That’s Mark writing on the board
... and that’s Al, the other prof.
We are in the ‘dungeon’ of the D.Min building – no windows, but good internet reception, so I can listen in on class and sneak out here too.... memories of passing notes at school! That's Brian(L) and Tom (R)
We spent a fair bit of the day doing a stock take of how our years have been. A all the guys here are pastors; about three have moved churches, another couple have had really tough years for all sorts of reasons – some have had good years!
One of the things we are going to do, is spend some time EACH day reading and rereading the New Testament book of Colossians – and asking the question: ‘what does it say to us about being God’s people?’ Interesting that when you read, reread and ‘chew’ on a text far from becoming boring, it does the opposite - you uncover things, you hear things that you can’t see at a cursory skim-through.
Why don’t you try it with me? Try here if you are bible-less: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/
Colosse was a smaller market town on a trade route that had seen better days. It’s ‘sister city’ of Laodeceia was powering on in prestige and wealth, but poor old Colosse had never really recovered from two major earthquakes. There would have been a Jewish community pushing for adherence to Old Testament Law; all manner of mystical ideas; all the traditions found in a smaller town; a reverence for Caesar as Lord, a loss of identity and uncertainty for the future... So why does Paul write these dudes this letter?
Monday night we were all invited to Mark and Nina’s home
for the best Chinese meal! Great hosts, good company!
