Prove It!

By Raymond Sanchez

Gather:

Have you ever had to prove something to someone?

How did you do it?

Did they believe you without proof?

Hear:

Romans 5:6-11 New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

6 At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. 7 It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. 8 But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God’s anger. 10 Once we were God’s enemies. But we have been brought back to him because his Son has died for us. Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure. We know that we will be saved because Christ lives. 11 And that is not all. We are full of joy in God because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, God has brought us back to himself.

For Everyone:

When we were kids, we would often hear tales of amazing feats told by our friends. “I jumped my bike over the ditch down the street.” “I did a 360 Tomohawk dunk like Jordan on my rim back home.” “I beat all of Super Mario Bros. in 10 minutes.” The inevitable response to these outlandish tales was, “Prove it.” To which there would be a litany of excuses. “My bike has a flat.” “I sprained my ankle.” “I’m grounded from video games.” I think someone did actually beat Super Mario Bros. in ten minutes, but we didn’t believe it until we saw it!

Paul spends the opening chapters of Romans reminding us of God’s wrath, judgement, and righteousness. There was no hope for humanity to ever justify themselves in the eyes of God. But God loved us. “Prove it,” you might say. Proving it takes a demonstration. A demonstration of the skill, the feat, or in this case - a grand demonstration of love. God sent His one and only son to die for our sins. Even though God’s people fell short of his expectations again and again, he sent Jesus. Even though, we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory (Romans 3:23), God sacrificed His son. Even though the wage we earn for sin is death (Romans 6:23), God allowed Jesus to die for us, so that we may have life!

God loves us. He proved it through his actions. It is because of this proof that we can celebrate (v. 11). It is because of this proof that we can face the uncertain days of COVID-19 with confidence. It is because of this proof that even when we feel alone, neglected, and unloved by those around us, we can remember that God loves us. He proved it!

Wonder:

How do we know that someone loves us?

Is it more important to say you love someone or to show it with our actions?

Do we ever wonder if God loves us?

How does God show His love for us?

How might you show love to those in your household during this COVID-19 pandemic?

Bless:

Dear God, thank you for proving your love for us. Help us to not only accept your free gift of salvation, but to realize we are loved by you. May that realization lead us to show our love for others.

Amen

Watch Treehouse Club Ep. 6 featuring Romans 5:8.

Coronavirus Family Bible Reading Guide - Through Easter!

If you are like me, you find it hard in your normal lives to stop, take a minute, and read your Bible together as a family…and I’m a pastor! Christians, and our Jewish predecessors, have prioritized storytelling as a part of training up our children in the way they should go. If something good can come out of this virus interrupting our lives, may it be that we find time to get in the rhythm of God’s grace through daily scripture reading, meditation, and weekly online worship…what do you have to lose!

Each week I’ll try to upload a video or two that cover some of our readings to help you out, but frankly, you spending time with your family reading God’s great story is the best medicine in this crazy time!  I know reading the Bible can be intimidating. I grew up in church and went to Seminary and there are still things I don’t understand, but this passage in Isaiah 55:9-11 gives me hope:

9 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

God’s word will not return empty! There is something powerful about the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 says that it the word of God is the Sword of the Spirit, and Hebrews 4:12 says, 

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God’s word is powerful. Fortunately, it’s not about “understanding” everything. If we just take the time to read it with our families, it can transform us! I will do my best to provide a daily blog post on the passage you can read with your families. The format and questions will be based on Elizabeth Caldwell’s method in her book, I Wonder. Here is a 5-part template for 10-15 minutes of your family Bible time: Enter, Hear, Pause, Wonder, Bless…

Enter:

Find a place where your family can sit comfortably together. You can ask questions like these (don’t feel the need to ask all of them!):

•       What made you happy today?

•       What made you sad?

•       Where did you see God’s love today?

•       Where did you give or received God’s love today?

•       For what are you most grateful?

•       For what are you least grateful?

Hear:

Read the Bible Passage. For younger children, a picture Bible may be used. 

Pause:

This might be hard at first, but take a few seconds, or maybe a minute to sit with the scripture in silence. With little ones, it may be a ten count, but we can sit still and let God’s word work!

Wonder:

Let your kids explore the story by asking some questions:

What was interesting to you?

Who were the main characters and what happens to them?

Why is this story in the Bible?

How can we connect with this story? OR When would be a good time to remember this story?

For older kids: 

How is this story different from the time and place in which we live?

Is there anything confusing about the story? (Feel free to comment with your questions below or contact a pastor if you don’t know all the answers! This is an opportunity for all of us to learn together) 

Bless:

Affirm what was discussed about the story.

Revisit the things the kids brought up during the “Enter” time.

Pray together:

Praise God, Give thanks, Pray for others, confess sins, Praise God!

READING PLAN

Below is our reading plan through Easter. The first reading coincides with our FBCW Treehouse Club At Home Edition YouTube video. Feel free to use it to get you started!