What Story Do I Want to Tell?

March 27, 2011

We enjoyed a great time together with our Sunday School families at the College Hills Elementary School Playground this evening after church. It is always fun to have the opportunity to visit with our Sunday School family. Today, several of our families were able to enjoy a picnic and the kids had a great place to run, climb, and play in the sand while we visited. Thanks to all of you who were able to join us. We will be scheduling other activities in the near future.

As I mentioned this morning, I have been remiss in recent months in keeping this blog updated. I have been doing consultant work in many different locations. Even though I will still be spending time in Beaumont at Lamar University teaching a School Law class, my travel schedule should slow down for a while. Therefore, I hope to get back in the saddle and keep the blog updated. I trust that it helps you to keep up with our class discussions and with our class activities.

Last week, we began a new series with Andy Stanley called “Your Move: Four Questions to Ask When You Don’t Know What to Do.” The first question identified last week was, “Am I being completely honest with myself?” This week’s question is, “What story do I want to tell?’ Andy Stanley says that when people tell their life stories, they condense large chunks of their lives into just a few sentences. Decisions that at the moment seem so large and complicated will later be nothing more than a line or two in the stories we tell. What do we want those stories to say?

In every transition and every decision-making environment, we’re writing the script for that story. Our stories have already developed in a certain way up to this point. But often, as we face new decisions, new obstacles, or new opportunities, we forget to connect it to our pasts. We forget to ask, “Which of these choices best fits my story so far?” In the future, you want to be able to tell your whole story honestly and not feel forced to skip or disguise any parts.

The biblical story of Joseph in the Old Testament illustrates these life-story dynamics. Joseph faced dilemmas he could never have expected, and at times he was forced to choose between no-win options. In extremely difficult situations, he made choices in harmony with a consistent pattern in his life of God-centered integrity and faithfulness. Joseph was later rewarded for this.

We, too, can look at God’s providential care in our lives up to this point, and make choices now that fully align with what God has already done for us. In contrast with Joseph, his brothers were forced to live a lie for many years because of a tragic choice they made and to see their father’s broken heart as a consequence of it.

Every decision you make becomes part of your story. What is the story you want to tell? Will it be, “I cast my care upon my heavenly Father, and I obeyed God to the best of my ability?” Remember, your kids are watching you make many of these decisions and your story will, to a large degree, be their story as well.

Write your story well—and live your story well—because in the future you want to be able to tell the whole story. What you do now really does matter.

Sunday School Class Prayer Requests and Picnic Announcement

This morning in class, we prayed for the following:

Leslie Woods’ Mom—Sylvia Day. Sylvia was hospitalized in Orlando, Florida. We prayed that she would be improved enough and stabilized so that she could be transported back home where she could be seen and treated by her personal healthcare givers. Please pray for her this week and for Leslie and her family as they minister to their Mom.

Please remember to pray for those in Japan who suffered through the terrible earth quake and tsunami and are now being threatened by Nuclear Reactor Damages.

Please remember to pray for world leaders and for our own leaders as they attempt to deal with Libya and other foreign countries where the people who have been deprived are beginning to rise up against oil-rich dictators who have been in power for many years.

Pray also for those who are participating in the Easter Pageant.

CLASS PICNIC

Next Sunday, March 27, 2011------Mark your calendar and join us after church for a class picnic!

Bring your own picnic lunch and drinks for your family and maybe something to share if you like.
We will be meeting at the playground/park at College Hills Elementary School—1101 Williams Road, College Station.
Tracey and Craig Scasta live adjacent to this site and they have offered the use of their home if we need restroom facilities.

Bring the kids….we chose this site so that the kids could have a nice place to play. There are even places for bike riding so bring the bicycles if you wish. I hope you will all try to join us for this time together.

We will plan to meet at the park after church----about 12:30 p.m.

Remember, next Sunday, March 27, 2011, at 12:30 p.m.

Have a great week.

Jimmy

2011--A Year for a Closer Walk with Jesus

Challenge for the New Year

In Sunday School yesterday, I inivited the class to join Cindy and me in attempting to read the Bible thru in 2011 and in memorizing a new scripture passage each week. Completing a systematic reading plan on a daily basis and memorizing a new scripture passage each week will result in the Bible being read thru in 2011 and in the memorization of 52 new scripture passages. I trust you will join me in attempting to read God's Word this year and in hiding His Word in your heart through memorization. Let's try it together and let's hold each other accountable for our progress throughout the year.

I have attempted to send copies of these documents to each of you through the Sunday School e-mail list. If you did not receive it or if you were unable to download one of the documents, send me an e-mail to my home address, jimmycreel@suddenlink.net

I will try something else to get the documents to you.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Jimmy

A Sunday School Class Challenge for 2011

As we come to the end of 2010 and begin to look forward to 2011, it is appropriate to consider ways that we can strengthen our walk with the Lord. Psalm 119:1 says, "Thine word have I hidden in my heart so that I might not sin against thee." In order to "hide" God's word in our heart, we must READ His word and we must commit the principles and statements of God's Word to our hearts and minds....to our memory. Therefore, I am inviting our Sunday School class to join me in 2011 on a "Spiritual Odyssey" in which we attempt to systematically read through the Word of God and commit 52 scripture passages to memory. I hope you will use the "Read the Bible Through in 2011" plan to systematically read the Bible daily and to completely read the Bible in one year. In addition, I hope you will join Cindy and me in attempting to memorize one scripture passage each week for the next fifty-two weeks. I will send a copy of both documents, the Read the Bible Thru Plan and the 52 Memory Scripture Passages via e-mail to the class. We will talk about these plans more in Sunday School tomorrow. See you then. Remember, we have a potluck breakfast scheduled in the morning.

SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST--POTLUCK

Please bring your favorite breakfast dish (egg casserole, or breakfast tacos, or pastries, etc.) or just pick up a dozen donuts and join us for a Sunday School breakfast in our regular Sunday School Classroom this weekend (Sunday, December 19, 2010). We will provide drinks and paper goods and utensils.

This week, we will be making a plan for the coming Sunday School year and perhaps, reflecting on the past year. See you Sunday Morning.

Jimmy

Christmas Party

Our annual Sunday School Christmas Party is scheduled for this Friday evening, December 10, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at Cindy and Jimmy's home at 8431 Turtle Rock Loop in College Station. We already have a good group signed up to attend. Please accept this message as a very special invitation to our members who are serving in other areas of Sunday School. We miss you guys and would love to have you join us for fellowship, fun, and food. If anyone can come and you wish to sign up to bring something, just give us a call at 979-695-1684 or you can just post a comment on this blog. Don't feel that you must be signed up to attend. Just come on over. We will have a good time together.

We will eat and visit and probably play a few games and give away a few prizes and door prizes. I hope you all will attend if you pssibly can. We look forward to seeing everyone.


Jimmy and Cindy

December 5--Muddy Water

Today's lesson was about simplicity. Andy Stanley used the analogy of a story about shark fishing to help us understand the dilemma that many people experience when they consider the Gospel Message. As Andy described, many people who say they reject Christianity are really rejecting some other aspect of religion that has nothing to do with the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ. Andy says that we (Christians) have a tendency to make the Gospel Message complicated and that the complicated issues and answers to Biblical conundrums are often the things which cause people to reject "Christianity." He makes reference to some of Paul's writings that are indeed difficult to understand or to the Old Testament laws of the book of Leviticus. Even though there are many questions and many issues described in the Bible that are difficult to understand and decipher, Andy attempts to boil down the Gospel Message to a simple formula that we can share with others in today's lesson. He bases the lesson on perhaps the best known Bible verse in the New Testament, John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Andy suggests that the formula can be reduced to the following:

GOD LOVED

GOD GAVE

WE BELIEVE

WE RECEIVE

It really is a pretty simple solution and an easy formula to share with others. As Steven mentioned in class today, there may be questions about the meaning of "believe" or even about "receive", and certainly we can have a discussion about these terms and the different understandings that many people embrace for these terms. Andy tried to demonstrate the meaning of believe when he talked about putting one's full weight on a stool...in other words, depending completely upon the stool to provide support and foundation for one's body. Even so, there may be many different descriptions for this term and these various descriptions certainly detract from the simplicity of this message. Yet, as Christians, we probably can all agree that God sent His son and, as a result, He offered us an opportunity to live in His presence for eternity. Yes, this offer is contingent upon our "belief" and we all must define that word for outselves. Even so, this formula can be used to help us and those around us to understand in a very basic way the amazing Gift that God gave us at Christmas. We can be thankful that He loved us enough to give and that we simply must accept His gift through faith in order to benefit from the greatest Gift ever given to man.