VBS - DAY 3

Another day - another terrific VBS! Out Bible Voyage today was the story of Paul on the island of Malta - getting bit by a poisonous snake and God protecting him. God bringing good out of bad...but the bad still happened. Paul served God - yet he was shipwrecked and in this story - bitten by a snake. 'Paul' told us bad things happen - but God is with us - and because of the surprise of Paul not puffing up and dying from the snake bite, the kids learned that God's Word is surprising. It holds lots of surprises for us!

Our story teller today had a wonderful imaginative idea for having the kids jump off the ship and swim to the island - using mini-trampolines. It was a wonderful addition to creating a memory! I love God's infusion of energy and imagination in our stories this week....

VBS Days 1 & 2

A pastor's wife from another church brought her kids the first day and asked if she could stay and help.... Her description of FAL's VBS was 'VBS on steroids.' Every moment of every bit of effort in preparation is worth it. I can see it in the kids'faces!

We change our room every day to fit the story. Monday we had Rhoda tell how Peter got out of prison - and no one believed her when she ran back to the gathered group and said Peter was at the door. My granddaughter, Miah, was Rhoda. She did an excellent job.

Today Missionary Mark Schaufler dressed in the full uniform of a Roman soldier - and told the story of Paul down in the hold whom he was escorting to Rome - and the shipwreck. It was awesome!

All of this - and we are just one station in the kids' fun-filled day! It is a wow event!

And - in between one picture from yesterday and one from today, I inserted a photo I took from our deck last night as the sun was setting....enjoy!

HANGING IN THERE

Many times when I've believed I was doing exactly what God asked of me things have gone topsy-turvy, and I've felt like I was left hanging upside down. I don't know the reason why things sometimes go that way - and may not ever know this side of heaven - and when I get there, I won't care!

Jesus tells us in John 16:33 "In this world you will have trouble." Thankfully the good news he extends follows immediately, "But take heart! I have overcome the world." That verse actually begins with the statement: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace."

He is our peace in the storm. When the script doesn't go the way we thought it would. When we need direction. His Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

The words of the Psalmist come back to me for comfort: Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23 KJV)

And - the words of the hymn 'It is well with my soul' sing comfort as well. In the storm, when there is trouble - or turmoil - or distress - I can do a soul-check and know with certainty:

"Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul."

Thank you, Lord. And help me fine the fun when life leaves me hanging upside down. It must be lurking there somewhere!

GOD'S PEACE IN THE STORM

This is the picture on my computer screen. It is one I took July 27, 2009 of Mt Shuksan - after Al and I hiked out from our overnight campout closer to the mountain.

It is a perpetual reminder of God's majesty - and in the face of challenge - that the peace that he brings us is peace with him. I don't have time to write today - so one picture is going to have to be worth a thousand words.

Life has lots of challenges. The relatively inconsequential screams at us with urgency - and the challenge is to find true peace - peace with God.

When cacophony pierces my ears and troubles my heart I have to remember the basics:

God is faithful.

He deserves our praise and worship no matter what our circumstances.

The greatest gift we can give him is to live out our praise of him by living our lives in faithfulness and obedience.

Everything but the eternal is temporary.

SIGNS OF EXTREME EROSION; Matthew 24:45-51

Delicate Arch in Utah is one example of astounding erosion. It sits alone on a mountain top - exposed, vulnerable.... How was it spared when everything else around it washed away? So many things in nature to wonder about....

I took this of Al on a trip we took to Utah and Colorado. So many amazing wonders....

All I can say is, "Good job, God. You amaze me, and your handiwork declares your greatness."

It is easy to see the effects of erosion in nature - conspicuous indicators that the flood defined in the Bible really occurred. Some people want to point to billions of years of the passing of time. I don't care how long God's days were for what he created - but I do care that he was/is the one who crafted the world, etching out its designs with great intention.

It's also easy to see the erosion of society - and to find it startling that we can be propelled down a path of utter destruction as a country because we aren't paying attention to the road signs. I have to admit that I've been too much of a fatalist - believing it is forewarned and will happen - - and not praying as I should for God's patience and mercy so more people will have time to choose eternal life.

But - I keep feeling that we have headed in....to a spiral from which there is no recovery.

I have never been 'negative' - as in always seeing the bad in everything - but I am a realist - and the Bible's realities provide some pretty dramatic warnings. I want to finish Matthew 24 - then move on....

Matthew 24:45-51
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There is a lie being promoted that since Jesus' death was 'for everyone' that it automatically means every person will be saved. It's a feel-good religious belief - - but it doesn't hold up to what the Bible teaches. Not just here, but in other Bible passages, it is very clear that there is a place we don't want to risk going.

These verses specify faithfulness as the key - and that is consistent with other Biblical teaching. 'He who endures to the end will be saved.' Matthew 10:22. I'm glad knows what he is doing - and that it is all in his very capable hands. The only purpose there is for me to study end times prophecy is just to see how much has been fulfilled and ascertain which bits are left...and there aren't many...

END TIMES PROPHECY: As it was in the days of Noah

As a follow-up from yesterday, I decided to use a net like they did in Bible days. Our VBS Director had a cheapie net made of lightweight string – and I cut it in half this morning and painstakingly tied the two halves together, then threaded a nylon rope through the outside edge. It took time. Time for the kingdom. If it creates a visual that God can use for planting His Word in a child’s mind it will be worth every minute….

Yesterday I got a lot accomplished for VBS – the house will wait until after VBS. I am a project person – and this is the project I am immersed in. I decided to put the pictures we catch while fishing on cut-outs in the shape of fish – well, whimsical whales, to be specific. The colors of the fish will match the colors of the beads that will reinforce and hopefully remind the kids later of what they learned. I’m excited for the kids – and joy-filled to have the privilege of going on the journey with them….

As for the End Times Prophecy Pursuit – it rattles around in my brain while I am doing the tasks that need to be accomplished in preparation for next week.

Sunday morning while I was showering God reminded me of two things: One – as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the last days; and number two – He warned them.

Genesis 6 tells us how it was in the days of Noah. Man’s wickedness on the earth was great. God regretted he had ever made man. Men of God had married daughters of men who did not honor God – and their children were not brought up to love and honor the Lord. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In all of that sin and corruption, there was one man who was righteous – who lived according to God’s standard – who lived such a good life that he was blameless even among the people of his time…. Well done, Noah!

As for everyone else, the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. All the rest of the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God made a covenant with Noah. And Noah was obedient. He did everything precisely as God commanded him to do. Well done, Noah!

As it was in the days of Noah…people were preoccupied with what was going on in their lives to the exclusion of paying any attention to God. When Jesus talks about they were ‘marrying and giving in marriage’ – it wasn’t just about having weddings….it was about the reality that men who were supposed to know better – men who knew God – were drawn into a snare of following after beauty and sensual desire instead of keeping themselves pure by only marrying God-fearing women, and in that decision, they turned away from God, and were swept into lives that bred wickedness and corruption.

It only takes one generation of turning away.

God told Noah to build an ark. The people of his day thought he was a whack job. They mocked. They guffawed. They ridiculed. They certainly didn’t listen.

Can you blame them, really?

It had never rained before. Prior to that the earth was watered by dew. And now this bizarre over-500-year-old man was gathering a ton or so of wood to build something that floated on water – building it so far from any sea that he would never be able to get it to shore. No wonder they laughed.

Board by board, notch by notch, they watched Noah’s progress. He was sort of a public humiliation – that guy on the outside of town building some sort of ship….

They went about their business while he hewed out shapes according to the design God had given him, then coated it both inside and out with pitch, just as God had directed. It was a huge undertaking. It didn’t happen overnight!

As it was in the days of Noah…. God provided them a warning. If they had hearts inclined at all to the Lord, they would have asked Noah for wisdom, and God would have heard their heart’s plea – but their hearts were hardened against God.

As it was in the days of Noah. Does it sound like our world today? Corrupt. Wicked. People turning away from God by the droves, immersed in self-satisfying pursuits. And – even those who have known God diluting their faith by pursuing after what God warns against?

It is getting harder and harder to find something decent to watch on T V. Recently when we were flipping channels, I commented to Al that ‘this must just make God sick. ‘ and he responded, “Yeah. If there was a God, why would he let people get away with this kind of behavior?” “Grace,” I replied. But – I do wonder. The filth is beyond belief. Even when we try to keep everything we watch above PG-13, the line keeps getting moved further and further. When will God say, “ENOUGH.”

He has warned us very clearly that when we see these things happen, to look up for our redemption is nigh – very close. Just like at the auction – fair warning.

UP TO MY GILLS IN VBS

Ahoy!

Our church is having Vacation Bible School next week - and they are going all out in their preparation. My job for the week is hosting one of the Story rooms with Anita - Bible Voyage - and each day we change the room to fit the story. I spent all day on that yesterday - - and Anita helped me for over 5 hours of that time - - and Al even got into the act, making us archaic looking crutches and a cross.... Then - a trip to Shipwreck Beads to find beads for reinforcing our final day object lesson.... There is still a bit more to do.

It is an excellent program - except that I didn't like what we were supposed to do for Friday - - and finally, this morning I got it re-written in an acceptable form. It feels wonderful to have that done. Now - off to find cellophane in fire colors for the day we find Paul shipwrecked - - when the snake bit him....

But I will leave you with my story for Friday - since I don't have time to write any more today!
Day 5: God’s Word is for Everyone

Props for Day 5:
____ Bible
____ big blue tarp as water
____ Bible times fishing net – net with rope woven into edge OR
Fishing pole and barrier for helper to hide behind to attach caught fish
____ large fish to ‘catch’ – in green, white, blue and red poster paper
____ 1. baby bottle – (or a picture of a baby bottle or baby with a bottle)
____ 2. picture of God’s Word, the Bible (on green fish)
____ 3. picture of children praying (on white fish)
____ 4. picture of church with a group of ‘friends’ out front (on blue fish)
____ 5. picture of a crowd of people (on red fish)
____ a ‘fish’ bead for each child (ours is a whale)
____ green, white, blue and red reminder beads
____ cord or yarn to put beads on to be a necklace (30” long; heat sealed if nylon)
____ small Ziploc sandwich bags to hold all the necklace parts – 1 per child
____ beach blankets for sitting on shore (optional)

All of the reminders for each day for review:
Day 1: Set of plastic handcuffs
Day 2: Cargo box & Ship’s wheel
Day 3: Rubber snake and ‘fire’
Day 4: Cross and bandaging strips
Day 5: Necklace & 4 colored fish….
Posters for the week.


Day 5: God’s Word is for Everyone

Memory Verse for today: “Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created.” Psalm 119:90

Adapted Bible Passage for today:
Matthew 4:18-20 (New International Version)
Mark 1:16-18 (New International Version)
The Calling of the First Disciples
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.


BIBLE STORY: Gone fishing!
Lesson Objective: How to Grow

We are going fishing today! Some of the disciples were fishermen, and Jesus taught them that he was going to make them fishers of men. In fact, when Jesus first started his ministry on earth, he called 2 fishermen to be his first followers. Their names were Peter and Andrew.

In those days they fished with nets. They threw out their net, and then gathered it back in, and they caught how ever many fish were in it. Jesus used fishing as an example for them, because they could understand what he meant since they were fishermen. He taught them how to throw out a net of what God’s Word taught – and all who jumped into that net were saved.

The difference between fish and people, of course, was that people have a choice whether or not they jump into Jesus’ net of salvation. And – people can be any age when they accept Jesus as their personal Savior. Jesus is LORD over all the earth – but we have to choose whether or not we want him to be our Savior. But – God’s Word is for Everyone!

If we were going fishing we’d do it with a fishing pole – but I’m going to try a net. I watched them do it in Israel a few years ago! So – let’s do a little fishing and see what we catch.

1. BABY BOTTLE
Hmmm. I wasn’t expecting to catch baby bottles out here fishing….but it does remind me of something important.

When we are born into our human family, we all start out as babies. When we are born into God’s family, we start out as baby Christians. WE don’t become Christians by being born to parents who believe in God – we have to place our faith in him ourselves. That’s how we become a Christian – by asking Jesus to come live in our heart. It doesn’t matter if we are 6, 10, 15, 44 or any other age, when we ask Jesus to come live in our heart, we are a baby in Christ. So – you can’t look at a person and know how old they are in Jesus. Sometimes people are over 80 years old before they become a baby Christian – because becoming a Christian can happen at any age. Once we are old enough to understand Jesus’ love, and we feel him tugging at our hearts, that lets us know we are ready to invite him in.

And what do babies need to grow? Food. Do human babies start out with steak and hamburgers and French fries? No they start out with milk. That’s what this baby bottle reminds me of.

It is the same with growing in our walk with God. We start out as babies. We have to have the basics. First we learn that Jesus loves us . We learn about the message in John 3:16, which tells us that God loves us so much that he sent his one and only son to earth – and that anyone who believes in him can have eternal life.

When we believe that message, we ask Jesus to come live in our hearts – and bam! We are born again – born into the family of God. We should send out birth announcements! It’s the most amazing thing that will ever happen in your life!

But what do human babies do? Do they stay brand new? No, they grow! How do they do that? They eat and sleep and eat and sleep and before you know it – we have a toddler, then a kid, then a pre-teen – then a teenager…. And all that time they are growing.

Baby Christians also grow – they grow spiritually. They need food to do that. What is that food?

Let’s see what else we caught in our net Wow!

2. PICTURE OF A BIBLE

This is a picture of a Bible – God’s Word. God speaks to us through His Word. (Can also hold up your own Bible – but to be consistent with the fish and beads – there has to be a picture.)

Reading God’s Word – the Bible – is the most important thing we need for growing. The Bible tells us all about God – and it teaches us how to live, how to love, and how to honor God with our lives. It teaches us who Jesus is – who God is – and who we are in relation to him. It teaches us Truth. There are lots of things in the world that are not true, [God’s Word is true, Let’s go!] but God’s Word is true. It is what we need to live by. Reading the Bible is one of the most important ways to get our spiritual food. We have to read God’s Word if we want to grow.

What color do you think of when you think of plants growing? Green. Green is going to be our color to remind us we need to read God’s Word to grow.

Let’s see what else we caught.

3. PICTURE OF CHILDREN PRAYING

Prayer is also important for growing. We are never too young to pray. God hears our prayers. There are four main parts to prayer: The first is Praise. Praise is telling God how wonderful He is – just because He deserves to be told. He loves our praise.

Thanking God for the good things he has done for us is another part of prayer. We have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes we forget to say thank you – but we need to do that. We need to find something good in every day to say thank you for – and then tell God thank you.

Another part of prayer is saying we are sorry for things we have done that wouldn’t make God happy. When we tell God we are sorry we are confessing our sins. That’s what we call it. He is our heavenly father. Sometimes we do things that make God sad or unhappy. We need to say we are sorry – and he promises us he will forgive us. Then we need to ask him for his help not to do that same sin again.

And finally, asking God for the things we need is part of prayer. Sometimes people forget to thank God or praise God, or confess their sins – they just start asking him for things they want. In fact sometimes people tell God exactly what they want – and just expect him to do what they say. God doesn’t work like that. As we grow out of the baby Christian phase, we learn that prayer helps us ask for the things God wants for us – and the thing he wants most is for us to become more and more like Jesus. So – when we read our Bibles we need to ask God to help us understand it and do what it says.

Let’s have white be our color for reminding us to pray. White reminds me of being clean – and prayer makes me feel clean.

Let’s see what else we caught:

4. PICTURE OF A CHURCH WITH A GROUP OF ‘FRIENDS’ IN FRONT

The next thing we need to grow is to be faithful to God, and that includes being part of a Christian community. We have to be faithful in being part of a Bible believing church. Just like God puts baby people in families so they have someone to care for them, God places us in spiritual families. No matter how cute the stories about Tarzan and Mowgli are, baby people do not survive alone. Baby Christians don’t either. We need to be in the family of God. We need to be in Sunday School and church – and we need Christian friends. FAL is not the only wonderful church – so if this is not your church – just be faithful where God has planted you – and grow.

Being faithful – making honoring God your top priority – is the most important goal you can have.

When I think of a color that reminds me of faithfulness, I think ‘true blue’ so let’s have blue be our color that reminds us of our faithfulness to God.

Ah! There is one more fish in our net today.

5. PICTURE OF A CROWD OF PEOPLE

Do you know what happens when you start growing as a Christian? You start wanting to share the truth with others! God’s Truth is for everyone. His Word is for everyone. Jesus loves everyone. We want to share the good news when we know him.

Do you remember those fishermen Jesus first called – Peter and Andrew? Well, they used to be just fishermen who caught fish – but then they became fishers of men -
and as they shared the Good News about Jesus, thousands of other people became baby Christians – who grew and became fishers of men, too….

It is exciting when someone else comes to Jesus. There are lots of ways we can share our excitement of having Jesus in our life with other people. I think red is a good color to remind us of the excitement of sharing Jesus. Red also reminds us that Jesus shed his blood on the cross for us – and made salvation possible.

So, let’s review, When we first come into the world we are a baby. When we first ask Jesus to come into our heart, what do we become?

A BABY CHRISTIAN.

Hold up green bead. What is the first thing a baby Christian needs to grow?
Reading God’s Word.

Hold up white bead . What is the second thing we need to grow?
Prayer – all kinds of prayers!

Hold up blue bead. What is the third thing we need to grow?
Faithful Sunday School and church attendance in a Bible believing church; staying connected to Christians.

Hold up red bead. And what will be result?
We will grow – and as we grow we will want to share God’s truth with others.

GOD’S WORD IS FOR EVERYONE. Let’s go.

REVIEW FOR THE WEEK
Let’s review the wonderful stories from the Bible you’ve heard this week.

On Monday we heard from the servant girl, Rhoda. What did we say every time she said ‘That’s not true?’ GOD’S WORD IS TRUE. Let’s go. What happened in the story Rhoda told?

On Tuesday, we had a substitute Captain – Captain Mark take over for Captain Sam. When things in his story got scary, what did he teach us to say? GOD’S WORD IS COMFORTING. Let’s go. When the ship was about to crash, it was really good to know that GOD’S WORD IS COMFORTING. Let’s go.

On Wednesday, we had Pastor Peter come tell us the story of what happened to Paul after the shipwreck. Everyone made it to the island. That was surprising! GOD’S WORD IS SURPRISING. Let’s go. And that is what we learned. In spite of Paul getting bit by a snake, He was O K – and that was surprising. GOD’S WORD IS SURPRISING. Let’s go.

On Thursday, we learned that GOD’S WORD IS LIFE-CHANGING. Let’s go. God’s Word IS life changing. We have new life in Him, and just like he changed the life of the beggar at the gate, he changes us.

Today we learned that to be a Christian means we have asked Jesus to come live in our hearts and what we need to Grow from being baby Christians to more mature Christians. We learned that reading God’s Word, praying and being faithful in Christian community will help us grow. And we learned that GOD’S WORD IS FOR EVERYONE. Let’s go.

God’s Word is for Everyone! Let’s go share the Good News! Let’s be ‘fishers of men’. God’s Word is for Everyone! Let’s go!


Little details:

I ‘cut’ the nylon cord with a candle flame – sealing both ends in the process.

Instead of ‘going fishing’ every time – I decided to throw out the net only once and then just pick up one fish at a time to talk about. I really deliberated about doing the net or the fishing pole. They both work!

If I had heavier netting I’d only catch one item at a time – but I can’t gather it in and then have this one stretch back out well….

This is totally different than the VBS writer’s Day 5 – but I did tie it in so what they learn in other sessions will still blend. I just wanted them to have resources for living their faith – and Bible Reading, prayer and fellowship are the keys to doing that! - Lola