St Mark UMC offers two adult Sunday School Classes and a children's Sunday School class, all of which take place each Sunday morning at 10:00 am. Please join us for one this Sunday!
The Agape Class is led by a rotation of instructors including: Drew Childers, Eanix Poole, Ed Black, and Hudson Ketch.
The Faith Class is led by Richard Smith, sometimes co-led by Bob Axley.
The Wesley Class is led by John Smythe and Len Motz.
The 'Jesus Loves Me' Children's Sunday School Class is led by Suzy Roberts.
The Agape Class is led by a rotation of instructors including: Drew Childers, Eanix Poole, Ed Black, and Hudson Ketch.
The Faith Class is led by Richard Smith, sometimes co-led by Bob Axley.
The Wesley Class is led by John Smythe and Len Motz.
The 'Jesus Loves Me' Children's Sunday School Class is led by Suzy Roberts.
A Word From The Agape Class
During the month of June, the Agape class studied a portion of the book of Isaiah. We want to thank Reverend Harry Skaggs for teaching some of those classes as he has studied and become very knowledgeable about the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is a complex and lengthy book and there is no way one can satisfactorily study and comprehend it with a few lessons. However, we hope that we can pique your interest enough that you will want to read and study it on your own.
Isaiah means “Salvation of the Lord” and Salvation is a major theme of the book. Isaiah was thought to be from a noble family as he had access to Kings and Priests as well as common folk as he ministered and prophesized in the Southern kingdom of Judah from about 740-680 BC. He was married to a prophetess and was described as having God’s light in him and he wasn’t afraid to let it shine for all to see. He is also described as a man fully in touch with God.
Isaiah has been called several things including the “Messianic Prophet” because he accurately described or predicted the coming of Jesus Christ as the “Messiah” or “Suffering Servant” 700 years before it happened. He has been called “Paul of the Old Testament because of his bold evangelistic preaching and writing. He has been called the Shakespeare of the prophets because of his writing abilities. He wrote the book using whatever literary genres he thought necessary to get the attention of those blind and deaf to spiritual truth including Hebrew poetry and early forms of apocalyptic writing. No other prophetic book is quoted as many times in the New Testament or Jewish annual lectionaries and contemporary Catholic and Protestant lectionaries as Isaiah.
Isaiah lived during a time of geopolitical power struggles and conquests. He kept warning the people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judea (Southern Kingdom) to repent of their sins and live a righteous life pleasing to God or he would exact revenge. Prominent in his writings are the paired expressions “justice and righteousness”. He was appalled that those within the halls of power used the legal system to enrich themselves and cheat the poor and needy. Idol worship was also prevalent.
He witnessed the powerful Assyrians coming in and defeating the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722-721 B.C. and carried the people away and resettled them in other parts of their empire as was their style of governing. Those 10 tribes of Israel were dispersed so effectively that their whereabouts is still unknow until this day. He further predicted that Babylon would become the new world power and they would defeat and carry away those in the Southern Kingdom of Judah for a period of 70 years if they did not repent. This happened about 150 years later. His next prediction was that Persia would become the dominant rulers and King Cyrus would release a remnant of the Jewish captives to return to rebuild Jerusalem.
His book not only addresses the need for everyday righteous living but prophesized many future events. Many of those prophecies have come true such as the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ who was the Messiah and died for everyone’s sins including Jews and Gentiles alike. Many of his prophecies have not come to fruition yet such as God establishing his kingdom on Earth in the Jerusalem area. Hopefully We have stimulated you to read and study the Book of Isaiah for your own edification.
Isaiah means “Salvation of the Lord” and Salvation is a major theme of the book. Isaiah was thought to be from a noble family as he had access to Kings and Priests as well as common folk as he ministered and prophesized in the Southern kingdom of Judah from about 740-680 BC. He was married to a prophetess and was described as having God’s light in him and he wasn’t afraid to let it shine for all to see. He is also described as a man fully in touch with God.
Isaiah has been called several things including the “Messianic Prophet” because he accurately described or predicted the coming of Jesus Christ as the “Messiah” or “Suffering Servant” 700 years before it happened. He has been called “Paul of the Old Testament because of his bold evangelistic preaching and writing. He has been called the Shakespeare of the prophets because of his writing abilities. He wrote the book using whatever literary genres he thought necessary to get the attention of those blind and deaf to spiritual truth including Hebrew poetry and early forms of apocalyptic writing. No other prophetic book is quoted as many times in the New Testament or Jewish annual lectionaries and contemporary Catholic and Protestant lectionaries as Isaiah.
Isaiah lived during a time of geopolitical power struggles and conquests. He kept warning the people of Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judea (Southern Kingdom) to repent of their sins and live a righteous life pleasing to God or he would exact revenge. Prominent in his writings are the paired expressions “justice and righteousness”. He was appalled that those within the halls of power used the legal system to enrich themselves and cheat the poor and needy. Idol worship was also prevalent.
He witnessed the powerful Assyrians coming in and defeating the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722-721 B.C. and carried the people away and resettled them in other parts of their empire as was their style of governing. Those 10 tribes of Israel were dispersed so effectively that their whereabouts is still unknow until this day. He further predicted that Babylon would become the new world power and they would defeat and carry away those in the Southern Kingdom of Judah for a period of 70 years if they did not repent. This happened about 150 years later. His next prediction was that Persia would become the dominant rulers and King Cyrus would release a remnant of the Jewish captives to return to rebuild Jerusalem.
His book not only addresses the need for everyday righteous living but prophesized many future events. Many of those prophecies have come true such as the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ who was the Messiah and died for everyone’s sins including Jews and Gentiles alike. Many of his prophecies have not come to fruition yet such as God establishing his kingdom on Earth in the Jerusalem area. Hopefully We have stimulated you to read and study the Book of Isaiah for your own edification.
A Word From The Faith Class
Disasters have been common in the last few years. There have been numerous tornadoes and hurricanes that caused loss of life and great devastation. During these trying times, there were many acts of bravery and kindness, as well as acts of greediness and cowardice.
People look at disasters in several different ways. One way is to think God is out to get you (He has singled out your state, your community, or your family for special vengeance and punishment). In the Old Testament it was generally believed that bad things were caused by bad behavior. Some believed sin was caused by the sins of their father. So perhaps disaster was caused by bad behavior.
A second way of looking at disasters is to believe that natural disasters occur at random and there is a natural order of things.
Knowing that my God is loving, kind, forgiving, and merciful, I have to believe He would never single out anyone for special punishment (There are consequences that naturally come with bad behavior and poor decision-making, however). John 3:16 tells us how much God loves us and John 10:10 tells us we are to have a full life. Though we will experience trials and tribulations, these verses should help us keep our faith and obedience to God even amid disasters and to fully understand the loving nature of God.
People look at disasters in several different ways. One way is to think God is out to get you (He has singled out your state, your community, or your family for special vengeance and punishment). In the Old Testament it was generally believed that bad things were caused by bad behavior. Some believed sin was caused by the sins of their father. So perhaps disaster was caused by bad behavior.
A second way of looking at disasters is to believe that natural disasters occur at random and there is a natural order of things.
Knowing that my God is loving, kind, forgiving, and merciful, I have to believe He would never single out anyone for special punishment (There are consequences that naturally come with bad behavior and poor decision-making, however). John 3:16 tells us how much God loves us and John 10:10 tells us we are to have a full life. Though we will experience trials and tribulations, these verses should help us keep our faith and obedience to God even amid disasters and to fully understand the loving nature of God.