We made it through the night
without any after shocks of which I am aware. From what I understand, we are
still under a warning about the likelihood of those shocks. I am not sure
whether I hope we do not get any after shocks or we have one and get it over
with. Right now, it is kind of like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Jonathan and Nanette Carino were
delayed in getting me this morning as Jonathan was not feeling well. He managed
to make it through the day, but I could tell he was not at full strength. His
work with Lordy in explaining the material in the dialect did not seem to
suffer in any way.
We began by dealing with 1st
Corinthians 7 for the vast majority of the morning. We noted that the chapter
begins a section of the book where Paul is answering questions asked to him by
those in the church at Corinth. We had a number of good questions and discussion
in our study. We noted the focus on the permanence of marriage that is seen in
the first part of the chapter and the focus on the “present distress” in the
latter part of the chapter. After a short break, we then began the study the
subject introduced in chapter eight: “Now concerning things offered to idols.”
At the end of chapter eight, Lordy and Jonathan again took over to clarify any
questions from the students in their dialects.
After lunch, we covered 1st
Corinthians 9-10. We noted that Paul’s example of forgoing his liberty as an
apostle and a free man was used to show how those in Corinth, thinking
themselves to be strong, should also be willing to forgo their liberties for
the good of others and the cause of Christ. We had some excellent discussion
about how to apply this teaching in their culture and how the principles can be
applied in various situations. Since this was a shorter amount of material, I
ended my part of the class early and left Jonathan and Lordy to do their part.
We are now past the halfway
point with these classes. The Lord willing, tomorrow will be our longest day of
classes given the subject matter of 1st Corinthians 11-14. Friday is
planned as a half day of study so the students can travel back to their homes
and be ready for Sunday. Please keep us in your prayers that we may finish this
effort in a way that glorifies our Lord.
