Phil. 4:8 Sunday School Lesson series..."oh be careful little minds..." Week 3

But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, …hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly, he isjust, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 18:5, 9)

 

Well kiddos, we are on our third lesson this week from our “Oh be careful little minds what you think” series in Philippians 4:8; and boy am I excited to share with you about a pretty awesome lady in the Bible.  Her name was Esther and she was a Queen.  But first let’s talk a little bit about WHY I want to share her story. ..

 

We have been talking about what our minds should think upon …can anyone tell me what two things we have learned so far we are to thinkupon? Whatsoever things are … TRUE, YES! And whatsoever things are… HONEST…yaaay, you got it right!  We have gotten to know Noah and Samuel, two men who loved God with all their hearts, souls, and strength and …YES, their MINDS.  Well this week we are gonna talk about what it means when the Bible says we are to think upon “whatsoever things are JUST” and get to know beautiful Queen Esther.

 

The Bible says that the just shall live by faith and that when we live justly we have the promise from the Lord that we shall surely live.  But what exactly does it mean to be “Just”?  Well, it means that we are to live right and good, following what the Lord and His word tell us to do. We are off to a great start because when we are thinking about True and Honest things; then good, fair and right (Just) things are right around the corner …

 

Now let me introduce you to Esther, or Hadassah, as her family called her.  She was a young Jewish girl who had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai. He was a good man who loved the Lord and who loved Esther.  He had raised her when her parents died.  The Bible says that Estherwas “fair and beautiful” and when King Ahasuerus was looking for a new Queen, he found Esther to very pleasing and he took her as his wife but he did NOT know she was a Jew (one of God’s chosen people)!   Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone she was a Jewess.  Little did Esther know God was working behind the scene, putting her where He could use her most.  There was a prince in the kingdom the King had promoted and he wasn’t a very nice man, his name was Haman.  He wanted everyone to bow down to him and he particularly didn’t like the Jews.  But, Mordecai was NOT going to bow to Haman nor show him reverence.  Only to God would Mordecai show reverence… when Haman found out Mordecai was a Jew, well, he devised a plan to kill the Jews and Mordecai.  And the king without knowing his beloved Esther was a Jew, sent out a decree to kill all the Jews.  When Esther heard this she was very sad and afraid.  She knew that she would have to tell the king, but in those days, to enter in to where the King was sitting without being invited was sure to mean death.  But she was a just woman of God …she thought on the truth of God’s word and was honest about who she was, she was fair and good and did what she knew was right.  She trusted the Lord…she told Mordecai to gather all her people and fast and pray…pray HARD for her because she was going to see the king, even if it meant her death.  

 

And kids, the Lord protected her…she found favor in the sight of her husband the King.  She had a banquet planned for King Ahasuerus and Haman to attend where she would reveal that Haman had planned to kill her and her people… (By the decree the King had signed).  Queen Estherhad asked the King to protect her and her people and because he loved her he said he would without even asking her where she was from or who her people were.  And in the end, the Lord delivered Esther, Mordecai and all the Jews under King Ahasueres reign.    God says in His word that the just that live by faith shall surely live and Queen Esther was a perfect example of that promise coming true… she was thinking upon those just things that which is good and fair and right…she lived by faith in God and His word of truth and He protected her and that promise is for us too!! So when you put your “Thinking Crowns” on today, and you see all those Just Jewels, remember to think upon them and live for the Lord and love Him with all your what??? YES, all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength!!

 

Activity/craft:  “Thinking Crown” with Just Jewels…

Lovest thou me?

John 21:17 KJV

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

How many times has the Lord asked me this same question??  And how has my life,  not my words,  answered Him back?  I do love the Lord but I haven't been all that great at showing it.  This morning when I read that verse,  it definitely pricked my heart.  Jesus wanted action behind Peter's declared love.  Peter had surely been active when he ran away from knowing Christ in his denial of the Savior... Why is it so easy to give our whole heart,  mind,  soul and strength to another human being and not to the almighty God who loved us with the Cross?  I,  for one,  am thankful He lovingly forgives and is active in his love toward me when he asks me the question "Tonya,  lovest thou me?... " and he gives me another chance to show Him.  He's so awesome...

Phil 4:8 Sunday School series (week two)

“Whatsoever things are HONEST…” 

This is week number two in the Phil 4:8 series “oh be careful little mind what you think” and boy am I excited to share with you kids about honesty.  Do you remember last week when we talked about the Truth of God’s word? …about how Noah believed it with all his heart? What happened when Noah thought on the True things of God and trusted in them?  Yep, that’s right; God saved Noah and his family from the flood that destroyed the earth.  

Well this week we are going to talk about another man named Samuel.   He was a prophet of the Lord who always spoke the truth, even when it wasn’t popular and even when someone he loved might not like it.  He followed God …and HIS word says  “thou shalt not bear false witness”; it is one of the Lord’s commandments to us as His children.  

The story about Samuel I want to share with you today is from 1 Samuel chapter 3.  Remember Hannah, Samuel’s mom?… she had prayed hard for a son and the Lord blessed her with Samuel; she too was an honest woman because the promise to the Lord she made to dedicate her son’s life to Him was kept.  Samuel had lived with the priest Eli from the time he was two years old until now.   He had grown up serving the Lord and this night was no different.  

Although Samuel had never heard directly from God, he knew he was real and he honored Him.  But on this particular night, the Lord has something He wanted to say to Samuel yet when God called to him, Samuel thought it was the priest Eli calling for him.  When Samuel heard the Lord's voice he would run to Eli and say, “here I am for thou callest me” but Elli hadn’t called Home. Nite. him so he told him to go lie back down.  But, kiddos, after Samuel came to him the second time, Eli knew something was up.  He believed it was the Lord God speaking to Samuel so he told Samuel to go lie back down and if he heard the voice for the third time to say, “Speak Lord; for thy servant heareth.”  And Samuel did just that.  In verse 10 it says that the Lord came and stood, and called as at other times “Samuel, Samuel” then Samuel answered, “Speak for thy servant heareth.”  And guess what guys?? God DID have something to tell him but it wasn’t easy for him to share with his friend Eli.  Eli was like a father to Samuel.

The Lord had told Samuel He wasn’t pleased with the way Eli’s sons had behaved AND with Eli; Eli knew their sin yet never corrected them. He tried to just let them be even though God had warned him about not straightening things out and making his sons does right.  So, the Lord had told Samuel that no longer would he let their sins go unpunished. He was going to bring an end to their sins and wickedness.   Now can you imagine how Samuel felt when Eli asked him to be honest when he told him what the Lord had said?? I am sure it wasn’t easy for Samuel to tell his friend that the Lord was displeased, that he was going to be punishing them; God was bringing judgment to Eli’s household. That wouldn’t be easy for ME to tell a friend, how about you?  But, you know what guys? Samuel DID…Eli was a good friend in encouraging him to tell the truth too.  We all need godly friends like that.  Samuel went on to serve the Lord and be a great prophet of God who was honest and the people around him knew it and they believed in God’s power because of it.  

You see, when we are people who are honest and trust the Lord to do what he says, we bring HIM glory and honor.  That’s why the bible says, “Whatsoever things are honest…. Think on these things!” 

 

Activity/craft

Honest Harriet the Honey Bee

 

Such a wonderful message from The Lord preached by David Jeremiah...

http://ht.salemweb.net/zcast/turning-point/2014/01-15/385572/turning-point_2014-01-15_learning-from-moses-pa_20131227163706.mp3?type=streaming

Oh be Careful Little Minds...

Whatsoever things are TRUE…

This week I thought we could start a series of lessons called 

“Oh be careful little minds what you think”… learning about Philippians 4 verse 8

‘Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  ‘

It is very important the Bible says to be careful what we think upon.  We are to take those thoughts and make sure that we are loving Him with them.  Remember our verse about loving God? How are we supposed to love Him?  Right, with not only all of our hearts, soul and strength but our MIND too!  

Today we are going talk about the first thing Phil 4:8 says we are to think upon… ‘Whatsoever things are TRUE… ‘ Did you know that God’s word is true?  It is a FACT… God can NOT lie.  So all the stories you hear in Sunday School and church…well they are real.  Remember talking about the baby Moses in the basket?  What about Jonah and the Whale? What about Daniel in the Lion’s Den? YEP… all true…they are facts… the Bible says in John 17:17 that “His word is truth!”  We can count on it.  When He makes a promise He means it… He can never go back on it.  So when He says He will NEVER leave us …He means it… when He says that if we seek Him we will find Him…well, it is true.   And when we believe that, we can get through anything.  When we trust His word, the Bible says He will guide our footsteps.  

Today I want to talk about a guy who did just that…He trusted in God’s word…His promises. 

Noah was a man that loved the Lord…He had found “grace in the sight of the Lord” during a time when the world was a really mean place.  The Lord was sad he had even made the world because people were so evil.  But the Lord loved Noah and Noah loved the Lord.  God came to him and told him that He was going to send a flood to destroy the earth and for him to build an Ark.   He was to take every living thing and lead them two by two into the Ark as well as his wife, three sons and their wives as to escape the flood.   In verse 22 of Genesis chapter 6, it says “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him.”  He trusted in God’s word as truth!  And kids, it was truth!  And even though the rains didn’t come right away, and people thought Noah was crazy.  (You see it hadn’t rained upon the earth and they didn’t believe Noah when he preached and warned them that God was upset and was going to destroy the earth.)  

But eventually the rains came and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights…the only people safe were Noah and his family because of their trust in God to keep his promise and he did just that.  When it was safe for them to come out of the Ark they built an altar to God to show how thankful they were and so they would never forget what He had done.  Noah had belief that God’s words were TRUE! You can too!! 

Sometimes when we trust the Lord and HIS truths, the world thinks we are silly; but just like Noah, who takes care of us? God does … because we are what to Him? Special!!!

So when you begin to wonder about things and aren’t really sure what is true in life…you can ALWAYS trust that the Bible and the Lord’s promises are real and very true…you can count on them to help you know what to do!! 

Activity/craft:

Truvy the Tree of Truth…

Clear Direction

This morning I was really moved by this sermon! I pray it encourages you as it has me! Blessings to you all,

Tonya

1-9-13. Charles Stanley

http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio

Having Clear Direction (pt.1)

How can I be sure I'm making the right decision ??

Ps 25:12

 What man is he that feareth the Lord ? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

How do we have clear guidance?

1.  Clear the pathway... God has to get us ready to hear his discernment ...

**Clear it of sin ( sin fragments our thinking, confuses us) 

**Clear it of strong desires (submissive neutrality, to a place where no matter what we want we need to submit our wants unto him) a pure heart and clear direction go together ... 

^Repent and submit^

2. Exercise  patience...refuse to rush in ahead of Gods timing...

Back off 

Psalm 27:14 KJV

[14] Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord .

 

It takes a great deal of strength to wait 

Psalm 25:3 KJV

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

You will never be ashamed waiting upon the Lord.  

And when he says MOVE, move!!  When the direction is so clear yet we have fear, we can still move with confidence!! 

The stronger my desire the harder it is. To wait... 

3. Be alert to pressure... 

Exterior (people will tell you how you ought to think and what you should do...this is unreliable...people will tell what THEY want for your lives and it has nothing to do with how God wants it to go...

*Godly advice is different 

 You have to be extremely careful! 

It can be one person or many...not listening to everyone's opinion...you better sift all the advice you get through the word of God...you may have to make a decision that goes against what others think

Circumstances...time never runs out on God...no matter what the circumstances, do not step in to something because of the pressure of your circumstances 

Internal pressure... Fears, anxieties, attitudes, exaggerated feelings (should oughts musts)  ... Be careful you don't listen to the wrong voices ...