Review from May 15, and some bonus points too,

Hey all, hope you are having a good week, and not feeling too sad that it is so long still until our next Club 56 get-together. In the meantime, here are some things to chew on from our last meeting, plus some bonus points that are taken from Pastor Ivan's message last Sunday. Please note, if you were not there, the questions that I am going to ask are solvable with a little poking around in the bible, or in your own brain. Anyway, on to the review

We discussed "Is being right what really matters?" We all like to be right and we don't like to be wrong. Sometimes, we get so convinced that being right is important that we state and restate how right we are, not thinking about others feelings or perspectives. What should our reaction be? What should we do when we know we are right and others are wrong? How important should being "right" be to us? That was the basis for our discussion.

From the Bible we looked at these passages.
Jonahc4.1-4 - here Jonah is right about God's grace and it is not a happy moment for him. He knows that God will forgive the wicked Ninevites, and Jonah thinks that they shouldn't be forgiven. How quickly Jonah forgets his own disobedience and need for God's grace to be extended to him.
2 Samuel 9.3-7 Here, we read a story about David welcoming Mephibosheth to his household. Mephibosheth is a decendant of King Saul, who tried on several occasions to kill David. It would have been easy to (and in some ways "right") to shun this boy for all that Saul had done, but David chooses to show kindness instead. Is there ever a time when being right is more important than being kind?
Colossians 3.12-13 God has chosen to let his followers (us) be his representitives here on earth. In this passage Paul instructs readers to bear with one another accept each others faults and show love to each other. It is easy to put others down, God challenges us to hold our tongue and not let being right be most important. Remember how God has forgiven us, and treat others like He would treat them.
Galatans 5.22-23 The fruit of the spirit. Fruit is what grows in our life If we want the fruit listed in this passage to come out in our actions and interactions, we need to have the Holy Spirit in us and with full reign over our actions, words and emotions.

Hope you are reading lots of cool things in the Bible about God and how he has been working in the lives of the people. Post a comment about what you are reading and I will give you a bonus point.

I will also give bonus points for anyone who can answer these questions from Pastor Ivan's sermon.
(worth 1 point each)
1- Who were the 2 people that attacked the massive Philistine army in 1 Samuel 14.
2- What was Nehemiah's job before he went to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
3- Abraham had 2 sons. What were their names?
4- (worth 3 points)
What is one way that you can invest in the Kingdom of God?

Have a wonderful week, and a great Memorial Day weekend. There is NO Club 56 this weekend. See you in June.

~~Chris

More Bonus Points

Remember that you can get bonus points by answering the questions that I posted last Saturday about the Club 56 leaders.

Here are a couple more bonus points.

Each is worth 1 point
1- What is the name of the Poet whose free verse video is posted on the livealifealive blog?
2- Tell me what your favorite thing is about Club 56.
3- Tell me one thing you are most looking forward to about summer

Write the answers to these questions and bring them to me on June 5, or email them to me anytime between now and then.

~~Chris
Tune in on Saturday to get the review from Last weekend.

New Pulse is posted

And it is posted with a big Oops! I realize that I forgot to change the date on the Pulse. So please know that it is the current one. Remember you have 3 weeks to get the questions done. Have a great service Sunday week and Memorial day weekend and we will see you again on June 5.
Check out the new pulse here!

New video is posted

We watched a video tonight at Club 56. You can check it out in the "For Students" tab. Let me know what you think!

Pulse is finally posted and so are BONUS POINT QUESTIONS

I am sorry to just get the new pulse put up now, it has been a pretty busy week, and there were an inexplicable number of technical difficulties, but we are overcomers, right!

Anyway, check out the most recent Pulse here


Bonus points (how well do you know your leaders time)
1- What is Chris' favorite candy?  (1 point for knowing it, 2 points for bringing it!)
2- What is the name of Steph's blog about her family
3- What is Kathleen's favorite football team
4- Where is Traci from?
5- Where does Alex work?
6- What is Andrea's youngest son's name?
7- How many children do Mike and his wife have?
8- Tell me one bible story that you read this week and something that you thought was cool about it.
9- Tell me 1 song that you heard this week on KTIS, AIR1 or your iPOD, etc. that you really like!

Have fun, answer what you can and get points for your team!

See you tomorrow!

Review from May 8

Hey guys,

Sorry this is a little late getting out, there were some technical difficulties with Blogger that kept me from posting last night.  They are fixed this morning, so here we go!

We began our new unit last Sunday.  We will talk about "what really matters".  One thing that matters is reading your bible and spending time with God every day.  We really challenged you to make the choice and find the time to do that this week - even in the face of homework and busy schedules.  Where your time with God falls is an inicator of how important He is in your life.  I know that this challenges me all the times that I want to say that I am too busy to spend time with God.  I need to choose to give Him the time and make Him a priority. 

The boys are winning the points competition by quite a large margin.  The girls have pulled out 2 in a row in the final weeks, but this is the largest gap to overcome so it will really test the girls mettle this time. 

Anyway, on to the review.

Our first thought about what really matters were all about "Is being liked what really matters?"
We all like to have friends and are willing to go through a great deal to be liked by others.  But at the end of the day, we really can't completely control what others think of us.  When we follow Jesus, we will have character traits that draw some people and repel others. So we will not always be liked by everyone.  How much should that concern us. 
Here are the passages that we read to help us figure out how much being liked really matters.

John 5.16-18, and 36-44 - Here, we read one of many instances where it is mentioned that people don't like Jesus.  They thought he was doing and saying things that were offensive, and they wanted to silence him, and later on, we hear him say that because they don't know God, their approval or disapproval means nothing.
What lesson is there in this for us about friends that we have that may make fun of us for believing in God. Whose approval matters the most to you?
Galatians 1.10 - This verse (our memory verse for the week - 5 points to all who memorize it!) is all about making God the most important judge in your life.  Don't live to please man - it will be impossible to please everyone anyway - if we strive to please man, we are not servants of God.
Matthew 20.29-32 - Jesus is sending out his followers to go and tell others about Him.  He is telling them that there will be some dangers and hard times ahead, but not to worry,  God watches and takes care of sparrows, he knows everything about us - even the number of hairs on our head, and He considers us more valuable to Him than sparrows. That is how much HE loves us - what should it matter what others think of us.
Psalm 139.17-18 -  Here, we read that God, who controls all the universe - it seems like He would have a lot on his mind - thinks about you and me all the time.  What do we think about in our spare time?  God thinks about us!
2 Corinthians 10.12-18 - This passage reminds us how silly it is to compare ourselves with others.  We have nothing to be proud of in our own lives that we have done on our own power.  Instead, spend your boasting energy boasting about your God. He has done amazing things, see them, recognize them and boast about them, so that others will come to know Him by what He is doing in your life.

So there are a lot of great lessons to take from last Sunday's discussion.  Stop comparing yourself to others.  If you find yourself doing that, use the opportunity to compliment them, build them up and let God speak through you to them. God loves us each more than we can imagine.  Spread His love around!

Tune in tonight for bonus points, the new pulse and who knows what else!

~~Chris

New Pulse is uploaded

Click here to read the new pulse from last Sunday.  Or click on the Pulse tab at the top of the page.  Homework questions can be found there, and will be posted later on this week.

Review from May 1

Whassup!

Here is the stuff we covered last Sunday at Club 56.  We finished our unit on sin, talking about whether we can sin without worry because Jesus forgave us, even for sins we have not yet committed.  

We talked about the part of sin that seems like it is fun.  That is an important consideration because we wouldn't be tempted to sin if there was no gratification in it for us. 

But we were talking about the little ones that seem like they wouldn't be hurtful to others.  Things like staying up past the bedtime our parents have given us, or jaywalking/speeding because we are late, but these can definitely be sins.  It all comes back (like it always done) to what's going on in our heart.  It isn't about the rules, it is about the reasons why we choose to disobey them.  

Here are the passages that we read:

Psalm 51 - King David had messed up big time.  He had taken another man's wife, and then arranged the death of the other man.  But he was a man known to chase after the things of God, a man after God's own heart.  And he knew that his life needed to reflect that.  So he asked God for a clean, pure heart,  a renewed spirit and a life that reflects God's presence.  Being forgiven doesn't mean we don't face consequences of our sins, but to be in right standing with God produces peace on the inside and a weight lifted.

Romans 6.12-15 - This is a tricky passage, we are not to be slaves to sin - We have been freed from sin's power, but that does not give us the right to sin as we wish.  We can do whatever we want, but as true Christ followers, what we should want is to do what is right, and good, and holy and pure.  We have been freed from slavery to sin and choose now to live as slaves to righteousness.

Psalm 32 - This passage reminds us of the blessing of being forgiven.  It challenges us to constantly confess our sins to God - He knows all about it anyway, and ask for his forgiveness.  When we hold our sin inside and do not confess it, it can be harmful to us. We have a mighty and amazing God who will forgive us for what we do.  Take him up on his offer.  Celebrate His love for you.  Do not let the sin in your life get in the way of your relationship with Him. Confess, be forgiven and rejoice.

And now,  for some bonus points from Pastor Ivan's sermon (8 points available)

1- What passage did Pastor Ivan preach from on Sunday ___________________

2- What were the 3 truths about following Jesus that he gave us,  fill in the blanks below

        a- It is the way to start a great  _________________ of God

        b- Following leads to a whole, new ___________

        c- Following God is never a tack-on, but always a life-_______________ choice.

Who were the first 4 disciples that Jesus called to himself

_________, ___________, __________, ___________

~~Chris