Jesus Washed Judas' Feet!?

I will teach John's Gospel as part of our School of Biblical Studies (SBS) in January, so in attempt to stay on top of things, I have been preparing a little bit over the past couple weeks. So I was meditating on John 13, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet. It happened during the Last Supper, Jesus' last moments with his disciples, and he knew those were his last moments, so obviously everything he did and said among them carried tremendous weight.

It was during this time that Jesus set an example of being a servant by washing the disciples' feet. Today, churches and Christian groups have foot-washing ceremonies, a real emotional and touching time where everyone displays their servant-hearts. Please, I understand the concept, but often those ceremonies are no more than a show. When someone in the church has a real need, where are we? When I have tickets to the football game, and my "brother in the Lord " calls asking me to help clean-up after his septic system backed up, flooding his basement, how will I respond? And what if it's that guy in church that I just don't get along with, and has never seemed to back me up when I needed help?

That's the kind of servant Jesus meant when he exampled it for his disciples. According to that standard, am I really "servant-hearted"? Remember, Jesus washed even Judas' feet.

Teaching 1 Thessalonians

In our School of Biblical Studies - New Testament (SBS.NT), we are studying through the New Testament book by book. I had the opportunity last week to teach 1 Thessalonians. It was a lot of fun. I know that I learned a lot more preparing to teach it than the students learned from me and from studying it for their assignment. Despite being a simple, short letter, I kept finding more and more treasure the deeper I dug.

Paul wrote to encourage the young church, because he was forced out of the city just weeks after starting the church. Imagine the questions they were left with! You can hear the beating of Paul's heart as he reminds them of his time with them, and assures them that he would return to them if as soon as he could. They suffered a lot of persecution because of their faith, but as Ted Darling, a local pastor who taught 2 Thessalonians, said, "Resistance will cause your faith to grow, as long as you exercise your faith against it."

I could go on, but I would probably have to charge a fee for everyone who reads it. (Just kidding - about the fee part, not about the going on part!)

It was fun studying, fun teaching, but I'm glad it's over, because now I get to study to teach the Gospel According to John, which will happen later in January. I am excited about what I will learn as I study, and hopefully what I will impart to our students as I teach.