Newsletter 8-17-16
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
Since I was out of town last week a lot has happened with the Olympic Games 2016. Every day we learn about those that have put so much effort in to being at the Games in Rio. Many sacrifices have been made to accomplish their goals. The process of changing habits and sticking to a strict regime got me thinking about the race we are running and life/spiritual life I am leading. Below is some thoughts and activities that you may like to adapt to your needs. Pressing on to the finish will be greatly rewarded.
The Spiritual Olympics
Olympic athletes train for years with a strict diet and exercise regime. Discipline is critical if they hope to win, so they throw off negative habits or attitudes that might hinder their success. These include eating unhealthy foods, staying up too late at night, becoming overly self-confident and engaging in negative self-talk.
We may not be professional athletes, but we’re in a race nonetheless. Ours is of a spiritual nature.
We begin when we place our saving faith in Jesus Christ, and we press on until we cross the finish line and meet Him face-to-face. In the interim, we keep our eyes on the One Who is invisible, as Moses did (see Hebrews 11:27). We obey His Word because we believe it’s truth and we want to demonstrate our love for Him by doing what He says.
We also do as athletes do—we throw off anything that hinders us from running our race to win. This includes hindrances such as the fear of inadequacy or of an unknown future, comparison, procrastination, prayerlessness, believing the enemy’s lies that cause us to doubt God and listening to others’ negative voices.
This also includes sins that entangle—unforgiveness, unresolved anger, selfishness, lust, idolatry and pride. These and others weigh us down and prevent us from running well, so shedding them is a must.
Scripture says a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith surrounds us. They cheer us on as we run. Let’s run strong. Let’s run for the prize and finish well.
Faith step: What hindrances are making your faith race difficult? Tell a godly friend, and ask that person to pray with you for the ability to throw them off. Invite him or her to hold you accountable if necessary.
Guideposts by Grace Fox
Olympic Bible Activities:
Who Am I?
For small groups, players can compete individually or they can work together in groups. One player chooses a biblical character to portray. She has 30 seconds to provide five to seven items of information to identify her character. The other players can guess the character immediately or ask one additional question per team. If no one guesses the character in 60 seconds, the participant describing the character wins the point. If the character is guessed, the person who correctly identified the character presents the next character.
Symbolism
One of the neatest things that I came across while doing this research is the symbolism we Christians can use when looking at the five Olympic Rings. We can use the meaning of each color of the Olympic Rings to discuss our faith and values with our children. The colors symbolize:
Black: Sin
Red: The blood of Jesus, which covers sin
White: Purity, after being covered by the Blood of Jesus
Gold: The streets of Gold in Heaven
Blue: The waters of Baptism
Upcoming Events:
***This weekend (Friday the 19th and Sabbath the 20th) finds the Creative Ministry Team at Forest Lake Church Youth Center Upper presenting a Leadership Certification weekend. If you would like to be a part of this event, just email me that you are coming and we will be ready for you.. Looking forward to see a lot of you there.
September 2-5 Family Camp @ Camp Kulaqua check out the website for registration and information regarding this event.
September 24 Go Fish @ South Point, Jacksonville
September 30-Oct2 Adventurer Camp Out @ Camp Kulaqua
Prayers are always needed and appreciated. May your week be filled with new beginnings, fresh ideas and lots of energy. Especially since school has started and the children have hopes of doing well as they begin a new year. Until next week.