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Building Our Faith One Word at a Time
In Sam Winston's view, the Bible is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. In it He has outlined his marvelous plan of salvation and redemption for all who repent and profess the name of Jesus Christ. Learning and understanding the promises outlined in the Bible is the primary goal of the Faith Sunday School Class taught by Sam Winston, and co- teachers Sarah Sharp and Earl Bittenbender.
Sam Winston has been teaching people how to study the Bible for more than forty years and he has been teaching this particular class for the past 11 years. "I want to teach people the word of God and help them understand how to apply His word to their lives," said Sam. "I am an expository teacher, and in our class, we study the word of God, word by word, line by line verse by verse." Sam goes on to explain, "I often tell people that the word of God is not the easiest book to read, so it is very important that you let the Holy Spirit lead you in your Bible study. I also explain to them that you don't have to rush through this process because studying the Bible is something that you will be doing for the rest of your life, because God will reveal more of Himself to you as you seek Him. I also encourage my students to use other resources such as a good dictionary and concordance because it is really important to understand the meaning behind what you are reading."
When you talk to Sam about the faith class you can tell that he feels honored, and enjoys teaching this class. "I am humbled, said Sam, when I think that God chose me to teach this special class, because over the years there have been a number of people in the class that I would consider to be 'Bible scholars.' He knows that he has been richly blessed because God pays attention to the prayers of the members of this special class. The members in the Faith class are quick to return the compliment stating that they felt their class was special because of the leadership of Sam. Another member said that she had a "great teacher and she had learned a great deal from him." In addition to enjoying the teaching of Sam, the members were quick to point that they have received a triple blessing in that they not only are taught the word of God by Sam but that they are also privileged to have "two other wonderful teachers (Earl and Sarah)."
His lovely and witty wife Suzanne also supports Sam on this journey. Sam and Suzanne play vital roles in the ministries here at Central Church. Sam serves as the chairman of men's ministry coordinating the Saturday prayer breakfast and Suzanne is on the advisory board, and is the chairman of the women's mentoring ministry. They are both active in several other ministry circles.
The Faith class has a long and rich tradition here at Central Church. It has been on the Adult Sunday school roster dating back to when the Church was on Linden Avenue. The Faith class has between 25-30 active members and several other members who reside in nursing homes. Although the members in the class are very serious about studying God's word they have a great time together and they love to poke fun at themselves. For instance, many of the beautiful silver haired women in the class jokingly refer to themselves as "the blonds." They also have a great time in fellowship with one another getting together several times a year to fellowship with one anther at their favorite restaurants and they have an annual formal dinner at Christmas. In addition to sharing meals together, they often visit class members who are sick or in nursing homes.
The members in the faith class have developed a close bond with each other and they are there for other when members are faced with a death of a loved one or other personal tragedies. The class is comprised of members in their golden years but all members who love the Lord and studying God's word are welcome to attend.
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