KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE!

When I was young, I was easily able to wake up at 6AM. I don’t know where I got all of that energy, but I would wake up early so that I could watch cartoons before I had to get ready for school. When I was young Cartoon Network usually played older cartoons that early in the morning. Transformers, He-Man, Captain Planet etc. I understand for some of you these were the cartoons you grew up with, but don’t worry I now see the shows that I grew up with on Boomerang so I feel your pain. Regardless, one of these shows that I would watch was G.I. Joe. For those that don’t know what it is about, it follows an American special forces team (Codenamed G.I. Joe) as they fight against a terrorist group known as COBRA. It’s not deep, it is for kids, and it was made to sell toys (it worked.) However, in order to trick parents into thinking their children were learning something they would have a PSA at the end of every episode. These would usually feature a hero from the show teaching kids not to do harmful things: play with fire, stranger danger, don’t do drugs etc. At the end of each of these PSAs the kid(s) would say, “Thanks (insert hero name here) now I know!” And the hero would respond by saying “And knowing is half the battle!”

Earlier this month the elders voted to move the service time back to 10:00 AM from 10:30AM. We understand that many people like their sleep-in, but a recent conviction has taken hold that we should bolster and revamp our education. Starting 1/16 we will be having Christian education downstairs following worship. Of course, we have offered education during the week, but due to busy schedules and all other sorts of things it has been difficult for people to attend. So, we are bringing the education to you! Now you may be wondering, “Why is this important? I go to church on Sundays, I watch the occasional theolog, why is it important that I go to this class on Sunday mornings?” To that we will turn to the apostle Paul, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

We often become complacent in our faith. We grow comfortable with it and don’t want to investigate it any further. This could be for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you think you already know everything you have to know? Maybe you are worried that if you dig deeper your faith might be challenged? Maybe you think that asking some of these questions is a waste of time because you have never thought about them? Some of these are related to pride, but if you look at the scriptures themselves, they will continually encourage us to study them and learn more about them, sometimes at the expense of all other things. In fact, the book of Proverbs has a very interesting quote in relation to this idea, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7) Why does scripture place such and emphasis on study and the gaining of wisdom? Because knowing is half the battle.

The study of the Bible, theology, and Christian history might not be exciting to some of us. It might even seem to be useless information a lot of the time. That is: until you need it. It may seem like it isn’t needed until you are challenged by a child, a friend, a family member why you believe what you believe? Or until you run into some information online that you haven’t seen before that can cast doubt on your beliefs? Or you have a great personal struggle or tragedy and you feel unequipped for that moment? All of these things besides the extreme benefit that education and the equipping it gives us plays in evangelism. We see this in Revelation when the great dragon is defeated the hosts of heaven sing a song and they say the dragon was defeated by, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Evil is defeated through what Jesus did on the cross for us, by our own stories and arguments that prove that, and that we believe in these things so much that we are willing to die for them.

The goal of this new education hour that we are going to be starting is not only to equip, but to also answer some of the questions we have in-depth, while having some fun at the same time. I am looking forward to it and I hope and pray that you all get to be excited about it as I am! Remember we equip you to know, so you can take it out and share it, because knowing is half the battle!

P.S. If you are interested in teaching let me know! If you have a special topic or anything you are interested in, let me know that too!