For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (Hebrews 4:12)
Simple idea. Strong implications.
This week our team was privileged to be a part of the National Wesleyan Bible Bowl. Church teams from several different states from all over the US came to compete. Personally, I have never before been a part of a Bible bowl or seen what happens there but it was sort of incredible to watch. Each year a book or several smaller books of the Bible are chosen to be the quiz material for the year. This year’s text was the book of John. The kids begin preparing early in the year and spent hours and hours learning and memorizing the text and big ideas. The Bible bowl is three days long and the kids are busy for most of it quizzing at different stations each day. Our team helped on panels in several of the quizzing venues by timing, score keeping and checking answers.
Here’s how quizzing works if you have no idea, like I hadn’t:
Two teams of four students each sit on ether side of the front of the room at long tables. Once quizzing begins, each quizzer sits locked and loaded with thumbs poised above their trigger anxious to buzz in. The quizmaster resides in front of the kids facing them while the panels sit behind him or her. Once the quizmaster begins reading the question the kids are allowed to buzz in, but once the sound is heard, the quizmaster will stop reading the question. Although it was crazy to see, we watched as many kids would hear the first 2-3 words of a question before they would buzz in, such as “In John 17…” BUZZZ! Then before twenty seconds elapsed the quizzer would recite every memory verse he or she knew from John 17 and hope that they recited the one that was going to be asked for. Most often the kids would get them right. The most amazing thing for me was to watch them literally recite 5-10 verses within twenty seconds. It was jaw dropping to say the least!
The National bowl is a competition for scholarship money for tuition at any of the five Wesleyan schools IWU is associated with.
Anyway, aside from helping judge on the panels, our team had the opportunity to play a concert and worship set one evening, play praise music for the morning devotions and play games in the evenings with the kids.
It was a nice way to end the summer, and an enormous reminder to me how possible and vital it is to keep Gods word hidden in hearts!
On Sunday we headed over to College Wesleyan church for the last time we would play together this summer and enjoyed the two services there. Debriefing on Monday went swimmingly as usually and by Monday afternoon, some of us were already off for home!
It all went so quickly and we learned so much. God truly blessed us greatly this summer in our travels and really in everything we did. It still amazes me how God so often uses imperfect people to work out His perfect will. I am already missing our team and I’m convinced some of our phrases and mannerisms as a team will always be with me from now on haha
Thank you all for your prayers and support. God used us as a ministry to people this summer in large part because of the support of all of you and we are very grateful!
Again, after another incredible summer I’m reminded; the ministry doesn’t end with College Wesleyan or the Bible Bowl. God calls us to be servant-minded men of God every day of our lives – not only when we have the opportunity to lead in worship or lead as counselors. The Spirit of God, like the Word of God, is living and active and ready to wreck our lives as people of this world and remake us into people that are truly alive. I saw it this summer and I have seen this happening every day since then.
PRAISE GOD for His faithfulness and power in our lives!
