Inspired by Nick Vuljicic to Persevere

We watched this video today about Nick Vujicic to discuss perseverance.

We need to remember temptations don’t come from God. God will strengthen us when we face temptations.

James 1:12-18 MSG

“Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer. So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Jas1.12.MSG

Perseverance, Character & Hope

This is one of Andy Fugitt’s favorite passages from the Bible. We discussed today how this verse teaches that perseverance leads to character, which leads to hope.

Romans 5:1-5 MSG

“By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us-set us right with him, make us fit for him-we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand-out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary-we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Rom5.1.MSG

Perseverance & Derek Redmond

We watched this video today in 5th grade Sunday School about Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics to discuss perseverance.

James 1:2-4 MSG

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Jas1.2.MSG

Remember the Sabbath

This is a short video 6th graders created in Sunday School today about Exodus 20:8-11.

“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work-not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.” (Exodus 20:8-11 MSG)

The other verses we read today focusing on Sabbath and rest were:

“Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail. By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day Because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done.” (Genesis 2:1-3 MSG)

and

“One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: “Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!” Jesus said, “Really? Didn’t you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? And didn’t you ever read in God’s Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it’s not held against them? “There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant-’I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’-you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.” When Jesus left the field, he entered their meeting place. There was a man there with a crippled hand. They said to Jesus, “Is it legal to heal on the Sabbath?” They were baiting him. He replied, “Is there a person here who, finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn’t, even though it was a Sabbath, pull it out? Surely kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!” Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it was healed. The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus.” (Matthew 12:1-14 MSG)

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Focusing of God & Lifting Up Prayers

This was our verse for today. We discussed meditation, the need to give our concerns over to God, and how to focus on the things of God.

Philippians 4:4-9 MSG

“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Phil4.4.MSG

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Giving from the heart

This is a video we created based on the verses Mark 12: 41-44.

Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins-a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford-she gave her all.”

(Mark 12:41-44 MSG)

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Giving with Heart from Blast Cast on Vimeo.

How and Why to Pray Radio Show

Today in our sixth grade Sunday School class we created a three minute radio show reviewing what we learned last week about praying persistently (Luke 11:5-10) and this week. Our verses this week, Psalm 119:9-16, highlight how studying and obeying God’s Word keeps us from sinning.

These are some photos of our radio show plan and our group planning time.

Be sure to also check out the finger puppet video we created last week about Luke 11:9-16.

Pray Consistently to God

Today in our sixth grade Sunday school class we started a new unit on prayer. In addition to reviewing the Lord’s Prayer in our large group meeting, we also discussed the importance of praying consistently to God for our needs. Like the good Father He is, God listens to our prayers and answers them. This is the “second take” of a short puppet skit video our class made about Jesus’ story of the visitor at midnight in Luke 11.

Luke 11:5-10 NLT

“Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, `A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, `Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Luke11.5.NLT

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One Mind, Love & Purpose

Today in 6th grade Sunday School class we read Philippians 2:1-5 and discussed what it means to be a Christian.

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. (Philippians 2:1-5 NLT)”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.us/Phil2.1.NLT

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Tim Teaches About God’s Holy Spirit

Tim Peterson taught us today about God’s Holy Spirit and discussed the struggle we have between our flesh and our desire to follow God’s commandments.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”(Galatians 5:22, 23 NLT)

Because of the Middle School trip we had a combined class of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.

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