This past Sunday marked the end of Set 1 materials as we wrapped up with the topic of Being Fully Dedicated to God. First, we took a summary look at the past 6 meetings:
Strong for the Lord in Your Youth - (understand the value and potential of your youth and be excited about God’s plan for your lives, especially your teen years. Goal was to give you a new vision and direction for these years, and encourage you to make your own commitment to seek God’s Best in your lives.)
A Close Relationship with Parents - (Authority is a good thing, not a bad thing - it is God’s design. This may be an area of struggle for many girls at this age, but if you want to be strong for the Lord during your teen years, it is absolutely necessary that you obey the Lord in this area now. There are great benefits of authority and the way you respond to your parents now is how you will respond to other authorities in your lives and ultimately, to God. Understand the importance of inward submission, not just outward obedience. When you obey and honor your parents - you are obeying and honoring God!)
Keep a Clear Conscience - (Little sins which are never made right will affect us our entire lives. Each of us have made mistakes and sinned against the Lord and others, but we can obtain a clear conscience by going back and asking forgiveness from those we have offended and wronged. This is very difficult to do but the rewards are great and more than worth it. Desire and long for a clear conscience and be committed to getting a clear conscience no matter what it takes. It is especially important to maintain a clear conscience with your parents. God gives grace to the humble!)
A Disciplined Walk with God - (If you want to be growing spiritually, you need to be “feeding” yourself. While you are still young, develop patterns of biblical disciplines in your lives. Make a commitment to read God’s Word on your own everyday. Consistency is important. Start small (maybe just 5 minutes a day) and as it becomes a pattern in your live, it will be easier and easier to maintain and continue to strengthen your disciplines. Don’t give up if you miss a day or get discouraged. Keep pressing on! It takes endurance.)
Fear of the Lord - (One day we will all stand before God and give account to Him. We should continually evaluate our lives to make sure that our continual goal is that of 2 Corinthians 5:9, “Wherefore we labor…that we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done.” The fear of man is a snare and a trap; it is subtle and we often do not see it in our own lives. The best way to overcome the fear of man is to learn to “be in the fear of the Lord all the day long.” Prov. 23:17)
Accepting God’s Design For You - (God has a plan for your life. He has created you exactly the way He wants you to be. Young ladies often have major struggles accepting God’s plan for them and are discontent and overly concerned about their outward appearance. Since God is the One who designed us, we are actually blaming Him if we do not accept ourselves the way He made us. Many girls have not thought of it in this way before. Thank the Lord for the way He has created you and for the plan He has for your life. Trusting that the Lord’s plan is perfect, especially thank Him for some area of your life or outward appearance that has been difficult for you to accept.)
Next, I gave a little teaser for Set Two:
B.R.I.G.H.T. stands for? (Being Radiant In Godliness Holiness and Testimony)? The first way we shine our light is by our own life, as learned in Set One. However, another important way to shine our lights is by having ministry to others - we’ll be discussing some important ways about how to do this in Set Two!
Notes for the new topic:
I. Being Fully Dedicated (Devoted, Loyal) To God
A. Where is Your Focus
1. Guard Your Heart - Proverbs 4:23
- "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (NIV)
- "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." (NLT)
2. No One Can Serve 2 Masters - Matt. 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
We talked about idolatry and how you could insert anything in the place of 'Money'...entertainment, material goods, relationships, self...etc.
B. Understand the Purpose of Your Life - Colossians 1: 10
“….so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
It will be easier to get off course if we don't understand our purpose in being here.
C. Endurance!
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
The Christian life is not for whimps! It takes courage, endurance, focus, diligence and the like. It is a 'walk' that will last all our lives long. We talked about how God is faithful to help us 'stay the course' and how He will use a variety of means to guide and encourage us along the way.
D. Reward - Matt. 6:19 - 21 Treasures in Heaven
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Reward is a great motivator, amen?! While we can't do a single thing to earn our salvation, it is encouraging and motivating to know that we can store up heavenly treasure. Going along with the theme of guarding our hearts against idolatry, is this focus on heavenly (and eternal) reward versus earthly (temporal) rewards. Finally...some personal application of today's lesson.
E. Application - Dedication / Rededication to God.
Spend time with God and pray for Him to reveal idols in your life. Confess them, ask for His forgiveness and pray that He alone would be Lord of your heart.
Our activity this time was focused on our younger Bright Lights, ages 11 and under. They have a new ministry to our older girls during tea time - serving them and practicing good Tea Time Etiquette! First we did a quick refresher on some basic table manners:
-Chew with mouth closed...never display chewed food in your mouth! Yuck :(
-Don't play with your food. It is wasteful and disagreeable for others to look at.
-Only take as much as you can eat...if there is only 1 item left, it is very polite to leave it for someone else.
-Eat over your plate...there should never be heaps of crumbs around your area, squished into your chair, or on the carpet beneath you. A clean area is a blessing to your host or hostess as well as to the others at the table.
-Stay in your seat unless you need to leave the room (lay a napkin on your chair to signify that you are planning on returning...leaving your napkin on the table signifies you are done and don't plan to return.)
Next, we took a look at what the conversation should look like around the tea table. It should be polite, not vulgar, rude or discomfitting in any way. Listening politely and not monopolizing conversations shows consideration for others...and vice versa, overcoming timidness and partcipating in the conversation helps others to get to know you. Use inside voices and endevour to keep only one converstation going at a time...when multiple conversations begin occuring, it's easy for girls to feel left out and for volumes of voices to rise higher and higher. And of course, no rude noises are acceptable.
We will continue to study Tea Time for the next several meetings, learning about the history of tea, various Tea Times, varieties of teas, and Tea Time Etiquette!
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