O.T. Peeps: Elijah & The Prophets of Baal…

We are starting a new series in January called O.T. Peeps.  Actually, we have done this before but its a fun series and I think we will back to it often.  O.T. Peeps is a series about Old Testament characters and their stories.  We will hit some familiar and some not so familiar stories.

For the next 2 weeks we will be talking about dude named Elijah.  Some people say ‘the dude abides’ well not this guy!  Elijah has some amazing stories of God showing up and Elijah has some amazing stories of just giving up.

This week we looked at Elijah as he took on 450 prophets of another so-called god called Baal.  He laid the hammer down on these poor fellas and even managed to get some smack talk in process.  You can see his story from 1 Kings 18 here at bible gateway.

This week we talked about Elijah and his courage under fire.  check out the things we learn from Elijah in our Chaos Bulletin.

Chaos Bulletin

How are you taking a stand for God this week?

4 Minutes on “Reading the Bible”

This is my friend Noel.  He just posted this video talking about New Years Resolutions and how we always say to God, ‘alright God, this year i’m going to commit to reading the bible this year.’  and then we don’t.  What I love about Noel is he is not looking to make you feel guilty instead he is just offering ways to see you succeed this year.  Take 4 minutes and see if any of his suggestions help you in your goal of understanding God better.

4 Minutes on “Reading the Bible”, posted with vodpod

The Christmas Story is the Ultimate example of God Causing a Scene…

In Chaos tonight we examined and even acted out some aspects of the Christmas story.  God causing a scene in the lives of Mary, Joe, the Shepherds, and even King Herod (yea we don’t celebrate that part of the Christmas story).

We talked about how the various people in the Christmas Story reacted when God wanted to Cause A Scene using people the world looked down on.  The Christmas Story gives us hope because God used all these people the world ignored to change the game!

1 Corinthians says it this way…

26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” 

We can easily fit the characters of the Christmas story into this verse!  Check out the Chaos bulletin to see what it means for us when God wants to Cause a Scene!

How is God calling you to cause a scene for Him this week?

check out the Chaos Bulletin for more details and don’t forget about the 30 Day Challenge!

Chaos Bulletin (12/13/11)

Middle School 30 Day Challenge…

Last week we challenged all of the Middle Schoolers & Leaders to commit to 30 days of Bible Study.  We gave you a notebook and some ideas on how to go about your study.  those that can show at least 25 well thought out notebook entries will be invited to pizza and a movie at the Shinn’s.

1.  Pick a book of the bible- here are some suggestions…

Matthew-you can read about the Christmas story then head into the Be-Attitudes (chap 5-7) and what Jesus expects    of his followers.

Luke-great book to ‘check things out’ when it comes to the story of Jesus.  Luke acted like a journalist by interviewing witnesses and giving detailed stories.

James-is a pretty straight forward book about what a Christian looks like.

Proverbs-pretty interesting book of wise sayings that you can put into practice in your life.

2. Use the S.O.A.P. method to write in your notebook.  here is a link to the lesson we did about this on tuesday (12/6/11)

S-Scripture: Focus on and write down a specific Scripture   (example Matthew 4:1-11)

O-Observation:  Write down your observations about what’s going on in the text and any questions you might have.  If you study the bible, you might write down some comments you that help you better understand what is going on.  If you have questions then consider who you would ask to help you find answers

A-Application:  Write down how this passage applies to your life.  Does it address any fears or questions you might be struggling with?  Does it give direction for an area of your life or how you are to treat people?

P-Prayer: Finally, pray and write down your prayer, asking God to give you what you need for the day.  You could ask for his presence in your life, some direction in on issue you are facing, or the strength to actually do what God is telling you to do.

3.  if you find yourself asking God for help or requesting God’s strength and you feel God answered your prayer…WRITE IT DOWN!!!  this notebook becomes a place to look back on and know that God is working in your life.

we will ask about this project @Route 56 and Chaos!  feel free to email Jason with anything you might have learned about God or what you might have written down about what you want to change in your life because of what you read and we will post it on the website.  we won’t use names but we will post it!

send your emails to…

ebcsojourn@gmail.com

30 Day Challenge…

Last week we challenged all of the Middle Schoolers & Leaders to commit to 30 days of Bible Study.  We gave you a notebook and some ideas on how to go about your study.  those that can show at least 25 well thought out notebook entries will be invited to pizza and a movie at the Shinn’s.

1.  Pick a book of the bible- here are some suggestions…

Matthew-you can read about the Christmas story then head into the Be-Attitudes (chap 5-7) and what Jesus expects    of his followers.

Luke-great book to ‘check things out’ when it comes to the story of Jesus.  Luke acted like a journalist by interviewing witnesses and giving detailed stories.

James-is a pretty straight forward book about what a Christian looks like.

Proverbs-pretty interesting book of wise sayings that you can put into practice in your life.

2. Use the S.O.A.P. method to write in your notebook.  here is a link to the lesson we did about this on tuesday (12/6/11)

S-Scripture: Focus on and write down a specific Scripture   (example Matthew 4:1-11)

O-Observation:  Write down your observations about what’s going on in the text and any questions you might have.  If you study the bible, you might write down some comments you that help you better understand what is going on.  If you have questions then consider who you would ask to help you find answers

A-Application:  Write down how this passage applies to your life.  Does it address any fears or questions you might be struggling with?  Does it give direction for an area of your life or how you are to treat people?

P-Prayer: Finally, pray and write down your prayer, asking God to give you what you need for the day.  You could ask for his presence in your life, some direction in on issue you are facing, or the strength to actually do what God is telling you to do.

3.  if you find yourself asking God for help or requesting God’s strength and you feel God answered your prayer…WRITE IT DOWN!!!  this notebook becomes a place to look back on and know that God is working in your life.

we will ask about this project @Route 56 and Chaos!  feel free to email Jason with anything you might have learned about God or what you might have written down about what you want to change in your life because of what you read and we will post it on the website.  we won’t use names but we will post it!

send your emails to…

ebcsojourn@gmail.com