Following God into Epic Adventure

Challenge to a group of missionary kids who recently graduated from high school...

Congratulations!

Life is an adventure, and we get to live it to the fullest!

Growing up in the Philippines, I loved following the comic adventures of the intrepid journalist Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy (Milou) as they followed stories and solved mysteries through Scotland, Peru, Belgium, Tibet, America, Bagghar, and elsewhere around the world. This is a guy with an unquenchable thirst for adventure, an inquisitive spirit, and a deep respect for the people he encounters. I recently discovered the musical Tintin: Le Temple du Soleil, based on Hergé’s comic book of the same title and its predecessor Les Sept Boules de Cristal (The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun, respectively), in which Tintin investigates a mysterious curse that causes a group of seven archaeologists to fall asleep and not wake up for anything.

The trail leads him from Belgium to Peru. There, with the help of a young Peruvian orphan named Zorrino, he and his friends find an Inca tribe that has been deprived of an ancient mummy. Not only does the curse end up being lifted, but Tintin uses his creativity to save his own life and those of his friends by means of an eclipse, and Zorrino finds a new adoptive home and family in the Inca tribe.

The musical adds a character named Fleur, daughter of one of the sleeping scientists, who begs Tintin to figure out how to wake her papa. As I listened to their duet (“La Victoire du Coeur”), it struck me how much faith this girl has in Tintin. Her mother has told her Tintin can do anything, and she has no doubt he can find the answer that has doctors baffled. Once Tintin assures her he’s on the case, that’s enough for her. She then spends the rest of the song assuring her mother that Tintin will take care of everything.

How often do we have that much faith in God? Tintin is a fictional character, but so often we forget that God is here to help us with any problem we may have, and He just wants us to ask Him for help. He loves giving us good things, but we often have to ask for them.

When asked who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus had a child come over, and he told his disciples, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:3-5). This involves a faith many people lose when they “grow up” and become cynical. It’s a faith that drives people to trust God completely without any doubt that He will be there for them and take care of their needs. This faith leads people on some of the most amazing adventures, which often prove to be more epic than they could ever imagine.

God has an epic adventure in store for each of us. As MKs, we have already been experiencing them, and a new one is beginning. Whether our parents are in the next room or on the other side of the world, we can always depend on God to guide us through our adventure, and, like Fleur did with Tintin, we can come to God with the faith of a child, knowing without a doubt that He cares and will take it from there.

The Bible has many examples of people who God sent on adventures, which always ended up changing their lives.

Joseph embarked on his adventure at the age of 17 when his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to him having more power than he could have ever dreamed and saving his family. 

Moses encountered a burning bush and his life was never the same. He led the Israelites out of Egypt, and they walked across a sea on dry land. They literally saw God provide for them daily.  

Paul’s life and adventure changed in a blinding flash of light on the road to Damascus, and he ended up travelling around the Mediterranean area, encountering all kinds of new cultures, proclaiming the gospel.

Sometimes, our adventure will be dangerous, and we will really need to depend on God for help. The picture on this page is all that remains of the Cagsawa Church in Legazpi, Philippines that was built near Mayon Volcano. On that fateful February day in 1814, the volcano erupted. The terrified villagers ran to the church for shelter, as the raging lava leveled everything in its path. The church was not spared. Lava covered all but the bell tower and parts of the convent, killing everyone inside. Why did God allow that to happen? I don’t know. Did they pray for protection? I don’t doubt it. But in some ways, He did protect them. Their adventures in life came to an abrupt and sad end, but for those who believed in Christ, a new adventure of eternity in heaven began.

Whatever our future holds, each of us has a great adventure ahead, and God is there to lead us as we follow Him.

Best wishes, fellow adventurers, as you follow Christ through this life and the next, and may your adventure be epic!

Samuel Anoints a New King

God had given Saul a huge responsibility. He was to lead Israel as King, and he was to follow God’s orders. But Saul decided not to obey, and now God had decided to reject him as King.

Samuel couldn’t believe it. He had worked so hard to help make Saul a great King, and Saul had failed miserably. This made Samuel very sad, and he grieved for Saul’s behavior and God’s rejection of Saul. God was also very sad about Saul’s disobedience, but it wouldn’t do for Samuel to lose himself in grief. So God gave Samuel a task.

Samuel got word from God, “OK, that’s it. I’ve rejected Saul, and Israel needs to move on. Here’s what I want you to do. Fill your horn with oil and go to Bethlehem. There’s a guy there named Jesse. He has several sons, and I’ve chosen one of them to be King.”

“But Lord,” Samuel said, “if Saul hears about this, he’ll kill me! How do I do it?”

God replied, “Take a cow with you as an offering. Invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice, and I’ll show you what to do. I’ll tell you which son to anoint.”

So Samuel obeyed God. When he got to Bethlehem, he invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Pretty soon, they were standing before an altar. Jesse brought his sons with him, and immediately Samuel saw Eliab, the oldest, and knew this was the man. He was tall and fit. His confidence showed, and Samuel could tell just by looking at him that this guy would make a great King. He was just about to get out his horn to anoint Eliab when God said, “Um, no. This isn’t the one. Don’t look at the way he looks. That’s what man sees, but God looks at the heart. The heart is much more important than how a guy looks.”

So Jesse presented his second son to Samuel. Abinadab also looked like he’d make a great King, but again God said no. So they tried Shammah, the third son. Nope, not him either. Perhaps Nethanel? Nope. How about Raddai? Nope. Ozem? Nope. The other one whose name the Bible doesn’t tell? Nope.

Now Samuel was confused. God had clearly said the new King would be a son of Jesse, but God had just said “no” to all seven of Jesse’s sons!

So he asked Jesse, “Hmm… Is this all your sons?”

“Well,” Jesse replied, “there is still the youngest, but he’s off taking care of the sheep.”

“What are you waiting for?” Samuel said. “Go get him and bring him here!”

So Jesse sent a messenger to go fetch his eighth son. Pretty soon, the messenger came back with a young, healthy shepherd in tow. Depending on how you translate the Hebrew, he either had rosy cheeks or red hair.

So it was that Samuel took out his horn and anointed a shepherd boy named David to be the next King of Israel. It would be several years before David would actually become King, but God started preparing him for the huge task ahead.

Meanwhile, God sent an evil spirit to torment Saul. His servants discovered that harp music helped calm him down, and they suggested that he find someone who played the harp. So Saul ordered that they find a talented harpist to play for him whenever he got in one of his really bad moods. One of his servants said, “I saw a son of Jesse out in the sheep pasture in Bethlehem playing a harp. He’s really good! He’s also a brave warrior, he speaks well, and he looks great! God is with him.”

So Saul sent word to Jesse that he needed help from his son David. Jesse sent David to Saul, and whenever Saul got really grumpy, David would get out his harp, and the King calmed down. So Saul sent word to Jesse that he would like David to stay in the palace and play the harp for him because he really liked how helpful the music was. While David wasn’t playing the harp for the King, Saul assigned David to take care of the armor. Thus, David lived in the palace and started to learn from the King himself. He also met the Prince, and they became best friends. But we’ll learn about that later.

שְׁמוּאֵל

The day Hannah had dreamed about all her life, and prayed for and wept for, finally arrived! For a long time, she had come to the tabernacle to ask God to give her a child. She had even promised that if God gave her a child, she would give him or her to God’s service. The priest Eli had thought Hannah was drunk, but when she explained why she was so upset, he had told her to go in peace. She had thanked him for his kindness and left.

Now, about nine months later, here she was holding a newborn baby in her arms! To thank God for hearing her prayer, she named the boy “God Has Heard”:

שְׁמוּאֵל

In Hebrew, “God has heard” is שְׁמוּאֵל (Shmuel), which sounds something like “Samuel.” He was a healthy baby boy, and Hannah was very thankful for this precious gift God had given her. She remembered her promise she had made to God, but she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to take him to the tabernacle right away. It’s kinda hard for a priest to nurse a newborn baby. So when he was little, Hannah kept her new son at home and nursed him.

When Samuel was old enough, Hannah and her husband Elkanah took their son to the tabernacle. Hannah found Eli and said, “Remember a few years ago, when you saw me crying in the tabernacle, and you thought I was drunk? I told you I was very sad that God hadn’t given me any children, and I prayed for a son. Guess what! Here he is! I promised that when he was old enough, I would give him to God’s service, and now I’ve come to do what I promised I would do. For as long as he lives, he will be God’s servant.”

Then Hannah prayed. She told God, “You make me happy, and there is no God like you. You keep us safe, and You give things to people who are low and shame the people who brag. You bring down the strong, but you give strength to the weak. You give and take life. You make people rich or poor. You lift the homeless out of the dump and give them places of honor. You protect people who are loyal to You, but evil people will die in darkness. We can only win victories with Your help. Anyone who attacks You will be destroyed. You will judge the earth and give power to Your chosen king.”

After Hannah had prayed and they had said their goodbyes, Elkanah and Hannah went home, and they left Samuel to grow up in the tabernacle, under the able care of Eli. So Eli started to teach this young boy the way of God and had him do chores and lessons in the tabernacle. Eli was getting old, and he wasn’t in very good shape. In fact, he was a bit on the heavy side. So it was nice to have a young child around to help him out.

But Eli had a big problem. His sons Hophni and Phinehas were also priests, and they had a very bad habit. People would bring animals to the tabernacle to sacrifice to God, and they stole some of the meat for themselves! They sometimes didn’t even let people do the sacrifices right. God got very angry with Eli’s sons for the terrible and selfish thing they were doing.

As Samuel was growing up, his mother Hannah visited him regularly, and she would bring him clothes she had made for him. Every year, Eli would tell Hannah and Elkanah, “God gave you Samuel in answer to your prayers. I pray that God will give you more children to take his place.” God answered Eli’s prayer and gave Hannah three more sons and two daughters.

Eli was getting a lot of complaints about his sons’ behavior. Finally he had had enough with their shenanigans, and he went to them and said, “What are you thinking? Stop this horrible behavior! Hurting a person is one thing – you can always make up for it. But when you commit a crime against God, you’re playing with fire.” But they were so rebellious that they didn’t listen to their dad. And he let them keep stealing from God.

So God sent a prophet to Eli, who warned him that God had decided to put an end to Eli’s family. The prophet warned him that nobody in his family would live to an old age, and his family’s life would be sad. Someday soon his sons Hophni and Phinehas would both die on the same day, and God would raise up a new priest who would not be related to them, and who would help God’s chosen king.

By this time, Eli was nearly blind. God hardly ever spoke to people so they could actually hear Him. (That’s the same today. I’ve never heard God’s voice with my ears. I have to listen in other ways.)

One night, Samuel was sleeping on a mat in the tabernacle near the Ark of the Covenant, God's holy chest, when he heard a voice. "!שְׁמוּאֵל" (“Samuel!”)

He ran to Eli and said, “I’m here! What do you want?”

But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” So Samuel obeyed.

A little later, he heard it again. “Samuel!”

So he got up and went to Eli again. “Here I am! What do you want?”

Again, Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to sleep.”

Now Samuel was starting to realize that he didn’t recognize this voice. It didn’t quite sound like Eli’s voice, but there was nobody else around that it could be. So when he heard his name again, he went to Eli and asked what he wanted.

Then Eli realized what was happening. So he told Samuel, “If you hear someone call your name again, stay in bed and say, ‘I’m listening, Lord. What do you want me to do?’”

So Samuel went back to bed. Pretty soon, he heard it again. “Samuel! Samuel!”

This time, he stayed in bed. “I’m listening,” he said. “What do You want me to do?”

So God said, “Samuel, something is about to happen that will shock everyone. Eli and his family will be punished for his sons’ behavior. Eli knew his sons were doing some terrible things, and he let them get away with it. I warned him about this, but he didn’t listen to how serious it was. His family has done too many disgusting things.”

Next morning, Samuel got up and opened the doors to the tabernacle. He was scared to tell Eli what he had heard. How would you feel if you had just heard that the people you love who raised you were in big trouble, and then they asked you about what you had heard?

The first thing Eli said in the morning when he saw Samuel was, “Samuel, my boy, come here!”

“Here I am,” Samuel said.

“What did God say to you?” Eli asked. “Tell me everything.”

So reluctantly, Samuel told Eli everything. Eli replied, “He is God. He will do what’s right.”

Samuel continued to grow up, and God blessed him. Everything Samuel said came true, and he earned a reputation for being God’s prophet.

As for Eli’s family, his sons Hophni and Phinehas were killed in battle by their enemies the Philistines. The Philistines also captured the Ark of the Covenant. When Eli found out that both his sons had been killed and the Ark was gone, the shock was too much for him. He fell backwards in his chair. He broke his neck in the fall and couldn’t get up. If he had lived a little longer, he could have met his new grandson. Phinehas’ wife was so upset about her husband’s death and the capture of the Ark that she named her son “No Glory”, or Ichabod.

What happened to the Ark? The Philistines put it in their temple to their god Dagon. Next morning, they discovered the statue of Dagon had fallen over! So they put it back. The following morning, they discovered the statue had not only fallen over, but had broken into several pieces! The Philistines could tell they had made Israel’s God very angry, and they sent the Ark back.

I wrote "Samuel" (Shmuel) on the whiteboard in Hebrew.

Workmanship

I gave this lesson in the church service for all the children who were in the service.

~~~

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Maybe some of you know that I went back to school recently to learn how to make graphics on the computer. Remember how Mr. Butcher brought some of his tools two weeks ago? [Bob Butcher, a man in our church, gave the kids' lesson two weeks prior.] Does anyone remember what he brought? He brought a hard hat and a ladder that he uses when he works. I have different tools. To do what I learned to do, sometimes I use a paintbrush, and sometimes I use a computer and a mouse. Here’s a painting I made in one of my classes.

Le mont Rainier

Acrylic on canvas

© 2012 Steven Sauke

 Here is a cartoon I made after I learned how to do it on the computer.

"I'm Tired"

Illustration

© 2013 Steven Sauke

I even made some people on the computer. Maybe you recognize this guy?

Aaron Olson

Illustration

© 2012 Steven Sauke

Or you might know this person. He’s pretty cool.

Charlie Ostlie

Illustration

© 2012 Steven Sauke

Or maybe you know this guy?

Self Portrait

Illustration

© 2013 Steven Sauke

In the Bible, Paul said that we are God’s workmanship. Do you know what workmanship is? I just showed you some of mine. It’s something you make. God’s workmanship is you and you and you and you and you [pointing to each kid in turn] and me and everyone else! [indicating the congregation] My workmanship is my artwork. Mr. Butcher’s workmanship is houses and other things that he can build. [I picked up Le mont Rainier painting] What if I told this painting, “Go build a house!” Can it do it? Of course not! But Mr. Butcher can, and he is God’s workmanship. God’s workmanship is so much cooler than anything we can make. Houses can’t paint or make graphics, but I can, and I am God’s workmanship. Artwork isn’t made to build houses, and houses aren’t made to draw. Only God’s workmanship can do that. You and I are God’s workmanship! The Bible says that God has good works that He wants us to do, and that’s one of the reasons He made us. The next person we’re gonna see is a graphic I made of someone else that God made. I bet you haven’t met him. I know that because he died even before I was born!

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Illustration

© 2013 Steven Sauke

This guy was a preacher a long time ago. 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King gave a famous speech that helped people to understand something very important. He taught that we need to be nice to people, no matter what color their skin is. When he did his work, his tools were a pen and a microphone. He wrote and gave speeches and helped people to understand how much God loves everyone.

Near the end of his life, the apostle Paul told his friend Timothy, “I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment He will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants Him to appear with power.”

The day before he died, Dr. King gave another speech. He didn’t know he would die the next day. He said, “I just want to do God’s will, and He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land! And so I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”

Both Paul and Dr. King knew that they had done the work that God wanted them to do. Paul tells us that God prepared that work for them to do. God has something special He wants you to do too. He is giving you things that you enjoy. He gave me an interest in art. He gave Mr. Butcher a love of building. He gave Paul and Dr. King a love of writing and speaking. What do you like to do? Can you use that to serve God? Think about it!

The Unknown God

The ancient Greeks had lots of gods. When the Romans conquered them, they liked them so much that they decided to keep them, but rename them. The Greeks prayed to Zeus, the king of gods, when there were storms, since he was in charge of the sky. He could send lightning and all kinds of stormy stuff. The Romans called him Jupiter. The Greek god Poseidon (or Neptune, as the Romans called him) was in charge of the sea, and if you got him mad, he could cause some major storms at sea. He was also the god of horses. (You may have heard of his son Triton?) Hades (or Pluto) was in charge of the ground and the underworld. The three of them were brothers and sons of the titan Kronos (or Saturn). To put it lightly, they didn’t have a good relationship with their dad. Kronos was the son of Ouranos (Uranus/Caelus), who was the god of the sky before Zeus. Ouranos’ wife was Gaia (Terra, which is Latin for “Earth”), the goddess of the earth before Hades. Hera (or Juno) was the goddess of women and marriage. Athena (or Minerva) was the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Hermes (Mercury) was the messenger of the gods. Ares (Mars) was the god of war. Aphrodite (Venus) likely had something to do with it if people fell in love. Dionysus (Bacchus) was the god of wine and parties, and Hephaestus (Vulcan) was in charge of forging metals. Artemis (Diana) was the goddess of the hunt, while her brother Apollo drove a chariot across the sky every day pulling the sun. Demeter (Ceres) made sure crops continued to grow. Those are just a few of the gods and goddesses the Greeks and Romans worshiped. As you can tell, they had gods for everything! They had to keep track of so many gods, that sometimes it got a little hard. Then they had another problem. What if the gods didn’t tell the humans of the existence of a god here or there? What if there was some situation where somebody had a problem, and they didn’t know about a god who could take care of that? They came up with a solution in the city of Athens, which was named for their goddess Athena.

Athens was known as a city of very smart people. They had the best university in the area, and people often met to discuss philosophy and other subjects. The Jews had the Pharisees and Sadducees, who didn’t always agree about everything, and were constantly arguing with each other. The Greeks also had two groups of philosophers. The Stoics believed that they needed to study and learn, and the more you knew, the less you would be affected by emotions and pain. The Epicureans taught that everyone needed to be happy! The groups liked to argue their different views with each other. These people were very smart, but they were missing something very important. Why bother keeping up with hundreds of false gods when there is only one true God, and He can do everything?!

Paul had come a long way since Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. He traveled all over the place in what is now Israel, Turkey and Greece, spreading Jesus’ message and founding churches along the way. (He would later make it to what is now Italy, and possibly Spain.) He wrote many letters to the churches, and as he traveled, he encountered many different cultures. He was careful to learn about the different cultures and explain Jesus’ message in ways they would understand. When he arrived in Athens, he looked around first. He was very sad to see the statues of Zeus, Poseidon and the rest. They had so many false gods who, in reality, couldn’t do squat for them! He also saw an altar that gave him an idea.

As Paul began to preach on a hill called the Areopagus (which means Mars Hill), the Athenians thought this was interesting and weird. What is this guy doing, telling us to worship foreign gods? Since they loved nothing more than a good debate, they took on this challenge. They asked him about what he was teaching. Why was he telling them to worship a new God they had never heard of?

Have you ever tried sharing Jesus with some of your friends by telling them that the way they worship (or don’t) is bad? If so, they probably didn’t respond too well. People were no different back then. Paul knew this, and he showed them respect. He didn’t criticize their gods. Instead, he tried another strategy. He got up and said, “I’ve been looking around your city, and I can see that you guys are very religious. You have gods for everything. I even noticed you have an altar that says “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD” on it! That tells me you don’t know what you’re worshipping, so guess what! I’m gonna tell you about this unknown God! This God made the skies and the earth, and He doesn’t live in temples that humans have built. He gives life, breath, and everything else. He made humans, all descended from one man. He made the earth, and He allowed humans to spread all over it. He’s in charge of history and the boundaries of lands. That way, we will look for Him. It’s like the Greek philosopher Epimenides said, ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’ Or like the Stoic poet Aratus wrote, ‘We are his offspring.’

“Since we are God’s offspring, that means we can’t assume that God is anything like gold, silver or stone, or anything that humans have made. In the past, God gave ignorance like that a pass, but now He wants everyone to repent. One day He will come and judge the world, with justice by the one He assigned to do that. He proved that by raising this man from the dead!”

At that, some people decided he was crazy. Who could raise a human from the dead? But others said, “Tell us more!” Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named Damaris, were among the many people who believed that day.

So it was that Jesus’ message spread to Athens, the capital of Greece. He brought a new agape, to rival the “love” they knew from their god Eros, who the Romans called Cupid.

~~~

Following is the PowerPoint presentation that I did. I went through the slides of the gods fairly quickly.

The Death of a Deacon and the Birth of an Apostle

The Sanhedrin was in an uproar. A man had been brought before them on charges of blasphemy, the same crime they had killed Jesus for so recently. Had Jesus blasphemed? No. Now Jesus’ follower Stephen was in trouble for the same thing, and he was just as innocent.

A Pharisee named Saul watched the liars called onto the witness stand who pretended Stephen had been speaking against Moses’ Law. They claimed he had said that Jesus would destroy the Sanhedrin and change the Jewish customs. Saul got angrier and angrier at Stephen as he heard the charges. Then Stephen got up to speak. His face was glowing as the high priest asked him if the charges were true.

Stephen reminded them that God had led Abraham to the Promised Land. Abraham lived there, as did his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob, and his great-grandson Joseph. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, but God used that to save Egypt, Canaan and the surrounding countries from a terrible famine. His whole family came to Egypt, where they could get food to eat, and they and their descendants lived there for 400 years. A new Pharaoh came to power, and he was cruel to the Israelites and made them slaves. Moses was born, and he was raised in the Egyptian palace. Thanks to an overdeveloped sense of vengeance, Moses fled to Midian, where he got married and had two sons. After meeting God in a burning bush, Moses returned to Egypt and led the Israelites out. On Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses the Law, but the Israelites refused to obey. Instead, they built a golden calf and worshiped it! Because of their disobedience, God made them do laps around the desert for 40 years. Joshua eventually led them into the Promised Land. During their time in the desert, they had the tabernacle, and they had it until many years later when Solomon built the temple.

At this point in his speech, Stephen got to the point. “You are so stubborn! You’re just like your ancestors! You insist on resisting the Holy Spirit, and just as your ancestors murdered the prophets, you murdered the one they prophesied would come! You received the Law, and you’ve refused to obey it!” Basically, Stephen turned the charges around and proved that the Sanhedrin was guilty of the very thing they were accusing him of doing.

That got the Pharisees furious. They were trying hard to control their emotions, but it was getting harder and harder. Their teeth were bared. How dare he accuse them of disobeying the Law they thought they were enforcing?!

Then Stephen looked up. Light from above shone on his face as he said in awe, “I see heaven! The Son of Man is standing on the right side of God!”

That was the last straw. The Sanhedrin could no longer control their rage. Yelling at the top of their lungs, they grabbed him and furiously dragged him out of town. The witnesses handed their coats to Saul, and Saul watched in anger as his fellow Pharisees hurled heavy stones at Stephen. He heard Stephen pray for God to receive his spirit, and that God would forgive the Pharisees for this terrible sin of murder – almost the same thing Jesus had said on the cross! If Saul hadn’t been guarding the coats, he probably would have joined in on throwing the stones.

Stephen’s death really rattled the new Church, and they started to scatter. Stephen’s fellow deacon Philip went to Samaria, and then south where he met an Ethiopian official, and Jesus’ message spread to Africa. Peter and John followed him to Samaria when they heard how successful his ministry was there.

Meanwhile, Saul went on a mad rampage. He went searching for followers of the Way (which was what they were calling this new religion Jesus had founded), and he arrested them and made sure many of them were executed. Pretty soon he broadened his search to other countries! He was on his way to the city of Damascus when the brightest light he had ever seen stopped him in his tracks. It was even brighter than the sun! As he fell to the ground in shock, he heard a loud voice saying, “SAUL, SAUL, WHY ARE YOU PERSECUTING ME?”

“Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

The voice replied, “I AM JESUS, AND I’M THE ONE YOU’RE PERSECUTING!”

“What should I do?” he asked.

The voice replied, “GET UP! I’VE GOT A JOB FOR YOU. YOU WILL BE MY WITNESS TO THE GENTILES, AND YOU WILL SHOW THEM THE WAY TO BE SAVED! GO TO DAMASCUS, AND YOU’LL FIND OUT WHAT TO DO!”

Saul got up, and when he opened his eyes, he discovered the light had blinded him. His companions had to lead him by hand the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the followers of Christ in Damascus had heard about the ruthless man who was on his way to arrest them and have them executed. So it really scared a disciple named Ananias when God appeared to him in a vision and told him to go to the house of a guy named Judas and ask for Saul of Tarsus, who was praying, so he could restore his sight. Saul had seen in a vision that a man named Ananias would come.

“Um, Lord,” said Ananias, “are You out of Your mind?? I’ve heard about this guy, and he’s come here to have us killed!”

But God said, “Go! I’ve chosen him to proclaim the good news to the Gentiles!”

So reluctantly, Ananias went. When he got to the house, he said, “Brother Saul, God has sent me here so you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Scales fell off Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He was baptized, and he didn’t waste any time. He immediately started preaching. People were shocked to hear this man preaching the opposite message from what he had just been forcing down people’s throats. In fact, the Jews in Damascus got so mad at Saul for turning that Jesus’ followers had to let him down the city wall in a basket so that he didn’t have to go through the gate, where he might be ambushed.

That is how the evil Pharisee Saul became Paul, one of the most powerful messengers for God who lived. He would go on to spread Jesus’ message throughout the Middle East, and even into what is now Europe! We know he got to Greece and Italy, and it’s possible he even got as far west as Spain!

Jesus' Message Spreads to Africa

Sunday school lesson from this morning...


Jesus' message was really starting to go viral. People all over the place were turning away from their sins and following God. It was an amazing time, and God blessed them. But in all this, the apostles were crazy busy, and some important things got neglected. The widows weren't getting enough care, and Jesus had been very clear that we need to take care of widows and orphans. So they decided to do something about this problem. They met together and chose seven deacons to take care of this important responsibility: Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. The deacons did their job well, and the Pharisees started to notice. The Sanhedrin had killed Jesus, and then they had arrested Peter and John for healing a lame man. Now they were so mad at Stephen for spreading Jesus' message that they stoned him to death. This set off a chain reaction that scattered the Christians. An evil Pharisee named Saul led the charge against the Christians, and he was merciless. We’ll learn more about him next week. Philip the deacon went to Samaria, where he continued to preach, and many Samaritans turned to Christ.

One day, an angel appeared to Philip and told him, "God has got a job for you. Go south on the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza." So Philip went. He didn’t even know where he was going! As he was walking along, he saw a chariot, and the Holy Spirit told him, “Go hang out by the chariot!” It was clear by the fact that the chariot was a foreign style, and the fact that the rider had black skin, that he wasn’t from around those parts. As it turned out, the guy was an important official of the Candace of Ethiopia.

Flashback. Thousands of years ago, there was a region in Northeast Africa called Cush. It came to be called Nubia, and they had neighbors to the north that you might have heard of. The Nile River flows from the Mediterranean Sea, south through Egypt, and ends up in what was once called Nubia. By Jesus’ time, the part of Nubia where the Nile ends had become known as Ethiopia, and it’s still called that today. Nubia also included what is now Sudan and part of Egypt. The Egyptian King was called the Pharaoh, and the Ethiopian Queen was called the Candace. The royal treasurer of Ethiopia, in charge of the Candace’s money, had heard about the country called Israel, and he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. Now he was on his way home, and Philip could hear him reading Scripture! He recognized the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

So Philip asked him, “Does that make sense to you?”

“No,” he replied. “Can you explain it to me?” He invited Philip to get up on the chariot and have a seat. Then he said, “I’m confused. Is the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”

So Philip started with that passage and explained all about how Jesus came to earth to save our sins. Just like Isaiah prophesied, Jesus was led to the cross and killed like a lamb being sacrificed. He didn’t answer the people charging him falsely, and he was humiliated, spat on, cursed, beaten, and he did not get justice. Philip went on to explain how Jesus rose from the dead and defeated sin and death so everyone could be saved.

They had gone quite a ways while they were talking, and they came to a body of water. “Hey look!” said the official. “Water! What say you baptize me?”

Philip replied, “If you believe with all your heart, let’s do it!”

He said, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

That was enough for Philip. “Stop the chariot!” the official said to the chariot driver. With a crack of the whip, the horses came to a stop, and Philip and the official got out and went into the water. Philip baptized his new friend, and when they came out of the water, Philip disappeared! His job was done, and the Holy Spirit had taken him away. Philip found himself in the town of Azotus, and he continued to travel and preach the good news.

Meanwhile, the royal treasurer of Ethiopia returned home with the best news he had ever heard! According to Irenaeus, an early Christian, the official went on to preach this great news throughout Ethiopia. He told his countrymen that there was one God, and the prophets had foretold that He would come to earth as a man. The prophecies had come true, and Jesus had been the man. He had been led like a sheep to the slaughter just like Isaiah had foretold. That is how Jesus’ message spread to Africa, and the Church in Ethiopia was born. It’s still around today!

Just think…God used Philip to help found the Church in Africa, and he didn’t even have to go to Africa to do it! Sometimes God sends missionaries to other countries, but there are people from all over the world right here in the US. You never know how powerful it can be when you share your faith, or just do something nice, for another person.

Peter and John Heal a Lame Man and Jesus’ Message Starts to Go Viral

Jesus had taught His disciples for 3 years. They went through a lot together. They watched Jesus do miracles, tell stories called parables, and do all kinds of cool stuff that changed their lives. He taught them to live lives that pleased God. After three years, they were with Him as He was praying in the garden. They were shocked when Judas, one of their own, led the authorities to where He was and let them arrest Him. They ran away. Peter denied he even knew Jesus. Judas was so sad when he realized the terrible thing he had done that he killed himself. Some of Jesus’ disciples watched Jesus die in one of the worst, most painful ways possible. John took Jesus’ mom in and took care of her from then on. Imagine watching your best friend, or your son, die on a cross! Then three days later, Jesus’ disciples got the surprise of their lives when some women discovered that His tomb was empty, and Jesus showed up, alive! Most of the disciples didn’t believe the reports of Him being alive at first, but they believed when they saw Him. Jesus continued to teach and do miracles (including appearing out of thin air to prove to Thomas that He was alive) for 40 days. Then He had them gather on a hillside and told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” He also said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Then He began to rise into the sky. They watched in amazement as He went higher and higher and disappeared behind a cloud. As they were standing there gaping into the sky, two angels showed up and asked them, “What are you doing looking at the sky? Jesus will be coming back someday in the same way you saw Him go!”

After Jesus went into the sky, the disciples’ first order of business was to find a replacement for Judas. There were only eleven disciples left, and they needed twelve because of a prophecy that said one follower would leave and he would need to be replaced. They had some very specific requirements. They needed a man who had been with them the whole time, from John’s baptism to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. They came up with two men: Joseph (also called Barsabbas or Justus) and Matthias. After they prayed about it, Matthias joined their group.

Ten days later, the Jewish celebration of Pentecost arrived, which celebrated the time Moses gave the Law on Mt. Sinai. Just as Jesus had promised His disciples before He left, the Holy Spirit came on them in the form of tongues of fire. Pentecost was a big deal, and there were people from all over the known world in Jerusalem. They didn’t all speak Aramaic like the local Jews, so they were quite surprised to see Jesus’ disciples with flames over their heads and hear them speaking their own languages! God’s power helped them to speak in languages they didn’t even know! God gave Peter the words to speak, and many people listened to his witness of Jesus and believed that day. So the new Church was born. They loved each other and shared everything with each other. They lived in love and awe of God’s goodness, and with God’s help, the Church continued to grow, more every day.

One day, Peter and John went to the temple to pray. It was about 3 in the afternoon. As they got to the Beautiful Gate (that was its name), which led into the temple courts, a beggar sitting on the ground saw them and asked for money. He had been born unable to walk, and his friends had been carrying him there every day for many years so he could beg for money to stay alive. (Remember how they didn’t have wheelchairs at the time?) He was a pitiful sight, and he was most likely used to people ignoring his pleas for money. So it was a bit of a surprise to him when Peter and John stopped and looked straight at him, and Peter said to him, “Look at us!”

Ah, finally someone who will give me some money! Cool!

Then Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold to give you, but I’ve got something even better. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up! Walk!” Keep in mind this guy had never walked before. Ever.

He stood up!

Then he began to jump! He walked around. The people in the area recognized him as he walked and jumped around the temple courts, and they were shocked! Hadn’t they just seen him sitting there, as he had been for years? What in the world had happened?? He was praising God for healing him!

So Peter spoke up. He said, “Fellow Israelites, why are you so shocked? You look like you think we did this! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has raised Jesus up. You betrayed Him to Pilate, and you murdered Him on the cross. You killed the one who created life, but God raised Him from the dead! We saw that with our own eyes. It is faith in Him that has healed this man.

“Now I know that you and your leaders didn’t know what you were doing when you treated Jesus like a common criminal. The prophets told us ahead of time that Jesus would suffer and die. Great news! You can repent of your sins, and they will be wiped clean! God used Samuel and all the prophets to tell us about these days. He even promised Abraham that He would use his descendants to bless the world. You just need to turn away from your sinful ways and follow Christ!

Needless to say, the Pharisees weren’t too happy about this. They arrested Peter and John and threw them in jail overnight! But that didn’t stop Jesus’ message from continuing to go viral. More and more people were continuing to believe.

The next day, the same Pharisees who had so recently put Jesus to death dragged Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, their court, and asked them, “By what power or name did you do this?”

Just as Jesus had promised, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, “So let me get this straight. We’re in trouble for an act of kindness to a man in need. Right? OK, so here’s the rub. It was done in the name and power of Jesus. You executed Him, and God raised Him from the dead. You can see with your own eyes that Jesus’ power has healed this man! He’s standing! Jesus is the only one who can save us. God hasn’t given any other name in heaven or earth to save the world.”

The Pharisees were surprised that Peter and John talked that way when they hadn’t gone to school and learned public speaking, and they had clearly been with Jesus. They were upset, but they could see that the guy had been healed, and everyone was happy about it. It wouldn’t make them look very good if they punished the guys for an act of kindness! They were confused and weren’t quite sure what to do.

So after talking amongst themselves, they came up with a plan. They told Peter and John, “OK, we’ll let you go this time. But you better stop talking about Jesus.”

To which Peter said, “So what do you think? Should we listen to God or to you? You tell us. We’ve got to keep spreading what we’ve seen and heard. You want us to stop? Not gonna happen.”

The Sanhedrin threatened them some more, but they couldn’t punish them without looking bad, and the man had clearly been healed. People all over the place were praising God for what had happened! This man, who was over 40, had just started walking for the first time in his life!

So they let Peter and John go.

High Noon on the Israelite Front

This morning's Sunday school lesson...


There were evil queens, and then there was Jezebel. She was a special kind of evil. She was born the daughter of the King of the neighboring kingdom of Sidon, and Israel’s King Ahab thought she was so beautiful she was irresistible. He married this Sidonian princess, and she became Queen of Israel. To honor his new bride, Ahab built a temple and statue of her god Baal. Remember him? In addition, Ahab built a pole for Jezebel’s goddess Asherah.

Jezebel

Painted by John Byam Liston Shaw

Oil on canvas, 1896

The one true God was furious.

God sent His prophet Elijah to Ahab and Jezebel to tell them that God was so angry that He would send a severe famine to Israel, and it would last for several years. So Elijah obeyed God and gave that message to the King and Queen. Sure enough, the famine came, and it was a doozy. 

Jezebel was so angry at God that she decided to take her own revenge. Maybe she couldn’t kill God, but she could kill His prophets. There were a lot of prophets at the time, and she hunted them down and murdered them. In fact, if it weren’t for the undercover prophet Obadiah hiding a bunch of them in caves and giving them stuff to eat and drink, many more prophets would have died.

So God sent Elijah with a challenge for Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah stood before the King and Queen and said, “Tell you what. You send 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. We’ll meet on Mt. Carmel and see whose god is greater.” So Ahab sent word for the prophets of the false gods to come to the showdown.

Mt. Carmel

(I pointed out that there were no roads or poles in Elijah's time)

The day of the showdown came. Elijah said to the people of Israel and all the prophets of Baal and Asherah, “Come on, guys! Either God is God, or Baal is god! You can’t keep changing your minds! Either serve God or Baal!”

Then he laid down the rules. “We’re gonna have a contest. I get one bull, and the 450 prophets of Baal get another one. Team Baal gets to build an altar, and I’ll build an altar, and we’ll each put our bull on it. But don’t set fire to the wood. Whichever god is real will send fire down from heaven and burn up the offering.”

Team Baal was getting pretty smug. These were great odds! 450 prophets against one man. Elijah didn’t stand a chance!

And so it began. Elijah let Team Baal go first. They built their altar and put their bull on it and cried out, “Baal, listen to us! Send fire to burn up the bull!” They had been dancing, chanting, pleading and doing other stuff for a few hours when Elijah decided to start cheering them on. So around noon he called out some suggestions. “Come on! If Baal is god, he can’t hear you! You gotta yell louder! He could be thinking really hard! Maybe he didn’t get the memo about the contest today and had a conflict! Oh, I know! Maybe he had to go to the bathroom! He could be traveling! Look at that idol of him! Don’t you think he looks tired? Maybe he’s asleep! You should yell louder and wake him up!” So their dances and shouts and other stuff got louder and more intense.

The same picture as above,

but darkened in Photoshop

to indicate that it was getting dark

It was getting on to evening, and still no response from Baal. Finally, Elijah had had enough of that. He said, “OK, my turn.” By this time, all the hubbub had done some serious damage to Elijah’s altar that he had built. So he put it back together using twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel. Then he dug a trench around it, and put the wood and his bull on top. He said, “OK, now I need someone to get four big jars of water and pour it over the altar!” When they had done that, he said, “Do it again!” So they did it again. “Do it a third time!” So they did it a third time. By this time, the water had drenched the wood, the bull, and even filled the trench. There was no way this was gonna set on fire, no matter how hard anyone tried setting it.

Then Elijah prayed. He asked God to show His power so that nobody would have any doubt who was God.

And it happened.

Fire fell from heaven and burned up the soaked wood, the bull, and even the stones and the mud around it, and it completely evaporated the water!

PowerPoint slide - I animated the fireball when it came in.

The people of Israel fell down and worshiped God. Now they could see that the Lord was God and Baal wasn’t. At God’s command, Elijah told them to capture the prophets of Baal, and those prophets didn’t live to tell the tale.

And for the first time in three years, it rained. The drought was finally over. In fact, there was a big storm. God gave Elijah strength to run all the way to Jezreel, which was a long way away.

The next day, Jezebel got the news. The jig was up, and her evil minions were dead. She could hardly contain her rage, and she swore to her gods, “I don’t care how badly my gods punish me, but let them do their worst if Elijah isn’t dead by this time tomorrow!”

Elijah had obeyed God, and now he was on Jezebel’s Most Wanted List! When he got the news, he was terrified and ran for his life, way far into the wild. Finally he couldn’t run any more and he collapsed under a bush. He was so desperate and scared and exhausted that he prayed, “God, I can’t take it any more! Just kill me!” And he fell asleep.

Der Prophet Elias

Painted by Daniele da Volterra

Oil on canvas, c. 1550-1560

Pretty soon, an angel touched him and said, “Get up! Eat!” He opened his eyes and saw some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water, and he ate and fell asleep again. Later, the angel woke him up again and said, “Get up and eat. You have a long journey ahead of you.” So he ate and drank again.  God gave him enough food this time that it was enough to keep him going for forty days of walking. After about a month and a half, he finally reached Mt. Horeb (Sinai). 500 years earlier, God had spoken to Moses on this mountain, and now it was Elijah’s turn. He went into a cave and went to sleep.

When telling about the earthquake, 

I made this shake in the PowerPoint.

When he woke up, God said to him, “What are you doing here?”

So Elijah answered, “I’ve lived my life for You, obeyed You, and all I’ve seen is the people of Israel turning away from You to Baal, tearing down Your altars and killing Your prophets. Now they’re trying to kill me!”

God said, “Go out onto the mountain. I’m gonna pass by.” Suddenly, the wind picked up. Elijah could hardly stand, it was so strong! However, he didn’t hear God passing in the wind. No sooner had it died down, then the earth beneath him started to shake violently! They didn’t have a Richter Scale back then, but it would have been pretty strong, as earthquakes go. It broke rocks and tore mountains apart! But once again, Elijah couldn’t sense God. The earthquake died down, and a wildfire sprang up! Still no sense of God.

Then the fire died down and he heard it in the calm after the wild weather. A whisper.

Man standing in front of a cave entrance

Stock photo

So Elijah came out of the cave and listened to God whisper, “What are you doing here?”

He repeated his lament: “I’ve lived my life for You, obeyed You, and all I’ve seen is the people of Israel turning away from You to Baal, tearing down Your altars and killing Your prophets. Now they’re trying to kill me!”

Then God laid out His instructions. “Go back to Israel. On the way, I want you to anoint Hazael King of the neighboring kingdom of Aram, and find a guy named Jehu, the son of Nimshi. Jehu is my choice for you to anoint king of Israel to replace Ahab. Not only that, but I’m giving you a helper. Go to the farm of Shaphat and get his son Elisha. He will be your apprentice and your heir. Hazael, Jehu and Elisha will do some amazing things. Oh, and you think you’re alone? There are 7000 people in Israel that I’ve been saving for this day. They haven’t worshiped Baal. Don’t worry. You are not alone.”

Jesus Clears the Temple

Sunday school lesson for July 7, 2013, from Matthew 21. This was the final lesson in a series on love. This one was illustrating how we need to love God's family. Jesus showed love for the Gentiles by clearing the area where they were allowed to worship, and then He showed love for everyone by healing their diseases and defending the children who were praising Him.



Passover was always a very busy and exciting time in Jerusalem. You might remember that every year the Jews celebrated the day that God sent Moses to save them from bondage in Egypt. God had sent ten plagues on Egypt, and the last one involved the angel of death passing over the Israelites and not killing their firstborn, while every Egyptian family lost at least their firstborn child and the firstborn of their animals. Then Pharaoh let them go, and ever since then, they have celebrated how God saved them.

Many years passed. Israel had kings, and then when the kings and the people got too evil, God sent the people of Israel and Judah into captivity. Eventually He allowed the people of Judah to return to their homeland. However, it wasn’t the same, and before they knew it, another kingdom took over their area. Rome conquered many countries and expanded their kingdom, and they oppressed the Israelites with taxes and in other ways. The Jews didn’t like the Romans or their tax collectors. The prophets had said that a deliverer, descended from King David, would come one day to save them, and a guy named Jesus was fulfilling these prophecies left and right. They thought that it was only a matter of time before He would deliver them from the Romans in the same way that God had delivered them from the Egyptians.

So that day when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, they could hardly contain themselves! Here was their deliverer! “HELP! SAVE US, Son of David!” they cried as they threw down palm branches for the donkey to walk on. “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Save us!”

("Save us" in Hebrew and Greek are as follows. They are pronounced in variants of "Hosanna!")

הושיעה נא

ὡσαννά

After Jesus got through the crowd, He reached the temple, where He found a horrible sight.

The Pharisees knew that people came from all over Israel to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, and part of the Passover was sacrificing animals. It could be so annoying to have to bring all your animals with you to Jerusalem, so the Pharisees had an idea. Why not sell animals right next to the temple so that people could buy them there and not have to carry them a long way? Great idea, right? In addition, they charged a temple tax so that they could keep the temple in good condition, but they only took a certain kind of coin. So they had to have people nearby who could exchange the people’s money so they could pay their tax. Another great idea, right? There were some problems with this, though, and they really got Jesus steamed. First of all, the money changers charged a bunch of extra money to exchange money. They were just as bad as the tax collectors! Secondly, the animals for sale could get super expensive. But worst of all, they were doing it in the Court of the Gentiles! This was a part of the temple where people who weren’t Jews but wanted to worship God were allowed to come and worship. Some of the people in the crowd couldn’t go into the main part of the temple because they weren’t Jews. So if the only place they were allowed to worship was full of the Jerusalem version of a shopping mall, where could they worship? They had nowhere!

The Bible only tells of two occasions where Jesus turned violent, and both were for the same reason. The Pharisees were using a place that was supposed to be used for worship to sell their wares, and greed had no place in the temple! So Jesus rushed into the Court of the Gentiles and began to throw the tables and benches where the sellers and money changers were doing their thing. He shouted, “My house is supposed to be used for prayer! How dare you steal from the people here?!” Not only were they stealing the people’s money, but they were stealing the only place where the Gentiles were allowed to worship!

When He was done chasing the greedy people out, He turned to the people nearby who couldn’t see or walk, and He healed them. A lot of kids had followed Him, and they were still shouting, “Save us, Son of David!”

The priests and teachers in the temple heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on. When they heard what the children were yelling, they were upset. Remember how they didn’t think Jesus could be God? They realized that the kids were saying that Jesus was the promised deliverer, a messenger (Messiah) from God, and He could save them…and the kids were very happy about it!

The Pharisees were upset with what the kids said, and they said, “Um, Jesus, don’t you hear what they’re yelling?”

Jesus replied, “Um, Pharisees, have you read Psalm 8 lately? It says that God wants children and infants to praise Him!”