Spiritual Gifts?

On Sunday, we asked what two things you'd save from your burning house (no restrictions) if all your family and pets were out safely. Many of you spoke of things that had sentimental value to you personally. We then asked what would you give your neighbor if their house burned and they were left with nothing. WOuld you give them your grandfather's old guitar? The point: God hasn't just blessed us with material possessions, but also with spiritual gifts. It's by these spiritual gifts that we should be serving others.

Explain what you feel are your personal spiritual gifts from God. How do you think you could use your personal gifts to serve others?

Sacraments

Last week, Pastor Bryant Anderson taught the class all about the sacraments. He also discussed the differences of what Presbyterians believed vs. what Roman Catholics and a few other Protestant denominations believe.

What are the two sacraments that Presbyterians celebrate, and why are they so important?

Challenge HINT!!!

Hi Gang,
I just wanted to touch base with you all to remind you of the challenge. I thought I'd give you a hint to solving this enigma:

HINT #1:
The two most important commandments ARE NOT an opinion. There is a most important and a second most important commandment (according to someone). So, my challenge to you was to find them, and tie in why you think service is so important to God.

HINT #2:
You won't be able to answer this without opening you Bibles. And unless you have memorized scripture (and a lot of it), you probably won't be able to find the answer without using a concordance, or a Google search.

HINT #3:
Jesus

Hope that helps and that you're up to the challenge. Good Luck!

CHALLENGE!!!!!

The law: it was laid down by God to Moses because the Israelites were having a temper tantrum due to their fatigue and impatience on their way to the Promised Land; they were rebelling. So God, instead of turning His back on them, gave them His expectations. In a sense, He gave them a Code to live by. However, the Ten Commandments weren't the only rules to live by; rather, they were the umbrella which pretty much encompassed everything else.

I have a challenge for you this week: What are the two most important Commandments and why? After finding the answer, explain how you came to your conclusion. Next, explain why serving others is so important to God. Since this is a challenge requiring a bit of research and a two part summary, you have over two weeks to answer (since we don't have class on Easter morning). (be sure to note the Bible passages you used to get your answers). For those of you who answer correctly and tie in how service fits into everything, you will receive a pretty cool prize in class on April 19th.

Rules, Rules, Rules!

So, this past Sunday we took a look at the Ten Commandments. What I'd really like to hear is what your impressions were after reading Exodus 20:3-21. What are your feelings about the Ten Commandments? Did something strike a chord? Did anything jump out at you that you haven't really thought about before? Consider the first four Commandments. Which one of those four do you think gives you the biggest challenge. What can you do to challenge yourself to improve in that area(s)?

A "Sticky" Situation

We sin. That's no news flash. But this past Sunday, we began to understand the Good News behind God's forgiveness. However, we discussed the "stickiness" of sin and what we should do in order to "un-stick" the sin. Are we forgiven through Christ's death and resurrection? Sure. But one thing we should strive to do is acknowledge our sins, confess them to God, and repent.

We talked about repentance. In your own words, please explain what the word repent means. Then, tell us why repentance is important. How do you feel about confessing and repenting?

What questions do you have regarding this lesson? And if you have learned something special to your heart, please share it with us.

The Holy Spirit

Over the past three weeks, we've have mainly spoken about two things: The Holy Spirit and Prayer. When we took a look at how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, we also began to understand how the Holy Spirit fits into the "Three-in-one."

I warned you all that this blog would be somewhat "bigger," so hopefully, your responses will be reflective and well thought out:

Please consider the Holy Trinity--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This will serve as a good exercise to help you prepare your personal statement of faith. Consider the following: Who is God the Father; what did He do and what does He do? Who and what is Jesus? What did Jesus do for us? Finally, who and what is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do for us?

Lastly, consider prayer. What is it? Why do we do it? How can we do it? When should we do it?