Tag: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Posted on

Crowning Moment

Every year, my daughter & I love sharing our identity as “true princesses” to different groups of girls. I can’t even tell you the joy it gives us to see these little ones light up in response to hearing that they are exceedingly special to the King! At the end of each talk, my helpers & I have the little girls try on crowns we’ve brought. Here’s my favorite part: We have each girl turn and look at herself in the mirror with the crown on! Each girl-every time-every year-responds the same way-they smile!! My prayer is always that they continue to believe who they are in Jesus as they grow up. Some kind parents have asked for a copy of this little talk to discuss at home. Finally, I remembered! Here are some example notes and a bit of the talk time! May it bless your girls!

 

CROWN Talk

 All of us love to dress up and play princess! Today, we noticed that you can look like a princess. But, is that enough to make you a TRUE princess?” Could God-the TRUE King-have anything to say about this? Yes!

I. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life! JOHN 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

II. We are all sinful and separated from God. ROMANS 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

III. Jesus Christ is God’s only substitution for man’s sin. ROMANS 5:8 “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

IV. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior. REV. 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to Him.”

Your Crowning God offers each of us a new identity-as TRUE princesses! Can you picture Him offering you this crown? Now, when does this crown become yours? When you take it! This is just like the gospel of Jesus. We receive our new identity as TRUE Princesses of a GREAT King when we respond in faith!  PRAYER “Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making a new person…a TRUE princess!”

Princess Power (Follow-Up!) Did you receive Jesus? The Bible promises eternal life to all who receive Christ. “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:11-13)

Princess Training Time (How to Grow!)

1. Read the Bible to grow into your identity as Princess.

2. Pray-you can tell the King anything! He wants to help you! You are His special Girl!

God has a plan for you, sweet princesses!

 

Posted on

Amos Bible Study!

Me and my pal Abby Perry loved putting Amos study together with our friends, Carolyn Jones and Buck Anderson!

Many of us at Grace Bible Church have loved going deep into our Amos bible study! Many of us have studied much of the Bible but had never stepped into Amos. Why study this book? Amos is sandwiched into a section of Scripture called the “Minor Prophets”. Maybe it’s just me, but I think I avoided this book because it seemed so very “minor”. Can there be anything new to learn here?
YES! The 9 chapters of Amos portray a typical society in human history that had become consumed with its own importance and eventual abandonment of God’s preeminence. Throughout this book, God used Amos to call our attention to the PRIDE of Israel, the IDOLATRY of Israel, the SOCIETAL EVILS of Israel, and the impending JUDGEMENT on Israel. Amos is sent from Judah to Israel to point out the people’s sin and to point up to God’s constant mercy. God shows Himself in this book in fascinating ways. How?

  • He is a LION who roars in response to His people’s disobedience.
  • He is the divine JUDGE who will call to account His people’s idolatry and subsequent oppression of their fellow men.
  • He is the CREATOR who sits above the vaulted sky and orchestrates the symphony of time.
  • Finally, He is who He always is–the patient spurned FATHER who asks His people to return to Him because He loves them completely!

This book is so very timely for us.
Whether ancient Israel or Rome or America, the SOCIETAL CYCLE OF IDOLATRY AND OPPRESSION always follows a typical pattern: a society blessed with physical prosperity is often disregards God which leads to neglecting other people. We are forever ignoring what Jesus called the greatest commandments, “to LOVE GOD AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.” His judgment is consistently executed on disobedient civilizations. If we are to learn from the book of Amos, we must ask ourselves some questions: How much of the world’s values do we weave into our Christian faith, not realizing we’ve compromised the exclusivity of God and become idolatrous? How much of our society’s love of luxury has wounded fellow human beings made in His image? Finally, how do we get out of this cycle?
SEEK THE LORD. The most glorious and hopeful section of this book centers in Amos chapter 5 where three different times, God offers Israel a divine escape hatch and opportunity for cultural restoration. He offers FULL PARDON, FULL HEALING, and FULL BLESSING if they will seek Him and Him only. He is the Ever Patient One.
The book of Amos will challenge, convict, and renew our hearts. He will enable us to see our culture more clearly & guide us to responding appropriately to His loving leadership. We will see age-old patterns of human (and God’s) history dropped into these 9 chapters and boldly shared by the prophet Amos. Not bad for a “minor” prophet. 🙂

You ready for the challenge?

Download this FREE study at www.grace-bible.org!
Tristie Fisher, Abby Perry, Carolyn Jones, Buck Anderson

 

Posted on

WANT better relationships? Say these things. Don’t Say these things.

ALL of us want great relationships! How can we change them? God can help us!

THINGS NOT TO SAY

1. Anything SARCASTIC. Sarcasm is the world’s attempt at humor by tearing another down and then applying the bandage of “Just Kidding!” I learned a quote from my hubby, “Sarcasm always contains a kernal of truth.” In every relationship, sarcasm always leads one person to think, “Do they really think that?”

2. Anything DEMORALIZING about an individual’s appearance or behavior.  We can challenge ourselves to turn away from this age-old (and socially acceptable) form of bullying.

3. Anything impugning AUTHORITY. When my kids were little, I remember thinking, “Wow!The greatest example I can give my kids is to honor God, my husband, the governing authorities in my life, and other people. ” The Bible  is very clear about following well. Great leaders always follow first .

THINGS TO SAY

1. Anything that is BUILDING. A great action verb! Let’s ask ourselves, “Am I an encourager?”. It seems like a discipline but over time, but “verbal building” becomes a language. Gather some gal pals and challenge yourselves to  write down 3 positive things about people in their lives. REHEARSING TRUTH CHANGES LIVES! I’ve seen this rescue marriages!

2. Anything that UNITES.  Many of us know how to do this!This is nearly natural. SHARED EXPERIENCES + SHARED GROWTH=DEEP FRIENDSHIPS. This builds lifetime friendships & encouraging relationships.  This is the kind of positive habit that can actually heal.

3.Anything that LOVES. Maybe the greatest satisfaction in our lives will be that we left a LEGACY. We all  to have a legacy that honors God, our marriages, our children, and our friends.

A legacy of kindness is truly a legacy of reward. God wants to give us this gift today!