Uff-dah.
I graduated from H.S. in 1968. Yes, my 50th reunion is next month. No, I am not attending!
In a month I will be 68. I recently realized that those two numbers (68 and '68) are the same. Then I wondered if that's coincidental or a pattern. That is, how often does it happen that someone's H.S. graduation and their age are the same?
The answer is probably pretty obvious, but it involves numbers so I didn't go any further than to just wonder.
Now you know how I did in H.S. math.
I have often given thanks that I grew up in the era of compassionate passing, of just moving the poor kid along 'cause we all know he's never gonna get this material and 24-year olds don't belong in H.S.
Did you read the quote on the pic at the top of Saturday's post? Besides being ineffectively worded and improperly punctuated, it's pretty funny.
It got me to thinking about a sermon idea. Or maybe it's better suited for a brief article. It's based on a look at biblical characters who didn't hear God and why they didn't.
- Elijah didn't hear God because he had a preconceived idea of what God "sounded" like. He thought God spoke with a huge voice and therefore didn't hear his quiet whisper.
- Samuel didn't hear God because he didn't figure God would speak to a young lad like himself. Surely God only spoke to priests or other important people.
- Peter (the rooftop) didn't hear God because his understanding of truth was firmly formed and didn't allow for what God was saying to him.
That's as far as I got with my list. Can you think of other biblical examples?
University Fellowship Church (UFC) is going through some significant staff changes. The pastor of community life and missions left a month ago to plant a new church. The pastor who leads UFC's very large college ministry on the U of O campus told Brett two weeks ago that he didn't belong at UFC - that he didn't share the church's theological or ministry priorities. That came as a total surprise to Brett because the guy had given no indication of the near total disconnect he felt.
UFC offers a class called The Bible Project that meets for an hour before the worship service each Sunday. It goes for a year and those who participate have a daily reading from the Bible that will have them read the entire Bible through the course of the year. Then they meet on Sunday so a leader can give an overview of what they'll read the next week and then lead a discussion of what they've read over the past week.
The two staff members who have just departed and whose positions are not yet filled were part of the rotation of leaders for that class. Another guy on staff who also taught is adding some of Brandon's responsibilities to his to-do list and so should have this responsibility removed from his plate.
This morning I agreed to teach the class. In the weeks and months ahead they will add additional teachers to the rotation, but for now I'm it.
I'm glad to serve, believe in the purposes of the class, and look forward to the interaction during that hour. It will involve a little time each week preparing a lesson plan and a slide presentation, but 10 years of teaching BL 101 (OT Intro) and BL 202 (NT Intro) should ease that load considerably.
It starts next Sunday.
One more sleep!!
I fed the last of the grass hay this evening and have very little grain left. A trip to the feed store is a must-do tomorrow and getting the trailer hooked up is a part of that task that I'm not looking forward to given the amount of hip pain I have. I'll probably also get a bale of alfalfa hay so I don't have to make another trip in a week.
A bale of alfalfa weighs 140 pounds and a bale of grass hay about half that. A sack of grain is 50 lbs.
It's time to fix myself some supper. I think a couple of hot dogs and chips will do the trick nicely. Add in a banana so it feels like there's something healthy about the meal and call it good. Then there's a sink full of dishes to be washed and my evening set of exercises. A recorded episode of Elementary should wrap things up for the evening.
Mañana.
Mañana.
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