Clapping hands is a nearly universal way to express approval, honor, and celebration. Kids sing, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.” Fans clap at ball games, audiences applaud musical performances, voters put their hands together in support of political candidates, and party-goers clap after singing “Happy Birthday” to a friend. The […]
Week 11 Mission | Jesus, a Relational Messiah
If God came down to earth for a few years, what would he spend most of his time doing? Jesus’ life answers that question: he would invest in relationships. Specifically, he would devote himself to a small group of men, his disciples. Jesus had big plans for The Twelve. They would be the initial messengers […]
Week 11 Character | Living Gratefully
“We’re hungry,” they cried, and awoke to find bread on the ground, food they did not have to prepare. “We need meat,” they cried, and quail came to the camp. “We’re thirsty,” they cried, and water came from the rock. “How will we get across the Red Sea?” they asked, and a dry path was […]
Week 10 Study | There Is No God Like You
This lesson could be brought to you by the letter “P.” The text is a “prayer.” Solomon prayed it on a “platform.” He assumed a certain “posture.” He prayed it at a certain “place” (temple). He acknowledged God’s “promise.” He admitted that it would be “preposterous” to think that God could be contained in a […]
Week 10 Application | He Looks at Everything
The Lord gives different gifts to different people, but he bypassed me in the art department. Give me a paintbrush and I can paint a wall, but not a portrait. I can draw stick figures, but not recognizable faces. No one ever has mistaken me for an art history expert, but I know what moves […]