Terry's Page

2012-02-09T08:15:00.001-08:00

Good Morning Classmates!

I have been gone a week and its nice to be back. Thanks to Teresa for leading the class while I was gone.

This next Sunday (2/12/2012) we will be reading and discussing the following Bible Passages -

Mark Chapter 1 vs. 40-45 and
II Kings Chapter 5 vs. 1 - 19

As you read thru these Bible passages you will discover many different people, and I ask that as you read the story's you try and determine which person best fits you and your spiritual outlook.

I look forward to seeing you all this coming Sunday and as always -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

2012-01-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon (1/25/2012) Koinonia Class.

Here are the Scriptures we will be discussing in this coming (1/29/2012) Koinonia Class.

Hebrews Chapter 11.
John Chapter 10 vs. 9.
Revelations Chapter 3 vs 7 and 8.

The subject is Faith and the question is what is Faith, how do you acquire it, and what does it mean in your life?

I look forward to our discussion in this Sunday's class.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

2012-01-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

Good Morning! I hope you are having a good day.

This coming Sunday (1/22/2012) we will be reading the following two scripture passages in the Koinonia Sunday School Class.

Psalm 62 and Philippians Chapter 3.

These are two interesting passages which we will discuss during our class time.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

Koinonia Class 1-13-2014

2012-01-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Koinonia class members, this coming Sunday (1/15/2012) we will be reading and discussing the following Bible Scritpture lessons.

Revelations 2:1-7 and Deuteronomy 15:12-18.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

September 24, 2010

2010-09-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

On September 26, 2010 the Koinonia Sunday School Class will begin a new Bible Study on the Book of Isaiah. This is an interesting Book and one that is not often studied. It is however relevant to today's environment and thus worthy of our attention. I am encouraging all who are interested to join the class which begins at (9:30 AM) and runs until 10:15 AM.

Here is an outline of our first class:

Lesson No. 1 - "A Prophet Named Isaiah"

A. What is a Biblical Prophet?
B. Who was Isaiah?
C. When did Isaiah live and what was happening in Israel/Judah at that time?
D. Who was Isaiah's intended audience?
E. What are the two overall main themes of Isaiah?
F. Why should we study Isaiah?

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 24, 2010 - 3:00PM

2010-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! Yesterday I was not at a location with Internet access so I was unable to up-date my progress. !! I'll therefore up-date my status for the last two days.

June 23 - Wednesday

The day was hot and humid but I caught a break. The Missouri River was flooding a section of the Katy Trail and we had to by-pass about 10 miles of the Trail. I therefore rode 28 miles and then had about a 1 hour transition while we drove around the flooded area. Thus we had a break and the total ride was only about 40 miles rather than 53. This combination allowed me to complete the ride in good fashion and I actually felt good at the end of the ride. We ended at Rocheport and ate dinner at the LaBoucha Winery. The food here is excellent and so is the wine! I slept well in the Bed and Breakfast we had rented and all in all the day was a success.

June 24 - Thursday

Today's route from Rocheport to Sedalia was always forecasted to be the toughest day and it lived up to its expectations. Once again we had a section of the initial trail that was flooded and so we had to bypass the first 3 miles but the total ride was still 50 miles. This section also crosses the Missouri River at Boonevile and from Booneville to Pilot Grove Mo. (about 12 miles) the grade ranges from 1 to 6% at a rise with very few breaks and so it is a steady one hour of pedaling. You pedal for about 8 miles to get to Booneville and then you have this one hour of steady climb so by the time you get the Pilot Grove you are tired and you have another 25 miles to reach Sedalia. From Pilot Grove to Glifton City you have 12 miles of generally downhill pedaling which is a relief but then from Clifton City to Sedalia you have about 14 miles of mostly up-hill grade but not as bad as from Booneville to Pilot Grove. Nonetheless; as I as pedaling from Clifton City to Sadelia I was increasingly tired and by the time I reached Sadelia I was spent. I was truly happy to have made it to Sadelia and I did so in about 5.5 hours. Which of the 300+ plus riders I probably finished in the first 15. It is not a race but by the same token I was gratified to finish and to finish with several of the better riders.

Tonight we will have our final dinner with the 300+ ride members, have our last team meeting and then go to the park and listen to some good local music. Tomorrow we get up and start riding again at about 5:40 AM. This final leg of the trip is about 38 miles and I anticipate it will take about 4 hours to complete; thus I will be pulling in to Clinton about 9:30 to 10:00 AM. I'll shower, celebrate, and then head home (about a 4.5 hour drive). So far it has been a challenging ride but also successful so I am hoping tomorrow goes well.

Thanks for reading this blog and I will have a wrap up article some time the first of next week. Until then -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 22, 2010 - 5:00PM

2010-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Dear reader - I am sitting in the middle of my motel room recovering from today's bike ride. We rode 48 miles and it got hot! We had breakfast at 5:30 pm and started riding at 6:00 am.
The first 28 miles didn't go to badly but then the heat began to build in and the speed began to drop. With about 10 miles to go the temperature had risen to 90F and the humidity was "whatever"! The sun was bright and the shade along the route became less and less. With 4 miles to go the temperature was around 93F an every one's pace as down to about 10 mph. The remaining distance was almost all out in the open and sunlight. Everyone slowed to a crawl and just continued to pedal with their heads down and as we crossed the completion point for today no one cheered. We were just spent! It was 11:30 am! I sat on the last Trailhead bench in the shade with my head down drinking my last bottle of water. Must of drank 5 gallons of water today. My legs were spent.

I did have a good lunch at about 3:00 pm and have been napping in air conditioning. I don't know how I am going to feel in the morning but I don't expect the day to be much different than today. Today was a day you ask yourself "Why am I doing this?" with no intelligent answer coming back.

For your information there are 303 full route riders on this ride - at least at the beginning. The oldest rider is 82 and the youngest is 6. The average age is 43. I'm 62.

Well, that is my report for today. We will see what happens tomorrow and I intend to up-date this blog tomorrow afternoon, if the "Good Lord is willing and the creek doesn't get any higher".

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 21, 2010 - 12:30 pm

2010-06-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Monday, June 21,It is lunch time and I am having lunch in Mannwell's coffee shop here in Washington, Mo. The ride this morning from St Charles to Marthasville went well. I started my ride at 6:00 AM and finished in Marthasville at 10:00 AM So four hours to complete 40 miles The weather was good. We started out with overcast skies and a temperature of about 78 F and we finished at about 88F. Not much wind and what there was helped. The Missouri river is high and flooded part of Highway 94 but not the Katy Trail. Staying in a Bed and Breakfast here in Marthasville named Critter Cottage. It is quiet and with central air conditioning so I should get a good night's rest. Tomorrow's ride goes from Marthasville to Mokane which is about 47 miles or 8 miles longer than today's ride. Not sure of the weather forecast but it should be about the same as today

I am meeting a lot of neat people and enjoying the conversations. We have a team meeting tonight after dinner and then its off to bed Up about 4:30AM tomorrow morning and start riding between 5:30 and 6:00 AM

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

T

June 21, 2010 - 4:40 AM

2010-06-21T02:37:00.000-07:00

Well its early Monday morning and I'm about ready to head to St. Charles to begin the ride. I always feel a little nervous at this time before a long ride but I feel good physically. Its already warm outside and I hope to begin riding about 5:30 AM which should get me to Marthasville, today's destination, by around 10:30 AM and before the big heat of the day.

I am hoping to find a "hot spot" for my computer to up-date this long with ride information, but we will just have to see how that works out.

Well - time to go. Wish me luck!

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 20, 2010

2010-06-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon this Father's Day!

Social Stuff:

This past Saturday (June 19, 2010) Jane and I went to see 'The Ambassadors of Harmony" at the Tuehill Theatre and it was a very good experience. The Ambassadors is a men's singing group of about 150 people who sing various songs in harmony. The music type is a wide range from gospel to modern popular songs. They sound great and have won international awards. They have another concert in December and we intend to go.

After "The Ambassadors of Harmony" we went to Jane's family church in Catawissa for an ice cream social. The timing worked out just fine because many of Jane's cousins arrived at the same time and we had a great reunion. The home made strawberry ice was deeeeelicious!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Today's call was attended by Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Cindie Jones, Charlotte Michelle, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Susanne Lyons. Jane and Terry Pursley

Prayers were requested for:

1. Drew Geison (Bill's Nephew) who continues to deal with brain cancer.
2. My mom's (Opal Pursley) health.
3. Cyndie Jone's mom's chemotherapy procedures.
4, Ted and Dee Michael's grandson who is under going heart surgery.
5. Cindy Godall who is having various medical tests run.
6. Allison Jones' continue trip in the Mediterranean
7. Terry's Katy Trail ride.

Class Material:

Today we discussed Roman's Chapter 4 vs 18 - 25. In these verses Paul writes about the faith of Abraham and how it was through this faith that God found Abraham to be righteous. Paul writes "Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise". This "faith" of Abraham led to a lively discussion in our class about how it is difficult if not impossible for us to have this same "unwavering" faith of Abraham. All of us agreed we each have wavered in our Faith and we questioned how our waive ring faith can relate to Paul's characterization of Abraham's "unwavering" faith. This topic led to many various good views being expressed with no particular view being determined to be the ultimate resolution. However, at the end of the Class the following point was made that should be carried from the class -

The CONTEXT of Paul's Chapter 4 writing is to highlight that Abraham was saved by Faith and not by Works (following the law). Paul's audience would have been people that were the first generation of folks attempting to understand being reconciled to God by Faith, and not by the Law. This would have been a tough philosophical transition and thus Paul uses Abraham and the example of how Abraham was found by God to be righteous thru faith before Abraham followed the Law by being circumcised. Paul's primary point is not the nature of Abraham's faith but that God found Abraham righteous thru faith and not works. This is also the message for us today in the 21st Century reading this Roman's Chapter 4 passage. WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH AND NOT BY WORKS! We should not be overly concerned by the nature or consistency of our faith but rather we should be encouraged that it is by our faith (in what ever form we as individuals experience it) that saves us and not what we do. "What we do" (Works) has a very important part of our Christian experience but not our salvation. Eternal Life with God is acquired by Faith and Faith alone.

Next week we will take off from our normal bible study and assist Genny in the kitchen as she prepares for the church-wide pot luck meal. The following week we will return to Romans and pick up at Chapter 5. In the meantime -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 13, 2010

2010-06-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Good Evening Everyone!

Social Stuff:

I just returned from a Pursley family reunion in Sullivan, Missouri and we had a very good time. Got to revisit some good relatives that I haven't seen for awhile as well as those we see quite often. Its a little scary when you are around many people that have a similar genetic background and you see all the traits we hold in common. The same type of laugh and the similar line of teasing. It just feels good to share life with a few people who are similar to you. At least I think so.

This past Saturday, Jane and I participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure here in St. Louis. Jane walked the shorter route with our niece Holly who is a cancer survivor and I walked the 5K route in celebration for Holly being cancer free for 5 years. Beyond Holly, I was impressed by how many people (nearly 71,000) who walk not because they have cancer but because they know someone who is afflicted with the disease. This out pouring of love, in my opinion, is a projection of God's love in each of us and I felt blessed to participate in this event. I encourage everyone to get out there and help some one just out of love for them.

Last Friday, I rode my bike 54 miles in preparation for my 5 day/225 mile Katy Trail bike ride. I was pretty tired when I finished but completion of the 54 miles gives me the belief I can make the full 225 miles. Of course sun, temperatures, wind and humidity will all play a part but I am looking forward to the challenge.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees in today's class included: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Dennis Kelly, Cindy Jones, Ginny Maas, Charlotte Michelle, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Terry's Mom who is struggling in Delmar Gardens, as well as Terry who is struggling to do what is right for his mom.
2. The Jac Griswald family (friends of Alan and Teresa) on the death of Jac. Alan reported Jac was a neat person and will be missed by his friends and family.
3. Cindy's mom who is also struggling with health issues.
4. Alison Jones as she travels abroad.
5. Denise Kelly whose medical tests came back this will indicating there was no cancer in her system; however there are more tests to be run and Denise still needs our prayers and support.
6. Jenny Robinson who is an active member of Salem Church and who is recovering from a collapsed lung.

Today's class centered on Roman's Chapter 4 with special emphasis on verse 3. I (Terry) indicated I have been struck by the language of verse 3 which reads as follows - "For the Scriptures tell us, 'Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith". I emphasized that the term "faith" is tied back to the phrase "Abraham believed God". Abraham's "faith" was comprised of "believing God". In other words, Abraham's faith was that he believed God.

In John 5:24 Jesus says "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life". I have added the italics in blue type to illustrate that Jesus also emphasised "belief in God" in achieving eternal life.

In Luke Chapter 3 verses 21 thru 22 (as well as similar verses in Mathew and Mark) we read the following "One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, "you are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great Joy". In these verses God is saying Jesus is God's dearly loved Son; therefore if we "believe God" as Abraham did, we therefore know Jesus is God's son and we learn from Jesus that eternal life belongs to those who believe in Jesus.

The point here is that often I hear people critical of Christians accuse Christians of being arrogant and believing their Christian way is the only way to God or eternal life. Because of these Roman verses I understand Christians do not claim Jesus is the Son of God. We simply pass along the message that God gives when God says Jesus is His dearly loved Son. It is not news we are claiming, rather it is news we are reporting, because we believe God. Doubters, do not need to argue with Christians, or visa versa, about whether Jesus is God's Son. Rather they need to take up the issue with God! Christians need not get caught up in the argument because God does not ask us to argue His case. God simply asks us to report the Good News.

"Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous because of his faith" I suggest, we need to follow Abraham's example and believe God (who said Jesus was His Son) and move forward in confidence without arguing about Jesus' credentials.

Next week we will pick up at Romain's Chapter 4 verse 16 and learn more about what we can learn from Abraham's faith. Until then -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 8, 2010

2010-06-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon. Its a rainy Tuesday afternoon and a good time for me to catch up on my blog.

Social Stuff:

I have been gone the last several weeks visiting family and bike riding and so I have not been active on my blog. I know this isn't good for retaining readers, but I have been enjoying the various activities.

Since my last blog, Jane and I have visited Amy and Todd in Madison, Wisconsin twice. Once to view Audra's kindergarten's musical and the other to visit them on Memorial Day, and celebrate Rebecca's birthday. Rebecca joined us on this trip and we had a very good time together.

On another weekend, I rode my bicycle in what was called the Strawberry Festival in St. Jacob, Illinois. St. Jacob has this huge strawberry festival with all kids of music and types of strawberry desserts including strawberry shortcake and ice cream. Part of the festival is a bicycle ride of various lenghts and I rode the 41 mile route. It was a great day for the ride except we had a 10-15 mile headwind which on a bike can be challenging. I was very tired when I completed the ride, but the one benefit was each rider received a free strawberry shortcake dessert and it was delicious! I sat under a shade tree, ate strawberry shortcake, and listed to country western music. Good stuff!

This past weekend I did ride in the American Diabetes Tour De Cure bike ride for Diabetes research and assistance, and I did very well. I only rode 30 miles but it was a good ride. The day was overcast with a temperature around 85F and I was able to maintain a steady and strong pace. I had raised over $800 in donations for the ride and so not only did I have a great physical experience in riding the bike but also helping to raise money to support the diabetes organization.

In a couple of weeks I will be riding my hybrid bike on the Missouri Department of Natural Resources sponsored week long Katy Trail Ride. This ride is 225 miles long and spans over 5 days; thus averaging about 45 miles of bike riding each day. It is challenging but not as much as one might think. The ride is a beautiful experience with about 300 fellow bike riders so it is fun and I am looking forward to it - Can't wait!

This coming Saturday (June 12, 2010) I will be walking in the Komen Race for the Cure in support of Beast Cancer. I have a niece who is a survivor of breast cancer and I along with several family members will be walking in support of Holly.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Bob Hardcastle had led the Koinonia Class while I was gone and did hi usual excellent job - Thanks Bob!

The attendees in today's class were:

Alan and Theresa Schlobohm
Ginny Mass
Bill Nichols
Bob Hardcastle
Cindie Jones
Denise Kelly
Jane and Terry Pursely

Prayers were requested for:

1. Denise Kelly as she awaits lab results from a biopsy.
2. Terry Pursley's Mom who is struggling in the Delmar Gardens nursing home.
3. Cindie's Mom who is also struggling with the later stages of life.

The Sunday School class material discussed today was Romans Chapter 3 verses 21 thru 31.

These verses occur just after Paul has made his argument that all people have broken the "law" and are therefore separated from God. No one is saved as a result of their own adherence to the "law" In verses 21 thru 31 Paul explains however that even though each of us has sinned Paul states in verse 22 - "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are." Paul, continues in vs 24 when he writes "People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood." Then in vs 28 Paul confirms "..we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

I have recently heard people say "Christians" are arrogant because "Christians" say Jesus is the only way. My response to this view is "Christians" do not and have not authored the statement or belief that Jesus is the only way. What we as "Christians" say is God said Jesus was the Only Way. Jesus said he was the Only Way. The Holy Spirit said Jesus is the Only Way. We "Christians" are only reporting and passing along (as we are instructed in the Scriptures by God to do) what God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit have said in the Scriptures. Similarly, we "Christians" must remember we are not the author's of this Truth. We should not become self-righteous in believing we have some "higher knowledge"or that we hold some "superior position", because in truth we do not have either. No, what we have, just like everyone else, is God Grace, and His Word as recorded in the Scriptures, and we should humbly share God's message out of love. Jesus did not "beat" his listeners over the head with his message nor did he act in any way other than as a servant; thus I believe "Christians" must humbly give the message of the Good News about Jesus Christ and act as a servant to those we meet.

Next week we will study Roman's Chapter 4 where the obvious follow up question is addressed. This Question is - if we as "Christians" believe we are saved by faith and not the law, can we then forget about the law? In other words if faith is only what "Christians" need, can "Christians" go ahead and break the law as long as they have faith? Paul answers this question in Chapter 4.

Until then I hope each of you has a great week and can enjoy this life that God has given to each of us.

Terry Pursley

May 10, 2010

2010-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! I hope you are having a good day!

Social Stuff:

It was a very busy week this past week what with our nephew Orry's medical emergency and the successful events that transpired. We also had a very good Mother's Day celebration with my Mom at Delmar Gardens on Saturday, and then on Sunday we went to Jane's Mom and Dad's for another excellent day. I often reflect upon those past times when Jane and I lived out of the St. Louis area and the good times we missed during that period with our families. We had a lot of good times where ever we were but it is always good to be able to spend time with family. We are traveling to Madison Wisconsin this next week to visit Todd, Amy, and the grandkids and looking forward to a great time there.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

We had 6 people in our class with the following prayer requests being put forth.

1. Cyndie's mom is expecting lab results this next week and they are concerned about the results.
2. Marilyn Cook is a friend of Betty's who is living in South Africa and who was involved in a serious car accident that killed Marilyn's husband. Marilyn herself is in critical condition and Betty ask for prayers for Marilyn.
3. Doug Nichols (Bill's nephew) is to complete his chemo therapy this next week and they were hopeful of good results.
4. Charlotte's daughter is experiencing her first Mother's Day without her daughter who died this past year.
5. Terry asked for prayers for his brother Jeff's family who experience a nearly fatal event with their son Orry this past week, but which appears to have had a very successful outcome.
6. Prayers for safe travel was offered for all those people who will be traveling during the Mother's Day holiday.
7. Cyndie raise a joy that all members of her family were doing well and enjoying their lives.

Class material studied was Romans Chapter 2 vs 2 thru vs 16

These verses continued Paul's message that all people sin and in need of God's Grace and salvation thru Jesus Christ. After having addressed the serious sins of the homosexual community, Paul proceed to advise that those people who judge the homosexual community are worse sinners than those they judge. Paul points to the "kindness" of God and that this "kindness" is intended to allow all of us to turn away from our sins.

Paul continues in verse 6 by saying "(God) will judge everyone according to what they have done." Paul continues in verse 7 saying "(God) will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers." Then in verse 8 Paul concludes this train of thought saying "But (God) will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead liver lives o wickedness."

Paul is making it very clear that God's judgement is based upon what we DO and there will be judgement for all those of us who fail to DO what is right. Paul continues this message in verse 13 when he writes "...It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight." and then in verse 16 "And this is the message, I proclaim- that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge every one's secret life."

Paul is telling us that we will all be judge by what we do and that God will punish those who do wrongly. It is important to remember at this point that one aspects of these early chapters and verses of Romans by Paul are an attempt to communicate that each one of us is a sinner and that we will be judged harshly because of our sin. Not a one of us is exempt from this judgement. Paul will eventually turn his argument to the amazing point that; although each one of us is a sinner and will be judged accordingly, we have an advocate with Jesus Christ who will argue for us in God's court and because of Christ's death and resurrection we will be saved if only we believe in and follow Christ's lead.

But that is a class and discussion for another day and so I will close here and suggest that in the meantime you

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

May 3, 2010

2010-05-02T18:15:00.001-07:00

It is actually Sunday (May 2, 2010) evening but I Titled this Blog for Monday for reasons I do not quite understand. Probably because I just want to keep the Monday "thing" going but I'm not sure.

Social Stuff:

I rode my bicycle today (5/2/10) in my first MS Bike training road ride. Previously I have ridden on closed courses by myself. Today however I rode with about 250 other riders on back roads in the Chesterfield Mo. area. Much different riding with a large group and on roads where you have to pay attention to vehicular traffic as well as other bikers. These group training rides are very helpful in preparation for the eventual 75 mile per day (for two day) MS Bike ride in September. Today's ride was for 26 miles on flat terrain and I was able to average 15.5 mph which is pretty good considering the multiple stops one has to make on the open road. I felt weak the first 5 miles but I then began to gain strength and finished very strong the last 7 miles. I got up to over 20 mph! Lots of other bikers were passing me but this year I have been passing a few as well.

Koinonia Sunday School Class

We had a large class today because we had visitors from other classes join us. I believe we had up to 13 people in class.

We had prayer requests for
1) Teresa Schlobohm's wrist which was broken this past week.
2) David Hartsock (Alan and Teresa's friend) who is still recovering from a sky diving accident.
3) Ed Montgomery who left church today not feeling well.
4) Bob Meinz friend (Rudi) who is recovering from health concern.
5) Betty's Son who is a letter carrier in the Nashville, Tn. area where all the flooding is currently taking place.

The Class Material discussed today was Romans Chapter 1 vs 18 thru Chapter 2 vs 1

In this section, Paul emphasizes God shows His anger with sin. Paul had started the Book of Romans on a cordial note but in these verses Paul address the difficult issue of sin. Paul explains in verses 18 thru 20 that all people know the truth about God because God has made it obvious to humans. Then in verse 21 he hits upon a key point when Paul writes -

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks . And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like."

and then in verse 21, Paul writes -

"So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies."

In addition, Paul, still relating back to the people identified in vs 21 states in verse 29,

"Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip."

and finally in Chapter 2 Verse 1 Paul continues by speaking to his audience -

"You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things."

Apparently, homosexuality, was a very "hot topic" in Rome during Paul's time much as it is today in our culture. In his attempt to grab the attention of his audience, which was primarily Roman Christians of both Jew and Gentile backgrounds, Paul begins his logic argument by saying homosexuality is a sin, which many of his audience members would have readily agreed with. However, Paul then switches his argument. He confronts his (pious?) audience who were judging the homosexual community, by saying his audience was just as "sinful" as the homosexual society because his audience members were also sinning to the same degree. They were not worshiping God, they were listening to foolish ideas, and they were not obeying God's word.

Paul was attempting to make sure his (Jewish/Gentile Christian) audience understood they were just as sinful as those groups his audience was condemning. Paul would appear to be making this point so that, in his following arguments, each audience member would understand they were in need Christ's salvation.

This argument of Paul's will continue in next week's lesson and I would encourage everyone to read ahead and be ready to ask questions and offer comments to further our discussion. Until then,

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

PS - Once again I need to state that the above thoughts are mine and mine alone. They are not sanctioned by Salem Church, our Pastor, the United Methodist Church, or any other intelligent party, and thus I encourage each person to read the related Scriptures and develop their own understandings.

T.P.

April 29, 2010

2010-04-29T06:41:00.002-07:00

Good Morning!

It has been a while since I last updated this blog and for that I apologize. My reasoning is not particularly sound so I suppose I will just say that sometimes we just need a little break from our routines, and I took one.

In our Koinonia Sunday School Class we have began a study of the Book of Romans. This study was the result of the Class having finished the Book of Acts and it seemed like a good segway to move into Romans. Coincidentally, the singing chorus I belong to performed at a local Jewish Community Center and for the first time I had the opportunity to encounter not only the Jewish faith but also its people in a setting focused on Judaism. I found the experience to be very interesting and impactful, especially since the Koinonia Class had just completed Acts and was starting Romans. I gained a better understanding of the "mind set" Paul encountered when he began to preach the Good News of Christ. Not only what he encountered but I also experienced a part, albeit a small part, of the deep faith the Jewish community has with God. Theirs is not a superficial faith and is a integral part of their existence. I was led to remember Jesus was a Jew and it is from the Jewish people that the nature of God is pronounced to the World.

It is from this experience I began leading the Koinonia Class in our Study of Romans. I began to read the Book of Romans as a letter written by a Jew (Paul) whose focus is upon another Jew (Jesus) and how in his letter Paul sets forth the principles of how Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles) are to respond to Christ. I can't say this new perspective greatly affects the fundamental understandings of Romans but it would seem to be akin to adding a little salt to a meal. The flavor just seems to be enhanced.

This last Sunday (April 25, 2010) our Koinonia Class read thru Romans Chapter 1 verse 17, and through this reading we came to understand Paul is writing to a mixture of Christians who have only been Christians a very short time. As a result these new Christians were subject to various interpretations of Christ and Paul is writing Romans in part to give the new Christians a firm understanding of the Christian faith and how to live within that faith. There are three items within these first verses of Romans that I want to highlight here.

First - In Verse 17 Paul lays out the fundamental principle of the Christian faith in very simple and straight forward language. "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." This concept of "faith" will be a main focus of Paul in his letter.

Second - In Verse 16 Paul writes - "For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ." Many of the new Christians of Paul's Time may have been reluctant to discuss their new faith because of ridicule they may receive. Many of us today may also have this same hesitancy and Paul is telling them and us to not be ashamed and to not be afraid of discussing our faith with others.

Third - In Verse 12 Paul states - "When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours." I mention this passage because we see here that Paul needed feedback from other Christians. Can you imagine what it would have been like for Paul to be constantly preaching and receiving minimal feedback. At times he may have wondered whether he was getting his message across effectively, and thus it appears he is hoping that he will receive feedback from his Christian friends in Rome.

In this next Sunday's class we will read and discuss Romans Chapter 1 Verse 18 thru Chapter 2 Verse 16. This can be a difficult passage to understand at first but I believe when we look at its overall context we will see what Paul is trying to communicate to us. I would specifically ask you to read Chapter 2 Verse 1 and ask yourself what is Paul saying to us.

Again, its nice to be back on my blog and I hope someone out there reads it and receives something positive from it.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

April 29, 2010

2010-04-29T06:41:00.001-07:00

March 15, 2010

2010-03-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Good Morning - How is that Daylight Savings Time working our for you?

Social Stuff:

Jane and I went to a bicycling event downtown at MotoMuseum located near Lindell and Olive. We had never heard of it before and didn't know it even existed, but its a museum for motorcycles from many manufactures and time periods. It contained quite a few interested motorcycles and its worth you time if you enjoy motorcycles. We were there because Trailnet was having their annual spring Chili diner. Trailnet is a influential and growing force in the St. Louis area dedicated to improving the conditions for bicycling. Most of the bike trails you see in the St. Louis area are the result, to varying degrees, of the efforts put forth by Trailnet. Trailnet also sponsors various bicycle rides through out the year and they do a good job with the organization and routes of the rides. I believe Trailnet is a positive factor in the St. Louis community and I have been a member for several years now and if you are interested I'd recommend you check them out at Trailnet.org.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Cindie Jones, Suzanne Lyons, Bob Hardcastle, Jane and Terry Pursley

Prayers were requested for:

1. The Vogt family who is traveling in Canada.
2. Amanda Vogt and her health issues.
3. Bill's nephew Doug who continues to deal with Leukemia issues.

Material Studied: Chapter 28 of the Book of Acts.

Chapter 28 is the final chapter in Acts, and it describes the final travels of Paul and his initial activities in Rome. In Chapter 27 we had seen where Paul and the ships crew transporting Paul had struggled with a terrible storm at sea and had finally grounded their ship on the island of Malta. Paul and his fellow passengers were treated well by the local people and has usual Paul spent time preaching the Good News to them. While on Malta the scriptures describe an event where Paul is bitten by a snake that evidently would have caused the death of a person. the people surrounding Paul waited for him to swell and die but nothing of the sort happen. Paul felt no ill effects of the snake's bite and went about his daily routine. The on-lookers were amazed and the scriptures indicated they began to believe Paul was a "God". This view of Paul became even stronger when Paul began healing seriously ill people on the island and once again Paul struggled with convincing the people that he was not a God but that God was working through him.

Eventually, another ship stopped at Malta and was able to transport Paul and the other passengers to an Italian seaport whose roads led Paul and his group to Rome. While in Rome Paul is allowed to stay in private quarters with a Roman guard but Paul has much freedom to move around and meet various people. As a result Paul is able to preach and teach the Good News to Jews and Gentiles alike. The scripture indicates many of the Jews did not believe Paul's story which disturbed Paul who in turn preached the Good News to the local Gentiles. Paul has been preaching, teaching and healing in Rome for two years when the Chapter and the Book of Acts comes to and end.

In conclusion: The Book of Acts has provided a vivid narrative of the events of the early Christian Church immediately after the Crucifixion of Jesus. It illustrates the leadership to the Church provided by Peter at first and then transitions to the leadership and missionary skills of Paul. We learned Paul is led and protected by God as Paul performs his work and that God's plan was to protect Paul until Paul could arrive in Rome to preach the Gospel to the Roman social life. We indicated this God provided provided protection and guidance allowed the Good News to reach the greatest empire at that time (Rome) which in turn allowed the message to be spread throughout Europe, England, the United States and ultimately to us at Salem Church. This connection between Paul and Salem was noted and is something we should never forget.

Next: In four weeks the Koinonia Class will begin to study the Book of Romans which is the letter Paul writes to the people in Rome to explain the Christian faith, which is the understanding that will eventually migrate to us. Between now and then the Koinonia Class will undertake a unique experience.

The Koinonia Class will draft a letter to the people of "Ballwin" in much the same way as Paul wrote a letter to the Romans. In our case, this letter to "Ballwin" will be considerably shorter than the Book of Romans. The initial concept of the letter is for it to have four (4) basic parts.

First - An introduction explaining who Salem in Ballwin is,
Second - Explaining our Faith.
Third - Explaining what this Faith means to the people of Ballwin, and
Fourth - Inviting people to attend a special service on Memorial Day Sunday the 30th of May.

The publishing of the letter as well as the invitation and service will be done in accordance with the leadership of our pastor - Suzanne Lyons, but in general I am thinking the Memorial Sunday service would remember A) those who have given their lives for our Country, B) The parents of those who have given their lives for our country, and C) the sacrifice of Jesus giving his life for us with a special communion serviced offered in recognition of this sacrifice.

I sprung all of this on the class this morning and they are still trying to grasp the whole idea but the initial response was positive and for sure the class will be working on the letter that may be submitted to the Suburban Journal for publication. We'll see, but in the mean time we should have a good learning experience.

Jane and I will be not be in class the next two weeks but we will return on April 4, 2010 and so until then -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

March 8, 2010

2010-03-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

Good morning to all of you. I hope your week went well or you could at least see beyond the ruts!

Social Stuff:

Jane and I saw the movie Shutter Island and it was very good! The advertisements make the movie seem like it is going to be creepy but while there is some of that the overwhelming affect is a very good suspense story which will keep you engaged up until, and after, the last scene. We also went bike riding Saturday on the Katy Trail, starting at St. Charles, with my brother Jeff and his family. It was a good weather day and we enjoyed the day very much. The Trail was a little soft in spots and we had to ride around those places but all in all it was good. I was able to get my bike speed up to 16 mph and sustain it for a couple of miles and that was real good for me on my first outdoor ride of the year. I sang with the Chorus group at a Home called Rosewood just off Shuetz road and Lindbergh and we did well. I enjoy this sort of stuff! I went and visited my mother at Delmar Gardens yesterday and it had been a tough day for her. She is just having trouble seeing positive things in life right now and its difficult trying to help her.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Ginny Maas, Betty Caswell, Cyndie Jones, Suzanne Lyons, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:
1. Ginny's joy of having her daughter Karen safely returned from Australia where she evidently had a great time.
2. Salem Church in general for its on-going planning efforts.
3. Bill's nephew Doug who now has an infection along with his battle with Leukemia.
4. Bill's relative Drew Geison who also continues to deal with cancer issues.
5. Amanda Vogt's continued struggles with fatigue.
6. Cindies' mom Esther's continued health issues.
7. A joy as Cindie's son Andrew is now confirmed that he will become an Eagle Scout.

Lesson: Book of Acts - Chapter 27

As we near the end of the Book of Acts (Chapter 27 being the next to last Chapter) we find Paul on a ship headed for Rome. The ship seems to be a fairly large vessel since it carries about 276 people (crew and passengers) as well as a fairly large amount of cargo. Remember Paul is more or less a prisoner on this voyage being taken to Rome for a trial in front of Caesar. The voyage started out fairly well, but continued to experience stronger and stronger headwinds to a point where Paul recommended the ship be secured in the harbor until the storm passed. The Roman Guard and the Ship's captain did not listen to Paul however and decided to sail on. As they sailed the winds crew stronger and the seas rougher to the point that all on board began to fear for their life. Paul remained relatively calm because he had received assurance from God that they would be safe and with this assurance Paul attempted to keep the crew calm. However as the storm continued to mount the ship was forced out to sea and basically the Captain of the ship was forced to let the ship "run with the wind" which placed them way off course. Fear on board continued to mount in spite of Paul's efforts to the point that some of the sailors were beginning to make plans to abandon the ship. Paul upon seeing this advised the Roman guards that if the sailors were allowed to abandon the ship, all would perish. This time the Roman guards listen to Paul and kept the sailors from leaving. The next morning the ship spotting a coastline they did not recognize but the crew was desperate enough to go ahead and ground the ship on the land's coast which they did. Some of the Roman guards wanted to kill the prisoners because they were afraid the prisoners would escape, but the Roman Captain wanted to spare Paul and so the Captain let everyone escape to shore.

This is a very good adventure story and it is important to note Paul is NOT a sailor nor does he have much experience with sailing. What he did have was faith in God and this faith allowed Paul to conduct himself in a calm manner from which the ships crew could draw strength, even in this very difficult situation. The Lesson for us I would say is to "Trust God". I believe this "Trust in God" theme is consistent throughout the Bible. It is a message that we as Christians should continue to hold on to as we "sail" through our everyday lives with the troubles and challenges we all face. We should trust in God and act in ways that bring positive results to those around us. We should not add to the turmoil but rather bring a calm and peace that others can cling to. We are children of God and this passage encourages us to act like it!

That is it for this week. Next week we will close the Book of Acts and prepare to begin a study of Romans. We are going into Romans because as we close with Acts, it is to Rome that Paul is headed and it is from Rome that Paul will eventually write his classic theological summary.

In the meantime -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

February 22, 2010

2010-02-22T08:14:00.000-08:00

Good Morning to All!

Social Stuff!

Its been a good week for me and I hope it has been one for you also. First of all Jane and I went to the play "Mama Mia" at the Fox Theatre and had a very good time. We had seen the moving which I thought was OK but not great. I really did enjoy the play however and the music was excellent. On Friday my sister (Wyona) flew up from Texas to visit our mom (Opal) who is in the Delmar Gardens home located in Fenton, Mo. It was great having Wyona up and our mom is truly enjoying it. Last night Wyona, me and my brother Jeff, with our spouses went to dinner at Tuckers and had a great time. Laughed a great deal and it was good to be together. On Saturday some of our cousins came to visit Wyona with Mom and had a great time. Our cousin Steve plays the fiddle and another cousin-in-law, Richard plays the guitar and they played for mom in the lobby of Delmar Gardens. The music was great and mom was clamping her hands to the rhythm of the music. On Sunday, after church, we had another set of cousins come to visit Wyona and Mom and we were able to share some great stories. All-in-all, Wyona's visit as well as the visits by the cousins has really helped mom as well as all of us. It is truly great to have great family members to fellowship with.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Cindie Jones, Denise Kelly, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Genny Maas, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:
1. Amanda Vogt who continues to struggle with fatigue.
2. A friend of Denise's grand daughter (Madison) who is struggling with significant health issues at a very young age.
3. Doug Nichols (Bill's nephew) who continues to deal with Leukemia.
4. Genny's daughter (Karen) who is flying back from Australia.
5. Cyndie's friend Karen and their family who are struggling with various issues.
6. Andrew Jones friend Ryan who is completing his Eagle Scout training.
7. Josh Schlobohm who is doing better in college after a tough start.
8. Terry's sister's presence who has traveled up from Texas to visit their Mom (Opal Pursley) who is a resident at the Fenton Delmar Gardens.
9. Alan's friend Ernie who is now working as a chaplain after the loss of his daughter several weeks ago.

Materiel Discussed: Book of Acts, Chapters 24, 25, and 26

We started the class with the intent of watching Chapter 24 of Acts in the DVD we have been following but the story is so compelling that we kept the DVD running right thru Chapters 25 and 26. In these Chapters we read where Paul, being kept captive by the Roman Guards, is first taken to Governor Felix (located in Cesarea), where the Jewish case against Paul is presented by a Jewish lawyer named Tertullus. After Tertullus presents his case against him, Paul is given the opportunity to make his own defence. Paul's presentation is persuasive and Felix is not sure what he should do so he decides to do nothing and Paul stays in Roman custody for two (2) years.

Felix is eventually replaced by a new Governor named Festus. Upon Festus taking his new position the Jewish leaders immediately attempt to persuade Festus to return Paul to Jerusalem because the Jews want to kill Paul in the interim travel. Paul senses this plot and when Festus offers Paul the opportunity to return to Jerusalem to face his accusers Paul refuses and appeals his case to Caesar in Rome! Evidently, the Roman laws and fundamentals beliefs regarding Roman citizenship were strong and thus when Paul, as a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar the Roman Governor felt compelled to grant this appeal even with the Jewish pressure to return Paul to Jerusalem. However; Festus' problem his he can find nothing illegal about Paul's activities and thus he doesn't know what charges to bring against Paul that can be sent to Caesar. Festus therefore turns to the local Jewish leader - King Agrippa II, to hear Paul's argument and to help develop some sort of charge that could be used to send Paul to Caesar. King Aggippa II then hears Paul and Paul once again makes his case. During this defense Paul relies more heavily on his Jewish background and his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, and upon the completion of Paul's presentation King Aggrippa tells Festus Paul has done nothing to deserve death and in fact Paul could have been set free if Paul had not appealed to Caesar.

This completed Chapter 26 and the story of Paul's hearings in front of Felix, Festus and King Aggripa II and the scriptures do not tell us what charges Festus eventually develops, but because of Paul's appear Festus does indeed send Paul to Rome. Chapters 27 and 28 will cover Paul's journey to Rome, and will complete the Book of Acts.

One salient element in these three Chapters (24 - 26) is Paul argues his case with much confidence and clarity because Paul knows (from vs Chapter 23:v11) that the "Lord" wants and needs Paul to go to Rome; therefore, Paul's confidence in the Lord leads Paul to know that he will indeed go to Rome even though there may be other humans who want to prevent this trip. Paul does not appear to be the least bit concerned be cause he "Trusts God", and that would seem to be a main lesson in our study. Do we Trust God? That's the question we must all ask ourselves.

This next weekend Jane and I will be visiting our Grand kids in Madison so we will not be in class next Sunday. Bill Nichols has graciously agreed to play the DVD and lead the class and I would encourage all to attend and listen about Paul's journey to Rome. As usual it is not easy and Paul once again displays his confidence in the Lord which leads to leadership of the ships crew.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

Social Stuff:

Well its Monday morning and we received about 4" of snow here at the Pursley home. I have been out and shoveled the driveway plus rode my stationary bike 6 miles so I am feeling pretty good right now. For Valentines Day Jane and I went to the movies and saw "Sherlock Holmes" and we both enjoyed it very much. We would recommend it to you. After the movie we went to TGIFridays and we always like the food and environment there. We enjoyed Sunday's church services with the focus on the Boy Scouts as well as both the Pastor's message and the choir music. We are quite lucky to have Bob Meinz as our music director and Suzanne as our pastor.

I completed my mother's taxes as well as Jane and my taxes this past week which didn't go to badly, after I worked my way thru all my computer problems. Boy am I dumb about this computer stuff, and that assessment of my talent is being generous!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Members Present: Bill Nichols, Allan and Teresa Schlobohm, Cindie Jones, Denise Kelly, Pastor Suzanne Lyons, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Denise's grandson - Dean - who is having some difficulty adapting to his new school environment.
2. Bill's nephew Doug who is undergoing his second round of chemotherapy.
3. Jane's cousin Pat who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is in the early stages of treatment.
4. Cyndie's mom Esther who will be having some blood work done this week.
5. Cyndie's friend Ester Smith who is experiencing some general health issues.
6. Terry's sister, Wyona, who will be traveling to St. Louis this next week.
7. Terry's mom, Opal, who is a resident at Delmar Gardens in Fenton, Mo. and who continues to experience mental fading.
8. Jane's friend Jen Buck who is trying to get started going to church but is reluctant to do so.

Material studied was Chapter 23 of the Book of Acts.

In Chapter 23 we continue to find Paul having to encounter a large contingent of Jewish leaders (Sadducee's) who were upset with Paul's teaching about the "the resurrection of the dead". They were so upset with Paul that they wanted to kill him. The other faction of the Jewish leadership was the Pharisees and they were in general agreement with Paul's "resurrection" philosophy and thus there was much turmoil in the Jewish leadership. This "turmoil" was so strong that the Roman Governor and military had to expend considerable efforts to protect Paul, and even had to move Paul from Jerusalem to the town of Caesarea for Paul's protection.

We had a very good discussion about this Chapter and we noted three (3) items of interest.

1. Throughout this episode the new Christian leaders (apostles and disciples) are significant by their absence. Whether these Christian leaders were afraid of their own safety or not is a matter of speculation, but the scriptures do not make any mention of them during this period.

2. The Jewish leadership is under great pressure as a result of Paul's preaching. This whole concept of Jesus being the "Messiah" and/or the "Son of God" is not something the Jewish leadership are able to "push to the back burner"; which is what they have most probably been able to do with other radical religious philosophies that have come and gone, but not this one. This "Christianity" will not go away and the more the Jewish leaders argue the stronger the Christians become as evidenced by the fact that certain members of the Jewish community have come to the conclusion they must kill Paul in order to stop his message from affecting the entire community.

3. The Roman Government isn't much concerned about Paul's theology but they are concerned about his Roman Citizenship! We see here a small glimpse into the Roman society which obviously highly values a Roman Citizen. Paul is basically a "nobody" as far as Rome is concerned but the fact that Paul is a Roman Citizen gives Paul certain fundamental rights which the Roman Government is willing to spend considerable resources to protect.

In addition we find in verse 11 a very meaningful message. Verse 11 reads "That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, "Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good news in Rome as well." We see Jesus telling Paul that Paul must preach in Rome. From history we remember, Paul's preaching will highly influence Rome's leadership so that in the 4th century Christianity will become officially recognized and supported by the Roman Government. From Rome, Christianity will therefore spread to Spain and to England and from both those countries to the United States, and eventually to us here in Salem Church. I therefore suggest that Verse 11 of Chapter 23 in the Book of Acts is the "Christ led plan" for Christianity to be spread throughout the World including to those of us in Salem In Ballwin United Methodist Church. I think that sort of "stuff" is pretty "neat" not to mention very important as we continue to search for our spiritual "foundation". We worship here because Jesus wanted us to worship here!

Next week we will continue our study by reading Chapter 24 and beyond of the Book of Acts as the "Holy Spirit" so directs.

In the meantime and as always - Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley
Koinonia Sunday School Class

PS - I should once again state that the above blog comments are mine and mine alone. They have not been reviewed, approved or in any way sanctioned by, my wife, Salem Church, our Pastor, the United Methodist Church or any other intelligent entity. They are just my "musings" and I hope you find them interesting and helpful.

T

February 8, 2010

2010-02-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Good Morning All!

Its been a couple of weeks since I wrote because Jane and I were in Las Vegas last week attending a Vemma Nutritional convention. We took some extra days and visited the Grand Canyon and the Las Vegas strip. We enjoyed all aspects of the vacation. We went to the Grand Canyon on Monday (2/25/10) and saw the beautiful sites. Like most people, we were impressed by the size and colors of the Canyon. I was considering how long it took God to cut the canyon and then I was even more impressed by how long it must have taken to lay down all the various layers of earth you see in the Canyon walls before the river even began to cut the Canyon. I then realized that all this beautiful creation wound have gone unappreciated if God hadn't created humans with the ability to observe and appreciate the Creation. Truly a magnificent display was before our eyes!

Vegas itself was great also. The crowds are way down and thus its pretty easy to get around and see the sites, but be prepared to walk. Goodness we walked a lot, but it was good weather so it was enjoyable. We saw two shows - "The Lion King", as well as the magicians "Penn & Teller". Both were very good and we really enjoyed the Lion King's music and set creativity. Both shows were worth the money we spent to see them. I did play "Blackjack" at various casinos and when all was send and done I came out ahead by $83. I enjoy the games and the people but a person sure can lose a lot in a short amount of time if you are disciplined. Also, I use to hear the food and hotel rooms were relatively inexpensive because the Casinos wanted to lure people to the "Gaming" experience, but we did not find find this to be true during our trip. Seemed to me like everything cost at least 10% more than back home so I didn't find it to be a particularly inexpensive trip.

The Vemma convention was excellent as usual. Vemma is a great product, and company with great people. If you are interested in enhancing your health I'd suggest going to http://www.terryp.vemma.com.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Material Studied: Book of Acts - Chapters 21 and 22.

Attendees: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Ginny Maas, Cindie Jones, Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:
1. Bill's nephew (Doug) who is home recovering from Chemotherapy for Leukemia treatment.
2. Suzanne's health as she is feeling bad today with stomach issues.
3. A joy for Cindy's children - Alison and Meridith - who are both doing well and enjoying their lives.
4. Cindie's friend Maria Jones who is in the process of having to make employment decisions, and
5, Another Joy for the existence of Duff Hall that has allowed the Boy Scouts to use the facility for their programs and growth. It truly has been a benefit to the Boy Scout troops who use the facility.

Class:

Today we watched the DVD Chapters 21 and 22 from the Book of Acts and we find some very interesting actions taking place. First - Paul has completed his Third ministry journey and is returning to Jerusalem but he is cautioned by "Believers" against returning because of the public outcry against Paul. The Believers are very concerned about Paul's safety. Paul; however, is committed to going as it is God's will and so he returns and is created warmly by the Christian "Elders" but Jewish concerns persist about Paul's teaching that circumcision is not required. This Jewish criticism continues to grow and becomes so strong that Paul is dragged from the Temple and nearly beaten to death. In fact he would have been killed if Roman soldiers had not been present to stop Paul's beating.

While Paul is being led away by the Roman soldiers, Paul asks to speak to the crown once again and the Romain's allow him this opportunity. Paul then gives a long narrative of just how he was transitioned by God from a person famous for persecuting the Christians to becoming a leading spokesperson for the Christians. The crowd is listening very intently but when Paul states he is to take God's message to the Gentiles, the crowd again becomes very volatile to the extent the Roman guards bring Paul inside for not only his own protection but also to flog Paul so he would confess what he had down to arouse the ire of the crowd. As Paul was being stripped for the flogging when Paul states he is a Roman Citizen and challenges the soldiers as to their authority for flogging a Roman Citizen without a trial. This point was evidently a significant defense because the Roman guards stopped the flogging preparations and the Roman commander order a special hearing with the Jewish leaders and Paul in an attempt to ascertain the fundamental issues. Next week in our study of Chapter 23 we will see how this hearing proceeds and its results.

We continue to see thru these accounts of Paul's ministry that Paul remains a singularly strong missionary for God's word. Paul continues to recount the facts of his conversion and the message God gave to Paul to preach. Paul does not waiver, because he KNOWS who God/Jesus is and he KNOWS the message he is to give to the people. He understands his message may not be popular with many people; nonetheless, it is the message of God and he does not waiver in his responsibility to share it with all who will listen.

Next week we will study Chapter 23 and until then -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley
Koinonia Sunday School Class

January 18, 2010

2010-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

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

January 11, 2010

2010-01-11T05:27:00.000-08:00

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

January 4, 2010

2010-01-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

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.)

December 28, 2009

2009-12-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Social Stuff!
I am not going to write much here this week because with the Holiday Season there is just too much good stuff to write in this space. Suffice it for me to encourage everyone to enjoy your Life with as many loved ones as you can and go into the New Year with a goal (not necessarily a resolution) of making the lives of ones you encounter better than if they had not encountered you. You probably remember the old Boy Scout adage of always leaving a campsite better than when you found it? Well I think the same principle applies to "lives" we encounter. We should always strive to make the lives we encounter better because of our presence. Let's give it a try and see how it works!

Koinonia Sunday School Class!

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Josh Schlobohm, Cindie Jones, Suzanne Lyons (pastor), Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Safe journeys for all those traveling during this holiday season.
2. The ability of Bill's brother and wife to celebrate Christmas in their new home.
3. Suzanne's family being together in their new home (parsonage) with the joy and love they are able to experience there.
4. Betty's daughter - Micky and family - as they enjoy the holiday's in Tulsa and prepare to return to Africa in January.

Class Material: Book of Acts - Chapter 16

In this Chapter we find four (4) distinct sections -

First - In verses 1 thru 5, we see Paul and Silas pick-up Timothy to join them on their missionary journeys and Timothy is circumcised out of deference to the Jews in the area. We remembered The Church in Jerusalem had just issued their decree that circumcision was not necessary for the Gentiles to receive the Lord, but obviously Paul, and of course Timothy, found this act was a means of helping the Jews to accept Christ and so Timothy elected to participate in this act. This tells us the receipt of Christ into peoples hearts is more important than any rituals we may in our worship process.

Second - In verses 6 thru 10 We also find the Holy Spirit leads Paul to take his missionary work into Macedonia (Greece).

Third - In verses 11 thru 15, we find the disciples, encountering a woman in Macedonia named Lydia who is described as a "merchant of expensive purple cloth". The result of this encounter is Lydia accepts what Paul is saying and is baptized. She then makes the unusual statement "If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord come and stay at my home." Paul and his troop then agree to come to her home. The significance of this story is multi-faceted. Paul's first recorded encounters while in Macedonia is with a wealthy woman involved in an evidently lucrative trade of "purple cloth". From this I ascertain, this person is Greek, Gentile, wealthy, influential with her trade contacts, and a woman. The other aspect I discern is that normally such traveling preachers such as Paul would not have been invited into the home of such a person and Paul's presence in Lydia's home may have had more ramifications than we might think. I say this because Luke (writer of Acts) goes out of his way to report that Paul accepted Lydia's invitation after some "urging" takes place. What I see here is a reluctance on the part of Paul (who hasn't been afraid to go anywhere including into towns where he will likely be stoned) to enter Lydia's home but then decides to do so, which Luke finds significant enough to report. Thus we see Paul's message being brought to, and accepted by, people, in this case Lydia, and thus opening "doors" into parts of the Greek society not previously thought to be approachable. The lesson to be learned is we should bring God's word into those places, and to those people we are led to, even when would otherwise think it not appropriate to do so.

Fourth - In verses 16 thru 40, we find Paul and Silas being thrown into jail because they, in the name of Jesus Christ, were able to remove a demon from a slave girl who had been a fortune-teller. Once the demon was removed, the slave girl evidently lost her ability to tell fortunes and so her owner's became upset to the point of dragging Paul and Silas to the local "authorities" who upon hearing the charges had Paul and Silas whipped and thrown into a secure jail situation. That night an earthquake occurs of such magnitude that the jails doors and shackle locks are released setting Paul and Silas free; however, they did not flee. The next morning the jail's captain saw the doors opened and assumed the prisoners had escaped and was about to kill himself out of anxiety when Paul yelled for him to stop. The jailer then provided assistance for Paul and Silas, became a believer, and was baptized. The next morning the authorities, who had Paul and Silas imprisoned, sent a note to have Paul and Silas released, but Paul refused to leave until the authorities came to him and released him in person. The authorities agreed to do this, especially when they learned Paul was a Roman citizen, and even begged Paul and Silas to leave their town. The lesson I learn here is that Paul does not waiver in his Faith of God/Jesus even when circumstances could dictate otherwise. Paul continues to sincerely worship God/Jesus without regards to what Paul will get out of it. Paul worships God/Jesus because Paul loves God/Jesus so much that Paul is willing to accept whatever events occur as a result of Paul following God/Jesus' direction.

Next Week we will be studying Chapter 17 of Acts where Paul and Silas continue their missionary work in Macedonia/Greece with an eventual encounter in Athens and the idols worshiped therein.

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

Note: As always, the above thoughts are mine and mine alone, and are not reviewed by or necessarly agreed to by our pastor, Salem Church, the United Methodist Church, or any other intelligent party. I encourage all to read the subject verses on their own and come to your own understandings.

T

December 21, 2009

2009-12-21T14:12:00.001-08:00

Good Afternoon!

Social Stuff!

Jane and I just returned from a visit with our daughter Rebecca in Columbia, Missouri, and we had a very nice time. We got to see Rebecca's new cedar Christmas tree and it was very nice. We also watched two movies Sunday afternoon - We tend to do that sort of thing from time to time just because we can! We first saw "The Princes and the Frog"! Its a nice Disney animation feature good for all ages although there is a lead character who is cast as a not-so-nice Vodoo magician. Jane and I thought this character might be a little too intense for those 5 years and younger. There is a song in this movie I liked very much entitled "Dig a Little Deeper!" written by academy award winner Randy Neuman. You have to pay attention to the fastly spoken words but its a great message and appropriate for us Christians. The second movie was "Avatar" which we both really liked. Its a 3D action flick with a good story line. The 3D effects are well done and don't "overwhelm" the movie. You should go see it if you have the chance and desire to do so.

Saturday night Jane and I along with 11 other Salem members attended a Koinonia Christmas dinner at Mama Campisi's on "The Hill", and it was a very good experience. The waiter was excellent, the food was great, and everyone agreed we really enjoyed the evening.

Salem Church Cantata!

On Sunday our choir sang our Christmas Cantata and Jane and I both thought it was excellent. We received a lot of very good reviews for the congregation and we thought we were able to convey well the message of Christmas! It is a great pleasure for us to sing with such great people as those we have in the choir and to be led by Bob Mienz. Bob is an excellent organizer, manager, and leader of the choir. It was his excellent leadership that we thought allowed the choir to perform and convey the message at a high level of quality. We are very happy to be a part of this group.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Ginny Maas, Betty Caswell, Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Cindie Jones, Suzanne Lyons (pastor), Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Terry Pursley's mom (Opal Pursley) who was just diagnosed with "shingles" at the Delmar Gardens Nursing Home in Fenton, Mo.
2. Continued prayers for Mickey and Paul Prince (Betty's daughter and son-in-law) who are missionaries that will soon be returning to Africa.
3. Teresa's friend (David) who was seriously injured in a sky diving accident several months ago.
4. Safe travels for all who are traveling this coming Holiday Season.

Class Material Discussed - Chapter 15 of the Book of Acts.

In summary, Chapter 15 discusses a significant decision made by the newly developing Christian Church. The issue is the inclusion of Gentiles into God's salvation and specifically the need for all Christians to be circumcised.

As we saw in Chapter 10 and 11, Peter had been given a "vision" from God, to include the Gentiles in God's salvation plan as evidence by the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit after being baptized by Peter. The Christian leaders had accepted Peter's message that Gentiles were part of God's plan of salvation. The question in Chapter 15 was whether the "Gentile Christians" had to be physically circumcised, per the Jewish tradition, in order to receive Christ. Paul and Barnabas had been preaching that circumcision was not required of the Gentiles and evidently this point was "hotly" debated and was a significant reason why Paul and Barnabas were called in to Jerusalem to discuss this topic. Verse 7 indicates a "long discussion" was held until Peter stands up and reminds everyone of Peter's previous vision and actions, and reaffirms two very important facets of Peter's "vision" experience".

First - In Verse 9 Peter says - "He (God) made no distinction between us (Jews) and them (Gentiles), for he (God) cleansed their hearts through FAITH." (Note: Bold type, statements in parentheses, as well as larger print are my additions for emphasis purposes.)

Second - In Verse 11 Peter says - "We believe that we are ALL saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus."
(Note: Bold type and larger print, and italics, are my additions for emphasis purposes.)

Peter clearly lays down here the basic Christian principles that people, regardless of their background, are saved by God's Grace thru Faith. This is a fundamental principle of the Christian Faith and one we must all remember incorporate into our Christian Life.

Chapter 15 indicates a letter is written by the Jerusalem Church leaders confirming their agreement that Gentiles did not have to be circumcised to be saved, and this letter was taken back to Antioch of Syria by Paul, Barnabas, and two other "church leaders", as a way of confirming the Christian leaders decision on this point of circumcision.

As Chapter 15 closes, we see Barnabas and Paul separate overall a personnel decision and as we begin Chapter 16 next week we will be following the exploits of Paul and Silas as they start Paul's second missionary journey.

Jane and I hope each and everyone of you have a very Merry Christmas and keep in your hearts that Jesus is God's Gift to Us out of God's Grace so that through our Faith we may be saved and have eternal life with God.

Merry Christmas!

Terry

PS - As always, the above thoughts are mine and mine alone. Neither our pastor, Salem Church, the United Methodist Church or any other intelligent oversight group has contributed to, or commented upon, my thoughts. Please us your own judgement when considering what I have presented.

T

December 14, 2009

2009-12-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

Good Morning - Sort-Of!

Its actually Tuesday December 15, 2009 and not Monday December 14 as today's blog title would suggest, but I have had dificulty getting time to up-date my blog, so my apologizes to those who read my musing!

Social Stuff:

Well last week I sang in two different chorus presentations with the St. Luke's Hospital chorus, practiced with Salem's choir on Wednesday, and then Jane and I traveld to Madison, Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon/evening. We traveled to Madison to help our Daughter Amy and her husband Todd, along with their three children, move from an apartment to their new home in Madison. This was very exciting but we had to leave Saturday afternoon so we could be back at Salem on Sunday morning. On Sunday morning we enjoyed both Sunday School and Church and then went to visit my mom at Delmar Gardens in Fenton for their Christmas party. After this party we met with two of our long time friends and we went to the FOX theatre to see the play "Christmas Story" and it was very enjoyable. Monday morning I got up to work on my blog when I receved a call from Delmar Gardens saying my mom had fallen out of her bed and was on her way to the Emergency Room, by ambulance, to St. Clare Hospital. So I stopped what I was doing and spent a majority of the day at St. Clare supporting mom thru her ordeal. She had rolled out of bed and basically hit head first on a carpeted floor with the result being abrasions from the rug and a cut upper lip which required 5 stitches to close. As most of us know, a hospital emergency room is not a place where you normally find expedited service so we didn't get out of there until about 4:00 PM. Mom was pretty tired and looked "rough" but her spirits were good and I am sure she went to sleep shortly after I left. When I got home from helping mom I had to change and then Jane and I went to the Christmas Party at Salem where we again had a very good time. Thanks to the Methodist Men for doing a great job!

While all the above activities were taking place we had the Hardcastle contrcution team remodling our home's den from which I am writing this blog. We removed everything from the room and the Hardcastle team of Phyllis, Rob, and Michael, repaired celing damage, painted both the ceiling and the walls, and then replaced the room's carpet with wood flooring. They did a very good job and at a reasonable price. Jane and I would recommend their work to anyone interested in any such similar remodelinlg efforts. In any event, the Hardcastles finished yesterday (12-14-09) and last night, after the Christmas Party we started moving back into the den and made sufficient progress to allow me to do this blog and other work this morning. Of course I had to restart my computer and given my "IT" skills this is no small feat and it took about 2 hours to get all the bugs worked out but it looks like we have made adequate progress.

Sunday's Sermon: This past Sunday Pastor Lyons'presented another excellent sermon and normally I wouldn't comment, but her message resonated with me in a particular way and I wanted to breifly comment on her discussion of Joseph. As Suzanne stated, verses 19 of Mathew Chapter 1 reads "Joseph, her fiance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly." This verse struck me as being very meaningful, Using my words this verse says - Joseph was a good (righteous) man who loved God and thus was driven to obey God's Law, and thus needed to separate himself from Mary for her apparent transgressions; but because he also loved Mary, Joseph did not want to hurt Mary while obeying God's Law; thus Joseph was willing to quietly break the engagement in order to minimze the impact upon Mary. I reflected that far to many times in our modern times people, out of some misguided concept of God's love, are willing to punish other people for these other people's sins. This is not what God's teaches us in his story of Joseph. At the time, Joseph thought Mary had slept with another man, and had become pregnant with another man's child, even while being engaged to Joseph. BUT JOSEPH DID NOT TURN BITTER AND ATTEMPT TO PUNISH MARY! In fact while Joseph sought to follow the Law he also intended to protect Mary. What a wonderful example, of rejecting the sin but not the sinner, for all of us to follow, and what a wonderful earthly father Joseph would be for raising God's son - Jesus.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Ginny Maas, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Cindie Jones, Suzanne Lyons (pastor), Betty Caswell.

Prayers were requested for:
1. Cyndie's uncle Forest Boden whos struggling with Alzhiemers, and a staff infection.
2. Teresa's 78 year old uncle, John Krampf, who was just laid off from work!
3. Catie Aderack who is an 86 year old neighbor of Bill Nichols who is recovering from injuries from a fall she recently experienced.
4. Josh Scholobohm who is pursing his engineering degree - Way to Go Josh!

Class Material : The Book of Acts, Chapter 14.

In Chapter 14 we read more about the adventures of Paul and Barnabas in the towns of Iconium, Lystra and Derbe.

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas brought a great number of Jews and Gentiles to become believers in the Good News. The degree of their success was measured by the fact that some fo the town leaders became jealous and incited many of the town's people to riot and they attempted to stone Paul and Barnabas, who fled for their safety.

They fled to Lystra and here the crowd became such huge followers of Paul and Barnabas that the crowd attempted to sacrafice animals as if Paul and Barnabas were Gods. This caused Paul and Barnabas tremendous mental anguish and they attempetd to let the people know that Paul and Barnabas were only humans, just like everyone else, and that it was God, who sent them, that should be worshiped, and not by sacraficing animals but by believing ing the Lord Jesus Chirst. Even with these exortations the people still wanted to sacrafice animals and then certain Jewish leaders again incited the crowd to stone Paul and this time they almost killed Paul. Paul was saved however and traveled to Derbe where he and Barnabas continued to preach the Good News. Then the most amazing thing happened, Paul traveld back to Lystra, where he had almost been killed, to continue preaching the Good News, and in fact began to stregthen the faith of the believers. Those of us in the Koinonia Class said - Wow! To be stroung enough to go into a town and get "stoned" is one thing but to return and continue the same preaching is something else. All of this is evidence that Paul and Barnabas were not performing this preaching for their own self gratification, but because they loved God and were following God's plan.

How many of us are willing to stand up for Jesus when ever we are in a social situation where Jesus is being defamed? How many of us are willing to take a stand for Jesus even when the situation is tough? Next time lets think of Paul and his commitment and let our Christian views be known!

Next week we will be studing Chapter 15 in the Book of Acts and here we will see where Paul gets called into the "Mother Church" at Jeusalem to expalin what he has been preaching!

Until then - Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

PS - One closing thought - In all of my blog messages, the words and thoughts are mine and mine alone. They have not been reviewed are accepted by Pastor Lyons, Salem Church, the United Methodist Church or any other intelligent oversight group. Anyone reading my words should feel free to exercise their own intelligence and relationship with God and to consider or reject my musings as they determine is best.

T

December 7, 2009

2009-12-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

Social Stuff!

Very busy week! I have joined a volunteer chorus group and participated in about 4 of their concerts. Its primarily Christmas music at this time and we are singing at various nursing and assisted living venues. I hadn't met any of the chorus members, except the one person who invited me, and thus I have met a whole new set of friends I didn't know I had!!! In addition, our church choir sang in a special presentation at a local church displaying a very large number of high quality nativity scenes from around the world. Our choir was one of several that provided Christmas music as a background for the event and it was much fun. I love to sing but because of my reduced talent level I have to adhere to the "herd" principle which says - the larger the herd the better I sound! I sing with great groups and enjoy it very much.

Our Koinonia Sunday School Class is sponsoring a Christmas Dinner at Mama Campisi's in The Hill district of St. Louis on December 19, 2009 at 5:30 PM and so please let me know if you are able to join us.

Jane and I also attended a "End of the Year Celebration" put on by the Multiple Sclerosis Society with the emphasis on this years 2009 Bike Ride Event. We learned there had been over 3,100 bike riders on the event and together we raised over $2.3 million for the MS Society. I enjoy riding in the event and simultaneously helping to raise money for people stricken with MS. If you are like-minded please join or support me in the 2010 ride as I have registered to ride once again.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

This week's attendees were: Bill Nichols, Ginny Maas, Cindie Jones, Suzanne Lyons (Pastor), Joyce Unruh, Betty Caswell, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for the following:

1. Chris Jenkerson's family since Chris died this past week.
2. Charollet Michelle whose grand daughter died this past week.
3. John Moore, a cousin of Denise Kelly's, who is experiencing family difficulties.
4. Billie Montgomery who is recovering from a painful episode associated with shingles.
5. Meridith Jones who is doing well in school and just needs our prayerful support as she continues.
6. Betty Caswell's daughter Mickey who is dealing with a potential case of melanoma and who also will be returning the Africa as a missionary on January 5, 2009.
7. Joyce's aunt Mary Ann who is dealing with a health issue dealing with her lungs.

Class Material: The Book of Acts, Chapter 13

In Chapter 13, the Book of Acts transitions from a focus on the ministry of Peter to that of Paul. In verses 1 thru 3 we see the Holy Spirit directing the believers to dedicate Barnabas and Saul/Paul to begin the work God had called them to accomplish. After receiving this dedication, Barnabas and Saul/Paul began their work.

Barnabas and Saul/Paul began preaching in various synagogues until they reached the town of Paphos, where they encountered a false prophet named "Bar-Jesus" who had considerable influence with the local governor. Bar-Jesus attempted to keep Barnabas and Saul/Paul from talking with the governor and when this happened the Holy Spirit filled Saul/Paul who in turn spoke words that caused Bar-Jesus to go blind. Obviously this caused Bar-Jesus much turmoil and affected the governor to the extent the governor became vary interested in what both Barnabas and Saul/Paul had to say.

After speaking with the governor, Barnabas and Saul/Paul traveled to Antioch of Pisidia. (Note: It is in this section of scripture where the Book of Acts begins to refer to Saul as Paul.) Here Barnabas and Paul were listening in a synagogue when those in charge of the service asked Barnabas and Paul to to speak. Paul rises up and presents a very concise but detailed description of the history of the Jewish nation from the time God chose Israel as his people until the current time. Paul concludes by telling both the Jewish people in the synagogue as well as the Gentiles, who were outside listening, that "the message of salvation has been sent to us! Paul says in Vere's 38 and 39 "Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sings. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God - something the law of Moses could never do."

As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue they were begged to return and preach more and so Paul and Barnabas did return a week later, but this time almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach. The Jewish leaders were jealous of this public response to Paul so they began to speak badly of Paul but in response Paul and Barnabas spoke out bodly saying that, because the Jews rejected God's outreach, the Good News was being extended to the Gentiles. Verse 48 and 49 says "When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord's message spread throughout that region."

We can only imagine what spiritual and emotional impact this message of Paul's had upon the large crowd. The Jewish leaders were obviously scared of the excitement of the crowd because they immediately begin stirring up the influential religious women and leaders of the city who in turn incited a riot against Paul and Barnabas. This riot caused Paul and Barnabas to run from the town and "shake the dust of the city from their shoes". This "running from the town" would seem to be a significant negative for Paul and Barnabas but Chapter 13 ends with this wording in Verse 52 - "And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit."

Next week we will continue with Chapter 14 but as we leave Chapter 13 we should remember at least two items of interest from Chapter 13.

1. Paul begins to spread the Good News about Jesus Christ and THAT THIS GOOD NEWS IS MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL PEOPLE WHETHER THEY ARE JEWISH OR GENTILE, and

2. Never discount how much your Christian outreach affects others. Even when we seem to receive nothing but negative feedback, Paul and Barnabas' Chapter 13 story tells us we can be filling people's hearts with Joy even if the external response is negative.

Next week we will study Chapter 14 of Acts as Paul and Barnabas continue their journey and this time the negative response becomes more intense than just angry words!

Until then have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

November 30, 2009

2009-11-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Everyone!

Social Stuff:

I hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family. Jane and I certainly did. We hosted our families at our home on Thanksgiving Day with about 34 people attending our home. It was a little crowded but we had a great time as usual. On Friday our daughter Amy, husband Todd, and their kids Audra, Ryne, and Wendy came to our home and stayed with us thru Sunday morning. Our other daughter Rebecca also joined us Friday and also stayed thru Sunday morning. On Saturday we decorated our Christmas Tree and it was a great time. Audra and I made home made oatmeal cookies while Ryne and Jane made chocolate cookies. After decorating the tree Amy and Todd went shopping with Wendy while Jane and I played with Audra and Ryne - Great Great Fun.

Jane and I went to the Rams Football game Sunday afternoon and witnessed the Rams come in second - again!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, and Terry Pursley

Prayers were requested for:

1. A friend of Josh Schlobohm (John Magob - sp?) who has gone missing now for over a week.

2. Safe travels for all people traveling during this holiday season.

Class Material Studied: The Book of Acts - Chapters 11 and 12

In Chapter 11 we read about Peter explaining his act of baptizing the gentile Cornelius to the Jewish believers. Peter explained his vision of the sheet with unclean food items and the fact that as he baptised the gentiles the Holy Spirit came upon them. This appeared to convince the Jewish believers because they stated "We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life."

In our class we came to understand that the conversion of Cornelius (a Italian Regiment Captain) and the explanation of the event to the Jewish believers was the bilateral means by which God began to spread the word of Jesus Christ to Rome and to the Jewish Believers. We therefore see the Christian church begin to grow simultaneously in both political Rome and religious Israel.

In Chapter 12 we read about the death of James (vs 2) and the subsequent arrest of Peter by King Herod Agrippa. For whatever reason King Herod Agrippa decided to begin a persecution of the new religious order of believers called Christians. We do not know why the King decided to do this but we do read were King Agrippa saw how much the killing of James pleased the Jewish leaders and how this recognition led to the arrest of Peter. We therefore assume Peter's anticipated fate would have been similar to James. In Peter's case however God intervene by the use of and angel who set Peter free even though there was a party of some 16 guards set by King Agrippa to watch over Peter.

King Agrippa was evidently furious over this escape of Peter and the King had all 16 guards condemned to death. King Agrippa then leaves Judea and goes to Caesarea (which is the area Cornelius lived) and King Agrippa gives a powerful speech which led those who heard the speech proclaim "It's the voice of a god, and not of a man!" King Agrippa" accepted the peoples' worship and immediately King Agrippa was killed by and angel of the Lord.

Therefore in Chapter 10 thru 12 of the Book of Acts we see God opening up the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life thru a man in Caesarea (Cornelius) and we see the life of another man (King Herod Agrippa) taken from him in Caesarea when he begins to believe he is God.

The Lessons Learned - God's Gift of Grace is given to all people, and no man is God!

Next week we will begin with Chapter 13 of the Book of Acts where we will begin to follow the pilgramage of Paul in a much more detailed manner.

In the meantime - Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

November 23, 2009

2009-11-24T08:19:00.000-08:00

Good Morning All!

I am a day late (and a dollar short?) in posting my blog this week so I apologize for this tardiness!

Social Stuff:

This last weekend was Salem Church's Community Thanksgiving Dinner and it was another big success! We served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to approximately 180 people this year and we tried something new. This year our Pastor conducted a Holy Communion service near the end of the meal time for anyone who wanted to join us. We had about 40 people attend this new function. Many people in the new service were Salem worshipers but there were between 10 and 15 non-Salem attendees and I thought the service was productive and well received. There are a lot of people to thank for their help with both the meal and service but identifying a few of them here would be unfair to all. Therefore; I will simply say thanks to all who physically, financially, or spiritually supported us in this meaningful event.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Alan and Teresa Scholobohm, Cyndie Jones, Bill Nichols, Joyce Unruh, Suzanne Lyons, Betty Caswell, Denise Kelly, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Amanda Vogt for cancer related issues.
2. Mickey (Betty Caswell's daughter who, along with her husband, is returning to Africa as a misionay) and who also is fighting cancer issues.
3. Carol Chisohm (Cyndies' friend) who is battling cancer.
4. Lourie Doyle (Jane's first cousin) who is dealing with breast cancer.
5. Chris Jenkerson (Cyndies's friend) who is struggling with seizures.
6. Esther Smith who has now moved into a new home.
7. Genny Mass who called in with a sore throat.
8. Billie Montgomery who is struggling with pain as a result of "shingles".
9. Safe travel for all who are visiting various people over the Thanksgiving Holiday.
10. Wendy Koerber who continues to do well with her spina bifada issues.
11. Josh Scholobohm who has now turned 20 years old!

Class Material Studied Acts Chapter 10 (Watched DVD and Discussed):

Chapter 10 of Acts is about and encounter between Peter and a Roman army office named Cornelius. We first see Cornelius is the captain of "the" Italian Regiment who is visited by an angle from God who tells Cornelius to send people to Joppa and ask for a man named "Simon Peter to be sent to Cornelius. The rational given for the angel requesting Cornelius to do this is Cornelius is "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as and offering."

We learned from these introductory verses that:

1) Cornelius was a "devout, God-fearing man" even though he would have not been a Jew and therefore had no apparent expectations from the Covenants God had given to Israel, and
2) Cornelius would have been from Italy (Rome) since he is identified as being in charge of the Italian Regiment.

Because of these characteristics of Cornelius we have the first indications that this section of Acts is concerning the spread of the "Good News" to Gentiles and Rome.

As the story continues we see Peter receives a vision/dream of a sheet filled with all sorts of previously identified unclean animals and a "voice" instructs Peter to kill and eat of these animals. Peter immediately objects because of the "unclean" nature of these animals and the "voice" replies "Do not call something unclean if God as made it clean."

After this vision the messengers arrive and take Peter to Cornelius. Upon Peter's arrival Peter goes into the home of Cornelius, which Peter understood violated the currently understood religious law of not entering the home of a Gentile or to associate with Gentiles. Peter explained his violation of the "Law" by referring to his vision of the "unclean food". Peter tells Cornelius and his family about the "Good New" of Jesus Christ and as Peter tells his story the Holy Spirit descends upon all who were listening to Peter's message and then Peter baptised the entire group in the name of Jesus Christ.

This Chapter 10 is important to us at Salem Church because it is this recorded "out-reach" by God thru Peter that brings the Gentiles and thus us into the the Covenant with God. Because of this act by God we all can now know that we are also God's chosen people! As I mentioned earlier, this event involved a Roman army Captain who was a God Fearing man and so we see the "seed message" of Jesus Christ beginning to enter the mainstream of Roman society and, after a string of multiple events, will lead to the spread of Christianity to the entire world; including those of us along Manchester Road!

Next week we will see Peter reporting this event to the apostles in Jerusalem and how the ripple effects begin to occur.

Jane and I hope everyone has a safe and blessed Thanksgiving Holiday this week and as always -

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

November 9, 2009

2009-11-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

Social Stuff!

This past week was a beautiful weather week; and with Jane up in Madison, Wisconsin visiting Amy and her family, it was pretty quite around our home. I mulched leaves a couple of times but this afternoon it looked like I hadn't done anything what with leaves falling at a great pace. Jane had a good visit to Madison, and Amy's family is doing well. This past week they received a contract on their House in Freeburg, Illinois and made an offer on a house in Madison so things are moving along on that front. Audra and Ryne are doing well as is Wendy Jane who received a good report for a visiting nurse. Our other daughter Rebecca seems to be doing fine and happy in Columbia with her interpreting work.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Genny Maas, Betty Caswell, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Pator Suzanne Lyons, and Terry Pursley

Prayers were requested for:

1. The Nicewonger family who has and is experiencing very terrible health and death issues in their immediate family.
2. Amanda Vogt's continued battle against cancer.
3. Betty Caswell's continue good health experience.

Special Note: It was suggested and agreed upon to work with Pastor Lyons to coordinate a worship service with this year's Thanksgiving Dinner. The thought being that we could offer the service to all attendees; including our guests, and perhaps provide an aspect of "Spiritual Feeding" that we have not previously provided. We will work with Pastor Lyons to see how this might be best implemented.

Class Material Studied:

We viewed Chapter 9 of the Book of Acts and found it to be very interesting. After watching the DVD we discussed the following points.

In verses 1 thru 31 we read about the conversion of Saul (Paul) and noted the following.

1. Saul sincerely loved God with all his heart. Saul was a very well educated man and read the scriptures very intently; but even though he loved God and knew the scriptures well, he still missed the true message. Saul honestly believed the early Christians were evil because of their faith in Jesus, and Saul thought it was his rightful task to punish (persecute) these people. It took direct action by God/Jesus on Saul's journey to Damascus to change Saul's thinking and to understand Jesus was indeed the Son of God. This point emphasized for us that we as modern day Christians must not assume we have 100% proper understanding of the scriptures even though we may have studied them for years/decades.

2. Once Saul understood his understanding of God's Word was wrong, Saul did not spend time defending himself. He simply began preaching the revealed Good News and did not need to defend his previous pistons. Saul was more interested in preaching God's Word rather than defending himself. This is a lesson all of us should take to heart.

In verses 32 thru 42 we read about Peter performing great miracles; including raising people from the dead. The importance of these verses seemed to be that:

1. Peter's actions are described in Chapter 9, along with Saul (Paul's) conversion because it would appear it was important to communicate to us that God was working in very strong ways in the lives of both Saul (Paul) and Peter.

2. God was working in Peter's life to such a strong extent that Peter could bring the lady Tabitha (Dorcas) back from the dead.

These scriptures are telling us that both Saul (Paul's) conversion; along with the subsequent preaching, as well as Peter's many great miracles were all happening during the same time period; thus the people were being exposed to the great power of God thru these two men. The relationship between God and Humans was undergoing a dramatic change and these two men are the leaders through which God is implementing these changes. Our "lesson learned" is to be prepared to respond to God as he leads rather than in a way we "think" he will lead us. We must listen, move forward in faith, and be prepared to adjust as God illuminates our thinking.

Next week we will study Chapter 10 of the Book of Acts and we will see how Peter continues to work miracles and bring people to Christ. Until then -

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

November 2, 2009

2009-11-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

Good Morning!

Glad to see the rain stop and the sun shine!

Social Stuff!

A rather wet week to say the least but at least it stopped in time for a great Halloween! Amy, Todd and their children, Audra, Ryne, and Wendy traveled from Madison, Wisconsin this past Wednesday to visit us as well as Todd's family for the Halloween weekend. We had a very good time with our Grandkids and Wendy is doing well. She smiles a lot at both her grandma and grandpa and leaves her exposed to a significant amount of "spoiling" behaviour on our part. Jane and I figure this is our job and we dare not "shrink" from this responsibility. Saturday night we went to Freeburg, Illinois so we could go out with the grandkids for "trick or treating" and it was special. A very good time was had by all.

Koinonia Sunday School Class!

Attendees: Genny Maas, Josh Schlobohm, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Betty Caswell, Bob Hardcastle, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. The Nicewonger family who continue to grieve for the loss of their daughter, and the injury (broken back) incurred by their son.
2. David Heartsock continued recovery from his sky diving accident.
3. Amanda Vogt who continues to deal with cancer concerns after her recent surgery.

Material Studied:

Today we watch the DVD of the Book of Acts Chapter 8 which had three basic sections.

Chapter 8 verses 1 thru 3: In these verses we see the young christian believers experiencing a great wave of persecution that began at the stoning of Stephen and which is being led to a large extent by Saul (soon to be Paul). The believers are scattered over the whole areas of Judea and Samaria.

(Special Note: From a Men's Bible Study I am involved with, I learned that the people of Samaria were descendant from people who were transported into the region during the reign of Assyria and took the place of Jews who had been relocated out of the area. These new Samarian's were of various cultures and worshiped multiple Gods. If is for these reasons (foreigners and believers of multiple Gods) that Jews had little or nothing to do with these new "Samarians". This helped me better understand why the Samarians are always portrayed in the Bible as people despised by the Jews and why the people were so surprised when Jesus was found talking with the Samarian woman at the well, in another Bible passage.)

Chapter 8 verses 4 thru 25: In these verses we see where the apostle Philip was in the city of Samaria preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and drawing large crowds. Simultaneously, there was a sorcerer named Simon who had lived in Samaria for a number of years and who could and was performing many amazing acts and thus who was known by many Samarians as "the Great One-the Power of God". Even as great as Simon was, he was also impressed by the words and message of Phillip to the point where Simon asked to be baptized along with a great number of other Samarians. When Peter and John, who were in Jerusalem, heard of the large number of people in Samaria being baptized they decided to travel to Samaria. Until the arrival of Peter and John, the scriptures tells us the people were being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but after their arrival, Peter and John "laid their hands" on the people and the people received the "Holy Spirit". When Simon experienced this receipt of the "Holy Spirit" he asked if he could purchase this power of giving the "Holy Spirit" This angered Peter and he chastised Simon for saying and thinking the "Holy Spirit" could be purchased. Simon asked Peter to pray for him and the scripture narrative stops here without us knowing if Peter did or did not pray for Simon. The "lesson learned" here is the presence of the "Holy Spirit" in our lives is not something that can be bought or even earned. The "Holy Spirit" is a gift that is given by God to those who truly believe in Jesus Christ.

Chapter 8 verses 26 thru 40: In these verses we are told of a meeting between an Ethiopian eunuch and Phillip. Phillip is told by God to go meet this eunuch who is a very high ranking official of Ethiopia returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem where the eunuch had been worshiping. While traveling the eunuch is reading from the book of Isaiah and Phillip asks the eunuch if the eunuch understands what the eunuch is reading. The eunuch replies that he cannot understand unless the meaning is explained to him. With this opening Phillip explains the Good News of Jesus Christ. After hearing this explanation the eunuch declares he wants to be baptized and since there is some water nearby they stop and Phillip does indeed baptize the eunuch. Immediately upon the completion of the baptism Phillip is taken away by God and the eunuch never saw Phillip again, but the eunuch continued his rejoicing as he continued his travel. There are probably several lessons to be learned in this story but one Lesson Learned is the Good News of Jesus Christ is provided for all people regardless of their nationality or their sexual condition. It is important that we understand it is the "content of a person's heart" that determines their acceptability to God. The eunuch accepted the Good News without reservation, and God accepted the eunuch with the Holy Spirit in the same way. We as Christians must learn that as we continue in what ever travels God sends us upon that we must be prepared to provide the Good News message to all those we encountered without reservation.

Next week in Chapter 9 we will see how God deals with Saul (Paul) and how this life is turned from a one of destruction to one of construction! In the meantime -

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

October 26, 2009

2009-10-26T05:59:00.000-07:00

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

October 19, 2009

2009-10-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

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

October 5, 2009

2009-10-04T17:48:00.001-07:00

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

September 28, 2009

2009-09-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Good Morning - I hope you have all had a good week!

I did!

Social Stuff!

This past Wednesday I played golf with some of our Salem Church senior men and we had a great day. The more I play golf the more I realize I'm just no good at it. Given this realization I simply go out and enjoy myself whenever I play and I stop worrying about when I am going to join the PGA Tour!

On Friday the 25th I joined my brother for a trip to Herin Illinois, and a two day retreat with the men from "No Greater Love". This is a group of Christian men whose main purpose is to spread the word of God to people who do not know Christ or do not want to hear about Christ. One of the major "outreach" programs of the "No Greater Lover" group is to go to New Orleans during Marti Gra and preach the Word of God in the streets during the height of the Marti Gra celebration. Its a very tough, but evidently very fulfilling mission experience. The "No Greater Love" group conducts this yearly "retreat" so they may come together and fellowship in a peaceful Christian setting. I went because my brother is an active member of the group and invited me to come along. It was a very good weekend and I enjoyed being with the group and listening to their messages.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Cyndie Jones, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Josh Schlobohm, Bill Nichols, Ginny Maas, Bob Hardcastle, Denise Kelly, Pastor Suzanne, and Jane and Terry Pursley.

Administrative Promotion: Josh Schlobohm has been promoted to Vice President of the Koinonia Sunday School's IT department. Because of Josh's success in turning on and off the room lights during the DVD presentation it was determined he was best qualified to help improve the DVD's video and audio presentations; therefore, Josh will be looking into means of increasing the DVD sound system as well as a potentially larger video screen. Thanks to Josh for looking into this improvement possibility. (Note: While Josh's dad was skeptical about Josh taking on this added responsibility, Josh's mom was "proud as punch" to see her boy begin to move up the corporate ladder!)

Prayers were requested for:

1. All teenagers as they meet and interact with all the various influences in their lives.
2. Chris Jenkerson who continues to deal with severe cancer issues.
3. Ginny's grand daughter who is traveling in Australia for an extended time period.
4. Betty Caswell as she travels in South Africa.
5. Terry Pursley's mother, Opal Pursley, who continues to struggle with her nursing home situation.
6. Terry Pursley with just how best to support his mother while she struggles in the nursing home.
7. Bill Vallalie who continues to deal with his deteriorating lung health.
8. Praise was given by Cyndie whose mom is improving from her struggles with cancer, as well as Cyndie's step father who is sight is failing and is having to deal with driving issues.

Thank Yous

Each week the Koinonia Sunday School Class identifies people in the church who they determine should be thanked for their service to the church or individual people. Once these people are identified, and Thank You card is sent to these identified people simply to express appreciation for what and/or how these people support us.

This week's identified recipients of our Thank You cards are:

Robert and Rebecca Lyons. I was mentioned in class that our Pastor has been recognized by people outside our Church for helping people in need. The Koinonia Class recognizes this service provided by our pastor takes away from the time she has available to be with her children - Robert and Rebecca, and so the class thought it was appropriate to send a Thank You card to the children just to let them know how much we appreciate them sharing their mom with us.

Janet Carr: It was identified that Janet Carr is resigning from the Trustees have many years of service with this group and the Koinonia Class wanted to tell Janet Thank You for her many years of service.

Class Material:

Today we watched the DVD presentation of Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts. Chapter 2 records the coming of the Holy Spirit to those goatherd together during Pentecost as well as Peter beginning to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. The DVD is well done using professional actors and follows word-for-word the "New International Version" of the scriptures.

After watching the DVD some of our class members said they better understood what it meant when the scripture says the people of different languages all spoke and could understand each other.

Another member of the class mentioned how the DVD helped them better understand how Peter was transformed from a fisherman to a person who could speak to crowds with authority about Jesus Christ. The class then broadened this understanding of Peter's growth to understanding how each of us become different, more empowered, people after we accept Christ into our lives. Almost all of us could related to being different after we accepted Christ. It was also pointed out however that even more important than Peter having gained the ability to speak with authority to crowds of people, that he in fact did speak with authority to crowds of people. The point being that the Church did not grow only because the early Christians received the Holy Spirit, but the Church grew because these changed people did things with the Holy Spirit to help the Church grow. Therefore; while it is impressive and important that we receive Christ into our lives, this event has limited value if we do not go forth and share it with others in a meaningful way as led by the Holy Spirit. It is with this knowledge of the importance of "sharing the Good News about Christ" that we will continue to study the Book of Acts and see how the main characters actually went forth and LIVED THE LIFE in the early days of the Church.

Next week we will view Chapter 3 of the Book of Acts and see more of Peter's preaching and healing ministry.

That is it for today's Blog and I hope you enjoy it. I again encourage feedback regarding this Blog so I may improvement it. It is difficult to improve if people do not give me feedback so please feel free to let me know how I can improve.

Thanks and as always -

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

September 21, 2009

2009-09-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Good Morning to Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful week this past week.

This past Saturday Jane and I helped with her family's celebration of her dad's 80th birthday and it was a very good time. Jane's dad is in excellent health and we believe we had nearly 90 people came to the party who came and joined in with the celebration. Great Time!

Another milestone for me this past week was I joined "facebook". Not sure why I joined but I joined nonetheless and I am now learning how to use this social networking tool.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

This week we had 8 people attend our class - Cindy Jones, Bill Nichols, Alan and Theresa Schlobohm, Josh Schlobohm, Ginny Maas, Betty Caswell, and Terry Pursley.

This past Sunday we began the study of the Book of Acts and this time we are using a DVD to help with the study. Cindy Jones had suggested a DVD that narrates the book of Acts on a word per word basis while professional actors play out the various scenes. It is a very well done DVD and your class members seemed to enjoy the DVD very much. We listened to the First Chapter of ACTS and then spent the remaining portion of the class discussing the Chapter. We invite anyone to join our class and participate in the study on Acts. This week we viewed and then discussed the Chapter 1 of the Acts and we reflected upon how the viewing of the DVD helped in our visualization of what it may have been like during these first days of the Christian Church. It was also interested to see how Judas' replacement as an apostle was selected and we wondered if Mathis was happy or not to have been chosen to join the "team". We also reflected on how Judas died and wondered about his relationship with God after having given up Jesus to the Romans. Per Acts it is clear that Judas died a very horrible death but we were not so sure about Judas' spirit. We speculated it may very well have been the case that God used Judas to accomplish the betrayal and eventual death of Jesus and that Judas had little or no choice in the matter. In this case it could well be that God welcomed Judas back into God's presence once Judas paid his own death price. Of course the scriptures are silent on this point and thus our class could not come to any scripturally based resolution on this issue.

At the beginning of our class the following prayers were requested for the noted people.

- Betty Caswell as she will be starting her 3 week trip to South Africa this week.
- Bill Vallelie who continues to deal with his lung health issues
- Michelle & Eric Clabaugh (Daughter and Son-in-law of Bill and Dianne Vallelie) with the birth of their twin girls.
- Chris Jenkers with post-cancer treatment issues.
- Corey Mack and his wife Jessica who is stationed in Irag and whose wife back in the states is expecting a baby.
- Niswonger family who are experiencing some very difficult times related to health issues. The daughter Karen has very serious cancer issues and the son David has experienced multiple problems with aneurysm's.

This completes my blog for this week and I again extent invitations to all to provide comments as to how I can improve this site. My goal is to help stay in touch with people who are unable to attend our class and I hope you find it helpful. It remains vitally important however for people to join our class and participate in the discussion for it is by our participation together that we truly reap the benefits of the unique gifts and experiences that God gives to each and everyone of us.

Until next Monday, I wish all of you good fortune and as always -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

September 19, 2009

2009-09-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

Good Morning and I'm back!

I have spend the time since my last posting just being out and recharging the "old batteries". I has been a great summer and I am looking foward to the Autumn Season. The Koinonia Sunday School Class will begin studying the book of Acts, using a DVD to aument the class, on September 20, 2009 and I will be posting my weekly message once again on Monday's. Eveyone is invited to look in and see what we are doing.

I hope you have all had a good summer and I look foward to restarting by blog once again, and as always -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

July 20, 2009

2009-07-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

I am actually writing this blog on Tuesday (July 21, 2009) because I was experiencing computer problems yesterday when I first attempted to up-date my blog. I'm not sure what the problem was and/or is but I'll give it another "go" this morning.

Social Stuff:

Wendy Jane Koerber had her shunt surgically installed last week and is home doing well. She seems to have gotten by most of here surgical issues and should be able to live a reasonably normal life for the time being.

Jane and I went to the Cardinal baseball game this past Sunday with some long time friends of ours. We saw the Cardinals win 2-1 over the Diamondbacks and it was a great weather day.

I continued my bike ride training this past week with riding 40 miles at 66 Park on Thursday and then 18 miles at Babler State Park on Saturday. While the 66 park ride is a flat course the Babler State Park is a very hilly course. I need this hill training to help prepare me for September's MS Bike Ride in September but it sure is hard to accomplish. I was riding the Bable Ride with the "Monsanto Mavericks" which is a bike team I have joined for the singular purpose of the MS Bike Ride. They are a nice group and it was very helpful to ride with them.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Denise Kelly, Cindy Jones, Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Betty Caswell, and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Betty Caswell's brother who is now home.
2. Bill Nichols relative - Drew Geison - who continues to struggle with cancer issues all thought recent improvements are encouraging.
3. Denise Kelly's co-worker Rosilyn is experience multiple health issues.
4, Denise's son, John, is going through a tough court custody battle.

Material Studied: "I Peter Chapter 3 Verses 1 thru 22

In Verses 1 thru 7 Peter advises wives to accept the authority of their husbands and for husbands to give honor to their wives. Obviously conflicts between husbands and wives existed at Peter's time to much the same extent as they do today; otherwise, the relationships would not have warranted a comment from Peter. Peter does not discuss consequences for either the husbands or wives who violate their covenants with one another. Peter simply reinforces that married people are to respect and honor each other.

In Verses 8 thru 12 Peter encourages us Christians to sympathize and love one another as brothers and sisters. We ought not pass by this point with little notice. We must understand that sympathy and love are two aspects of the Christian Faith that are fundamental aspects of our lives. These aspects did not occur by accident. They are fundamental principles of God that have been passed on to us when God breathed his Spirit into us Genesis Chapter 2. Peter's reinforcement is provided to counter that deceptive actions of Satin to put our selfish interests above others.

In Verses 13 thru 22 Peter acknowledges the sympathetic and love principles of Christianity will many times cause us to suffer, but Peter encourages us to remember that Christ suffered for us so we will be rewarded for our faith and persistence. We must therefore stay committed to unselfish behavior with each other out of our Love for God and each other.

Neither Jane nor I will be in church or Sunday school this next Sunday. Bill Nichols will be providing the refreshments after the first service and the Koinonia members will shepard the class in our absence. Jane and I will be at Montawk State Park with members of my side of the family for some fishing, good times and "tales of daring do"! We will see each of you in two weeks and in the meantime

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

July 13, 2009

2009-07-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

Social Stuff!

Its Tuesday Morning the 14Th so I'm a day late with this week's post but Jane and I had a busy day yesterday and I stayed up to late watching the All Star Home Run Derby on TV last night.

I also missed Sunday School Class this last Sunday because I was riding my bicycle on a training ride in Collinsville, Illinois. I belong to the Trailnet club and they hoist various bicycle rides about 2 or 3 times per month. Unfortunately their club sponsored rides are primarily scheduled for Sunday morning because of the light traffic on the back rodes upon which the rides are conducted. This last Sunday's ride was one that included some hilly sections and I needed this training experience in my preparation for the MS Bike Ride this coming September. I rode 35 miles on this particular training session and it was a good ride for me. I averaged a little less than 13 miles per hour which is slow but for me it was a great training experience. I was able to get into a consistent rhythm and finished strong. This ride gave me confidence that I should be able to complete the 40 mile per day MS Bike Ride in September.

Our Granddaughter, Wendy Jane Koerber, did undergo her surgery yesterday (7-13-09) and appears to be doing well. The surgery was to install a shunt in her head which will allow moisture in the brain cavity to drain into the body cavity. This draining function is a normal one for most of us but in a very few cases, such as Wendy's, this draining function is impeded and thus moisture can build in the brain cavity. Amy reported that after Wendy's surgery the slight swelling in Wendy's head was visibly reduced and thus the shunt was working. The surgeon was optimistic that this is likely a once in a lifetime surgery but it is also a very simply procedure if the shunt needs to be replaced. So while we were hoping the shunt would not be needed at all the fact that it has been accomplished and is working well is very comforting. God does work his miracles thru the hands of his kids!

Jane and I did go downtown to the All Star Festivities just to experience the event. We don't have any tickets to the Derby or the Game but it was fun to walk around and experience the event. We ate at Mike Shannon's restaurant on his patio and enjoyed the outdoor ambiance. We did have a funny experience while eating. While sitting there we noted a fairly large group eating next to us and we noted one of the people had a "Ryan Franklin" look-a-like beard. We both commented to ourselves about how we didn't like the look of the beard. We soon realized however that it was NOT a "look-a-like" beard but it was in fact Ryan Franklin and his family. It was a nice looking group with Ryan, his wife, kids, brothers, parents and others. Jane and I both laughed at ourselves for our beard assessment process.

Downtown did look great and we did enjoy the new "City Garden". Its a great place or kids and we would encourage anyone to go down and enjoy the experience.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

As I mentioned earlier, I did not attend this past Sunday's class and Jane was gracious enough to take over for me.

Members Present: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Cindy Jones, Genny Maas, and Jane Pursley.

Prayer Requests: Prayers were requested for

1. Steve Gregory - Heart ailment recovery.
2. Wendy Jane Koerber
3. Pastor Suzanne Lyons
4. Cindy's family - Dad, his wife, brothers.
5. Terry Schmieder - A friend of Alan and Teresa's whose wife has died.
6. Diana Childer's family whose son (19 years old) died in a motorcycle accident.
7. Joshe Scholobohm's friend - Amanda.
8. Meridith Jones in her transistion from college to work.
9. A joy for Genny's safe trip to and from South Dakata.

Material Studied: I Peter Chapter 2 vs 13 thru 25.

In verses 13 thru 17 Peter encourages us to respect people in authority. It is important to understand while reading these verses to understand there is a difference between the term respect and agreement. Peter is telling his contemporaries and us that it is important to respect the people in authority, or more specifically the civil government, because this is the system(s)God has established to provide an orderly society. Peter is not saying that any government system established by "humans" is perfect and thus Peter is not saying we should worship or agree with the practices of a government but rather we as Christians must participate actively in our governmental systems, while respecting the protocols established therein.

In verses 18 thru 25 Peter speaks to slaves and suggests slaves should accept the authority of their masters. Again, and similar to Peter's discussion of respecting governments, Peter is suggesting slaves need to respect their masters. This is not to say Peter was condoning a "slave society" but Peter is addressing how people should exist within am established "slave society". The focus is on respecting those people in positions of responsibility rather than focusing on the systems that exists.

I personally suggest to all reading this narrative that slavery was eventually eliminated from almost all contemporary societies because people, working within the systems, eventually determined slavery was wrong and abolished it. Even in the United States, our Civil War was fought primarily for economic reasons since slavery had been gradually falling in to disfavor since the time we declared our Independence. I suggest the Civil War was fought in large part more out of a last ditch effort to save an economic system rather than moral issues.

In summary, Peter suggests we as Christians need to respect the political and economic systems we find ourselves and work to address those issues which we find objectionable.

This completes my report of this week and as always

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

July 6, 2009

2009-07-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

I hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend and let us all remember how great it is to live in the United States and enjoy all the freedoms we have.

Social Stuff:

Last Tuesday (6-30-09) our (Jane and Terry's) granddaughter Wendy Jane Koerber went home! She is doing well and enjoying life!

On Thursday (7-2-09) Jane and I took our other two grandchildren to the Magic House in Kirkwood along with two of our nephews. The kids had a great time and Jane and I got a good workout! Watching the four kids was a little like watching 4 new born chicks in a flock of bout 50 similar chicks. Jane and I used a series of hand signals and panicked looks to keep track of and communicate the whereabouts of the kids. It was a great time and the Magic House is a great place for the kids.

On Friday, we took our grandkids to the swimming pool and then took them to their parents in Freeburg, Illinois. The kids were glad to be home with their new sister and it was nice to see the whole family back together.

On Saturday, we went to Jane's sister's home in Webster Groves to eat and watch fireworks . It turned out to be a very nice evening and we enjoyed the entire evening. The Koerber family joined us so Wendy Jane attended her first 4Th of July celebration. I am not to sure how much of it she will remember but she was there none the less!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Cindy Jones, Jane and Terry Pursley

Prayer Requests: Prayers were requested for:

1. The Koerber family including young Wendy Jane.
2. Cindy Jones' mother Esther who is recovering well from surgery to her hand.
3. Mark Nichol's (Bill's nephew) continued physical issues.
4. Bill Nichol's neighbor, Kattie, who is 88 years old and beginning to show signs of aging.
6. Suzanne Lyons as she begins her pastoral work for Salem.
7. Julie Callaghan as she begins her next phase in life.

Material Studied:

Again we were running short of time between the two services so we didn't cover much material. We did read and discuss I Peter Chapter 1 vs 7 thru 10.

In verse 7 and 8 we read the poem that identified Christ as "The stone that the builder's rejected" and "He is the stone that makes people stumble." We developed the analogy with the "Law" that also "trips" us when we fail to comply with its demands. Similarly we call ourselves "Christians" which to many means to follow and live like Christ but none of us can meet this demanding requirement. We all fall short of the "Law" and we stumble " in our attempts to be "Christ-like". However; Verse 9 tells us we are "a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession."

Another word for our unmerited selection by God is - Grace! Because of this selection by God Verse 9 concludes by saying - "As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." In other words, we will all stumble and fall short of our goal, but God thru his Grace saves us and therefore we can humbly live our lives as examples to others so they may also come to realize the power and love of God.

This completed our class for this week. Next week we will begin at Chapter 2 vs 11 and go as far as God determines is best. As of this writing I am intending to ride in a practice bike ride next Sunday and thus I may not be able to lead the class. I will make sure someone is able to lead the class if I am not there.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 29, 2009

2009-06-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Good Monday Morning!

Its a great weather day today, especially after all the heat of last week!

Social Stuff:

Jane and I became grandparents for the third time this past week! Ms. Wendy Jane Koerber was born on June 23, 2009 at 8 lbs and 5 oz and 21" long. She had a few complications with Spina Bifada but otherwise she was a healthy and beautiful little girl. As a result Jane and I spent a lot of time this past week helping the parents - Amy and Todd - with the new baby and the current siblings - Audra and Ryne. Wendy even gave me an excuse to cancel a golf game which was welcomed due to the heat that we experienced. Jane and I are watching Audra and Ryne in our home this week even though it is possible Wendy will be released to go home the middle of this week.

I was privileged to represent Salem Church by thanking Julie Callaghan for her five years of service and presenting her with a cash gift given from the congregation. I thought Julie's last service went well and I. along with the rest of the congregation, wish she and her family good fortune in all her future endeavors.

It is worth noting here that with respect to my MS Bike Ride scheduled for September 12 and 13, 2009, the various church members and organizations have contributed $515 towards MS which will be donated in Julie's name. I think this is great stuff and I thank everyone for helping.

As you know, this coming Saturday is the Fourth of July when we celebrate the birth of our Nation. I would encourage everyone to find a way to celebrate this event. I know Jane and I will be spending the evening at Jane's sister's home in Webster enjoying a great outdoor barbecue and the fireworks display that Webster Groves puts on. I would encourage everyone to get out and do something similar. I know some people who like to just stay home and not get caught up in all the crowds, but I look at it a little differently. I see it as a time to get out and be with other Americans as we celebrate this "Freedom" that we live in. I recommend getting out and enjoying the whole atmosphere and maybe shaking another American's hand and saying "God Bless America". I think you will find it very therapeutic.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Members Present: Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Denise Kelly, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers requested for:

1. Wendy Jane Koerber and her parents Todd and Amy.
2. Bill Vallely
3. John Kelly - Son of Denise Kelly
4. Mark Nichols - Nephew of Bill Nichols.
5. Linda Buermann

We didn't have much time to spend in Sunday School Class this past Sunday because the first service ran a little long and the choir needed a little extra practice time before the second service as a result of Sunday being Julie's last Sunday as our pastor. Thus I am afraid we didn't cover much material, but here is what we did discuss.

We read I Peter Chapter 2 vs 4 thru 6. We read in verse 5 these words (New Living Translation version) - "And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God."

We understood the term "living stones" to mean that God is using us as active members of his church on earth. This term active members is reinforced in the next sentence where we are called "holy priests". We determined that "priests" do not just sit in Church and worship but rather they are actively involved in the life of the Church. They DO things for the Church and more importantly for people! Therefore Peter is telling us that as "living Stones" of God's Church ("Spiritual Temple") we are to be actively involved in the life of the Church, WHEREVER WE FIND OURSELVES! Each of us has special gifts and are placed by God in our unique positions. We are to use these gifts in whatever situation God has placed us. We don't whine about not hiving other gifts and we don't complain about the location God has placed us. Rather we take the gift(s) we have and use them in the situation we find ourselves.

This completed our discussion this week and hopefully we will move further along next week but as always we will let God determine what and how much he wants us to cover.

Have a Great Week and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 22, 2009

2009-06-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

Boy is it HOT, and it looks like its gonna be HOT all week. Must be summer! Make sure you stay cool thru all of this!

Social Stuff!

Jane spent a lot of time this past week with our daughter Amy who is now into her last week of pregnancy with our third grandchild (daughter)! As you may remember this grandaughter has been diagnosed with Spina Bifada so there has been considerably more attention paid to this upcoming birth than some of the others. Amy will go into Barnes Hospital on Tuesday (6-23-09) where a "c-section" will be performed and then the baby will be taken to Cardinal Glennon for some follow-up surgery associated with the Spina Bifada issues. Other than the Spina Bifada, both Amy and the baby have been doing very well so we are hopeful the birth and the following surgery's will have positive results.

Today (6-22-09) is our grandson's (Ryne) and we had a great time. Amy was doing great but she looks like she has enjoyed this current pregnancy just about as much as she can and is ready to move on to the next stage!

Last Friday, Jane and visited our friends Cathy and Jim Ross who we have known for a very long time. We ate at the Long Horn restaurant in Chesterfield Valley and it was a very good meal and a great evening talking about old stories, kids and medications!!!!

This last Sunday I received $145.00 in donations from various Salem Church people as support for my Muscular Sclerosis Bike ride/fund raiser. This was a great start to the fund raising effort and I very much appreciate the support. Pastor Julie Callaghan is also very appreciative of our efforts and I am very glad to be riding in her name this September 12 and 13, 2009 for the 25th annual MS Bike Tour that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. Anyone who wants to help in this tax deductible fund raising effort can give me a check, made out to "The National Multiple Sclerosis Society".

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Denise Kelly, Cindy Jones, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Bob Hardcastle, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Angie Hamilton (friend of Cindy Jones) whose father died from cancer.
2. The work Phyllis Hardcastle is helping to perform in renovating an old home for veterans.
3. Amy and Todd's upcoming new baby's birth on Tuesday June 23, 2009.
4. Boy Scouts returning from their trip to the Philmont Ranch in New Mexico.
5. Alan and Teresa's friends - Barb and Bobby's sister.
6. Bill Vallely's continual lung issues.
7. Sharon Whitworth (Jane's cousin) who has been fighting cancer for two years.
8. Alan and Teresa's great aunt Mimi who will be celebrating her 104th birthday this next week.
9. Terry's preparations for the MS Bike Tour in September.

Class Material Studied:

The material read and discussed was from I Peter Chapter 1 vs 13 to the end of Chapter 1.

We remembered Peter is writing to new Christians in remote parts of the Asia Minor approximately 20 - 30 years after the death of Jesus and Peter is reinforcing some fairly new "Christian" fundamentals that are just as relevant to us today as they were back when Peter wrote them. We noted that Peter is very precise in his descriptions concerning the relationships of God to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit, and how all relate to us as created humans. It is with this understanding that we read these words in verse 13 - "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world." Peter is telling us to not become confused but to focus on our salvation.

Peter then tells us in verse 14 "...Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires". I related the analogy that in my current "Weight Watchers" program it is somewhat difficult while in the process of losing weight but we all know it is much more difficult to maintain a weight loss after achieving our weight goal. Similarly with our faith - while it is somewhat difficult to grow in our relationship with God it is much more difficult to maintain that relationship once we achieve a certain level. We get comfortable and we all tend to revert back to where we were and Peter is telling us to not do this.

Peter emphasizes in verse 20 that God chose Jesus to be our salvation long before the world began and that this salvation thru Jesus was only recently revealed to us. Which is to say that this "Jesus salvation thing" is not just the latest "fad" of God but rather it is part of the overall plan of God that has existed from the very beginning of time. Therefore; in verse 21 Peter says we can trust and place our faith and hope in God.

In verse 22 peter writes "You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters." Peter is telling us that because of this new relationship with God thru Jesus Christ that we must sincerely care for each other. THIS IS A MAJOR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIANITY - WE ARE TO LOVE EACH OTHER AS BROTHER AND SISTERS. This doesn't mean we love each other once in a while, when we agree with each other, or during the good times, but rather we are to love each other sincerely and continually as Christ loves us. This can be a humbling experience because sometimes to love someone else we must but them above ourselves, but this is exactly what Christ did for us when he died for us; therefore, we can proceed knowing that loving others is exactly what God wants us to do!

This completed this week's lesson and we will pick up next week at Chapter 2 of I Peter and go for as long as God determines is best for us.

Thanks for your support and in the meantime

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

June 15, 2009

2009-06-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

I hope things are going well for you!

Social Stuff:

First - We had the Pursley family reunion this Saturday. It was my family's time to sponsor the event and we held it at the American Legion Hall in Pacific, Missouri. We spent most of Friday getting ready and then Saturday managing the event. It went pretty well and the weather was great. Jane and I were able to take my mother from the nursing home to the reunion and she seemed to have a good time. By the end of Saturday we both were pretty tired and went to sleep early.

Second - Earlier in the week I had an excellent scheduled doctor's visit. Not only had I lost the 40 pounds thru the Weight Watchers program but my blood tests came back very good. So good the doctor was able to cut back on a lot of my medicine to the point that I saved more money than what Weight Watchers costs me per month! This was great news and I now just have to keep with the program. Doctor wants me to lose another 60 pounds so I have a ways to go yet.

Third - I registered to ride in this year's Multiple Sclerosis Bike Ride. It takes place on September 12 and 13, 2009 and the minimum distance is 40 miles each day. I was reluctant to register until after my Diabetes bike ride, but since I did OK I decided to commit to the MS ride. The MS ride is more difficult with much longer distances over more hilly terrain, but I decided to give it a try. In addition, Julie Callaghan, gave me permission for me to ride in her name and this will add additional incentive for me to complete the route. I'll have to go back out and seek donations again, and I don't take this lightly, but it is such a good cause that I must try.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Denise Kelly, Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Genny Maas, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayer Requests:
Prayers were requested for:
1. Lisa Kirk whose father died from cancer in a fairly sudden manner.
2. Ernie Niswonger's 36 year old daughter is very ill with cancer and most likely will not survive. Ernie is a good friend of Alan's and Alan was going to spend some time with Ernie and his family this next week. The daughter is married and has I believe two small children. Very tough situation.
3. Bill Vallely's continued health problems with his lungs.
4. Mike Thompson is now back home but looking for work.
5. Zach Seitz and his new church responsibilities.
6. Both Julie and Suzanne's transition as pastors of our church.
7. The victims of the recent local weather storms.
8. The up-coming birth of Todd and Amy Koerber's daughter on June 23, 2009.

Material Studied:

We covered "I Peter" Chapter 1 vs 3 thru 12.

This section is sub-titled "The Hope of Eternal Life". Peter is writing to people who have or will soon experience considerable persecution. Peter encourages the readers that God is our Father and by his mercy we are saved because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Our salvation is a priceless inheritance that is kept in heaven and will not erode. Therefore, we can remain confident throughout our trials that our inheritance is kept safe until the time of our salvation.

In verse 9 we find one of those "little hidden messages" that are packed with great significance. Verse 9 reads "The reward for trusting him (Jesus Christ) will be the salvation of your souls." I asked the class to reflect upon this verse 9 and to grasp its meaning. We often "trust" various "people" but "trusting in Jesus" sometimes becomes a little difficult. No one knew this better than Peter who, as we remember, denied Christ 3 separate times, just before Jesus was betrayed. Often, it is difficult to "trust" Jesus until we have no other choice. Up until we are out of options, we have a tendency to "trust" in ourselves or others before trusting in Jesus. I related to the class my story of when my grandfather (whom I loved very much) died and I challenged God by saying that, if my grandfather was going to hell, I wanted to go to Hell also because I'd rather spend eternity in Hell with my grandfather than in Heaven with God. I was serious and this was tough talk, but I received an almost instant message in return. It wasn't a voice or any type of oral conversation but rather I simply came to understand that God told me "Terry - as much as you loved your grandfather I love him infinitely more - Trust Me!" I hasten to add that I am not educated as a theologian and I can't get into a long informed philosophical discussion about what this message was suppose to convey but I can tell you that upon receiving this message I was at peace! I knew that my grandfather was okay, because God was taking care of him. Now I don't know what "taking care of" means exactly but I do know that as long as God was in charge of the "taking care of" that things would be okay because he loved my grandfather a great deal more than I did.

Peter in verse 9 is telling us the same thing. He is telling us that we simply need to "trust" Jesus and relax! It doesn't mean that we can just sit and do nothing. We each have a unique set of gifts that we should and must use, but we should not worry that our gifts or our exercising of them is sufficient. We should do our best and we should "trust" Jesus to make up any shortfall in our efforts. This is what Grace is all about. We do our best and we "trust" Jesus to do the rest!

In verse 12 we read an interesting section. It says the Good News has been preached to us thru the Holy Spirit and "It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen." The question was asked in class - Didn't the angles already know what was going to happen, and if so why would they be so eagerly watching? We decided that even thought the angles were in heaven watching everything they did not have or experience "free will" as we humans have, and thus the exact course of the "human experience" is not something that can be readily discerned by the angles. Therefore since they do not know how we humans will act, the angles "eagerly watch" to see how the human adventure plays out!

That basically completed our class for today and it evoked a good lively discussion. We have some excellent members in our class and the discussions can often be very enlightening.

Next week we will pick up at "I Peter, Chapter 1, verse 13, and go as far as God leads.

In the meantime -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

June 8, 2009

2009-06-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend and have even a better week this week!

Social Stuff!

On Saturday, I rode my bike 30 miles in the American Diabetes Association's "Tour de Cure" centered at Grafton, Illinois. It was a beautiful day and Jane was my support team, which I really needed. Seems as though about halfway through the ride I had a flat tire and Jane was a big help in me getting the tire fixed and me back on the ride. It was a perfect day for the ride and it was most enjoyable. There were a few hills along the route that I wasn't expecting. The first few were very tough because I wasn't use to using my bike's gears but once I got better at this gear coordination I did better on the hills. There were a whole lot of people participating in the ride and I don't know how much the entire group raised for the Diabetes Association but I alone raised $440 thanks to my sponsors - some of which were from Salem Church.

On Friday night (6-5-09) Jane and I had the chance to attend an Art Exhibit at a gallery along Jefferson St. in St. Louis. We don't go to these much but our neighbor was one of the artists displaying her work and so we went. It was a very nice experience, even for those of us who aren't particularly into the art scene! Before the exhibit we ate at Mama Capisi's on The Hill which we enjoy.

Sunday (6-7-09) Jane and I attended first service, Sunday school and then went home early to take our daughter and her kids to the swimming pool. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate so we didn't get much pool time in. Jane was courageous enough to take them in the cool water for about 15 minutes but that was about as much as we could accomplish.

Koinonia Sunday School Class!

Members Present: Denise Kelly, Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers Requested For: Genny's sister Margret who is experience failing vision. Amy and Todd Koerber whose baby is due June 23, 2009. Genny's granddaughter Libby's safety who is on a school trip, Bill Vallely's continued lung health issues and who is also having a birthday (66). The Vogt Scout Trip which is starting this next week. Meryl Garnto who is leaving on a Trip to Costa Rica, and Helen Kokesh's failing health.

Material Studied:

Today we completed the Book of James from Chapter 5 vs 13 thru the end of the Chapter/Book at verse 19. From there we began reading "I Peter" Chapter 1 vs 1 and 2.

In finishing James we found in verses 13 thru 18 where James emphasizes the power of prayer. James emphasizes in verse 16 that "..The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." This reminded each of us to focus on our prayer life and begin to practice it on a regular basis. It was noted that Jane Pursley continues to lead a prayer group that meets on Wednesday evening and that invites people to come join in the prayer session.

In the last verse of James we find James exhorting us to bring people back to the truth of Jesus. James states "My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins." Our class understood this to emphasize the importance of entering into relationships with people to help bring them back to God, and that our doing so is critical in the life of these other people. Therefore; we need to be aware of and looking for ways to help those who have wandered away from God.

We started "I Peter" by understanding Peter was writing to new Christians who were or who were about to experience some very tough persecution times. Peter wanted to give them strength with knowledge that God cares about them and God will keep his promises.

"I Peter" starts with Peter identifying himself as an "apostle of Jesus Christ" We had some discussion as to what is the difference between terms "apostle" and a "disciple", and we resolved that an "apostle" is someone who lived with and/or leaned directly from Jesus; whereas a "disciple" is a person who is a follower of Jesus Christ. A disciple does not have had to have had direct contact with Jesus. Therefore, when Peter starts his letter he is identifying himself as someone who lived with and learned directly from Jesus, which would obviously be and important description to impart to those reading the letter. The first verse concludes by simply identifying to whom Peter is writing which are foreigners in various outlying provinces.

We determined verse 2 of this first Chapter was critically important due to its summary nature of the gospel and the holy trinity. The verse reads as follows (from the New Living Testament) - " God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. This particular verse is one of those summary verses that we run into from time to time that encapsulates a great deal of information in a very few words. I encourage each of us to read and reflect upon these words because they are powerful and I certainly have no ability to improve upon them with verbose dialog!

Next Week:

We will pick up next week at "I Peter" Chapter 1 verse 3 and go from there to the degree that God determines is best.

In the meantime, I hope you -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

June 1, 2009

2009-06-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

Good Morning to Everyone!

Here it is the first day of June and the year is flying by. I hope you are getting a chance to enjoy life.

Social Stuff:

Last Thursday (May 28, 2009) Jane and I had dinner with our daughter Amy and her two children (Ryne and Audra) at Mama Capisi's on the "Hill". I had never been there and our experience was wonderful. The food was excellent and the waiter was very attentive. We'll go back here again soon!

Friday (May 29, 2009) my brother Jeff and I played golf at Gateway National Golf Links over on the East Side. This was a very good/tough course I had never heard much about. The White Tees had a slope of 126 so it was tough and my brother "took me to the woodshed". No respect for his elder at all!

Saturday (May 30, 2009) Jane and I traveld to Columbia, Missouri to celebrate our daughter Rebecca's 30th birthday. Her birthday is actually May 31st but her social calendar was filled for that day and thus mom and dad settled for Saturday, which actually worked best for us anyway. We went to a restaurant named "Jazz" which we like and had a very good meal from a "cajun" style selection.

Sunday (May 31, 2009) we had a great time at Sunday School and Church, and the subsequent "pot luck" lunch that was provided. The meal was excellent and we extend a big "thank you" to those who prepared it. After the pot luck, Jane and I put on our biking clothes and went over to 66 Park at Times Beach and rode our bicycles. It was a beautiful day and the Park was wonderful. I rode 30 miles with Jane accompanying me on part of it and reading in the shade at other times. When I finished my 15 laps of the 2 mile courese, we rode down by the river where the scenery was just outstanding. It was truely an excellent day to be outside and I hope you also got the chance to enjoy the day.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Members Present: Bill Nichols, Jackie Thompson, Denise Kelly, Jack and Dwyla Beverlin, Shirley Cary, Madeline Walton, Jane and Terry Pursley.

Prayers Requested for: Mark Nichols (Brain issues), Amy & Todd Koeber (upcoming birth), Rebecca Pursley (birthday), Dwyla Beverlin (Alzheimers), Hedi (friend of Jack & Dwyla's with cancer issues), Bill Vallely (lung issues - going to Mayo Clinic), Terry Pursley's diabetes bike ride this coming Saturday.

Material Studied: (From a New Living Translation of the Bible).

James Chapter 4 Verses 11 thru 12 - James warns us against judging others by saying "But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?"

James Chapter 4 vs 13 thru 17. - James warns against taking for granted our future activities. Our futures are not guaranteed and thus James says in vs 15 "What you ogut to say is, "if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." We mentioned that it is for this reason that we perhpas should more concsiously enjoy the "today" that we have rather than relying so heavily on what "Might Be" in the future. Enjoy today and be thankful for the"today" that we have!

James Chapter 5 vs 1 thru 5 - James advises the rich people that they should be in much anguish because of the terrible troubles in front of them and that their riches will be taken away. We clarified the term rich is a relataive term in that a person who has nothing but one coat is rich compared to another person you had nother and not even a coat. All of us are rich when compared to someone one an thus the question becomes do we cling to the riches we have over the well being of others that we meet? This was the issue when Jesus me the Rich Ruler in the New Testament parable. The Rich Ruler could not let go of his wealth and thus James is telling us that if we cannot "let go of our wealth" then we should know that it will be taken from us. Thus each of us must assess our own lives and determine whether we are able to "let go" or not.

[Special Note: I mentioned at this point in the class what I believe is an important aspect to remember. We will all find ourselves "falling short" of one aspect or the other of James teachings and thus we will find oursleves thinking we are "separated from God", but we whould always remember that as Christians Jesus has paid the price for our failures. Therefore; it is important for us to read James and other Bible studies to help determine how we should conduct ourselves as Christians but we should not become overly depressed when we find ourselves failing to meet all the requirements. The "Good News" is "God loved the world so much that while we were yet sinners God gave his only begotten Son that everyone who beleives in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)] We can enjoy our "Today" with this knowledge!

James Chapter 5 vs 7 thru 12: James encourages us to be paitient and to endure difficult times and relationships. In one of the more pointed verses James writes in vs 9 "Don't grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look - the judge is standing at the door!" How many of us speak differently if we think someone is listening? James is telling us GOD IS LISTENING!

This completed yesterday's class and next week we will pick up at James Chapter 5 vs 13 and probably complete the Book of James. If so we will contine into the Book of "I Peter".

I hope thinks go well for you this week and whatever your circumstance -

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry

May 25, 2009

2009-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

April 27, 2009

2009-04-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

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

Good Morning - April 20, 2009!

2009-04-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

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