friend - cmi sealed orders bonus - "who do you think you are?"

This is a "bonus" sealed order.  The entire CMI student body is at the Milwaukee Brewers game tonight, and therefore there is no regularly scheduled time for sealed orders.  Thanks for reading online!
    

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. - Exodus 33:11

  

A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following:
  
"One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable."
"One who understands our silence."
"A volume of sympathy bound in cloth."
"A watch that beats true for all time and never runs down."
The winning definition read: "A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out." 

 

When learning how to pray, have you ever heard these words?  "Just talk to him like you are talking to a friend."

Moses and Joshua learned the secret of prayer and how to make it real in their lives.  But there is a difference between Moses and Joshua. 

   

As you invite God into your life, he becomes your friend.  He becomes the one who multiplies joy and divides grief.

   
There have been times in my life when I thought Joshua was the one to model.  After all, he never left the tent of meeting.  There is something admirable about a closer relationship, isn't there?
   

But the more I think about it, I think Moses had the right pattern in mind.  He developed his relationship with God, but then he went out into the camp.  There were friendship lessons that needed to be learned, but then there was a time for school to be out of session.  There was a time to put the lessons into practice.
   

Do you enjoy a balance between time with God and friendships with others?  Do you carry the lessons you learn in the Tent of Meeting into the camp?
   
Are you the kind of friend that comes in when the whole world goes out? 
   

Are you taking time both to get closer to God, but also to get closer to others? 
  

Take this quiet moment to ask God to teach you friendship lessons, and to carry them into the relationships around you. 

Never Say Amen!

 

How do you end a prayer?

Some people say, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.  Amen."  

In our tradition, people often say, "In the name of Jesus.  Amen."

The word "Amen" can be used in different ways.  Jesus used the word when he said, "Truly, truly I say to you . . ." In Greek, the words are "Amen, Amen . . . ." 

Some people like to use it when they are strongly agreeing with something.  You may have heard it called aloud from the congregation when the speaker says something significant and profound.  

At other times, it becomes a punctuation mark for our prayer.  It says, "I'm done talking with God."  Sort of a holy way of saying, "Bye - bye," on the phone.

Paul talks several times about praying continuously.  At first it seems impossible.  Just the idea of bowing your head, closing your eyes and folding your hands seems pretentious or embarrassing as we go through the day.

In Psalm 1, the blessed man is compared with a tree planted by streams of water.  Something jumped out at me as I read this recently - a tree doesn't move.  First of all, it can't unless it is transplanted.  It is there to stay.  But the second reason is that, if it's planted by the streams of water, why would it want to be anywhere else?  

I think there is a way to be constantly in prayer.  In other words, we can be continually aware of God's presence as we go about other activities.  

No, we can't stay put like a tree.  But we can go throughout the day continually connected to God's love and power.

So as far as ending my prayer time?  I will determine in my prayer life never to say "Amen."  Not as a punctuation to end prayer.  I want to be constantly in prayer.

Like what you are reading? Consider the following: 1. Subscribe to my blog (there is a link for that on this page). 2. "Follow" me on twitter. It's a free account, and a great way to meet like-minded friends. My link is: http://twitter.com/tommccomb. 3. Leave a comment (I love your candid feedback and might use your ideas in future posts) 4. Tell someone else about this blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon.

Theologian of American Anguish

I have always been intrigued by our 16th president, this gentle giant who was Abraham Lincoln.  Today, in his tribute, I will lift a few quotes from a book given me by my historian cousin.  It is called, "Abraham Lincoln: Theologian of American Anguish" by Elton Trueblood.  This first edition is signed by the author. As I make my annual pilgrimage into this book, I share bits of it with you.

From Chapter 1 - The Spiritual Pilgrimage of Abraham Lincoln (page 7):

"The anguish which Lincoln experienced more than a century ago gave birth, not only to penitence and thanksgiving, but to much more that has endured in our spiritual panoply. The phrase "under God," which emerged spontaneously at the Gettysburg Battlefield in November, 1863, has now become an official part of our Salute to the Flag. "In God we trust," first used in Lincoln's administration, still adorns our coinage and is engraved on the walls of both houses of Congress. Out of anguish came greatness such as does not normally come in easier times."

 Quoting Lincoln in Chapter 2, The Agonizing Interlude (page 44-45):

"We are indeed going through a great trial — a fiery trial. In the very responsible position in which I happen to be placed, being a humble instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father, as I am, and as we all are, to work out his great purposes, I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his will, and that it might be so, I have sought his aid — but if after endeavoring to do my best in the light which he affords me, I find my efforts fail, I must believe that for some purpose unknown to me, He wills it otherwise. If I had had my way, this war would never have been commenced; if I had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that He permits it for some wise purpose of His own, mysterious and unknown to us; and though with our limited understandings we may not be able to comprehend it, yet we cannot but believe, that he who made the world still governs it."

From Chapter 3, Lincoln and the Bible (pages 50-51):

"How well he knew some of the verses is shown by the lawyer's response when he drove out into the country to make a will for a woman who was dying. After the will had been signed and witnessed, the woman asked Lincoln to read a few verses out of the Bible. A copy of the Scriptures was produced, but Lincoln did not open it. Instead, he recited from memory the Twenty-third Psalm and the opening verses of the fourteenth chapter of John."

From Chapter 4, Lincoln and Prayer (pages 73-74):

"The evidence of Abraham Lincoln's own practice of personal prayer is so abundant that no thoughtful person can deny it. He prayed alone, and he called the nation to prayer; he prayed for guidance, and he prayed in gratitude; he prayed in defeat, and he prayed in victory. Often noted was his reverence when others engaged in vocal prayer.  Along with his unashamed reverence, however, went a large measure of reticence. Though Mrs. Pomeroy said that she heard the President praying aloud in the White House, we have no text of any vocal prayer uttered by him. Something of his reticence is indicated by the fact that when he attended with regularity the weekly prayer meeting at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, he elected to sit unseen in the pastor's study with the door ajar. The President told his pastor, Dr. Phineas D. Gurley, that he received important help from these unostentatious gatherings, chiefly because they were characterized more by prayer than by the making of speeches. By this time in his life, with countless heavy burdens upon him, Lincoln had entirely outgrown juvenile delight in religious argument. Talking with God seemed to the mature Lincoln more important than talking about Him."

I hope these few excerpts are enough to whet your appetite for more of who Lincoln was, and perhaps to find more significance to his 201st birthday.  God bless you today!

Like what you are reading? Consider the following: 1. Subscribe to my blog (there is a link for that on this page). 2. "Follow" me on twitter. It's a free account, and a great way to meet like-minded friends. My link is: http://twitter.com/tommccomb. 3. Leave a comment (I love your candid feedback and might use your ideas in future posts) 4. Tell someone else about this blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon.

What Did You Forget to Pack?

This is the 2nd installment in a series on how to enliven your Sunday School.

Going on a trip can be frustrating if you haven't prepared.

I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten to pack something. Like the band trip in high school when I forgot to pack black socks. Or the company conference when I forgot to pack my shaver. It creates an embarrassing situation, and has created new habits in me.

I make a list. I check with my wife. I recheck the luggage. I open a suitcase a couple of days early so that I can throw things in as I think of them.

Being properly prepared can also help you revitalize your Sunday School. Here are a few tips that Beth and I shared with the ReFuel conference a few weeks ago:

1. Know how to lead someone to Christ.  Sunday School teachers have a unique relationship with their students, and you have a larger amount of time with your class sharing spiritual truth and challenges than just about anyone else.  When the opportunity comes (and it will come) to lead someone to Christ, you will be ready.  Most quarterly Sunday School lesson guides have a page describing how to lead your students to Christ.  These instructions are also age-appropriate for your class.  Take time to become familiar with it - even to the point of memorizing it or making it your own.  This will certainly increase your joy as a teacher!
2. Arrive early.  Get to the classroom at least 15 minutes before Sunday School opening to get it ready. How many times have you entered your classroom only to find that someone "borrowed" your table for a potluck?  Or the Cub Scouts left their craft projects to dry on every available inch of counter space?  Or that someone made off with your markers?  Getting there early will ensure that your classroom will be ready for your class.  If the first time you walk into your Sunday School class is when the students arrive, you are getting there too late.
3. Read the lesson.  Do this early in the week.  If you only find out at 10:00 on Saturday night that you needed something unusual from the hardware store for tomorrow's class, you are in trouble.  Reading the lesson early will help you get the materials you need on time.  It will also make you more familiar with the lesson.  That way, you don't have to be tied to the lesson book and really interact with your students better.  Don't get me wrong - the lesson book will still be close at hand, but your nose isn't stuck in it.
4. Read the Bible passage.  Read it several times throughout the week.  Make it part of your daily devotional time or make it an extra time that you dedicate to Sunday School preparation daily.  If you make the Bible passage a part of your life during the week, it will seep out of your pores as you present it to your students. 
5. Be ready for visitors.  Few things are more discouraging to a visitor than to walk into a Sunday School room and there is nowhere to sit.  Make sure that your classroom has enough chairs, handouts, Bibles and craft supplies for extra people.  Build a vision among your "regulars" to invite others to the class (I will talk about this in a later installment).  Exercise your faith by praying over the empty chairs.  Maybe you will want to stretch your expectations by putting even more chairs in the room.  And then work to fill them.

It's Thursday, and Sunday is coming.  Are you prepared for your Sunday School class?  It's not too late to start now.

Like what you are reading? Consider the following: 1. Subscribe to my blog (there is a link for that on this page). 2. "Follow" me on twitter. It's a free account, and a great way to meet like-minded friends. My link is: http://twitter.com/tommccomb. 3. Leave a comment (I love your candid feedback and might use your ideas in future posts) 4. Tell someone else about this blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon.

Revitalize Your Sunday School – Prayer

Beth and I just finished teaching a seminar on how to revitalize your Sunday School.  This series will address the “Six Keys” that we presented, with a bonus seventh way.

This post talks about praying for your students.  After all, two central purposes of Sunday School are (1) developing a relationship with God and (2) developing a relationship with each other.
While it is important to pray during the class, I believe that a teacher develops a stronger burden for the students by praying for them through the week.  To do that, I suggest a few techniques:

1. Get a Sunday School class roster.  While you probably need to leave the original attendance sheet at the church in order to complete statistics, making a copy for your own records is easy to do.
2. Keep the roster in your Bible.  This means that you will have this list of your students with you when you have your daily devotions.
3. Write prayer requests on the roster.  You can start with this during the Sunday School class, and add to it through the week.
4. Pray 10 minutes a day.  I have always asked my Sunday School teachers to spend at least one hour each week praying for their students.  That means a minimum of 10 minutes a day.  While this requirement is reasonable, anyone who puts it into practice will soon start using more time praying for their students.
5. Follow up with students the following Sunday.  If you have been praying for someone’s grandmother, ask about her the following week.  That follow-up will not only communicate your ongoing concern, but the updates will also allow you to be informed as you pray the following week.  But perhaps the best benefit of revisiting the requests is to inspire your students with demonstrating that God really does answer prayer.

Praying with and for your students is a privilege and a responsibility.  But more than that, it can make your Sunday School class that much more exciting week in and week out.

Maybe you have some Sunday School prayer tips.  If so, please leave a comment below.