It's been two weeks since my last post so thought it was about time for an update. Our series in Daniel is going well, and we are up to chapter 4 on Sundays now - so three posts overdue there. My silence could be down to the Tour de France and Ashes Cricket on the tele - or maybe it's to do with chicken pox, governor duties as we approach the end of term, and preparation for Holiday Club. I'll let you decide!
In my survey of popular Bible stories taught in Sunday school Daniel in the Lions' den came in quite high although I was surprised to have no mention of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace. But that will be the subject of my next post.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Answers on a post card please
I am conducting some extensive research (by which I mean this blog, facebook and twitter) into what people think are the most popular Bible stories that are taught to children in Sunday School. You might also want to include topics for Holiday Clubs and All Age Services into the mix.
Basically which stories do we teach our children.
Maybe you could list what you think the top 5 or 10 are below.
There are no right answers - your answers are giving me the basis for my research which I will be using on Sunday morning.
And now for a totally unrelated picture that I came across this morning, hopefully it will leave you with a smile on your face...
Basically which stories do we teach our children.
Maybe you could list what you think the top 5 or 10 are below.
There are no right answers - your answers are giving me the basis for my research which I will be using on Sunday morning.
And now for a totally unrelated picture that I came across this morning, hopefully it will leave you with a smile on your face...
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
The good, the bad and the boring
As I mentioned last time we've just started a series at church looking at the first half of Daniel. One of the things that Daniel wants us to see is that God is working behind the scenes - all the way through Daniel he writes that things happen because of God. So even if Nebuchadnezzar thinks it is his power and might and military strength that has led to the successful invasion of Judah - it actually only happened because 'God delivered...'
When we experience bad days do we have the eyes of faith to see God working out his plans? To recognise the presence of God - even when it looks like he's no where around.
Daniel and his three friends were the best of the best. If anyone was going to be able to make a go of it in Babylon it was going to be them. They looked good. They were charming. They were intelligent. They had everything going for them. But at no point in the story do they allow this to go to their heads. They remain humble. They remember that everything that they have, and everything that they are able to do is down to God. God has given Daniel the supernatural ability to interpret dreams, but their other gifts and abilities and talents also come from God - and they never forget this. When things go well and they are praised - they reflect that praise to God.
On the good days do we give thanks to God - or do we sometimes fall into the trap of patting ourselves on the back and thinking that it is all about us. Do we start to rely on our own abilities and strengths, rather than continuing to look to God?
But most of us, most of the time will not have good days or bad days - they will just be typical, normal, mundane, boring, routine days. We do the same things we do everyday. We get up at the same time, we eat the same thing for breakfast, we take the same journey to work. And after a day in the office we return home, and watch the same TV and then we go to bed - in order to start it all over again the next day!
And I suppose one question for us is: do we have the eyes of faith to see God at work in the ordinary, in the mundane, in the routine? Are we looking for God? Are we waiting for him to show up? Do we see his handiwork in the spider's web on our walk to work?
God is there - on the good days, on the bad days and on the boring days. Another question might be - if God is there, can you have a boring day...
When we experience bad days do we have the eyes of faith to see God working out his plans? To recognise the presence of God - even when it looks like he's no where around.
Daniel and his three friends were the best of the best. If anyone was going to be able to make a go of it in Babylon it was going to be them. They looked good. They were charming. They were intelligent. They had everything going for them. But at no point in the story do they allow this to go to their heads. They remain humble. They remember that everything that they have, and everything that they are able to do is down to God. God has given Daniel the supernatural ability to interpret dreams, but their other gifts and abilities and talents also come from God - and they never forget this. When things go well and they are praised - they reflect that praise to God.
On the good days do we give thanks to God - or do we sometimes fall into the trap of patting ourselves on the back and thinking that it is all about us. Do we start to rely on our own abilities and strengths, rather than continuing to look to God?
But most of us, most of the time will not have good days or bad days - they will just be typical, normal, mundane, boring, routine days. We do the same things we do everyday. We get up at the same time, we eat the same thing for breakfast, we take the same journey to work. And after a day in the office we return home, and watch the same TV and then we go to bed - in order to start it all over again the next day!
And I suppose one question for us is: do we have the eyes of faith to see God at work in the ordinary, in the mundane, in the routine? Are we looking for God? Are we waiting for him to show up? Do we see his handiwork in the spider's web on our walk to work?
God is there - on the good days, on the bad days and on the boring days. Another question might be - if God is there, can you have a boring day...
Friday, 21 June 2013
Behind the scenes
This week I've been reading through the book of Daniel, getting ready for a new preaching series that will start this week looking at Daniel 1-6.
Yes - I do know that there are another 6 chapters at the end of Daniel. But - I only have 6 weeks, and our Holiday Bible Club, is based on Daniel 1-6 (Scripture Union's Space Academy) so I thought it would be good to study these chapters ahead of sharing it with the children in a few weeks time.
One of the themes that comes through is how God is always working just behind the scenes. This is true even when things don't look like it. When Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel was carried into exile it was because of what God did - not because of who Nebuchadnezzar was or what he had done.
Similar themes to those we saw last week with Revelation.
Although Daniel was a captive rather than a refugee watch the following video and then try to imagine some of the things that Daniel was feeling and thinking. Yet his faith remained strong as he saw (with the eyes of faith) the hand of God behind even this disaster in Israel's history.
Yes - I do know that there are another 6 chapters at the end of Daniel. But - I only have 6 weeks, and our Holiday Bible Club, is based on Daniel 1-6 (Scripture Union's Space Academy) so I thought it would be good to study these chapters ahead of sharing it with the children in a few weeks time.
One of the themes that comes through is how God is always working just behind the scenes. This is true even when things don't look like it. When Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel was carried into exile it was because of what God did - not because of who Nebuchadnezzar was or what he had done.
Similar themes to those we saw last week with Revelation.
Although Daniel was a captive rather than a refugee watch the following video and then try to imagine some of the things that Daniel was feeling and thinking. Yet his faith remained strong as he saw (with the eyes of faith) the hand of God behind even this disaster in Israel's history.
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