PS Note
Paul Sartarelli
May 17
Love and Equip
Two words for the day—Love and Equip.
Love. I suppose one expects to hear that word a lot in church and spiritual circles. Jesus mentioned love quite often. As a matter of fact, he said that the emblem of recognition for the authentic Christian would be love. “All men,” Christ challenged us emphatically, “would know that you are my disciples by the way you love one another.” Apostle John’s New Testament letter is all about love. Love is mentioned thirty times in his short epistle. Our passage this Sunday begins and ends thusly, “Dear friends, let us love one another … Whoever loves God must also love his brother“ (I John 4:7, 21).
Jesus also warned us that in the last days, most people’s love would “grow cold.” One might guess that we are in the last days for it is rather chilly in the world, isn’t it? From the airwaves to our families, a coldness and a loveless odor seems to be everywhere. What can be done?
Bottom of the Page
David Fletcher
May 17
Put a Title on These Two Paragraphs
I taught a class on Sunday and had a great time with the group. Since the passage had to do with children, and because it was Mother’s Day, some humor about kids was appropriate:
- Two kids were trying to figure out what game to play. One said, “Let’s play doctor.” “Good idea,” said the other. “You operate, and I’ll sue.”
- There are only two things a child will share willingly: a cold and their mother’s age.
- Cleaning your house while your kids are at home is like trying to shovel the driveway during a snowstorm.
We all laughed and enjoyed the humor that kids bring into our lives. Kids can certainly be little angels and sometimes little terrors!
In teaching through Matthew 18, I broke the class into small groups. The assignment for them was to put a title on the first two paragraphs of Matthew 18. It sounds like such a simple assignment, right? All you have to do is come up with a title that accurately reflects what the paragraph is talking about. Consider the passage and what it says. Consider the main theme and how it flows with the next paragraph.