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!