Sunday school – yes; nursery – no.

There will be Sunday school this Sunday as we finish our marriage unit.  However, there will not be nursery this Sunday so please plan accordingly, and we should also expect a smaller crowd since it is labor day weekend and some parents may not have an alternative to nursery care during the sunday school hour.

And the class shall go on…

Matt and I have heard a couple of people ask whether the CIA class will continue after the marriage unit, which has taken most of the summer, wraps up.   The answer is a resounding yes!

Obviously the summer session has been a departure from the class format and style that preceeded it — whereas we were “circling up” with an attendance of 10-15 each week, the popular marriage unit increased our numbers to over 50 and necessitated somewhat of a more traditional classroom layout, though I have been pleased that the conversation has remained open rather than lecturer-dominated.

In any case, I suspect that the end of this topic and departure of our popular guest leader, Dave D., will reduce our numbers and expose the “original core” members.  However, I really do hope that some of the people who joined us over the summer, especially those who were not already with a class, will consider staying with us.  I think we’ve proven that we can expand considerably while keeping a lot of the dynamics we enjoyed about our class before this summer.

Stay tuned (soon!) for a run-down of future topics. We are working to develop a long term plan that will help us all get excited about our hour together on Sundays.

Touchy Subject

Well, when you come to the “sex” lesson in a marriage unit in Sunday School, you’re never going to have completely frank discussion, and maybe smaller settings are better for truly personal sharing on that subject anyways.  However, I am continually encouraged by the open spirit that most folks have, and the lighthearted laughs we can all have while doing that sharing. I think we did a good job of balancing some of the practical issues of sex-in-marriage with the more theoretical, theological analysis of sex as a reflection of God’s desire for his people.

I’ll share one lesson that I personally will take away from it: I think that if nothing else, we should at least occasionally experience passion and excitement during worship.  This is when God is reaching out to us – pursuing us – and if we aren’t excited by that, then our hearts are truly cold.