Stuff

I'm trying to learn 2000 years of Christian theology in 6 weeks. It's a bit of a challenge! There are so many names that I'm not sure that I'll ever get them straight. Dr. Thorsell has given us 18 potential exam questions, and we'll have to answer 2. I'm really hoping I'll get ones from the Reformation era. Those I can answer! For the rest...well, I'm doing what I can.

Today I introduced my Sunday School class to the idea that the entire Old Testament teaches about Jesus. Then I cautioned them against trying to allegorize everything so that someone in every story stands for Jesus. They understood that pretty well. They were willing to accept that the Old Testament talks about Jesus since they know specific places (in the prophets) and Jesus Himself said that it's all about Him.

One of the best moments.... One student in particular often answers the question "How do you know?" with "It's in the Bible somewhere." Then I ask him where and he rarely knows. (We talk a lot about being able to back up your claims.) He gets a bit frustrated with me sometimes. Today we were reading 1 Peter 1:17-20. We talked about how God planned salvation before the foundation of the world, which is how the Old Testament can talk about it (and Jesus) even though it hadn't happened. I asked if God was surprised when Jesus was killed, and this student said no. I asked how he knows, and he said, "It's in the Bible somewhere and you're going to ask me where and I don't know where!" Two of us pointed out that it's in the passage we had just read!

Pastor Coates is preaching through Galatians. Today he started chapter 4 (and you should go and listen to his sermon). He was talking about being no longer slaves, but sons. He was talking about the Israelites in the desert and how they found freedom scary. My young friend who sits with me did not understand why freedom was scary and I was trying to explain (although entirely in notes back and forth). She finally grasped that as slaves someone is responsible for you, but as free people we are responsible for ourselves. Then I pointed out that as slaves they felt safe, but now they had to go and fight people who were big like giants and they didn't trust God. She didn't understand why, because God can help people fight. I agreed, but told her that they forgot so they were scared. Her response: "That's stupid!" I agreed and let it go for now. One day she will understand being afraid of freedom and forgetting to trust.

Hey...the power went out as I was typing that last paragraph! What's with that? Shoot....I hope it comes back on soon. I have people coming over and I don't have that many candles around!

One of my babies got married yesterday. She was in my Junior Church class back in Thunder Bay many, many years ago. I watched her grow up, and yet I'm still not sure how she's old enough to be married.

Well, I'm going to go and save this as a Word document until the power is back on and the internet is back up so I can publish it! Sigh. I finally get around to blogging and... never mind. The power just came back on. It was only off for about 10 minutes or so.

Here, for your listening enjoyment, one of the hymns we sang today.

Sunday School

My Sunday School class has been behaving very well since I gave them homework. I think the combination of extra work, their parents finding out about their behavior, and the fear that the next lot of homework might be worse, has made them cautious! They listen nicely and still participate, but sometimes the remember to raise their hands now. And they stay on topic with only a few reminders.

There's one young man who could cause trouble, but we keep a teacher close to him. She helps him look up the passages in his Bible so he stays focused (otherwise it's a chance for him to be silly and "not be able to find it") and she makes sure his questions and comments are relevant when he raises his hand. She also helps him with the work sheets, mostly by encouraging him. He likes the attention and he stays more focused.

We had a visitor today. I don't know if they are staying or just visiting. This young man was a talker! I had to keep reminding him to listen, to stay on topic, and to give others a chance to answer as well. I think, from comments that he made, that his Sunday School classes have not been as structured as ours. He was also surprised that the kids bring their Bibles and use them. He seemed to enjoy himself and he isn't a bad kid; he's just not used to a situation where he has to listen rather than blurt out whatever is on his mind.

Today we learned about prayer. We talked about Matthew 6 and not praying like the Pharisees to be seen. Then we talked about how Pastor James prays in front of the whole church...just like the Pharisees! We decided that he isn't a hypocrite, though, because his prayers are sincere and he is praying on behalf of the church. He isn't just doing it to show off.

Next week we switch from the wisdom portion of our program to the worship portion. Primarily, that means that we'll be learning about Jesus and seeing why we should worship Him. We'll look at Jesus in the Old Testament, His coming, His message, and His death and resurrection. I'm looking forward to teaching it. By the time we finish, Sunday School will be over for the year. It's time to start thinking about next year.

What's Happening

This week I started my new classes. I'm taking Contemporary Issues in Theology (which starts with the church in the second century...it's a new use of "contemporary") and Applied Biblical Studies. It's all interesting so far, but it's a lot of work right now. I think that after the summer sessions it will be easier, with only an exam and then two papers to write. This is my last summer of classes in California; after that, I have a couple independent study courses to take next winter, and a year from now I'll be done!

So far I'm enjoying the reading, although there's a lot of it. I enjoy history, so that part is good, and the book is well written (not too dry and not all about dates). The only problem will be remembering all of it for the exam! I'm reading a couple other books as well and so far they're pretty good. This year I have to read properly rather than just skim (my usual method of getting through textbooks) so it's good that they're interesting.

Of course, I don't spend all my time working. I had a young friend over after school on Friday. He's 8 and he came to play, watch movies, and have dinner. We ordered cheeseburgers, even though (to quote him), "Most places make cheeseburgers by just putting cheese on regular hamburgers." Well, yes, that would be the definition of cheese burger. We watched Lord of the Beans (which, for those of you not in the know, is a VeggieTales parody of Lord of the Rings). My young friend kept correcting it so it matched Lord of the Rings. Is it any wonder I love that child?

I also spend (probably too much) time on the internet watching videos. Here is today's choice of "video that I think everyone should watch" (please note his proper use of "literally").



 Have a great day!