The-Link
Ministry Events
Kidztown Discipleship
Student Ministry Discipleship
Growth Discipleship
Kidztown Info and Events:
for more info email Shaun Watson [ shaun@bridgepointechuch.com ]
Student Ministry Info and Events:
- Graduate Recognition
What: We will be celebrating all of our High School and College Graduates. Please send a pic along with what school they graduated from to Amy.
When: May 20 - parent/student breakfast @9:30 AM with special recognition @11:00 AM.
Where: The Pointe
- Summer Camp
Where: Hilton Head, SC
When: June 18-21
Accomodaions: Holiday Inn Oceanfront
Cost: $400 + 4 Traveling Meals
Registration available at The Wall and The Pointe.
Adult Ministry Info and Events:
- Men's Golf Retreat
When: July 19-21
Where: Fairfield Glades, TN
Cost: $320
for more info email Shaun Watson [ shaun@bridgepointechuch.com ]
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Discipleship Questions for Week of May 20
The Big Idea: With God's help I can keep from doing wrong things that disobey God. With God's help I can say no to temptation.
The Bible Story: Jesus Was Tempted Matthew 4:1-11
Memory Verse:
Psalm 119:11
Connecting Points this week: Find Psalm 119:11 in the Bible. Read the memory vers and encourage your family to repeat the verse with you. Talk about the Bible story; note that Jesus remembered and said Scripture when He was tempted. When we learn and remember Bible verses, God can use those verses to help us when we want to do wrong things. Pray and ask God to help you and your family.
Choose verses to memorize as a family. Choose only one or two verses per week (at least initialy). Memorize this week's verse and last week's verse. Play games to remember the verses; for example as you drive in the car see if you and other family members can say the verse one word at a time (each person saying one word in order). Encourage each other as you work to memorize verses.
for more info email John Stamper [ john@bridgepointechuch.com ]
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Discipleship Questions for Week of May 20
The Question: How can my obedience influence the faith of others?
The Answer: Obedience to God not only impacts your own walk with God, but it can encourage others to do the same.
Living It Out: Students will list the benefits of obedience to God.
Bible Passages: Genesis 22:1-3,7-14; 26:2-5
Connecting Points this week: Briefly review Abraham's obedience in following God's command to offer a sacrifice-even when that sacrifice appeared to be Isaac. Read Genesis 26:2-5. Note how Abraham's obedience was passed to his son Isaac.
Questions to ask:
What makes it hard to obey God?
Why do you think we should trust God to provide for us?
How can obedience to God change our lives for the better?
In what areas of your life is God asking you to be more obedient?
Growth Discipleship
for more info email John Stamper [ john@bridgepointechuch.com ]
- Online Devotion (builds on current Growth Team Lesson) for week of May 20
A Lasting Legacy
Background Passages: Genesis 22:1-19; 26:1-5
2 The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about; 3 stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, 5 because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions."
(Genesis 5:2-5, HCSB)
In a Foreign Land
My dad grew up on a road that was almost completely populated by people related to him. His grandparents, almost all of his aunts and uncles, and numerous cousins lived on the same 3-mile country road. He had playmates ready to join him at any time. He could walk or ride his bike up or down it at any time of the night or day without any fear of strangers. That road-untouched by the years-is still to this day primarily occupied by his relatives. And it's neat, because few families live like this any more.
But that's not how it was during the time of Abraham and Isaac. You never left home. You stayed with your parents and their parents and their parents as long as you lived. They were not only your family; they were also your friends and your army. You built your house onto their house. You always knew everyone. They gave you your values, your environment, and your god.
This is precisely why it was such a big deal for God to ask Abraham to leave home (Genesis 12:1-3). You just didn't do that back then. Abraham was blessed by God, but surely He missed his family. In fact, when choosing a wife for Isaac, He sent his servant back home to find her (Genesis 24:4). There's just something about the call of family that makes long to go home.
After the death of Abraham, obviously the thought of going back to his parents' homeland crossed his mind, because God had to tell him to stay (see above). Why? What was wrong with letting him go home to people he could relate to and who would accept him?
Nothing, except that God wanted Abraham and all his descendants to depend on Him alone. He wanted them to be His children, His people, and He was to be their God. The tug and identity of family was perhaps too strong to keep them focused on Him.
God does the same thing for us today. Perhaps we don't physically leave home, but we see relationships dissipate. We watch our circle of friends change. People die, move, and change. We feel like foreigners in a community we've known forever. But maybe we're supposed to. Maybe that's God's purpose: to remind us that we're not home here.
The next time you feel like an outsider, consider that God may be calling you to re-identify yourself as His. Embrace your foreign heritage and know your Heavenly Father and Older Brother are always with you.
Digging Deeper: Why are we tested?
We will face various and repeated tests in life and we must not blame God as if He were doing something unfair to us. In fact, we do not need to see every test in life as coming directly from God, as was the case with Abraham and Isaac. God typically uses the inevitable life challenges and transforms them into tests that strengthen our faith. We should not expend a great deal of energy trying to figure out if God sends tragedies our way. God does not author evil or chaos, but He can transform both into something to potentially strengthen us. Neither should we spend time puzzling over why God allows tests or wonder why He does not protect us from challenges. They are simply part of life. The only variable is how we will respond when tested.
Think it through
What events can you recall in your life that have caused you to struggle and wonder if God would come through? How does the fact God provided for you strengthen and deepen your faith? How did God act on your behalf (or are you still waiting)? Was the provision "right there all the time"? Were you able to recognize at the time that it was God at work in your situation?