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!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
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.
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
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
Thursday, December 9, 2010
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!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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!!
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!!
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