The Akridge Sunday School Class

Jesus said the most important commandment is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these."

Mark 12:30-31

Thank you to Mike Hollingsworth for sharing a lesson with the class this morning focusing on Mark 12. He challenged us to examine our priorities and ended with a discussion on verses 30 and 31. Jesus commanded us to love God as our first priority. It makes sense that if we make the command to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength a daily focus, then the second most important command to love others as we love ourselves will naturally follow. Caring about others (even when we don't feel like it) shows we have experienced the love of God and made Him our top priority.

"Love for the Master is not some sweet sentimental emotion that sweeps over the soul in moments of special piety. Love for Christ is a deliberate setting of the will to carry out His commands at any cost. It is the fixed attitude of heart that decides to do His will at all times. It is the desire and delight of accomplishing our Father's highest purposes, no matter how challenging...

In our highly permissive society, where the so-called 'me' generation is encouraged to be so self-centered and so self-preoccupied, the call to obey Christ and comply with His commands cuts across our culture and our cynical conduct. It simply is not normal nor natural for most of us to 'love' God or 'love' others in the drastic discipline of a laid-down life. We are a selfish, self-serving people. And when called upon to serve others we feel insulted. We have the strange, worldly idea that to be of lowly service is to be 'used' or 'abused.'

Yet God, very God, in Christ came among us in lowly service. He came to minister to us. He came to give Himself to us. And so, because He first 'loved' us, we in turn are to be willing and ready to 'love' Him and others."

- From Lessons from a Sheep Dog by Phillip Keller

Announcements

• Next week the class will begin a new study - Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. To allow time for the video and discussion, class will begin at 9:25!
• Please let Carrie Anne know this week if you will be attending the social this Saturday!
• We welcomed Mike and Alison Hollingsworth this morning. They will be the teachers in a new class branching off from our current class. Be in prayer about where you need to be on Sunday mornings!
• Welcome visitors! David Youngstrom, Christy Chambers, Preston & Crystal Clayton, Jay & Christy Lacy (Jake's parents), Dot Elwinger (Matt White's mother), Matt & Cherice Butler, Robert Bishop, and Joseph Hayes (friend of Robert Bishop)!! (Please forgive any misspellings!)

Prayer Requests

• Christy Chambers - Keep her husband, Shannon, in your prayers as he tries to give up smoking.
• Brady & Julie - Cooper had his adenoids removed and a second set of tubes put in his ears two weeks ago. He has a check-up Monday morning. Pray he is healthy and stays healthy.
• Keith & Krista - Kyndal will be seeing a psychologist for behavior soon.
• Scotty & Kelly - Kelly thanks everyone for prayers for her family last week. Continue to keep them in your prayers. Both grandmothers are moved and getting settled.
• Jason & Ashley - Continue to pray for the Thomas family. Their baby, Sarah, is having eye surgery on Monday.
• Rob & Angela - *PRAISE!! They are expecting!!! *Continue to pray for Angela's grandmother's health. *Angela's second cousin's newborn had heart surgery. Pray for the baby and parents.
• Robert & Laurie Beth Bishop - Laurie Beth is home sick with a virus.
• Keith & Molly - Continue to pray for their neighbor, Mike, dealing with bone cancer.

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

- Ephesians 2:4, 8-9

Announcements

• It's time for the Akridge Class to branch into a new class again! Praise the Lord for the growth our class has seen over the last several years. Teachers for the new class are Mike & Alison Hollingsworth and they will be teaching our class next week.
• We will begin the study Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs on February 7. Books are available in class for $5 per couple.
• A big THANK YOU to Haley and Dan for providing breakfast this morning.
• Welcome visitors... Daniel & Katie Bates, Ashley & Jennifer Colburn, Robert & Laurie Beth Bishop, Preston & Crystal Clayton (joined the church today!), and Mike & Alison Hollingsworth!!
• Welcome new members to the class... William & Elizabeth Gillenwater!!
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to Emily Wolfe!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Monday to Stacey McRae!!

Prayer Requests

• Austin Trammell is a student at Odenville Elementary diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last Tuesday. He turned 8 years old yesterday. Keep him and his family in your prayers.
• Kelly & Scotty - Kelly's grandfather in Tennessee passed away Friday. Her grandmother will be moving to Birmingham. Keep her and their family in your prayers.
• Grant Field is a 4-month-old who had two surgeries at Children's and dealt with RSV. He was able to go home but will be back Tuesday for a check-up.
• Emily & Michael - Continue to pray for Emily's aunt Diane who is fighting lung cancer.
• Andrea & Greg - Greg's grandmother, Betty Wilson, is in CCU at Trinity.
• Angela & Rob - Angela's grandmother is still in rehab but also has pneumonia. Pray for her healing.
• Elaine & BJ - Continue to pray for Caleb. His blood work is normal, stool studies are normal, but he will be having a lactose intolerance test. PRAISE that his blood work was normal!
• Becky & Jeremy - Jeremy's grandmother passed away this morning. Keep his family and grandfather in your prayers.
• Alecia & Ed - Ed's father will have an arteriogram at Trinity on Monday.
• Esther Smith is the infant daughter of Haley & Zac Smith. She is in the hospital with RSV.
• Continue to pray for a smooth transition in forming a new Sunday School class. Pray the new class will be vibrant and growing and for Mike and Alison's wisdom in leading the class.

One of the songs sung in the venue today comes from Isaiah 64:1-9 and reminded me that since the world began "no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him (v. 4)." I am so thankful that I don't have to have it all figured out because God has the Master Plan. I know I'm the clay and He's the potter and part of His plan is for me to serve others rather than be served. This must be the best way a believer can show the message of Jesus to a lost world. Like he urged the rich, young ruler in Mark 10, he wants us to move beyond the security we find in our material possessions to follow him. By sacrificing the treasures of this life, we gain eternal treasures in heaven. Easier said than done? Praise the Lord that although with man this is an impossible task, it is possible with God.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45

Announcements

• Mystery Social!! We will be socializing on Saturday, February 6, by meeting other couples at a restaurant at 6:00, then meeting at someone's home for dessert at 7:30. The mystery will be what restaurant you will be eating at and what couples you will be dining with. Carrie Anne needs your restaurant preferences by January 30!
• Jeremy Rogers and Brian Sewell will be ordained as new deacons in the service tonight.
• Welcome visitors! David Youngstrom, Angela's friend Charisse Butler, Haley's mom Sheila Compton
• Our class will begin a new video-driven study on Sunday, February 7, titled Love & Respect. The books for the study will be $5 per couple.
• Happy Birthday next Sunday to Emily Wolfe!

Prayer Requests

• Jammy & Leah - Pray for Leah's friend Karly and her 16-week-old son, Grant, who is at Children's Hospital with infection and will be there for 10-14 more days.
• Scott & Lisa - Lisa is sick with strep throat. Also remember Scott's job situation. They are putting their house on the market this week.
• Scotty & Kelly - Kelly's paternal grandfather is struggling in rehab. Her maternal grandmother is moving to a new assisted living facility. Pray for her parents as they manage the care of their aging parents.
• Keith & Molly - Remember their neighbor Mike in your prayers as he is sick with bone cancer.
• BJ & Elaine - Continue to pray for Caleb as they find out his test results on Monday. He is doing better, however. Please pray for peace as we go through this process.
• Rob & Angela - Angela's grandmother is out of the hospital but was moved to a 21-day rehab facility. She will have to move to a nursing home. Pray for a smooth transition.
• Geoff & Kristy - Their daughter, Anna Grace, is sick with a sinus infection.
• Massey & Carrie Anne - Continue to pray for Carrie Anne's friend (and mother of 4) who has just begun chemo. Also remember to pray for Carrie Anne as she deals with headaches and associated illnesses.

From Billy Graham's book, Peace with God:

"I heard about a man some years ago who was rolling a wheelbarrow back and forth across Niagra River on a tightrope. Thousands of people were shouting him on. He put a two-hundred pound sack of dirt in the wheelbarrow and rolled it over, and then he rolled it back. Then he turned to the crowd and said, 'How many of you believe I can roll a man across?' Everybody shouted! One man in the front was very excited about his professed belief. The man pointed to this excited professor and said, 'You're next!' You couldn't see the man for dust!... He said he believed it, he thought he believed it - but he was not willing to get in the wheelbarrow.

Just so with Christ. There are many people who say they believe on Him, who say they will follow Him. But they never have gotten in the wheelbarrow. There are many people who ask, 'Well, how much faith does it take?' Jesus said only the faith the size of a 'grain of mustard seed.' Others ask, 'What kind of faith?' There is only one kind, really. It is the object of the faith that counts. What is the object of your faith? The object of your faith must be Christ. Not faith in ritual, not faith in sacrifices, not faith in morals, not faith in yourself - not faith in anything but Christ!"

Announcements

• Upcoming "mystery" social planned for Saturday, February 6... Several couples will be paired up to meet at a restaurant, but you don't know who you're dining with until you get there - a fun night! Everyone will meet at someone's house after dinner for dessert as a group. Would anyone like to volunteer their house? Also, a babysitting co-op might be in the works. Details will come later!
• Girls! The Tuesday morning study led by Natalie Johnson will begin this Tuesday at 9:45 in room 302. We'll be doing Beth Moore's study When Godly People Do Ungodly Things. The cost of the book is $13.
• Welcome new members to our class - Carl & Dawn Mitchell and Mike & Amy White!! Mike and Amy also joined the church today...
• We also welcomed several visitors today - Christy Chambers, Ashley & Jennifer Colburn, David Youngstrom, and Laurie Beth Bishop.
• The book Brenda mentioned during the lesson today is Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. If you don't want to buy it, download it here.
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week to... Andrea Anderson (1/11), Jason Daniel (1/11), and Drew Rush (1/13).

Prayer Requests

• Angela & Rob - Angela's grandmother is in the hospital for an infection and will possibly have to go to a nursing home instead of returning to her apartment. Please pray for a smooth transition.
• Kelly & Scotty - Kelly's grandfather is struggling in the hospital.
• Continue to pray for Brenda's brother-in-law, Jim Patterson, to have peace as he awaits tests.
• Michelle & Jason - Continue to pray for Jason's dad, Kenneth Daniel, and his job situation.
• Julie & Brady - Cooper goes to the ENT on Wednesday to see if his second double ear infection since tubes is gone. If not, a second set of tubes is possible.
• Eve & Tommy - They have put their house on the market. Pray that it sells before the end of the school year.
• Christy Chambers - *Pray for her as she prepares for the CPA exam and job hunting. *Her brother, David, leaves today for Aghanistan.
• Paige & Ross - She will be going to Atlanta tomorrow for a review course for an upcoming exam. Please pray for safe travel all week.
• Carrie Anne & Massey - *Praise! Tina had a healthy baby. *Praise! Massey's sister-in-law's twins are growing and she is now allowed to continue to work. *Pray for Patti Carter, 33-year-old mother of four (one with special needs), non-smoker with lung cancer. She has had surgery and will begin chemo this week.
• Emily & Michael - Emily's dad will have prostate surgery on Tuesday.
• Lisa & Scott - Pray for their family as they have all been sick with various ailments... fevers, ear infections, etc. Pray they get well soon.
• Congratulations once again to the Erwin family on the arrival of baby Layne last week!

Announcements

• Mighty Men of God Conference - January 22-23 at FBCT... $35 before January 11, $40 after
• Thanks to Tommy Coshatt for teaching the lesson last week!!
• Christy Chambers visited again. Welcome!

Prayer Requests

• Congratulations to Leah, Jammy, and Jack! Baby Layne was born this afternoon!
• Emily & Michael - Praise!! Allison Moody's leukemia is in remission!
• Carrie Anne & Massey - *Tina, co-worker of Massey and Krista, went into labor at 29 weeks and doctors are trying to hold it off. *Massey's friend's little sister died of complications during childbirth.
• Kelly & Scotty - Kelly's grandfather continues to battle with hospitalization which is delaying a move to Birmingham.
• Christy Chambers - Her brother David Englebert is going back to Afghanistan on January 10.
• Kelley & Scott - Scott's sister and brother-in-law, Kacie and Matt Aston, in Iraq.
• Elaine & B.J. - Thank you for your prayers this week related to the loss of my grandmother. Please continue to pray for Elaine when she comes to your mind. She misses her so much.