Why study?

There was an old Glee Club song on a record album of my parents that I listened to as a girl.  It was called "Why Study?" The words went like this:

Why Study?

"The more you study

 The more you learn.

 The more you learn

 The more you know.

 The more you know

 The more you remember.

 The more you remember

 The more you forget.

 The more you forget

 The less you remember.

 The less you remember

 The less you know.

 The less you know

 The more you study.

 So whyyyyy study!?"

And that's the question I asked the youth group last night when we talked about the discipline of Bible study. Why study?  Is it just a way to fill time that could be occupied with video games, entertainment or friends?

The answer from our very astute students was:

"It keeps you in touch (with God)."  That's from sophomore Kelly Gresham.  Like all relationships, our relationship with God stays active and healthy with regular communication.  And that Bible study time is one way we "keep in touch" with our Heavenly Father.

"It refreshes you." That's from sophomore Jackson Hamm.  We encounter many alien concepts out in the world on a daily basis: unforgiveness, greed, materialism, insensitivity, crudeness, foul language, hurt feelings, death and loss.  If we don't keep in regular contact with God, we can let these things drag down our attitudes, our way of looking at the world, at ourselves at other people and at God.  We can become bitter or cynical or greedy or entitled or manipulative...  So, we need to study God's Word in order to refresh, to recalibrate our spirits to the proper settings, the right attitudes, the knowledge of how deeply God loves us and how much we need to love ourselves and other people around us, made in God's image.

So, according to our insightful youth, that is why we should study!

To keep in touch

To be refreshed

"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the Lord are true;

they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb."

Psalm 19:7-10 (NASV)

Tower of Freedom

Jericho helps his dad with the Sunday sermon object lesson--a Lego tower

Our preacher, Jason Locke, used a Lego tower, designed by his son Jericho, an aspiring engineer, to demonstrate the work of grace in our lives during his Sunday sermon.  He invited three young students to come up front and recreate Jericho's masterpiece in a very short time period.  Of course, the task was overwhelming and the three little good sports had to leave the task undone when Dr. J declared "Time is up!"

Thanks, Dr. J, for taking a somewhat awkward passage in Galatians, addressing the issue of circumcision,  and teaching us how it relates to our lives today. The new Christians in Galatia were confused about what it took to please God.  They had accepted Christ's gift of forgiveness and salvation, but then, they had been told that they needed to observe the Jewish tradition of circumcision in order to find favor with God.  The Apostle Paul was passionate in his plea to the new Christians to remain confident in Christ's all-sufficient blood to save them and not return to the traditions practiced under the Law, before Christ came to fulfill the Law.

Dr. J challenged us to walk in the freedom of God's grace, remembering that no measurement or "keeping score" can help us reach God's standard of perfection. It is only God's grace that can help us please God.  It's really that simple.

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 (NASV)

--Posted by Mama O.

Movie Night at the Cowger's

Cole Cowger demonstrates trampoline technique

A pickup game of football on the Cowger's back lawn

The movie screen

Stacy Sholes, Ethan, Leah and D'Andra Buchanan

This one speaks for itself!

I am reading a book called The Outliers right now.  It's about what makes people extraordinary.  It tells the story of a small town in Pennsylvania that exhibited a significantly lower rate of heart disease than the national average for no obviously explainable reason like a low-fat diet or a lower rate of smoking than the general population.  Finally, the researchers concluded that it was the lifestyle of this small town, its neighborly ways, its functioning like a large, extended family for its residents.  The people's health sprang from connectedness with one another.  Wow! 

 I want to be the church equivalent of that town!  A place where people are physically healthier because they are connected to one another spiritually and emotionally. I love our gatherings, for that reason.  The conversations, the silliness, the laughter, the emotional bonding that occurs.  It happened again on Friday night out at Kenny and Tami Cowger's place in the Madera Ranchos.  We all ate and laughed and played and watched a really funny movie under the stars (lots of stars!).  It was beautiful.

"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35 (NASV)

--Posted by Mama O.