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Is Thy Heart Right With God?
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Month: October 2022
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A visit to the seminary classroom via the Book of Proverbs
Today as I worked on writing a lesson for God’s Word for Life, the curriculum published by the United Pentecostal Church International, I came upon a video recording of a classroom session at Urshan Graduate School of Theology. The video features the first session of a series on the Book of Proverbs. I thought some readers of my blog may be interested to see what goes on in a seminary classroom, so here it is!
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The Ten Commandments
The Sanctuary UPC, located in Hazelwood, Missouri, uses the Sunday school curriculum published by the United Pentecostal Church International. Mitchell Bland is the pastor of this church, and each Sunday morning all classes study the same Bible lesson so that the entire family can be involved with the same text of Scripture each week.
On the adult level, the teachers rotate from week to week. On September 18, 2022, I taught the lesson on The Ten Commandments. I chose to focus on the prophetic significance of the fourth commandment, the Sabbath.
We arrive in Orlando!
This afternoon Susan and I arrived in Orlando, Florida via Southwest Airlines to attend the 2022 general conference of the United Pentecostal Church International. Several of our friends were on board with us. Our flight was pleasant and uneventful. More than 16,000 people are registered for the convention.
As we approached the baggage claim area to retrieve our luggage, it was our intention to seek out an Uber driver to arrange transportation to our hotel. Instead, an Uber driver already in the area offered his services. We accepted and enjoyed the trip to the Hyatt Regency, a beautiful hotel connected to the conference venue by 3 walkways.
Our only negative experience so far had to do with my CPAP machine. When we got into our hotel room, it was nowhere to be found. I knew we had brought the CPAP, so I descended the 13 floors to discuss the matter with the hotel staff. Here’s the story:
As we entered the car, our driver appropriately placed all our luggage in the storage area behind the back seat of the SUV. When we arrived at the hotel, the staff there removed our bags while the driver remained in the car to accept payment. The staff member who removed our luggage from the car brought the items into the hotel, where a bellman transported them to our room. As I looked about the room in search of my trusty CPAP, I interpreted the bellman’s nod toward the couch to mean it was behind the couch. But when he left, the area toward which he had nodded held no CPAP.
So I wound up in a conversation with the staff member who brought our luggage into the hotel, the bellman who carried it to our room, and another hotel employee of higher rank. The latter two of the three acknowledged that they both needed a CPAP because of their snoring, or at least that’s what their wives thought, if I understood them correctly.
The first of the three apparently didn’t sense any need for a CPAP, which may mean he was unmarried. Instead, he assured us he had left the driver’s briefcase in the car.
Now you know! Of course the driver had not left a briefcase in the car along with our luggage!
The top-ranking hotel staff member helpfully called the Uber driver and arranged for him to return to the hotel with my CPAP.
I will sleep well tonight.
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