Friday, 24 October 2008
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Week 6 (19.10.08)
This week we prayed! We looked a three different areas of prayer: praying about our worries, praying for each other, and asking God for forgiveness.
At one prayer station, we thought of things we wanted to bring to God in prayer, and made plasticine models of something that represented this so that we could reflect on it more easily and so that, when we prayed as a group in the end, we could remember what everyone wanted prayer for. Philippians 4:6-7 says: "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So we know that we should bring all worries to God who will take them from us and help us cope with whatever we're going through. Nothing is too big for him to cope with, and nothing is too small for him to care about: if it matters to you, it matters to him!
At the second prayer station, we talked about praying with other people. The Bible says in many places that it is very important for us to pray for other Christians (as well as non-Christians!) both on our own remembering them in our private prayers, but also with them, and it is also vital that we feel we can bring our prayer requests to other Christians. The Bible says that we are a family and that we should love one another, and what better way to do so than to pray with each other about all the things that we are burdened by or all the things we have to thank God for?! We spoke about basic do's and don'ts when praying other people: we said that it was better for girls to pray with girls and boys with boys (unless praying in a group, in which case there should be at least one person of the same gender as the person being prayed for present - it's just easier that way!); that it is good to lay hands on the person being prayed for - if they want it! - but that that should always be in an appropriate place (common sense, people!); we also said that if someone asks you to pray about something with them, we don't go telling all our friends what they needed prayer for. The people we are praying for are loved by Jesus just as much as we are, he died for them as much as he did for you and therefore we must treat them with the utmost respect and love. When someone has come to you for prayer, they should, if nothing else, go away knowing that they are loved by God and by you. We pray for one another to build community in Christ and to be a part of what God wants to do in each other's lives: it's very exciting that we have the privilege to do this, but we must remember that anything that God does is done by him and not by us just because it was us praying! We also said that we shouldn't be afraid of silences in prayer, that it is good to wait on God and to see what it is he wants to do.
Finally at the third prayer station we talked about confessing our sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We know that there is nothing that God won't forgive us if we bring it to him and ask for forgiveness, Romans 8:1 says: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," so we shouldn't live with the guilt of all the wrong things we have done and feel undeserving of forgiveness: of course we don't deserve it, but none of us do and yet God's grace covers all our sin anyway: he has forgiven us even though we don't deserve it. He wants us to live in freedom from sin and so if we don't tell him about what we've done and say that we're sorry, it will stay will us and hold us back from our relationship with him.
We were going to go on to do a big praise session together, but didn't have the time (which we can only think is a good thing because we obviously got so into our praying together in groups!) so we will hopefully cover this another time.
Special thank you to FAY for running the confession station for us, you're a star!!!
Lois and Eleanor
At one prayer station, we thought of things we wanted to bring to God in prayer, and made plasticine models of something that represented this so that we could reflect on it more easily and so that, when we prayed as a group in the end, we could remember what everyone wanted prayer for. Philippians 4:6-7 says: "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So we know that we should bring all worries to God who will take them from us and help us cope with whatever we're going through. Nothing is too big for him to cope with, and nothing is too small for him to care about: if it matters to you, it matters to him!
At the second prayer station, we talked about praying with other people. The Bible says in many places that it is very important for us to pray for other Christians (as well as non-Christians!) both on our own remembering them in our private prayers, but also with them, and it is also vital that we feel we can bring our prayer requests to other Christians. The Bible says that we are a family and that we should love one another, and what better way to do so than to pray with each other about all the things that we are burdened by or all the things we have to thank God for?! We spoke about basic do's and don'ts when praying other people: we said that it was better for girls to pray with girls and boys with boys (unless praying in a group, in which case there should be at least one person of the same gender as the person being prayed for present - it's just easier that way!); that it is good to lay hands on the person being prayed for - if they want it! - but that that should always be in an appropriate place (common sense, people!); we also said that if someone asks you to pray about something with them, we don't go telling all our friends what they needed prayer for. The people we are praying for are loved by Jesus just as much as we are, he died for them as much as he did for you and therefore we must treat them with the utmost respect and love. When someone has come to you for prayer, they should, if nothing else, go away knowing that they are loved by God and by you. We pray for one another to build community in Christ and to be a part of what God wants to do in each other's lives: it's very exciting that we have the privilege to do this, but we must remember that anything that God does is done by him and not by us just because it was us praying! We also said that we shouldn't be afraid of silences in prayer, that it is good to wait on God and to see what it is he wants to do.
Finally at the third prayer station we talked about confessing our sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We know that there is nothing that God won't forgive us if we bring it to him and ask for forgiveness, Romans 8:1 says: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," so we shouldn't live with the guilt of all the wrong things we have done and feel undeserving of forgiveness: of course we don't deserve it, but none of us do and yet God's grace covers all our sin anyway: he has forgiven us even though we don't deserve it. He wants us to live in freedom from sin and so if we don't tell him about what we've done and say that we're sorry, it will stay will us and hold us back from our relationship with him.
We were going to go on to do a big praise session together, but didn't have the time (which we can only think is a good thing because we obviously got so into our praying together in groups!) so we will hopefully cover this another time.
Special thank you to FAY for running the confession station for us, you're a star!!!
Lois and Eleanor
Thursday, 9 October 2008
Week 4 (05.10.08)
This week we looked at where Jesus tells us he has come to fulfil the law and what the prophets taught rather than to abolish this.
In this passage (Matthew 5:17-20), Jesus tells us not to think that he has come to abolish the law or what the prophets say (so none of what he says or does will contradict the 10 Commandments and anything the prophets in the old testament say about the coming of a Messiah will in some way comply with him), but rather to fulfil this: he will live a perfect life and never break God's law, and events/circumstances in his life will show that he is the Messiah the prophets spoke about. Jesus then says that all of the law (10 Commandments) still is in place: he says that not one part of it will leave until life as we know it is over, so he has not come to change this or to make it any less valid. He goes on to say that anyone who breaks these commandments and teaches others to do the same "will be called least in the kingdom of heaven," while those who live them out will be "called great in" God's kingdom. Finally, Jesus says in this passage that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees (these were teachers of the law at that time: they all seemed to follow the law along with many other laws they had written themselves to the letter, but Jesus knew their hearts were not after God, they just wanted glory themselves from other people) or we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
We talked about how because the law still stands and hasn't changed a bit, Jesus came to fulfil it for us because it was impossible for us to live a life free of sin. If the law was broken, the penalty was death, and because we all have broken the law at least once in our lives, we all deserve this. However, Jesus came to live a life that never breaks that law, but also took the punishment we deserve, and therefore, because the law was fulfilled, we can now be saved and have eternal life FREE OF CHARGE! This is what we mean when we say we're sharing the "Good news" - we, who have sinned and therefore deserve death, can have eternal life because Jesus fulfilled the law FOR us!
Finally, we talked about what Jesus meant when he said that if our righteousness is not more than that of the Pharisees, we could not enter the kingdom of heaven. We know that we cannot enter the kingdom by works (what we do) because it is by grace (all that stuff we were saying about being able to enter the kingdom because Jesus took the blame for us) that we are saved, so then why does Jesus say we have to be more righteous than the Pharisees? Romans 3:21-24 talks about the fact that we have all sinned but that we are justified, or made right, through FAITH in Jesus Christ. Therefore to be righteous is to have faith in him. So although the Pharisees believed they did everything the right way and everyone saw them as great role models to respect and try to be like, this was not God's opinion because he could see their hearts and knew what made them want to behave that way: not a love for him but a love for themselves. We need to look at our own hearts and ask God to show us anything that is there that has not come from a love of him so that we can give it to him. We can only be saved by faith in Jesus, not by following the rules or just going to church!
Lois and Eleanor
In this passage (Matthew 5:17-20), Jesus tells us not to think that he has come to abolish the law or what the prophets say (so none of what he says or does will contradict the 10 Commandments and anything the prophets in the old testament say about the coming of a Messiah will in some way comply with him), but rather to fulfil this: he will live a perfect life and never break God's law, and events/circumstances in his life will show that he is the Messiah the prophets spoke about. Jesus then says that all of the law (10 Commandments) still is in place: he says that not one part of it will leave until life as we know it is over, so he has not come to change this or to make it any less valid. He goes on to say that anyone who breaks these commandments and teaches others to do the same "will be called least in the kingdom of heaven," while those who live them out will be "called great in" God's kingdom. Finally, Jesus says in this passage that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees (these were teachers of the law at that time: they all seemed to follow the law along with many other laws they had written themselves to the letter, but Jesus knew their hearts were not after God, they just wanted glory themselves from other people) or we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
We talked about how because the law still stands and hasn't changed a bit, Jesus came to fulfil it for us because it was impossible for us to live a life free of sin. If the law was broken, the penalty was death, and because we all have broken the law at least once in our lives, we all deserve this. However, Jesus came to live a life that never breaks that law, but also took the punishment we deserve, and therefore, because the law was fulfilled, we can now be saved and have eternal life FREE OF CHARGE! This is what we mean when we say we're sharing the "Good news" - we, who have sinned and therefore deserve death, can have eternal life because Jesus fulfilled the law FOR us!
Finally, we talked about what Jesus meant when he said that if our righteousness is not more than that of the Pharisees, we could not enter the kingdom of heaven. We know that we cannot enter the kingdom by works (what we do) because it is by grace (all that stuff we were saying about being able to enter the kingdom because Jesus took the blame for us) that we are saved, so then why does Jesus say we have to be more righteous than the Pharisees? Romans 3:21-24 talks about the fact that we have all sinned but that we are justified, or made right, through FAITH in Jesus Christ. Therefore to be righteous is to have faith in him. So although the Pharisees believed they did everything the right way and everyone saw them as great role models to respect and try to be like, this was not God's opinion because he could see their hearts and knew what made them want to behave that way: not a love for him but a love for themselves. We need to look at our own hearts and ask God to show us anything that is there that has not come from a love of him so that we can give it to him. We can only be saved by faith in Jesus, not by following the rules or just going to church!
Lois and Eleanor
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Week 3 (28.09.08)
This week we looked at the passage where Jesus tells us we are salt and light and what it actually means to be these.
The passage (Matthew 5:13-16) first tells us that we are "the salt of the earth," and we talked about all the properties of salt and how it was used in Jesus' time: it brings out the flavour of food; it preserves (so back in the day before fridges were around, people used to put salt on their meat etc to stop it from going off so quickly); it cleans and heals (so if you had a cut, you would often put salt in the wound to stop it getting infected) and it makes you thirsty if you eat too much. This isn't a good thing for our bodies, and all these properties were quite confusing anyway, so we started to think about what Jesus might have been trying to say instead... If Jesus says we are "the salt of the earth," then he wants us to 'bring flavour' to the world, so to make life more exciting for those around us. If we are to be preservatives, we are to tell our friends and families the life-giving message about the hope we have in Jesus. If we are to cleanse, we are to try to live the way the Bible tells us in the hope that others want to do the same so that more people are saved. If we are to bring healing, we are to tell people about Jesus and how he can heal them emotionally, physically and of their sin. Finally, we as Christians want everyone to be passionate about God and make getting to know him more their number one priority: to have a thirst for him, so we should have this same passion, because a love of something or someone is infectious!
Jesus warns us that if we lose our saltiness, we will become good for nothing. FACT: when salt is left in the salt shaker for too long without being used, it clumps together and stops tasting salty; it's good for nothing. In the same way, if all we ever do is stick around other Christians and never reach out to or make friends with non-Christians, we will be useless because we won't be doing what we are here to do: spreading the Word. When salt is sprinkled over food, it disappears into it but we still know it's there because of the taste. We are to go out into the world and let people know that we are Christians not because we're stuck in church but because we have Jesus with us wherever we go.
Then Jesus says we are "the light of the world." When we accept Jesus into our lives, we ask his Spirit to live within us, so wherever we go, we bring the Light of the World with us! Jesus tells us that no one hides a light under a bucket, because that would be ridiculous! People stick lights in the ceiling, or at least up somewhere high so that they give light to the whole room. We shouldn't hide either, if the light in our bedroom doesn't run in fear from the dark, nor should we: if we go out into the world (or the playground) bringing the message of our faith, the 'darkness' out there won't stand a chance. When you turn your light on, the dark is gone straight away: when we bring Jesus to people, nothing will stand in our way. We also talked about how if someone lit a bonfire on a hill in the middle of the night, the surrounding fields would be able to see the light but would still be in darkness themselves, but if people took branches, set them alight from the fire and took them out into the fields, the light would be everywhere. So, like with the salt sticking together in the shaker if it's left there too long, we shouldn't always be around other Christians: we're made to bring light to those in darkness, not just to those already in light.
So, how do we do all this? Well, like we said, it's about telling people about Jesus and showing them how much we love him by loving those he created (ie. everyone!). If we live in a way that shows that the words he says have really impacted us, others will naturally be attracted to him. So get salting!
Lois and Eleanor
The passage (Matthew 5:13-16) first tells us that we are "the salt of the earth," and we talked about all the properties of salt and how it was used in Jesus' time: it brings out the flavour of food; it preserves (so back in the day before fridges were around, people used to put salt on their meat etc to stop it from going off so quickly); it cleans and heals (so if you had a cut, you would often put salt in the wound to stop it getting infected) and it makes you thirsty if you eat too much. This isn't a good thing for our bodies, and all these properties were quite confusing anyway, so we started to think about what Jesus might have been trying to say instead... If Jesus says we are "the salt of the earth," then he wants us to 'bring flavour' to the world, so to make life more exciting for those around us. If we are to be preservatives, we are to tell our friends and families the life-giving message about the hope we have in Jesus. If we are to cleanse, we are to try to live the way the Bible tells us in the hope that others want to do the same so that more people are saved. If we are to bring healing, we are to tell people about Jesus and how he can heal them emotionally, physically and of their sin. Finally, we as Christians want everyone to be passionate about God and make getting to know him more their number one priority: to have a thirst for him, so we should have this same passion, because a love of something or someone is infectious!
Jesus warns us that if we lose our saltiness, we will become good for nothing. FACT: when salt is left in the salt shaker for too long without being used, it clumps together and stops tasting salty; it's good for nothing. In the same way, if all we ever do is stick around other Christians and never reach out to or make friends with non-Christians, we will be useless because we won't be doing what we are here to do: spreading the Word. When salt is sprinkled over food, it disappears into it but we still know it's there because of the taste. We are to go out into the world and let people know that we are Christians not because we're stuck in church but because we have Jesus with us wherever we go.
Then Jesus says we are "the light of the world." When we accept Jesus into our lives, we ask his Spirit to live within us, so wherever we go, we bring the Light of the World with us! Jesus tells us that no one hides a light under a bucket, because that would be ridiculous! People stick lights in the ceiling, or at least up somewhere high so that they give light to the whole room. We shouldn't hide either, if the light in our bedroom doesn't run in fear from the dark, nor should we: if we go out into the world (or the playground) bringing the message of our faith, the 'darkness' out there won't stand a chance. When you turn your light on, the dark is gone straight away: when we bring Jesus to people, nothing will stand in our way. We also talked about how if someone lit a bonfire on a hill in the middle of the night, the surrounding fields would be able to see the light but would still be in darkness themselves, but if people took branches, set them alight from the fire and took them out into the fields, the light would be everywhere. So, like with the salt sticking together in the shaker if it's left there too long, we shouldn't always be around other Christians: we're made to bring light to those in darkness, not just to those already in light.
So, how do we do all this? Well, like we said, it's about telling people about Jesus and showing them how much we love him by loving those he created (ie. everyone!). If we live in a way that shows that the words he says have really impacted us, others will naturally be attracted to him. So get salting!
Lois and Eleanor
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