Alumni Bible Study

A Bible study initially set up for alumni of the Senior Sunday School Class at the First United Methodist Church of Lufkin, Texas. It is our hope and our prayer that this study touches the hearts of those who participate and helps spread the love and grace of Our Lord and God. All who want to learn more about God are welcome

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Location: lufkin, Texas, United States

I am a Christian family man, Lay Pastor and writer from Deep East Texas. I love life, and I enjoy working with young people. I have published two books; "A Small Mind Among Tall Trees" and "God If You Are Not Too Busy, Can You Give Me a Hand". If you want to obtain a copy drop me an e-mail or go to amazon.com or barnesand noble.com . I have been a salesman, cowman and athlete in my past. I still have a strong sense of humor and am not afraid to use it.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Romans 5:1-5

Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we

have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us
This brings us to a very difficult part of Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome. Through faith we become Christians and children of God. That is a pretty high standing, children of the King of Kings. As Christians we are instructed to be servants to one another, even to those who hate us. This makes us slaves to mankind. Are we royalty or slaves? Yes.
The Christians of the first century that Paul is writing to understood suffering, and would continue to understand this for centuries to come. Putting this in prospective- say that if the Europeans coming to America to settle this continent were vigorously persecuted, even to the point of death, and we were still persecuted in the same way or worse to this day, would the church in America be as strong? The Roman government treated the Christians really treated the Christians bad for hundreds of years, ( remember being thrown to the lions?) Yet the Church grew and became strong.
Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance-character, and character-hope. In verses 2-4, substitute "let us" for "we" and re-read these verses. Remember- being a Christian should not always make life easy, just rewarding.
Prayer- Lord, help us remember that it is through suffering that we gain hope. Help us persevere through the challenges we may face. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

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