Keep quiet no longer,
We'll sing through the day,
Of the lives that we've lost,
And the lives we've reclaimed
Questions to consider...
How much thought do you give to those in our world who are extremely poor and why?
What does our shopping have to do with the poor and how can buying 'Fairtrade' help?
What do you think of the command in Proverbs 31:8-9 in the Bible?
A prayer...
Lord, please open our eyes to how rich we are. Save us from mindless greed and help us to think of those who have little or nothing. Help us consider the consequences of our actions and to use them to help the poor more than ourselves.
Classic! Doing a bunjee jump must be scary enough without your mates making it even worse by playing a prank like this. On the serious side, facing our fears and challenges is arguably a crucial part of growing (and even having fun) in this life.
Questions to consider...
What fears or challenges have you faced head on and how did it go?
Think of a time when you've overcome a fear or a challenge. What helped you? Who helped you? How do you feel about it now?
What challenges are you facing right now or what challenges lie ahead for you and what/who will help you face them?
What would your life be like if you never did anything challenging or difficult?
How can you help others with their challenges?
A Bible verse to consider...
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear... (1 John 4:18)
A prayer...
God, whether the challenges we face are good or bad, please show us how to rise to them and overcome them. Show us who can help us and how we can help others. And help us to trust you above all. Amen!
The PS22 choir singing Katy Perry's 'Firework' at a press conference, promoting their appearance at the Oscars! Denise does a fantastic job standing in for an absent-from-school-that-day Kurria!
'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky
Questions to consider...
How do you calculate what a person is worth?
Is one person worth more than another?
How much are YOU worth?
Jesus says something similar in Matthew 5:16. What do you think?
How can you show people what you're worth today?
A prayer
God, please show us how much we are really worth. Help us to see ourselves the way you see us. Help us to value ourselves and others. Amen.
I love Penn & Teller! Awesome magicians and a lot of fun! I love Penn's attitude and fondness of Christians in this video but I do think he has a few important things wrong about the Bible...
1. The Bible never says that God approved of the idea of Lot's daughter being 'gang raped'. In fact, God's messengers strike the people with blindness so that Lot and his daughter can get away without anything like that happening (Genesis 19:1-29).
2. Abraham recognised that God is God and he has the right to ask for anything - even the sacrifice of a son. Abraham was willing to obey and God stopped him before the actual sacrifice. He'd been testing Abraham's obedience (Genesis 22:1-19).
3. The 'talking snake' in Genesis is not necessarily literal. The creation account in Genesis is widely held by Christians as allegory. Penn knows this. The distinctive themes of the story are far more important than the literal details.
4. God loves homosexuals. The Bible is clear that the reason God hates sin (including same-sex sex in Leviticus 20:13 and anything else that falls short of what's best for us) is because he loves the people he has made. Christians can get this wrong but it doesn't change God.
5. God loves women. Just because the prevailing cultures seen in Bible were sexist does not mean that God is. God created men and women as equals (Genesis 1:27) and Jesus' love and respect of women in the gospels was extremely anti-cultural (e.g. Luke 7:36-50).
6. God's slavery in the Bible was meant to be good slavery. It was part of his 'welfare state' provision for the poor so that everyone had meaningful work for which they were rewarded. This is why it is 'celebrated' in the Bible. God's slavery was never about mistreating people. Quite the opposite (Deuteronomy 15:12-18)!
7. 'Thou shalt not murder' (Exodus 20:13) is about personal vengeance. Killing in war is seen as something very different from murder (with malice aforethought). This is also reflected in our laws today.
I'll leave it there. Like any piece of historical documentation, the Bible deserves to be read and understood in its proper context.
Penn has done his own investigation and has drawn his conclusions and that's exactly what we all should do. His encouragement of personal investigation of source material is excellent and although the video is thought provoking and helpful to a point, we'd be ignoring real wisdom (including Penn's advice) if we let this short video clip convince us completely.
The other thing is Penn never really mentions Jesus. This is quite strange considering that Christianity (and the Bible too!) is all about him. The best way to understand the Bible is to explore who Jesus was and the evidence for his resurrection etc. If Jesus is God then the rest of the Bible makes a lot more sense (it has too) and if he's not, then it's not worth bothering with.
Romans 12:1 (The Message version of the Bible) So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Questions to consider (there's a lot so maybe pick just a few)
How does buying fairtrade promote justice?
How does reducing CO2 reduce climate change? Do you cycle/walk whenever possible?
How does living sustainably and recycling more help?
How can you make your voice heard and influence decisions made by those in authority (including teachers as well as politicians)?
What would be a good reason to lobby a local shop?
How does banking ethically have an impact on people?
How does shopping differently and buying local help (food miles)?
How much do you engage with people and care about others?
To what extent do you live generously?
How could praying for the world be a good thing?
Do you speak out for those who have no voice?
What impact is your life having on the world?
A prayer
Dear God, please help us to care about this world and everyone living in it, especially those near to us but also anyone who is in great need of stuff we take for granted. Help us to live grateful and generous lives that have a deliberate positive impact. Please change us. Please change this world. Amen.
The Bible says, 'everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak' (James 1:19). How might this be helpful when responding to questions people have about Jesus?
How would you have answered the kids in this clip?
What questions do YOU have about Jesus?
A prayer...
Dear God, please help me to be quick to listen and slow to speak. Help me to listen to questions people have and help me not to think I have all the answers. Help me to ask big questions too and to find out more about who you really are. AMEN!
