1/31 - So much good stuff in the Second Article! I'd love to spend an entire school year on this section alone. We've been talking about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus - and we've been learning fancy theological words like state of humilation and state of exaltation, vicarious atonement and universal atonement. We're learning about the three-fold office of Christ (prophet, priest, and king) and in the process of all of that, we gain a stronger love for our Redeemer and a deeper appreciation of what it took for Him to buy us back from the ownership of Satan.
Speaking of Satan, ask your son or daughter what the "unholy trinity" is. (I hope they can give you a good answer!)
1/26 - As we continue on in our study of the Apostles' Creed, we are now in the Second Article - the part that explains in detail the work of the Second Person of the Trinity - Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In this article, we break down the two natures of Christ - that He is truly God and truly Man, and thus able to fulfill for us what we could never fulfill on our own, the payment for our sin through His atoning death and resurrection.
It is my hope and prayer for these young Christians that they will be able to experience the depth and significance of what Jesus has done for all of us, and come to a new level of love and appreciation for His great sacrifice for us.
1/17 - It's so encouraging to hear the comments and questions from the class these days. They speak so confidently and assuredly of their Savior and Redeemer. It is my prayer that the love and confidence they have in Him now will only grow stronger and stronger.
This week, we finish up our look at the First Article of the Apostles' Creed. We have been learning that God as our Father is Creator of all things. He is our Provider of all things we need and could ever want. And on Thursday and Friday we will see Him as our Preserver - watching out for us and protecting us from all that could harm us from the evil one.
1/8 - The Apostles' Creed is divided up into three main sections, or articles. Each article describes in greater detail the work of each Person of the Trinity. As we begin our unit on the Apostles' Creed, we focus on the creative power of the Father, as well as all of His divine attributes.
We will be using the Small Catechism extensively in this unit.
The eternal God of the Universe created us. How does this fact impact our daily lives? It is an overwhelmingly powerful thought to know there is a God who has given us everything we are and everything we have and everything we ever will know. How do we treat these gifts? How shall we treat the Giver of those gifts?
1/5 - This week we have focused on the events surrounding Jesus' life in the days and weeks following His birth. Actually, the visit of the Magi most likely occured when Jesus was perhaps as old as two years. But two facts stand out:
- Simeon's prophecy concerning the Child immediately came true - that He be a light to lighten the Gentiles and that This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. We see this prophecy played out as Herod slaughters all the boys in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger as he is threatened by the kingship of the Messiah.
- Jesus is hated right from the beginning of His life. The life He lived on earth was one of true poverty and humility. He came to suffer and to serve. And that began immediately.
Tomorrow, we will conclude this unit of lessons on the birth of Jesus, after which we will begin a month-long study of the Apostles' Creed.
12/19 - Today we concluded our unit on the Ten Commandments by taking our test. Tomorrow, we will begin a very brief set of lessons on the birth of Christ. I was very pleased with the effort and interest the students showed in our study of God's Commandments. I'm very satisfied with what they have demonstrated in terms of knowledge and comprehension of not only what God forbids with the commandments, but also what He is exhorting us to do to keep the commandments.
12/12 - We are concluding our unit on the Ten Commandments this week with a look at the section called The Close of the Commandments. Today we had a discussion about what it means when God calls Himself a jealous God, and why He punishes children for the sins of the father to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him, while showing love to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
During the latter part of this week, we will go through a review of all ten commandments as we prepare for test next Monday, December 19th.
12/5 - As we began discussion this morning of the Eighth Commandment (the Bear False Witness Commmandment) - we quickly see how this is one of the most commonly disobyed commandments. It's a commandment we are able to break with a smile on our face, often with feelings of supreme personal justification and vindication. Gossip is insidious and hurtful. Slander is rampant and is becoming the basis for much of what we see in the news media and even the entertainment industry.
God calls us to a higher standard. Jesus has modeled for us what His expectation is for us when it comes to how we treat those who mistreat us. As He prayed for those who betrayed, slandered, mocked, beat, and crucified Him, He commands us to do good to those who hate us, put the best construction on everything, explain everything in the kindest way.
12/1 - Downloading pirated music from the internet, copying answers on someone else's homework, working lazily on our chores for which we are paid...all of these are examples of stealing that are common today. We're talking today and tomorrow about the Seventh Commandment, not only what God forbids with this commandment, but also what He requires - to help protect and improve our neighbor's possessions and income.
11/28 - My goal for the 5th/6th graders when it comes to the Sixth Commandment is that they understand God's will for them in honoring and respecting the institution of marriage. We are endlessly bombarded with sexually-charged messages regarding televsion programs, movies, the music industry, in adverstising, clothing, and even in the headlines of news and sports.
As the adults in their lives, we need to prayerfully consider how to best educate them in how to respond to these attacks, and equip them with the weapons God has put at our disposal to take on the enemy, Satan, who desires to take us down in any and every way possible.
I strongly, strongly urge you all, as parents, to go through the content of this week's handout with your son or daugher. Have the honest and frank discussions with them about how sexuality is presented in society vs. what God's will is for them.
It's sad that we have to even have these conversations, but reality dictates that we must. I'm a strong proponent of hedge-building when it comes to this. By this I mean that we must know what's out there, know what our kids are seeing, hearing, and experiencing through the main-sream media, and judiciously filter out and deny to them what is not appropriate for them. Then, when they inevitably do see, hear, and experience what is not appropriate, we need to confront it and use it as an opportunity for those faith-conversations to underscore what God commands in the Sixth Commandment.
11/21 - Obviously a very short week this week as we move on to the Fifth Commandment. Many people skip over this commandment thinking it doesn't apply to them, as they certainly have never taken anyone's life. But clearly this commandment applies to all of us when Jesus reminds us that anyone who hates his brother is guilty of murdering him. This morning, we looked at all the examples of killing as it fits this definition - including the ugliness of gossip, bullying, slander, intimidation, and isolating others. Hate comes in word as well as deed, and we are all guilty before God in our failure to keep this commandment.
Tomorrow, as we finish this commandment, we will talk about ways to keep the murdering commandment - as we seek ways to help and protect our neighbor in every physical need.
11/17 - The Fourth Commandment is the Honor Commandment. Students are learning that this commandment comes with a promise from God - that we will enjoy long life on the earth. The key word in that promise is enjoy. And it stands to reason, doesn't it? When families personify the qualities of love, respect, and honor, then life is enjoyable. This isn't a one-way street. Yes, children are called upon to love, honor, and respect those in authority, but we as parents do well to model these qualities in how we treat one another as husbands and wives, as well as how we respect and honor those who are in authority of them, like bosses and the government.
11/14 - In the 3rd Commandment, God is expressing to us the absolute importance of regular and consistent worship. So many Christians today fall into a pattern of behavior that results in a total neglect and disrespect for the practice of worshiping God. We convince ourselves that God is okay with occasional worship as we neatly fit God into our busy schedules. Two times a month? Hey, that's pretty good! Once a month? Well, at least I'm there that often. Better than others! Two or three times a year? Hey - I can worship God at home, on the golf course, or up north in my cabin.
The problem with this attitude is, it doesn't resonate with God's command. Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. How often does the Sabbath Day come along? Once a week. How do we keep it holy? By not despising preaching and His Word, but by gladly hearing and learning it. Where else can you go to receive the Sacrament?
We are blessed to have pastors who correctly and faithfully preach a pure Gospel message - not tainted with politically correct spin, not watered down with "feel good" sermons that make us feel good about ourselves - but a pure exhortation of Law and Gospel, as God demands it to be preached.
How blessed we are! As the writer to the Hebrews states, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. But let us spur one another on to love and good works, and all the more as we see the Day approaching."
11/10 - Happy 528th Birthday Martin Luther! Today we began a study of the Second Commandment, specifically, honoring and respecting God's name. Taking God's name in vain (or misusing His name) demonstrates two things: 1) A lack of respect for God, and 2) a limited vocabulary. We talked about how important it is for us to respect His name in our language because how we speak goes a long way in determining what other people think of us. Many people who using the name of Jesus Christ in a disrespectful way will defend themselves by saying, "It doesn't mean anything." But that's just the point. We make God's name meaningless and hollow when we use it for any purpose other than what we are called to do: PRAY, PRAISE, AND GIVE THANKS.
11/8 - As we continued our look at the First Commandment today, we made the realization that any sin is actually a breaking of this commandment, because any time we hate, disrespect, think impure thoughts, feel jealous or envious, gossip or slander someone, we are elevating our own will above God's, and thus have made ourselves the god of our lives in that moment.
We, of course, cannot hope to obey these commandments perfectly. But God has sent His Son, Jesus, to fulfill the law for us. We now inherit His righteousness. Now God looks at us through the lens of Jesus' perfect sacrifice - and sees us as holy and righteous.
And so we also talked about the reason why we strive to keep these commandments, even though it is impossible for us to do so. It's because God has commandmed these to us as His will for our lives, and we, as His children, out of love and thankfulness to Him for His love, mercy, and grace to us, desire to please Him with our obedience.
10/31 - Today we concluded our first unit of the year - a major section of the Gospels covering Christ's earthly ministry. Beginning next Monday, we will spend about four weeks on the Ten Commandments, leading up to Advent. Please note the updated tab for Memory Work on this class page. The November memory work assignments have been posted.
10/25 - Today we looked at one of the most powerful and inspiriational events of Jesus' earthly ministry - the raising of Lazarus from the dead. We watched a clip from the Gospel of John that portrayed this miracle in such a wonderful way, then listened to a song by long time Christian recording artist Carman called "Lazarus Come Forth". Jesus did this miracle for the sake of his disciples, whom he knew he'd be leaving shortly. He wanted them to see yet another powerful demonstration of his dominion over death. The question he told Martha, "I Am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believes in Me, even though he dies, yet shall he live." Then he added a closing question: "Do you believe this?" It's the all-important question, and it's answer is the difference between an eternity with God or an eternity without Him. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can answer as Martha did: "“Yes, Lord,I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
10/24 - This morning's lesson continued on the discussion of the Prodigal Son. We often only focus on the younger brother in this parable, but Jesus really told this parable to the Pharisees so they could see themselves as the older brother, who tried to "earn" his share of the estate through his obedience to the father. How often do we fall into that mindset of thinking that our good deeds, our church activity, or our generosity is somehow scoring points with God. Rather, we need to admit that whether we are "older brother types" or "younger brother types" - we all need to come clean before God with a broken and contrite heart, as our memory passage for today says. God's love for us is prodigal (which can also mean exuberant, abundant, and extravagant).
10/21 - Today we watched a 15 minute video by Curt Cloninger, who so beautifully captures the message of Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. The video is from the 1998 LCMS Youth Gathering in Atlanta. I've uploaded it in two parts on my class page. On Monday, we'll be discussing in further detail this beautiful parable. Those of you who are a part of a Prodigal God small group will have even a greater appreciation for the powerful message Jesus is delivering here, not only to those of us who can identify with the rebellious younger brother, but with the self-righteous and arrogant elder brother.
10/20 - If there's one thing the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Great Banquet tell us about God, it's that He desperately wants us with Him in heaven. The amazing fact of God's love for us, especially as revealed in the parable of the Lost Sheep, is that even if we were the only individual in need of salvation, if everyone else and everything else in God's creation remained unstained from the fall into sin - except for one person - Jesus still would have humbled Himself, left heaven to become a man, and do everything He did - just to save that one sinner. That's how much He loves you. That's how much He loves me. That's amazing love!
10/18 - Sometimes you can tell what a person knows simply by the kind of questions they ask. When a rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, you could tell he didn't understand what Jesus' purpose was for coming as Messiah. This man was operating under the idea that salvation can somehow be earned by our deeds. In trying to get him to understand this, Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor - which he was unwilling to do. His god was has his stuff, and he wasn't willing to part with it, thereby proving what he wouldn't admit - that he was imperfect and needed a Savior.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Where are we in this story? How tightly do we cling to those "things" in our life that are only temporary. Are we like the foolish rich young man who refused to admit his sin? If we're going to do any "clinging" in our lives, let it not be to our "things" but rather to the cross of Christ. Let's confess our sin of making our stuff too important, and experience the grace and forgiveness he so freely offers.
10/17 - We had a great discussion this morning about what Jesus meant when he said we must become like little children if we want to inherit the kingdom of God. He later showed us that this means we are to humble ourselves. After all, children are pretty humble, aren't they? Their total existence is dependent upon their parents meeting their needs. True humility, as one of the 6th graders so accurately put it, is putting yourself under someone else. Jesus is the great example of one who humbled himself. In Philippians 2:8 it says ...And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Jesus is pointing out here that true humility is found in our obedience to him and our recognition that we cannot hope to inherit God's kingdom unless we rely totally on him. We submit ourselves to God's authority in our lives, and in his grace, mercy, and love for us.
10/13 - We continued our look at the parable of the Good Samaritan this morning. The video I've uploaded to my class page is from Steven Curtis Chapman, with the song "All About Love". We really need to make the connection and see ourselves in this parable. Are we the victim, beaten by robbers and left for dead? Are we the priest and Levite who walk past without helping? Or...are we the man who stopped and helped? In one respect, our sinful nature causes us to realize that far too often we neglect the needs of our neighbors, and even fail to realize who are neighbor is, making us a lot like the priest and Levite. In another sense, we can and sometimes do act as the Samaritan when we actually see the needs in our neighbors' lives and respond. But ultimately, we see Jesus as the true Good Samaritan who came to our rescue, healed us at his own cost, and demonstrated grace and mercy to us when we never should have felt entitled to it. He is the model of love for us - yes. But more than that, it is the fact of His love that has brought us into an eternal relationship with Him.
10/11 - Our next parable coming up is the Good Samaritan. This parable is really about the essence of true friendship and what it means to love one another. Christ commands us to this level of love, that we not only forgive one another, but actively reach out - even to our enemies - with acts of love and service.
10/10 - Over the next two weeks, we will be taking a look at some of Jesus' parables. Today, we began with the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. At the heart of this parable is the truth that we can't expect to be forgiven of our sins if we demonstrate an unwillingness to forgive those who sin against us. We'll continue our study of this parable tomorrow.
10/7 - Jesus' transfiguration was an indescribably event in the lives of the three disciples Jesus took with Him that day. We watched a video clip from the Visual Bible (Matthew 16) and it hardly did justice to what they must have witnessed - Jesus in His full majesty. We get a glimpse of how overpowering this must have been when we read from Isaiah's encounter with the Almighty in Isaiah 6. He thought he was a dead man because he, a sinner, was in the presence of the Almighty God.
We need to bring this respect and awe for God when we come into His presence in worship. By His grace, He invites us, calms our fears, and even commissions us - as He did with His disciples - to be His ambassadors to a world living in darkness.
10/6 - Today we had three more brief stories of Jesus healing people. In one rather strange encounter, Jesus and His disciples are being followed by a Canaanite woman who keeps crying out for Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. The disciples get annoyed with her and ask Jesus to make her leave. Even Jesus seems rather cool toward her - telling her that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. But the woman is undeterred, and when Jesus comes back with, "It isn't right to take the children's bread and feed it to the dogs," she comes back with, "Yes, but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from the Master's table. At this, Jesus commends her for her great faith, and her daughter is restored. One can only imagine the conversation Jesus had with His disciples following that encounter. I'm sure He had some sharp words for their arrogant and hateful behavior toward her.
Lest we look down at the disciples too harshly, we must remember that we also belong with them. The students today wondered why they just didn't get it - after witnessing so many of Jesus' miracles - why couldn't they love like Jesus loved? But what about us? Why can't we? We are no less convinced of Jesus' power and authority as God's Son, yet we often show the same lack of compassion, grace, and mercy as the disciples in this lesson.
Thanks be to God - Psalm 103:10 says, "he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities."
10/4 - The disciples had seen Jesus' authority over the laws of nature. So far in our studies, He has turned water into wine, healed the paralyzed, made blind see, deaf hear, raised a widow's son to life, and fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Now He's walking on water. It makes one think of the children's rhyme: "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty....There's nothing my God cannot do!"
This same Jesus, who reassured His trembling disciples with the words "Take courage, it is I, do not not be afraid," offers us this same assurace. What are you facing today that is too large a thing for Jesus to help you overcome?
10/3 - Jesus provided a meal for over 5000 people on a mountainside in Galilee. But that meal didn’t permanently satisfy their hunger. On another occasion, he would provide a meal for all mankind that would satisfy our spiritual hunger for all of eternity.
9/30 - John was beheaded by Herod Antipas, one of the most dispicable people ever mentioned in the Bible. John had the courage to speak the truth about Herod's adulterous marriage to Herodius, who was actually his brother's wife. For this he was murdered by Herod. Of John, Jesus said this: "Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." What did he mean by that? Simply this: John was a forerunner of the message of the Gospel - that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection would give us a righteousness that all those who came before him could only look forward to in faith. Because of Christ, we are not merely born of woman, but also of water and the Spirit through Baptism he instituted in his great command to "preach and baptize all nations."
9/29 - This morning's lesson on Jesus healing the leper and the centurion's servant centered on the need for humility. The centurion was an example of this, as he acknowledged that Jesus had complete authority over all things, including disease. The disciples were, at first, a bit taken back by Jesus' offer to visit the home of a Gentile, but Jesus quickly pointed out that there will be many who come from the east and the west who will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the banquet of the kingdom of God, with many others (he implied non-believing Jews) who will be on the outside looking in. We, likewise, need to humble ourselves before God, acknowledging our sin, and worship him in true faith and love.
9/27 - Watch the great video on the Parable of the Sower - which I embedded on my class page this morning. All four types of soil are represented.
9/26 - This morning we were able to complete the lesson on Jesus' raising the son of the widow from Nain and of Jairus' daughter. Both these miracles demonstrate Jesus' power over death. In his words, "Fear not, she is not dead, but asleep," remind us that death is never permanent, only temporary. Also, the Bible uses the phrase, "and His heart went out to her" to describe how Jesus felt when he saw the grieving widow of Nain. This, too, reminds us that there isn't a single emotion of ours that Jesus is not familiar with, nor is He without love and compassion for our circumstances. What a wonderful Savior!
9/23 - A paralytic was taken to Jesus to be healed. In front of the teachers of the Law, Jesus began by forgiving this man his sins - which infuriated the teachers. Only God can forgive sins! Jesus, knowing their hearts, asked, "Which is easier? Saying 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up and walk'?" Then he healed the man, and the teachers were left speechless.
Then, when Jesus cast demons out of a man and sent them into a herd of pigs, the townspeople asked Jesus to leave their town.
Curious responses to Jesus' power and majesty. One student responded to this by asking, "Why couldn't they just realize that Jesus is God?" It sounds so simple, doesn't it? And yet we see much of the same behavior today, 2000 years later. Instead of simply believing that Jesus is who He says He is, many people, blinded by their own arrogance and pride, reject Him and, figuratively, ask Him to leave.
It's so great to see believing hearts and trusting souls in this class!
9/22 - This morning we watched a video by Christian speaker Ken Davis about Moses and his encounter with God in the burning bush. Davis goes through the excuses Moses gave to God to not go to Egypt and deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh's hand. He compares that to the excuses we give to not share our faith with those around us. Ask your son or daughter if they can name the five excuses Moses used!
TOMORROW IS OUR FIRST SCHEDULED NEST OF THE YEAR FOR 5TH-8TH GRADERS - FROM 7 TO 7:30 A.M. IN THE YOUTH ROOM. FREE BREAKFAST TREATS, CHRISTIAN MUSIC VIDEOS, A BRIEF BIBLE STUDY, A SKIT (prepared by Matthew & Michael Axtman, Noah Kaemmer, Livia Lickteig and Maria Zimmerman). YOUTH CAN BE DROPPED OFF AT THE YOUTH ROOM ENTRANCE (near Mr. Anderson's room).
9/20 - Jesus chose plain, ordinary men - like fishermen - to be His disciples. They would serve as ambassadors for the truth - as light in a dark world. In the book of Acts, it was said that they turned the world upside down with their teaching. If God can use fishermen to further His kingdom, He certainly can use us, as well. Today, as we discussed the great catch of fish, we spent time talking about Peter's strange response to it: "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" Peter recognized that he was in the presence of the Almighty God, and it moved him in humility to respond in this way. But Jesus would hear none of that! Instead, he commissioned Peter to tell the Good News of Jesus' love to an unbelieving world. Where do we see ourselves in this story?
9/19 - Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. In today's story, the Pharisees tried to bait Jesus into an argument because He healed a paralytic and a man with a palsied hand - on a day that happened to be the Sabbath Day. Such hypocrites! Jesus pointed out that if a donkey had fallen into a ravine on the Sabbath Day, they would have worked to get it out. Yet they criticize Him because He heals on the Sabbath. Clearly they couldn't see God's intent for the Law - which is to love God and love your fellow man. Any time you use God's law to avoid loving God or man, you are blinded by your own hypocrisy. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath - and gave us the Sabbath as a day to bring praise and glory to His name.
9/16 - Today as we looked at the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, we are reminded of the powerful love Jesus has, despite all of the baggage we carry in our lives. Jesus knew the sinful past of this woman's life, and yet he still overcame the cultural divisions that existed at that time to speak with her, revealing Himself to her as the Messiah - the true source of Living Water. Not only was it unheard of for a man to engage a woman in public conversation, but this was a Samaritan woman, and Jews never associated with Samaritans.
We see ourselves in her role in this story. The Bible tells us, While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't wait for us to improve our lives before He accepted us - He made the first move.
Notice the reaction of the woman - another great lesson for us. She immediately hurried back to her village where she told everyone she met about this man who told me everything I have ever done. Could He be the Messiah? We too must feel the sense of urgency in telling others about what Jesus has done for us. He is the Living Water, and this water will spring up in us and give us eternal life.
9/15 - Great discussion from the students during this morning's lesson as we wrapped up Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus. The class has sorted through the difficult words of Jesus' exhortation that no one can enter the kingdom of heaven without being born again. We looked up and highlighted other passages in Scripture that use this "born again" language, and we've come to see that it's really about us recognizing that we cannot earn our way to heaven. We must come clean before God and realize that we need His Son's atoning death and resurrection, which is so beautifully summarized in John 3:16. It's so great to see these young minds making the connection to baptism and to their own personal lives.
9/13 - This morning we began our lesson on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus. We only got about halfway through, so we will finish that up on Thursday. It's an amazing conversation, filled with language that is difficult for us to immediately understand. When we begin to comprehend being born again as an act from God in us, we see what is happening in our baptisms. Two things occur in baptism - a death followed by a rebirth. Our "Old Adam" is put to death - drowned - and a New Man" emerges, washed clean and justified through Christ's atoning sacrifice. This is at the heart of Jesus' words to Nicodemus.
I will be leading chapel tomorrow - with the assistance of several 5th & 6th graders. Whether or not your son or daughter is participating in leading the chapel, you are always welcome to join us for worship.
9/12 - What was Jesus demonstrating with His first miracle - the changing of water into wine? At one level, he was demonstrating His love and concern for the bridegroom - saving him from a very embarrassing situation. He also demonstrated obedience to His mother, Mary, by acting on her request to help. But perhaps most importantly, He was giving His disciples a small taste of what was to come - a revelation of His glory by demonstrating power over the elements of nature. The Bible says that after this miracle, they [the disciples] put their trust in Him. Through this miracle, God is showing us that He cares for and can meet all of our problems in life - both the little ones and the big ones - and we, like His first disciples, need to put our trust in Him.
9/9 - The Christian band The Newsboys have a song called Way Beyond Myself that we listened to this morning. Its words are a great reminder to us that we exist for a divine purpose - to make disciples of all nations. We must place ourselves in the story of Jesus choosing His disciples, as it is no less of an amazing act of love that He calls and equips us to follow Him. Toward the end of the song, this thought is expressed:
Storms are gonna come my way, I know
Some things are out of our control but there's a hope beyond myself
It's You and You will never let me go
Now I want my life to show You got me thinking beyond myself
Way beyond myself
I posted a like to the video on the front of this class page. Enjoy!
9/8 - Pastor Kelm took the 5th through 8th graders into the church this morning to teach them how to perform the acolyting duties. We will continue our journey through the New Testament tomorrow with a lesson on Jesus' selection of His disciples.
9/6 - As we look at Jesus' temptation in the wilderness, we see that Satan came at Jesus three separate times - to try to get him to turn stones into bread, to thrown himself off the temple peak, and finally to simply bow down to worship Satan in return for all the kingdoms of this world. Each time, Jesus responded to Satan's temptation by using verses from Deuteronomy against Satan. He used God's Word. What a lesson for us. As we face the trials and tribulations of this life, as we face Satan's attacks, where better to go than where Jesus went - to God's Word! Mark 13:11 promises us that the Holy Spiirit will bring to our minds the words we need to say when we need it. This is why we do those things like Memory Work and Bible study. We are receiving that nourishment and strength from the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us through His Word.
9/2 - Another great class this morning as we continued our look at the ministry and life of John the Baptist. John wasn't afraid to speak the truth - even when he knew it would be unpopular. He got his courage from knowing that he was being used by God to fulfill the purpose for which he was sent - to prepare the way for the Lord! God, give us that same courage.
9/1 - John the Baptist was sent to be the forerunner of the Messiah - to call people to repentance. This morning, we compared John's message to what it's like to get ready for important company. We clean our rooms, repair broken furniture, paint dirty walls, scrub the floors and put out our best dishes. Likewise, John's call to repentance was to get people to see that as Jesus approaches, He calls us to get rid of all those things that soil our life. John's baptism only provided this symbolic cleansing, but Jesus' atoning death and resurrection accomplished for us what we could never do for ourselves - truly cleanse us from the inside out with the forgiveness of sins. Praise God!
8/30 - We had a great start to our journey through the New Testament this morning. Starting out with the birth of John the Baptist, the doubting of Zecharias, and God's abundant promises. We listened to and watched a music video featuring Steven Curtis Chapman singing "Speechless" - reminding us that God's mercy, grace, and love for us leaves us speechless before Him.