Proud As A Peacock & Thinking Of Others

For the second week in our Pride/Humility series, we put up two different stations.

The first dealt with ways we are proud. We had a sheet challenging people to think of ways they try to make themselves look better than they really are. They were instructed to write this down & then put it in the shredder.

The second station was based on Philippians 2:3-4 where we are directed to think of others as better than ourselves. We had a sheet with the scripture passage on it & had people write down two people that they should put first & how they could do that. They would then keep the paper with them during the next week as a reminder to look for ways to put others first. You can check our 2up original for these two stations here.

Filled With Pride

This week was the first in a two week series on Pride. We bought a bag cream colored ballons & had them on the countertop along with several rubber stamps, a stamp pad, and a trash can. We included the following instructions for participants.

Stamp a balloon with an image. Now blow up the balloon. This inflated balloon represents being filled with Pride. Notice how the image is distorted and faded. As you let the air out of the balloon, commit to God to release your pride.

Sand in trays

We had a station several weeks ago where we used 5 small black plastic trays about 1/2 inch deep and maybe 6X8 inches. We filled each with some colored sand and had a small (bigger than a toothpick) dowel with each. We included instructions at each directing participants to play with/move the sand & ask God to speak to them. The sermon topic was Mission (Movement, Action, Risk) & they should just work w/ the sand & pray.

What do you KNOW God wants you to do?

For Sept 11th, our sermon topic was 'Truth Demands a response of obedience.' We put out a poster with the question, "What do you KNOW God wants you to do?" along with the passage "James 4:17 - Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." We had a basket of markers & some scripture references & had folks write down what they know they should do.

New Bridge DJ site

OK. I had been playing with a Bridge DJ site on my home computer with my DSL connection, but now I'm experimenting with a webhost. You can find the site here. Let me know what you think of it.

The Bridge has a DJ

We have been having a house DJ for about a month now. I dusted off my mixer & got a couple of used turntables & there ya go! My good friend Keith will also be gracing the decks from time to time... For some pics & a 100 MB download of my first set (sorry its a bit rough), head on over to http://ggghomepc.gotdns.org/finished/index.htm This is hosted on my home server so apologies if it buffers at all. Please comment - what do you think?

Sorry about my silence...

Well, it’s been too long since a post here… This is what’s been up. I had a web development class last fall & was going to use the contents of this blog for my site. However, the site could not contain anything that had already been on the web, so I stopped blogging so the new content could go to the class project. The project site worked out ok & gave me a bunch of great ideas of stuff I’d like to do – a full blown site instead of a blog. However, after weeks of being out of the habit of blogging – I stopped. Shame on me. We’ve had a few weeks there where we had no fresh stations at church; kind of a dry spell. Then out of nowhere, an email from someone who was looking for Good Friday ideas & he had stumbled across the site. WoW. Someone else is actually reading! So, I only needed time to sit down at my local coffee shop and type out what we’ve been up to. Here are the station ideas we’ve used for the past few months. Hopefully you might find them useful. Oh, and by the way, the guy who sent me the email also sent a GREAT station idea, so I’ll be seeking his permission to post it for you all.

Light under a basket?

We had a basket upside down with a very short lamp underneath. We then had a sign that said: “Lift up the basket and take a peek. You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14-16)

God board

We got a stiff foam board and a bunch of sticky notes and pens & the following sign:

Write down a word or phrase that describes God and put it on the board.

1040EZ?

The Sunday before Taxes were due, We had income tax return forms & had two signs. One asked, “What does it mean to render unto Ceasar that which is Caesar’s?” and the other asked, “What does it mean to render unto God that which is God’s?”

Prayer knot bracelets

We had a bunch of hemp bracelet strings cut into about 8 or 10 inch lengths and the following sign:

Think about the prayer needs in your life…

Take a length of string and tie a knot for each prayer needs.

Take the string to someone and ask them to tie it around their wrist as a bracelet. Ask them to pray for each of the knots – each of your prayer needs during the next week.

What does God want?

One week we had two sheets out for folks to write on. One had “What I know God wants all Christians to do” and the other had “What I know God wants me to do.” Here are the results we got.
All Christians: love mercy, pray without ceasing, fear not, trust Him – have faith in Him, go into all the world & share His gift of salvation, be an ambassador, praise Him.
Me: be creative, forgive, be patient, love others, be selfless, pursue Him.

Then we had a sign with the following:
Think about what God means when his word says:

Delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. -Psalm 37:4

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. - Psalm 145:18-19

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. -Romans 8:5

Safety pins & oatmeal

Based on an old baby shower game, we had a bowlful of uncooked oatmeal & some safety pins & the following sign.

Sometimes we think it’s hard to know what God’s will is for our lives.
It’s like we’re trying to pick safety pins out of oatmeal without looking.
It’s not an impossible task, but it’s easier for some people than for others.

Without looking,
Try to pick out five safety pins.

How hard is it to discern God’s will?

Food for the homeless

For a few weeks now, we’ve been trying to focus our evening service to think about serving others. In an effort to do this in a practical way, someone suggested having a station where folks put together a small bag with a plastic Gatorade bottle, an easy to open canned food item, and a dry food item. This way, if you are asked by a homeless person for some food or cash for food you will have food ready to give. This was a great idea.
Update – After failing to make a bag for myself, I had two chances in one day to have given out a bag – I’m making several to have in my car this week.

Confession of sin

One week we had a station for prayer. We had a sign posting the Anglican/Episcopal prayer of confession:

And so that we may prepare ourselves in heart and mind to worship Him, let us kneel in silence, and with penitent and obedient hearts confess our sins, that we may obtain forgiveness by His infinite goodness and mercy.
Please read the following to God:
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your name. Amen.