**adapted from a sermon by Chad Whitmore (minister of Franklin Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, Iowa).
Motivating scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,"
Introduction
As Christians our actions in our relationship with God are often done out of "habituation." This means that we get caught up in the motions of things and want them to be the same as they have always been. We want to go to the same kind of church service, we listen to the same type of sermons, we pray the same prayer at the same time every day and not many other times, just to name a few. We usually have no problem with accepting that God is all powerful but do we think enough about how God feels about us? For me, this was one of those slight changes in thinking that was really profound to me because I realized I didn't often think of how God truly feels about me and what gifts I have from him that make me special.
This week I would like you to think about the POWER of God.
Our God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Omniscient means "all-knowing" and I think that this is the most common description of God's power. Omnipresent means "ever-present" in all ways. Omnipotent means "all-powerful" or that He can do ANYTHING. He spoke the earth into existence, healed many illnesses including those that still have no cure, made a virgin pregnant, and raised the dead. There are countless current stories about the miracles that are still happening through prayer and Christian intervention.
This power is the driving force behind the first two of hope and worth. Because God is so powerful we can stand firm in our faith and continue to better ourselves through Christ.
Two thousand years ago Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus and gave great emphasis to this point. They, just like us today, had forgotten about this great power and that it was in God that we can take refuge.
This is the point that I think falls the most under the "habituation" category for us. We blindly accept that God is "all-powerful" and we go on about our business. The Bible tells us that we are to focus on this fact and that it should be one of the bases for our faith.
I pray that you all can find comfort in the fact that there is no problem too big for God to take care of. I have seen it in my life and I know that if you pray and watch you will see it too!!!
Have a great week!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
You Can't See With Your Eyes Shut - Part Two
**adapted from a sermon by Chad Whitmore (minister of Franklin Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, Iowa).
Motivating scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the workin gof his mighty strength,"
Introduction
As Christians our actions in our relationship with God are often done out of "habituation." This means that we get caught up in the motions of things and want them to be the same as they have always been. We want to go to the same kind of church service, we listen to the same type of sermons, we pray the same prayer at the same time every day and not many other times, just to name a few. We usually have no problem with accepting that God is all powerful but do we think enough about how God feels about us? For me, this was one of those slight changes in thinking that was really profound to me because I realized I didn't often think of how God truly feels about me and what gifts I have from him that make me special.
This week I want you to think about the WORTH that we have to our God.
I believe that so much of our lives are spent thinking about what God is to us that we don't take the time to think about the relationship the other direction. What are we to God? You are WORTH something to God. Not just something but you are something precious to God. That is hard to swallow for me but that is something that we need to focus on for us to really understand our realationship with God. We, Christians, are God's inheritance. He wants us to come to Him. He formed us to have a special relationship with Him. He wants ALL who can to know Him. He will not send Jesus to us until there is not one more heart to be turned.
Luke 12:6-7 tell us that He remembers each of our sorrows and he cares so much about us that he counts the hairs on our heads. This caring that God does for us goes beyond how I feel for my children and how my parents felt for me. Again, this doesn't sit easy with me. How can anyone love me more than my parents or more than I love my children? It seems impossible. But that's where God trumps everything. He makes the impossible possible. He loves you more than you can imagine.
Matthew 13:45-46 also illustrates how God feels for us. In that scripture we see that God gave up everything for us. He sent us Jesus his only son to do what no other man has been able to do or will ever be able to do again, be the perfect sacrifice for all who believe. Jesus was sinless and blameless and was slaughtered for the sake of all mankind. That really hits me at a part in my heart that is hard for me to look at because I always struggle with the thought of giving up a child. The thought of losing one of my own is enough to almost give me physical pain. My heart goes out to those who have lost a child and I pray I never have to experience that. But could one give up their child even as a sacrifice to save another? God did that for me and all others. That is so huge my mind has trouble grasping it.
This subject never ceases to amaze me. While I do believe that I am worth something priceless to God it seems that it is not often a part of my thoughts. I don't really see a reason why we shouldn't think on it every day. What a great reminder of what we are doing here!
My prayer this week is that you rely on the fact that you are worth something great to God to give you peace and feelings of self worth.
If you don't know the Lord all you have to do is pray and ask Him into your life. That is what He is waiting and longing for.
Have a wonderful week!!
Motivating scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the workin gof his mighty strength,"
Introduction
As Christians our actions in our relationship with God are often done out of "habituation." This means that we get caught up in the motions of things and want them to be the same as they have always been. We want to go to the same kind of church service, we listen to the same type of sermons, we pray the same prayer at the same time every day and not many other times, just to name a few. We usually have no problem with accepting that God is all powerful but do we think enough about how God feels about us? For me, this was one of those slight changes in thinking that was really profound to me because I realized I didn't often think of how God truly feels about me and what gifts I have from him that make me special.
This week I want you to think about the WORTH that we have to our God.
I believe that so much of our lives are spent thinking about what God is to us that we don't take the time to think about the relationship the other direction. What are we to God? You are WORTH something to God. Not just something but you are something precious to God. That is hard to swallow for me but that is something that we need to focus on for us to really understand our realationship with God. We, Christians, are God's inheritance. He wants us to come to Him. He formed us to have a special relationship with Him. He wants ALL who can to know Him. He will not send Jesus to us until there is not one more heart to be turned.
Luke 12:6-7 tell us that He remembers each of our sorrows and he cares so much about us that he counts the hairs on our heads. This caring that God does for us goes beyond how I feel for my children and how my parents felt for me. Again, this doesn't sit easy with me. How can anyone love me more than my parents or more than I love my children? It seems impossible. But that's where God trumps everything. He makes the impossible possible. He loves you more than you can imagine.
Matthew 13:45-46 also illustrates how God feels for us. In that scripture we see that God gave up everything for us. He sent us Jesus his only son to do what no other man has been able to do or will ever be able to do again, be the perfect sacrifice for all who believe. Jesus was sinless and blameless and was slaughtered for the sake of all mankind. That really hits me at a part in my heart that is hard for me to look at because I always struggle with the thought of giving up a child. The thought of losing one of my own is enough to almost give me physical pain. My heart goes out to those who have lost a child and I pray I never have to experience that. But could one give up their child even as a sacrifice to save another? God did that for me and all others. That is so huge my mind has trouble grasping it.
This subject never ceases to amaze me. While I do believe that I am worth something priceless to God it seems that it is not often a part of my thoughts. I don't really see a reason why we shouldn't think on it every day. What a great reminder of what we are doing here!
My prayer this week is that you rely on the fact that you are worth something great to God to give you peace and feelings of self worth.
If you don't know the Lord all you have to do is pray and ask Him into your life. That is what He is waiting and longing for.
Have a wonderful week!!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
You Can't See With Your Eyes Shut - Part One
**adapted from a sermon by Chad Whitmore (minister of Franklin Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, Iowa).
Motivating scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the workin gof his mighty strength,"
Introduction
As Christians our actions in our relationship with God are often done out of "habituation." This means that we get caught up in the motions of things and want them to be the same as they have always been. We want to go to the same kind of church service, we listen to the same type of sermons, we pray the same prayer at the same time every day and not many other times, just to name a few. We usually have no problem with accepting that God is all powerful but do we think enough about how God feels about us? For me, this was one of those slight changes in thinking that was really profound to me because I realized I didn't often think of how God truly feels about me and what gifts I have from him that make me special.
Today I want you to think about the HOPE that we get from God.
This HOPE is that we, as Christians, have the promise of a life beyond this life which means that this is not all there is. A major part of our Christian beliefs is that heaven awaits those who truly believe that Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins. We should then live our lives with that on our heart. We have a hard time believing that we are important enough for an innocent man to die for our sins but that is exactly the wrong way to think. If we were important enough to God why can we not be important to ourselves? We need to take ownership of this hope as if it is our home or our car with our name on the title.
Titus 3:4-7 says that through Jesus we have the hope of eternal life.
1 Timothy 4:10 tells us that the we should labor and strive for full acceptance of the message and for hope. The word labor is included because it is hard work to make this a cornerstone in our lives.
Titus 1:1-2 tells us that this hope has been around since the beginning of time. God planned for this to be an asset to us.
1 Peter 1:3-4 reminds us that we are given a living hope through Jesus Christ. One that gets stronger and never dies.
Put up sticky notes on your mirror, front door, or office computer if you have to but please lets try to make a conscious effort to think of this wonderful gift of hope that was given to us by God through belief in his one and only son who He sacrificed to save us.
Go with God and remember how important you are to HIM!!!
Motivating scripture: Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the workin gof his mighty strength,"
Introduction
As Christians our actions in our relationship with God are often done out of "habituation." This means that we get caught up in the motions of things and want them to be the same as they have always been. We want to go to the same kind of church service, we listen to the same type of sermons, we pray the same prayer at the same time every day and not many other times, just to name a few. We usually have no problem with accepting that God is all powerful but do we think enough about how God feels about us? For me, this was one of those slight changes in thinking that was really profound to me because I realized I didn't often think of how God truly feels about me and what gifts I have from him that make me special.
Today I want you to think about the HOPE that we get from God.
This HOPE is that we, as Christians, have the promise of a life beyond this life which means that this is not all there is. A major part of our Christian beliefs is that heaven awaits those who truly believe that Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins. We should then live our lives with that on our heart. We have a hard time believing that we are important enough for an innocent man to die for our sins but that is exactly the wrong way to think. If we were important enough to God why can we not be important to ourselves? We need to take ownership of this hope as if it is our home or our car with our name on the title.
Titus 3:4-7 says that through Jesus we have the hope of eternal life.
1 Timothy 4:10 tells us that the we should labor and strive for full acceptance of the message and for hope. The word labor is included because it is hard work to make this a cornerstone in our lives.
Titus 1:1-2 tells us that this hope has been around since the beginning of time. God planned for this to be an asset to us.
1 Peter 1:3-4 reminds us that we are given a living hope through Jesus Christ. One that gets stronger and never dies.
Put up sticky notes on your mirror, front door, or office computer if you have to but please lets try to make a conscious effort to think of this wonderful gift of hope that was given to us by God through belief in his one and only son who He sacrificed to save us.
Go with God and remember how important you are to HIM!!!
Back to Start the New Year!!!
I have had a crazy last couple months and when things are so crazy it effects how I think, act and write. I have needed a little time off from everything to just repair my soul. God is great and has brought my family through another amazing year!!
I have been preparring a series of three posts that I will be composing entitled "You Can't See With Your Eyes Shut!!" This is a sermon that I heard from my minister, Chad Whitmore, at Franklin Avenue Christian Church in Des Moines, Iowa that really spoke to me. He had adapted his sermon from a speaker at the 2007 Iowa Christian Convention, to give credit where credit is due.
I will be posting the first of this series today.
I thank you for spending time reading my thoughts on God.
I have been preparring a series of three posts that I will be composing entitled "You Can't See With Your Eyes Shut!!" This is a sermon that I heard from my minister, Chad Whitmore, at Franklin Avenue Christian Church in Des Moines, Iowa that really spoke to me. He had adapted his sermon from a speaker at the 2007 Iowa Christian Convention, to give credit where credit is due.
I will be posting the first of this series today.
I thank you for spending time reading my thoughts on God.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Thoughts to Ponder
This post is going to be short on text because I have a couple things that I have found bring me closer to God when I think about them on a regular basis. Try it out and see what you think!
1. Everything we've done in the past shapes the Christian that we are today.
2. There isn't ONE thing in your past that God cannot use to make you a better Christian.
He wants us to repent and start over no matter how terrible we have been. You are putting limits on God if you think that He cannot use you!
Are you consistently giving your past to the Lord? Or are you putting them in your worldly closet and keeping them hidden?
1. Everything we've done in the past shapes the Christian that we are today.
2. There isn't ONE thing in your past that God cannot use to make you a better Christian.
He wants us to repent and start over no matter how terrible we have been. You are putting limits on God if you think that He cannot use you!
Are you consistently giving your past to the Lord? Or are you putting them in your worldly closet and keeping them hidden?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Be Still
One of my firm beliefs about life as a Christian is that my walk HAS TO BE a daily renewal of a commitment to be more Christ-like. I try to consistently remind myself that I may do a better job at some things than I did in the past but in no way shape or form am I ever close to achieving the level where I can quit trying to be a better, more Christ-like person.
I found a verse in my night Bible readings that really threw this in my face.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
There are so many Christian women I know, including myself that have serious issues in these areas. I often think, “Wow, that woman is addicted to drama.” I’ve always thought that this was not a good way to be, but I had no idea that it was addressed this specifically in scripture.
Lead a quiet life and mind your own business is just as relevant today as it was back then. We need no extra visualization to tie this to our own lives. Women must have been gossipy beings ready to spew any information they had about anyone that people may want to hear even back two thousand years ago! I like to talk and so sometimes I find myself talking about other people. I am praying about and trying to train myself to be aware when these conversations go beyond what I would be comfortable discussing in front of the person in question AND my grandmother. Just prayer for awareness has started to change. Gossip feels different when you are conscious of the fact you are directed to stay away from it in this passage and others in the Bible.
Work with your hands can mean be productive, you can say that you are valuable until the cows come home but until you earn the respect of your peers in any situation you will not truly be independent or have the appreciation that you want and deserve.
My prayer for you this week is that you take this verse to heart and actively think about times when Jesus would tell you, “Be still.” Be it your mouth or your mind, I hope you are thinking daily about how you can be a better Christian.
Keep storing gifts for yourself in heaven sisters and brothers, and we will celebrate together some day!
I found a verse in my night Bible readings that really threw this in my face.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
There are so many Christian women I know, including myself that have serious issues in these areas. I often think, “Wow, that woman is addicted to drama.” I’ve always thought that this was not a good way to be, but I had no idea that it was addressed this specifically in scripture.
Lead a quiet life and mind your own business is just as relevant today as it was back then. We need no extra visualization to tie this to our own lives. Women must have been gossipy beings ready to spew any information they had about anyone that people may want to hear even back two thousand years ago! I like to talk and so sometimes I find myself talking about other people. I am praying about and trying to train myself to be aware when these conversations go beyond what I would be comfortable discussing in front of the person in question AND my grandmother. Just prayer for awareness has started to change. Gossip feels different when you are conscious of the fact you are directed to stay away from it in this passage and others in the Bible.
Work with your hands can mean be productive, you can say that you are valuable until the cows come home but until you earn the respect of your peers in any situation you will not truly be independent or have the appreciation that you want and deserve.
My prayer for you this week is that you take this verse to heart and actively think about times when Jesus would tell you, “Be still.” Be it your mouth or your mind, I hope you are thinking daily about how you can be a better Christian.
Keep storing gifts for yourself in heaven sisters and brothers, and we will celebrate together some day!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Creation in Action
I want to dedicate as many posts as I can to my personal experiences with our products. As the education director I feel that it is my duty to try out the material that I put in the product. One main goal that we have for BSFK is to give new ways to teach and to have ways that the children can teach themselves.
I wanted my Sunday school class to experience all that goes into preparing a good lesson. They are 4th to 6th graders and can all read. We are blessed to have been able to scrape together enough archaic equipment to have a computer lab in our church. I had eight regulars in my class so I put them in groups of two and had one group for each of the weeks’ lesson.
I did the activity over a whole quarter (three months) so that saved the church money on educational resources and allowed me to have the students complete many tasks.
The tasks that I had each group complete were:
• Making a task list
• Choosing their lesson material from the teachers guide
• Typing up a script
• Photocopying their activities and worksheets
• Teaching one week’s lesson
Task List
The first week we had a guided discussion of what pieces there are to a lesson each week and how a teacher has to plan for those things. I took notes as we discussed and at the end of the lesson we had a good list of tasks for them to complete before their presentation days.
Lesson Material from Teacher’s Guide
The teacher’s guide has more information than they could cover in one lesson’s time so I had them choose what they were going to cover and who was going to cover it. Some of the groups typed their script right out of the material while others chose to hand write a list of what they were going to say and type from that.
Typing up the Script
I didn’t feel that my students would be able to present from just an outline, so I had them type a full script. I showed them how to put the name first followed by a colon and then what they would say after that. An example is below:
Sarah: God said, “Let there be light”
Ian: We know light as coming from the sun but this was God’s light. The sun had not been created yet.
It took them several weeks to get this done. Some of the groups finished before the others so I let those students explore some of the suggested activities in the teacher’s guide.
Photocopying Activities and Worksheets
This was the last step before they presented. They had to make enough copies for the class and a key for each of the presenters/teachers. They all thought it was neat to get to go to the office and use the copier.
Teaching
I brought my laptop each week for their presentation. We used the manual advance version of the Creation lesson. One of the presenters advanced the slides and the other held the script. They were a little slow because I didn’t have a good rehearsal week. That would be something that I would do differently next time.
The kids had a great time with this unit. They learned a lot about their content area and also that there is a lot that goes into presenting a lesson. When they were getting weary I reminded them that their Sunday school teachers had to do this every week and that their school teachers had to do it five times a week!
This was a wonderful experience for the students and I both. We all really enjoyed the new approach to Sunday school. They had to do a lot of problem solving and collaborating. I also feel that the more presenting children do at a young age the better they will do at speaking when they are adults.
This week’s reflection verse is 1 Samuel 12:23. It says, “As for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”
This is how we should feel about any of the children whose lives we touch by teaching them. It touched my heart and sums up how I feel about all of you educators who take the time to read my reflections and visit our site!
I wanted my Sunday school class to experience all that goes into preparing a good lesson. They are 4th to 6th graders and can all read. We are blessed to have been able to scrape together enough archaic equipment to have a computer lab in our church. I had eight regulars in my class so I put them in groups of two and had one group for each of the weeks’ lesson.
I did the activity over a whole quarter (three months) so that saved the church money on educational resources and allowed me to have the students complete many tasks.
The tasks that I had each group complete were:
• Making a task list
• Choosing their lesson material from the teachers guide
• Typing up a script
• Photocopying their activities and worksheets
• Teaching one week’s lesson
Task List
The first week we had a guided discussion of what pieces there are to a lesson each week and how a teacher has to plan for those things. I took notes as we discussed and at the end of the lesson we had a good list of tasks for them to complete before their presentation days.
Lesson Material from Teacher’s Guide
The teacher’s guide has more information than they could cover in one lesson’s time so I had them choose what they were going to cover and who was going to cover it. Some of the groups typed their script right out of the material while others chose to hand write a list of what they were going to say and type from that.
Typing up the Script
I didn’t feel that my students would be able to present from just an outline, so I had them type a full script. I showed them how to put the name first followed by a colon and then what they would say after that. An example is below:
Sarah: God said, “Let there be light”
Ian: We know light as coming from the sun but this was God’s light. The sun had not been created yet.
It took them several weeks to get this done. Some of the groups finished before the others so I let those students explore some of the suggested activities in the teacher’s guide.
Photocopying Activities and Worksheets
This was the last step before they presented. They had to make enough copies for the class and a key for each of the presenters/teachers. They all thought it was neat to get to go to the office and use the copier.
Teaching
I brought my laptop each week for their presentation. We used the manual advance version of the Creation lesson. One of the presenters advanced the slides and the other held the script. They were a little slow because I didn’t have a good rehearsal week. That would be something that I would do differently next time.
The kids had a great time with this unit. They learned a lot about their content area and also that there is a lot that goes into presenting a lesson. When they were getting weary I reminded them that their Sunday school teachers had to do this every week and that their school teachers had to do it five times a week!
This was a wonderful experience for the students and I both. We all really enjoyed the new approach to Sunday school. They had to do a lot of problem solving and collaborating. I also feel that the more presenting children do at a young age the better they will do at speaking when they are adults.
This week’s reflection verse is 1 Samuel 12:23. It says, “As for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.”
This is how we should feel about any of the children whose lives we touch by teaching them. It touched my heart and sums up how I feel about all of you educators who take the time to read my reflections and visit our site!
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