I bet that you know verse 16 of John chapter 3 by heart. In fact, I think it’s the most popular verse in the United States. People quote it, they write it down on posters at sports games, they wear the reference on a bracelet. You name it, it’s probably been done.
 
Did you find yourself saying the verse in your own mind once I mentioned it? I did and it reminded me of something I was shown a long time ago. We all know at least in our heads that Jesus came to earth to save us because He loved us. But what does that mean to us really, like deep down in our hearts? In order to understand better, my teachers told me to put my name in the place of “the world” in John 3 verse 16. So I did…

Just when we think we have Jesus figured out, we find we are wrong and misunderstood just how kind and loving he is. This happens to me a lot. I think I have something figured out and then I see another perspective (or usually someone shares their thought and I go.."Oh yeah")

That's what happened to the disciples when excited children tried to visit with Jesus. They thought the children were too little, too young, too rambunctious, to matter to Jesus. Boy were they wrong. Jesus told them to let the children through. He wanted to spend time with them too!

There are other examples of misunderstanding in this week's lesson. Plainly Jesus tells the disciples he will die and rise again on the third day. But it didn't make sense to the disciples and they didn't ask questions. They knew the Messiah was going to conquer the Roman government and make their life better. But the Messiah was here to save them from a must bigger, more destructive enemy...sin.

I pray you enjoy reading and sharing with your special ones this week.
Blessings!
Mr. Chuck

Have you been able to eat anything yet today? Strange question, but work with me. I’m sure you’ve eaten something. And when you did, the food went down your throat into your stomach. Your stomach then broke the food down with its powerful acid and then your body extracted the nutrients it needed to give you life and energy. Kind of funny, because when I started writing, I was eating a chicken Cup Noodles. Not many good nutrients in that!
 
When the food was absorbed, it became a part of you. The old adage, “You are what you eat,” is true. It really should be no surprise to us, then, when Jesus talks about being the Bread of Life. He’s not saying that we need to eat Him, because that would go against other commands in His Word. He’s saying that we need to get our sustenance for life and our energy to do good, from Him. Our relationship with Him should be so close that we can live our lives on the Words of life He offers.
 
Last night, we celebrated a Passover Seder as a church. In the story of the Exodus, God asked the people to sacrifice a perfect lamb and to eat its flesh and put its blood on the mantle of their door. When the angel of death came to their house, it would pass over because he would see the blood of the sacrificed lamb and that would save them. 2000 years ago, Jesus, the perfect and final Passover Lamb, fulfilled God’s promise of sending a Messiah and allowed Himself to suffer and die in order for His blood to save us.
 
Through both of these examples we see that God has sent His salvation. In fact, pastor Daniel Nessim said last night at our Seder that in Hebrew it is “God has sent His Yeshua.” Do you know what Jesus’ name was in Hebrew? Yeshua! There is no doubt whatsoever that the Jesus that we love and worship came to give us all a way of salvation through His sacrificial death and through His daily bread-guidance. 

​Ivan

Hi Parents!
This week's chapter covers a lot of ground like last week's did. We see some of the different ways Jesus taught the people He loved. He used parables like the sown seeds on different soils. the lost sheep, the lost coin and the good Samaritan. He also preached sermons like the sermon on the mount and Beatitudes. 

Jesus continues to use miracles to heal people and cast out demons.

Randy Frazee closes this chapter in the book titled The Heart of the Story with this: "It is not enough to think of Jesus as just a great man. In the  Lower Story, we may meet many great men and women--celebrities, politicians, actors, professional athletes. If we want to rise above the day-to-day circumstances of our lives, however, we must be prepared to meet someone who redefines the word extraordinary. We have to make the same commitment Jesus asks of all his followers."
​
Believe in the one the Father has sent.
Blessings!
Mr. Chuck

Have you ever been stumped as to how to understand what God’s will is for your life? For anyone that professes to follow God, this is probably something that comes up continually. There are times when it seems easy to understand what God wants us to do. But at other times, it’s mystifying. God’s will isn’t followed spontaneously on large and challenging decisions, but is learned through obedience in small, normal, daily decisions.
 
This week’s chapter (23 in The Story) is about Jesus starting His ministry. Throughout the chapter you will see that Jesus confirms again and again that He has come to do the will of God in Heaven. Jesus humbled Himself in His baptism, trusted God for His sustenance, relied on God’s Word to rescue Him from temptation, and rested in God’s will for Him to be the long-awaited Blessing for the entire world. Jesus’ relationship with God and desire to do His will was so strong vertically that He didn’t fall horizontally.
 
We often find it tiring to obey God even in the smallest matters, which consequently leads to us wobbling back and forth in following Him. May Jesus’ example encourage us to understand God so well that our relationship with Him makes us stand firm.
 
Ivan
 
(Below are some Scriptures that show God’s will for us. Sometimes we make things too difficult in trying to discover God’s will. At times, God is silent in His direction because He has already given us His will to follow in many aspects.)
 

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - It is God’s will for you to avoid sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.
• Luke 9:23 - If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
• Micah 6:8 - No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
• Mathew 6:33a - Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously.
• 1Timothy 2:3b-4 - God our Savior who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
• Romans 8:29 - Be conformed to the image of His Son.
• James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
• 1 John 3:10 - By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
• Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• Mark 12:30-31 - And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
• Ephesians 5:28-29 - In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.
• Ephesians 5:33 - And the wife must respect her husband.
• Ephesians 6:1 - Children obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do.
• Ephesians 6:4 - Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
• Ephesians 6:5-7 -  Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
• 1 Peter 2:13-15 - Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
• Titus 2:3-5 - Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

 
For Jesus:

• John 6:38-40 - For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” 

Carol is reading a book about the Ego. There are several examples of great people who lost it all because they let their ego get in the way. I have the same problem. Every week I sit here thinking how you must all love to get my weekly notes about The Story and how eager you are to get your family involved in a discussion about this week's chapter and the parent page I attach to my email. It's Thursday and only one parent has asked if I sent it yet. It causes me to wonder...

The chapter this week shows us how Jesus conducted His ministry. He was all about helping the people, teaching them about God and the Good News. He wasn't the ruler or conqueror of the Roman government they were hoping for. But He changed lives in a huge way.

There is a lot of stuff packed into these 3 chapter from Matthew, 3 chapters from Mark, 1 from Luke, and 5 from John. I see Jesus consistently putting the people before the man made laws the religious leaders were so proud of. Some of them were very good rules, but they fell short in many ways.

John makes some good points. Chapter 1, verse 4 and 5...In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood.

and

Chapter 21 verse 25...Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have enough room for the books that would be written.

Blessings!
Mr. Chuck