Rob teaches Arnie about Trust
Mrs. F learns that the junk food company is closing.
Zeek practicing a scene for his upcoming movie
Vinny is bummed that Twinkles are no longer being made.
Sam Shovel and Peter discussing fishing strategies.
Sam can't believe that Peter would walk away from the biggest catch ever,
because he was trusting God.
Terra wrapping up the Word.
When was the last time you really thought about this?
The God who created the oceans, the stars, and the planets calls us His children. Then, because we sinned and were separated from Him, that same God—the Creator of all things—stepped onto our planet and lived among us as one of us. He taught us how to live. And then as an act of indescribable love, He died for us. And in a moment of unimaginable triumph, He defeated death, rose again, and ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us for eternity.
1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” And wow, how He loves us. It makes sense that we love God back. Who wouldn’t love this God who created us and said we were good, who came to redeem us when we had lost our way? But here’s the tricky part. If you love God, you will trust God because trust and love go together.
That’s why, when you first encountered His love, you made an initial step to trust Him with your life. But that’s not the end. As believers, we have to put our trust in God again every day. Every moment of our lives we have choices, and in those moments we can choose to put our confidence in God or to put our confidence somewhere else.
This month we are going to take a look at what it means to trust God—both for the very first time and each day in the face of new circumstances. When we’re not sure what’s going to happen next, we can look back at all the ways that God has provided for us in the past. That makes it easier for us to respond to God like our monthly memory verse says to: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” Matthew 22:37-38
In Week 1, we start an EPIC adventure in trust and love as we discover the guys that go everywhere with Jesus and become His closest friends. Our Bible story is the calling of the disciples, found in Luke 5:1-11.
We’ll wonder why they were chosen back then and also think about what God might be calling each of us to today. Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He has a plan for me.
In Week 2, our Bible story unpacks Jesus feeding 5,000 people (John 6:1-14). There’s tension in this story because even the disciples are worried at this point in their journey. They’d already seen Jesus perform miracles, but they still weren’t sure that things would turn out all right.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He provides for me. There are times in our lives when we feel like there’s not enough to go around—that we don’t have enough to really make a difference. That’s when it’s important to remember the Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Jesus can do anything—even use one boy’s small lunch to feed a huge crowd!
In Week 3, we continue in our epic quest for trust and love as we are called to face our fears—when the things around us seem scary and we don’t feel like we’re in control of the situation. Our Bible story is Jesus calming the storm, Mark 4:35-40. When we call out to Jesus, He wants to help and to calm things down, but He also encourages us to trust Him and have faith in His ability.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He’s bigger than my problems.There are times when it’s harder to trust—when we’re tired, when we’re hungry (like last week), when our problems are right in front of our face and it seems like there’s no way around it. But even then we can choose to believe in a big God.
In Week 4, we’ll discover that there’s really no way to go on an epic adventure if you don’t risk something or try something new, is there? Our Bible story is about the time when Jesus walked on water and another disciple did too—until his fear got the best of him (Luke 5:1-11). The disciples had to cling to their faith as they experienced all the ups and downs while traveling with Jesus and being part of His mission.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He’s bigger than my fears. It’s really a matter of perspective and what we choose to focus on. Whatever we look at or think about most becomes bigger in our mind than anything else. We see that clearly when we think about Peter trying to walk out in faith, but how does that look in a kid’s life or in your life?
It’s an understatement to say that our team is a little excited about the EPICness of this upcoming summer as we explore the adventure that Jesus called His followers to that changed the world. When we put our trust in God and live our lives in response to Him—loving Him and others—then our lives become about something much bigger than just us. We can’t wait to hear what God does!
By Cara Martens. ©2012 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.
When was the last time you really thought about this?
The God who created the oceans, the stars, and the planets calls us His children. Then, because we sinned and were separated from Him, that same God—the Creator of all things—stepped onto our planet and lived among us as one of us. He taught us how to live. And then as an act of indescribable love, He died for us. And in a moment of unimaginable triumph, He defeated death, rose again, and ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us for eternity.
1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” And wow, how He loves us. It makes sense that we love God back. Who wouldn’t love this God who created us and said we were good, who came to redeem us when we had lost our way? But here’s the tricky part. If you love God, you will trust God because trust and love go together.
That’s why, when you first encountered His love, you made an initial step to trust Him with your life. But that’s not the end. As believers, we have to put our trust in God again every day. Every moment of our lives we have choices, and in those moments we can choose to put our confidence in God or to put our confidence somewhere else.
This month we are going to take a look at what it means to trust God—both for the very first time and each day in the face of new circumstances. When we’re not sure what’s going to happen next, we can look back at all the ways that God has provided for us in the past. That makes it easier for us to respond to God like our monthly memory verse says to: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” Matthew 22:37-38
In Week 1, we start an EPIC adventure in trust and love as we discover the guys that go everywhere with Jesus and become His closest friends. Our Bible story is the calling of the disciples, found in Luke 5:1-11.
We’ll wonder why they were chosen back then and also think about what God might be calling each of us to today. Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He has a plan for me.
In Week 2, our Bible story unpacks Jesus feeding 5,000 people (John 6:1-14). There’s tension in this story because even the disciples are worried at this point in their journey. They’d already seen Jesus perform miracles, but they still weren’t sure that things would turn out all right.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He provides for me. There are times in our lives when we feel like there’s not enough to go around—that we don’t have enough to really make a difference. That’s when it’s important to remember the Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Jesus can do anything—even use one boy’s small lunch to feed a huge crowd!
In Week 3, we continue in our epic quest for trust and love as we are called to face our fears—when the things around us seem scary and we don’t feel like we’re in control of the situation. Our Bible story is Jesus calming the storm, Mark 4:35-40. When we call out to Jesus, He wants to help and to calm things down, but He also encourages us to trust Him and have faith in His ability.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He’s bigger than my problems.There are times when it’s harder to trust—when we’re tired, when we’re hungry (like last week), when our problems are right in front of our face and it seems like there’s no way around it. But even then we can choose to believe in a big God.
In Week 4, we’ll discover that there’s really no way to go on an epic adventure if you don’t risk something or try something new, is there? Our Bible story is about the time when Jesus walked on water and another disciple did too—until his fear got the best of him (Luke 5:1-11). The disciples had to cling to their faith as they experienced all the ups and downs while traveling with Jesus and being part of His mission.
Our Bottom Line is: I can depend on God because He’s bigger than my fears. It’s really a matter of perspective and what we choose to focus on. Whatever we look at or think about most becomes bigger in our mind than anything else. We see that clearly when we think about Peter trying to walk out in faith, but how does that look in a kid’s life or in your life?
It’s an understatement to say that our team is a little excited about the EPICness of this upcoming summer as we explore the adventure that Jesus called His followers to that changed the world. When we put our trust in God and live our lives in response to Him—loving Him and others—then our lives become about something much bigger than just us. We can’t wait to hear what God does!
By Cara Martens. ©2012 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.
