Christmas Party

Trecia and I are sorry we missed the Christmas Party this year. We always enjoy it. However; I have a great gift saved from last year. If anyone wants it let me know.

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

As I said in a previous post, I have been especially struck by the commands the writer of Hebrews gives us. This is not the focus of the lesson series, but these commands would make a good series of their own. The first was in Hebrews 2:1.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

The second, from Hebrews 3:1, seems to tell us how to do that.

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

In chapter 1 we are told that Jesus was superior to angels. Then the command was given to pay more careful attention to the message so that we will not drift away. In chapter 2 we are told that Jesus, who was already shown to be superior to angels, was made lower than the angels to be like us. He was made like his brothers he is therefore better able to help us in our times of need. So Jesus is so important, that as we think of the message we have heard, and pay more careful attention to it, the most important part of that is to fix our thoughts on Jesus.

Good words for this season.

The Christmas party is scheduled for Dec 12th. A sign up sheet will be going around Sunday for food to bring. Marion is cooking the meat (turkeys I believe). Everyone else will sign up for side dishes that they are bringing.

Christmas Party

I didn't make it to Life Group this past Sunday. Thought my daughter, Katie, was going to come to church and then ended up not. When is the Christmas Party??? Thanks.

Hebrews: Pay More Careful Attention

I am much enjoying our study of Hebrews. The approach of the lesson writers, a series focusing on how things are better since Jesus came, is a novel approach. Let's see, we've had:

• Jesus is superior to angels
• Jesus is great than Moses
• Jesus is the better way of entering God's rest
• Jesus is the greater high priest
• The new covenant in Jesus is superior to the old covenant

Yet, this type of approach overlooks something else in the book that is also important: the commands the writer of Hebrews gives us. The book includes quite a few "Therefore, we must..." type commands. These typically alternate with the "better than" segments. Take the first one:

"We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

Those who first read Hebrews, or who couldn't read and only heard it read, were at a decided disadvantage to us. They have no New Testament to study. They had no televisions or tape recorders to allow them to hear things over and over again. In their fellowship times, an elder would read from the scriptures that they had--the Old Testament--and then expound on it. It's possible that they might have read from one of Paul's letters, depending on how widely these had been copied and distributed at an early date.

They didn't have commentaries to explain how Jesus fulfilled their scriptures. They didn't have many published books created to help them live the life God wanted for them. Just what they heard.

Perhaps, then, we have less excuse than they did for drifting away. How should we paraphrase the command of Hebrews 2:1 to make it more applicable to our modern era? Perhaps:

Since Jesus is superior to all ministering spirits, we must pay more careful attention to all the life-building information God has sent our way, so that we do not drift away.

Ah, It's Friday

Yes, the end of the work week. In twenty-five minutes I can pack my portfolio, put the computer on standby, and head home. Of course, I'll wait a little longer than that to let some traffic move on down the road ahead of me. Time to go home and relax.

Relax? We've got the kids coming in next Wednesday. The house needs cleaning. The Christmas decorations have to go up, since we won't see the kids at Christmas. No way are we going to have the house un-decorated when Ephraim arrives, toddling about, saying "I see..." to everything he sees. The outside lights went up last weekend, all but two strings I need to either fix or replace.

Most of the leaves are already moved to some place we want them to be. I'll have to clean up a few. Then there's the two maple trees that Carroll Electric decided to decapitate, which need shaping. That'll take an hour at least. Add trimming the crape myrtle to that and it'll be two hours.

Last Saturday saw the garage mostly organized, but not fully so. At least an hour there. Plus, the receipts and bills have been piling up downstairs, waiting to be sorted then filed. We have these new trays to keep them in, which should help, but which also feed procrastination.

I'd like to write some, maybe one article for Suite101.com in American colonial history, and maybe 1,000 pages in my novel in progress. Plus there's a couple of freelance writing gigs I need to evaluate more.

Help! I'm a prisoner of the weekend. Oh for Monday to come and the blissful slowness of the office.

hello there!

Is anybody home? I am not seeing many new posts! We could have some real neat conversations on this thing!

I think what Dan suggested about The Shack would be good to study. The women did that study on a Wednesday night and it was really awesome. I have read it twice and enjoyed it both times. But it doesn't really matter with me what we study. I do enjoy the books of the Bible.

New Lesson

I would suggest a lesson series on the book "The Shack". I have read it once and have downloaded it to my Ipod. Breiefly it is about a man whose daughter was murdured and became bitter to God. He is summoned to the shack where the murder occured in a strange way. He encounters God in three persons. What follows is a dialogue with the persons in the God Head about all the eternal questions.

I wouldn't mind selecting a book from the Bible and studying that. I would like us to look at Romans.

Next Life Group Lesson Series

Hey class:

It won't be that long before we will finish Hebrews (six more weeks, I think) and will have to find something else to study. Who has an idea of what to study? Anyone?

Marion and I have begun looking at C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, but it's a tough read. I don't know that we could be ready with that without a lot of preparation--a really lot of preparation.

Here are some thoughts I've had. Anyone else please feel free to comment, shoot these down, add your own.

• Everyone names a favorite chapter of the Bible and we study that. This would last as many weeks as we have people name a chapter.
• A study of Jeremiah, probably lasting 15 or more weeks.
• A study of Mere Christianity. If we have to, we'll be ready.
• A study of the sacraments. What I'm thinking of is the seven sacraments celebrated in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, and our Protestant interpretations of them.

Wonderful Life Group "Lesson" Today

I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I'd been to this blog and made a post. I'll try to be more active. During the second half of October the company moved its office, and I found my part in that to be all consuming. It was enough to keep up my blog and write a little bit here and there.

Wasn't that a great Life Group class today? Thank you Bob Black (a.k.a. Blackie) for sharing what was on your heart concerning church finances, and setting things going. Hebrews took a back seat for a week, but we'll be back into it next week.

Thanks to everyone who remembered to bring food for the Pantry. We totally forgot. Let's have a nice amount next week as well.

Penny, don't know if you are well enough to be at your computer and see this, but we miss you in class. Get better soon and come back to us.

Penny is doing well

Hello Life Group memebers.

Sorry to have been away so long. I had no Internet service all weekend, the result of a dying cable modem. That is now taken care of, but my days are full of work related stuff and I'm still not on line much.

The e-mail from the church about Penny having come out of the surgery and doing well is encouraging. That she even had the surgery despite her sinus condition is one answer to prayer. Let's continue to prayer for her, and for Mal, and for the recipient of her kidney--that his body would not reject it.

Don't forget the collection for some money to put on a gift card for them to eat out when Penny returns from Nashville. We'll continue to collect on that this coming Sunday, maybe one after that as well.

Class Function at Nightingale's

Reminder:

This Saturday, October 10, our Life Group will meet at the Nightingale's house for a cookout and time of fellowship. Gather there somewhere around 5:30 to 6:00 PM. The grill will be hot.

Bring whatever meat you want to grill, along with a side dish to share. You might want to bring a lawn chair for each in your party.

Missed Not Having Class

I enjoyed the joint service yesterday. The IHI kids sure showed us a foot-stompin' good time! And the praise band did a great job with their substitutes on several instruments.

But I missed not having class. Across the gymnasium I saw most of our class. How good to see Bob and Bessie Black in the service, way across the congregation, back from their wanderings. Next week we will begin our study of Hebrews. I'm looking forward to it.

What about prayer requests and praises? Anything? We didn't get to share, but we need to stay aware of what we should bring before the Lord. Penny, when exactly is it that you travel to Nashville and have the surgery? I hope you will post here and let us know, so we may be praying for you. Possibly it's next week, not this. And Gary, how goes it with you? Missed you Sunday.

Bible Study

I admit it: I'm a Bible study junkie. Whenever I read the Bible, it is almost always for study purposes. Oh, every morning at work I read a short Bible passage and then the devotional in Our Daily Bread. Since I have only five days at work and ODB is a 365 days a year devotional by quarter years, that results in some interesting devotions. Right now I'm reading the Dec 2008 devotions, which of course are all about Christmas. In September!

For me, sitting down and reading the Bible just for pleasure, or just for devotion, or just to have something to meditate on is difficult. I always feel that I should be doing in-depth study of whatever I read in it. Somehow I need to add the pleasure-devotional reading to the study reading. Perhaps this will be my project for the next twelve months.

Insights from Cycling

This morning I was riding a very familiar bike trail and happened to look away towards a hill which I was contemplating trying. My attention was turned away only for a few seconds, in that short amount of time, when I turned my focus back to the trail I realized I was very close to the edge! Not real dangerous but I was going a pretty good speed. It scared me as I corrected my bike back into the middle of the trail. Got me to thinking about our journey of faith and the path which God wants each of us to follow, keeping our focus on Him. When we get distracted, which is easy to do, we sometimes find ourselves off the path or maybe we heading in the wrong direction. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Also, coming up that familiar hill I found my God rock to be obscured by the overgrowth on the roadside. I realized sometimes we may not be able to always see or feel God working in our lives, but that doesn't mean he's not there. That's when we trust his heart and know he has control.

Acts 17:28

This verse from Mark's sermon last week really spoke to me. Acts 17:28: For in him we live and move and have our being. This verse concludes by calling us God's children or offspring. May we always be aware of the Holy Spirit's presence within us, giving us life and helping us become all that God wants us to be. We must remain in Him and he will remain in us. Praise God!

Dan & Lutrecia Church

Please remember Lutrecia and Dan in your prayers this week. You may have seen a prayer request for her. They had an unexpected stop in Memphis on their way to Nashville as Lutrecia was having health issues. Not sure of all the details surrounding what was going on with Lutrecia. Don't think the doctors knew either. Also pray for their safe travel.

Prayers Answered: Gary Borchert

It was good to see Gary Borchert up and at church tonight--and walking with a cane rather than his walker. Good job, Gary!

'Course, his arm looked as if it had been put through a wringer. He reports he has torn a bicep, and might be needing surgery. Continue to pray for Gary as he travels the long road to restored good health, and for Sue as she provides him with care, along with her other life duties.

Paul Jackson, R.I.P.

Lynda sent out an e-mail, and perhaps most of you that read this here will already have the news. Paul Jackson, song evangelist in the Church of the Nazarene, lost his battle with cancer and passed into glory at 3:30 PM CDT this afternoon. Lynda had frequently brought his name to the class as a matter of prayer.

Continue to pray for Paul's widow, Trish Jackson (Lynda's cousin), and for Paul's parents. Lynda and I will travel to Meade, Kansas for funeral services, the time for which has not yet been announced. There's a good chance we will be gone this Sunday.

Simon Says

Well, I hope everyone had a good time in class today. I enjoyed catching a couple of people in the game of Simon Says.

I chose the game, and the silly illustration of keeping your Bibles closed, because I wanted to demonstrate how we willing accept authority over us. I think at times we forget why we accept the authority of the Bible, and from time to time we should refresh our minds about it. Peter said it well in the passage we looked at (2 Peter 1:12-2:10a). I will be reading that again this week.

May you be carried along by the Holy Spirit this week as you study God's word.

Lessons from Rippley

Last week in class, Marion shared some great qualities about dogs and their relationship to humans. It reminded me of of the following which I received thru email. I've titled it "Lessons from Rippley", our beloved dog and friend.

Lessons from Rippley

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them. (Rippley dances!)

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Take naps. Stretch before rising. Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be slient, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

Enjoy every moment of every day!

Labor Day Weekend

Great camping at Roaring River. The Ozarks are so beautiful! Thanks Bruce & Kathy for sharing a day with us. David & Lynda sorry we missed you. I hope all had a great time wherever they spent the weekend.

Labor Day Plans

I posted this as a comment somewhere else. I am still learning the "blog ropes". Please excuse my spelling and grammar. Labor day weekend. Trecia & I will be at the Royal W Resort and RV park (1-800-798-2904). Reece, Renee & Sidney will be with us. The Royal W has a website www.royalwresort.com which has a ton of information about their facilities and directions. It is 3mi from Roaring River Park. They have cabins and limited number of RV spots(I was told RV is full). The State camp ground is another option. If any are interested call us at 899-7599 (cell) and we can plan from their. You All come!

Lynda's mom is in the hospital

She was on her way to visitation hours at New Hope church tonight, riding with someone, when she passed out from a low blood sugar/high blood pressure episode. They brought her to Northwest in Bentonville where they stabilized her and admitted her for overnight observation. Lynda is in Oklahoma City with our only working cell phone, and I was in a meeting and didn't get home till 9PM when I got the news. Since she is stable I didn't go in. Say a prayer for her, Esther Barnes.

Also, Lynda returns tomorrow, I think. Pray for her safe driving.

Women are the strongest

Regarding our discussion in class last Sunday morning about the third guard's choice of what is the strongest. . . women. I'm sorry I have to leave every Sunday and don't get to hear "the rest of the story." But someone made the comment that we are animals ,and at the time, it unsettled me. As I was able to think on this further I know now why I felt unsettled.

From my studies, both biblical and classroom, I know that we (human beings) are created in the image of God, imago Dei. And by that created nature we are above all other animals in God's creation. Therefore, to rationalize behavior because we are animals, is not valid. Mankind's fall from the image of God was his own doing and choice. We can be restored to this image through Jesus Christ (salvation) and the work of the Holy Spirit (sanctification). Again, both of these must be something we choose to move toward.

Just some thoughts, any others?

This is my first blog post

I made it on! I had to create google account. I can never type those scrambled letters the first time. Trecia's mother is on the phone for morning devotions. More to follow!

What screen name should you choose?

Tonight at church Penny suggested we should all chose some kind of "cute" or unusual name for our membership to this blog. She chose "Lambchop's Mimi", which was already her Blogspot name from another blog she posted to. I believe she called it a "grandmother thing". I already joined Blogspot under my real name, so I'll just keep it. Too bad; you won't get to know me as my screen name, Norman D Gutter.

Those of you who join Blogspot in order to post to this blog are free to choose whatever name you'd like. Have at it, and go with something unusual if you want. Or go with your real name.

Or--this might be fun--suggest a screen name for other members of the class. See how creative you can be.

In order to make a new post you will have to accept the invitation and join. If you don't want to join, you can still post comments to something someone else's post.

What One Thing is Strongest of All?

We have completed three weeks of our study; two weeks to go. We have the "wise" answer of the third bodyguard to go, plus the second answer of the one who cheated and gave two answers.

What say you, the Young and the Rest of Us? What do you think the last two answers will be?

My God Rock

My God Rock

August 5, 2009

Penny McCawley

Most of you know I exercise by riding my bike. Recently, I’ve been riding from my home down to the bike trail off of North Walton Blvd. I access the trail by riding down a rather large hill on NE A Street. So coming home is rather a challenge as I labor up the hill very slowly.

The hill is so steep, that right now, I’m not able to ride it without stopping. The first time I stopped to catch my breath I happened to look to my right and there it was - a large jagged rock jutting upwards out of the ravine. At first glance it looked like someone had carved a capital “I” on it. And from that moment it became my God rock. God is my “I am.” Be still and know that I am God. Be still.

The next time I rode the hill I stopped in the same spot to once again catch my breath. I began using these moments for meditation, reflection on scripture, and prayer. God knows I needed to stop and catch my breath both physically and emotionally. We can all agree our lives are too often frenzied efforts to get it all done (ride up the steep hill without stopping).

I always take this time to quench my thirst by gulping down some H20 from the water bottle I carry with me. My thirst reminded me of the water of Life that is offered through Jesus Christ.

Another time, I noticed the twisted vines and branches above the rock and how twisted and mixed up our lives become when we allow “the sin that so easily entangles” to rule our lives. Or maybe it’s just the busyness we allow to encroach upon our time with Him.

Someday, I hope to ride that hill without stopping. But knowing my God rock is there will make that journey more special and rewarding.

God, listen to me shout, bend an ear to my prayer. When I'm far from anywhere, down to my last gasp, I call out, "Guide me up High Rock Mountain!" Psalm 61:1 The Message

Sherry Capehart

Sherry Capehart has surgery, maybe she's in it right now. Pray for her and the medical team.

Dave

Pray for Penny

Good morning: As we go about our day today, PLEASE ask God to be with the committee as they come to the decision on Penny's kidney donation. We pray that the decision be that of the Lords.

G

HELP

Could someone please tell Sue what was talked about in class, 1. About Labor Day and 2. About the Pot Luck, that was when she was gone from class. I tried but I was so confused by the time I was done. Thank you in advance......

G

Thanks David for the work you have done on this.

G_S

Added names for posting

I just added everyone from the class whose e-mail is in my contacts list to be allowed to post. I don't have everyone's e-mail listed in my contacts, so I'll have to look for them in a church general e-mail and add them. Please e-mail me with any e-mail addresses we need to have added to the list, and I'll get them added.

The Young and the Rest of Us

Okay, gang, here it is.

The Young and the Rest of Us blog.

It's created. I'll now go back in and add some titles and explanation, hopefully right away. Then, as we get going, we can change the layout, add some gadgets, etc. Nothing is set in stone right now.