The JOY Class is comprised of an intergenerational group of "Carriage Laner's" who join each other Sunday mornings at the Sunday school hour to listen to dedicated teachers from Carriage Lane.
On a weekly basis the class draws anywhere from 27 to 40 people for both prayer and fellowship. We grow together in our Christian faith through encouragement from out teachers as well as from each other to apply the Word in our lives. To enhance fellowship, socials are encouraged on a periodic basis, either at the beginning of class, and/or outside of class, such as having a meal together.
Over the past several years, we have learned from expositions by our very capable teachers from numerous books of the Bible. Often, there will be a stimulating question and answer time, as well as discussion among many in the class who wish to participate. On occasion, we will use selective teaching through the use of VHS or DVD.
Studying the book of Revelation under the excellent teaching of Rev. David Hamilton, was a first for our class last year as we delved into this most complex and major prophetic book. While Rev. Hamilton's position as he understands it on just what the millennium message is, was made known, an unbiased explanation of all of the various millennium positions were clearly presented. This course was extremely interesting, provocative and most educational. We followed that study with a general but extensive survey of the prophets throughout biblical history, with the help of a seminary course on DVD by Professor Richard Pratt of Third Millennium Ministries, entitled, "He Gave Us Prophets". (Dr. Pratt was formerly the Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary.)
As implied above, our purpose is not only to learn and to share personal joys through our fellowship with the others in our class, but also to care for each other during times of illness, as well as other types of hardship. Through our actions with the help of the Holy Spirit, we seek to glorify God and become more passionate in our day to day walk in Christ.
