On Sunday we taught an overview of the whole Old Testament (aka OT). We started with a QUIZ. How would you do?

Q1. The Bible is split into two parts, the ________________________ and the ________________________.

Q2. What do you already know about the Old Testament?

Q3. What are the first five books of the Bible?

Q4. How many books are in the Old Testament?

Q5. What is the last book of the Old Testament?

Q6. What is the point of the Old Testament?

ANSWERS:

ʇu & ʇo ‘ǝlqıq ǝloɥʍ ǝɥʇ ɟo ʇuıod ǝɥʇ sı snsǝɾ ˙6 ıɥɔɐlɐɯ ˙5 (ǝlqıq ʍǝɹqǝɥ ǝɥʇ uı sʞooq 42 sɐ pǝzıuɐƃɹo sƃuıʇıɹʍ ǝɯɐs) ʇuǝɯɐʇsǝʇ plo ɥsılƃuǝ ɹno uı sʞooq 93 ˙4 ʎɯouoɹǝʇnǝp ’sɹǝqɯnu ’snɔıʇıʌǝl ’snpoxǝ ’sısǝuǝƃ : (sʞooq 5) ɥɔnǝʇɐʇuǝd ˙3 ʇuǝɯɐʇsǝʇ ʍǝu ǝɥʇ & ʇuǝɯɐʇsǝʇ plo ǝɥʇ ˙1

Can’t read it? Here are the answers again: 1. The Old Testament & the New Testament. 3. Pentateuch (5 books): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 4. 39 books in our English Old Testament (same writings organized as 24 books in the Hebrew Bible). 5. Malachi. 6. Jesus is the point of the whole Bible, OT & NT.

Then we considered some common misconceptions about the OT (misconceptions are wrong ideas/thoughts), such as:

1. The OT has nothing to do with Jesus, so we don’t need it.
2. The OT is just a bunch of Laws that we don’t need anymore.
3. The OT is full of stories of God before Jesus.
4. The OT is for the Jewish people, not for Christians.
5. The OT says in 3 pages what the NT says in a sentence. (Therefore we don’t need to read it; the NT is more like Cliff’s Notes.)

These are common mis-understandings — getting the facts and purposes wrong. No, no, no!

Chris Nye taught on the overall structure of the Old Testament, in the four kinds of writings/sections:

❶ Law (the Pentateuch, first 5 books) — Genesis—Deuteronomy

❷ History // Joshua—Esther

❸ Wisdom writings (poetry) // Job—Song of Solomon

❹ Prophets // major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekel & Daniel) andminor prophets (Hosea—Malachi)

We ended with some questions for discussion in small groups:

• What is the Old Testament about (main theme)?
• What is your favorite story in the Old Testament and why?
• Do you view the Old Testament differently now? Why? Why not?

Just around the corner is the next 789 Jam.  All 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th graders are invited to join us on January 22nd for a dance party.  The dance will be from 7:30 pm – 10 pm at Willamette Christian Church.

DON’T FORGET YOUR SCHOOL ID – IT’S REQUIRED FOR ADMISSION!  You’ll also need to show it to get the new 789 JAM photo ID, which will give you a $2 discount off the $10 admission at all future dances.  Fill out the ID card application here, then have your photo taken at the event and you can pick your card up at the next dance you attend.  See you there!

A group of us are at Camp Winema this week, diggin’ deep in God’s Word, enjoying God’s beautiful creation, and learning how to authentically love one another better.

Music choices at camp were a lot different back in the day …

We have a FAT leadership team. What do I mean? They are Faithful, Available, and Teachable. They’re FAT!

Or, perhaps in light of yesterday’s teaching on the Holy Spirit, we should say they are FAST: Faithful, Available, Spirit-filled, and Teachable. I think everyone would like to be called FAST over FAT.

I was thinking and praying for all our adult volunteer leaders this morning and came across this quote. Here’s a word of encouragement by one the saints who walked before us, C. John Miller:

“Let me urge upon you the importance of cultivating faith if you are to be able to walk in love and spiritual power. Without faith it is impossible to please God, but those who believe are given more grace than they can handle. Believing is to expect God to be with you and change you and to change others…When the work is dull and routine or people are slipping away, go forth with new boldness and preach Christ until you are filled with faith yourselves and God works faith in others.

Think of it this way. All the powers of hell and earth are ranged against the gospel and your ministry. They will not compromise. Therefore don’t expect it from them. Don’t expect the enemy to coddle you. He will continue to attack from every quarter. At night. On the streets. In your meetings. Wherever. This is a take-no-prisoners kind of war, and we must not compromise with the uglies and with evil in any form.

Therefore resist, fight with all your heart against evil in yourself and others, seek holiness through faith in the blood of Christ, and live boldly out of your union with Christ. You are in Him and He is in you. Don’t doubt it. On that basis keep at it.”

– C. John Miller, The Heart of a Servant Leader

Our own Jarred — you know him: awesome, cool, faithful, fun college student Jarred — is in Honduras for spring break, pulling teeth and helping people. He’s there with Global Dental Bridges, a group hoping to offer the best dental care possible while empowering locals with education to continue the care.

So, where is Jarred now? His group flew into the TGU airport, and then headed to El Sur earlier in the week. Every day this week they have been venturing out to villages and towns to give dental care to the local Honduran people.

How can we pray for Jarred?
He has asked us to pray for him. For safety and health, but more than that: for deep impact into the lives of the people. Not just the Hondurans, but especially those on his team. As we have discussed, the group that went is not “Christian,” but Jarred is a disciple of Christ, and thus the trip becomes a Christian mission. He likely will not have many opportunities to speak the Gospel (even without the language barriers) with the local people. We are praying for his boldness and open doors to speak clearly of Christ’s love and saving work with his team members. A dozen or so others are with him from Portland, and they are as much the mission field as the Hondurans. In fact, because Jarred can have lasting relationships with them, this experience is a great opportunity to share his life with them.

Our brother Jarred will arrive back next Monday night (3/30), exhausted but happy, and the next day jump back into college life and a new Spring term. How awesome that he gave his Spring Break away, for the sake of others!

Junior high students, I hope and pray you are having a fantastic Spring Break.

This time is needed to regroup, refresh and refocus for hte long journey ahead the rest of the school year. Yet, in the midst of fun and games and just chillin’, let us not forget why we get to have time off: to give it to others.

My wife and I have been considering what it would mean to give up something we want so that someone else can have what they want/need.

We show God we love Him (vertically) by giving to others (horizontally). Giving our Time, Talents and Treasure.

What do you have that you can give to God? Specifically, by giving to others.

That’s what we will be talking about this coming Sunday March 29th, when we look at Mark 12:41-44. A lady who had next-to-nothing gave everything and in that she gave more than those who gave millions. When we give from our hearts she God that we value Him more than what we gave (see 2 Cor. 9:7-8).