Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Deep Thoughts

One of the biggest privileges and challenges I have every week is to teach an adult women's Bible Study class on Sundays at Immanuel.  When Lifeway offered The Gospel Project as a 3 year plan for systematically teaching everyone in the church, preschoolers-adults, the doctrines of our faith through weekly lessons, we joined in.  It was a shift for many of us in style and substance, but the challenges, the questions, the topics and scriptures we have studied together have been of great benefit.

Every week I tell my class that there is way more than I can cover in this 45 minute class.  There will be questions left unanswered and thoughts we don't have time to explore.  Technology is such a blessing when other Christian leaders can get together, though not in person, to share wisdom and insight from scripture on a particular topic for the building up of the church.  To add to the overwhelming content of student and teacher books, The Gospel Project offers additional resources online.  Even though it is far more than I can adequately communicate to my class as a teacher, I am so thankful for the truth that Christians will never come to the end of our knowledge of God.  We should be happy to be challenged every day in our thinking.  I am so thankful for the people in my life with whom I can discuss hard topics, especially my husband who helps me think through everything.  These challenges should drive us to scripture and the truth that God gives us there.  We can't think thoughts that are too big for God.

We are all busy.  We fill our days with many activities. However, we all take time for what we really value.  So, here's a little challenge.  Take an hour.  Put on your earbuds, pull up this sermon.  Mop & vacuum the floors (like I did).  Go for a walk, a run.  Fold laundry.  Drive to and from work.  Just sit on the couch.  Listen to this.  Think about it.  Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not.  We have to think about these questions.  Everything about how you live is based on what you think about God.