New Testament Hope

Being with the EPIC crew was again a privilege this morning. I appreciated very much the way everyone participated in the lesson and all the questions that people asked. I enjoyed the interaction.

I read a quote this morning from Anthony Hoekema, and I thought you might want to see it written down. "The Christian hopes for far greater blessings in the future, not because he now has so little, but because he already has so much," (The Bible and the Future).

This morning challenged me to think about a narrow view of worship. I stumbled around trying to answer one of the questions asked in class, and I think it's because my thinking on worship is too restricted. Ever worshipped God in the middle of a basketball game because the game was so fantastic? Ever been in a conversation so rich that it made you worship? How about seeing a piece of art that made you love God more because of its beauty? I'm pondering whether one of the reasons we have a hard time imagining life in the New Heaven and Earth is because we don't think about worship in broad enough categories. Please add to these thoughts with a comment or a question.

I probably won't be with you next Sunday (Feb 4). My older son, Ben, is hoping to play football in college, and this weekend he has official visit in Virginia. We tried to get a flight back on Saturday night, but couldn't. When I'm back with you, we'll take a look at Old Testament prophecy before diving into the book of Revelation as we continue to find Biblical reasons for hope for the future.

Is this thing on?

You EPIC'ers seemed to be really thinking this morning as we talked about the new heavens and the new earth. The looks on your faces said to me that most of you were processing a lot, maybe even a whole new picture of what eternity is going to be like. Let me know any thoughts or questions you have on today's topic.

Also, I would appreciate your feedback on how quiet you guys are at times. I made the standard joke of "Is this thing on?" this morning, but often when I ask questions, you don't have anything to say. What's going on? How I am missing yo?. I wondered if you're not used to interacting with your Sunday School teacher or if I've done something to get off on the wrong foot with you. Please let me know any input you have on why things are so quiet. You can post anonymously; so, I encourage you to be honest. I want my teaching in EPIC to work well for you.

The Second Coming

It was good being with all of you from OMPC's EPIC class again this morning. I couldn't tell exactly what you were all thinking about what I was teaching on, but my sense was that you were kind of taking it all in. I'm still remembering several of your, "Wow"s as I talked through what the Bible tells us about the end of time. Bottom line: if you're feeling more hopeful, then I'm doing my job.

Please let me know any comments or questions you have. I'll check in here once or twice daily through the week to see if you've posted anything, and I look forward to being with you next Sunday. We'll be looking at the New Heavens and the New Earth.

I forgot to mention in class the red sheet that I had put on your chairs. It's an Amazon list of books (and a CD) that I think go well with eschatology. I tried to link to it in this post, but I'm not sure if it's going to work.

Help with the Reformed Confessions?

If you're not sure about the reformed confessions and catechisms, follow the link (or click the title of this post) to get to a page that should hep you get started. Feel free to post a question here, using the Comment button, and I'll get back with you.

EPIC Eschatology

Well now, "EPIC Eschatology" has a little bit of nice sound to it! It was going being with all of you in the EPIC class this morning, and I look forward to being with you for the next 7-8 weeks as we study eschatology together. Hopefully, you can see from this morning that, if nothing more, our study together will be engaging. Please let me know anything I can do for you along the way to help you learn better, especially in making sense of what the Scriptures mean in the daily wolrd of your life. Also, let me know any questions or your concerns that you have. The previous classes I've worked with haven't really wanted to interact much via this Blog; Crissy tells me you guys will be different!

As I mentioned in class, I'd like to hear from you questions that you'd like me to address during the unit. If I can give you a quick answer here, I will. If I don't answer you this week, it means that you've raised a good question, and I'll plan to address it in the weeks ahead.

So, post your questions by making a comment. Also, use the link (or click the title of this post) if you want to get to a copy of the Belgic confession (or other reformed confessions since the link takes you to a page I built to collect together confession resources).