I had a youth leader that had this picture laminated on a plaque in his office. Underneath the picture, the plaque said, "Robin Ventura: the only player to get 5 hits off Nolan Ryan in one inning."
The deal is, Ventura charged the mound after Ryan accidentally hit him. As he came barreling toward Ryan, Ryan simply sidestepped, put Ventura in a headlock, and pounded on him until somebody broke them up. This doesn't have a ton to do with our lesson this week - I just always thought this picture was awesome!
Oliver Wendell Holmes (not a baseball player) does have something to do with what we're talking about this week though. He said, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." This week, we're talking about freedom, and responsibility. God had even better stuff to say on the subject than Mr. Holmes - you should come hear it!
Reading (Romans 6 is chewy stuff - take it slow...):
Monday - Romans 6:1-2 | Tuesday - Romans 6:3-4 | Wednesday - Romans 6:5-7 | Thursday - Romans 6:8-14 | Friday - Romans 6:15-18 | Saturday - Romans 6: 19-23
Memory Verse:
Romans 6:1-2
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
PS - Sorry (Cambria) I didn't post last week - I just plain old forgot!!! : (
PPS - Get your Special Olympics applications in ASAP - you can't go if I don't get it into the Special Olympics on time!!!
So... we've talked a few times about how Old Testament God gets a little nuts with people right...? Here's an example from 2 Kings chapters 1 & 2.
A prophet named Elisha had just taken over for another prophet named Elijah. Elijah had a pretty fierce reputation for getting God to um, rain down fire on people - so people learned not to mess with Elijah. I guess when Elisha took over, they thought they had to test him though because a bunch of guys popped out of the woods while Elisha was walking by and started taunting Elisha for being bald.
Bad idea. The Bible says that Elisha cursed them in the name of God (the beginning of a very bad day) and went on his way. Then... 2 bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of them.
Among the questions this raises for me (How many people were there taunting Elisha? Who hung around to count the mauled guys? How does one cause bears to attack people in the name of God?) one of the most important is, does God still make me deal with the consequences for the things I say? (Yep.)
I don't know about you, but I've certainly insulted people referring to issues more sensitive than their hairlines and - I think God cares! This week, we're talking about whether or not God cares what we say to people. We're calling the lesson: Crazy Assassination Ninja Bears!!! But you can also think of it as, Christians Aren't Supposed to be Butt Faces.
Reading:
Monday - 2 Kings: 19-25 | Tuesday - Matthew 12:33-37 | Wednesday - Ephesians 4:29 | Thursday - Colossians 3:7-10 | Friday - Colossians 4:6 | Saturday - James 3:1-10
Memory Verse:
James 3:5
So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
So let's say your at home, eating some ice cream, contemplating what you might do with the remainder of your lovely school-free summer day... when suddenly, Washington is invaded by crazed, violent Canadians!!! The crazy Canadians kill everybody in Washington except the smart, cute kids - and you, being rather intelligent and easy on the eyes - are taken captive...dragged off to be part of the court of the tyranical king of Canada!
Fast forward to a little later in life. It turns out the king of Canada thinks your the best thing since Wayne Gretzky bobblehead dolls and so he puts you in charge of your own little province of Canada. That makes the native Canadians jealous and his sick/twisted advisors come up with a scheme to force the king to... FEED YOU TO LIONS!!! But you, have a secret. You (much like the guy named Daniel shown in the pic above) have an excellent reason to stroll around in the lion pit and casually wait for the sun to shine into the room in the morning.
What's the secret?! Can you speak "lion"? Are you a lion tamer?! Do the lions fear you!! What could possibly make you safe when you're stuck in a pit with several half starved lions?!?!?!
Better show up this Sunday if you want to find out, eh?
Reading:
Monday - Daniel 1 | Tuesday - Daniel 2 | Wednesday - Daniel 3 | Thursday - Daniel 4 | Friday - Daniel 5 | Saturday - Daniel 6
Memory Verse:
Psalm 5:3
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Back in the previous century... when I was two days away from going to summer camp as a student, I was pretty excited! I was excited to hang out with my friends... I was excited to see if I could maintain my title as arm-wrestling and pitching speed champion (grr... argh!)... I was excited to be out of my own house for that many days in a row... I'm not sure how much I thought about the God side of things though - until I actually got to camp.
I came home from Summer Camp in 1993 absolutely in love with God! I made some decisions about who I thought God wanted me to be that I still hold to today.
My point? Now is not too early to decide who you are going to be! If you're going to be a person who loves other people as much as you love yourself - 12 years old is a great time to start. If you're going to be a person who spends time alone with God every day - start at 14... or 30 - whatever - just don't make excuses about all the crap that you've got to do before you can be who you know you are supposed to be. You can do ANYTHING with God's help - even be EXACTLY who God wants you to be!
Reading Schedule:
Monday: Philippians 4:13 | Tuesday: 1 Timothy 4:12 | Wednesday: Proverbs 21:1-3 | Thursday: Romans 6:12-14 | Friday: Galatians 2:20-21 | Saturday: John 8:34-36
I love how excited my dog Beast gets when you ask her if she
wants to go for a ride… She jumps, she
whines, she barks, she runs in circles, she tries to jump in her dog purse so I’ll
carry her, she charges at the backs of my legs if I take to long to get going, and then – when she finally gets in the car,
forget about it! Her head is out the
window and she’s in her own world where little dogs can fly and sample the
smells of a new mile every minute!
And, since G for Jesus is meeting with the rest of the church this weekend, I get to reccomend that you read something just because it makes me excited!!! So – that’s the reading schedule this week... here you go!
Reading:
Memory Verse:
Psalm 139: 2-4
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.
"I'm so mad I could just kill him!!!" Ever said it? Ever heard it said? Ever heard it said about you?!
I don't have any kids, so I can't say it with absolute certainty, but I'm pretty sure that every parent has felt like killing their kid at one point in time. From my experience as a kid, I KNOW that my Mom has felt like killing me... "No, mom, I don't know how hard the car would have had to hit the ground to destroy a gallon bottle of water in the trunk on impact... but I really don't think the car was that far in the air..." I think hearing that gave my Mom her "I'm going to kill the girl..." moment.
What's my point? We give our parents a hard time when we're kids. Not just with our occasional bad behavior, but with our expectations for them. Parents aren't perfect... they're still trying to figure stuff out too - and we need to cut them some slack!
Matt Vaughn IS a parent, and he's going to be teaching this Sunday on parents and why it's bad to kill people.
Read:
Monday: Ephesians 6:1-4 | Tuesday: Ephesians 6:5-9 | Wednesday: Ephesians 6:10-18 | Thursday: Matthew 7:2-6 | Friday: Matthew 7:7-11 | Saturday: Matthew 7:12-14
Memorize:
Ephesians 6:7
Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Doh! I forgot to post yesterday – no good –
especially since I get to post about pro wrestling!
So,
I love when Nacho Libre is praying in the chapel at the orphanage and decides
that God wants him to be a pro wrestler! I don’t know if God has EVER really told
someone they are destined to be a pro wrestler (especially considering the fact
that Nacho caught on fire shortly after receiving his “calling”) but I do think
that God has a destiny for everyone.
This
Sunday – Matt Vaughn will be talking in G For Jesus about finding the destiny
that God has for you… pretty cool, eh?!
Here’s
what to read this week (sorry it’s late!):
Monday:
Jonah 1:1-16 | Tuesday: Jonah 1:17 - 2:10 | Wednesday: Jonah 3:1-10 | Thursday:
Jonah 4: 1-11 | Friday: Psalm 119:97-104 | Saturday: Jeremiah 29:4-14
And the memory verse:
Psalm 119: 99 - I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate
on your statutes.
(incidentally,
it’s fun to take this verse out of context and just quote the first part at
school…)
You know what I like about my dogs: I can do whatever I want
to do around them. My dogs couldn’t care
less if I’m slumming around the house in yoga pants and a ratty
sweatshirt. If I dance around while Gwen
Stefani yodels in the background, they’ll watch adoringly like I’m a prima
ballerina. If I’m feeling a little
snippy and just want sit down and pout for a while – the dogs don’t care! As a matter of fact, they’ll come over and
keep my feet warm as I sulk.
People – now that’s a different story. Take my pouting example, if I come home and
tell Charley that I’m feeling a little snippy and I just want to sit down and pout
for a while, a cuddly foot-warming is the last thing I’m going to get. (As it should be!)
The way I act, like it or not, has an effect on the people
around me, and in some cases, the way they choose to act. This isn’t as big of a deal when you’re
talking about ratty sweatshirts, or an ill-choreographed yodel-dance, but it is
a big deal when you start talking about people that are skeptical about Christ
and God watching people who claim to be Christians.
“The people who have been horribly mean to me or mistreated
me the most have all been Christians.” Has
that been your experience, it’s certainly been mine. As a believer, I’ve given up my “right” to be
a butt-face. And as a believer, I have
an incredible chance to be light instead of darkness (Matthew 5)!
Jesus spent His whole life being light. Over and over and over again the way He
treated people, the words He said, the things He did – these things prompted
people to seek God and His presence then (and now) is shaping lives 2,000 years
later. He didn’t have Christian stickers
on the back of His sandals, or “clever” Christian sayings on His favorite robe
(can we please burn all of the “Eternity: Smoking or Non-Smoking?” t-shirts?!?) He didn’t need to. His life said what He
believed.
OK – I’m done now. Our lesson this Sunday is: “Yes, I see that you’re drowning. I just don’t care.” (Ooh. Harsh!) Chandra will be giving her
view on how our lives can be our greatest asset in helping the people we care
about meet God.
Reading Schedule:
Monday: 1 Corinthians 11:1 | Tuesday: Romans 3:19-24 | Wednesday:
Romans 5:1-10 | Thursday: Romans 6:1-11 | Friday: Romans 6:12-23 | Saturday: Romans 10:3-15
Memory Verse:
Romans 10:13-14
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved." How, then, can they call on
the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom
they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
I’ll write about the zoo trip a little later… : )
