Please pray for these Children and Relief

Sunday School Text and Thoughts for this week - Is there really "Injustice" in the world, or is it our lack of understanding of God's Justice?

What do with do with apparent Injustice in our eyes? 

Obviously there is Injustice in the world.  Bad things happen to "Good" and the "Godly" but the question I asked in the subject line of this email was meant to give you pause to think.... 

What is Injustice and what does God have to say about it? ..... or more Importantly What does God have to say about His Justice?

Please study the text below and review some of the commentary.  This week should prove to be a very interesting class discussion.

Wrestling with Life's Mysteries
Wrestling with Injustice
Scriptures: Eccl. 3:16-17; 4:1; 8:2-13

The tone at the beginning of our lesson passage is reminiscent of the psalms of lament and imprecation. Those painfully honest Old Testament writers poured out their hearts to God, revealing thoughts that some today would consider ungodly. Expressing to God our anger over the world's sinfulness doesn't necessarily lend itself to sin. God already knows our thoughts. What makes the difference is the statements that begin with, "But…" As in, "But I still trust You. But I know that You are righteous and holy, and I believe You will set all things right in the end." The presence of wickedness in places of judgment only proves that our world is headed for destruction.

Some things to consider:

• Do you place too much trust in human systems of justice?
• Are you willing to endure a lifetime of dissatisfaction with man's law as you anticipate God's ultimate vindication of His people?
  
• Allowing things to work out according to proper protocols in troublesome situations shows we trust God. It's not easy to let injustice prevail when we have no power to control it, but there's no better time to acknowledge Who really is in control.
• How do you think we believers will feel when, in heaven, we know that final judgment has at last been passed upon the wicked?  or Do you think we will experience feelings about it at all, or will it be that we come under a quiet satisfaction and sense of peace?
  

Really, this is all just conjecture. But consider the joy we feel when a brutal criminal receives a life sentence and understand that even that act of justice can't compare to God's perfect, righteous sentence He reserves for the wicked.

Calling the men of our class and others - aka "The Dumpster Fairies"

Doug approached me a few weeks ago about several things that needed to be done around the church.  One was the clearing out of "outdated and unused material" and "junk" that has accumulated over the years on our campus.

I told him I felt sure with our class and the help of a few others, had enough men that we could make a huge difference in just one day if not completely take care of the project.

I am sending this out to let you know so you can be praying about this and then you will be called on in the very near future (couple of weeks) to help with this task.  We are setting up some guidelines and organizing the day so we can be the most efficient as possible.   The work day will be sometime after Jan 18th.  Please be praying about your roll in this request.  More info will follow.

Thanks

Lee

Wrestling with Life's Mysteries - Sunday School Text and thoughts for the Week

First, thank you so much Steve for standing in for Tommy and I.  Our class is so wonderful and it is very nice to have willing and able Servants of The Lord to be able to step up at a moments notice.  Our class is full of them guys...   Now on to the lesson thoughts,

I know this is longer than usual,  but please read the text and notes below for this week.

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As TIME marches on it is so apparent to me God is revealing truth in our lives (my life too) each and everyday through his word (when we go there anyway, hey, I am the chief sinner among sinners)

Please read this TIMEless  (pun very much intended) passage from Ecclesiastes and ponder the thoughts below for this coming Sunday.

Wrestling with Life's Mysteries
Wrestling with Time (The "When" of "Stuff") or The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of What We "go through" during our life on earth.

Scriptures: Eccl. 3:1-14

Human nature causes us to embrace pleasant experiences as "meant to be" and unpleasant ones as mistakes or accidents. We easily assume that good things are supposed to come our way and that bad things should happen to other people. There is enough weak Bible teaching out there to convince many Christians that God wants them to be constantly happy and satisfied. But the reality of life tells us that we should expect both joy and sorrow; the Bible tells us that both come from God's hand. As much as we should face hardship in a trustworthy manner toward God, we should also be willing to weep with other believers as they share their burdens and heartaches with us.

So, what about the struggles and challenges we face as Christian adults;

• If everything is beautiful in God's timing, where is the beauty in your heartache?
• What is He teaching you in the midst of your disappointment?
• If you've ever found yourself able beyond your understanding to empathize with or pray for a fellow Christian over a certain issue, maybe it's time to thank God for that trial He brought you through.

These are questions we should seek answers to in His word.  What does God say to us about these "good and bad times"?

Thanks Lee

* Edited excerpts from Lifeway's lesson for us this week by yours truly :)

"R.C. Sproul's Greatest Battle and How He Recovered | TheResurgence"

Watch this video.  RC Sproul is one of the greater men of God in our lifetime.  A great preacher and theologian.  Listen to a breif story on how he struggled with an addition and how he no longer struggles.  PS  if you struggle with smoking, this is a very good tesitmony to here.  There is victory in Jesus !!!
Sincerely,

Bookmark: http://theresurgence.com/greatest-battle

Sunday School Text for this coming Sunday: Also, remember we will dismiss earlier this Sunday for Worship Services

Luke 1:67-79 (New International Version)

Zechariah's Song

 ⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
 ⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
      because he has come and has redeemed his people.
 ⁶⁹He has raised up a horn^[a] of salvation for us
      in the house of his servant David
 ⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
 ⁷¹salvation from our enemies
      and from the hand of all who hate us—
 ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers
      and to remember his holy covenant,
 ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
 ⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
      and to enable us to serve him without fear
 ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
 ⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
 ⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
      through the forgiveness of their sins,
 ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
 ⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
      and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the path of peace."

Sunday School Text for this coming Sunday: Also, remember we will dismiss earlier this Sunday for Worship Services

Luke 1:67-79 (New International Version)

Zechariah's Song

 ⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
 ⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
      because he has come and has redeemed his people.
 ⁶⁹He has raised up a horn^[a] of salvation for us
      in the house of his servant David
 ⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
 ⁷¹salvation from our enemies
      and from the hand of all who hate us—
 ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers
      and to remember his holy covenant,
 ⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
 ⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
      and to enable us to serve him without fear
 ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
 ⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
 ⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation
      through the forgiveness of their sins,
 ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God,
      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
 ⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness
      and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the path of peace."