Popcorn Christians

Popcorn Plant

Corn Plant

Acts 5:18-20, 27-29, 33, 40b-42 - ¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” ²⁷ The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸ “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” ²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! ³³ When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴² Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

We discussed tonight how Peter and the apostles could have rejoiced after being beaten for proclaiming the name of Jesus. First, we had to go back and look at the miracle they'd experienced in being escorted out of prison by an angel. Of course they were willing to go back to the very place and do the very thing that got them arrested in the first place! They had just witnessed God by their side as never before. Who could be afraid of going to jail or even of being beaten after such a wonder?

We talked about popcorn Christians then, like Peter and the apostles were. I think we've used popcorn as an object lesson before, but it has so many good and different qualities, doesn't it?

Anyway, we talked about the history of popcorn a little and how the Inca Indians of Peru were raising and popping corn more than 500 years ago. The Incas didn't just grow popping corn though. They grew all sorts of corn. Some of the kernels were as big as quarters. The colors of the corn ranged from red, pink, and blue to brown and even black. We compared corn plants to popcorn plants then and showed the kids pictures of both. Popcorn grows on small plants and the ears are also small, unlike other corn plants. But it's not the outer qualities (size or beauty) of the kernels that make them so different, but the unusual inner qualities.

Popcorn, like a true Christian, is different not on the outside, but on the inside. It's having Christ in one's heart that makes a person a Christian. Christians can't boast of their own power or strength or wisdom. It's the unusual quality of Christ in them that makes them different. Peter and the other apostles could not boast that THEY had escaped from the public prison. Only Christ's power, strength, and wisdom could set them free in the manner in which they were freed.

The true character or nature of popcorn is not fully appreciated until it has been tested or heated by fire. It is then that the moisture inside the kernel turns to steam, which builds up great pressure. Finally, the outer skin bursts and then the entire inside of the kernel puffs out. Only popcorn kernels do this!! Grains of any other kind of corn may look the same, but they will not explode as popcorn does. They will only crack and dry up because they don't have the power to withstand the heat. Still, the unusual quality of popcorn doesn't show up until fire is put to it. Likewise, the unusual quality of Christians doesn't show up until fiery trials are put to them.

We talked about Daniel's 3 young friends who trusted God and were delivered from the fiery furnace and fierce flames (Daniel 3). We talked about the first martyr, Stephen, who proved his faith in Jesus by dying for him (Acts 7:55-56). The true character of Christians shows up when circumstances are hard. Then their inner strength is revealed. The true character of Peter and the other apostles was displayed every time they were imprisoned, every time they were beaten, every time one of them was mocked or even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. Go. Stand. Speak.

And again, it doesn't make any difference what you look like on the outside. There are yellow, black, and white popcorn kernels, but after fire is put to them, they all turn white. It's what's inside that counts. Amen!

Game Night!

It was our quarterly game night tonight and we enjoyed playing board games and fellowshiping with each other. We also recited memory verses tonight for the prize box and practiced our skit a few times through. We started talking about the lock-in tonight as well. Stay tuned for more details about our grand luau! Aloha!!

Movie Night!!!!

It was movie night tonight and we enjoyed fellowship, a candy buffet, popcorn, and drinks while lounging in Mrs. Helen's "blue" room and watching Amish Grace. Afterwards, we played Telephone, let off some of our sugar-induced energy, and watched Rachel's school talent show performance on the computer. Thanks Mrs. Helen and Mr. Victor for the awesome movie-theater-at-home experience...and the super long pixie sticks to take home!

Being Bold!!!

We had a packed night tonight. We worked on our accountability notebooks and also made some much-needed homeless brown bags before we had our lesson. For our lesson tonight we reviewed Acts 4:1-31 and the boldness of Peter and John. We have talked a lot in the past about our witness to others, how we can profess Jesus Christ as our Savior to others through our actions and speech, and how we need to overcome any fears or reservations we have in doing so.

So now it's time to put that teaching into practice! We are going to be working on some evangelism skits with the kids over the next few months. It's our hope and desire that the kids will be able to perform them for the TPCC family, as well as in places where there comfort zones may be challenged...at the homeless dinners, maybe at Prayer Stop one month, at community events, etc... Maybe we can even do some random evangelizing in grocery store parking lots and such. We'll figure out the logistics later, but for now, we're going to be working on performing skits that will powerfully display the gospel to people everywhere.

We showed the kids the first skit we will be working on tonight and they are getting excited about their roles in this skit. Stay tuned in for the drama!!

Also, it was pay-up night for the kids voting for Tara Fernandez to get slimed last week. Cake for everyone!!

Red, White, & Blue Crazy Night

It was our first crazy night of the summer and we teamed up with the STOMP youth group to help out all the M659'ers enjoy one wild night of jello, slime, and alphabet soup.

In one room, kids had to arrange the letters of the Pledge of Allegiance in order using just a straw in their mouth and alphabet soup letters.

In another room, using just spoons in their mouths, kids had to make the American flag using red and blue jello and mini marshmallows. They enjoyed eating their flags when they were done making them!

In my favorite room, kids got to use Borax, glue, and water to make gobs of gak slime! It was awesome. What did we do with the slime you may wonder? Well, the kids voted on who they wanted to slime at the end of the night. Thanks to my lobbying (and promise of cake for everyone next week), STOMP leader Tara Fernandez was chosen! She was such a good sport though, I couldn't let her get slimed alone. We had so MUCH fun!

We ended the night with Mr. Wes's crazy and insanely messy dish soap, water, and mud tug of war on a tarp out in the grass. As you can see by the pictures, there were no real winners in this game! For more pictures, visit TPCC's Mission 659 site!

Band Camp

Kirsten and Shannon spent a week at band camp this past week and rocked out with their band, Level 10. Kirsten sang and played the keyboards and Shannon played the bass and the drums. They were awesome! So far this summer, we've seen Rachel dance quite "awesomely" in her school's end-of-the-year talent show, Cailin perform in her school's final show, and Kirsten and Shannon jam in band camp. It's been great to see what you guys are up to when not in ZG. Keep it up guys! You all ROCK!

Vertical & Horizontal Living

Acts 2:42-47 - ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

We started off the night reading Acts 2:42-47 and listing on the board all of the characteristics of the believers in the early church.

• Devoted to teaching, fellowship, & prayer
• Filled with awe
• Together with other believers
• Things in Common with other believers
• Gave to others in need
• Had glad and sincere hearts
• Praised God
• Enjoyed favor of all people
• Numbers of saved multiplied

Then we talked about our relationships with other believers, as well as our relationship with our Savior. Our relationships with each other are best represented by the horizontal line of the cross. As believers, we need the fellowship we can have only by spending time together, worshiping together, praying together, discipling each other, and evangelizing together to add to the body of Christ's numbers. We need to need and be there for each other in addition to needing the relationship we have with our heavenly Father...which is best represented by the vertical line of the cross. It's a two-way street!

To demonstrate how we need each other and can be there for each other, we played a little game. We blindfolded one person and gave them a kickball. We told them their goal was to kick the ball out the door on the opposite side of the room. We spun them around a few times and then let them have at it. Everyone else in the room was encouraged to be as quiet as possible. After a few minutes, we allowed several other youth, chosen by the blindfolded person, to use their words to guide and give directions to help the one blindfolded reach their goal of getting the kickball out the door. We all saw how much easier it was to reach our goal with the help of other believers than it was to reach it on our own. We made it a little more challenging and lengthened the course just a bit too. At one point, the blindfolded youth had to make it out one door, down the hall, through the foyer, and in through the other youth room door!

We reminded the kids that, according to Paul, our goal is to become more like Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-15 - ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

We need our relationships with each other, as well as our relationship with Jesus (through prayer and His Word) to reach this goal! Friends can help keep us on the right path. God can use our friends to encourage us to keep striving to reach our goal. He can also use them to turn us around and get us going back in the right direction when we've strayed.

And once we have these relationships with each other and our Savior, we have a Spirit-filled church.

So what does a Spirit-filled church look like? It's healthy, growing with new believers, and multiplying in numbers all the time. It's a church that ministers to the needs of its own body, as well as to the needs of the community at large...through missions and outreaches. It's explosive in its example of Christ's love and the ministry He lived out when He walked this earth.

Explosive like...

Mentos and Diet Coke...oh yeah!!

To challenge the kids to give explosively of themselves and in a very practical way, we introduced them to the eBay Offering Challenge. We asked each of the kids to bring in something of value (monetarily and of value to themselves personally) that they would consider a sacrifice to part with. It could be an electronic device, a collection, a doll, a video game...whatever. We are then going to eBay each of these items and give the money as our gift to Billie Fogle to help with her ongoing medical expenses. Yes, we are going to sell our possessions and give to those in need...just like the early church believers did!

It'll be interesting to see what the kids bring in for this challenge! We challenged them to try and outgive each other, but reminded them that they can NEVER outgive God!