Bible Stories For Big Kids - Blog

JUST IMAGINE....

3/18/2019

Just imagine, even with hindsight, that we are present at that first Easter. Palm Sunday with its show of popularity for Jesus, has now been turned on its head with Jesus' cleansing of the Temple and his intensive teaching during the week, added to by the hatred and hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. Maybe, just maybe the Passover Meal will bring things back to normal, but no, this is no ordinary Passover Meal. Jesus wants to wash the feet of the disciples, and talks of being a servant, when there was still hope that he would lead a rebellion and restore the Jewish nation.

The breaking of bread and the cup of wine is suddenly given a different meaning - not sure what that was at the time - and then the look that Jesus gave Judas Iscariot before Judas just got up and walked out of the room. Nothing was as it should be, yet we know that this was how it was meant to be.

Good Friday - what a day that was! The atmosphere in the street as Jesus was led to Calvary, indescribable, and such a mix of emotions - horror, despair, sorrow - poor Mary, Jesus' mother, and even knowing the outcome of Good Friday, it was a harrowing experience, watching Jesus die in agony on the Cross. Then after those three hours of creepy darkness, it was all over. Time to go home, then nothing, just nothing but wait and see what might happen next.

Thank goodness Sunday morning came with the need to visit the tomb. Maybe a proper burial would help the grieving process, but no, there was to be no more grief. Just imagine being outside that empty tomb wondering what had really happened, when you hear your name called - just your name in a very familiar voice. That thought still gives me goose bumps, for that is what Jesus does - he calls us by our name to be his servant disciples, just like him.

Imagine having Jesus explain the meaning of that first Easter, from the beginning, as you walked with him along the road to Emmaus. What a teacher! and how everything suddenly fell into place as he broke the bread - definitely an 'ah ha' or 'wow' moment.

Life could never be the same again after meeting Jesus!

WHO ARE WE?

3/4/2019

Identity is a hot topic today and the first thing which comes to mind is the people who choose to identify with a culture where only a very small percentage of their heritage belongs to that culture and any visual appearance relating to that culture has long gone. Their great great grandparent may have belonged to that tribe or nation, but to identify with that culture is a big stretch of the imagination, trendy as it may be.

It has long been said that being born in a Christian country does not make you a Christian, in the same way if you were born in a garage that would not make you a car. So what is a Christian's heritage and how should we make that visible? (Thank goodness the days of wearing no makeup or dowdy clothes - for women - has long gone - oops there were no such obligation put on men!)

This morning I read from 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" and like 'Breaking News' it put the Christian heritage back in perspective. We have heard so much lately about the sins of ( in particular) the Catholic Church in relation to child molestation, as well as Christian organisations who are supporting persecuted Christians, then throw in the progressives who want all religion ( particularly Christianity) removed from the public square and I feel that God has been diminished and filed away in a cloud along with all the other computer folders not needed any more.

But of course, this isn't so. God is not 'watching us from a distance' but is here with us as Jesus clearly said 'I am with you always'. So what does this mean for a Christian, or how should we describe our heritage?

Paul's letter to the Ephesians sets out our heritage so clearly in chapter 1. 'God, who has blessed us ... chose us.. destined us for adoption... grace that he freely bestowed on us ... in him we have redemption, forgiveness of our sins, ...we have also obtained an inheritance,......we might live for the praise of his glory.... we were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit...' This is only part of the promises listed, but for me, it puts the sovereignty of God and who we are back in perspective.

But how do we make this heritage visible? Like the person who chooses to identify with a particular culture but has no visible identity, so is the person who says they are a Christian but is no different from those around them. I am not suggesting the wearing of dowdy clothes, religious symbols or any other outward sign to identify us, but instead we should see what the Bible has to say.

This could be a huge topic in itself, but a clear summary is found in John 13:34-35 when Jesus told his disciples "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another ...by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another".

Jesus death on the cross has given us a wonderful heritage, but that heritage must be visible for others to see. Easter is a good time to think again as to 'Who Are We?'

WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE?

2/24/2019

On a recent Facebook Christian group post, I read a very good article refuting the statement that 'Seeing is believing'. I thought the article was very well written, theologically sound and would have made for a very good sermon. It was clearly written by a Christian for Christians and there is nothing wrong with that, but after following some of the theological comments on FB, I decided to comment from a different perspective - that of a non Christian.

I have not seen any more of the post and unfortunately I have forgotten the name of the group.

There were a few things which 'bothered' me about the article, the main one being that the limited FB discussion centered around the theology of the article, all of which was only relevant to a Christian audience, yet the article was written about why many people choose not to believe in Jesus because they can't see him. The subject of the article was non Christians, yet all the discussion took place around the Christian perspective. My (unanswered) question was are Christians presenting the Gospel in such a way as to be irrelevant to non Christians? - those who want to 'see to believe.'

I have always found Christianity to be a very practical religion and very relevant to every day life, more so since I stopped going to church here on a regular basis. The Christian groups which meet here - and there is no shortage of them - are not visible in the general community - they are not interested in mission, and that has two dangerous consequences. The groups become inward thinking and cut off from the general public, and become irrelevant to those not associated with Christianity. As a Christian I have been treated appallingly by some Christians here ( they have probably since left the area) as I possibly think differently to the majority and that can be seen as a threat, instead of being able to accept a different point of view. I am not a conformist for the sake of conforming - I prefer to think things through.

Meeting with other Christians once or more during the week is great - Paul recommended that many times - but unless a Christian mixes with 'outsiders', loves them and can relate to them, then their Christianity is of little practical use and that is NOT recommended by Paul in his writings. If we are to live the Gospel, - we don't necessarily have to preach it - we need to see things from other people's point of view, and that is not always easy nor comfortable, but that is just what Jesus did, over and over again.

So, what is your perspective?

JUST TINSEL?

1/4/2019

I have just returned from a wonderful Christmas celebration with my son and daughter-in-law and one of the highlights was the Christmas morning service at their local church. I so wanted to sing all the traditional carols and that is what happened. The church was beautifully decorated and a lot of effort had been put into making this a very meaningful Christmas celebration. The sermon was short and to the point, but unfortunately it missed the point entirely! How could that happen?

When I wrote the Advent Calendar which I published in my December blog, I was once again reminded of the depth of meaning of that first Christmas, especially when reading the songs of Zechariah, Mary and Simeon. All these were full of theological statements concerning the promised Messiah ( Jesus) many from the prophets of the Old Testament, and this was in stark contrast to the shallowness of Christmas celebrated in the commercial world. I cannot comprehend how any Christian can not be in awe and wonder when visiting the Christmas story of the Bible.

Consequently, I was very interested in an article by Greg Sheridan in the Weekend Australian newspaper, 22-23rd December 2018, and so I have decided to quote some of that article here.

"...in the end, without its core religious message, everything else about Christmas is just tinsel. There is a world of difference between tinsel with a purpose and tinsel just there to distract.

"You cannot come to any meaningful encounter with Christmas without comprehending its revolutionary supernatural transcendent religious claims. The gospel accounts of the conception and birth of Jesus are uncompromising. Mary was a virgin and Jesus is the Son of God. The good happy sentimentality of Christmas.......nonetheless tends to obscure just how radical and revolutionary this account is."

The Gospels and the rest of the New Testament are full of the claims of divinity and eternity - "Jesus said 'I am the resurrections and the life.'"

"The sheer outrageousness of this claim is so breathtaking that there are really only three ways to respond:deny it altogether, accept it with all its mystery or ignore it."

Mr Sheridan goes on to say that many churches and the secular world would like Christianity to go - maintain the good works etc but forget forget the Christian message of sin and forgiveness.

"Some had asked 'can we not emphasise all the social goods that came from Christianity but leave out the theology?'...Every human being has a tendency to evil and without a basis for goodness, there can be no absolute sense of rejecting evil.....You cannot inspire people on the basis that this story ( Christian/Christmas theology) is untrue and false, but yet is full of merit. If it is untrue it has no claim on anyone's loyalty.

"The truth cannot be reshaped merely to serve the tinsel."

I was quite shocked when I read that article for those were my thoughts entirely but so much better expressed than anything I would write.

May the wonder and joy of that first Christmas be with you all through 2019.

ADVENT CALENDAR

11/30/2018

1. 1350 years before Jesus was born, Jacob blessed his son Judah and promised that Kings would be born from his family. Who would the special King be?

2. 750 years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah said ‘A young woman will have a baby and will call his name ‘Immanuel’ (Jesus means Immanuel or God with us). Who was the young woman?

3. 400 years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Micah said ‘From Bethlehem a great ruler ( or King) from God will come to bring peace”.

4  God sent the Angel Gabriel to tell Mary her baby would be the great ruler and she must name him ‘Jesus’. What does the word ‘Jesus mean?

5. Mary and Joseph were all prepared for the arrival of their baby, but not knowing that....

6. “Oh no” cried Mary, “Go to Bethlehem. Not now, when I am about to have a baby.”

7. The Emperor told everyone to go to their home town to be counted. As Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph had to leave immediately and travel 150 klm.

8. When Mary and Joseph arrived at Bethlehem, Mary was exhausted but there was no-where for them to stay. Her baby would be born very soon – what would they do?

9. A kind inn-keeper showed them a stable where they could stay.

10.   During that night, Mary called out to Joseph “Wake up, the baby is going to be born”. Did Joseph immediately take Mary to hospital?

11. There were no hospitals so Joseph had to help deliver Mary’s baby in the stable. They wrapped the baby in baby clothes and put him to sleep in a manger. What was the baby’s name?

12. Mary and Joseph were so excited about the new baby Jesus whom they knew was God’s son, but with no telephone, they could not tell anyone that he had been born. No-one would know or so they thought.

13. God was making sure everyone would know that Jesus had been born! He even sent his choir to tell the shepherds – that was much more exciting than a telephone call.

14 The night was dark and quiet...... SUDDENLY an angel, bright as day, stood near the shepherds up on the hill. “Don’t be frightened, I’ve got great news for you – Jesus is born.”

15. “God has sent to earth his son, Jesus and you will find him in a stable in Bethlehem, just as the Prophets told us hundreds of years ago”.

16. Before the shepherds could even say ‘Happy Christmas’ God’s choir appeared in the sky and sang praises to God in heaven, and peace on the earth.

17.   Suddenly it was dark and quiet again but the shepherds said “what are we waiting for?” so off they stumbled in the dark, down the hill to Bethlehem.

18. How do you find a baby in the middle of the night? What did the angel say “you will find him in a stable”, so where is that stable?

19. Mary and Joseph were exhausted after their long long walk and the birth of their baby. All they wanted to do was sleep when ‘bang bang’ – someone was banging on the stable door. Who could it be?

20.  As Joseph opened the door of the stable, some shepherds rushed in saying “ has a baby been born here tonight? Can we see him?” Mary and Joseph were shocked – how could these shepherds know about baby Jesus?

21. That same night a new star appeared in the sky a long way away in another country. “What does that star mean?” asked the Wise Men.

22. “ The new star is moving across the sky – I wonder if a special King has been born? Let’s follow the star.”

23. On their camels, the Wise Men followed the star all the way to Bethlehem.

24. The Wise Men gave Jesus very special presents for when he grew up, gold for a King, frankincense for a priest ( God’s helper on the earth) and myrrh for when Jesus died on the cross.

25.   What can I give him small as I am?     Give my heart!

November 22nd, 2018

11/22/2018

GRUMPY OLD MEN

Recently I was with three couples, all in the senior age bracket, and each wife had the same comment to make about her husband – how nice he was to others but when it came time to interact with his wife, how difficult he became. My eye surgeon was a grumpy old man ( he retired a week after my cataract was removed) and ‘fortunately’ I had had enough experience in dealing with his type of dialogue, not to become angry with him. Now , I am not going to go down that path, except to say that I do feel it is a situation to be explored from a medical point of view, but what it did do was make me think of how Jesus reacted to women.

Of course, Jesus did not get to the age of being classed as a grumpy old man, but we do hear of even younger men ‘dying’ of ‘man flu’ for example – in other words, when something goes wrong, life is all about them – wives never have to suffer such debilitating conditions! I realise not all men are like this, but the proverbial joke is not without some truth.

So let’s look at Jesus, in the setting of a patriarchal society. Yesterday I read an article about Malala Yousafzai, that wonderful outspoken teenager from Pakistan, and who was shot by the Taliban at age 15. Maybe her background was more extreme than in Jesus’ time but it did give a contemporary example of how women are treated in a patriarchal society – her father certainly bucked the system by treating his daughter equal to a male, starting with a good education.

Jesus never put down women; he never ignored them; he never treated them any less because they were women – just read the gospels for examples of this behaviour as there are plenty there.

But what has always really amazed me, is Jesus words to his disciple John, when Jesus was slowly dying in absolute agony on the cross. ( John 19:26-27) “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother ‘Woman, here is your son’ . Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother’ “. What man, slowly being suffocated and in excruciating pain, can think of someone other than themselves? And that is just the human side of the story – the theological one for Jesus was even worse. Yet here is Jesus, reaching out to his mother. That really gets to me, that Jesus is still capable of such love, even under these horrific circumstances. I sure would not expect that of anyone.

The Bible tells us quite clearly, that Jesus was both God and human, but the human part – how much of this was ‘male’? Physically we assume him to be male, but mentally/emotionally? Was his thinking typical of any men of his time? If anyone has done or read of a study on this subject please let me know as I am sure it would be really fascinating to explore this further.
Why did Jesus think the way he did? Could he have grown into a grumpy old man?

Or did Jesus show us what should be normal in society and give us an example that we should follow?

Love was his message; Jesus is God and God is Love.

THE BIG PICTURE AND A MORAL DILEMMA

10/16/2018

How easy it is to forget or even lose the big picture of God. I have enjoyed reading the book 'Eternity' - the story of Arthur Stace who wrote the word 'Eternity' on the footpaths of New South Wales - that much I had heard about but there was so much more to that man's life. It was such an inspirational story.

With the modern shift away from God and religion in Western society, how refreshing was it to read in 1 Kings about King Solomon's temple. Yes, I wrote about this in 'Bible Stories For Big Kids' but to be reminded of the greatness of God and why we are here, was good to read again. This is what King Solomon prayed when he addressed the assembly of his people.

"The Lord our God be with us......so that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God - there is no other." ( 1 Kings 8:57 ff) Now that is a clear, concise statement - a Big Picture.

In the previous chapter, in his prayer of dedication of the temple, King Solomon acknowledged the magnificence of this temple, but conceded " But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built."

Arthur Stace may have previously been an alcoholic and a thief but on encountering God, like King Solomon thousands of years before him, he realised the Big Picture of God and devoted his life to ensuring that as many people as possible heard of this one true God.

An interesting Moral Dilemma came to my attention the other day. A Christian is head of an organisation which overseas millions of dollars put through gaming machines - gambling. The article presented this person's attitude to his job and he was clear to point out that in his position, he was able to ensure that procedures were put in place to encourage responsible gambling and to recognise and assist those who have a problem - the Salvation Army is part of that support process. Then I read the article by a person opposed to gambling/gaming machines ( for good reason) and in response to the question, 'As a Christian, should this person hold this position( job)? ' and the answer was a decisive 'No'. Hence the Moral Dilemma.

I don't agree with abortion and prostitution but is it a better outcome for these to be legalised? You don't have to do much research to find the horror stories of backyard and criminal operators, situations which led to the legalising of these activities, (not that legalising them has solved all the problems). Making moral decisions on behalf of others can be fraught with difficulties and in a perfect world, these dilemmas would not occur, but we are not in a perfect world.

Looking back over the changes in ladies' swimming costumes, for example - from a neck to knee to a bikini - is a clear example of the changes in attitudes to moral situations. There will always be many sides and opinions to any question regarding morals and quite frankly, I had to agree with the person mentioned above, who is in charge of the gaming machines. If it is going to happen, make sure it happens responsibly. ( in this example).

Now I have started this topic, I can hear all sorts of arguments going round in my head, but the question will always remain as to what stance I should take on a given issue. For me, that is up to God to show me how to think through a situation, and what may be a right answer for me, may not be correct for someone else.

And that is the 'Moral Dilemma'.

POST MODERN TRUTH

9/24/2018

In this post modern, post truth post Christian society in which we live, I found this passage from Philippians so refreshing, so I have decided to post this as my blog for this month.

Philippians 2: 4 "Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others." That statement alone goes against most of what is advocated today for a happy/satisfied life - I do recall one advertisement stating 'it's all about you'.

Now for verses 5-11, the Christ Hymn as it has been called.

"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.

"And being found in human form,
he humbled himself,
and became obedient to the point of death-
even death on a cross.

"Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus is Lord
to the glory of God the Father"

There are few articles in the secular media which light me up these days, and although this passage is not in the secular media, it was a wonderful reminder of the faithfulness and sovereignty of God so I just had to share it.

'ACTIVE OR PASSIVE'?

8/23/2018

When studying English grammar at school, we were taught about the 'active' voice and 'passive' voice and in local politics in the 1980s, I found the passive voice very useful. For example, I could safely say something like 'it would appear that the hole was caused by poor workmanship' (passive voice) instead of the dogmatic
' poor workmanship caused the hole' ( active voice).

Sometimes Christians need to be passive and other times active, in relation to interactions with other people, and this can make life just a little difficult. When is the right time to be 'active' and 'passive'? Sometimes, Jesus' teachings still confuse me and a reading in Matthew 21:33 ff, the 'Parable of the Wicked Tenants' brought this home to me. The story concludes with the statement "he will put those wretches to a miserable death". I realise the purpose of the parable was not about social justice but this seemed a very violent end to a story, told by the most peace loving person to walk this earth.

And then there are Jesus' retorts to the Pharisees - 7 times in Matthew 23 Jesus says, 'Woe to you' and v 33 'you snakes, you brood of vipers' - not exactly politically correct by today's standards, but an apt description of what these upholders of God's law had become and what they were doing to God's law and thus to the God's people. Jesus certainly was not the 'gentle Jesus meek and mild' when the situation called for this other side of his character but notice, he only became assertive like this, not to defend himself
( such as when he was on 'trial') but to defend God's truth and how this related to people knowing God's truth - God's love and care.

My comment about ageing is that I must become more gracious as I become less tolerant and I relate this as to how I am treated by people as there are times when I feel I need to be 'active'and other times, 'passive'. I recently resigned from a social group because of bullying by committee members - all of us in our 70s and this was just so ridiculous, but rather than fight my cause, it was more peaceful to resign and move away (passive). However, when our neighbours' trees damaged our house in the cyclone last year, trees which for 8 years we have been requesting our neighbours to remove in order to prevent damage to our place, because they refused to cut down these trees, we are now taking them to court to ensure our future safety. This is being active.

However, my examples are trivial when compared to the current world scene of persecution of Christians. Indian Christians have now become a target as are Christians in northern Myanmar and Nigeria,as well as so many other parts of the world. How should Christians is these situations react? Should they be 'active' or 'passive'? From my armchair I would not even dare to suggest an answer, but from the safety of my armchair, I must at least pray for them. Matthew 16:8 reminds us that Jesus said "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it".

'Life wasn't meant to be easy' as the saying goes, and it can sometimes be difficult to work out whether to be 'active' or 'passive' in our own given situation. However, when it comes to the horrors of the persecution of Christians it is comforting to know that Jesus will not allow Satan, in whatever form, to win. Jesus will ensure that God's truth will prevail, "For His loving kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!" ( Psalm 117:2)

AN AHA MOMENT

7/14/2018

Last month I talked about a 'Wow' moment. This month it is an 'AHA' moment.

My son who conducts multi-cultural training, showed me the Lewis Model Dimensions of Behaviour and like many who have attended his seminars, I had an 'AHA' moment. Firstly, I realised that I am so typical of the bottom left hand corner personality/culture and secondly I could now have a much more enlightened understanding of why other people don't think like me. Definitely an 'AHA' moment.

The other morning, while reading 1 Timothy in the New Testament, a book I have read many times as is obvious from my notes written in the margins, I had another 'AHA' moment. Paul makes some very controversial statements in his writings and not just to Timothy, statements which are not exactly politically correct in contemporary Western society. I realise they need to be taken in context, but they can still be rather perplexing. It was after I read the commentary 'Paul's focus is on regulating this situation, not legislating for all situations', that I had my 'AHA' moment and so many things now made sense. ( I must be a slow learner!)

This is what I realised - the BIG picture! Imagine being tasked to sort out an organisation which had gone off the rails. In that situation, I would firstly look at the whole organisation and how it was functioning, then see where the problems lay, and then seek to resolve those problems. That is just what Paul was doing. Each church to whom he wrote had is own unique set of problems which often related to the local culture. Take 1 Timothy 2:12 "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man" for example. This teaching was meant to ensure that Christian women did not behave in the same manner as female priests from the cult of Artemis. I knew that ( from my previous notes) but the big picture just had not evolved.

My suggestion for those struggling with Paul's controversial statements is:- before reading one of his letters, check out what the problems were with that particular church or group and the context in which those problems arose, then read the letter and see how Paul addressed those problems. Of course, not all of Paul's letters to each church only problem solve - they contain deep and meaningful theological and practical advice as well.

Looking at the whole picture of Paul's teachings, the basis of all that teaching is love - all instruction must be done in love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 :"And now faith, hope, and love abide, and the greatest of these is love."