Sabbath, August 1st - For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34
Sabbath, August 8th - For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36
Sabbath, August 15th - for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
Proverbs 24:16
Sabbath, August 22nd - Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10
Sabbath, August 29th - Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. Exodus 23:30
Sabbath, August 1st
What’s in Your Heart
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34
Materials: balloons, metal nuts of various sizes
Do you know what happens when you put a nut into a balloon and get it rapidly moving around the inside of the balloon? It’s the coolest thing: it starts humming. Now each nut makes a little bit different hum. And it’s kind of fun to guess which is which and why they do this.
The nut inside rubs against the balloon. The friction causes the sound. And that’s what happens with you too. Whatever is inside you is expressed through your facial expressions, your actions, and the words you speak. It’s what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Jesus uses the very concrete example of fruit trees. If the tree is good, it will produce good fruit. If the tree is bad, it will produce bad fruit. In a similar way, what you genuinely are will be displayed for all to see by your words and deeds.
So could you pretend that you were something you’re not. Well, of course. We have actors in Hollywood that do that to earn a living! And there are some people who intentionally try to make you think that they are something they are not - for some evil purpose. But who you are, consistently, day after day is what people hear coming from your mouth and through your behaviors.
Like we’ve talked about before, it isn’t so much that you want to hide what’s inside. It is that you want God to change what is inside so that what is expressed is Godly and good.
Seek God. Seek His ways. Submit yourself to the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. Then whatever hums in your heart will be pleasing to God and beneficial to those around you who hear.
Sabbath, August 8th
Keep on Keeping On
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36
Materials: cups, warm drink, ice, green tomato, red tomato
What is it that we have need of? According to the writer of Hebrews, we have need of endurance. But this is not endurance like who can walk up all the steps of the tallest building in St. Louis or ride your bicycle all the way from here to your home. The writer of Hebrews is talking about something else: doing the will of God until God tells you you’re done. That means keeping God’s commandments and doing what honors Him when it’s hard, when you’re tired, when no one else around you is worshiping God, even when you don’t particularly want to, you keep on doing what is right, according to God’s standards.
Some Bible translations say “you have need of endurance.” Others say that you must persevere. The KJV says that you “have need of patience.” It’s very similar to hearing your mom saying, “Just be patient. Dad will be home soon.” You know that means you have to finish the job she’s given you, but when Dad gets home, there will be a reward.
The concept of endurance makes me think of struggling to continue doing something. So I like the translations which use “patience” because that reminds me that sometimes enduring through having to wait can seem harder than struggling against something that requires physical effort. Is it harder to run three times around the house or to sit, without moving or talking, for the same amount of time?
We don’t like to be patient. We don’t like waiting. It’s hard to wait for the first tomato to turn red. It’s hard to wait for the watermelon to get ripe so that we can eat it. It’s hard to wait for the ice cubes in a glass of warm juice to melt enough to cool off the drink. But who likes warm juice? Who likes eating a green tomato? Who likes ruining a perfectly good watermelon because you cut it before it was completely ripe? No one does. You have to wait, patiently. And if you do, there’s a reward at the end.
The writer of Hebrews tells us to persevere through difficulties, to patiently continue obeying God, to keep on doing what is right in His sight. There is a reward coming - and it’s going to be worth everything we’re going through to get it - even waiting patiently.
Sabbath, August 8th - For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36
Sabbath, August 15th - for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
Proverbs 24:16
Sabbath, August 22nd - Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10
Sabbath, August 29th - Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. Exodus 23:30
Sabbath, August 1st
What’s in Your Heart
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34
Materials: balloons, metal nuts of various sizes
Do you know what happens when you put a nut into a balloon and get it rapidly moving around the inside of the balloon? It’s the coolest thing: it starts humming. Now each nut makes a little bit different hum. And it’s kind of fun to guess which is which and why they do this.
The nut inside rubs against the balloon. The friction causes the sound. And that’s what happens with you too. Whatever is inside you is expressed through your facial expressions, your actions, and the words you speak. It’s what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Jesus uses the very concrete example of fruit trees. If the tree is good, it will produce good fruit. If the tree is bad, it will produce bad fruit. In a similar way, what you genuinely are will be displayed for all to see by your words and deeds.
So could you pretend that you were something you’re not. Well, of course. We have actors in Hollywood that do that to earn a living! And there are some people who intentionally try to make you think that they are something they are not - for some evil purpose. But who you are, consistently, day after day is what people hear coming from your mouth and through your behaviors.
Like we’ve talked about before, it isn’t so much that you want to hide what’s inside. It is that you want God to change what is inside so that what is expressed is Godly and good.
Seek God. Seek His ways. Submit yourself to the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit. Then whatever hums in your heart will be pleasing to God and beneficial to those around you who hear.
Sabbath, August 8th
Keep on Keeping On
For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36
Materials: cups, warm drink, ice, green tomato, red tomato
What is it that we have need of? According to the writer of Hebrews, we have need of endurance. But this is not endurance like who can walk up all the steps of the tallest building in St. Louis or ride your bicycle all the way from here to your home. The writer of Hebrews is talking about something else: doing the will of God until God tells you you’re done. That means keeping God’s commandments and doing what honors Him when it’s hard, when you’re tired, when no one else around you is worshiping God, even when you don’t particularly want to, you keep on doing what is right, according to God’s standards.
Some Bible translations say “you have need of endurance.” Others say that you must persevere. The KJV says that you “have need of patience.” It’s very similar to hearing your mom saying, “Just be patient. Dad will be home soon.” You know that means you have to finish the job she’s given you, but when Dad gets home, there will be a reward.
The concept of endurance makes me think of struggling to continue doing something. So I like the translations which use “patience” because that reminds me that sometimes enduring through having to wait can seem harder than struggling against something that requires physical effort. Is it harder to run three times around the house or to sit, without moving or talking, for the same amount of time?
We don’t like to be patient. We don’t like waiting. It’s hard to wait for the first tomato to turn red. It’s hard to wait for the watermelon to get ripe so that we can eat it. It’s hard to wait for the ice cubes in a glass of warm juice to melt enough to cool off the drink. But who likes warm juice? Who likes eating a green tomato? Who likes ruining a perfectly good watermelon because you cut it before it was completely ripe? No one does. You have to wait, patiently. And if you do, there’s a reward at the end.
The writer of Hebrews tells us to persevere through difficulties, to patiently continue obeying God, to keep on doing what is right in His sight. There is a reward coming - and it’s going to be worth everything we’re going through to get it - even waiting patiently.
