Fall Break is Over

I have a few minutes before Intro to Theology class starts.  We were on something called a break this week.  I am not sure why we call it that other than we don't have classes on Mon-Wed.  That is a good break.  However during this break we had two take home midterms and a sermon exegesis was due in the middle of the break as I was preaching for a grade on the first day back, yesterday.  As always the Holy Spirit brought me through all of this with passing grades I hope.  The sermon I had to preach was the first I have done without a manuscript.  It went pretty well until music from the basement of the chapel became a distraction and caused me to jump ahead a paragraph in my memory.  Not that I won't ever have any distractions when preaching this was a solid reminder that things can happen.  Babies cry, people cough, things happen.  The sermon topic was a funeral sermon.  I am glad to get the first one of these in a class and not a real setting.  The role plays we did within the listeners was very good feedback to understand how people are hearing what we are saying.  The sermon went pretty well but in this class I need to hold off until I get the grade before thinking anything positive.  My first sermon this semester received all positive remarks from the listeners and I flunked it.  Go figure. 

We are putting in our applications for internship next year.  I have my interview with the representatives of the Candidacy Committee and my academic advisor the first week of November.  I have our (Debbie and me) interview with a faculty member on the internship committee that assigns us the first week in December.  We are given our assignments towards the end of March.  The Holy Spirit at work for sure.

In our Intro to Worship class today we had some great discussion on the necessity of baptism for salvation.  I really enjoy these types of discussions.  They force us out of our nice tidy little boxes to consider God on a larger level.  Some people don't like what that turns out to be,  but I think it is healthy for us at this stage and maybe during God's whole ministry through us.  We came down to within baptism and the intent to baptize we are saved.  Beyond this we don't really know because the scripture is about our life in the faith.  It doesn't really say anything about out life outside the faith.  We can only take bigger picture aspects of God and try to extrapolate from there.  There isn't really anyway to know for sure.  We live in hope.

Class is getting ready to start.  I like using this time to catch up so this might be a way that I can keep more in touch than I have been this semester.  God bless both of you.  May God be forever active in your lives.