I was most encouraged by the attendance at Sunday School this morning. It was also good that a newcomer to the class was comfortable enough to share her thoughts with the class. As we get further along into the book I believe the opportunity for dialog will increase, and as we interact with one another our understanding as well as our ability to converse with those outside the faith will improve.
I hope that the critical comments on the ‘ministries’ of those outside of orthodox Christianity were not seen as mean spirited and against the man. It is entirely appropriate to critique a person’s work, especially when it is done in public. It is even more important when it involves the gospel of Jesus Christ where the eternal destinies of those involved are at risk. All this is to be done in gentleness, meekness, and humility. I think in these matters one can feel with Paul when he asks who is sufficient for these things. Thanks be to God for His Spirit and His Word.
One of the topics that we need more time with is the word ‘faith’ and the many different ways the word is used today. We need to be clear on what we mean when we use the word. We also must be attentive to what others are thinking when they hear the word. It is likely that others are not thinking about faith in a reformed manner, and if we converse using the same words but not the same meanings we have little hope of anything productive coming out of our dialog.
If you weren’t in class this morning that is not a problem. You can enter into this experiment anytime. It is also not necessary be a class attendee to comment. All are welcome and encouraged to register and comment. If you have questions you can reach me by email by clicking on ‘email randy’ on the side column. We look forward to hearing from you.
randy
As one of the “new”-bies to the class, I’m blessed to be able to join you all and am really looking forward to these next few months. Keller’s book is going to be an awesome and timely study. An examined faith welcomes critique and in turn can challenge an unexamined critique by those who might otherwise dismiss the faith. May the truth of the Gospel shine! Reasons abound! Go Tim Go!
As part of the class, I’m going to try to get up to speed on posting on a blog. Never done it before, so I’m gonna have to slog through it. This, my maiden voyage, and my boat is not even ship-shape… in fact, I seem to be taking on water even as I type… glub glub glub.
Glenn+
Welcome to the blogosphere, or should I say ‘blogosea,’ Pastor. I think we all would consider the rank of newbie appropriate as we set off on our maiden voyage. After a little seasoning at sea I think we will have our sealegs and maybe get promoted to Newbie First Class. In the meantime, we have ample mates to help us bail if we take on too much water. Arrghh, matey!
randy