Element Christian Church

We are in our series called Coloring Book all-stars about the biggest (or biggest stories) in the bible...the ones you typically find in kids bible coloring books. Today we are going to look at a biggie (other than Jesus), MOSES. Moses is a guy almost everyone likes, Jews, Christians, and even Muslims. Moses was an Israelite by birth, but the story of Moses is largely a story of God’s calling. God called Moses (a murderer) to be LIKE God, and to deliver the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh. The story of the Exodus is the story of redemption; God hears our cries and intervenes on our behalf.

Welcome to Coloring Book All Stars Week 9. We are taking 12 weeks to look at “heroes” in the Bible, those you would see in the pages of kids coloring books, comic strips or even cartoons. These are the stories and people we have lifted up to place of near perfection. We’re taking a close look at how the Bible shows them as messed up men, people as messed up as we are. This week we look at Gideon.

We are in the middle of a series called Coloring Book All-Stars, where we look at the most popular stories and characters of the Bible (outside of Jesus) and begin to understand them in a more human context. It is Element’s hope that we will no longer idolize these characters, but view our “heroes” as broken people who have received God’s grace. This week, we look at the story of Noah and the great flood.

This week we are looking in the book of Daniel, specifically the story of Daniel and the lion’s den. We learn once again that the book of Daniel is largely about issues of the heart. Daniel, like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego finds himself in an uncomfortable situation because he refuses to deny the one true God. This story starts off with Daniel blessing the new king. Daniel recognizes he is called to be a blessing because God has blessed him.

This week we are looking in the book of Daniel, specifically the story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and the fiery furnace. We learn that this story is a story about identity and control, not just a cool example of faith when a believer is being tested.

Today will be different as we are looking at a non-Israelite. Some of you may have heard of him, but many of you probably haven’t. You may be wondering why this man is a Coloring Book All-Star if we don’t know who he is…the answer is that Aaron thinks he should be one, so he is including him. His name is Naaman and the story takes place in 2 Kings 5. The story is full of surprises and odd requests, but it is also a story of God finding His people.

This week we look at the story of Elijah and the false prophets of Baal. The story of Elijah is ultimately a story about the God of the universe who wants to reveal Himself to us despite the fact that we betray Him and put our faith and hope in false gods. In the Story of Elijah there are many different characters; God, Elijah, Baal, the prophets of Baal, Ahab, and the people of Israel.

When I read the story of Samson, the first question that comes into my mind is naturally, “How far is too far?” When we read the story of Samson we learn that no sin is innocent; every compromise leads deeper into a lifestyle that dishonors God and moves us further into our own personal hell. Sin also tends to affect and infect not only the individual, but the whole community. Samson is a Coloring Book All-Star, but when we truly read his story you will see why being a Coloring Book All-Star does not make someone a hero.

David and Goliath feels to us like the rise of the underdog stories we all know and love. David, fits the mold for a Coloring book all-star. David was a 10-12 year old boy who, in a tournament of champions, faced Goliath the giant who held the philistine heavy weight belt, and killed him. When we read this story we often tend to think of David as the most epic tween ever. The interpretation of the story focusing on David is lacking, it was not David who killed Goliath, but God used David to destroy an insurmountable opponent.

Today we start with John the Baptizer— not John the Baptist. Often times when people read the Bible they will use upward comparisons, this means we tend to deify the people in the Bible giving them legendary status. However, when we do this we often neglect to look at their flaws and forget they are human. By understanding the “All-Stars” flaws we will hopefully gain a better understanding of God’s grace which will allow us to understand how Jesus is also working in our lives just like He was working in theirs.

We can be better Children here on earth by listening to our Heavenly Father (God), by obeying our Father (God), by loving our Father (God), and by praying to our Father (God). This is why our priorities are so important and why being an image bearer of Christ under the direction of the Father is so important. How we serve our families, and ultimately live on mission, comes out of our understanding of who God is, that He is our Heavenly Father. If our priories aren’t in check, then we quickly become lost.

The scriptures present believers with a great volume of information to consider. Some issues the Bible is firm and others are left to the interpretation of the reader; the former are called closed handed issues and the latter are called open handed issues.

When we center our lives on the person of Christ, our grace expands, our love expands, and most importantly, we become less exclusive and our circle expands to be as large as Jesus’.

Figure out where God has gifted you, embrace it, love it, and live in it. Jesus redeemed us from our lost way of life, from our wanting what others have and judging those who don’t have what we have. We use all He has given us to glorify Him and serve one another.

The idea of a pure church only finds its purity in Christ...not ourselves. Thankfully Jesus is the one who taught that first.

If we do not want to become Pharisees we must develop the ability to (1) learn from the past without idealizing the past, and (2) speak the truth in love.

2 Timothy 1:7 says that God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Many times parenting is scary, especially for new parents that aren’t totally sure of what they are doing. No parent wants to hurt or crush their child. However, when we live our lives in fear instead of walking in God’s freedom, we do exactly that--we crush those around us. We set up little gods or idols for ourselves that cannot handle the weight of godhood; they cannot bring lasting satisfaction or real salvation.

We are sent to the world to make disciples, not make them all look the same. The heart cry of our culture today is unity, and yet the only way for our world to come together is in Jesus.

Today when we say, “Pharisee,” it usually conjures up all sorts of negative connotations. While those negative associations will mostly be what we cover in this series, I also want you to understand that the Pharisees, of all the religious orders at the time of the resurrection, were the ones who had the most members who ended up following and surrendering their lives to the risen Christ.

Friday Jesus was executed. Saturday was the day of silence on the earth. Sunday the world changed, not just for Jesus’ early followers, but for all of us because Jesus rose from the grave.