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Communicate with the Sunday school superintendent cc absence
Communicate with the Sunday school superintendent if you must be absent
Today's tip may seem so obvious that it is a waste of the ink needed to print it. Common experience, however, has proven that while it is only the polite, proper, responsible thing to alert the Sunday school superintendent when one has to be absent, many Sunday school teachers do not do so.
There will always be extraordinary circumstances (such as having a flat tire on the way to church and then finding that one's cell phone is dead) that may prevent the teacher from giving the superintendent ample warning that he cannot make it to class this Sunday. Many times, however, teachers know at least the night before - if not the whole week - that they will not be at church the coming Sunday. In such circumstances, the only responsible thing to do is to contact the superintendent as soon as one knows.
- If you know you will be gone an upcoming Sunday (for vacation, etc.), please inform your Sunday school superintendent as soon as you know, even if it is a week or two in advance.
- If you are sick or not well, or for some other reason are uncertain if you will miss, let your superintendent know a day or two in advance, if possible.
The Urgency of Repentance
Read Revelation 2:12-17
“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (v. 16).
“By order of the circuit court of Johnson County, Kansas, you are hereby summoned to appear for jury service on the date and time of the court indicated below.” Perhaps you have received a letter similar to this in your mailbox. Somewhere in the letter, you may run across the inspiring words, “It is your civic duty.” As if they sense your civic duty is running on fumes, a stern warning also appears. “Failure to obey this summons may be punishable by a fine.” The implication is simple. Show up, or else…
Most humans do not respond well to such enforcement tactics. We want to be free to make our own decisions without aide or coercion. We want options, but not right and wrong. We want choices, but not consequences. God’s reality does not allow for such relativism. With a sense of urgency, God warns the church at Pergamum to repent. Their compromise is leading them toward certain judgment. Such a warning is an act of grace, not harshness. In fact, all of the “or else” messages throughout Scripture reveal the lovingkindness of God. He is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”(2 Peter 3:9). (Jason Dodson)
God is a wooing Savior before He is a righteous judge.
This devotional is the Saturday, June 18, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
A Call to Repentance
Lesson 3 - June 19, 2016
Focus Text: Revelation 2:12-20
Central Truth: God tolerates no competition to His lordship of our lives.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to explain what is involved in repentance, and identify when this action is appropriate for Christians.
Lesson Outline:
- Compromise Rebuked (Revelation 2:12-15)
- Repentance Required (Revelation 2:16, 17)
- Worldliness Judged (Revelation 2:18-23)
Prayer – Lesson 2, The Essence of Faithfulness
Heavenly Father,
We pray that our teachers and students be challenged by this lesson on faithfulness and that their hearts will be refilled with a passionate love for You.
In Jesus' name we pray this. Amen.
How Lack of Worship Leads to Criticism and Division
In "Doctrinal Discussion" Don Englund writes:
A failure to properly worship our Lord in praise and in the wonder of being loved ourselves will inevitably lead to a loss of ability to properly love others. Critical attitudes lead to selective friendships rather than to indiscriminate, unconditional, Christlike love to others. Church schisms and divisions of self-centeredness follow, accompanied by a lifeless co-existence with the desperate needs of hopeless people in our communities. The spiritual light of the community — once strong — has flickered, faltered, and failed!
Source: Christ, the Triumphant Lord: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 13.
How Does God See Our Situation?
In "God's Word for Today" Steve Oliver writes:
God sees things differently, sometimes opposite, from the way we think. Smyrna was small, poor, and persecuted, yet God had nothing negative to say about her. The fact that God acknowledged that they were poor, yet told them that they were, in fact, far from poor, demonstrates that He rec-ognized both the reality in which we live and the reality which He alone sees. God is also realistic: He directly told them that they were going to suffer more. Why would He do this — might it not discourage them?
Source: Christ, the Triumphant Lord: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 11.