Yesterday was field trip day. I went with the seventh graders to Annapolis. I couldn’t believe how smoothly everything went. My planning went smoothly, the permission slips and money were handed in on time, and the whole day went off without a hitch. I kept waiting for some horrible thing to happen, but it didn’t. It was just one beautiful time.
On our trip, we go to the Banneker-Douglass museum, tour the Naval Academy, then spend about 45 minutes in the Annapolis dock area. In the dock area, the kids split into small chaperone-led groups to visit souvienr shops and get ice cream. Yesterday the weather was gorgeous. Many of them were at our meeting location early and just sat in the beautiful sun.
I recognized our bus driver. I’ve ridden with him before. He is Christian. On one of our previous trips, we had a great conversation about faith. Yesterday, I noticed he had some Jack Chick books in his bag. This worries me a little. Jack Chick is the guy that does all those little cartoon books. In Religion Class, I use him as an example of someone who sounds Christian, but isn’t really preaching what the Bible says. His messages are all Law. He tries to scare people in order to change their hearts. Only the Gospel can do that. And there is precious little in his literature.
HERE is the booklet that was in the bus driver’s bag. The one I remember finding and reading as a kid (and having the bejeebies scared out of me) was THIS one.
I must have seen that second one as a kid, because I used to think that when we died we’d see a slideshow of our lives, but if so – less awful. I am grateful for God’s grace! (What I really want to see is how dorky I truly was, and also find out where all the stuff that I misplaced really went.)
Congrats on your happy day!!
Ironicly (ironically? Neither look right today. Oh well, anywho…) our church Bible study currently is on the topic of heaven and hell – that each is real, what we are told in Scripture we can expect, as well as what questions we are unable to answer until we arrive. So there is much information shared in that booklet with which I could not disagree. But I see what you mean about the content hitting the reader over the head with the Law…then we get to the very unLutheran “receive the Lord” part…and finish with a statement based on a huge assumption – that the majority of people who read that booklet are going to wind up in hell anyway. If he can see into everyone else’s heart, good for him, but I thought only the Lord Himself could do that. Hmmmm…
Sure hope he adds some Gospel verbally if he distributes those (which, judging by the bundle he’s carrying, I guess he plans to do). Did you get the impression in previous conversations that the bus driver “gets” the bigger picture?
…and yes – hurrah for the successful field trip: nobody got lost or left behind, no blood was shed, and it was a beautiful sunny day! In the words of the late Ethel Merman, “Who could ask for anything more?”
Also ironically, my friend at work & I were just discussing how there really aren’t any in depth sermons or studies at our churches about Heaven. Discussing particulars….the things we do know.
What time is your Bible study?
Here’s the (not exactly perfect in every way but then what outside of Scripture would be?) resource we are using, in case anyone would want to check it out on the CPH website (cph.org) under “Downloadable Bible Studies”:
Norbert Becker’s “Faith on the Edge: Heaven and Hell” (80 pp; 2004)
…and 11:30-12:30 Sunday mornings. Y’all come!
What a beautiful day indeed you had for your field trip! And I think sitting by the water eating an ice cream on a day like yesterday would be heavenly!