The Proverbs 31 Woman and the Roman 12 Man!

I added a line of “Proverbs 31 Woman” and “Romans 12 Man” today.
I think every Christian woman would like to be the one described in Proverbs 31 and every Christian period would like to live the way Romans 12 says we should.

So I put that thought on t-shirts and gifts, either for people to make a statement that they are striving toward that goal or as a gift for someone they believe lives that way already!
http://www.cafepress.com/givitup/1768117

Thoughts from the book In the Footsteps of Jesus by Bruce Marchiano

I mentioned in an earlier post http://teachingsundayschool.blogspot.com/2008/04/understanding-jesus.html an article I read about the author of this book. The article had some exerts from the book, which I shared with the Sunday School class I was teaching the next week. I mentioned I wanted to get the book and my husband bought it for me for my birthday a couple days later.

One of the things Bruce talked about that really struck me was we shouldn’t think Jesus was a victim when they hung Him on the cross. He said the soldiers didn’t drag Jesus to the cross; Jesus crawled to it with every last bit of strength He could muster.

Bruce wrote that first: Jesus was very strong and physically fit. He was a first century carpenter and back then they didn’t have power tools. It was a lot of lifting and hauling and using and building muscles. He said that might have been why God chose that profession for His Son. Most people who were flogged and tortured by the Roman soldiers didn’t last long enough to hang on a cross. But, Jesus did.

Also he pointed out that when Jesus was on trial he said nothing in His own defense and very little at all. What He did say was in answer to “Are you the king of the Jews?” and He said He was. Why did He answer that question out of all of them?

Bruce says, “Because it’s the one that would get Him killed. The Jews would consider that blasphemy because basically Jesus was saying He was the Messiah here.”

Jesus was in complete control of the situation. His time had come and He was making it happen. Jesus wasn’t forced to the cross – He chose the cross.
Don’t ever think of Jesus as a victim!

Youth’s Favorite Bible Verses

Here are the Bible verses the youth wrote down at our service when we asked them to share their favorites, along with their ages:

1 Corinthians 15:15 - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Age 13

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Age 15

1 Timothy 5:23 - No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
Age 17

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Three kids put this one: Ages 17, 17 and 16

Psalm 87:1-2 - On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God.
Age 15

Nehemiah 1:8-9 - Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'
Age 14

Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Age 16

John 3:17 – For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Age 18

Luke 3:4-5 - "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
Age 15

Habakkuk 3:17-19 -Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.
Age 16

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Age 16

Genesis 2:23 - Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Age 13

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Age 17

John 11:35 – Jesus wept
Age 17

Feel free to share your favorite verses in the comments.
Mine is Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

How to Walk Consistently with God

My husband and I did another youth service with the kids on Sunday. We took thick white candles (lit) and formed a large cross on the floor. Then we had the kids sit at the foot of the cross.

I started with a story, which I’ve printed in this blog before: http://teachingsundayschool.blogspot.com/2007/01/trust-and-obey.html

Then said, “How do we consistently walk with God so that at the end of our lives we’ve had the kind of life God envisioned for us?

First: we seek God above all else. Let’s join together singing the hymn, Seek Ye First, the Kingdom of God

(John played it on the piano/ words were on power point)

2nd: Know that God is always present. He is with each of us all the time.

Power point responsive reading:

Leader: In this place
In this moment
God is present

All: A mystery of love

Leader: Around us
Within us
Above us
Beneath us
God is present

All: A mystery of love


3rd: Know the Bible. Read it every day. Memorize it! Share your favorite verses

At this point, I had had all the kids write their favorite Bible verses down and we passed around a flashlight so each read theirs. (I’ll share the verses and each kid’s age in tomorrow’s post – the variety is pretty cool.)

And 4th: The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. To keep the channel to God open at all times, so that we can ask for His guidance and directions in everything we do all day long. So that even when we don’t understand why some things happen, we acknowledge that He’s in charge and has a plan.

Played the video song below on the big screen: Bow the Knee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9z6l1PxsFE

We ended with each kid picking up a candle and silently saying something to God, just from his or her heart to His and blowing out the candle.