PRESENTATIONS

Some of you might have seen this up on the screen, but we ran out of time, and I didn't get to discuss your next presentation schedule with you.

On May 20- Linda, John, Jay, Lizzie, and Matthew will present.

EVERYONE will have commented on those essays by May 18th at 8 p.m.

and so forth...

May 27- Annie, William, Ben, Lianne

June 3- Nicole, James, Gandi, Daniel

Essay 3- Miss Amy

“Are you a new student at a reformed seminary? Welcome! We are having a barbeque at our house—bring your own beer!”

             New students wishing to learn reformed theology at a master’s level may be welcomed to their institution with such invitations from fellow students. There are several subtle assumptions made by the students who extend these invitations. They assume that none of the new students will have had past problems with alcohol or be alcoholics. They assume that no one at the barbeque will have parents who are alcoholics and might be traumatized by a drinking environment. They assume that every other student at the party will be responsible enough to avoid drunkenness.  In the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), such scenarios seem to be included as a regular part of church or student life. Mike Higgins, Dean of Students at Covenant Theology, warns that caution should be used when it comes to social drinking.

             “Throughout the PCA, we have to be careful that we don’t give the perception that living in grace gives us the freedom to inflict our wills/appetites on other people,” Higgins said. “We need to be sensitive to folks around us.”

            As an African-American in the PCA denomination, a denomination with a predominately white background, Higgins has found himself holding a different perspective at times.

             In certain areas of the U.S., the word “legalism,” has taken on a dramatic perception. Many Christians associate the term with the Pharisees, who supposedly lived as though their laws would make them holy. Jesus strongly rebuked the Pharisees in the Bible, and many American Christians believe that to live by laws is to be worthy of great rebuke. The reaction to this has resulted in Christians “proving” what they are free to do—and still be worthy to pass through the heavenly gates because they are saved by grace alone.

             There was one incident at a seminary where students were asked not to smoke in front of the library. One student accused the administration of being legalistic. As it turned out, the rule was made because some members of the library staff had health conditions which were aggravated by smoke when they walked into the building.

            Higgins noted that as a Christian, “I should love my brothers and sisters enough to avoid something that I don’t have to do (drinking a recreational beverage or smoking).”

             It should be highlighted that Higgins is not asking for a complete removal of alcohol for all times and circumstances. “We don’t have to screech to a halt, but we need to supervise (how we handle alcohol) from the Holy Spirit,” he said.

             As Christians, we have the Bible as our guide when it comes to discerning the Holy Spirit. In addition, what Higgins is suggesting can be backed up by Scripture at length in Romans 14 as well as here in 1 Corinthians 8:10-13,

“So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall."

           There is also a Proverb, “Be careful where you are strong, lest you fall,” that aligns itself with the stance that Higgins takes. He believes that there is always a chance that Christians could slip up and become drunk at some point if they think they are always strong enough to drink alcohol in moderation.

             “There’s no one I’ve met who I would trust with total freedom. When folks say that we have dominion (over alcohol), I don’t know if there’s anyone I trust 100 percent with that...” Higgins said.

             A secondary factor seems to be that the term “legalism” has been over-generalized as a broader term than what it really is. Legalism might be understood as “keeping any actions not specifically mentioned in the Bible.” However, this is a tangent from what actually took place: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy, not because they followed some rules. But the term “legalism” has taken on such a detrimental meaning in Christian circles that perhaps some evangelicals feel as though they must restore the public image of Christianity. In reality, everyone is a hypocrite, whether they are a doctor, an atheist or a Buddist.

              “As human beings, we are legalists,” Higgins said. He asks instead, “Why don’t we error to the side of being sacrificial…loving? Wisdom, love, and care come before exercising my rights- that’s sacrificial.”

             Higgins points out that attempts to have an image of Christians freely drinking and smoking may not be helpful. “When I want to do my will, there’s not much fruit,” he said. Higgins implores Christians, “We can look at our freedoms and ask, ‘Why am I doing this…is it to prove a point (that I CAN do it)’?

             Finally, we must ask just what will it cost Christians to give up drinking while being in presence of those who might be weak? The “strong Christians” might still drink in their own homes, but they should remember who they might be influencing while in public. In giving up those rights, strong Christians should remember that a day will come where every saint will be able to enjoy wine without sin or damage.

             “To be temporary is a sign of strength,” Higgins said.

Lianne's Vivid Dream

   It was last week when I had this vivid dream. I dreamed this lately, so I am sure that I can describe as clearly I can. I don't know why God let me dream this yet. When I woke up, I was scared and also sad about this dream because it touched me so hard. My dream starts from here.

  The story starts in Kenya, in a small village. This village was where poor people were living and had so many problems. Obviously, there were no food to eat, they found food on the streets and they never kept their stomach full. Most importantly, the biggest problem was this. Since they were worried about their life, doubt between people was getting bigger. Even between family.

  The family wasn't a family. Between family, it's supposed to help each other and keep the life together. However, they were busy living their own life. Even worse, some family hated each other and thought of their family member as a rival. A rival of living.

  A brother showed in my dream. They were black and older brother was tall and big. However, younger brother was just a kid. He was really weak and he was struggling with starvation. In my dream. they started fighting. I mean the younger brother was unilaterally beated by his older brother. He was holding his older brother's leg crying with fear, screaming not to kill him. However, older brother didn't care. He kept hitting him with all of his power.

  I didn't know why. I really didn't know why. He kept hitting his younger brother and finally, he killed his brother with a big rock. His small head cracked into two pieces. Eventually, he killed his brother. Even his younger brother was dying with blood all over, he didn't care at all. He just left his brother alone. A poor kid was passing away with no one behind killed by his brother.

  After this dream, when I woke up, I thought of this, a phychiatrist. All of these things happend because of their mental problem. This dream came to me really vivid. I felt pitiful about the kid, his older brother, and also the situation of the Kenya. From this dream, I felt God was trying to tell me something. I don't know what that is yet but I'll keep looking for it. From this dream, I saw how big the problem is in the world that I haven't experienced yet. Whatever I can do, I won't make that things to be true.

essay (daniel)

I will introduce my dream. It had remained intensively in my memory. However, this dream will be very fun to you. I was a bully in this dream, even though the truth is not.


At a moonless night. I was walking down the street. I suddenly observed I could fly. When I flew up, I could feel some thrills like a roller coaster. It just like real. When I think and control my mind, it had work. I could fly up the better I can.


In the dream, I was greedy. I wanted to be strong,so I controlled my mind to be strong.In sequence, it had work. I could break down the walls, also I could open the locked doors with out keys. I was just like Anderson Silva.


I was too boast to my self. I couldn't control my behaviers.So I wanted to hit peoples that apeared in my visions. Suddenly I could find a person walking down the street. I could not know who was him. However, I could remember he was the person who I really hated. So I start hitting him. I couldn't felt anything while hitting him. After hitting him I grabed his clothes then threw him away the farther  I can. After threw him away I was felt guilty. I wanted to apologize to him it was too far to find him.


Walking down the street. Polices started to catch me. I was so surprize. So I run the fast I can. I was too slow enough to escape from the copes. Then I could reconize I could fly up to the sky. So I start to concerntrating to fly up the sky. However, It didn't work. Consequently, I had cought. This was the last film in my dream.



As a result, I could realize that I should not be boasted to my self. I should always manage my self. A humble person could always be flyness to his ability and used it to good ways. Peoples who are boasted is hard to be expert to show his ability enough, they will use their ability at bad ways. God does not want us to be boasted. He want to tell us that humble peoples will be the leader in the world.
I will belived this dream will be the message that god wants to show me.

Essay 2 by Lizzie

  I'm standing in the middle of people fleeing. It's too loud around here, people screaming in my ear, running for their lives. There is a sense of panic in the air. I feel dazed, and everything is so faint. It feels like I just woke up from a long, long sleep. My instincts are telling me to run with the crowd, but I'm rooted the spot.
 
  I hear a distant boom and the ground shakes from under me. For the first time I look around. Cream-colored square houses, people wearing hoods and sandals, no trees... and a lot of sand. I see sand hills and smoke building up from behind them, but beyond that I see nothing, absolutely nothing. I'm probably somewhere in the Middle East or the desert, but it seems more like a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.
  
  The sun is so hot I can almost feel it burning my skin. I lift my hand to shield my eyes when I notice that I'm grabbing on something. A small boy, of 5 or 6 is holding onto my hand. His angelic face is covered with bloody cuts and layers of sand. The dark, curly hair is just a mess of dripping mud. The rest of his body is covered with tattered, shabby clothes which no longer reveal its original color. He is whimpering like a lost puppy and his eyes are already an overflowing pool of tears.
 
  Something about his expression makes me jump back to my senses. I hold him tightly and bolt off. I have no idea where I'm going or what I'm running from, but I feel the need to protect this boy. I make my getaway to close buildings, but oddly enough, they won't get any closer. I feel trapped.
  
  I hear an explosion nearby, sending debris and sparks flying. People run for cover. Somehow I know that the next one will be close. Another blows up, and the ground beneath our feet caves in. The Earth swallows us whole as we make our fall through an endless black pit. I feel the boy's grip slipping away as I frantically reach for him. I catch a glimpse of his tear-streaked, terrified face at the last moment when I finally recognize him; he's my brother.

Jaehyoung Kim: Essay 2

[THE DREAM I'VE DREAMED]


I found myself standing in an empty room. In order to figure out the place I’m in, I began to search, but I couldn't find any objects in the room except a small, narrow door. A dark substance with coarse surface was composing the walls surrounding the room, and it was light-less except dim moonlight coming from the small door.

By opening the door and letting myself out of the room, I was soon able to figure out where I was in. I was inside of an empty, but tremendously large building. I could see uncountable stairs on the walls surrounding me and some transparent plates, seemed to be reinforced glasses, were located between each floors, dividing floors.

The efforts I've took for finding an exit of the building seemed to be futile. Though I could figure out that there should be a way out underneath the floor I’m in, there was no way of going down since it was completely blocked with an unknown object. After exploring, I decided to go upward, since I could faintly see an object on the rooftop of the building.

Suddenly, at the same time I stepped into a stair, I heard a huge sound of an explosion. The explosion seemed to be taking place few floors below. It smelled strongly of gunpowder. I was filled with a sense of foreboding. When I looked down, I saw water overflowing downstairs. It seemed that the water pipe had been burst with the explosion.

Since it was flooding with notable speed, I began to run. My heart thudded unceasingly against my ribs. Though there were numerous floors in the building, it didn't take me that long to reach the rooftop.

When I got into the rooftop, I was able to figure out the object that I've seen faintly a moment ago. It was a helicopter. Just then, the helicopter began to move on. I dashed to the helicopter, but it was already hovering over my head.

While I was gazing the helicopter hovering over me, my heart nearly stopped beating. Not long after, the water burst over me. Soon it swept me over. As soon as I was swept over, I completely blacked out.

William's amazing dreeeeeeeeeeeeeeam

I don't really dream when I sleep. But there are few dreams I can remember. But I have had a wonderful dream! I had this dream about a month ago. Right after I woke up from the dream, I wanted to be in the dream again! It was about the wallet I found on the shelf in an apartment.

In the dream, I was in my friend's house. My friends and I were playing in his house, playing instruments. We played weird songs I've never heard of. And also we ate 짜장면 and 짬뽕. So My friend and I really had a great time in his home.

After playing some weird songs in his home, we came out and we are waiting for the elevator. When we are waiting for the elevator, I found a red wallet on a shelf next to me!!!   I really did not expect on how much money will be in the wallet. But I opened it. There was almost 6 million won!! It is about 6000 dollars. My hands and my legs started to shiver. It was my first time to get this much money in front of me!!

I couldn't be normal. I was really excited but little bit worried. I thought it can be a crime cause it is not just 20 or 30 thousands won. It is 6 million won!! At first I decided to get these money but my thought started to change. I decided to find out the owner of the wallet.

I brought the wallet to the police station. I gave it to them and the police officers really thanked me. And the owner said thanks to me. When I woke up, I felt very great about what I did, But little bit sad... hahahahahahaha. It was the best dream I had in my life in both ways!! And I found what the red wallet means and in Korea it means that I will earn lots of money !!

Essay2 : Ben's fantastic and cool dream

I dreamed this nightmare at 7. My dream was real and very very fantastic and wonderful dream. So i can remeber it, even though now i am 18. It was little scary but I was hero at that dream. I'll tell you my wonderful dream. Dream is not so clear, so i will add my imagination a little.

I was just a 7 years old. I was riding a train with my friend. I think there was a many people.
Suddenly, there was a fire on the train. The train was instantly turned into chaos after the fire.
It looks like hell in my eyes

I and my friend were in full of afraid, so we just sit down at there and cried. what makes the matter worse, a group of gangster came and hit the people. I thought there was nothing i can do and i just die. People were screaming and running away. It really looks like hell.

Suddenly, my friend started to fight with them. Wow, he was very strong. He was defeating gangsters. I thought i can be loser, so i participated at fighting. Wow I was stronger than him.
I was fighting. It was like scene out of action movie. We beated off all the gangster, and the train became peacefull.

This is my dream. I know that this story is really crazy. But I really dreamed it at seven. when I was in kindergarden, I try to find out this dream's source. I think i learned about hell in church at that time, and I like drama named '야인시대' which is about gangsters.
I think my dream is so messy and crazy. But i was hero in this dream, so i like it.

Essay 2; My dream

           I was in class at school as usual. Outside the window the sky was blue it was a very beautiful day with the sun shining bright, I could see loafs of clouds in the shape of a sheep, an airplane and all sorts of animals and objects. I stared out the window and started to feel good. I could see trees starting to change their color. Its finally autumn I thought to myself. I was all perfect except for the teacher in front of the class blabbing things I’m not even interested in.

 

           I was about to fall asleep, when I saw an airplane in the sky, I seemed to lose control and it fell right in front of our school. We all were horrified. It caught on fire it was burning everything. I could hear high pitched screaming sounds and everybody was running around not knowing what to do. Then that moment another one, a huge one was flying towards our school. It also crashed the earth with an enormous sound.

 

           The sky turned red, the earth was cracking with a big vibration. It was the end of the world. The fire from the airplane started to burn our school. We had to jump out of the window. Some of the classmates already jumped since it wasn’t that high. I jumped to knowing that this was the end of the world, I was too scared. I just fell to my knees and started to pray.

 

           “Please God please let me go to Heaven.” The earth was cracking even more, I had to run. I looked for my classmates but nobody was around me. I shouted their names but no respond, there were just noises from the cars crashing, the airplane blowing up, the earth tearing itself apart.

 

           I ran as fast as I could. Everything was red. It made me sick but I just had to run. The world around me was shaking so hard it made me even harder to run. Then I looked up to the mountains, I could see something blue. I was in a second, a tsunami wiped everything even me. I could see anything I thought I was dead when I became a little comfortable after I saw the ceiling of my bedroom.

My night mare -John Kim

My night mare

 

 

John Kim

 

 

  I wake up in my bed. There is nothing strange about it. I strech myself and tried to get out of my bed, but I notice something strange. My bed is floating in water. The water is kind of dirty with a lot of creatures in it. I see many fishes, but one kind of them catches my attention. I see a school of fish that is about a foot big, and has very sharp teeth. It looked very agressive. Then suddenly, one of them starts jumping, trying to take a bit of me. Then others starts to do the same. I only have a pillow in my bed, so I start hitting the fishes with the pillow when the jump at me.

 

  After a while, the school of fish gave up on me and startsto go away. I am relieved, but soon, I see big sharks. Their teeth are as big as my fist. I try to stay on the center of my bed, and avoid any kind of connection, with the sharks.  Then I realized that the sharks are biting on my bed. It seems like the bed will sink soon.

 

  All of a sudden, the sharks runs away. I am puzzled why the sharks are running away from me. Then I realize, that the kraken is coming towards me. It is humongous. It wraps its tenticles around me and my bed. Then it throws me and my bed into its mouth.

 

  Then I wake up.

james dream description

essay 2  my dream.

james

There was a boy named Jamas. He was living in Korea. He’s height was 180cm and he weighted 70kg. He was really smart, handsome and kind. He had dad. He was a police. He wanted jamas to go to seoul university.

But Jamas wanted to play basket ball. He wanted to go NBA. Because he loved basketball. So he talked about what he wanted to do to his dad. His dad didn’t accept him. He was very mad about him. He put jamas in room that is for prisoners and locked the door.

Jamas was so sad. He was crying day and night. Jamas prayed to God that he wanted to go to NBA so much. God heard the voice of jamas. God moved his body to USA from korea jail.

Jamas was so happy. He was in USA! He went to NBA team Miami Heat which is in Miami. He showed what he could do. The master of Miami Heat liked him and put him in the team.

He was so good in basketball that his team won every time he goes for game. His team became champion. Jamas became most famous NBA player. He played 4 more years and came back to korea. Eventually jamas and his dad lived happily ever after.

Description of a nightmare - Annie

Description of a nightmare

Annie Kim



 One sunny Sunday morning, I went to the church with my family. The worship, praise and everything was great . I ate a hamburger with my family. It was really delicious. Then, I went back to home.


 Mom asked me to go outside. I said 'yes' and we went to outside. The weather was fantastic. Shiny sun and fresh grass were so beautiful. Mom and I were happy to be with together.


 Suddenly, a big shadow cast behind us. I looked back and it was a really huge polar bear. Mom and I were so shocked and began to run away. I thought that the bear is huge and heavy, so it can't run fast. But it wasn't. It was really fast as Usain Bolt.


 Mom and I rushed into a building. I saw an elevator and ran into there with my mom. When I rode the elevator, there was no mom! Instead of her, there was my cousin. I asked her why she is here. However, she didn't answer me.


 At that moment, the bear opened the elevator's door and came in. I was so afraid so I tried to hold my cousin's hand, but there was no one! The bear and I were continuously run around in the elevator. Finally, the bear grabbed my shoulder and shook me. "Min jeong, wake up!" What? Can the bear speak? No! It was mom's voice and this situation was dream! Hallelujah!

ghandle

Linda Kim: Essay2

Description of a nightmare

Linda Kim

     It's blowing hard over here. It's dark and a thick fog blur my sight. As I try to look what there is, I find a bench and dandelion which is planted on the bench. The bench look so lonely and also does the dandelion. But at the same time, they look calmed and the image is really soft.

 

     I want to see the bench and dandelion more closely. So I walk to the bench, but the wind is so strong that it's hard to reach. And I get a weird feeling. It's not something scary, but I don't feel really comfortable. Suddenly the scene changes and now there is saw-toothed wheels.

 

     There are many saw-toothed wheels, but I am just focusing on three saw-toothed wheels. One is big, and the others are small. They are spinning really slowly. And I feel the same weird feeling I just felt when I saw the bench and the dandelion. The sound of the saw-toothed wheels hitting each other is getting louder and louder.

 

     Then I just go back to the place where the bench and the dandelion was. I feel the same mysterious feeling and once again, there are saw-toothed wheels. I go over this same situation over and over. And suddenly, I hear someone calling me. The voice is really familiar but it's a faint sound. I wake up from the dream.

 

     This is a dream that I dream whenever I am very sick. It's image is really dark and calm. It is a lot different with the world I live in. I can not really explain the exact feeling that I feel in a dream. But it's weird and mysterious.

Essay 2: Description of my dream

I eventually find myself in some placement. I think “Where am I?” and look around to figure out all the things that are happening here. I see green grasses budded on the ground and path is stretched along the riverside. Sunshine was touching all over the lives warmly, casting a yellow and orange light upon us. The blue sky is stretching itself far and far away to the distance.

On both sides of the ground, there are stairways connected to the street. I see the concrete bridge that is linked to the street far away from me. Various kinds of people are walking beneath it. Some is playing tennis, and some is just having a rest, watching bloomed white flowers. Everything seems brighter and beautiful, but don’t know why.

I meet 3 people in the same age as mine, two of them are girls, and one is a boy. They are smiling sweetly to me. I’m very close to them and it seems we are having a happy time hanging out together. We laugh out a loud and walk the passage with light steps. We also ride a silver-framed glossy bicycle together too, that has a crisp and clear bell ring.

As we go up to the stair way and reach to the street that is formed with both red and gray colored blocks, we talk in a two group. I talk with a both pretty and beautiful girl who has a lustered black wavy hair, and brown hazel eyes. Her smile is lovely. Talking with her makes me feel very comfortable and happy. All of us decide to go to the convenience store across the street. We buy a pack of five hundred milliliter milk and drink it fresh and exude the sound, “Kwwww!”

We blot a drop of milk that is stained on our leaps by own right arms and starts to walk again. Sun is still shining, and everything seems so beautiful. Birds are twitting on the ginkgo tree’s yellow-bursting branch. Then, I realized that all of this blissful landscape was a dream, feeling the softness of my pillow and blanket. I tried to close my eyes while I’m tossing and turning to have a dream again, wishing it strongly, but I couldn’t. So I woke up with a sigh.