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I'd like to post a thought or two for your consideration.  These are mostly things that did not make it into the discussion during Sunday School.

1.  For those of you who believe that all spiritual gifts are still operational and available today, compare what you see and hear in Pentecostal-type churches to 1 Corinthians 14.  There you will see that Paul downplays the importance of tongues and sets out strict rules that are nowhere enforced today (only one should speak tongues at a time, women should not speak in tongues [or, as the text puts it, they should "remain silent"], and there should be interpretation for every tongue).

2.  1 Cor. 13 seems to teach that miraculous gifts will cease before Jesus returns.  Many believe that 13:6-13 refer to a time when "perfection" (literally, "the perfect/complete") would replace the "in part."  Miraculous gifts served to provide new revelation from God, revelation that was necessary to explain and make sense of the redemptive works of God.  We have that today in the form of the New Testament.  So many believe that the completed New Testament is "the perfect" that replaces tongues and new revelations (that which is partial and incomplete).  What do you think?

3.  Nowhere in Scripture is there a command to pray for the gift of tongues.  Those who teach that you must seek the gift of tongues are teaching something Scripture doesn't teach.

4.  Biblical tongues were foreign languages unknown to the speaker; that is, someone who spoke in tongues in Bible days spoke real languages, just ones they otherwise didn't know (but someone else in the world did know!).  See Acts 2 for an example of this.

Maybe this will generate some discussion!

This is the place to discuss spiritual gifts, in particular miraculous spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues, being slain in the Spirit, gifts of healing, interpretation of tongues, new revelations from God, etc.  Feel free to ask questions, add your thoughts, or get clarification of something I haven't explained very well.

Here is the place to continue/start any discussion regarding the doctrine of Hell.  In the adult Sunday School hour we discussed biblical images of hell (fire, worms, darkness, separation), the suffering of hell, and reconciling eternal hell with God's goodness and justice.  Feel free to comment, ask questions, or simply view the discussion here. 

Next month's topic: Spiritual gifts - are they for today?  (When I say "spiritual gifts" I'm referring to things like speaking in tongues, miraculous healing, and manifestations of the Spirit claimed by modern charismatics (shaking, being "slain in the spirit," etc.)

I found this website, which gives a lot of information about abortion in the United States:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html

A few examples of what you will find on that site:
- From 1973-2005, more than 45 million abortions have occurred
- Women who have never married obtain two-thirds of all abortions
- 61.3% of all abortions take place before the 9th week of pregnancy

Welcome to the Hot Topic for May: abortion.  I know that this is an emotionally and politically-charged subject, which may make some people uncomfortable discussing it.  My aim in the lesson (if you plan to attend) is to discuss briefly some biblical passages affirming the sanctity of human life, then to address common questions/arguments from pro-choice advocates, giving a defense of a pro-life position.  We will conclude with an extended time of discussion, which may spill over into the May 9th Sunday School class.

Some questions to consider as you prepare your mind and heart:
1. Is abortion murder?  Why or why not?
2. Should abortion be allowed in cases of rape or incest?
3. When does the embryo/fetus attain personhood and protection under the law?
4. What does it mean to be a person?
5. What makes an embryo different from any other collection of cells (like a cancerous tumor)?
6. Is it ever morally acceptable to have an abortion?

Feel free to comment on any of the above questions.

Thanks!

I have found a way to link my notes (which are stored on docstoc.com) to my blog.  So to get my notes, do this:

1. Go to www.haveanotherthink.blogspot.com
2. Look at the entry for 3/31/2010 called "Links to Hot Topic Studies for RECC"
3. Click on the link for which you want the notes.

OR

Click on the following links to take you there directly:
Homosexuality and Gay Marriage:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=32237310

Missions Issues:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=32237321

Missions Issues Chart:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=32237322

Baptism:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/32238171/Baptism

The Resurrection:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/37554364/The-Resurrection

Abortion:
     http://www.docstoc.com/docs/37554550/Abortion


It's that easy.

Welcome to the Hot Topic study for Easter Sunday: Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?  You may be surprised to know that many, many people deny that Jesus rose from the dead.  Such people would rather believe that the disciples stole the body, or Jesus didn't really die on the cross and walked out of the tomb on his own power, or the disciples went to the wrong tomb! 

We are going to answer two questions in this discussion:

1. How do we know that Jesus rose from the dead?
2. What difference does it make?

I hope to be able to add some audio links somewhere on the church site or on my personal blog site, www.haveanotherthink.blogspot.com.  I'll let you know which one works best.

Welcome to the third Hot Topic in our year-long series.  This week we are focusing on the New Testament teaching on baptism, addressing questions such as: does a person need to be baptized to be saved?  What is the proper form of baptism (immersion, sprinkling, pouring, etc.)?  What if a person has a "deathbed conversion" and is not able to be baptized: will they still go to Heaven?

Feel free to leave a question/comment on this thread, and we'll see you this Sunday!

Great Site. Was added to mybookmarks. Greetings From USA.

Welcome to the second hot topic in our year-long series.  This week we will be discussing questions related to missions (but not necessarily restricted to missions).  The main question we will be addressing is this: How will God judge those who have never heard of Jesus?  This question touches on several other issues: verses in Scripture that seem to say that all will be saved, the justice/fairness of God, God's love vs. God's justice, the extent of the benefits of the death of Christ, the necessity for missionaries, and probably many more topics. 

As you can see, we will probably not get through this first question in the hour we will have together Feb. 7th, so I will list other possible questions for discussion:

1. Suppose you are on a mission trip and your host family offers you a traditional beverage which happens to contain alcohol.  Hospitality is a major concern in this culture, and to refuse it might confuse the host or possibly insult them; however, if you are opposed to drinking any alcohol, you might feel as if you are compromising you values.  What do you do?

2. A missionary writes home to ask for advice regarding the following situation: he and his wife are working among a tribe that has never heard the gospel.  The chief of the tribe is ready to receive Christ, but he is also married to 5 women and is confused as to what he should do.  Should the chief divorce four of his wives or keep them all?  Does the Bible explicitly condemn polygamy?

3. Do all religions lead to the same place?

4. What is the role of the American church in foreign missions?  Another related question: what should be the focus of short-term mission trips for American churches: building projects, prayer trips, visiting local missionaries/churches?

There is a nearly endless supply of questions related to evangelism and missionary work.  I hope you feel free to jump in and address any or all of the questions (or post your own!).  Thanks.