Foil reminds us that as Christians we are destined to be conformed to the image of Christ, reflecting Him in all that we do. It's not just being seen as Christlike, but God moulding us and shaping us into the image of His Perfect Son.
This week's lesson is centered around bubble gum. When I think of bubble gum there are a couple of things that come to mind. First, when you unwrap it and first place it in your mouth, it's kind of hard and not very flexible. But when you chew on it a while it becomes not only flexible, but you can then fill it with air and expand it to make huge bubbles. Chewing the bubble gum for me is a lot like meditation on God's Word.
There is going to be a tug-of-war in our spiritual life because God is always in the process of transforming us. Change causes tension and we are stretched. This week's lesson uses rubber bands for games and as an object lesson on the topic of being stretched by God.
It's not the bow that is important, but the gift it adorns. It is sad that so many people are enjoying all the wrappings of Christmas and the decorations, but they have forgotten about the gift - God with us - Emmanuel - the birth of Christ.
The first Christmas ornaments were fruits and nuts that were placed on Christmas trees and later eaten from the branches as part of the Christmas feasting. Over time other ornaments were added that brightened up the tree and added additional meaning and significance such as a star or an angel.
We are attracted by extravagantly wrapped gifts with red bows and colorful paper. But its not the wrapper we treasure but the gift. God sent his greatest gift - an innocent, defenceless, vulnerable baby, wrapped in cloths, not wrapping paper.
After the first year of the Plymouth colony, only half of the 102 settlers were still alive. Times were hard. At a later harvest, after a particularly tough winter it was said that each person had only 5 kernels of corn to live on each day. Yet they still gave God thanks in spite of the difficult circumstances.
In this youth Bible Study, Paper airplanes are used to remind us that we also do not have to be weighed down, but can fly to great heights in our relationship with God.
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