Today I said hello to people I haven’t seen in a long time. For the past two years, I have committed nine days at the start of the year to visit a little place a bit north of home – a suburb in the Hunter Valley region, called Cessnock. And in those nine days, I have had the pleasure of serving alongside people I have come to know and love so dearly. Every year I go back, I get excited knowing I will be able to spend time together working for one purpose, so I was a little disappointed knowing that this time around would be different.
I wouldn’t be subjected to the sweltering heat of the midsummer sun or another wave of team-crippling gastro, but I really do miss being able to see the kids run around before our program and even just chat with us. I also miss being able to see this one particular couple in Cessnock. And I’d like to think I’ve made it a tradition to visit them – from the first year I began serving at Cessnock Alive, our team visited this one little chip shop across the road from the church we stayed at. It was the most random occurrence; finding an Asian couple running a chip shop in the middle of Cessnock was, well, bizarre! It’s not like I have come close to being on friendly terms with them, but my heart goes out to them and I can’t really explain why.
Now, back to today!
It was the first day of Cessnock Alive’s program for kids, years 6-12. The team had put together an online program – think of it like a training camp for kids to learn about the gospel. Now I have had my gripes with using Zoom for classes, but I am glad that we could use it to connect and communicate with the kids when we couldn’t physically do that. In the many emotions I’ve felt leading up to this day, I didn’t anticipate the joy and excitement I would receive in being able to eat dinner with the team beforehand and, hearing and seeing the kids once again. What can I say? God is good.
Even the content we put out this year is a little different than what we’re used to, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It was definitely more challenging to ideate, but it was incredibly rewarding. Our very first online Cessnock Alive program began with the topic, reading the bible for ourselves. Now I’m quite certain you’re thinking, “surely, it can’t be that hard to read the bible”. Well, you are right, but sometimes it’s like reading poetry; the author could have written some spiel about nature, but they could have purposed a hidden meaning in the imagery they composed. It really encourages me that these kids requested a seminar on learning to read the bible for themselves. Because it is one thing to read the bible as if it were any other book, but for them to desire knowing how to fully comprehend and analyse the bible, just fills my heart to no end.
More encouragement!
We read through the first chapter of Ephesians and split off into smaller discussion groups to talk about the blessings mentioned in Paul’s letter. It was a short time with the kids, but we were able to convey the important ideas, like what it means to be holy and blameless before God. You bet I was proud when one of my kids responded in the bigger discussion: “we are called to be holy, which means to be set apart, and blameless before God and we can do that through Jesus”. Yes, it was a little bit of comprehension, but it was still a win!
Reading the bible for ourselves!
If you find yourself a little stuck when reading the bible, I want you to remember this acronym: COMA.
Context
- When, why, to whom was it written?
- What do we learn about the author or audience’s circumstances?
Observation
- What’s happening in the passage?
- What are the main ideas or themes?
Meaning
- What is the deeper meaning of the content ‘observed’?
- What do we learn about Jesus and God?
Application
- How is the passage calling you to change your attitude or the way you live?
I hope this serves as a little guide to your bible adventures. If you have more questions about it, send me a message!
Until next time, friends.
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