31 August, 2006

Bible Study: Repent

Tonight was bible study night, the last one before the three week "semester break."

The pastor chose the verse. He wanted us all to look at Acts 2:38 about repenting and being baptized. He wanted us all to study baptism together.

I just could not get excited about the bunch of us getting all doctrinal together. Odd for me, of course, since I used to be SOOO doctrinal, but I really wanted to study experiential scripture.

Anyway, I studied like a bit of a stick in the mud.

:-
But I did study.

:-

We got together, and it turns out the Lord has been moving the message of repentance in his heart, and we talked about repenting all night long. It was fabulous! I had checked my stick in the mudness at the door, and I was so glad. (There were only 4 of us, so it was kind of important that we were all fully engaged.)

:-)

We talked about sin and repentance and how baptism is likened to pickling cucumbers. I thought that was so cool. The pastor's wife brought that one, and he had found it independently as well. A certain ancient Greek explained how to baptize a cucumber in vinegar to turn it into a pickle. We are preserved in Christ.

The conversation then moved into God Himself and our need to hear and talk about Him.

It was two hours of pure delight.

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This post took about 10 minutes to write, once I turned off Agassi and Bagdhatis and got focused. The last presbuteras post will take longer than that, so look for it some time this weekend.

Love ya'll!

11 comments:

Lynne said...

Wow! mind if I steal your pickle image for my own blog? I call myself a pickle and use that image on my blog because of an old family joke -- you have just transformed it for me into something with deep personal significance!!!

Anonymous said...

CP

You mean to tell me that you guys got together to discuss Acts 2:38 and you ended up focusing on repentence over BAPTISM!!!


Good job! I'm proud of you. I think that is exactly where the Lord would want y'all to put your focus.

And as a Church-a-Christer...I'm stealing the analogy, too.
(heh-heh...)

karen said...

CP, I love this....whenever I feel the most like NOT doing something, or being somewhere..I know that I'm SUPPOSED to do it...and I get blessed beyond imagination. Good for you for hanging in there, mud and all!

Milly said...

God knows best

Milly said...

:-

kc bob said...

Great thoughts Kevin - especially the pickle stuff. Repentance seems to be a bit more complex than I used to think ... feels more like a process than an event. This scripture seems to hint at the subtle nature of change:

He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.' "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed." (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Seems that repenting encompasses many senses, our brains and our hearts. Maybe that is why I have to repent so many times over one sin :)

Kevin Knox said...

I hereby relinquish all title and claim to the pastor's wife's idea about the pickle. :-)

The phrase, "Preserved in Christ," was all mine, though, so I relinquish it too. :-D

Here's the link to the Crosswalk lexicon page that gives the illustration.
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=907&version=kjv

Go Lynne!

Kevin Knox said...

DK,

discuss Acts 2:38 and you ended up focusing on repentence over BAPTISM!!!

Hehehe.

Actually, I pushed the conversation back to 2:37, where the people were actually regenerated. :-)

Kevin Knox said...

I know that I'm SUPPOSED to do it

Amen, Karen.

Unfortunately, I knew I was supposed to study better too. :-(

Kevin Knox said...

:-|

I don't know where the pipe character goes. I did a straight up/down line, which usually shows up but I guess it doesn't on the Web.

Kevin Knox said...

Amen, KB,

May the Lord gently fan this little spark into a flame for His body. So much can happen when the body hears and sees and understands and returns to her Bridegroom.

Let it be, Lord.