9 Aug, 2011
Back To School Blues?
Ahh . . . the first day of school: the time of awkward pictures on the front porch, new gym clothes, sack lunches, and prayers that you'll have a friend to sit with at lunch. Whether you started school this week, or will be in the next few weeks, the reality is, summer has come to an end and your alarm will be going off way-too-early in the days to come! Hopefully your first day back to school won't include one (or all!) of the following!
Top Ten Signs Of A Kid Having A Bad First Day At School (or at least five of them...thanks to David Letterman):
....Already voted "Least Likely to Succeed."
....Lunch was whatever he could scrape off the bottom of his desk.
....His school bus driver made him ride on the outside of the bus.
....Got tackled twice in gym class--three times in algebra class.
....You know the kid everyone picks on? He got picked on by that kid.
photo courtesy images.google.com & text cbs.com/latenight
John 3:1-7 (NLT)
1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about being teachable?
Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Jesus often went after this group of religious leaders because they rejected the truth of His message and led the Jewish people away from His good news of forgiveness. Nic was probably nervous about what his peers would think if they knew he was hanging out with Jesus. So he went searching for Jesus after dark, because he believed that Jesus had the answers to his questions.
Nic was very intelligent and well educated, but he went to Jesus to be taught. He was teachable. That's the great lesson in today's God's Story.
Are you teachable? Do you go to Jesus with an open mind and heart so that His Spirit can teach you the Truth about God's Story?
After Nic learned the Truth, he became a follower of Jesus. No more sneaking around in the dark! Nic became a bold spokesperson for Christ! (See John 7:50-51.)
You might say that Nic had a really good first day at Jesus' school!
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Be honest. Are you teachable? God already knows the answer to this question. Do you?
- Pray right now.....Thank God for His Truth. His Truth is absolute and never changes! Ask Jesus to give you a teachable attitude so that you might learn God's Truths and grow to become more and more like Christ.
- Write down a list of questions you have about God's Story and abiding in Christ. Keep it handy and keep digging in the Word until you discover Jesus' answers. Go to your youth leader or pastor or another follower of Jesus for help. (Do this during the day, because they need to sleep at night!)
- Be like Nic - speak up for Christ and share His Story and your story. God will use you to help answer to the questions that others have about His Truth.
- Read the rest of the story about Nic in John 3:1-21.
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- Since today is probably the first day of school for most of you, ask Jesus to give you a teachable attitude toward God and toward others in your school. Remember that others will be more willing to learn about God's Story if they see that there's something positive about your story.
- Use the start of the new school year as a conversation starter to learn more about the stories of others around you. You can start with simple questions about what they like and don't like and then you can probe deeper with questions about their feelings, their fears, their need for help in some way....
- Use David Letterman's (five of the Top Ten) as a humorous way to find out some signs that your friends really are having a bad day at school. Be ready to be a friend and help.
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