Flannelgraph Lessons

Remember going to Sunday School when you were little? Remember the fuzzy flannelgraph boards and the felt figures that your teacher would stick up one at a time to tell you some amazing story from the Bible? Remember how you'd sit wide-eyed and listen?  Well, that is, unless you were one of those naughty kids who wouldn't sit still for anything.  But even if you weren't one of those good little kids, maybe just maybe you'd hear some simple and yet foundational truth about how big and how great God is and how much He loves us and takes care of us.

I think somewhere along the way, a lot of us have lost touch with that child-like faith. We've lost touch with the awe factor. The Old Testament stories have become just that...just "stories". Irrelavant even. I've been reading through some of those old stories recently, and God has certainly been speaking some really encouraging things to my heart through them. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that if God took the time to write something down and put it in His Word for us...well, I'm thinking there's a reason for it.

The really cool part is that if I'm willing to take the time to read the Bible and open up my heart to listen, He somehow has a way of hitting me right where I'm at quite a bit. I can read the same passage that I've read 50 different times before, and it always seems like I can get something new out of it.   I love that!  God's Word is most certainly living and active!  His Word not only seizes our hearts and convicts our consciences, but it also comforts our souls and encourages us in our weariness.  His Word is POWERFUL!  All of it.

So next time you're reading those old stories, really let them sink in.  God really did create the entire world in six days.  God really did flood the entire earth.  God protected Daniel when he was surrounded by lions.  God made those walls of Jericho tumble down.  God really had Jonah swallowed up by a big fish.  Even when his own family betrayed him, God faithfully was with Joseph.  God sent plagues against Egypt when Pharaoh wouldn't let His people go.  God gave Samson unbelievable strength.  God helped David defeat a giant. 

They're more than just "stories", and they're more than just flannelgraph children's lessons.  You'll see how BIG God is.  How powerful God is.  You'll see that God can do things we can't even begin to imagine.  You'll also see how gracious God is.  How merciful God is.  You'll see how many times He simply desires us to give Him our hearts and turn to Him.  He gives second chances time and time again because He longs for us to be with Him.  You'll see that He truly is a loving and compassionate God.  And along the way, you might just find that His old stories are even more applicable now than they ever were when you were a kid.