Bellevue Bright Lights: February 2014

Monday, February 24, 2014

Complaining and Murmuring

Our meeting Sunday before last, was on the subject of Complaining and Murmuring. We had 2 visitors join our group, which we're always happy about! Please keep promoting our group to your friends as we're always accepting new girls who are interested in joining a discipleship group!

Finally, before I get into the meeting notes, please take the time to watch this 4 minute video with your girls that Sarah and Grace Mally (founder of Bright Lights) put together on the validity of Scripture in response to the recent debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye, in which Mr. Nye questioned the authenticity and reliability of Scripture, likening it to messages being passed on in a game of Telephone.

(For those of you not familiar with this game, one person whispers a message into another person's ear, that person does the same to the next person in the circle, and so on, until the message gets to the last person and they have to say it outloud...usually by this point the message has gotten very confused and mixed up compared to the original message. It's a fun game to play at a party, sure to get a lot of laughs...but is in no way representative of how God's Word has been passed down to us.)

Our girls need to have a ready answer when someone asks them, "How do you know the Bible is true?"...

Click on link below to watch video:

http://vimeo.com/86578040

Set 5 Meeting 2 Complaining and Murmuring

Illustrations and Stories

Joseph

Israelites in the Wilderness

Paul and Silas in Prison

Personal testimonies

Sword Drill

Job 5:17 Matt. 5:10-12 1 Cor. 10:10 2 Cor. 4:16-18

Phil. 2: 14-15 Jas. 1: 2-4 Heb. 12:11 1 Pet. 4:13 Jude 16

Main Concepts

Whenever we complain, we are actually complaining against the Lord. Complaining demonstrates that we are not fully trusting God.

Most people are so used to complaining that they do not even realize they are doing it. In a normal home, various forms of grumbling are usually heard every few minutes. How often do you murmur or speak words of discontentment?

The Lord’s command is not simply that we do not complain, but that we actually rejoice in suffering! See upcoming “problems” as exciting opportunities to purpose to give thanks in everything…then we can wait in expectation to see God’s plans unfold.

Additional material

Why might God allow suffering in our lives, why is it necessary, and how does He desire us to respond?

Establish the habit of giving thanks to God for every problem, big or little…be willing to give thanks first and understand why later.

Make a list of the many rewards and benefits which Scripture explains will result from suffering.

Before You Meet Prince Charming

Craft

Tea

What is a Bright Light?

It is a girl who has given her life to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation and for the grace to live each day according to His will. It is a girl who knows how to respond "just right" to people and circumstances, demonstrating godliness in her actions and attitudes. It is a girl who has Biblical convictions and commitments (holiness), and is able to go through her teenage years strong for the Lord without stumbling as many do. It is a girl who touches the lives of others by her servant’s spirit, her radiant countenance, and the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ (testimony). God wants bright lights! There is a great need for more of them in this generation of darkness.

What does a typical meeting look like?

What is a Typical Meeting Like? If you were to attend a Bright Lights meeting, what would it be like? At each meeting the leader shares a lesson covering important topics that are essential for girls in order for them to be strong for the Lord in their youth, such as:

Developing a Close Relationship with Parents
Gaining a Clear Conscience
Spending Time in God’s Word Everyday
Keeping Yourself Pure from Polluting Influences
Accepting the Way God Created You
Choosing Wise Friends
Contentment
Sensitivity
Humility
Self-control

The lesson is reinforced by testimonies from older girls in the group. At Bright Lights meetings, we also enjoy singing, fellowshipping with likeminded young ladies, listening to biographies of great Christians from history, preparing for future ministry opportunities, enjoying other activities together, and snacks (often with tea in china tea cups).

Each girl receives a Bright Lights binder that she brings with her to the meetings each week. After each lesson, she receives a new handout to add to her binder. The Bright Lights curriculum is organized into eight sets which you can view here.

Statement of Faith

1. Everyone has sinned and broken God’s laws. Because the penalty for sin is death, each of us deserve to spend eternity in hell in separation from God. We are totally incapable of achieving heaven on our own. There is no way we can be good enough to attain forgiveness from sin or achieve eternal life by our own works.
2. God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sin. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He paid the penalty for our sin and took the punishment that we deserved.
3. Forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life is offered to anyone who will repent of their sin, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Redemption is wholly by the blood of Christ, and salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and the final authority for our lives. It is literal, historical, and infallible.
5. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
6. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God, born of a virgin, sinlessly perfect. His sacrifice is substitutionary and representative. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand, where He now ministers as our Great High Priest.
7. Jesus Christ is coming again to rapture His church, and subsequently to return and reign over the earth.
8. God created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) by His spoken word in six literal days as the Bible states.
9. There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost to either eternal life or eternal judgment.
10. A true child of God who is justified by the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit is safe and exempt from God’s judgment and thus secure for eternity.