Biography of Paul

Our church, like many others, has difficulty finding teachers for Sunday School classes. This is especially true during the Summer Quarter. So, what we do each Summer is decide on some kind of theme, then we find 13 teachers and assign them a specific topic in that theme. Those teachers teach the same class twice (once in one room and once in another room, usually the next week).

This Summer we are doing biographies and I was asked to teach on the Apostle Paul. Now this is a challenge because how do you cover his biography in a single 45 minute class? You can't.

I just taught it my second week. I did it first in early July and then today...about 4 weeks in between. So, it wasn't as "fresh" to me today. Also, I was sick yesterday. On Friday my throat started hurting. Yesterday I started experiencing congestion, sinus headache, and general acheiness. I actually contemplated calling somebody to teach my class. Anyway, even though I wasn't feeling all that well, I went and taught my class. I felt punchy. My brain was certainly not "firing on all pistons."

I thought I did a good job, but I thought my first one was better. Erin disagreed. She said she was probably the only person who knew I wasn't feeling well and she thought I did a much better job this time.

Anyway, here are the lesson, a hand-out, and the PowerPoint.

Teacher Notes

Hand-out (Time-line Apostle Paul)

PowerPoint

Scripture Slides: The Backlog Edition

The scripture slides that I have posted seem to get the most Internet traffic from search engines. Anyway, with the posting problems I was having, I haven't uploaded any of the scripture slides that I have been working. So, here they are for your enjoyment. Click on the slide to get the higher resolution, better quality picture.

At the first of the year, Don did a seven-part series entitled "A Word to the Wise" where he discussed practical life issues with guidance from the book of Proverbs. So, I did a bunch of Proverbs slides. The Proverbs about wives, husbands, and marriage were not created for the "Word to the Wise Series" but were created for the recent "The Two Shall Become One" series.

Proverbs

Proverbs 1:8

Proverbs 2:6

Proverbs 3:6

Proverbs 3:9-10

Proverbs 6:23

Proverbs 10:4
(I don't really like this one...I need to learn how to do masking or layering or something better)

Proverbs 11:13

Proverbs 11:15

Proverbs 14:17

Proverbs 15:5

Proverbs 18:22

Proverbs 19:14

Proverbs 20:20

Proverbs 21:13

Proverbs 22:1

Proverbs 27:15
(I made this one as a joke. I double-dog dare anyone to actually use this one.)

Proverbs 31:10

This is the most recent slide I made. Don spoke just this past Sunday on this verse.

Deuteronomy 6:4

I made the next several slides for a sermon Don did entitled the "Abundant Life."

Ephesians 2:6

Jeremiah 29:11

John 10:10

John 15:11

Philippians 2:5-7

Philippians 4:4

Psalm 16:11

These last two (with some of the ones from Proverbs) were for the series on Marriage.

Song Of Solomon 4:10
(I read through the book of Song of Solomon to find any passages that could be used. I had forgotten how explicit the book is. Even though it is very graphic, the author's tone exudes the purity of innocence in a marital relationship. Even so, I still became very uncomfortable reading the book; but not because of its frankness. Rather, I felt like I was intruder in the sacred intimacy.)

Ephesians 5:25

Unquestioned Authority or "I know more than you do"

Children are a wonderful blessing from God, full of surprises. I know (and expect) that we will have "issues" with our children as they grow older due to the fallen nature of man. Sometimes, though, I am caught off-guard by how seemingly early they exhibit certain behaviors.

For example, Lannom is now 16 months old. He LOVES to play with the screen. He KNOWS he is not supposed to play with it. Even at 16 months he will walk wrought iron fireplaceover and stand by it, then look to see if he is being observed before making his move. If we firmly say, "Lannom, No!" He will innocently look at us and blow us a kiss.

Last night I made dinner for the kids, popcorn chicken. When I gave it to Mihaela, she said, "MMMM....I love corn dogs." I replied, "Those aren't corn dogs, they are popcorn chicken." She then ARGUED with me that they were mini-corn dogs and clearly not popcorn chicken. She even went so far as to ask her Mom to set me straight.

I couldn't believe it. Four years old and she already knows more than I do. I thought I had a few more years of unquestioned authority on subject matters.

Haven't Published: Moved Servers

Yeah....I know...its been quiet. I had some trouble posting using Labels with the FTP site I was using. So, I've moved servers. Let's see if this helps.

Also, I will be going back and posting the rest of Bible Study Methods class. Those will be back-dated.

My Biography, My Testimony

For one of the Wednesday night classes this Summer the church has asked several members to share their testimony. I was asked to share my story.

I was very hesitant to do this because I didn't know that I had anything to really share. Anyway, I did agree to do it. To prepare for the class, I wrote an autobiography. I didn't know what I wanted to say, so the autobiography was just to make me think about stories and influences and what not. I just kept praying for the Holy Spirit to give me the words to speak.

When I went to the class, I still had no idea what exactly to speak on. When the Education Minister" introduced" me he mentioned that he had become intrigued with my background during my "How to study the Bible" class when I mentioned I had been a minister for a church planting in Wisconsin.

So, I knew then what stories to tell and thanked God for telling me what to say. I started by stating that I have never understood people who are "confused' about what God wants for their lives. God always seems to be moving me where He wants me, when He wants me to be there.

I then told different stories about how God had prepared me for ministry. I told the story of how we moved to Wisconsin. I told the story of how we left Wisconsin and how it was at just the right time. As I ended each story with the 20/20 hindsight of how God had worked, I re-iterated that I never understood people who are "confused' about what God wants for their lives.

Anyway, for prosperity, here is my autobiography. It is very boring. But, maybe in 20 0r 30 years my kids may want it.