Bible Study update

We've had a few weeks without studies since the last update, what with a scheduled break and the mid-semester "holiday". There've been a couple of studies in that time, though, so apologies for being a bit behind.

First one is by Jeff, an introductory look at the highly controversial topic of gender roles (especially inside the church). Study + Notes [ZIP]

The second one is one I took on Leadership in the Church, and Paul's teachings on the sorts of leaders churches deserve to have. Study [PDF]

I hope these provoke questions and thoughts as you go through them :)

EDIT: Oops, Jeff's study notes are in a zip file, not a PDF. Fixed...

Meditation of the week

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

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Ouch.

Bible Study: Thank God for Grace!

We're back from a scheduled break for just catching up, hanging out, and getting the low-down on how each other was getting on with life, study, etc.

This week, Paul takes a time-out from teaching Timothy to give thanks and praise to God for the grace He has given to him. He thinks about the implications of this, and we learn from his response.

Week 4: Thank God for Grace! [PDF]

What's wrong with Mr. Bingley?

I've noticed an interesting thing in my facebook feed of late – among the endless stream of inane quizzes (seriously, who really wants to know what Pocky flavour you are, or which of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands you best fit?) are a couple of Jane Austen-themed quizzes. These purport to tell you which Pride & Prejudice character you are, or (if you're of the female persuasion) which Austen hero you "get".

Quite a number of my female facebook friends expressed disappointment that they didn't get Mr. Darcy as their companion of choice. One expression of annoyance in particular caught my eye – my friend had the result of Mr Bingley, the affable companion of Mr Darcy's. Her response? "Slightly dissatisfied"!

I'm surprised that Bingley gets passed over so much in favour of Darcy; there are no real flaws in his character, apart from considering others' opinions too highly. His heart is in the right place, and he never treats any of the other characters with anything other than genuine friendship and affection (something almost every other character is singularly incapable of). While monied, his fortune is the result of work, not lineage, and he seems to be loyal to a fault.

On behalf of all the Mr. Bingleys of the world: What's wrong with that?

CU Bible Study, Week 2: Law

Week 2 of the CU Bible Study Jeff & I are running looks at the law this week. It is sometimes portrayed as being a necessary evil, something that Jesus destroyed for us. But is this really the case? Check out the study and see for yourself!


Week 2: Law and Freedom [PDF]

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Creative Commons: umjanedoan on flickr

Can't Send Mail in Snow Leopard? Try this

Upgraded my Macbook from Leopard to Snow Leopard on Saturday, and all seemed to be well until I couldn't send emails from Mail.app this evening. A google search revealed that others seemed to be having the same problem, but one of the fixes outlined on the Apple forums seems to have done the trick.

1. Close Mail.app if it is open.
2. Open Finder, and go to your user folder, then Library (that is, the Library folder for your user, not the system-wide one).
3. Rename the "Mail" folder to something else.
4. Re-open Mail.app. It should tell you that it needs to import mailboxes. DO NOT click Continue just yet!
5. Go back to the Finder window, and rename the Mail folder back to "Mail" again.
6. Switch back to Mail.app, and now click Continue.
7. Mail should reimport your messages, and you should now be able to send email again just fine!

Bible Studies for Semester 2

I know earlier in the year I promised I'd put up the Bible Studies I was taking with Jeff for CU, but these never really eventuated. Sorry!

This semester hopefully will be different :)


Jeff Reddan & myself are conducting Bible Studies on Paul's first letter to Timothy, on Tuesday afternoons. We've got roughly 5 people or so that have said they can come (although we've not yet had them all at once!), and it promises to be a really great time.

Here's the first study as led by Jeff:

Week 1: False Teaching [PDF]

UPDATE: Jeff's provided me with some more material for this study. [ZIP]