An Unfinished Story: The Ninth Lesson

The ninth lesson: John unfolds the mystery of the Incarnation

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.  John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.  The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.  He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.  They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
(John 1:1-14, NLT)

An Unfinished Story

Phillip Godfrey

It was a night in December, cold December when a light came into our world,

A light sent from up above us, one night Bethlehem beheld.

But is that night in December all we remember of the light heaven chose to send?

An unfinished story is what we are hearing, but we can determine its end.

For he was sent to protect us, he was meant to direct us like a star shining overhead.

He pointed the way to heaven so clearly with what he said.

But will the world ever hear him, gather near him as a guide, guardian, and friend?

An unfinished story is what we are hearing, but we can determine its end.

Rejoice, all the angels sang, rejoice, as the church bells rang.

Would we hear them say were they here today?

This is an unfinished story, filled with glory such as we cannot comprehend.

A wonderful story is what we are hearing but we can determine its end

Rejoice, all the angels sang, rejoice, as the church bells rang.

Would we hear them say were they here today?

This is an unfinished story, filled with glory such as we cannot comprehend.

A wonderful story and we have been given the chance to complete it,

A chance that we must not suspend.

The chance to complete it the way we would like it to end.

Rejoice!

I Got Proof

Kareem Manuel feat. Lecrae

If you go through the Bible consisteAnnotatently (that means read it)

Realize there’s no inconsistencies, start looking at things differently

When a soldier in his infantry looks at Genesis 3

God said it was him, the messiah that crushed the head

Of the serpent as I read, saw it all come to a head

Told of the suffering at Judas’ hand

The promise seen through Abraham

Prophecies Isaiah said, all fulfilled through Christ who bled

The Da Vinci code or Zeitgeist film

Couldn’t convince me not to die for him

Without their fame and prominence

Their arguments don’t make no sense

How you gon’ convince me that I’m simply a product of chance?

That the Big Bang came, and made a monkey that done made a man?

If you want to follow theory or die you got...?

Then there’s clearly nothing left to be said

Cus Christ is alive, rose to the sky

While all your truths are surely dead

[Hook]

I got proof, I got proof, I got proof

That he’s still living

I got proof, I got proof, I got proof

That he is risen

And this is why I die, why I live my life

For the sake of Jesus Christ, cus I believe that he’s alive

[Lecrae]

Witness not based on what I witness

But due to the word of an eye witness

But get this I don’t wanna wanna miss this

Business is serious like sickness

Arguments get me weary, man

They don’t use any history

All they have is a theory mayne

Why they tryin’ to Da Vinci me?

I spit a couple flows, did a couple shows

Met a couple bros who was all into doin’ no-nos

That and they into reading pros off of Dead Sea scrolls

Come on bro tell me that don’t sound loco

Cus Jesus died, took our sins into the sky

And a hundred times five seen him in the flesh alive

And the light in Paul’s eyes got him on his knees cryin’

Mention Jesus died tonight, runnin for his very life

They think that’s a lie, but Paul really died

Like millions other Christians who gave their life up for Christ

Hook

They wanna know why I’d die for him

Confused on why I ride with him

Got questions about Christian living

He’ll answer like Iverson

Heard me say Christ in all my songs

Dude run up on me like what if I’m wrong

I said I’m not then I saw his jaw

Stretch out and lay on the floor

He asked me how so I told him more

Christ in the clouds, and people saw him

Witnesses told them their report

Got them killed still they held on

To what they knew was no mistake

Got crucified, burned at the stake

If this wasn’t true, then dude I say

Would you die for what you knew was fake?

So I hope this hitting home, I ain’t reached this on my own

But why I preach him in every song

If he ain’t rise then find his bones

Been looking in the tombs, still looking in the ground

Keep searching bro, no where to be found

I ain’t Sherlock, but homes I’m found

So believe he ain’t no where around

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

An Unfinished Story: The Second Lesson

The Second Lesson: God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the Earth be blessed.

     Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. "This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.  And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

(Genesis 22:15-18, NLT)

Who But You (Abraham & Sarah)

Various Artists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEmnjRKitFA

Too little too late, his time has come and gone

Is that what they say when I walk by?

I've got a little more grey, my steps are slow and long

And the promise you've made fades in the moonlight

I see a star; You see the Milky Way

I see one man counting sand

But you see generations

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You?

You'd think by now, it wouldn't bother me

The hush from the crowd when I walk by

And you'd think somehow, I'd let my heart believe

It's time to let go of lullabies

I see a star; You see a galaxy

There's just one hope, just one way

These arms will not stay empty

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You?

So call me crazy, call me a fool

You alone can do the things You promised to

You are Yahweh, I'm just a man

I'm counting tiny grains of sand

Placing every promise in Your hand

Who, but You, would ever choose

To dream Your dream in me?

Tell me who, but You, would dare me to

Believe what I can't see

Who, but You? 

Great and mighty God, I believe, I believe You

Keeper of the stars, I believe, I believe You

"An Unfinished Story" is based off of a bulletin from a church service I attended in South Africa.  I will give credit to individuals throughout the series, but the bulletin is from St. Thomas' Anglican Church, Linden, from the 18th of December 2011 at 6:30 pm.  I edited to make it more modern.

Giving Everything

Isn’t it amazing how much God loves us? I mean, he  sent his son to die for us - and no matter what we do, no matter how ugly we can be sometimes, he loves us despite everything. Not only that, but he gives us small reminders of his love every single day. I was given a huge reminder just recently and I would like to tell this story.

I love music - a lot, I practically live and breathe it. I take piano and voice lessons and I’m constantly either singing, playing, or listening to music. I’m home schooled but the reason I have been able to take both piano and voice lessons is because my family is enrolled in this program where we get publicly funded for some school. This year, however, they cut it down so that they only pay for one fine arts per student. When I found out about this, I was pretty shook up. I knew that meant I would have to quit either piano or voice lessons. And as spoiled as this sounds; I didn’t want to give up either one. So I practically got on my knees and begged Mom to some how, some way, even if it meant not eating, come up with money to pay for my voice lessons. Unfortunately, she decided that eating is more important than my voice lessons (we agree to disagree on this subject) and sat me down to talk. My parents decided to pay for a certain amount monthly for my lessons, leaving me a big chunk to come up with. I have a job working at a kitchen store and if I worked regular hours, having enough money wouldn’t be a problem. But since the Christmas rush ended, I only get asked to come in when whoever was supposed to work then can’t. I haven’t been called in since April and most of the money I have is going to be used to pay for driver’s ed. next month.

I needed another solution.

Mom’s ideas:

1) Ask the grandparents to pledge some money each month.

Pros: If they each only gave $20 a month I would have enough.

Cons: I hate asking for money, I’m not sure how much I could count on that money coming in, and I would feel bad to ask them for money...coming back to hating asking for money.

2) See if I could work one day a week at the kitchen store.

Pros: I would get to work and get more than enough money to pay for my lessons.

Cons: I would hate asking for that, it probably wouldn’t work well for them, and I might not get paid when I need to.

After this talk, I was pretty discouraged. That night I felt like it wasn’t possible and I would have to give up something I love to do. I cried and prayed for about an hour before I went to bed. I told God that I had given up finding a solution on my own and that it probably was not possible doing it my way but through him, all things are possible. I let go of everything and I gave it to Jesus and let him fill me with his peace. I stopped worrying about it, knowing that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I had to stop taking voice lessons. I still wanted it and hoped for it, but I thanked God that he knows what he’s doing.

A few days later, Mom got an email from my voice teacher saying that she needed to hire someone to clean up after a class she taught to little kids and asked if I would do it. This solved everything! I just kinda stood there in shock. A realization came over me, I wrote it down in my journal that night: “Jesus loves me so much that not only did he die for me, he gave me something so small in comparison by letting me continue to do something I love, to remind me of how big he is and how big his love is for me.”

The moral of the story is: Jesus loves us so much and we should give everything, all of ourselves to him, and thank him for everything, even the bad things, because he knows what he’s doing. We might not like some of his plans at first, but they always turn out for our good.

Prayer Request

This Sunday, I (Sara) am leaving at 6am for Tijuana, Mexico, where I will be with my youth group building houses for those in need.  Please pray for the safety of all of us on the trip, the impact that our group will have on those we are building for, and for how God works in our life.  The theme of the trip is EBENEZER, raising our whole selves up to God; the word literally means a Stone of Help.  God is good!