Say what???

Yesterday, Jim taught a Sunday School lesson from Ephesians 6:10-19:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

This led us into a discussion of the forces of evil that we actually face, methods of protecting ourselves against them, and good old hymns like "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers."

Jim raised a question that I felt we didn't have sufficient time to address: what exactly is meant in verse 12 by "For our struggle is... against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"? Sure, Satan originated in heaven, but is he really still there? Is there a satanic winged Agent 007 fluttering about somewhere, as someone jokingly suggested in class?

This isn't the first time we have seen language like this in the Bible. Look at Job 1:6-12.

6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to his face."
12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Okay, the book of Job is already disturbing enough to me, but check out the Contemporary English Version translation of verse 7 (the version I happened to have in Sunday School yesterday): "the LORD asked, 'Satan, where have you been?'" What is that?? "Sup, Satan, where ya been? Off terrorizing the humans again? Silly kid." Then the two start a civil conversation about Job, as if they'd already broached the subject in the past. What is going on? Are God and Satan chess buddies or something?

Does anyone have any insight on this? I would love to hear your ideas, because I'm at a loss!

Update for August 23, 2009

We had a great class this week: we welcomed some lovely new visitors, said temporary goodbyes to dear friends off to school for the first time, and saw the return of some wonderful, familiar faces who had been out of town for the summer.

As you may or may not know, the SMBC Sanctuary Choir had the privilege of singing the National Anthem at the Astros game yesterday. Little did we know that Carlos Lee would jump in to sing with us! Check it out: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200908236253739&c_id=hou

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Ty Gribble's first day of kindergarten is today. Pray for a fabulous start of his big-boy education, and pray that his mommy can let him out of the car this morning! ;) And, if we were honest, we could all use some prayers for our school year!
• Virginia (Rice) had interviewed for a job she really wanted -- and she got it!
• John and Avery's (Rice) friend is in MD Anderson with a brain tumor
• Please pray for the family of Ward Hill, who passed away on Saturday

Announcements:

• Calling All Artists! SMBC will be using artistic interpretations of Psalm 23 for an upcoming worship service where we will be guided by that text. We are asking for you to read Psalm 23 and let that guide your painting or drawing or sculpture and then bring it up to the church office on the 3rd floor on or before August 31st. We will display the artwork around the campus as we listen to God's word. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Erin Conaway (econaway@smbc.org or 713.305.9797). We look forward to sharing what God is saying to you and us through your art.
• Shoes for Orphan Souls. We are deep into the collection process of new shoes that will be delivered to orphans around the world. Shoe preparation and packing will occur following the 11:00am worship service on Sunday, September 6.
• Buckner School Supply Drive - Our Buckner students could use the following items: binders, notebook paper, protractors, pens, pencils, folders, composition notebooks, poster board, index cards, highlighters and reusable water bottles. Donations can be dropped off in the church office. Please contact Chelsea Wade at cwade@buckner.org for more details.
• Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at SMBC

  Starts August 26th and will be each Wednesday from 6-8pm. Contact Mark at gribbles@mac.com for more details and/or to enroll.

Update for August 16, 2009

Prayers and Praises

• Traveling mercies for all of you leaving for college this month. Please keep in touch! Send your new college mailing address and email to us at gribbles@mac.com!
• Rachel (HBU) asked for prayers for her friend Elisa who is a freshman orientation leader at HBU.
• Sarrean (Tech) is thankful for her dental stuff being over this week.
• Virginia (Rice GRAD!) is job searching right now and has interviewed for a job she REALLY wants.
• Sandra has requested prayers for family friend Jeff Klein who had multiple major surgeries last week to remedy his brain slipping into his spinal column.
• Jennifer's mom had emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder. Praise that all went well and that she is home recovering.

Calling All Artists! We would like to use artistic interpretations of Psalm 23 for an upcoming worship service where we will be guided by that text. We are asking for you to read the 23rd Psalm and let that guide your painting or drawing or sculpture and then bring it up to the church office ON or BEFORE AUGUST 31ST. We will display the artwork around the campus as we listen to God's word. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Erin Conaway (econaway@smbc.org) or (713) 305-9797 (cell).

Buckner School Supply Drive - Our Buckner students could use the following items: binders, notebook paper, protractors, pens, pencils, folders, composition notebooks, poster board, index cards, highlighters and reusable water bottles. Donations can be dropped off in the church office. Please contact Chelsea Wade at cwade@buckner.org for more details.

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at SMBC

Starts August 26th and will be each Wednesday from 6-8pm. Contact Mark at gribbles@mac.com for more details and/or to enroll.

Shoes for Orphan Souls We have begun collecting new shoes for delivery to orphans around the world. You can purchase new shoes and bring them to the Welcome Center or take time to help pack shoes.

Have a great week!

August 10, 2009 Update

Announcements:

• Astros Game with College Community. August 19th 7 p.m. $1 Hot dog night, woo-hoo! Let us know if you want a ticket by 8/17, please.
  
• Shoes for Orphans Souls needs help unpacking shoes. Wednesday, August 12th, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Welcome Center.

Prayers/Praises:

• Shelby (Tech) friend David was in the hospital.
  
• Robyn (USC) is currently driving to California with several cars caravaning. Praying for their safety.
• Sarah (Austin College) dad, Johnny, dislocated his shoulder. Lots of good stories as to how it happend. :) Praise that he is better.
• Kevin Sinclair's aunt passed away suddenly. Prayers for his family.
  
• Kudos to all cast, crew, musicians and those helping with Into the Woods. Great show!
• Jennifer's mom is supposed to have emergency surgery to remove her gall bladder tonight.
  
• Marie is in Montana on vacation. Praying for safe travels.
• Claire is moving to Waco this week to attend seminary at Baylor.
• Sandra's family friend, Jeff Klein. He is 16 years old son and has been diagnosed with 3 skull-based deformities. The worst of which is his brain is slipping into his spinal column. He will undergo 12 hours of surgery on Thursday in Iowa City, IA. Please pray for Jeff, his parents, and the 17 year old sister left in Katy to experience her senior year without her family.

Have a good week! Just a few more weeks before classes start...enjoy!

--Jennifer