Review from December 19th

Greetings 56ers

Hope you had a wonderful, relaxing Christmas break and are enjoying the celebrations and wonders that this time of year brings.

I have been slacking off a little, as it has been 10 days since this lesson happened but here we go anyway.  Our topic of the day was "Do my prayers bore God?"
In the first week of our unit, we talked about how sometimes it seems like God takes a long time to answer our prayers.  So this time, we build on that a little bit.  If God takes so long to answer, does he get bored of us praying about the same thing over and over again?  Does he want us to pray about the same stuff over and over again?

First, we read Luke 18.1-7
Here we read a story about a woman that is persistent with her requests - so much so that a judge gets annoyed and gives her what she wants, just to keep her quiet.  Is that what happens in our prayers to God? Do they annoy him?

Next we read Ephesians 6.18-20
These verses talk about being persistent in our prayers.  What does that look like?  What is something you know God wants you to be persistent about in your prayer life?

Finally, we read Matthew 7.7-11
This is a familiar passage that also tells us to ask, to seek, to knock on God's door to get answers for our prayers.  And as we continue to ask, seek and knock, we will find answers, and see maybe a little God's plan revealed to us (at least in the area we are praying about)

Our prayers don't bore God. He knows what's going on in our lives, but he wants us to talk to him about it.  He wants to hear what we are excited about, what we are battling over, what we are scared about.  He wants us to tell Him about it and ask for Him to help and lead us through it.  As we do, we will see God's faithfulness showing through.  We can be encouraged that God's plan, while it may not always make sense to us, will work out in a way that is better than we could imagine.  We just need to trust Him and keep on praying.

Bonus point time!
As it is our focus for these weeks, and since we all have great things and/or hard things going on in our lives,  I will give a bonus point to anyone that posts or emails us a prayer request that they have.  If you remember 2 lessons ago, we had 3 questions that helped us identify things that we could pray about.  Here are those questions again, to help you figure out what you can be praying persistently about and what you would like us to join you in praying about.
1- What is something hard that you or someone you know is going through?
2- What is something that is making you happy these days?
3- Do you know anyone that is sick or hurting?

That is a place to start.  We want to encourage you to pray.  It isn't a hard thing that needs to happen in a special way - it is just talking to God - like you would talk to a friend, telling Him about what's happening in your life. He wants to hear from you.  And we are praying for each of you.  We would be glad to have anything specific to pray for that you want to tell us about.

Have a great weekend!  See you Sunday!

Review from Sunday December 12

Hey 56ers

Wow! what a week it has been.  Steph's surgery went very well.  She has been recovering very well and all signs so far point to the pain being G-O-N-E gone.  She has even tried running and dancing, a couple activities that she did either not at all or very gingerly over the past couple of years.  We are very excited at the thought of having this ankle pain be in the past.  Thank you for praying about this.
And how fitting that Sunday was the start of our unit on prayer.  We will dig into what the Bible says about prayer over the next few weeks.  We started out last Sunday talking about "What takes God so long?"  We have all had things that we pray about over and over, only to not get the answer we want, or when we want it.  So if God is powerful and able to do anything, why does he take so long to give us our answer. 
We started off by reading Psalm 69.1-13
David is desperate in this passage.  He was dealing with hard things in his life, and yet, he was willing to wait on God for an answer.   This is the promise God makes for us, too.  He will never leave us.  We will never go through our hard times alone.  We can cry out in desperation to Him and know that He will answer, in His own  way and time. 
Next, we read Daniel 10.10-13 & Proverbs 1.28-31
In proverbs, we read about how God sometimes lets us suffer the consequences of not following Him wholeheartedly.  We "eat the bitter fruit of living our own way"  How true is that.  Sometimes we get an answer about what we should do, but we think it will be hard, or uncomfortable and are unwilling to pay the cost of going 100% for God and following his own way.  
There is also the element of spiritual warfare.  We read this in the passage from Daniel.  The angel comes to Daniel and tells him that his prayer was heard in heaven but the answer was delayed by an enemy along the way. There is a war going on in the spiritual realm.  God has already claimed victory, but Satan is not willing to concede quietly.  He is always looking to disrupt things, to create doubt in our minds - that God doesn't hear us or doesn't care.  Daniel, like David in the earlier passage, were persistent in prayer, they didn't allow time or lack of results keep them from praying throughout their ordeals.  We can be challenged to do the same.  

We also took some time to talk about things we are praying for.  We asked 3 questions:

1- What is something hard that you or someone you know is dealing with

2- What are you most happy about right now?

3- Are you or someone you know dealing with any sickness or injury?

It is as simple as that.  Any answers that you have to any of these questions are things you can pray for, and things that you can ask others to pray about with you.  Steph and I would love to know what you are praying about these days and to join you in praying about these things.  If you have anything you want to share, please feel free to email us or leave a comment on the prayer tab of the blog.
Also, the challenge for the week is to commit to praying persistently about the things that are going on in your life.  
Prayer is an important part of our Christian walk.  Don't be intimidated by it. God wants to hear from you and is ready to listen and will be faithful to answer (albeit in his own way and time)


God bless you this week! See you Sunday!
CP

More Bonus Points Up for Grabs!!

Hey guys,  I just added another bonus point opportunity for anyone that is interested.  Find it in the "for students" tab!

Homework Questions and Bonus Point opportunity posted

That's right!  You can start off the new point competition the right way by doing your questions, memorizing your verse and answering the bonus point question.  You can find it all here!

Review From December 5th

Wow!  What a great Sunday at Club 56.  Too bad that the projector decided to take a vacation until the very end of the hour.  But we were not hindered!  We still came, we read, we discussed.  I have really enjoyed preparing and teaching this unit on peer pressure.  If we are truly striving to live a life ALIVE in Christ then it is important that we equip ourselves to take a stand for Him and the life He has called us to, even when it isn't a popular thing to do - even when doing so may lead others to tease, ridicule, or even hurt us.  An eternity with God is a much bigger prize than the acceptance of another person;  Plus, as we discussed this week, Jesus chose to suffer pain, humiliation, death on a cross for us.  We are called to be prepared to do the same for Him.  What a rich lesson that we can (and will) learn over and over again as we work our way through this life.  Here is how the discussion went.

First, we read Proverbs 29.25.


We read that fear sets a trap for people.  Sometimes, when we are afraid, we make bad choices.  With Peer Pressure, fear of being laughed at or made fun of may lead us to make a choice that doesn't match up with what we know is right.  We do lots of crazy things in order to be liked by others.  Trusting God and knowing that fear is not from God, can help us to stand strong for our beliefs.

Next we read Matthew 10.32-33


This one is a challenging one, until we read the whole passage.  It talks about how hard life will be for those who follow God.  They will be hated, they will be run out of town, they will be arrested, whipped and brought before the authorities.  Doesn't sound like a fun, easy time.  But laced throughout the entire passage are promises that God is with you and will help you.  So when it gets to verse 32-33, the choice that we should make is obvious.  It says in these verses that if we deny Christ here on earth (reject Him as our Lord) then he will deny us (reject us ) before God.  If we don't say we know Him here, He will say He doesn't know us.  I don't want to be in that place!  How horrible!  May we all strive to live a life so God will acknowledge us as His own.

Then, we read Hebrews 12.14-15 
This is another great chapter to read in it 's entirety.  The challenge to run the race that is ahead of us and to run it well.  This passage tells us to live at peace with others.  Does that mean that we should go with the flow and not take a stand to keep the peace?  NO WAY.  One of our questions was "should Christians make others uncomfortable?"  The answer is - maybe.  When we live life the way the Bible tells us to, and we stand strong in those beliefs, then others around us may be uncomfortable because of that.  But that may be God working on them, helping them realize the change they need to make in their life.  If we keep the peace by compromising on our beliefs, they may never get that chance.  It could be a life and death choice that we are making for someone else.

Finally, we read 1 Peter 4.12-13
These verses tell us that we should expect that our Christian life will bring hard times.  We think sometimes that being a Christian will give us rosy paths and comfy shoes to waltz through life.  It is quite the opposite - and the Bible doesn't try to hide this fact.  It is right here in these verses.  We are not alone in our suffering, and we can delight in it, knowing that standing strong in these hard times will bring a reward that is more than worth the suffering.

Keep reading these verses and let them challenge you to stand strong in following Jesus.  Ask for His help to make the right choice and be BOLD!!  Live a life ALIVE!!

New Song and Video Posted

Hey friends,

Just wanted to let you know that I have posted another video that I found on YouTube.  It is a great song that is related to last week's lesson.  Here it is!

Homework Questions Are Posted

The homework Questions from November 28 are up.  Check them out here!

Bonus Memory Verses

Here is the list of bonus memory verses.  Each one is worth 5 bonus points! That is a ton of points up for grabs.  Here you go!

Ephesians 4.17
Ephesians 4.22
Ephesians 4.24-25 ( 5 points total)
Ephesians 4.29
Ephesians 4.31-32 (5 point total)
1 Corinthians 15.33-34 (5 point total)
Psalm 1.1-3 (5 point total)

There you go.  That is a maximum of 35 bonus points available to anyone who wants to try and memorize extra verses.  Go to it!

Review From November 28

    

Hey gang!

      This is such a great unit.  I think peer pressure is a very real issue in all of our lives.   To have a chance to discuss it and to equip ourselves with a plan to deal with the issue of peer pressure in a way that pleases and honors God is time well spent. Our topic this time around was "Would Jesus fit in with my Friends?"  The question kept coming up "what would your friends think if you told them you were bringing Jesus to your hanging out activity?"  That question was met with answers ranging from "they'd be cool with it" to "they'd make fun of me".  But the thing to remember is that if we have chosen to follow God and live truly as Christians, well then we are bringing Jesus with us wherever we go.  
       We talked about some scenarios where we would be hanging out with our friends (playing sports, at the mall, having a sleepover, surfing the web, watching movies, video games, texting)  Does the way we interact with our friends show our desire to please God, or do we try to fit in and compromise our standards to be the same as the worlds.  Think this through carefully and be honest with yourself.  As Switchfoot sings - this is your life, are you who you want to be?  If the answer is yes, then continue to grow in your relationship with God and stay strong against the attacks of the enemy. If your life doesn't demonstrate who you want to be, then this is the time to choose to make some changes.
       We started our discussion time by looking at 2 Timothy 2.22 (Our primary memory verse for the week).  This verse challenges us to pursue holiness and to hang out with others that are pursuing holiness too.  Does this mean that we should only have Christian friends?  Not necessarily. But we cannot compromise on God's standards, and if our friends are putting obstacles in the way of us developing a strong relationship with God, then we may have to make some changes in our friends.
       Next, we read Psalm 1.   In these verses, we read that God blesses those who delight in the teachings of the Lord.  He is like a tree planted by a stream that produces fruit in season and does not wither.  We talked last year in Club 56 about John 15 and being branches attached to the vine (Jesus).  This relationship gives us strength and life, whereas away from God, we are fruitless and wither)
       We continued by turning over to 1 Corinthians 15.33-34.  Here, we read that bad company corrupts good morals.  That means that we do need to be careful whose company we find ourselves in.  We become more and more like the people we spend time with.  That is why it is so important that we spend time every day with Jesus.  This will help us be more like Him.  We also thought about what characteristics we would look for in a good friend.
       Finally, we read Ephesians 4.17-32.  In this passage,  we are encouraged to not live like the people of this world.  If we have chosen to follow God, we have a different standard to live by and make choices by.  The way everyone else does it just doesn't cut it.   People who do not know Christ are on a path of destruction.  We can help them find their way off that path by being different and being strong in our beliefs. 
       It was a great discussion time.  And as promised, I will be adding a few extra memory verses for bonus points from the verses that we read.  The competition is pretty close, so this could be the deciding factor.  But even more importantly, the verses that we read on Sunday are great and important ones to put into our brains anyway.  The bonus points are just meant as an encouragement.
I hope that you are being challenged to choose God's way over the worlds way, to resist temptation to give into peer pressure and to live a life ALIVE for God.

P.S.  I hope the blue bonus star caught your attention.  I am about to post the bonus verses.
Remember, each verse is worth 5 bonus points.  This could be huge in determining the winner of the competition.  Hope you are ready to memorize!

New Homework Questions Posted

Click here to get the latest homework. Remember homework earns points for your team, and points will determine the winner of our 1st quarter prize.  There are only 2 weeks left in this point competition.  Do your work and get points for your team.

Review from November 21

Hope your week is going well.  Here is the review from last Sunday's Club 56.  Our numbers were down a little because of the bad weather, so here is what you missed, unless of course, you were there, in which case, this is a refresher of what we talked about. 

We started by looking at a handful of scenarios.  I challenged you to honestly consider what you would choose, and I was glad to have you show such honesty.  Our topic of the day was "What if saying yes makes me popular?"  We talked about helping a popular classmate cheat, graffitiying a wall, swearing, skipping or tuning out church, watching inappropriate things.  It is so easy to go with the flow and compromise our standards so that others would like us.  God wants us to stay faithful to Him.  The choice is ours.

We read Judges 16.4-21
Samson compromised what he knew was write and gave in to Delilah.  He made a bad decision.  But as we continue the story, we see God forgive him and help him to make the situation write. 

Next, we read Psalm 37.1-11.  This is a great passage.  It reminds us not to get caught up in what others are doing.  Instead, trust God and follow Him.  All the others (whose opinion we care too much about) will fade away.  We need to keep our focus on God. 

Finally, we read Psalm 119.1-3 
In this passage (in one version of the Bible) it talks about not compromising with evil"  What does this look like?  What do we need to do to keep ourselves strong in our beliefs. 

Our challenge this week is to trust God and follow Him even when it is unpopular. 

Next week, we talk about if God would fit in with your friends.   Hope you have a wonderful and happy thanksgiving. 

Remember - we are serving in 2nd service Kids at 11.  

Bonus Point
From Pastor Ivan's Sermon

2 great stories David vs. Goliath - which we know well,
and Jonathan and his Armor Bearer.  What amazing thing did they do in 1 Samuel 14. (2 points)

What greek word means brotherly love? (1 point)


Steph and I would like to wish you a very happy thanksgiving.  Travel safe if you are travelling, and
may your time be filled with celebration, reflection, and gratitude. 

CP
 

New Link is Up

I have linked to my youtube channel.  There isn't a lot there yet, just a couple of power point slideshows for some of the songs we have been singing on Sunday mornings.  You can find the link on the "For Links" tab.  Some of you have made some song requests - either for Sunday morning Songs, or for songs you want me to check out.  Keep `em coming and I will check them out and let you know what I think. Leave a comment on the blog with your suggestions, or email them to me.  It may take me a couple of days, but I will check your suggestions out!

CP

New Homework Questions Posted

Click here to find the homework questions from last Sunday.  Remember, you can bring the answers to me on Sunday, or you can email them to me. 

CP

Review from November 14

Hey all,

Hope you are having a great week so far.  Here is a review from last Sunday's Club 56 lesson.  Our topic was "What if I am the only one saying "no"?"  It was the first week of our new unit on peer pressure.  Peer pressure is something very real that we all deal with. 

We started by talking about the future, and what would happen if new laws came to be that made some significant changes that we don't agree with.  Changes like no more schools, lying, cheating and stealing are ok, you can watch, listen to whatever you want and all churches are banned. We had a volunteer take a stand against one of the changes that were happening, and the others in the class pleaded, argued and tried to persuade the volunteer to give up their stand and accept the new rules - and follow them. It is easy for us to say we will take a stand and hold to it - for God, or for what's right, or whatever, but then when we are in the situation, it gets harder to stay strong.

In Discussion time, we looked at the story of Daniel. (Daniel 6)  Jealous rivals didn't like how much the King liked Daniel, and plotted to take him out.  They had the King  - who liked being popular and worried a lot about what others thought of him - sign a law that only let people pray to him.  Daniel knew that obeying God and following Him was more important.  So he broke the law, and kept praying to God after the law was passed.  He was arrested and thrown in the lion's den.  He knew what was right and did it, even though it got him into trouble. 

Matthew 12 was our next stop.   We read the story of Jesus casting out a demon, and being accused of working for Satan.  He finished by sharing our memory verse for the week.  Matt 12.30.  Jesus offers us this challenging verse.  Anyone who is not working with God - is working against God.  That means that, even when we are facing pressure from other people, choosing God's way is the only way.  Caring what others think enough to let it weaken our stand for God is working against God.  What a challenging verse.  I don't want to be working against God.  We can ask for His help in being firm in our stand for Him. 

It was a good discussion, and next week's promises to be, too.  Our topic will be "What if saying yes makes me popular".

Bonus point time:
From Pastor Ivan's sermon.  
  He gave us 3 things to do that demonstrate Authentic Godliness.
Fill in the blanks for the bonus points (1 point for each)

   Bring H___________
   Bring L___________
   Bring G________  to ________

Bonus Point Time!!!

It is Thursday night, and that means time for a bonus point opportunity from Sunday's sermon.

Remember, it has been a very close competition so far, so bonus points could be the deciding factor in who wins the reward at the end of quarter. 

We have 4 weeks left,  and it is still anyone's competition to win.

Here is the bonus point that is available to you. 

Does going through hard times mean that God has forgotten us; that we are not following God's plan for our life?  If not, then what can it mean?

Email your answer to me or bring it with you on Sunday. 
Hope you were listening!!
CP

New Homework Questions Posted

Hey all,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have posted the homework questions for next Suunday.  Click here to get them!

Review From November 7th

Hello 56ers

Here is the review from last Sunday, and if you stay tuned to the end of this review, there will be some bonus point opportunities.

Our topic of the day was "Is there anything God can't do?

We began by looking at some crazy stories that I tested you on by asking if you believe the stories happened or not.  ( I have posted links to the stories in the "for students" section , or see them by clicking here.)
We then started our discussion by looking at Luke 1.26-38.
Here, we read the story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary to inform her that she will soon be mother to God's son Jesus. This in itself is a mind trip, an angel, telling a young girl (a teenager) that God's son will be born to her.  Mary says it isn't possible for her to have a child, but God makes it happen.  Do we trust God even when the situation seems impossible.

Next, we read Jeremiah 32.17 & 26-27
We explained these verses in our own words.  We looked at the relationship with oil and water.  There is something that God cannot do, we learned about.  God cannot go against His nature.  He cannot lie, sin or become unholy or impure.  We looked at a bottle that had oil and water in it.  No matter how much I shake it and try to mix it, it will not mix.  Water and Oil repel each other, like God and sin.  They don't mix.

We looked at Leviticus 19.2
We discussed "holiness" and what that means. It means "set apart, completely other" God is holy, and he asks us to be, too.  We are to be set apart for God and His purposes.

Next, we read Numbers 23.18-19
Here we read about somethings that God cannot do.  He will not lie.  We asked if knowing that there is something that God "cannot" do, does that change the way we think about him?

God is able to do anything, which encourages us as we go through hard times in this live.  But he also cannot be around sin, or be unholy.  Our challenge this week is to trust in the Power of God and be confident that you cannot give Him a problem that He doesn't know how to deal with, or have a solution.

We finished by singing "Mighty to Save" by Seventh Day Slumber.  I have also posted a Seventh Day Slumber video (of a different song) on the blog.  Click here to check out the article. I will give a bonus point to anyone that can give me the names of the 4 members of the band Seventh Day Slumber (you can find them through the links)
Check back on Thursday to find another bonus point opportunity.

CP

New Link Added

Hey guys.

I've put a new link in the link list.  Click here to check it out.  If you can tell me (as part of your homework) what new link I added (hint - it is at the bottom of the link list) then I will give you a bonus point!

Homework Question Posted!

CLICK HERE to get your questions for this week -- answer them and EARN POINTS for your team!!

Review from October 31

Hey 56ers,  Hope you are having a great week.  We had a really good discussion on Sunday morning, -Our topic was "Why does God let bad things happen?" it was a tough topic, but at the same time, there is hope that can be found, no matter how hard life gets.

We spent a lot of time looking at the story of Job - found in the Old Testament.  Job was a man who had a lot, a large family, lots of livestock, land.  He then lost it all.  We read in chapter one that Satan had to ask permission to attack Job, and God allows him to do it, but he limits what Satan can do to Job.  Anyway, Job loses almost everything, bang bang bang bang bang! and  his reaction is, in our memory verse (chapter 1.20) he got up, tore his robe, and worshipped God.  WOW!! really!  He doesn't curse God, he doesn't turn away, but he trusts God and chooses to put him first!  

We also glimpsed quickly, but ran out of time to get really deep into the story of John the Baptist from Matthew 11 and 14.

John the Baptist and his followers have been looking for the Messiah, and they think Jesus is him, but John asks for confirmation because he is in prison and knows that Jesus could free him.  Jesus confirms to John's followers that Jesus is the Messiah, and that people are getting healed.  A couple of chapters later, John is executed.  John was Jesus' follower, he was doing great things to let people know about Jesus, so why didn't Jesus miraculously free John from jail?  Maybe John was wondering if God even care? But John stayed true to God.  John didn't get to see the end result of his hard work, but God used him.

Our final passage was Isaiah 43. 1-5  God promises to be with us no matter what we go through.  He knows us,  he has paid the ultimate price for us.  We are precious to him and He has our best interests in mind.  

It is a hard topic to discuss.  We want our God to make our life easy.  That isn't the business that He is in.  He cares more about our heart and our devotion to Him than He does about our comfort.  We need to trust Him like He is the only one that can help us, because He is!  He is in control and He is on our side. That alone is worth worshipping. 

Bonus Point Opportunity

As mentioned, I will give 5 bonus points to each person who can answer the following questions about pastor Ivan's sermon on Sunday.  Here it is:

Pastor Ivan gave us 8 "dynamics of temptation" (8 things to know to help us battle against temptation)  name 1 of those 8 points.

email your answer to livealifealive@gmail.com or write it down with your homework questions and bring it to me on Sunday.

CP

Homework questions for 10/24/10 posted

Hey,  the homework questions from last Sunday are posted.  Click here to get them

Review from Sunday, 10/24

Hiya 56ers

Here is the scoop from last Sunday's lesson

Our topic of the day was "How can God be everywhere?"

It is a hard thing to grasp that God can be everywhere, see everything, be interested and involved all over the place and be in control of all that is happening and all that is going to happen.  But it is true and it has to be true.  We can't figure that out because we are limited by our human bodies at being in 1 place at any given time, only.

Here is where our discussion carried us.
first we read Deuteronomy 4.39
God is in control.  There is no other like Him.  and still he wants to know us and to encourage us as we try to live a life that honors Him


Next, we read Psalm 139.7-12.
This is for me both one of the most encouraging and one of the most convicting passages in the Bible.  We all have hard things to go through and it is comforting to know that God is with us and will always be.  He is with us, anywhere we go and whatever our situation happens to be,  we will not be removed from where God is and where He has power to intervene.   However, there is another side to the story in this passage.  Some of the verses make it look like David is trying to get away from God.  That is not possible either, so that means that God is aware of all that we have done.  He is everywhere and so there is no way to hide our sins and the deepest thoughts of our hearts.  He knows them all.  But the great thing is that He never gives up on us.  We never stray too far for Him to find us.

Next, we read Jonah 1.1-4 & 2.1-6
Jonah is an amazing story!  It is crazy.  Jonah knows what God wants him to do, and chooses not to do it.  He heads the other direction, running and hiding from God.  We know that this is futile - there is no hiding from God.  we know the story,  Jonah is thrown overboard and a large fish comes and devours him.  So there he is, in the belly of a large fish.  This, in my mind is the perfect picture of "rock bottom" I've never been eaten by an aquatic animal, but I don't imagine that there is a lot of hope for survival or expectation of being saved from this situation.  But here is the hope of the story - that we can apply to our lives.  There at "rock bottom", in the most hopeless of situations, Jonah cries out to God and... ready for it... GOD IS THERE!!!  In even the most hopeless situation - when we have nowhere else to turn, God is there.  It was true for Jonah and it is true for us as well.  And as the rest of the story plays out, we see that not only is there hope in hopeless situations, but God has a plan that can carry through seemingly impossible situations. There is GREAT hope in that.  We just need to remember to look for God and hold on to that hope when we can't see a way out.

Finally, we read Matthew 28.18-20
Speaking of impossible situations,  Here we see Jesus talking to his disciples after they have seen Him go through the impossible.  He died on a cross, and now, a short time later, is back in their midst, risen!  He has called them together and given them a task and a promise.  The task is to spread the word to all the world about who Jesus is - this task has been passed along through the generations and now lies on our shoulders, too.  But so does the promise - that He will be with us always, to the end of the age (to the end of history).  God is with us, He will help us and will equip us to represent Him well if we allow Him freedom to work in our lives.

Our challenge this week is to remember that God is with us everywhere - and so each time we move to a different place, to think of Him, thank Him for his presence and ask Him help us to be faithful to Him in all we say and do, so others may know Him too.

Matt. 28.20 is our memory verse for the week, too.

 Last week, I put some bonus points out there and did get some feedback from it.  Thanks.  This week, we have fixed the "leave a comment" problems, and so I will again offer a bonus point to anyone that leaves a comment anywhere on the livealifealive.
Have a great week!

Crispy

Saturday Bonus Point Opportunity

Here is the final bonus point opportunity for the week.  I hope you have enjoyed this look into the Judges of Israel.  It is interesting to watch how Israel would be rescued by a judge, live in peace for a few years, forget about their devotion to God and start to turn away from Him.  Then they would fall to a foreign king, be taken into captivity, or exiled, have a really hard time, call out to God and be rescued again by another Judge (although there were some judges that were not very good, too.  This was the way it worked for the entire book of Judges.  


The facts of this Judge can be found in Judges 8-9
       - wrestled control of Israel by executing 70 half-brothers
       - Jotham, the one half-brother left, after telling the people they had made a bad choice.
       - This judge ruled for a very violent 3 years - ambushing others and being ambushed.
       - Was killed when a large rock was dropped on his head, then he asked his assistant to finish him off
       - did this so "it wouldn't go down that a woman had killed him".

Friday Bonus Point Opportunity

OK, here is today's bonus opportunity.  

Found in chapter 3 of Judges.

Here are the 5 facts about this Judge:

       - was left handed

       - brought a tax payment to wicked king Eglon

       - assassinated King Eglon

       - escaped and called in the armies to attack Moab to free Israel

       - Israel lived in peace for 80 years after

Hunt away! 

Thursday Night Bonus Time

Hope you are enjoying these crazy stories from Judges.  Here is the bonus point opportunity for today.

Tonight's judge can be found in Judges 4.

The 5 facts about this judge:

       - With the help of Barak, defeated the Sisera, the vicious Canaanite who had oppressed Israel for 20 years (warning: the actual death of Sisera is quite brutal)

       - made judgements under a palm tree

       - Barak, Israel's army commander, asked this judge to go with him into battle against Sisera

       - After defeating Sisera, there was peace in Israel for 40 years

       - Was also a prophetess of God and the only woman judge of Israel

Wednesday BONUS POINT Opportunity!!!

OK, day two of crazy cool stories about the Judges of Israel and how God did wild things through them to show his power and save His people from oppression.

Here are the 5 facts about today's Judge.

This story is found in Judges 6 & 7.  

       1- Called to action by an angel as he was hiding wheat so the enemies wouldn't get it.

       2- Snuck into a temple of Baal (false god) and destroyed it at night so he wouldn't get caught.

       3- double checked to make sure he was hearing God's leading correctly

       4- cut his own army by 90% before going into battle

       5- armed his men with musical instruments and lights, not with weapons

Review from Sunday 10-17 + Bonus Point Opportunity

Here it is club 56ers, a review of our discussion last Sunday, about Where God came from.  Stay tuned at the end of this review for a way to earn 5 bonus points for you and your team this week.


OK, so here we go.

 As I mentioned, the topic this week was "where did God come from".


First, we read Genesis 1.1-2
This simply tells us that in the Beginning, God was already there, and set to create all that is around us from our planet and all the life on it to the ends of the cosmos.  God has always been,  there is no beginning to Him.  This is more than our simple minds can understand, but we don't need to really get it.  We can just trust that it is the case.


Next, we read Isaiah 48.12-13
God describes himself as the first and the last, the one who laid the foundation of the earth and who commands the heavens and the earth.
We compared this to a circle, how there is no start or finish, just continuous.


We then read Psalm 90.1-2 and Psalm 102.24-28
Again, this shows that God has been around since before the mountains were formed, and the world was created.


John 1.1-4 came next.  Even the New Testament writers tell us that God created everything, and nothing exists that He didn't create.  We also defined eternal.


Finally, we read Revelation 22.13
God is the Alpha and Omega (the A and the Z - the beginning and the end)


It is an easy conclusion to reach from the Bible verses we read - God has always been here.  There has never been a time when he didn't exist. And He will never reach an end.


It is a simple conclusion, but a hard thing to wrap our heads around.  That is the beauty of faith though.  We don't need it to make sense - because it never will.  We just need to trust that it is true.


OK, so here is the bonus point opportunity.


Each day that remains this week (Tuesday until Saturday) I will post 5 facts about the person but I will not reveal who it is that I am talking about.  I will give some clues, if you figure out who I am talking about, you get a bonus point.

All of the stories are from the book of Judges in the Old Testament.

Here is the first one: 

Found in Judges 14-16

This person :   

- Liked to speak in riddles

- once found food in a funny place

 - escaped from capture by killing 1000 enemies with an unusual weapon

 - got in trouble when he trusted someone who tried to capture him 3 times

 - Is mentioned by name in the "faith chapter" in Hebrews 11

**When You figure out who it is, write it down and bring it to Chris on Sunday! 

homework questions from 10-17

The new homework questions are posted.  Click here to get them!

Homework questions for 10/10/10 posted

I've posted the new questions, plus a bonus point opportunity.  Click here to see them.

Feed my starving Children happening soon

Hey,

Club 56 will be going to the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) packing warehouse in Coon Rapids (here is their address and a place to get directions) for our next Saturday activity on October 23. We will meet there at 4:15pm sharp.  Our allotted time is from 4:30 - 6:30.  I have reserved 35 spots and would love to see them all filled.  If you are interested in joining us for this great event, please let me know via message here, email (livealifealive@gmail.com) or phone (612.600.5845) 
If you have never been to FMSC before,  you really should come and check out what they do.  Here is the FMSC web page, if you want to check out the organization.  


Parents, I need your help, too.  We need a 3:1 student:adult ratio for packing at FMSC.  If you are able to join us too, that would be great.  I would like to be able to get these places secured soon.  If possible, let me know by Sunday please if you are able to come. 


Thanks,
CP

Review from October 10

Another Sunday came and brought with it another great topic for Club 56ers to mull over.  We finished our 4 week unit on friendship by talking about "what if someone needs something from me?"  This week, we were challenged to look outside of ourselves, see needs of others and help them get those needs met, even when it is uncomfortable, hard, inconvenient or unnatural.  Our whole focus for this unit on friendship brings into mind the difference between what God expects of us and what the world suggests we should do.  The world tells us to only like people that are like us and look out for ourself first.  Jesus instructed us to love everybody, even our enemies and look out for the needs of others first.
Here is where our discussion went on Sunday.

First we read Luke 10.25-37
This is the story of the good Samaritan.  In this parable, The man from Samaria helped the Jewish man, even though the men were from groups of people that hated each other, it was a dangerous place (1 man had already been mugged), and it was an inconvenience and a sacrifice, (taking him to an inn, and paying the bill).  What a challenge this is!  We are more inclined to help if it doesn't cost us anything, but this event would cost time and money, not to mention the dislike these people groups had for each other. What is our lesson from this.  Are we to help people even when there is a cost involved to us?  How about if it may put us in a dangerous situation.  What about if the person in need is someone that we don't like?  Do any of these things exclude us  from the responsibility of helping out?

Next, we read Galatians 6.1-5
This passage talks about helping someone who is caught up in sin.  Help them but don't be tempted to join them in their sin.  We can really help people out if they are struggling to make good choices by loving them and helping guide them to make right choices.  This means that we cannot judge them though - which we are so easily tempted to do.  Our memory verse is in this passage - verse 3.  In the New Living Translation, it tells us not to think we are too important to help others,  if we think that, we are fooling ourselves.  But we need to guard ourselves against making the same bad choices that they are making.  If someone asks you to steal something for them,  should we?  Can helping people actually hurt them in the long run?

We then looked at Romans 15.1-3
Here we talked about making others happy vs. making ourselves happy.  Which is more important?  Why does God want us to help others so much?
I really liked the part of the discussion when we were asked, what do you love to do more than anything
like playing a computer game, or reading a good book.  If someone comes to you while you are doing this and asks for help doing something that you don't enjoy as much (like folding laundry or vacuuming the family room), what do you do?  How easy is it for us to think of someone else's needs above our own?

And Finally, we read 1 Peter 4.11
This passage reminds us that God is glorified when we help others with all the energy and strength God supplies.  God will give us what we need to help others out.  Will we be obedient and do it, or miss the opportunity by keeping to ourself?

Great discussion everyone!

See you again on Sunday when we start our new unit - Who is God?

Check back later this week as I will post chances for you to earn some bonus points for next Sunday.

Remember, one way that you can earn some bonus points for your team right now is to leave us a comment somewhere on the blog and let us know what you are checking out, and what you like.

CP

Concert review

Steph and I went to a concert a couple weeks back.  Click here to find out who we saw and what we thought.

last week's "pulse" is posted

It took a couple days longer than I planned, but the pulse from last Sunday is up.  check it out by clicking the pulse tab above.

Boys football game

Hey club 56 boys!

We are having Club 56 this Saturday night for everyone, but I want to invite the boys to come early for a flag football game.

We will meet at 5:00 and play until our regular meeting starts at 6:30.  Please come and bring a friend.  Also, please have supper before you arrive, or bring your own food with you.

Hope to see you there,
CP

new homework questions posted

Hey 56ers,

the homework questions for next week are posted in the students section.  Click here to see them

Review from October 3

Hey all,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and that this week is starting out to be a great one too.  Here is the scoop on Sunday morning if you missed it.
We continued our discussion on friendship and how to be a good friend, the way that God wants us to be.  This week, we talked about what to do if someone is weird.  The world tells us at every turn to like people that are like us and to stay away from people who are different.  But God tells us to love others, and not to judge them.  He loves each one of us the way that we are.  Our challenge this week is to show love, kindness and respect to people, even if we think they are weird.  Here is the recap of our discussion

First, we read James 2.1-9
This passage instructs us not to judge people by their richness, and not to give preference to people that seem better off.  We are reminded that God chose the poor to inherit the the Kingdom and the rich will oppress.  Paying special attention to the rich is a sin.  We ask, based on this passage, if it is ever ok to discriminate against anyone?

Next we read Romans 16.17-18
Here, the apostle Paul tells us that anyone who causes divisions should be avoided.  Is it ok to avoid people that are teaching weird things about Jesus?

Read Matthew 7.1-5
These verses tell us to be careful in judging others.  In fact, don't do it at all.  We have so much going on in our own lives that need to change are be cleaned up, we have no place in pointing out other's faults.  It is a great image, having a log in our own eye, and trying to help someone take a speck from theirs.  When Jesus says this,  he is reminding us that we all have things in our lives that need to be cleaned up and we should not consider ourselves better than others.  If we think someone is weird, how would Jesus want us to act towards them?

Finally, we read John 4.7-10
This is a story where Jesus shows he is willing to engage in conversation with people that he wasn't "supposed" to.  Jews and Samaritans do not get along.  Jews think Samaritans are low-lifes, and have no business being in the same place.  They would just as soon never meet up with Samaritans.  And Samaritans are no better,  they have nothing by dislike for Israelites.  It is a feud that has gone on for generations.  And so here is Jesus, asking a favor of the Samaritan woman.  She is taken aback by this and asks Him why He is talking to her.  Jesus shows that he came for all people.

Our memory verse this week is Matthew 7.4-5.  Remember, memorizing this verse will get you 2 points for your team on Sunday for the points competition.

I will be posting a few more things this week, including some bonus point opportunities.  Check back!!

Sneak Peak for Sunday Morning!

Sunday Morning is NOT business as usual at Club 56 Check out This link to get a Sneak Peak to see what is to Come!

Another Song to Check Out!

Hey 56ers!  
So maybe  you are wondering how we came up  with the name for this blog "live a life alive".  Maybe you aren't.  Maybe you haven't given it much thought, that's cool too.  In case you WERE wondering, here is the story.  Steph and I were brainstorming for a name - something cool, catchy and something that speaks to the heart of what we feel God wants Club 56 to be.  It is our desire, in our own lives, to live for God and to go all out for Him.  John 10.10 is a verse we will be focusing on this year at Club 56.  It says: "The thief's (Satan) purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.  My (Jesus') purpose is to give them a rich, satisfying life". This was the verse that Steph and I had discussed as a verse to focus on this year at Club 56.  I then thought of the song that I have put below. (and the lyrics are under the video) It is called "heartbeat" by Remedy Drive.  It also directly lines up with what God was showing us as the direction we should go.  From that, the name of the website came and we were off to the races.  Hopefully this song, this blog, Club 56 and most importantly, the Holy Spirit living in you, will encourage you to Live a life ALIVE for God!!!

 


This is a drought, living without
The one thing that I require
What a mess, Passionless
Somewhere I lost the fire

Oh my my, Where has it gone
Can anybody turn this beat back on
My heart is fast asleep
Dreaming it could bleed
For something that's real
My desperate appeal
God, I’m getting tired of the way I feel
When I would rather be alive

(Chorus)
I want to wake up
I want to restart
Put the drumbeat back in my heart
I need to be revived
Bring me back to life


Coming on slow head to toe
The pulse is back again
It’s grace in my veins - replacing the pain
Bringing me back from the dead

Oh my my now I can see
You heard me cry emergency
Screaming out for help
You saved me from myself
The fires returned I’m letting it burn
There’s nothing better in the whole wide world
It feels so good to be alive

(Chorus)

It feels so good to be alive
(Repeat Chorus)

review from Sunday, September 19

Hey everyone!

We had a great time on Sunday talking about friendship again and living in relationship with other people.  Our focus this week was "what if someone hates me?"  Well, none of us like it when people are mean or hurtful to us or simply don't like us.  Our human instincts tell us to hate them back - to return mean for mean and hurtful for hurtful.  God, however, has a different idea (He always seems to, doesn't he!)  He commands us to love our enemy and pray for people that are mean to us.  That is one of the passages that we read. (Matthew 5.43-47).  He  asks us to show love for our enemy!  Talk about different from our natural instinct and what the world suggests we should do!  This is very VERY hard to do - impossible on our own, but God can help us.  We just need to want to be more like Him!

We also read Psalm 27.1-5.  David shows in this passage the confidence that we can all have that God is in control.  He sees God as his refuge, his protector and knows that with God in control, there is nothing and no one to fear.  Hear this truth too,  Living a life alive in God does NOT eliminate the pain and suffering that others face.  In fact, it may approach more intensely.  But it does give us the promise that God is bigger that whatever we face,

We looked at Psalm 18.37-40
David is very passionate.  His passion here is aimed at his wishes for his enemies.    Is this the right attitude to take though?  We would all if we are honest, like to see God crush our enemies, to wipe them out and our problems with them.  Was David right in his actions? not our place to judge. 

Lastly, we looked up some proverbs.  Prov 24.17-18 and 25.21
These verses give us some guidelines on how to wisely treat our enemies.  Chapter 24 tells us that enjoying their misery is displeasing to God.  and Chapter 25 tells us to answer hatred with kindness.  To meet their needs and treat them well.  This will heap burning coals on their head the next verse tells us.  This is a funny way of saying that they won't understand why you are being nice, and it will mess with their mind.  We are not to be nice just to mess with their mind, though.  we are to show them genuine kindness.  Maybe God will use your kindness to show His love to them.

This is not a fun topic to think about.  Hatred, enemies, being picked on, etc.  is hard,  loving people that are mean is hard,  remembering that sometimes we are the mean ones that are hard to love is also hard.  But it is what God calls us to do!  Our challenge this week is to treat our enemies or those that we find hard to love, with kindness.  To go against what the world expects, and to choose to do what God suggests.

A couple of reminders:  This Saturday night,  Club 56 is going to the Bensonwells concert at church.  We will meet at 6:30 like normal, and the concert will go from 7-9
Also, there is no Club 56 Sunday School this week.  We will be going to the kids kickoff with illusionist Kenny Dew-it.  Should be a great time!

Homework Questions and Saturday update

New Homework Questions Posted for This Week!


Click Here to Get Them!

Also, just wanted to let you know that on Saturday, Club 56 will be attending the "greatest loser' youth event.  Sean Algaier (former contestant on NBC's Biggest Loser will speak, and bensonwells will give a concert.  There is a suggested donation of $3 but if you can't swing that, it is fine, please come anyway.  And bring a few friends with you.  It is going to be a great time!  The concert starts at 7, so please meet at 6:30 in the Club 56 room.  See you then!

Click Here to go to bensonwells website to check out their music

Review from 12 September

Hey 56ers.

   Hope you are having a great week.  In case you have forgotten, here is a little reminder of what our lesson was about last Sunday.  We are talking about friendship and how God wants us to relate to others.  Our topic of the day was "what if they are different than me?"   My, my, my how we like things to be easy and stay safely withing the boundaries of being comfortable.  But what if we meet up with someone in our neighborhood, or on our sports team, or in our class, or wherever, and they are different.  Maybe they like different things, maybe they have different beliefs than we do, maybe they are from a different family situation, or a different country, language, religion, or whatever.  Our discussion on Sunday was about what God expects us to do when faced with people who are different. 

We read from Genesis 1 where we learned that we are made in the image of God.  How cool is that.  We are all different, we are all unique, but at our very creation, the idea is that we would share this common bond with God.  And so with that in us, despite our differences, we are all at our core, very similar - designed to honor God and desire relationship with Him. 


Next, we read from Romans 5.   Verse 5 & 6 are our memory verses for this week.  It says that we are to live in harmony with each other and to treat each other with the attitude of Jesus. What a challenge!!  But the passage has lots of great things in it before our memory verses, too.  Verse one reminds us that we are not living just to please ourselves, but to please Him  It also tells us that God will help us be patient and encourage us as we attempt to follow His example of loving all people, no matter how different they are. 

Finally, we read 1 Corinthians 12. 12-18. 
This is a familiar passage about the body of Christ being one body with many different parts.  We have different backgrounds, different talents, different ways of thinking and seeing things.  However, we share the common bond of Jesus Christ and that connection that we have in Him is much stronger than the differences we have.  And we must also understand that we need each other.  Each member of the body of Christ has a role to do to help the body function.  If we try to separate and do things on our own, we will wind up unable to be used at all.  We have a role to play, but we also need each other.

That being said, it is important that we act on our challenge for the week.  That is to see others the way God sees them and to let His love in us be more powerful than our eyes so that we can love others with a genuine love that comes from Him, instead of writing them off because they are different.

It was a great discussion - hope you enjoyed it too.  This coming Sunday, we will look at "What if Someone Hates me?"   Hope to see you there!

We Shine by Fee-- Come Listen!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to introduce you to this year's Club 56 theme song. It absolutely rocks!!!! The song is "We Shine" by the band Fee As we talk this year about living a life alive, this song is a great reminder of the full life we have in Jesus and the party that eternity with Him will be. He has freed us from sin so we have a lot to celebrate. 

Check it out!

Homework Questions Posted 9/12/2010

Here are the Homework questions for next Sunday.
These questions are designed to have you looking into your Bible this week, in your time away from Club 56. These questions will be related in some way to our lesson next Sunday. Answers are worth 2 points each for your team.

Read More...

Club 56 Theme song is posted

I've posted a you tube video of our Club 56 theme song for this year. Check it out in the "For Students" tab.

Saturday's Bowling Night

Hey Everybody! We are Bowling Saturday from 4:00-6:00 at Brunswick Zone in BLAINE! Then from 6:00-6:30 we will be having PIZZA in the parking lot. Cost is 7 bucks and that includes two hours of bowling, shoes, pizza and pop.

We are WELCOMING our NEW 5th graders...can't wait to see you all there!

We know that the details are later than we would have liked in getting to you,and are sorry for that. But, if you could just send us an e-mail or give us a call letting us know your 56er will be there, that would be HUGELY APPRECIATED!

Oh, and Feel Free to BRING FRIENDS!

Chris and Steph

Fall is Here!

Hey, and Welcome to Live a Life Alive-- Club 56 Central! 

 This is our desire for every Club 56er -


 That they will learn that God offers a full and abundant life to all of us as we get to know Him more and choose to live our life for Him. 


 We hope that Club 56 will be a place where 56ers will see God at work, see the importance of living in relationship with Him and understand that a life lived for Christ is a life that is truly alive.  

This goes hand in hand with our theme verse here at Club 56. 

1 Timothy 2:14

"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in faith, life, love, speech and purity." 

Living in relationship with God means taking a stand and leading by example. We are gonna raise the bar....Are you up to the challenge?

Here is How you get Around A Life Alive.

For Students: This is where the students will find their homework questions for the week. They can e-mail them in, or bring them in on Sunday Morning.

The Pulse: This is our weekly newsletter...check it out for info!

For Your Information:  Head here and you will find music, movie, and pop culture news and reviews.

For Prayer: We want to pray for you--leave your request as a comment or e-mail the Club 56 Team

For Photos: Check Here for Pics from our latest events!

For Links: HEY PARENTS -- This is a place for you to get resources to help you as you parent your Club 56er

Hey Parents of NEW 5th Graders!

Hello parents of incoming 5th graders,

Welcome to Club 56 - Edinbrook Church’s ministry to 5th and 6th grade students. My name is Christopher Page and my wife Stephanie and I have been heading up Club 56 for 2 years now. We love working with this age group and are really looking forward to getting to know you and your incoming 5th grader better as we welcome them to our program this fall.

We would like to give you a brief overview of what your 5th grader can expect in Club 56. First of all, our meeting times and places. We meet every Sunday morning during first service in the Club 56 room (downstairs in the children’s ministry area). Our time is spent looking at topics that 5th and 6th graders are dealing with and digging into the Bible to see what God has to say about these issues. We start our time together with a large group lesson, and then have smaller group discussion based on a few Bible passages related to our topic of the day.
We also have a Club 56 meeting every second Saturday night. The first Saturday meeting of each month will be a big event and the times will vary. Our second meeting of the month will be at church from 6:30 - 8:30pm in the Club 56 room.

During the week, your Club 56er will have some homework to do that will gain points for him/her and help in a team competition as well. Homework consists of reading different Bible passages and answering questions. At the end of each quarter, the team with the most points will receive a reward. Points will be given for homework, memory verses, attending Sunday mornings, bringing a bible, bringing friends, and bringing offering. The goal of the homework and the points competition is to get Club 56ers digging into the Bible on their own during the week.

Please Follow Live a Life Alive on Facebook to keep up to date, and check back here every week so that you can know what we are talking about! We look forward to partnering with you in ministry.

On this blog we will feature entries every week that review that weeks lesson, announce upcoming events, review music, movies, and other media tidbits, our weekly newsletter to parents (“The Pulse”), photos of recent activities and a place for prayer requests. We hope to make this a great resource to keep up on all that is happening with Club 56. You can subscribe to it and every time we post it will come to your email inbox. The information will also be posted to our Club 56 facebook page, so come and join the group! We want you to stay connected!

We will be having our kick off for the fall/welcome to incoming 5th graders on Saturday, September 11 cost and time are still TBD, so stay tuned!! We will meet at Brunswick Zone in Brooklyn Park for an evening of bowling. Drop off and pick up will be from the bowling alley. Sunday, September 12 will be our first Sunday class of the fall.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

In His service,

Chris and Steph Page