Andrew, Philip, John: Little Brothers & Chicken Little (12 Ordinary Men, Part 3)

Visitors

• The Hartley girls

Announcements

• Todd Watson expressed his thanks to the class for our support of the Employment Transition ministry.  (It was great to see Todd in class!)
• Officers meeting: Tuesday at 7:30, somewhere in the church.  Rick will get us a room # as soon as he has it.
• Beth Smith will begin working with our class to develop a leadership program for the church, sometime around March 29.  Rick Shamblin passed around a sign up sheet.  If you're interested, feel free to contact him: rick.shamblin@yahoo.com.
• The church needs greeters.
• The Connections Band will play the Hits of the 70s at the Allen Performing Arts Center, March 30 at 7:00.

Joys/Concerns (my apologies if I missed any names or details)

• The Norwoods' neighbor, Marge Baker - her cancer has metastasized.
• Jana Bell's step-sister's friend's husband was lost in a motorcycle accident.
• Stacey Lawrence's uncle had bypass surgery on his leg.
• Two of Paula Harrison's brothers: one with heart surgery, the other with liver failure.
• Pray for the college kids travelling to/from Spring Break.
• The church was broken into overnight.  They're still assessing the damage.

Bible verses

• John 1:40-46, 6:5-9, 12:20-22
• Luke 9:49-50, 52-56

Themes

• Continued study of the apostles: Andrew, Philip, John
• Andrew - Lived in the shadow of his older brother Simon (Peter).  He is a very honorable figure in the Gospels, always saying or doing the right thing.  (Clay likened him to former Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings - see, it isn't ALL about baseball!)
• Philip - Jumped all in when sought out and called by Christ.  Seems to have been an administrator for the group.  He was devout, detail-minded, and analytical.  (Clay likened him to Radar from M*A*S*H.)
• Andrew and Philip are the prime participants in the passages from John listed above.
• John - Outlived the other disciples.  He's been known by many different names, including the apostle of love and John of Patmos.  During Jesus' earthly ministry, John might have been the least likely of the twelve to become known as the apostle of love, as evidenced by the passages from Luke.
• From John, we can learn the need for balance.  Specifically, John had to learn to balance truth with love, ambition with humility, and glory with suffering.

Next Week

• Part 4 of our Lenten study of 12 Ordinary Men: James the Less, Bartholomew (Nathanael), and James.

March 11 - Small Group

A small subset of our class showed up: the Bells, the Yearsleys, Karen Lanier, Jennifer Rawlinson, and Carol Moran.  This was due to the time change, the start of Spring Break, and the wet weather.  We decided to postpone the planned lesson.

We made a circle of chairs and the 7 of us had a great visit.  In particular, Jennifer was able to share her great experience.  Her in-laws celebrated their 70th(!!) anniversary and the whole family gathered.  Jennifer spent quality time with all of them, and Chip's daughter, Micah.

12 Ordinary Men: Peter & Judas (not Iscariot) - What's In a Name? (March 4th)

Rick Shamblin filled in for Rick Bell who went to New Orleans to run a half-marathon.

Visitors

• Mike & Lynn Hood

Announcements

• Cookie Caper 3/18
• The church needs Sunday morning greeters

Joys/Concerns

• The Yearsleys' eldest daughter, Nicole, got engaged, which is a great joy.
• Prayers for Paul Nauschutz's friend Joe Graham.
• John Durham's son received a scholarship.
• Melinda Lawrence's uncle finished chemotherapy for esophogeal cancer and signs are good.

Lesson - Part 2 of our Lenten study of the 12 disciples, presented by Clay

Bible Verses: The listing of the 12 apostles, which is done in 4 separate verses - Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13.

Themes:

• The 12 can be thought of in 3 groups of 4.  The people in each group are always the same, although the order changes.  The first man listed in each group is always the same, marking them as leaders of their respective groups: Peter, Philip, and James (son of Alphaeus).
• Discussion of nicknames, leading to Jesus nickname of Simon, Peter (the rock), as well as the Gospel-writers' nicknames for Judas (son of James): Lebbaeus and Thaddeus.
• Peter is an expectant nickname.  Jesus needed Peter to be the rock of the early church, as opposed to the impulsive, unreliable Simon he had always been.
• How Simon grew into the role of Peter, the Rock.

12 Ordinary Men: Introduction (Feb. 26)

Visitors

• Desiree, Kelley Gatewood's niece

Announcements

• Cookie Caper - 3/18

Joys/Concerns

• Cathy Phillips' grandmother broke her hip.  The family is dealing with treatment options.
• Marie Moore's sister diagnosed with Lupus.  It's a blessing to finally have a diagnosis.
• Marie is also up for another job & trying to decide what to do.
• Duff Althaus is starting a new job.
• Kay Schafer, Susan's mother, is still receiving treatment following her recent surgery.
• Stacey Lawrence's mother's friend has stage 4 cancer.

Lesson - Part One of our Lenten Study: 12 Ordinary Men, presented by Clay

Bible Verse: 1Corinthians 1:26-29

Skit: Jesus as a contestant on The Apprentice, starring John Coyle as Jesus and Duff Althaus as Donald Trump.  Humorous look at how Jesus created an unconventional path for His eternal plan to save souls through the ages.

Themes:

• Why study the disciples?
• The Twelve, The Teacher, The Task, The Training