E100 Week 8 Discovery Hour
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Lesson from Sunday March 7th, 2010
Today we will focus on the book of Proverbs from which we read two days this last week. Proverbs is a particular type of writing in the Bible, referred to as Wisdom Literature. This includes the book of Ecclesiastes and parts of Job and the book of James in the New Testament. Proverbs are concise statements which capture key insights about life in a memorable manner. Key features include this memorableness, the way they work with word pictures (one commentator calls the book of Proverbs the photo album of the Bible), their poetic form (particularly the use of metaphor and parallelism), and their focus on experience. There is an interesting twist on this last point, however, in that even as proverbs focus on concrete human experience, they also teach profound truths. This combination of simplicity and complexity is a hallmark. For example, “he who loves money will not be satisfied with money” is a profound statement based on a very understandable first premise (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Daylight Savings Time
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Spring is just around the corner and Sunday, March 14 is the beginning of Daylight Savings Time. Make sure to “spring forward” or set your clocks ahead 1 hour before you turn in Saturday so that you don’t miss a thing on Sunday.
Riverside To Hold First Vacation Bible School
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Mark your calendar for Riverside’s first ever Vacation Bible School coming this summer Monday, June 21-Friday, June 25, 6:30 p.m. More information will come soon.
The Story of Jonah - Jonah 1:1-4:11
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Scripture text for Thursday, March 11th, 2010: Jonah 1:1-4:11
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Jonah’s rebellious response to God’s call is both shocking and perplexing. The entire account follows Jonah’s carousel of emotions from clinical rage to belligerent rebellion. The lessons we can take away regarding obedience, desperation, contempt, and submission are numerous. Jonah models precisely how not to respond to God’s call in our life. Much like Jonah we turn and head in the opposite direction when God calls us to forgive and cancel the debt of those who have sinned against us. There are moments when God calls us to serve His plan but we suffer from a rigid perspective and lack of trust. Jonah’s anger and refusal to obey are excellent examples of how we complicate and frustrate God’s design and purpose.
Daniel in the Lion's Den - Daniel 6:1-6:28
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Scripture text for Wednesday, March 10th, 2010: Daniel 6:1-6:28
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As a wise administrator under four successive despots in Babylon, Daniel prospered from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar who demolished Jerusalem to that of Cyrus who restored her. Yet instead of chafing under his pagan rulers, Daniel honored them, for he recognized God as the One who “changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them” (Da 2:21). Daniel let his light shine so brightly that even kings saw his good deeds and at times gave glory to the Father.
In fact, in his role as one of King Darius’ top managers, “Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom” (Da 6:3). Imagine that – the locals were riled, and they plotted to kill Daniel by so cleverly flattering the king that he issued a fixed decree: worship him or be eaten by lions.
30-Hour Famine
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Whew-so I'm not going to lie, I'm glad the Famine is over. Fasting is not a spiritual discipline that comes easily for me. But what a weekend!! I was overwhelmed by the students this year and their willingness to starve their bodies to feed their souls. Here's the run-down of events that were used to bring us closer to the Lord as we worked towards understanding our motives and where we fit in to this picture of hunger in our world.
Jeremiah's Call and Message - Jeremiah 1:1-3:5
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010Scripture text for Tuesday, March 9th, 2010: Jeremiah 1:1-3:5
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“‘My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water,’” (Jer. 2:13).
God was speaking through Jeremiah to the people of Jerusalem (Jer. 2:1) because the people had turned away from Him, the One and Only Living God and prostituted themselves to false gods, “(Yet they are not gods at all), (2:11b). The Israelites were worshipping idols that their hands had made and allying themselves with nations they thought would help them (Assyria and Egypt). Though God remembered the devotion of their youth (2:2), they strayed far from Him after Kings David and Solomon. They had forsaken their Creator to pursue worthless images, only crying out to Him in times of trouble (2:27c).
