For the third week in a row I only had one student, so we moved on to something different, something just two of us could do. I felt I should post the lesson we failed to have for two weeks though, just so everyone can see what we should have done.


This week’s lesson, From Judges to King: The Appointment/Anointing of Saul looks at 1 Samuel 8. It says:

1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abi'ah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
4 ¶ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
10 ¶ And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
19 ¶ Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20 that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

Newspaper reporters are known for asking Who, What, When and Where. We’re going to answer those questions today as a group.

• Who was involved in the story? Make a list of all the persons mentioned.
• What was going on? Make a list of all the action words/verbs.
• Where is this story taking place in Israel’s history? Why is that significant?
• Where is this story taking place?

Israel really wanted to do the same thing they saw the nations around them doing. That’s something we can all identify with.

How can we relate to this?
• Three things I have wanted because everybody else had them.
• Three things I’ve done because everyone is doing them.
• Three things I like because everyone else likes them.

We’re looking for the following volunteers:
• One person who wanted something very badly and when you got it, you found out it
wasn’t as good as you thought.
• One person who wanted something very badly, didn’t get it, and is happy because you
didn’t get what you wanted.
• One person who wanted something that would cost more than it ended up being worth.

• How easy is it to identify with what the Israelites are asking for here?
• Was it wrong for them to ask for a king? What were they really asking for?
• Why was this issue such a big deal?
• God gave in and gave the people what they wanted. Why did He do that?

Re-read 1 Samuel 8:7-9
We’ve talked a lot about how God is redeeming all of humanity and creation. Even when the people asked specifically for a king to replace God as their ruler, God did not abandon them. If you were in God’s place here, what would you have done and why?
Here’s the cool thing about the Bible: It’s not the story of what happened one time somewhere far away. It’s the story of humanity.
This means it’s a story that is happening right now in our times and in our own lives. We see people rejecting God for a king of their own making all the time.

We did the handout drawing ways people have forsaken God and are serving other gods.
We then shared our pictures and listen to Switchfoot’s “Meant to Live”.
• Do you agree that people want more than this world has to offer?
• Do you feel like you were meant to live for more that what you have right now?
• If God were going to use you to accomplish one thing in the world, what would you want
it to be?
• How have we perhaps lost God’s bigger Story inside our own smaller stories?
• The lyrics as, “Have we lost ourselves?” Do you think we Christians have lost who we are
inside God’s story?
• How might your life be different if you were to remember who you are in God’s Story?
What would change in your life if you started behaving like someone God was going to
use to change the world?

Found this great cartoon from my favorite stip, Frazz by Jef Mallett, it really tied in to the lesson from the last couple of weeks so I thought I would put it up to share with everyone.

Another Off Week

Another week of only one student, just Tanicia and I this week. We did much the same as last week, read through the scripture passage, discussed what was going on in the passage, and talked about thing we want, do and like and why.

It struck me today, that in a society where the goal appears to be keeping up with everyone else, we often take for granted the thing we already have, and that it is only when these things are truly needed that we understand their role and importance in our lives.

I am sure you are wondering by now where I am going with this, so bear with me. The long list of things I did this week included several thing which I have and often take for granted, but when they were not there or working properly, I truly understood how much they mean. First on the list of things I did not have this week was my plow truck. Due to a broken front spring I was unable to plow snow on Monday when we got a good 6" of snow, and I had to drive my other truck Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, three days of two-wheel drive on slick and snowy roads. Not only was I not able to clean my driveway, but those I plow for other people also had to wait until Wednesday night to be done.

Now that was more than enough of having to deal with not having the things I take for granted, I thought. I was asked by Benjamin to provide a reference for an internship he is hoping to get, no problem there, simply fill out the forms, write a nice letter and fax it to the organization. The only problem was the fax machine I usually use at work decided to quit working, so I had to scramble around and get a friend of mine at the LSSU Housing Office to let me use their fax machine to send out the reference. I don't think I will be taking the fax machine, which we have since fixed, for granted any time soon.

Today was the best example by far though of taking things for granted. Almost everyone knows I have had issues this year with the water line to my toilet freezing (a record three time so far this winter). That problem, with the use of a heat tape, pipe insulation, and styrofoam insulation along the walls of my crawl space by the bathroom, seems to be solved. The coldest weather so far this year is upon us and the toilet is working fine. So what you ask. Today when I went to take a shower, I found the hot water lines in my house were frozen, requiring me to get re-dressed and crawl under the house to thaw.

While it would be nice if I had a newer plow truck, or a better fax machine at work, or a more insulated crawl space, until I didn't have these thing I take for granted daily, I didn't understand exactly how blessed I was with what I did have. As I finally showered, I thought about how God gives us these great gifts and how, all to often, we take them for granted and fail to use them, then when we need them they are gone, forgotten and lost.

Maybe it isn't so much that we want what others in society have, maybe we are just trying to figure out what we already have and aren't using.

From Judges to Kings

Today's lesson was suppose to be from Judges to Kings, focusing on 1 Samuel 8. There was only Robin and me, so we read the scripture and talked a bit about times where we wanted, liked, or did things because of what others had, liked, or were doing at the time. The point of today's story was that Israel wanted to be like the other nations around them, they no longer wanted to be ruled by God's appointed Judges, instead they wanted a king so they would be the same as the nations around them. Part of the problem was the behavior of Samuel's sons. Instead of ruling justly they took bribes and practiced corrupt justice.

Samuel went to the Lord with the wishes of the people and prayed that the Lord would help solve this difficult situation. After hearing Samuel's prayers the Lord finally told him to make the people of Israel a king.

What we need to realise is that we are all different, we may share beliefs and opinions, but we are different people. Much like the great mosaics of the past, all of the different pieces come together to form a beautiful work of art. By themselves, they are just a colored rocks, together they form something great. This is much the same with us, alone we are just simple people, together we are the Body of Christ, and we can do amazing and beautiful things if we try and work together as one.

Soundtrack for Your Life

In their hit song Stand Up, the Christian rock group Superchik writes:

Stand up write the soundtrack for your life
It doesn't happen to you,you happen to life
Stand up, do something with your life
It doesn't happen to you, you happen to life

In the October Credo Journal from our Sunday School Class we were given the task of creating a playlist of songs that describe your life. As soon as I read this I though of this song. The whole point of this song is that we shouldn't be afraid to take chances, we should stand up and live our lives. So what songs would you pick if you were to describe yourself in music? What song would other pick for you?

As for myself, what songs would I pick?

Music Box Dancer

From elementary school, the one song that stands out, and when I listen to it now is still amazing is Music Box Dancer. My Kindergarten teacher Ms. Kelly was also our music and Band teacher at the time. During music time she would often play this song. She sat at the old beat up piano our school had with her head down and her eyes closed, a slight smile on her face as she played. At the time I didn't think much of it, I later learned that she had played concert piano with the Radio City Philharmonic before moving home to Michigan to take care of her mother after her fathers death. For her that simple yet extremely elegant song reminded her of happier days. That was the last year she taught, her mother passed away and Ms. Kelly left teaching and moved to Chicago to play for an orchestra there, but she was not forgotten, at least not by me. When I hear Music Box Dancer today I got back to a simpler time when everything was right in the world and I close my eyes and smile remembering the teacher who taught me to love music.

The Boxer--Paul Simon

"In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains "

In middle and high school I was the Boxer, not simply because I got into more than my fair share of fights, but because at every turn I was cut down. I had my high school guidance counselor tell me in 10th grade not to worry, the world would always need ditch diggers. I took that as a challenge and graduated with honors, but many were the times when I cried out enough and wanted to quit. The people I went to school with either saw me as the daring rebel or the misfit loser. Unfortunately for me, more of the people in my school chose to see the misfit. There were only a small handful who knew the real me.

Runnin' Down a Dream--Tom Petty

I left home and joined the Army when I was 19. I had reached a point in life where I had no idea what I wanted but I knew it wasn't going to be found where I was, so I went looking. In all the years I was away, Ft Knox KY, Edgewood MD, Camp Hovey Korea, Aberdeen MD, and finally Ft Hood TX, I never found that thing I was searching for in life. I met a number of amazing people along the way, from the youngest Drill Instructor ever in the US Army, to a Staff Sargent who served in Germany with my second cousin and remembers seeing pictures of me from when I was little. I made friends all over the world and saw amazing things, but the dream escaped me. I realize now, in looking back, we were all running, some of were running towards something and other were running away. Most of us never found what we were searching for or escaped the things that were chasing us.

I am a Rock--Paul Simon

I am a Rock describes me when I came home from the Army better than anything else, I didn't need the world, I was fine on my own. It took a long time for me to begin to open up and let people back into my life, I had been hurt and it wasn't a pain I was eager to feel again. So I locked my self in and shut out those around me. When something threatened to break though my walls I would strike out in violent anger. Then things changed.

All Star--Smash Mouth

After the Army I went on to Graduate from LSSU with a BS in History and a Teaching Certification. When I graduated I mailed a copy of my transcripts back to that guidance counselor along with an invitation to my graduation. I had gone farther and seen and done more that anyone else from my high school class. I was a world traveler with a college education. So much for digging ditches.

Wonderful Tonight--Eric Clapton

I met Tymberlee while at LSSU, and my life changed, here was someone I could open up to, someone who almost always looks on the good side of things. She didn't care about my past, she was only interested in the present. We went out for a few years and I finally asked her to marry me, after I finished school of course.

Wonderful World--Louis Armstrong

A couple years after getting married Mattie was born and life changed again. The old me started to resurface, but they loved me anyways. I realize now that it is indeed a "Wonderful World."

But is that how it really ends? If this were a movie of my life, as the credit rolled over a series of snapshot from my past you would be hearing Jimmy Buffet's "A Pirate Looks at 40". I lived a crazy and wild life before settling down and getting married. People often ask if I regret my past. I always answer no. I have lived and amazing life, I have seen and done more than 90% of the people I know. As Amber Deckers, author of Ella Mental and the Good Sense Guide said, "Never regret something that once made you smile." So what do I have to regret?

The Judges--God's Chosen Leaders

Before I get started I should give a bit of a what's what and who's who here. My name is Charlie Goff (that is my wife Tymberlee and daughter Mattie in the picture) and I am the Teen Sunday School Teacher and Teen Age Level Director for the Sault Ste Marie, MI First Free Methodist Church. What all of that means is that I get to try to teach teenagers, those fun and ever delightful young almost adults, the Word of God and to help guide them into a fuller relationship with Jesus. I also help them transition into adult roles within the Church as full productive members. To this end, one of my former students took her place as an adult today as she started her new role as a Sunday School teacher herself. So hats off to Sara, welcome to the club and good luck. I also have the great job of helping plan activities for the kids and teens of our church and community and then watching them have fun. With all of that said on to the meat of today's post: the lesson. Texts in bold print are taken from our lesson book.

This weeks lesson started with a couple of questions:
Where did you see God at work in the world around you this week?
Where did you see God at work in you this week?

For the 1st question, that one was easy for me. I have long been concerned about Sara and her role within our church. Many of the older members of the congregation have watched as she grew up through the church and even though she is now in college, they still see her as the little girl from 10-12 years ago. Today she was seen in a new light and stepped forward into a new role as Sunday School Teacher. It was good to see her sitting at a table with her class around her. At the same time Benjamin is home from Law School for Christmas Break. He goes back later this week. To see the confident young man he has grown into from the somewhat shy boy that moved to our church 9 1/2 years ago is good. These young adults who sat in my class and watched me stumble and fall have gone on and are doing great things, so I must be doing something right.

As for where I have seen God working in me, I feel God is giving me a new sense of patience in dealing with difficult situations both at home and work. I have been dealing with new employees who need a great deal of guidance and a very strong willed 5 year old daughter, she obviously takes after her mother, both of which have pushed me to the point where I thought I could take no more, and God has been there to help me.

This week's passage was Judges 6:11-24 which says:


11And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
23And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

God gave Israel the judges to lead them on His behalf and to help them walk closer to Himself. Without godly leadership, Israel had a tendency to forget God time after time. How does this story fit into the big picture of God's plan of redemption for humanity? How do we see God at work to redeem Israel?

The handout we did as a class had the following:

• If I were Gideon I would be feeling...


• How do you imagine Gideon felt before his encounter with God? What would it be like to be attacked and ravaged by other people?


• How did it feel to hear the words, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior"?


• How do you imagine Gideon felt when he found out he was the one chosen to rescue his people, Israel?


• What would it have been like to see fire flare up out of the rock and consume the meat and bread that were on it? How would that make you feel towards God?

As a class we decided that if we were Gideon we would have been scared. Before his meeting with God Gideon has a poor self image. He was the lowest of the low. It was also decided that being attacked and ravaged were not things anyone would enjoy. To hear the Lord call us mighty warrior would be a great rush; if God thinks we are mighty warriors who are we to argue. And to be chosen from the bottom of the list to lead the Army of the Lord would be a great feeling. As for a rock bursting into flames and burning the food, WOW, and what does God have in store for us next.

If we keep reading, we find that Gideon obeyed God and assembled a great army. God dismissed all but 300 soldiers to make sure the Israelites would know it was God who won the battle. Then Gideon followed God's orders and the battle was won.

But how does all of this connect to us? If we read on we hear:

Gideon had no idea what he had inside himself. He listened to the voices around him telling him he was weak and worthless, and telling him that God abandoned him and his people. We're going to take some time to think about how the voices around us can hide who we really are in God.

We spent sometime thinking about these questions without answering them aloud.

• What do others say about me?


• What do others say about God?


• What do I say about myself?


• What do I say about God?


• What does God say about me?

Living out the Story

The Israelites stopped loving and worshiping the one true God and instead began following the popular god of the day, Baal. What gods are popular today? What things do your friends at school give their hearts to? What might it look like for you to stand against the popular gods of today? What might need to happen in order for you and your friends to love and serve the one true God?

We decided the false god of our modern day is Facebook. Many people let Facebook and the things they read there run their lives. Without Facebook they feel at a loss, they cannot connect to the world around them in a real manner. They feel the 1000 "friends" online are more important than the one real friend they could have in Jesus. To stand against Facebook is not a popular stand. I do not have a Facebook account, or a MySpace, or any other social network type account. I do have a Twitter account where I keep in touch with different runners and athletes around the world and can track the Detroit Red Wings. I also get update from places like Quizno's and Cliff energy bars mainly for the coupons. When I want to talk to someone I go see them, call then on the phone, or send an e-mail. There is honestly no need for me to know that Ryan is eating pizza or that Sara is doing homework. If I cared I would call and ask what they are doing. To be able to love and serve God you need to put aside the distractions of the world and truly connect not only with others, but with ourselves as well. Social networks give us the illusion of connection, but they distance us from both the world and ourselves.

Even though Gideon did not think he had what it took to lead the Israelites, God said, "I will be with you." Despite what we think we can or cannot do, God can do more than we can ever imagine through us if we allow His presence and power into our lives.

So what are you capable of doing today? Are you going to listen to those little voices telling you that you can't do something or are you going to trust that God will be with you and push on to the finish?

Next Week: From Judges to King