Be Like a Tree Planted by the Water In the Sunshine by Linda L. Linn - HTML preview

The next boy commented, “I like to think that verse 15 goes with the verses before and after it because it makes them all more important. Verse 2 tells us, to speak evil of no man, to not be brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness to all men. I wish everybody would live that way!”

“For sure,” said another boy, “then nobody would have to say verse 3. At one time we were foolish disobedient, deceived, serving other pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”

 

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“Exactly,” then Hugo observed, “I’m glad I get to read the next two verses together. Verses 4 and 5 say, But after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, he saved us according to his mercy, not according to our works of righteousness. He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. These two verses are a very good summary of how we were saved.”

“Yes they are,” Luis concurred, “and I like the word ‘abundantly’ in verse 6, whom he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, because it reminds me of the synonym ‘extravagantly,’ which means even more than enough.”

A different boy nodded and said, “Definitely, and verse 7 has some more of that extravagance by saying, so that being justified by his grace, we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

“Precisely,” Jose went on, “the next verse reminds me of verse 15 and goes on to tell more about how to live because verse 8 says, This is a faithful saying and you should affirm them constantly, so that those who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.”

Pedro finished, “Yeah, and Verse 9 has really good advice. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and fighting about the law, for this is unprofitable and vain.”

William commended them, “You did a very good job today, boys, and I enjoyed writing your comments beside the references in my notebook so I can review them later.”

Since he was finished, Greg said, “That is the end of this lesson.”

Max remarked, “I like the scriptures in all these lessons. I wonder if we could find some songs that would go with some of the ones in this lesson.”

The other boys nodded their agreement and they all started looking to find some.

“I found ‘Grace Greater Than Our Sin,’ and it goes with Titus 2:11,” Levi suggested.

“Good one,” agreed Cory, “I found ‘I’ll Live for Him.’ If we live for Jesus who died for us we will do what verse 12 says to do.”

“Right,” Daniel went on, “and a song called, ‘Looking for That Blessed Hope,’ goes very well with verse 13 and 14.”

Max said, “Yes, and Titus 3:4,5, could go with the hymn, Saved, Saved!’ It has a fun tune.”

“I agree,” and Kevin added, “another song for Titus 2:11,12 is ‘We are Heirs of God Almighty,’ It also goes with Titus 3:7.”

Oralie applauded, “Very good you guys! Now we have some other songs to sing and accompany ourselves on our guitars.”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e rrrre e e e ea a a ad d d d tttth h he h e e n e n n ne e e ex xx xtttt p p p pa a a arrrrtttt of “Become Honorable People.” It was one where Karen and William were teaching the older children about respecting authority. Karen began by saying, “It’s important to

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respect those who have authority over us. First and foremost we need to respect God’s authority. Please find Daniel 2:20-22 and read it with me, … blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his. He changes the time and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings, he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that know understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness and light dwells with him.”

Then she continued, “These verses were written by a young man named Daniel, who had been taken captive to Babylon, a country far from his home in Jerusalem. He submitted to his new rulers but also knew that the God he had learned about in Jerusalem was the supreme ruler above all others. So Daniel gave God the credit for all the help he gave to him.”

Sara asked, “So if people praise us for something we did, what should we say?”

Karen responded, “I think it would be OK to thank them for the compliment, and then thank God for the abilities and help he has given to you, but don’t act proud of yourself.”

Sara nodded, and Karen went on, “The next verses were written by Paul in Romans 13:1-3. I’ll read you a summary of what he said, Let everyone be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but the ones ordained of God. Whoever resists the power, resists the ordinance of God, and … will be condemned. Rulers are not a terror to those who do good works, but to those who do evil. … Do good and you will not be afraid, but will have their praise.”

A girl remarked, “It’s like when someone’s driving too fast and he sees a police car, he immediately slows down.”

“Exactly,” agreed Kim, “but I've seen my new dad or mom who always drive the speed limit just keep going that speed without worrying about the police car. They don’t have to be afraid.”

Karen nodded, “Yes, it’s a good feeling to not have to worry because you know you’re following the rules. This next verse in John 19:11, explains more about how a ruler gets power. Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me, except that given from above. Therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin. Jesus said this to Pilate when he was on trial. Jesus knew he was sinless in God’s eyes and therefore he let the people carry out their plan to crucify him, so he could make the way to forgive all people who would believe in him and what he did.”

“I’m so glad Jesus did that for us!” Candy exclaimed.

The rest of the girls and Karen nodded emphatically. Then she continued, “The apostle, Paul, told a young pastor named Titus to remind them (his congregation) to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to do every good work, to

 

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speak evil of no man, to not be brawlers, but gentle showing meekness to all people. This is found in Titus 3:1,2.”

June remarked, “I’ll bet he said that so the other people would be able to see the difference it makes to be a Christian.”

“Precisely,” commended Karen, “look up 1 Peter 2:13-15, and you’ll see something similar in the last verse. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, or to governors, as if they are sent by the king for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of those who do well. For it is the will of God, that by doing well you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

Another girl declared, “Oh, I do see it.” The others nodded.

“Very good.” Karen stated, “knowing the command and the reason for it, will make it easier for us to do what it says. For our last set of verses please find 1 Timothy 2:1-4.”

Karen had one of the other girls read it, “ I urge you … to pray, intercede, and give thanks for all men; for kings, and for all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Karen finished, “I’ve noticed that when I pray for the people who are in authority, it’s easier for me to respect them and do the things they say to do. You might want to try it.”

Oralie finished by saying, “The end. I’m interested in what your comments will be for this lesson.”

Kevin mentioned, “This is a good lesson for me to remember at school when a teacher tells us what to do and in my mind, I don’t want to do it.”

“Right,” Cory agreed, “and it will be much the same with the bosses of our jobs when we are old enough to be on our own.”

Max nodded and continued, “Yes, and it was helpful to learn that God is the one who gives people power to rule.”

“True, but some rulers abuse their power,” stated Daniel. “Then we obey unless it goes against what God says to do.”

And Levi added, “And we pray for them as it said in the last verse they looked up in this lesson.”

“Those are all good comments, boys,” Greg complimented them.

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g rrrre g e e em m ma m a a arrrrk kk ke e e ed d d d, “I’m glad we were all able to get our chores finished quickly this evening, because this next section of ‘Become Honorable People’ is pretty long.”

William taught again from some verses that would help the older boys become real men, good husbands, and fathers. He began, “If you know God wants for you to be married, this first verse is for you. Listen as I read 1 Peter 3:7, “You husbands, dwell with your wives

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according to knowledge, giving honor to your wife, as to a weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. This verse clearly states that men should know how to respect their wives and be in unity with them since both are believers. Otherwise their prayers will be hindered, meaning they will be delayed, held up, even stopped.”

William continued, “1 Timothy 3:1-15, lists good qualities and bad behaviors for men and women. In my opinion, they would be good for all people to develop or to avoid, not just bishops and deacons. If you ever want to be one, though, you need to start developing these qualities now. Follow along as I read one or two verses at a time. We can discuss them as we go.

“ This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, be vigilant, sober, of good behavior, be hospitable, be able to teach,”

William explained, “A bishop here, means an overseer, not a high leader in the church, as many modern dictionaries say.”

Sam had looked up “vigilant” in the dictionary and added, “Vigilant means to be watchful, observant, attentive, and alert.”

Another boy took the dictionary and found, “Sober means not drunk, but other synonyms are: clearheaded, abstinent, and someone who does not drink.”

“Thank you, boys,” said William. “Knowing what the words mean helps us understand the verses better. I’ll continue, not likely to drink wine, not a striker, not greedy for money, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous,”

The dictionary was passed around and a boy explained, “A striker is someone who hits or assaults with his hands.”

Evan read, “A brawler is a person who’s in the habit of having noisy, rough fights or quarrels. I can see why neither of those would be good qualities for a church leader.”

Another boy read, “Covetous means wanting to have something that belongs to someone else.”

William agreed with them and continued, “ one who rules his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity. (For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Here, ‘in subjection’ means that he can control them in a good way.”

Carlos found and read, “With gravity means with seriousness.”

Gary mentioned, “I like the words inside the parentheses. They make very good sense.”

“I agree with you, Carlos and Gary. I’ll continue reading. He should not be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he could fall into condemnation … A novice is a beginner, or learner, or new believer.”

 

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A different boy commented, “It takes time to learn the things a person would need to know to be a good leader.”

“Yes, it does,” agreed William. “The next verse says, Moreover, he must have a good report of those who are outside the church, …”

Sam exclaimed, “Yeah, it wouldn’t look good to have a person nonbelievers didn’t respect leading the church!”

“Exactly,” agreed William and then he continued, Likewise, the deacons must be grave, not double-tongued, not likely to drink much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”

From the dictionary, Evan read, “A double-tongued person lacks integrity, honesty, and isn’t sincere. He’d make a terrible leader!”

“Yes he would,” William concurred, “and he’d also be a terrible man, husband and father. Here’s the next verse, First, these should also be proven, then let them have the office of a deacon, if they are found blameless.”

Carlos asked, “Does proven mean it’s like they have to pass a test to show they have the necessary qualities for being a deacon?”

“Yes,” said William, “I think that’s a good way to put it. The next verse is exceptionally important for you to do as you look for a wife. Be sure she has the correct qualities and no bad behaviors. Their wives must also be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Slanderers make false statements about others that damage the person’s character.”

Gary remarked, “She needs to be a very good woman.”

“You’re right, indeed!” emphasized William. “Women like this cannot be found just anywhere. You need to look in your church, preferably in your small group and observe them long enough to know a lot about their character before you even consider dating them. … The next verse says, The deacons should be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

A boy mentioned, “There are several qualities repeated for both kinds of church leaders. Usually repetition means it’s very important.”

William nodded emphatically and then read the next verse. “Those who do well in the office of a deacon will purchase for themselves respect, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Then he explained, “Paul was writing to Timothy, a leader in the church in Ephesus, as it says in chapter 1, verse 3. Then he said, ‘I write these things to you hoping to come to you soon, but if it is a long time, you now know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.’ Now that we’ve read and understood these verses, we also know how to behave ourselves in God’s church. If you DO what these verses say to do, then you will become real men, good husbands, and fathers. Plus you can be deacons or overseers in

 

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God’s church here on earth. I pray that all of you will work hard with God’s help to DO this!”

The boys nodded in serious agreement and left quietly.

Karen used the same verses for discussion and then focused on the parts about the men’s wives for the older girls on the ranch. She concluded, “It would be a very good idea for you to add those qualities for the men to the list Fiona supplied for you about things to look for in the man you might marry, if you know for sure it’s God’s will for you to be married. If you can find a man as good as the ones described here and in Fiona’s list, you’ll save yourself a lot of misery in your life, and have a happy, loving marriage where both of you can serve the Lord together. That’s my prayer for you!”

The girls nodded emphatically and left talking to each other about how important and helpful this lesson had been.

“The end of this lesson,” said Greg.

Kevin commented, “This was a very serious lesson and it had many helpful scriptures telling men and women how to live.”

“For sure,” Daniel agreed, “and I think it would be good to add the woman’s qualities to William list.

Cory added, “I think so too, and I will put a note for myself to do that when I get a copy of that list.”

Levi nodded, “There is so much to learn about growing up, especially if it is to be done correctly.”

“Exactly,” Max concluded, “and I’m sure we all want to grow up correctly.”

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g w g w w wa a as a ss s rrrre e e ea a a ad d dy d yy y to read from “Become Honorable People,” when the boys came back from helping Oralie with supper clean-up.

William and Karen taught a lesson on God’s promises for the ongoing Bible Study Groups. William began by saying, “God’s promises are precious and trustworthy. Today please use your concordances and find some scripture verses about things God has promised. Find three you would like to read and write a comment to share with each of them. Then if two others have the same ones as yours, you’ll still have one you can share.”

William gave them time to find and write comments and then they started sharing, with William being first. “I found Hebrews 8:6b, ( Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises. The promises for the old covenant weren’t as good and needed to be replaced by what Jesus did when he came to live a perfect life on earth.”

One boy commented, “Thank you for explaining that verse. I’ve often wondered what it meant.” William nodded his welcome and the boy continued, “I found Psalm 119:162, I rejoice about your word (promises,) as one who finds great treasures. To me God’s promises are huge treasures, because he always keeps his promises.”

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“I agree,” and Pedro continued, “and I think part of what makes his promises so special is that he has the power to keep them as it says in Romans 4:21, Abraham was fully persuaded that what God had promised, he was able to perform.”

“I think so too,” a boy went on, “I personalized 2 Peter 1:4a, which tells us the reason for his promises. God gave us exceeding great and precious promises, so we might be partakers of the divine nature…”

Hugo remarked, “Yes, and I think Hebrews 10:23 tells us how to act about his promises, Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful who promised.”

Another boy suggested, “Maybe the reason we can hold fast is found in 2 Corinthians 1:20, For all the promises of God are yes and Amen to the Glory of God… God doesn’t waver between yes and no about the promises he makes.

“I’m sure glad about that!” Jose declared, “because to me this next verse, 1 John 2:25, is the most precious of God’s promises. And this is the promise that he has promised us, even eternal life.”

“Absolutely,” a different boy added, “because of that promise, we have the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began, Titus 1:2. These verses go well together.”

Luis nodded and stated, “Yes, we might have problems here on this earth, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells, as it says in 2 Peter 3:13, and it’s because of those two verses.

“Good job everybody!” complimented William. “Now for the end of this lesson, find 2 Corinthians 7:1 and write it as a personalized prayer in your notebooks.”

After they finished writing he closed with his own personalized prayer for the last verse, “ Since we have these promises … help us cleanse ourselves from all bad things and become holy in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians 7:1.” And they all said, “Amen.”

Greg concluded, “This is the end of this short segment. It was full of very good scriptures.”

“Yes it was,” stated Max, “and I’m going to put most of them in my Thankful Notebook.”

Levi complimented, “What a good idea, Max. I’ll do the same, and I liked the comments the boys made to go with the verses they read.”

“So did I,” Cory remarked, “and the last verse William used is a good one to personalize and pray often.”

Daniel declared, “Ditto!”

And Kevin exclaimed, “Absolutely!”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e c e cc ca a alllllllle a e e ed d d tttto d o o tttth o h h he e e e boys, “Come and be ready to write some of the scripture references in the part of ‘Become Honorable People’ that I

 

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get to read today. For the first part, just change the word ‘women’ to men’ in your mind as I read.”

Karen and William taught a lesson on some of the virtues listed in the Bible. Karen began her lesson by having two of them find the definition of the word ‘virtue.’

The dictionary was close to Lisa so she read, “A virtue is a behavior or a quality that shows high moral standards, or is considered good, desirable, or useful.”

Then Nan read out of the Bible dictionary, “Virtue is moral excellence or goodness; having value or worth.”

“Thank you Lisa and Nan.” Then Karen instructed, “Next let’s read Proverbs 31:10 together, Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies.”

She continued, “I think we all want to be virtuous women. So now we’ll look up and talk about Bible scriptures that have some of the virtues in them. Maybe we can get some ideas of things we can add to our lives and make them part of our identity.”

She handed out small papers with references on them for the girls to look up and read aloud.

Stella found and read, “Colossians 3:12-15, Put on therefore, as the elect or chosen and holy and beloved of God, mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering or patience, forbearing and forgiving one another… and above all these things put on charity or love, … let the peace of God rule in your hearts, … and be thankful. I really like these verses and I have a copy of them in my Bible so I can pray for God’s help to put on these virtues.”

“That’s a good idea, Stella, so I’ll do it too,” then Christi read a summary of 2 Peter 1:5b-7,… add to your faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity or love. I think it’s interesting that the word ‘virtue’ is part of this list of virtues and they are all such good qualities.”

One girl admitted, “Yes, and I need to work on self-control and kindness the most in that list. Now I’ll read Ephesians 4:2, (Walk) with humility, meekness, patience, bearing with each other in love. If I would bear with people, I would probably be more kind.”

“Good point,” stated Ellie, “I’ll try to remember to do it myself. Galatians 6:9 says, … let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. I guess the virtue in this verse is well doing, and it would also include doing any of the virtues.”

Another girl mentioned, “All the words in those lists go very well with the definition Nan read out of the Bible dictionary. In Hebrews 10:36 it says, For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. This verse goes very well with the verse you just read, Ellie.”

“I agree,” remarked Hanna, “those verses show that we need to work on developing virtues and Galatians 5:22,23 says, the Holy

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Spirit produces this list in us. … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering or patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control… I’m glad for his help.”

“Same here,” Liz continued, “I’ll read Ephesians 5:8b-10, … walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. These verses go very well with your verses Hanna and I’m very grateful for the help of the Holy Spirit also.”

“Same here,” a different girl agreed, “and 1 Corinthians 13:4a and 7 also have a lot of virtues in them. Love is patient, love is kind; it bears and believes and hopes and endures all things.”

Emma commented, “We use Philippians 4:8 many times for other things but I think it goes well here also. I’ll say my personalized version of it. Emma you need to,… think about things that are true, or honest, or just, or pure, or lovely, or of good report or have virtue, or are worthy of praise.”

Karen concluded with, “I really like the way you girls read these great verses today and your comments helped this to be an outstanding Bible study. God bless all of you as you continue developing these virtues. Just remember this is a lifelong process and we have God’s help to do it. Let’s read the context for the verses Christi read to us earlier. It will help us see how God helps us.”

2 Peter 1:1–9 says, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained this precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According to his divine power, he has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue. By these, we are given exceeding great and precious promises, that by them you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped to corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue and knowledge and temperance and patience and godliness and brotherly kindness and love. For if these things are in you and abound, they shall … make you fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The end of this lesson,” said Oralie.

Max exclaimed, “That last scripture was very long, but it was a very good conclusion for the lesson.”

“I think so too,” agreed Levi, “the best part of it was where it said how God helps us. I’m glad we don’t have to try to do it alone.”

Kevin mentioned, “I’m glad I wrote the scripture references in my notebook. I think I’ll look them up and compile a list of all of the virtues without duplicates.”

“Great idea!” Daniel declared. “It might not seem so overwhelming by being consolidated and not so spread out.

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Cory stated, “I like that idea also, so I’ll do it too and I think I’ll add a prayer thanking God for the help he gives us.”

The list the boys came up with from all those verses contained the following virtues: mercy, kindness, humility, forbearance, well doing, forgiveness, knowledge, virtue, godliness, righteousness, truth, honesty, justice, purity, loveliness, of good report, praiseworthy, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control.

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g a g a a an n n nn n n no o ou o u un u n n nc cc ce e e ed d d d,,,, “As soon as all of you are finished with your chores I’ll read another part of ‘Become Honorable People’ to you. There will be some good scripture references to write.”

Karen and William both did a lesson for the groups who had lived longer on the ranch and farm. They called it “Praise, Bless, and Worship the LORD.” First William had Luis look up and read the definition of ‘worship.’

Luis read, “Worship as a verb means to show reverence and adoration and honor for God. Some similar words are, give devotion, praise, thank, glorify, bless, exalt, give respect, honor, esteem, love, cherish, admire, magnify.”

“Thank you, Luis,” said William. “Those are good words that can expand our understanding when we see them in scripture. Read them again slowly so everybody can write them in their notebooks. … Good, now find Psalm 71:8 and let’s read it together. Let my mouth be filled with your praise and with your honor all day.”

Hugo remarked, “It sounds like a personal prayer. But I don’t understand how it could work if it really would be all day.”

“I don’t either,” answered William, “and I ask the same thing for the next verse in Psalm 34:1, I will bless the LORD at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Maybe it’s exaggerated for effect. Remember the word, ‘hyperbole,’ from your English classes? I think some scriptures use that figure of speech.”

“Oh, yeah, it could be,” said one of the other boys who then wondered, “Do you think the people in Kosuke’s class for chaplains would have more time to praise the Lord than other regular jobs?”

William replied, “They might, especially during the classes, but they also have regular jobs to do during the daytime.”

Jose suggested, “Maybe the writer used exaggeration to show how important it is to praise God often and get people to thinking about doing it as often as is possible for them.”

“I like your idea, Jose,” responded William. “Now look up and read Isaiah 25:1a with me.” O Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things...

A different boy stated, “This is a good verse because it tells one of the reasons to praise God.”

 

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“Right,” agreed William, “and the verses that follow it tell some more reasons, even though we might not be able to relate to some of them because they went with things happening in those days. Now let’s read Psalm 95:6 together, O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

Pedro reflected, “I like the way we can raise our hands, bow our heads, or kneel as we sing worship songs at our church. It helps me concentrate when I get my body involved like that.”

“Good point, Pedro, “said William, “and our last verse for today tells why and how to worship. Find Psalm 29:2 and read it with me. Give unto the LORD the Glory due his name, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. I think this means to be reverent and keep our lives pure. Thank you for your good comments and questions today.”

Greg commented, “This lesson seemed a little short. I wonder if you could find some more scripture verses to go with it.”

The five boys got busy and looked. Daniel was first. I found Hebrews 13:15, By him, (Jesus) let us therefore offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually, which is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. This verse says thanksgiving is a way to praise God.”

Max said, “Psalm 106:1 goes with your verse, Daniel. It says, Praise the Lord. O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. It also has two reasons to thank him.”

“Right,” agreed Kevin, “and John 4:24 says, God is a Spirit. They who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. This is another verse that tells us how to worship him.”

Cory said, “That’s a good one, Kevin, and I like Nehemiah 9:5b, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. It sounds like a triumphant song of praise.”

“I agree,” and then Levi read, “Psalm 117:1,2, O praise the LORD all you nations. Praise him all you people, for his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever. Some day all the nations and all the people will praise him!”

T T T Th h h hiiiis ss s n n ne n e e ex xx xtttt s ss sc cc ce e en e n ne n e e e is a new one, written just for the short book. Greg read this part of “Become Honorable People” only to Cory, but would wait until the others were older to read it to them separately. Before he started, Greg suggested, “Cory, look for what he should and should not to do as a man. This lesson was for the girls on the ranch. All you need to do is change some words to make it relate to you.”

Karen taught about the importance of saving themselves for only their future husband to her classes that had junior and senior girls in them. First she explained that marriage is just one man and one woman. Any other way the world might explain it does not agree with what the Bible says. The way some of the world acts is clearly

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explained in Romans 1:24b-28. … They dishonor their own bodies between themselves. They changed the truth of God into a lie… For this cause God gave them up to evil affections… even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature… Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men with men doing that which is indecent… And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a corrupt mind, to do those things which are not right. Verses 29-32 list all those things and state that those who do them are worthy of death.”

Karen emphasized, “These verses are especially important for all of you while you are single. Be very careful who you choose for friends! They can pull you right down with them into those sins if you are not on your guard. It would be best if you only choose friends from believers in Jesus who live as the Bible teaches!”

Next Karen had them look up and read aloud together the following scripture verses.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Flee from fornication, which is sex outside of marriage… He who commits sex outside of marriage sins against his own body. … Know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, … you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sex outside of marriage and that every one of you should know how to possess his body in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of sexual desires…

Hebrews 13:4a, Marriage is honorable … and the bed undefiled…

Ephesians 5:3, But sex outside of marriage and all uncleanness, … let it not be once named among you as becomes saints.

Romans 6:12,13, Do not let sin reign in your body by obeying its lusts. Do not yield your body as an instrument of unrighteousness resulting in sin. But yield yourselves to God … as instruments of righteousness.

2 Timothy 2:22, Flee from youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

On the ranch Karen emphasized, “The verses we just read together make it very plain that we need to keep sex only for the one we marry. Remember, repetition is a way to show how important a topic is, so you can see this is very essential. So if someone suggests and pushes for sex before marriage, just say, ‘No!’ Then dump that guy as not being worth your time.”

“For sure!” One of the girls stated, “I overheard a conversation at lunch about a girl being disgusted with a date she went on and a guy suggested it even on the first date. The girl she was talking to

 

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mentioned that she thought some guys just took girls on dates to see how many times they could talk girls into doing it.”

Another girl declared, “I am very thankful for the rule we have here on the ranch about no dating on the ranch!

“Same here,” continued the next girl, “but it’s good to know what to say after we do leave the ranch and start dating.”

The fourth girl admitted, “Maybe it would be easier to just stay single and not have to go on dates.”

Yes it would,” Karen inserted, “if being single is what God wants you to do. All of you need to pray for him to guide you about staying single or getting married.”

“Exactly,” the fifth girl reasoned, “The rest of the time we are on the ranch would be a good time for us to pray and find out what God wants us to do about this topic and about the rest of our lives.”

“Good idea,” said the sixth girl, “We have a big responsibility as we go out on our own when we are nineteen, and we need to know those answers ahead of time so we don’t make big mistakes.”

“I’m glad we are learning about these important things while we are here and still have time to prepare,” added the seventh. “And I’ll be sure to tell my roommate about this lesson since she had to stay home sick today. Thank you, Karen!”

“You’re welcome,” she replied,” and remember that the scriptures we read today are your sword to fight temptation. Plus, here’s an extra one for you. Joshua 1:9, I have commanded you to be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

The boys on the farm had similar thoughts and conversations during their class with William.

And then the young men and ladies on the farm and ranch all prayed and ask God to show them his will for their lives and to help them save sex until after marriage.

Later one young lady, who had graduated from the ranch, made a phone call to Karen and told her of an experience she had on her last date. Karen invited her to come to a special class she would set up on a Saturday so all the girls in eleventh and twelfth grades could hear her story.

The young lady came and shared, “I had gone on several dates with a young man I had met at work. On one date we went walking in the park while we talked about our opinions about issues on the list Karen gave to us before we graduated from the ranch. It was getting close to suppertime, and he invited me to go with him to meet his parents and have supper at their house.

“I agreed to go with him, because it sounded safe enough. When we got there his parents were not home, but he said not to worry, he could fix us some TV dinners for supper. We talked some more while we ate.

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“Then just as we were about finished he got up and went into his parent’s bedroom to see if it was ‘OK’ I surmised. When he returned he stated, while we finished eating, ‘What I would like to do, is find out if we would be compatible sexually before we would have any more dates, and we can use my parents bedroom.’ He said that they wouldn’t mind, because they had told him many times how important sexual compatibility is.

“I thanked him for supper, said no to his suggestion, and left before he realized he had forgotten to lock the front door. Since I had kept my purse on my lap during supper and I had driven my car to follow him to their house, I was able to get back to my apartment. Needless to say I have not, and will not date him again! And from now on, I will only date guys from our church!”

Karen and the girls all thanked her for coming to describe this experience to them. The girls promised to be very careful!

“That’s the end of this section,” remarked Greg.

Cory exclaimed, “Thank you, Dad, for reading this just to me so we can talk freely about it without my brothers! I wrote all those scripture references and will memorize them and keep my sword sharp. I learned that it is important for me to flee and abstain from sex before marriage. Instead, I need to yield my self to God and be righteous.”

“Well put, Son,” complimented Greg. “I’m sure you will do well.”

“Thanks, Dad,” responded Cory, “and I will never even suggest to my date that we could try sex before marriage! And I will dump any who suggest it to me!”

Greg added, “I can tell you realize how important this lesson is, and I’ll be sure to read it to the other boys when they get old enough. I hope they will feel the same way you do about it!”

“Same here,” responded Cory, “because otherwise they could ruin their lives in this matter.”

 

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8 8.... ““““C 8 8 C C Ch h h ho o o oo o os o ss se e e Y e Y Yo Y o ou o u urrrr E u E Ex E xx xa a a am m m mp p p plllle e es e ss s””””

Romans 12:2, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed

by the renewing of your mind, so that you may show the good,

acceptable, and perfect will of God.

T T T Th h h he e e e ttttiiiittttlllle e e e ffffo o orrrr tttth o h h he e e e s ss se e e ec cc co o on o n n nd d d d b b bo b o o oo o o ok kk k by William Beckett, and Karen Spencer, and others, was “Choose Your Examples.” Some of the segments in this book are new ones, but many of them are copied, with the author’s permission, from other books in the Sunshine Series, by Linda L. Linn.

Cory’s dad and mom, Greg and Oralie Iverson, took turns reading the book to all five of their boys with time for comments, questions, and answers. Greg would read the parts done in William's Bible study groups, and Oralie would read the parts done in Karen’s classes. First of all, Greg read the introduction to the book because it had some helpful information in it.

Introduction to “Choose Your Examples”

In the Sunshine Series of novels, Karen Spencer, who taught Bible classes for the foster girls on Mercy Valley Ranch, and William Beckett, who taught Bible classes for the foster boys on Mercy Valley Farm, and others wrote this book about the historical lives of real people. Its purpose was to encourage people to study noble, honorable people in the Bible and choose their good qualities to incorporate into their own lives.

This book has true-life accounts of some of the events in the lives of several noble, virtuous, honorable people in the Bible, and their good qualities. It begins with Jesus as the main example. Thomas said to Jesus in John 20:28b, “ my Lord and my God. In my opinion, Jesus is our best example. Plus we can also learn a lot from the other noble, honorable people and copy their good attributes. The others they included were Jesus’ mother, Mary, and Joseph, her husband; Joseph, son of Jacob; Joshua, Ruth and Boaz, Samuel, Esther with Mordecai, Daniel, Stephen, Dorcas, also known as Tabitha; Barnabas, Lydia, Timothy, and Phoebe.

Cory mentioned, “Now that you read the introduction, Dad, I can see how well it goes with the title of the short book.”

“I can too,” agreed Kevin, “and the introduction also gave us a preview of what will be in this short book.”

Part One: Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Messiah

Then Oralie read aloud the following part of the book.

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William and Karen emphasized at the beginning of the book, “We don’t pretend that these lessons are all there is to know about Jesus. You and I have a life time to learn what scripture says about him and how to live the way he desires for us, and then we’ll have eternity to continue to praise and serve him.”

For one of her Bible Study Groups on Mercy Valley Ranch, Karen Spencer handed out slips of paper with Bible references or other directions on them. Then she explained, “Other names for Jesus from Bible verses can affect the way we live for him. For example, names like Master, Messiah, Teacher, like we read in Matthew 23:10b, One is your Master, even Christ. Lisa will you please read the verses you looked up?”

“Yes, answered Lisa, “They are John 13:13,14, You call me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

Nan remarked, “I looked up Lord and Master and they have similar meanings. Since Jesus is both, he is the boss or the ruler and we need to obey him as we live our lives for him.”

“I agree, Nan,” stated Christy and then she read, “John 1:41 says, Andrew found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ.”

“I’m glad Andrew looked for his brother,” Stella inserted and then said, “I found that Messiah and Christ both mean the anointed One. In the Old Testament, people were anointed for a special function such as priest or king. Jesus is both of those and besides that, he is our Savior.”

Ellie reasoned, “What you found out helps to show that Jesus is more important than all the others who were anointed. Now I’ll read the verse I looked up. John 3:2 says, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.”

“The verse you read, Ellie, shows that he respected Jesus.” Then Liz followed that comment with, “When I looked up Rabbi, it said it means my master or my teacher, and it was used as a title of respect for their teachers.”

“Thank you, girls, for reading the verses and explaining the meanings of the words,” and then Karen continued, “If you want more examples, look for names of Jesus on the web and you will find many! But right now I want us to look at some verses that go well with this Christmas season. We know more about Jesus’ conception and birth than about any other person in the world. Listen to Emma and Hanna as each one reads an Old Testament prophecy about his birth and how it was fulfilled in the New Testament.

 

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Emma read the first pair, “Isaiah 7:14, … the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emanuel. And Matthew 1:18,22, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. … Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.”

Then Hanna read, “Micah 5:2, But you, Bethlehem, … though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth unto me, who is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. And Matthew 2:4,5,… Herod demanded where Christ should be born. They said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet…”

Karen went on, “These verses go well with this part of December. In our next class, we can continue with scripture verses about Mary the mother of Jesus, her husband Joseph, and about Jesus birth and early childhood.”

Max commented, “It seems strange to be hearing about Christmas at this time of year.”

“I agree, Max,” responded Levi, “but it makes sense for this book to begin with the birth of Jesus since he’s so important.”

Daniel added, “I like hearing some of the comments the girls on

the ranch made about those scriptures and the words they looked up.”

“Yes,” agreed Oralie, their mom, “it adds interest to the story and helps to explain what those words mean. We’ll continue hearing more of this book off and on for our devotional times.”

All five boys smiled, nodded, and gave the idea a thumb up.

IIIItttt w w wa w a a as ss s ttttiiiim m me m e e e ffffo o o orrrr G G G Grrrre e eg e g g g Iverson to read another part of the short book called “Choose Your Examples,” and he started as soon as the family was seated for their evening devotional time. (This is a new scene.)

Here is the lesson William did with one of his classes using the verses Karen was thinking about in her last lesson. He had given out homework the week before asking the boys to make summaries of various verses using quotes of the verses and three dots to show what was left out, plus their own summary when needed. They were to be ready to read or comment on what they learned about Mary, her husband, Joseph, and Jesus.

One boy read his summary of Luke 1:26-31,38 aloud. “… The angel Gabriel was sent by God to Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. He said to her, “Hail, you are highly favored, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women”. Mary was troubled and wondering, and the angel said, “Do not fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold you shall conceive and bring forth a son

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and shall call his name JESUS…” After the angel explained some more, Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. May it be to me according to your word.”

After hearing the summary Evan commented, “Obviously Mary was afraid, but the angel told her not to fear. He said the Lord was with her and that she was highly favored and blessed, because she would be the mother of the Savior, Jesus. I liked the way she was so humble and honest and agreed to have it be as the angel had said. The verses also said she was a virgin, which is what all young women and young men, should be until they are married.”

The other boys nodded in agreement and then Gary read his summary of Luke 1:39-50,56, “Soon Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth and as soon as she heard Mary’s voice she spoke loudly, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. … And you are blessed because you believed, and the Lord will perform what he said he would do.”

And Mary said, “My soul does magnify the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden, for behold, from now on all generations shall call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things to me and his name is holy and his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.”

Mary stayed with Elisabeth for about three months and returned to her own house.”

Another boy remarked after Gary had read his summary, “It was interesting that Mary’s cousin said many of the same things the angel had said to Mary. In reply Mary burst into praise for the LORD who had chosen her and done such great things to her. She was humble and gave him all the praise for what he was doing.”

“Yes, that was amazing!” William declared. “I realized I had not given this part about Joseph, Mary’s husband, to one of you so I did it myself. This is a summary of Matthew 1:18-21,24. When Jesus mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit, before they came together. Joseph … was a just man and didn’t want to make it public, so he thought of divorcing her privately. … But the angel of he Lord appeared to him in a dream, explaining that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and he said, ‘Take Mary as your wife and when she has her son, name him JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph awoke, he took Mary as his wife as the angel had bidden him.”

“Wow, he obeyed right then!” Sam exclaimed. “Later in my summary of Luke 2:1-38, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to be taxed when she was great with child. Of course she and Joseph had now been married for months, as it says in Matthew. And Jesus was born while they were in Bethlehem. Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for

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them in the inn. Angels told shepherds about Jesus birth and they came to find him. … Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart…

“ When Jesus was eight days old he was circumcised according to Jewish law, and was named JESUS as the angel had told them. Many days later they took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and offer the sacrifice according to the law. A man named Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He came to the temple that day, took Jesus in his arms and praised God… Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken about him… A prophetess named Anna also saw him and gave thanks…”

A different boy stated, “This is such a familiar story for us. What I noticed most was that during the whole time, there were no words of complaint from Mary, even though it must have been a long tiring trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem! On top of that there was no nice motel where she could rest after Jesus birth, and the only place to lay him was in a manger! I also think it must have been hard to watch his circumcision and then scary to listen to Simeon in Jerusalem. But the scriptures say that she kept the things in her heart and marveled at the things Simeon had said.”

“Absolutely!” William exclaimed. “Mary had to be a very strong, tough, healthy young woman to go through all she did! I noticed that Luke skipped the part, which Matthew included about the family having to flee to Egypt. So I have that part here, he continued, “In Matthew 2:13,14, after the wise men had left,… the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, “Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I bring you word. For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. So he arose and took them to Egypt. And here’s a summary of 19-23, When Herod was dead, the angel told Joseph in another dream to take them back to Israel… When they got there Joseph was warned by God in a dream to go to Galilee rather than Judea. So they went to Nazareth in Galilee. I was amazed at the number of times in just a few years that an angel of the Lord or God told Joseph to do something and he trusted them and immediately did what he was told to do!”

“For sure, Joseph was very obedient and it saved Jesus life,” then Carlos went on, “I made my summary of Luke 2:39b-52, they returned to Nazareth where (Jesus) grew, became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him… When he was twelve years old they went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. They left, but he stayed there listening to, and asking questions of the doctors in the temple. All who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. His parents went back and looked for him for three days. When they saw him, they were amazed, and his

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mother said to him, “Son why did you do this? Behold, your father and I have looked for you sorrowing.”

“He said to them, “How is it that you looked for me? Did you not

know that I must be about my Father’s business?’

“But they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. He went with them to Nazareth and was subject to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Then a fourth boy commented, “I would like to have more information about Jesus childhood, but I guess this is enough. All we really need to know is that he grew, became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him…, as Carlos just read. We also learned that he knew that his Father was God, by what he said about his Father’s business. I could tell by what she said, that Mary was very upset and worried by the time they found him, but she didn’t carry on about it or become angry. By then her heart must have been very full of the things about Jesus, and he was only twelve!”

William commended the boys, “Great work you guys! Those were all good summaries and your comments showed that you did some good thinking about what you had read.”

When his dad finished reading, Daniel declared, “We knew Mr. William Beckett and his four foster boys, plus the other four boys when they were still living on the farm. They were all very nice.”

“You’re right and I miss them, since those boys graduated from the farm and Mr. and Mrs. Beckett moved to the ranch,” Cory agreed. “But I guess it’s all part of growing up.”

“Yeah,” said Kevin, “and some parts of growing up are not as nice. But I was amazed at the good job those boys did of making summaries of all those scriptures. Plus it sounded more interesting with the others making good comments.”

Max admitted, “I don’t have any questions about this lesson, since we know the story so well from other years at Christmas.”

“Same here,” Levi added, “but this was a good review and it focused my thinking on Jesus’ mother, Mary, who was so humble, willing and caring, and on her husband Joseph being so obedient and trusting.”

T T T Th h h he e e e IIIIv vv ve e errrrs e ss so o o on n n b n b b bo o o oy yy ys ss s looked forward to listening to their dad or mom read from the “Choose Your Examples” book. The next part was very interesting. Oralie enjoyed reading it out loud.

At another time, Karen told her classes, I looked up two different songs about Jesus with the title, ‘He Was More than Just a Man,’ and another one called ‘More Than Just a Carpenter.’ Let’s listen to them.” They all enjoyed the songs, and she said, “There’s also a book by the same title.

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Then she had the girls read silently about Jesus’ temptations in Matthew 4:1-11. When they finished reading, she read Hebrews 4:15,16 to them. For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but he was in all points tempted like we are, yet he was without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Then she explained, “A prophecy in Isaiah 61:1,2 was fulfilled in Luke chapter 4. After Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then he was tempted by the devil, but Jesus was victorious by answering all the temptations with scriptures, which he must have known by memory. After the temptations, he returned to Galilee and taught in the Jewish synagogues.”

Next she instructed, “Read Luke 4, verses 16-20 to yourselves, and be ready to tell me what you noticed.”

She gave them time, and this is what they read. (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. They gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. When he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it to the minister, and sat down. The eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fastened on him. Karen explained, “that means they were ready to listen to him after he read the scripture in Isaiah. Then she continued, “Please read verse 21 aloud with me. Jesus said to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears.’ The next verse tells us they wondered about his words since they knew he was Joseph’s son. Now read verses 23-30 silently and see if you can figure out why the people got so angry with Jesus.”

When they had finished reading those verses, Lisa suggested, “I’m not sure, but maybe they got angry because what he said showed them he knew their inner thoughts of unbelief and that they wouldn’t accept him.”

“I agree with you, Lisa,” said Christy, “and his examples were about only people who had believed the prophets enough that they were helped.”

“Plus,” added Emma, “those people who were helped weren’t even Jews, and so they might have been offended by those comparisons.”

Liz added, “It’s terrible to realize people could get angry enough about what he had said that they wanted to kill him right then.”

“Right,” Ellie went on, “and things like that happened many times during his ministry on earth.”

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Hanna remarked, “I agree with all those ideas, and while I was listening to them, I used this dictionary with its thesaurus that you bought for these groups to use. It says that ‘wonder’ can mean to speculate or question. Maybe they were looking for something to be angry about or criticize because they didn’t think he could be the one who could possibly fulfill the scripture in Isaiah.”

“That makes sense,” stated Nan. “Also, I was looking at verse 23 and 24 again. The people might have thought he was accusing them of just wanting to see some miracles like they had heard about him doing other places. Then he flatly told them that prophets are not accepted in their own hometowns.”

Karen commended them, “Thank you girls for your thoughtful answers to why the people in Jesus hometown rejected him. And I like the way this part ended in verse 30-32. Please read it, Stella.”

Stella read, “But Jesus passing through the midst of them went his way. He came to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. They were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power,”

Oralie noted, “This is the end of the lesson.”

Daniel exclaimed, “It was a great ending to the story!”

“It sure was, “Cory agreed and went on, “I think the people were looking and hoping for a deliverer like Moses, so when Jesus wasn’t like that, they were disappointed.”

“Yeah,” stated Kevin, “they didn’t want just a teacher and healer.”

“I agree,” and Levi remarked, “I like the way the teachers can pull so many verses from other places in the Bible and fit them together in the story of Jesus life.”

“So do I,” agreed Max and then he asked, “how do they know where to find them?”

Oralie answered, “I think they use the concordance and center references in their Bibles for most of it. Maybe they also look on the web and find some more ideas.”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e rrrre e e e ea a a ad d d d tttth h he h e e n e n n ne e e ex xx xtttt part of “Choose Your Examples” to their boys.

Karen and William sent a few emails back and forth and decided it would be good to use verses from Matthew and the other Gospels to teach the girls and boys more about Jesus and the way he desires for people to live.

Karen started one of her lessons by saying, “Jesus has been called the best teacher of all time. He was able to make things easy to understand and he taught with authority as it says in Mathew 7:29. He taught about many different subjects. Since all you girls now believe in Jesus, it would be an especially good idea for you to learn how Jesus wants people to live. Please write down all the references we use today, because you’ll need them for your homework.”

 

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They all nodded, and she continued, “Please find Matthew 5:13-16, and follow along as I read it. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its savor how can it be useful. It is good for nothing, but to be thrown out … You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick so it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Sara mentioned, “I’ve tasted the last bit of salt in the bottom of a salt shaker, and it doesn’t have much flavor left. We usually throw it in the trash and start over with fresh salt, so I can see what he meant about the salt.”

One of the other girls nodded, “I agree, and I can’t imagine anyone putting a candle under anything! It could start a fire!”

“That’s for sure!” Kim concurred. “I like the idea of a city on a hill. At night with all the lights on, it would be like a Christmas tree decorated with all clear lights.”

June added, “Yes, and it could easily help a night traveler know he was going the right direction.”

Another girl stated, “I’m glad we don’t have to use candles. Electricity works so much better, but I get the point of these verses. We believers are supposed to be salt and light to our worlds.”

“All of you are right,” agreed Karen. “Now look in the center references and see if you can find a verse or more to go along with any of these.” She gave them time.

Candy suggested, “Parts of Philippians 2:14-16a might be good. I’ll read them. Do all things without murmurings and disputing, so that you will be blameless and harmless, the children of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, as you shine as lights in the world, holding out the word of life.”

A girl giggled, “Good job, Candy, the center reference for your verse 15 goes right back to the Matthew verses.” The rest of them nodded.

Then Kim said, “I found a verse about salt in Mark 9:50. It says, Salt is good, but if it has lost it saltiness, how will it season? Have salt in yourselves and have peace with each other. I’m not sure if it means having salt in us will cause peace or maybe the other way around, or both.”

“I’m not sure either, Kim,” replied Karen, “but it’s a good verse.”

June remarked, “I just looked up Luke 14:34,35 and it’s much the same as the Matthew verses. The center references for them go back to the others we’ve already read.”

“Good job, girls,” Karen commended. “Now you know how to use the center references in your Bible. Let’s see if there’s anything different in the concordance. Try looking up salt first.”

 

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Candy declared, “I don’t think those are very helpful for this study. The ones in the Old Testament don’t go with it and the others are the ones we already read, except for the one in James, which is about salt water.”

Sara agreed, “True, but on my way to find ‘salt’ I noticed ‘seasoned’ in Colossians 4:6, and looked it up. It says, Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.”

“It’s a good verse,” June concurred, “I wonder why it was not included in the verses for ‘salt’?”

Karen admitted, “I wonder the same thing. Now let’s look up light as a noun and see if we can find anything helpful.”

One girl said, “I like the first part of Psalm 27:1, The LORD is my light and my salvation. But it doesn’t really go with this study.”

“You’re right,” Karen tacked on, “but I like that verse also.”

Sara suggested, “Psalm 37:5,6a says, Commit your way to the LORD, trust in him and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light… Maybe our righteousness from Jesus could be the light we are shining.”

“I like your idea,” commented Kim. “Also, John 3:19-21 is very interesting, because it says, this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he who does truth comes to the light, so his deeds may be made manifest, to show they are formed in God.”

Karen concurred, “Both of those scriptures make good points. Also, I just looked up John 8:12, where Jesus says, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ I think he wants us to give the same light to our worlds, which are the places where we live and have influence.”

The girls nodded in agreement.

“Wow!” exclaimed Candy. “I just read Ephesians 5:8-17 and it’s long but has a lot to say about light and dark and the right way to live. I’ll read just the first verse. For you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so walk as children of light.”

Karen nodded emphatically, “For sure, Candy. Everybody else please read the rest of those verses to yourselves at home. And your homework is to study them and all the verses we’ve read today, again at home and think about what was said here today. Write at least one paragraph about what these scriptures mean for believers. At our next meeting, bring it and be ready to share it with a girl not in your family. Then loan it to me because I’d like to read all of them.”

The girls worked hard on their paragraphs and Karen liked them all. At the next meeting, she commended them for a job well done when she gave their papers back.

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Karen continued teaching girls on the ranch using verses from the four gospels and cross-references to other books in the Bible. She also introduced the idea of using the colored pencils she had given them to highlight parts of their Bibles using a color code, like for God use purple for royalty, for Proverbs use red for bad things and green for good. Choose other colors for other things.

When Oralie finished, she said, “The end of this lesson.”

Levi remarked, “Karen’s idea sounds colorful.”

“I agree,” and Daniel added, “and those pencils work well in the Bible and the colors don’t show on the other side of the pages.

“Yes,” Cory stated, “and her homework sounds like good homework for us boys to do also. We could learn a lot from those scriptures about how Jesus wants us to live.”

“True,” Kevin agreed, “and then we could read our paragraphs to each other and take notes on things we didn’t include in the one we wrote.”

Max exclaimed, “Good idea! Let’s go for it!”

“T T T Th h h hiiiis ss s n n n ne e e ex xx xtttt p p pa p a a arrrrtttt o o o offff ‘Choose Your Examples’ is very interesting and important,” stated Greg.

On the farm William began one of the Bible study times for the boys by asking, “How do you react when someone hits you?”

Pedro answered, “I hit him right back. I don’t want to be called a sissy!”

“No,” agreed Luis, “but then you both just continue hitting until both of you have bloody noses or black eyes or both, or you end up in the principal’s office in double trouble.”

Pedro nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.

William smiled and nodded. “Please find Matthew 5:38,39, and follow along as I read it. Jesus said, You have heard that it has been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, do not resist evil, if someone hits you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. Think about it carefully. In my opinion, it would take more courage to turn the other cheek than to hit back.”

Jose shared, “For me, it would be easier to turn and run away. I can’t imagine offering my other cheek to him. He’d probably really hit it hard.”

“He might,” concurred William, “but on the other hand, it might surprise him and diffuse his anger. I’ve never had the unwelcome opportunity to try it. Put a bookmark in this Matthew chapter and find Romans 12:19-21 and read it aloud with me. Dearly beloved, don’t avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the LORD. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

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A boy stated, “This would be even harder for me to do! But I guess Jesus never said that living for him would be easy.”

“Precisely!” exclaimed William. “My center reference goes to Proverbs 25:21,22 and they say almost the same thing. Now let’s go back to Matthew 5 and please read verses 43-46 to yourselves.”

Hugo declared, “It just gets harder! I’m supposed to love my enemies and do good to them and pray for them so I can be a child of my Father in heaven.”

“Good summary of those verses, Hugo,” complimented William. “The verses we’ve read so far make very good goals for us. Now let’s look at Matthew 7:12 and read it together. Therefore, whatever you would like others to do to you, do it to them, for this is the law and the prophets.”

Another boy mentioned, “Luke 6:31 says almost the same thing.”

“Yes it does,” William concurred. “Many people call it the Golden Rule. As we end this lesson today, listen to Psalm 103:8,10. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. He definitely treats us the way he desires for us to treat others.”

When Greg finished this segment he said, “The End.”

“I noticed that many of the things Jesus said to do in this lesson are very hard for us boys to do,” said Daniel.

Greg responded, “Yes they are, and without a doubt, they are hard for adults to do also.”

Kevin prayed, “Jesus, please help us to do the things you taught people to do when you were living here on this earth.”

“Yes, please do,” Cory agreed, “and thank you that we can do all things through you, Jesus, who gives us strength, as I personalized Philippians 4:13.”

Levi continued, “Especially help us to follow the ‘Golden Rule’ that is in Matthew and Luke.”

“I agree, and thank you that you are merciful and have forgiven all our sins. Amen.” concluded Max.

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g e g e e ex xx xp p plllla p a a aiiiin n n ne e e ed d d d, “In this next part of ‘Choose Your Examples,’ a farm family is reviewing a lesson the boys had heard.”

Felix and Sunny asked their foster boys to tell what they learned in William’s group during the week. William had asked Felix to record it so it could go in the short book. The boys got their Bibles and notebooks and used them as references.

Luis answered, “We had a very interesting lesson this week about The Sermon on the Mount. William began by reading the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-12.”

 

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Hugo continued, “Then he reviewed the lessons he had done earlier about salt and light and about not taking revenge, but to love our enemies in verses 13-16, 38-40, and 43-47.”

Jose commented, “He doesn’t go verse by verse, but chooses ones that are most useful to us right now. Like he summarized verses 1-4 of chapter 6 like this. Don’t give donations in order to be seen by others, but do them in secret so your Father in heaven will see and reward you,”

Sunny stated, “I like that summary. William makes it easier to understand.”

Luis added, “Yeah he does. He used a cross reference to Matthew 16:27b where Jesus said, his Father would reward every man according to his works.

Pedro went on, “He said we can use the Lord’s Prayer in chapter 6 verses 9-13, as a pattern for our prayers, and not just say it from memory all the time. He also stressed that it is important to forgive others.”

Jose backtracked, “I just noticed in my notes, at the beginning of the lesson, William said ‘The words of Jesus are very important, and that’s why our church always buys red letter editions of the Bible with all of Jesus’ words printed in red so they’re easily found.’ I’m glad the church gave each of us boys on the farm a Bible we get to keep, from the church’s used Bibles. Levi told me that the boys and girls in the church school have Bibles given to them in second grade.”

“Indeed,” Felix agreed, “it is very generous of them, and you boys are making good use of them.”

Sunny inserted, “In John 14:26b Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and help you remember whatever I have said to you. That would include all his words in red in your New Testament. But we have to read them before he can remind us of them.”

“I agree,” and then Hugo suggested, “let’s all sing ‘Wonderful Words of Life,’ together, and then we can each look up a verse we like containing something Jesus said.”

“Good idea,” stated Felix and then after they sang, he read John 6:35, “ I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes on me shall never thirst.”

“I like that verse,” and then Jose observed, “John 10:37,38 are good proof of Jesus being the Son of God. They say, If I do not do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, then believe the works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I am in him.”

“I think so too,” and Pedro went on, “I like John 11:25 where Jesus told Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.

Hugo shared, “Yes, and in Luke 4:43b, Jesus said, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent.”

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“I like it,” said Luis, “because it shows that Jesus knew his mission. In Matthew 22:32 Jesus said about God, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. I like it because it proves the resurrection of the dead.”

“Good verses everybody,” and then Sunny remarked, “In Matthew 14:27b Jesus said, Be of good cheer. It is I, do not be afraid. Those are such comforting words! This has been a very good Bible study for us today.”

At the end of the section Greg stated, “I liked this part a lot.”

“So did I,” agreed Cory, “I thought it was a good idea for the family to review it at home.”

“Definitely,” Daniel declared, “and then they sang a song that went so well with the lesson and even added some more scriptures on their own afterward.”

Kevin commented, “We have done the same thing with at least one of these lessons.”

“Plus,” added Max, “we found some songs to go with one of the lessons,”

Levi concluded, “I'd like for us to get our guitars and sing the same one they sang to go with this lesson.” So they did.

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e b e b b be e eg e g ga g a a an n n n tttth h h he e e next section of “Choose Your Examples” by e

saying, “I’ll give you time to follow Karen’s directions in the first paragraph.

Karen taught the following lesson for the girls on the ranch. This time she instructed the girls. “Write in your notebooks some things you consider to be your valuable possessions.”

When they were finished she asked for a volunteer to read Matthew 6:19-21, Do not lay up treasure on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up … treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Karen continued, “In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus tells you to not worry about what you’ll eat or wear because verses 32b,33 say, your heavenly Father knows you need these things. But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Luke 12:22-34 is a parallel passage”.

Next she had a girl read Luke 12:15, Take heed, and beware of being covetous. For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

Karen went on, “Then Jesus told the story about a rich man who ran out of room in his barns for his crops, so he built bigger barns and said he could take it easy now. But he died that night and got no use

 

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out of his things. Verse 21 says, So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

One girl asked, “Do these verses mean that we shouldn’t have any treasures on earth?”

Karen responded, “Let’s look up treasures in the dictionary.”

Another girl did and read, “Treasures are a quantity of precious objects like gold, silver, or jewels. Synonyms are riches, valuables, wealth, and more.”

“I think” decided Karen, “we can have things we need and like, but not collect a lot of any of those things mentioned in the dictionary and then put our trust in them instead of in God. The key is to not gain treasure for ourselves but to be rich toward God.”

Sara questioned, “How do we lay up treasures in heaven?”

Karen replied, “This is a good question. Let’s use the concordance and center references for those verses and see if we can find our answer in the Bible.”

One girl said, “I read Proverbs 2:2-5. It basically said to seek for

wisdom as if it were a hidden treasure so you can understand the fear of the LORD. So I think wisdom could be a heavenly treasure.”

Candy added, “Yes, and Isaiah 33:6 kind of goes with your verse. Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of your times, and strength of salvation. The fear of the LORD is your treasure.”

A girl noted, “Proverbs 11:30b says, He who wins souls is wise.”

“Right,” and Kim continued, “in Matthew 19:21 Jesus told the rich young ruler what to do: sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.”

Another girl said, “Luke 18:22 says the same thing.”

June added, “In Luke 12:33 Jesus told his disciples, Sell what you have and give alms. Provide yourselves bags that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief comes, and moths don’t corrupt.”

“Thank you girls,” said Karen. “Those verses give us some good ideas about how to lay up treasures in heaven. If you want to, you can look up that question on the web and get some more ideas.”

After a pause she instructed, “Now follow along as I read Matthew 7 verses 1,2a. Do not judge, so you will not be judged. For with the judgment you judge, you shall be judged. What do those verses mean to you?”

Kim answered, “To me it means that I shouldn’t criticize other people, because it usually results in them criticizing me.”

“Yes,” June agreed, “if I point out what I think is wrong with someone, he or she might come right back with something that is wrong with me.”

Candy stated, “Since I don’t like being judged, I should remember that other people don’t like it either.”

 

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“I agree,” then Sara added, “Our parents or teachers can evaluate our work or things we say, and tell us so we can learn, but our peers definitely don't like to be evaluated by us.”

“Those are good thoughts, girls,” commended Karen. “Now read verse 6 to yourselves. … It might help you understand the meaning of this verse if you know that dogs and swine were looked down on by the Jewish people. I think verse 6 means to not give holy things or thoughts you value to somebody if you know he or she won’t appreciate them or will judge or disagree with them. I see that our time is up for today, so I’ll see you next time.”

William taught a similar lesson to the boys on the farm.

Oralie remarked, “This was a pretty long section today and it had several different important topics.”

“Yes it was, and the longest part was about treasures,” said Max. “I learned that the best place to have treasures is in Heaven.”

“For sure. It’s the only safe place.” Kevin reasoned, “I like the idea that wisdom can be a treasure. It takes a lot of effort to find it.”

Levi nodded, “I agree, and the next part was a good reminders to not judge others or tell them about something if you already know that they will judge you or disagree with you.”

“I agree,” declared Cory, “And if we can just remember to not say the wrong things, we’ll stay out of a lot of trouble.”

Daniel observed, “Exactly, and this lesson had good scriptures in

it. I plan to memorize some of them and remember to do them.”

“Good comments you guys,” Greg concluded, “and today I have a comment for this lesson. The third verse of ‘Be Thou My Vision’ says that I don’t pay attention to riches or man’s praise, but that the Lord is my inheritance, and he has first place in my heart, and he is my treasure!”

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g g g g g go o o otttt tttto o o o rrrre e ea e a a ad d d d the next part of “Choose Your Examples” to his five boys. He began by saying, “This section has many verses in it from Jesus’ sermon on the mount.”

William began his Bible Study lesson for the boys on the farm by having the boys silently read Matthew 7:7-11.

“I wrote a summary for these verses.” said William, “If you ask, you will receive. If you seek, you will find. If you knock the door will be opened. Good dads give good things to their children. Your heavenly Father will be even more likely to give you good things. Notice that we already talked about verse 12 in another lesson.”

A couple boys said, “Yes, it’s the Golden Rule.”

William nodded at them and instructed, “Read Matthew 7:13-20 to yourselves.”

Next he explained, “I looked up ‘strait’ in a Bible dictionary, and it said it means narrow or tight or difficult. Actually verse 14 uses the

 

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synonym, narrow, for the way leading to life. In your notebooks, write a paraphrase for verses 13 and 14.”

Afterward he asked a volunteer to read what he wrote, and Carlos read, “ Come in at the narrow gate and go on the narrow way, because it leads to life, but not many find it. The gate that leads to destruction is wide and the way is broad, and many go that way.”

“Thank you, Carlos,” said William, “Your paraphrase is good for those two verses. Listen to Deuteronomy 30:19 and see how well it goes with what Jesus said in Matthew. Moses told the Israelite people before they went into Canaan, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your offspring may live. Now all of you write in your notebooks what Matthew 7, verses 15-20 mean to you.”

When they finished, Gary volunteered to read his, “We need to watch out for false teachers who pretend to be gentle but are really harsh and unkind. The way to tell if they’re false is by what their lives produce. Evil results in evil, but good produces good. Bad teachers will be destroyed.”

William responded, “I like your explanation, Gary. This statement by Jesus is emphasized again in Matthew 24:11 where he warns that in the end times, many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. So we need to be very careful. I wish we had time to listen to everyone’s explanation, but lets go on.”

He called on Sam to read verse 21. “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

Then William stressed, “John 6:40 tells clearly what the Father’s will is, This is the will of him who sent me, that every one who sees the Son and believes on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Then he had another boy read Luke 6:46, And why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?

William stated, “Those verses clearly explain God’s will in this case. Now silently read Matthew 7: 24-27 and write a summary of what Jesus taught there.”

Evan read his this time, “The person who hears and does what Jesus taught is like a man who built a house on a good foundation. It stood firm in the storms, but it’s the opposite if the person doesn't do what Jesus taught.”

William commended them all, “Thank you, Evan, and all of you boys. You did a good job today, as you usually do.”

Then William suggested, “Let’s all read John 14, verses 15 and 21 aloud. If you love me keep my commandments. … He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me and he

 

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who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will show myself to him.”

“Good expression, everybody,” said William. “Now go back to Matthew 7 and notice that the last two verses say the people were amazed by Jesus’ teaching and his authority. They weren’t used to being taught the way he did. This is the end of the Sermon on the Mount, but Jesus continued to teach in the rest of this Gospel and the others. We’ll be looking at some of those things in later lessons. There will be no homework for today, since we actually did it during the lesson, so I’ll see you next time.”

The boys cheered and thanked him as they left.

And Greg said that this was the end of this section.

Max exclaimed, “Thank you, Dad, for being a good dad and for giving us so many good things!”

The other boys all agreed and they all cheered for their dad. Greg felt so good about their affirmation!

T T T Th h h hiiiis ss s ttttiiiim m m me e e e w w w wh h h he e e en n n n G G G Grrrre e e eg g g g read from the book, “Choose Your Examples,” he started by explaining, “I’ll give you time to read some of these verses silently so you’ll know better what the Bible says before you hear what he or the boys say.

Karen and William’s next Bible Study lesson started with some of the miracles Jesus did after his Sermon on the Mount. First he read aloud to them Matthew 4:17,23, … Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” … And Jesus went around Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people.

Then William had them read Matthew 8:1-4 silently, and he explained, “The illness of leprosy was terrible for people, and nobody was supposed to touch a person who had it. But Jesus did touch him when he healed this man. Then he told the man, ‘G o show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.’ Now read verses 5-13. and tell me your thoughts about them.”

One boy mentioned, “The centurion in these verses wasn’t even a Jew, but Jesus offered to go with him to heal the servant.”

“Right,” Gary continued, “it showed how compassionate Jesus was.”

Another boy noted, “The man knew he wasn’t worthy to have Jesus come to his house, but believed Jesus could just say the word and the servant would be healed.”

“That part was incredible!” exclaimed Sam. “I can see why Jesus commended the man for such a great faith and healed the servant just the way the man had said.”

 

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William stated, “Excellent job, boys. Next do the same with verses, 14-17.”

A boy observed, “This time Jesus healed by touching the hand of Peter’s mother in law.”

“Exactly,” Carlos went on, “and later that day he cast out spirits with his word and healed all that were sick. It doesn’t say how he healed them, or how many there were, but I imagine it was a lot.”

Evan added, “I liked verse 17, and looked up the reference in Isaiah 53. Parts of verses 4 and 5 say, Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows… and with his stripes we are healed. The other parts of that chapter tell how the people would reject Jesus.”

“Yes,” agreed William, “that part is sad. Now read verses 18-27. Here is an interesting event and another miracle.”

A boy commented, “It was interesting how Jesus answered those who said they would follow him. He made it clear it would not be easy to follow him.”

“Yes, and I liked the way Jesus slept through the storm and the disciples had to wake him up since they were so scared!” Carlos declared.

Gary tacked on, “Yes, and then he asked them why they were so afraid and basically answered his own question by saying they had little faith.”

“The best part,” remarked a boy, “was in 26b,27, how Jesus rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm and then how astonished the men were.”

William stressed, “I can imagine we would be also, even though we know now he did things like that! Read to the end of the chapter.”

One boy admitted, “I would have been scared of those men, if I had been one of the disciples.”

“But Jesus wasn’t afraid,” said Evan. “He told the demons to go where they had requested and they did, but all the pigs were lost in the sea.”

Sam suggested, “Maybe that’s why the people who came from the city begged him to leave.”

“Probably,” William concurred, “and they might have been scared of Jesus and whatever else he might do. Nothing is said here about them being glad the two men were healed. We’ll look at chapter nine at our next meeting, so please read it. See you then.”

“The end of this section,” stated Greg.

Levi declared, “Matthew chapter 8 had many exciting parts in it! I especially like the way he healed so many people in it!

“So do I,” agreed Cory, “and there is a verse that says Jesus is the same today, and that’s why he can work through us as we follow his leading when we are ministering to others.”

Max nodded, “Right, and the verse is Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.”

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“Good job Max,” Daniel applauded. “And I like the way Gary talked about Jesus’ compassion.”

Kevin went on, “Exactly, and we need to do everything we do for him with his love and compassion.”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e rrrre e e e ea a a ad d d d tttth h he h e e n e n n ne e e ex xx xtttt part of “Choose Your Examples” to the boys in her big family on the farm.

Karen’s lesson at the ranch was about Matthew chapter 9. The girl’s homework had been to read the chapter, so she had them tell what they had noticed or thought about the various happenings.

Candy summarized the first eight verses, “After Jesus came back to his own city, he healed a sick man who was lying on a bed by forgiving him. Some people thought he was blaspheming, so Jesus showed them he had the power to forgive sins by telling the man to get up and take his bed to his house. When the man did that, the people finally gave glory to God.”

A girl said, “in verse 9, Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him and he did.”

“Yeah,” added Kim, “and when Jesus ate with many sinners the Pharisees were disgusted about it, but Jesus said in verse 12b, Those who are whole don’t need a doctor, but those who are sick do need one.”

Another girl went on, “In verses 14-17, Jesus answered that the reason his disciples didn't fast was because he was with them, but later when he was gone they would fast. He also told them it does not work to patch clothes with new material or put new wine into old bottles.”

“In verses 18-21,” Sara described, “a father came to ask Jesus to come heal his only daughter. On the way he was interrupted by another needy woman. He took the time to heal her on the way.”

June added, “Then when he reached the father’s house they told him the girl was already dead. But he said she is not dead, and he took her by the hand and she got up. Jesus fame spread all over.”

A third girl told how Jesus had healed two blind men.

The other girl said, “Then he cast out a devil and the man who had been dumb was able to talk.”

“Good Job, girls,” Karen commended them. “Now lets read verses 35-38 out loud together, And Jesus continued going to the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they were scattered like sheep having no shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.’ Your homework this week is to

 

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make that last verse a prayer one time every day. We’ll talk about Matthew chapter 10 and 11 next time.”

“That was the end of this short section of the book,” said Oralie. Then the boys shared some of the comments they had written while she was reading.

Daniel commented, “I like hearing about the miracles Jesus did

while he lived on this earth.”

“I do also,” continued Cory, “Jesus did so many incredible things. I often wonder why more people didn’t believe in him.”

Kevin went on “I wonder if it was because some of his teachings were hard to understand and many times he did things that angered the leaders.”

“But he kept at it anyway,” stated Levi, “and that’s why we keep at our missionary work at school too.”

Max concluded, “Exactly, and I think that last scripture verse is a good one for us to pray every day also. I wish there were more laborers for the harvest in the schools.”

“Those are all good points, boys,” Greg commended them.

IIIItttt w w wa w a a as ss s G G G Grrrre e e eg g g''''s g ss s ttttu u u urrrrn n n to read the next section of “Choose Your n

Examples.” He began, “This will be a very good Bible study for us this evening because it will keep us looking up similar scriptures.”

William was discussing Matthew chapters 10 and 11 with the boys. First he instructed, “Look at verses 2-4, where you will see a list of the names of his twelve disciples. Verses one and five tell us Jesus gave them power to heal and to cast out unclean spirits. Read those two verses and use your center reference to find two other places where it tells about this same happening. See if you can find other details we should know.”

In a few minutes Hugo remarked, “I looked up Mark 6:7 and it said Jesus called the twelve to him and began to send them out in pairs.”

Pedro added, “Luke 9:1 is about the same as Matthew 10:1, but verse two in Luke says Jesus sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”

“Thank you, boys,” William said, “those are two important details we need to know. Why do you think they’re important?”

One of the other boys answered, “Because it’s usually better to work in pairs when you go to minister, and we need to know what he said to preach, and to heal the sick.”

“Yes,” agreed William, “The next verses in Matthew 10 include Jesus telling them where to go, what to take, what to do, and some things that might happen. Then in chapter 11, Jesus talks about John the Baptist and then Jesus rebukes the people listening right then and the ones in other cities for not repenting when they saw the works Jesus did. The verses I want us to concentrate on today are 27-30. Luis, would you please read verse 27 aloud?”

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Luis answered, “Yes, it says, All things are delivered to me by my Father. No man knows the Son except the Father, and no man knows the Father except the Son, and the ones to whom the Son will reveal the Father.”

Jose shared, “I found a center reference that goes with this verse. John 1:18 says, No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, … has declared him.”

“It’s a good verse,” William observed, “thank you, Jose. Plus it reminds me of two other verses. Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:7 and 9b, that if you had known me you’d have known my Father also and from now on you do know him and have seen him. He who has seen me has seen the Father.”

Another boy mentioned, “It would have been neat to be able to see Jesus face to face, but at least we have many things he said and did to read about in the Bible.”

“Yes, indeed,” William agreed. “And in a way what we have is even better than what they had, because the New Testament has all the details they didn’t understand at that time. Now read verses 28-30 to yourselves.”

In closing William suggested, “If you talk to anyone at school who’s having a hard life, you might use verses 28-30 to encourage them and open a door to witness. Be sure to tell them it was Jesus who said, “ Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Then you can tell them the Good News about how much Jesus loves them and what he has already done for them and that he longs to save them and help them with their hard lives."

“The end of this section,” finished Greg. “But if you think they are being abused, you might suggest that they go see social services.”

“Good idea,” and Max commented, “This lesson was almost like one of the sword drills we had in third grade at the church school, only today, we didn’t read the scriptures aloud when we found them.”

“It was fun, and the sword drills are also a nice memory of that good school,” stated Levi.

Cory went on, “Yes, and I think those last verses in chapter 11 would take some explaining to city kids who know nothing about the old fashioned use of oxen to pull farm machinery.”

“For sure,” agreed Kevin, “I’m glad we looked up that information on the web one day and learned so much about it.”

Daniel added, “This farm has been a very good place for us to

grow up because we have learned so many things that they don’t teach in the schools.”

“I think so too,” stated Oralie, “and I got to learn many of them right along with the rest of you.”

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O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e rrrre e e e ea a a ad d d d tttth h he h e e n e n n ne e e ex xx xtttt part of “Choose Your Examples.” Before starting, she stated, “Boys, I’m glad you have your Bibles, notebooks, and a pen so you can write references and your comments or questions as you listen.”

Karen and William chose some topics and verses in Matthew 12-15 that they thought their students could relate to and use in their lives at school or on the ranch or farm.

Karen began, “Today we’ll read and talk about some more things Jesus said and did in the book of Matthew. Find chapterrrr 12, verses 34b-36 and follow along as I read them. We’ve read them before, but see if you can find something to help you control your tongues. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things. An evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Therefore know that men shall give account for every idle word they shall speak, in the day of judgment.”

Lisa shared, “The last verse you read is a good warning. If we always remember about being accountable for what we say then maybe we’ll be more careful.”

“Yes,” added Stella, “and if we fill our hearts with good thoughts, we will have good things to talk about, instead of evil ones.”

“Good ideas, girls,” and Karen smiled. “Now, in chapter 13 find the parable of the sower and how Jesus explained it. Remember that we studied it some months ago. It’s good to review this story once in a while so we remember to keep the soil of our minds in good preparation so we can yield a good harvest. There are several other parables in this chapter, but we won’t talk about them today. In Matthew 14 Jesus did several miracles. See if you can find them by looking at the headings that come before the verses.”

Ellie said, “Verses 15-21 tell about Jesus feeding five thousand men besides women and children with five loaves and two fishes.”

“That was amazing!” stated Liz. “And in verses 22-27, Jesus sent the disciples in the boat to go to the other side of the sea. He went to pray and later during a bad storm he went to join them by walking on the water.”

Hanna went on, “The disciples were amazed and he also stilled the storm. Then in Verses 34-36 many sick people were healed just by touching the hem of Jesus garments.”

“I noticed,” inserted Nan, “the center reference for verse 36 has Matthew 9:20,21 where the woman who had a disease was healed just by touching the hem of Jesus garment. We read about it when we studied that chapter.”

Karen commended, “Thank you for that reminder, Nan. Now we’ll skip over to verses 18-20 in chapter 15. Read them and write your own summary in your notebooks.”

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When they had finished, she asked Christi to read what she had written. She read, “The things people say come from the heart and they can corrupt a person. Terrible things can come out of the heart.”

Emma observed, “That goes very well with the verses we read in chapter 12 again today.”

“Yes it does,” agreed Karen, “now read verses 29-39 and notice that they’re similar to the happenings in chapter 14.”

When they had finished reading, Karen continued, “My summary for those verses is that Jesus healed many who were lame, blind, dumb, and crippled in some way. He also fed four thousand men, plus women and children with seven loaves and a few little fish.”

The girls nodded, and Karen concluded, “I think it’s immensely interesting to study things Jesus said and did. I’m glad we have the Bible so we can read about so many of them.” In closing they sang all four verses of the hymn, “More About Jesus.” The lyrics tell of wanting to know Jesus more and show more of his grace and love.

When Oralie finished she said, “The end of this section.”

Cory commented, “I think Karen put all these chapters together in this lesson because they had many similar teachings and miracles.”

“I think so too,” stated Kevin, “and I agree with her about being glad for being able to have the Bible.”

Max continued, “Yeah, I sometimes wish I could have been with the disciples to get to see and know Jesus face to face like they did. But then I realize I couldn’t be here now, if I had been there then.”

“For sure,” Daniel concurred, “we can’t be in two places at once.”

Levi laughed. “It is an interesting thought, though. And it would make an interesting fiction story if someone had enough imagination to write it.”

They all agreed.

G G G Grrrre e e eg g g rrrre g e e ea a ad a d d tttth d h h he e e e n n ne n e e ex xx xtttt part of “Choose Your Examples” to his five boys after supper and chores were finished. Before he started he remarked, “This will be a good sword drill for you guys on the subject of forgiveness.”

After the lesson on Matthew 12-15, Karen and William had decided that for the next few lessons, they would choose verses from one of the Gospels and have the class find parallel passages in the other Gospels or cross references that would go with the teaching.

This day William had them look up Matthew 18:21,22 and read it aloud with him. Peter came and asked, “Lord, how often shall I forgive my brother who sins against me, until seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I say not until seven times, but until seventy times seven.”

Carlos exclaimed, “Wow! It would equal 490 times! I’d lose track, but I think that’s what Jesus had in mind. Don’t bother to keep track, just keep forgiving.”

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“Precisely,” agreed William, “but I also think if a person continues to sin against you it would be good to avoid that person if you can. So now let’s look at the center references and in our concordances to see what we can find that goes with these verses.”

One of the other boys found Luke 17:3,4 and read, “ Take heed to yourselves, if your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day and says to you ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Evan noticed, “In Matthew, Jesus didn’t mention the brother repenting like he did this time, he just said to forgive him.”

“True,” acknowledged another boy, “but it’s easier to forgive if he repents.”

“I agree,” then Gary observed, “I found Luke 11:4a, which is part of the Lord’s Prayer and says, forgive us our sins as we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

Another of the boys mentioned, “After the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus added verses 14 and 15, For if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins.”

Sam remarked, “Here are two more verses to go with that thought, in Mark 11:25,26, When you stand praying, forgive, if you have something against anyone, so your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your sins.”

“Good work boys!” William exclaimed. “Your verses and comments point out how important it is to forgive. Now go back to Matthew 18 and read verses 23-35 silently. Then write in your notebooks how you think these verses could go with the others we read today.”

The last of the other four boys shared his, “A king forgave one of his servants his huge debt, but the man wouldn’t forgive his fellow servant a small debt, so the king withdrew his forgiveness and had the first one tormented until he would pay. Jesus said that’s what will happen to us if we don’t forgive other’s sins against us.”

“Correct,” William concurred, “it emphasizes how important forgiveness is. The person who refuses to forgive someone’s sin against them will feel tormented and without peace, unless or until he or she takes care of forgiving like Jesus said to do.”

All the boys nodded and were thankful they had already taken care of things in their past lives that needed to be forgiven and they would remember to continue forgiving others who would sin against them in the future.

In closing William had them read in unison, Colossians 3:12-14, Put on … mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive one another, if anyone has a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you so also you

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must forgive. And above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.

Greg concluded, “This is an excellent way to finish this lesson.”

“I think so too, “agreed Levi, “and they would be good verses for me to memorize and then review often.”

Kevin nodded, “Ditto, because they would help me to deal with and forgive difficult people at school.”

“I agree,” and then Max inserted, “You were right, Dad, this was a great sword drill and it was mainly in the Gospels. It kept me busy trying to keep up.”

“Yes,” added Cory, “and I like the way the teachers on the farm and the ranch make their lessons so interesting and keep the students involved and thinking.”

Daniel stated, “I agree, and I like the way you and Mom read these

lessons to us with such good expression that it almost feels like we are right there in the room with them.”

“Thank you, Daniel,” responded Greg, “and I enjoy listening to all the comments you guys make at the end of the lessons.”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e c e cc ca a alllllllle a e e ed d d tttto d o o tttth o h h he e e e b b bo b o o oy yy ys ss s, “Hurry with your chores today, because I get to read the next part of ‘Choose Your Examples.’ It’s a good one. I think you’ll like it.”

Karen and William’s next lesson started with Matthew 19:26b, With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

After reading it aloud Karen mentioned,” Jesus said this after talking about how hard it is for rich people to get into heaven. Are there any verses in the center reference or concordance that could go with this verse?”

June stated, “Luke 1:37 says it in an opposite way, For with God nothing shall be impossible. The angel said that to Mary when he told her she would give birth to Jesus.”

“That’s a good one,” one of the girls said, “and Luke 18:27 is in a parallel passage to the one in Matthew, but it is stated a little differently, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Sara continued, “Yes, and in Mark 9:23 Jesus said to the man who wanted his son healed, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

“I like that verse,” another girl remarked, “In Mark 10:27 I found another parallel passage for the Matthew verse and it has an added phrase. Jesus said, With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.”

Kim proposed, “Right, and here’s one in Genesis 18:14 and although it doesn’t use the word ‘possible,’ I think it could go with these. When Abraham and Sarah doubted they could have a child when they were so old, the LORD replied, Is any thing too hard for

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the Lord? At the time appointed I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. And that’s exactly what happened!”

“I like it!” Candy declared. “Since your verse works so well, I’ll read part of a prayer in Jeremiah 32:17. Ah Lord God! Behold, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for you. The verses go on to mention the LORD’s loving kindness, signs, and wonders in the land of Egypt, and how he gave the land of Israel to his people. Then in verse 27, the LORD answered Jeremiah, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

“Those are great verses,” said one of the other girls, “I think Romans 4:20,21 would go with Kim’s verse. It says, (Abraham) didn’t stagger at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully persuaded that God was able to perform what he had promised.”

“Thank you, girls,” commended Karen. “You’ve found some very good verses, and they can help to build up our faith in our great LORD of the possible. Let’s finish our study time by singing the song, ‘Ah, Lord God,’ since it uses the scripture Candy read a few minutes ago in Jeremiah 32:17.”

Oralie finished, “And this is the end of this part. What did you think about it?”

“Exactly what you said, Mom,” stated Cory, “it was a good one and I liked it.”

The rest of the boys nodded their agreement and Levi added, “I liked the way four of the girls kept finding cross references that said almost the same thing as the verse in Matthew.”

“Precisely,” agreed Kevin, “and then two of them found scriptures in the Old Testament proving that there is nothing too hard for God.”

Max continued, “Yep, and the two verses in Romans tell why Abraham was able to keep believing.”

“And, I like that song, ‘Ah, Lord God.’ May we sing it now?” asked Daniel.

“Of course we can,” answered Oralie. So they did.

IIIItttt w w wa w a a as ss s G G G Grrrre e e eg g g’’’’s g ss s ttttu u urrrrn u n n n to read the next section of “Choose Your Examples.” He commented, “Boys, I think you’ll be busy with your pens and notebooks writing all the scripture references today.”

William and Karen used Matthew 20:20-28 and the similar passage in Mark 10:35-45, with their study groups with other verses to teach about being servants.

William began by having them sing together the song, “Servant of All.” Then he had half the group read the passage in Mark and the other half read the one in Matthew.

 

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“Now,” he instructed, “write a summary for those verses in your notebooks.” When they had finished he had a volunteer read his.

Luis read, “In Matthew it said that James and John’s mother requested that her boys would get to sit on Jesus right and left hand in his kingdom. Jesus told her it was God’s place to do that. The other ten disciples were angry about the request, but Jesus told all twelve of them, they were not to be like the world. Rather they should be like Jesus who came to serve…”

One of the boys commented, “It was almost the same in Mark, so it must be a parallel passage.”

William replied, “You’re right. Good summary, Luis. Now, let’s look up some other verses that speak about being servants.” He handed out slips of paper with references written on them. “Look up your verse or verses and be ready to read and or comment.”

Jose observed, “John 13:16 and 15:20 have parts that are identical where Jesus said, ‘The servant is not greater than his master,’ so we can’t expect better treatment than Jesus got.”

Another boy read, “Philippians 2:7, Jesus made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”

The next boy remarked, “I like the last part of Galatians 5:13 that says to serve one another in love.”

Hugo noted, “Luke 22:26,27 follow another argument among the disciples about who would be the greatest. Jesus told them he was among them as one that serves.”

Pedro read, “1 Peter 4:10 says, Every man has received a gift, therefore minister or serve it to each other as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Next William read Matthew 23:10-12, Don’t be called masters because one is your Master, even Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. See if you can find some more verses about being humble.

Hugo mentioned, “Philippians 2:8 comes right after 7, which we already heard. It says that Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.”

Luis commented, “James 4:6b, and 10 say, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

Another boy said, “1 Peter 5:5,6 says almost the same thing.”

Jose added, “Yes, and Luke 14:11 says the same as Matthew 23:12.”

“I have a long one,” Pedro concluded, “in Isaiah 57:15. For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell in the high and holy place with him also who is of a

 

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contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

William smiled at them all and complimented them. “Thank you boys for your good work today. I hope we will all remember to be humble servants for our Lord Jesus.”

Then they sang the song, “Servant of All” together again. They left quietly, thinking about how to be servants.

Greg told them, “This is the end of this section.”

Levi commented, “William sure kept those guys busy in this lesson, and therefore he kept us busy too.”

“Without a doubt,” and Daniel went on, “There were several scripture verses that would be good for me to memorize and put into practice.”

Kevin nodded. “Ditto for me, and I’m glad we get to learn some of the same things as the rest of them on the farm and on the ranch.”

Max declared, “We are triple blessed, because we have what we learned in the church school, and in this family, and from these lessons too!”

“So true, Max,” agreed Cory, “we can be grateful for so much!”

O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e w e w w wa a a as ss s rrrre e ea e a ad a d d dy yy y to read the next section of “Choose Your Examples” right after everyone helped with supper clean-up and their other chores.

Karen taught half of a lesson to the girls titled, “Who I am Because of Jesus, and How to Live.” She had each of the girls look up a verse and write in their notebooks the way they would personalize it as a prayer by starting with “Thank You.”

Karen gave them an example first, “Thank you, Jesus, that I am a new creature in you, Galatians 6:15c.” Then she gave out verses on little slips of paper and let them have time to follow her directions.

Lisa was first, “Thank you, Jesus, that I have been adopted and can say, Abba, Father, Romans 8:15b.”

“Thank you, Lord,” Christi went on, “for Romans 6:11b, because it says, I am alive to God through Jesus.”

Next a girl said, “And I thank you, Jesus, that I am a child of God, 1 John 3:2a.”

“Thank you, Jesus,” Hanna prayed, “that you have made me free, Galatians 5:1a.”

Ellie added, “Thank you Father, that you have put me into the kingdom of your dear Son, Colossians 1:13b.”

“Thank you, Jesus,” Stella went on to pray, “because you are the Good Shepherd and you gave your life for the sheep, John 10:11, then no one can pluck me out of your hand, John 10:28.”

Nan continued, “Thank you that God has sealed me and given me the down payment of the Spirit in my heart, 2 Corinthians 1:22.”

 

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Emma added, “Thank you for making me complete in Jesus who is the head of all principality and power, Colossians 2:10.”

“Thank you, Jesus,” prayed Liz, “that you have given me all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of you. Therefore I have exceeding great and precious promises so I can partake of the divine nature, 2 Peter 1:3,4a.”

Karen complimented them, “What a good job each of you did by personalizing the verse and then praying it with such sincerity. Next week I’ll have a printed page with these verses on it plus another section with more verses about how we should live because of what Jesus has done for us. I’ll see you next time.”

William did a similar lesson on the farm.

Oralie stated, “This is all there is of this section.”

Daniel noted, “It was very short, but it had many thoughts in it.”

“I agree,” added Levi, “and I noticed that many of the scriptures only had a part of a verse.”

Cory remarked, “Yes, and I like the way the girls followed Karen’s directions and then she complimented them for doing a good job.”

“I like her compliment too,” Kevin agreed. “I think students continue to try hard when they find out they are doing a good job that pleases the teachers.”

“Definitely,” stated Max, “and I like the way Dad and Mom let us know when we do well on something.”

They all agreed and thanked their parents individually.

B B B Be e e effffo o orrrre o e e e O O O Orrrra a a alllliiiie e e rrrre e e ea e a a ad d d tttth d h he h e e n e n n ne e ex e xx xtttt part of “Choose Your Examples,” she set up two large monitors on the big desk and put chairs where the boys could see the lesson and read the prayer together. Then she explained. “Boys, I’ll read the first paragraph to you and then we’ll read the prayer together out loud.”

At the next lesson Karen handed out the page she had printed out and explained, “This page is the followup for last week’s lesson. It has the verses you personalized and also contains the second half of the lesson. I was going to divide the ‘help me’ section into verses for each of you girls to read like we did last week. But I decided it would be more meaningful if we’d read it aloud together as a prayer. So please read it silently a time or two and then we’ll read it together. After giving them enough time to read it silently, they prayed it out loud together.

Father in heaven, because of what Jesus has done for us, please help me have all diligence to add to my faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love, because if these things are in me, they make me fruitful in the knowledge of Jesus, as 2 Peter 1:5-8 says.

 

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Since I have received Jesus please enable me to walk in him,

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as I have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving, Colossians 2:6,7.

Help me to put on mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with, and forgiving one another, like Jesus forgave me. And above all these things help me put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. Help me let the peace of God rule in my heart, … and make me thankful, Colossians 3:12-15.

Make the word of Jesus dwell in me richly in all wisdom, … and may I sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with grace in my heart to the Lord. And whatever I do in word or deed, please help me to do it all in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father by him. Plus, help me to do all I do, heartily as to the Lord, and not to men, as it says in Colossians 3:16,17,23.

When they finished, they all said Amen. Then the girls made comments about things they had prayed.

One girl observed, “The first paragraph has a good list of virtues we should earnestly try to add to our lives.”

“Definitely,” and Sara went on, “I noticed another good list of virtues in the third paragraph, that we all need to use in every situation.”

“Yes,” Candy noted, “and the second and third paragraphs both have places reminding us to be thankful.”

Another girl continued, “I agree, so being thankful is important since it was repeated, and it’s also in the fourth paragraph again.”