesus where he left his followers and then moved on to Caesarea and then back to Jerusalem where reported his activities to the church leaders. After Jerusalem Paul traveled back to Antioch where in effect Paul's second missionary trip ends.
At this point, and starting with verse 24, Chapter 18 discusses the evangelistic work of a Christian named Apollos who was a strong Christian and was a very good speaker. Apollos had a very strong "technical knowledge of Jesus but apparently was a little weak on the spiritual aspects and so Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos into their home and taught Apollos "the way of God even more accurately". With this knowledge Apollos travels into "Achaia (Greece) where he becomes a very powerful and effective messenger of God's Word and is able to successful refute the many arguments against Jesus as raised by the Jewish people. According to the Scriptures Apollos was "proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God's grace, had believed."
Two lessons learned in this Chapter are
1. It is important for all of us to continue to be advocates for Jesus Christ to those we encounter. God told Paul to not be afraid but to continue to preach the "Good News". This would be a similar message for all of us. We should each continue to be advocates of Christ in all that we do and not let challenges to Christ go unaddressed.
2. Each of us - like Apollos - should not assume we know all there is to know about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Apollos was strong intellectually but it was thru the faith of Priscilla and Acquila that Apollos was able to fully understand the Word of God and then go forth to preach it to all who would listen. Similarly, each of us needs to continually prepare ourselves, thru Church Worship, Sunday School, and other Bible Studies, to continually enrich our knowledge of Christ so we may be the best advocates we can be.
Next week we will be studying Chapter 19 of Acts. I invite everyone to join us so we can all grow in our Christian lives.
Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Well its a "little" warmer here today so I suppose we should be pleased but I could use a little more warmth myself. I suppose this will make us all appreciate the warmth of Spring when it arrives.
Social Stuff:
Jane and I were pretty well laid up this past week with colds. Jane a lot worse than I was. Jane stayed home all week were I was able to get out a little. We watched some football this weekend on TV and wasn't the Cardinal/Green Bay game a great one? The outcome was not what Green Bay fans wanted but the game itself was outstanding. Felt bad for any team that lost that game.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Alan, Teresa, and Josh Schlobohm, Ginny Maas, Denise Kelly, and Terry Pursley.
Prayers were requested for:
1. Jane Pursely's health
2. Amanda Vogt's health.
3. Bill's Nephew - Doug - who has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia.
4. Denise's brother - Doug - who is going thru some tough personal issues.
5. Denise's new office where she has recently moved to and seems to be causing here some illness.
Class Material: Today we studied the Book of Acts, Chapter 18
In Chapter 18 we find Paul traveling to Corinth where he began preaching in the synagogue and where Paul meets the husband and wife team of Aquila and Priscilla. The scripture indicates Paul spent some time preaching in the synagogue and as usual the local Jewish leaders became upset with Paul and in fact Paul had to move from the synagogue to the home of Titius Justus who was a Gentile. In a vision, "the Lord" asked Paul to not be afraid and to continue preaching the "Good News" which Paul did from this location for the next 18 months. During this time period the Jews remained up-set with Paul and brought Paul before the local governor with the charge that Paul was teaching people to violate the Jewish laws. The Governor however refused to hear the case because the charges had nothing to do with the Government's Laws but rather the Jewish laws. The Jewish leaders became so upset with this ruling that the Jews lashed out by beating one of their own leaders - Sosthenes.
After preaching 18 months in Corinth, Paul traveled to Syria taking Priscilla and Aquila with him. They stopped briefly in Ephesus where he left his followers and then moved on to Caesarea and then back to Jerusalem where reported his activities to the church leaders. After Jerusalem Paul traveled back to Antioch where in effect Paul's second missionary trip ends.
At this point, and starting with verse 24, Chapter 18 discusses the evangelistic work of a Christian named Apollos who was a strong Christian and was a very good speaker. Apollos had a very strong "technical knowledge of Jesus but apparently was a little weak on the spiritual aspects and so Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos into their home and taught Apollos "the way of God even more accurately". With this knowledge Apollos travels into "Achaia (Greece) where he becomes a very powerful and effective messenger of God's Word and is able to successful refute the many arguments against Jesus as raised by the Jewish people. According to the Scriptures Apollos was "proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God's grace, had believed."
Two lessons learned in this Chapter are
1. It is important for all of us to continue to be advocates for Jesus Christ to those we encounter. God told Paul to not be afraid but to continue to preach the "Good News". This would be a similar message for all of us. We should each continue to be advocates of Christ in all that we do and not let challenges to Christ go unaddressed.
2. Each of us - like Apollos - should not assume we know all there is to know about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Apollos was strong intellectually but it was thru the faith of Priscilla and Acquila that Apollos was able to fully understand the Word of God and then go forth to preach it to all who would listen. Similarly, each of us needs to continually prepare ourselves, thru Church Worship, Sunday School, and other Bible Studies, to continually enrich our knowledge of Christ so we may be the best advocates we can be.
Next week we will be studying Chapter 19 of Acts. I invite everyone to join us so we can all grow in our Christian lives.
Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!
Terry
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
January 4, 2010
Happy New Year to Each and Everyone of You!
I am a day late with this post and I apologize for it.
Social Stuff:
Jane and I had a great New Year's Eve Party at you house. I say great but perhaps the better term in "loud" We had about 50 people in our home ranging in age from 5 months to 80 years. Keep in mind our home comfortable accommodates about 15 people so with 50 people we were a "standing room only" crowd. We did have a great time however and slept very well after we went to bed - about 2:00 AM!
I missed our Sunday School Class this week because my brother and I went to the final Rams football game and we took in some pre-game festivities! The game went as usual for this year and we lost our 15th game of this season. It has been a real struggle for us this year but at least we have stopped the bleeding with the season being over.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Alan & Teresa Schlobohm, Betty Caswell, Ginny Maas, Jane Pursley, Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Suzanne Lyons.
Prayers were requested for:
1. My (Terry Pursely's) Mom who is recovering from "shingles" at Delmar Gardens
2. Denise's friend
3. Cyndies' friend
4. Alan and Teresa's friend.
(Sorry from being so vague here but since I failed to make the class I am unable to provide the specifics. Suffice it to say the Koinonia Class continues to pray for those persons who we know of and who are brought to our attention. If you would like to add someone to our prayer lists justlet any of your class members know and we will be happy to add them to our list.)
Class Material Studied: The Book of Acts - Chapter 17.
In Chapter 17 we find Paul preaching in three different cities - Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.
In Thessalonica, Paul preaches the Good News and creates a "real" problem for the resident Jews. Again we see where Paul is so successful in his preaching argument that the Jews turn to the local government in an attempt to silence Paul's message. In this particular instance, Paul leaves town before he can be brought to court and so the Jew's bring to trial the person (Jason) who provided a place from which Paul spoke. Evidently the Jewish "argument" is not particularly strong "civilly" because Jason is allowed to post bond and go home.
In Bera, Paul and Silas, went to the synagogue and preaching the Good News and once again began converting Jewish people who after researching the scriptures believed Paul's message was true. Paul's success again rises to the point where those Jewish people in Thessalonica who were upset with Paul in Thessalonica now come to Bera to cause Paul problems. Paul leaves Bera before the Thessalonica "crowd" arrives and travels to Athens.
In Athens, Paul again begins preaching in the synagogues but also encounters a new "resistance" to his message. Heretofore, Paul has been arguing with Jewish leaders but in Athens Paul is encountering a "polytheistic" society where the people have a number of Gods and Idols to whom they worship. With these "Epicurean and Stoic" philosophers Paul encounters a "mind set" that isn't necessarily against Paul's Jesus but rather are just "curious", as if to see if this Jesus should be added to the list of their already numerous deities. Paul takes a new approach with these philosophers because he doesn't argue the scriptural basis for Jesus, but rather states that the one Paul is preaching of is the "Unknown God" whom the philosophers have referred to in some of their symbols. Paul explains there is only one God and it is this God who has made all things. Paul's message seems to be at least "interesting" to the philosophers but when Paul tells the philosophers about the resurrection of the dead some in the audience "laughed in contempt", but some didn't! The point here is the concept of being resurrected from the dead is a point that has and will continue to be a major dividing point between those who believe and those who do not. Some people accept this resurrection principle in Faith while others cannot because their "created mind" cannot logically accept that resurrection is possible.
I suggest there are at least three main points can be learned from Chapter 17.
1. The argument for Christ is powerful when presented as Paul does, but
2. Non-believers will try to use various means; including governments, to repress successful preaching, and
3. The acceptance of Christ is an act of faith and not logic.
This completes my message this week. If the good Lord's willing, I will be back in class this coming Sunday so the class can help me correct my thoughts, and we can review Chapter 18. In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
(Note: The above thoughts are mine and mine alone. They have not been reviewed or sanctioned by our pastor (Suzanne Lyons), Salem Church, the United Methodist Church, or any other intelligent party. I encourage all persons to read the relevant scriptures themselves and develop their own thoughts with respect to their relationship with God.)
I am a day late with this post and I apologize for it.
Social Stuff:
Jane and I had a great New Year's Eve Party at you house. I say great but perhaps the better term in "loud" We had about 50 people in our home ranging in age from 5 months to 80 years. Keep in mind our home comfortable accommodates about 15 people so with 50 people we were a "standing room only" crowd. We did have a great time however and slept very well after we went to bed - about 2:00 AM!
I missed our Sunday School Class this week because my brother and I went to the final Rams football game and we took in some pre-game festivities! The game went as usual for this year and we lost our 15th game of this season. It has been a real struggle for us this year but at least we have stopped the bleeding with the season being over.
Koinonia Sunday School Class:
Attendees: Alan & Teresa Schlobohm, Betty Caswell, Ginny Maas, Jane Pursley, Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Suzanne Lyons.
Prayers were requested for:
1. My (Terry Pursely's) Mom who is recovering from "shingles" at Delmar Gardens
2. Denise's friend
3. Cyndies' friend
4. Alan and Teresa's friend.
(Sorry from being so vague here but since I failed to make the class I am unable to provide the specifics. Suffice it to say the Koinonia Class continues to pray for those persons who we know of and who are brought to our attention. If you would like to add someone to our prayer lists justlet any of your class members know and we will be happy to add them to our list.)
Class Material Studied: The Book of Acts - Chapter 17.
In Chapter 17 we find Paul preaching in three different cities - Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.
In Thessalonica, Paul preaches the Good News and creates a "real" problem for the resident Jews. Again we see where Paul is so successful in his preaching argument that the Jews turn to the local government in an attempt to silence Paul's message. In this particular instance, Paul leaves town before he can be brought to court and so the Jew's bring to trial the person (Jason) who provided a place from which Paul spoke. Evidently the Jewish "argument" is not particularly strong "civilly" because Jason is allowed to post bond and go home.
In Bera, Paul and Silas, went to the synagogue and preaching the Good News and once again began converting Jewish people who after researching the scriptures believed Paul's message was true. Paul's success again rises to the point where those Jewish people in Thessalonica who were upset with Paul in Thessalonica now come to Bera to cause Paul problems. Paul leaves Bera before the Thessalonica "crowd" arrives and travels to Athens.
In Athens, Paul again begins preaching in the synagogues but also encounters a new "resistance" to his message. Heretofore, Paul has been arguing with Jewish leaders but in Athens Paul is encountering a "polytheistic" society where the people have a number of Gods and Idols to whom they worship. With these "Epicurean and Stoic" philosophers Paul encounters a "mind set" that isn't necessarily against Paul's Jesus but rather are just "curious", as if to see if this Jesus should be added to the list of their already numerous deities. Paul takes a new approach with these philosophers because he doesn't argue the scriptural basis for Jesus, but rather states that the one Paul is preaching of is the "Unknown God" whom the philosophers have referred to in some of their symbols. Paul explains there is only one God and it is this God who has made all things. Paul's message seems to be at least "interesting" to the philosophers but when Paul tells the philosophers about the resurrection of the dead some in the audience "laughed in contempt", but some didn't! The point here is the concept of being resurrected from the dead is a point that has and will continue to be a major dividing point between those who believe and those who do not. Some people accept this resurrection principle in Faith while others cannot because their "created mind" cannot logically accept that resurrection is possible.
I suggest there are at least three main points can be learned from Chapter 17.
1. The argument for Christ is powerful when presented as Paul does, but
2. Non-believers will try to use various means; including governments, to repress successful preaching, and
3. The acceptance of Christ is an act of faith and not logic.
This completes my message this week. If the good Lord's willing, I will be back in class this coming Sunday so the class can help me correct my thoughts, and we can review Chapter 18. In the meantime -
Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!
Terry
(Note: The above thoughts are mine and mine alone. They have not been reviewed or sanctioned by our pastor (Suzanne Lyons), Salem Church, the United Methodist Church, or any other intelligent party. I encourage all persons to read the relevant scriptures themselves and develop their own thoughts with respect to their relationship with God.)
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