09.06.03 red

Red participated in the
ReDiscovering the Church Conference
sponsored by the Chattanooga Resource Foundation.

Can you show how this is true?

Think about it . . .

What are the next letters in the above sequence?

email me your answers!

What do you see in the picture?

scroll down to see it rotated--if that helps--

What do you see?

answer

Can you find the star?

Did you find it?

answer

A vast number of possible thoughts to think. . .

Wow, thinking can be hard and our natural tendency is

to do as little as possible!

Pretty bouquet of violets--what else do you see in the picture?

hint: the trinity?

answer

Life in many ways are like these puzzles.

We get messed up with our hit and run solutions--

We struggle with our preconceptions--

And we have a hard time seeing the complete picture.

During a football game, the players become very focused on that
small little ball and sometimes lose perspective.

The coach calls for a timeout.

A timeout may not be very exciting to watch,
but what happens during a timeout
may determine the outcome of the game.

No Timeouts, No Victory.

Life is like that.

We're busy playing the game.
We lose our perspective because we can only see things
from the position we're playing.
But the Coach, of course, can see it all.
It's worth it to stop the game for a little while to get the perspective of the one who's got the big picture.

If you're a child of God, that timeout is called prayer.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel 6:10

Even when Daniel knows it may cost him his life,
he will not miss his timeout with his God.

Did you solve that math problem?

hint: think in roman numerals

It isn't that we can't see the solution.

We can't see the problem.

G.K. Chesterton

Here's a tough puzzle--

Can you balance all of these nails --17!--all at one time--
on top of this nail head?

Go ahead and try it!

You can use any size of nail,
but they all have to be the same size.

You can not use glue, string, tape--
JUST the nails and nothing else!

One! Now just 16 more to go?

No, that's not the answer!
Just the nails, only nails!

Try again!

Our God is a lateral thinker.

Jesus loved to tell stories.

Parables.

Puzzles.

Not everyone understood.

His disciples came and asked him,

"Why do you always tell stories when you talk to the people?"

Then he explained to them,

"You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not.

To those who are open to my teaching,
more understanding will be given,
and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But to those who are not listening,
even what they have will be taken away from them.

That is why I tell these stories,
because people see what I do, but they don't really see.
They hear what I say,
but they don't really hear,
and they don't understand.

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:

`You will hear my words, but you will not understand;
you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes--
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.'

You will need to print this puzzle to try to solve it.

Cut these two pieces out and
place the cowboys on the horses so that they are
correctly positioned.

click on this link for print version

You may cut the horses apart, but you may not
cut the cowboys apart.

don't check the solution until you try it!
answer

Here's the answer to the math problem:

7 as a roman numeral

plus another 7 as a roman numeral--flipped

add together--

and this is the roman numeral for 12

Our problems can seem overwhelming,

we don't think that there is any solution

remember--

GOD IS A LATERAL THINKER

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD .

Isaiah 55:8

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:9

. . . and that nail problem?

can't be done?

the secret is in community

the nails working together!

alternate the heads of each nail on the base nail

seven on one side, eight on the other side

place the top nail and carefully lift up
the sandwiched nails and balance on the
head of the nail in the block

it really does work!

Together we wrote praises to God
and thanked Him for our blessings
we wrote them on red

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . .

In confession,
we wrote down things that
separated us from God
we wrote these down on gray

...Therefore put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything, to stand. . .

...Stand firm then,
with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace. . .

...In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one...

...Take the helmet of salvation...

...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions...

...with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:12-18

Do you see your face?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers,

against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . .

...Therefore put on the full armor of God

here is a prayer written by Jane during the worship:

Thank You for restoring our childlikness in confronting our "problems" of life into

opportunities to see our Daddy solve /move on our behalf/work through us

confounding the world and delighting/entertaining/enjoying/celebrating His kids-us!

God bless you.

check out previous red worships--archive

Resource List for 09.06.03

The Holy Bible (Message, NAS, NCV, NIV, NLT)
online

1000 Play Thinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions & Games
buy the book

The Art of Optical Illusions
buy the book

No Time Outs, No Victory devotion by Ron Hutchcraft
devotion