MettleSD121

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September–December 2012

to inSpire courage Spirit character

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Copyright © YFC and CWR 2012 Published 2012 by CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, England. Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308.

Mettle Bible-reading notes are produced in association with British Youth for Christ. British Youth for Christ is part of Youth for Christ International, a movement of youth evangelism organisations in over 100 countries of the world. Please visit www.yfci.org for the country nearest you.

Series Editor: Simeon Whiting Contributors: Lorne Campbell, Jamie Cutteridge, Bekkie Dunne, Chris Kidd, Hannah Kidd, Simeon Whiting The notes on ‘Salvation’ were previously published in Mettle May–August 2007.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of CWR. See back of book for list of National Distributors.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translations (NLT), copyright © 1996, revised 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Other quotations are marked: TLB: The Living Bible, © 1971, 1994, Tyndale House Publishers.

Concept development by YFC and CWR. Editing design and production by CWR. Printed in Wales by Stevens & George Print Group.

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SALVATION PArT 1

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TALENT PArT 1

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COMMUNITY PArT 1

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STrESS PArT 1

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SALVATION PArT 2

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TALENT PArT 2

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COMMUNITY PArT 2

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STrESS PArT 2

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SALVATION PArT 3

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Welcome to

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Why are We here? Our core readings in this issue unpack some of the biggest questions of all: why we’re here, how God wants to be involved with us and, above all, how He deals with our mistakes and selfish choices.

As usual, we also have some tasty hot potatoes to tuck into. We’ll investigate Talent, Community and Stress. You’re talented! You may or may not find that easy to believe, but however talented you think you are, we’ll discuss how to discover and develop your talents and how to use them to help others. Moving on, we’ll look at Community, both in terms of the communities we live in and of the Church as a community. We’ll think about how we can play our part in our communities. Last of all, we’ll reflect on Stress; what makes us stressed, how it affects us and what God has to say about it all. enjoy!

The Mettle Team

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WEEKEND 1/2 SEP

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have you ever wondered what you were created for?

Have you ever thought about how you got here?

Have you ever asked why you are alive?

Have you ever got any acceptable answers?

This series of readings will look at some of the biggest questions of all. It will touch on why we’re here, what our purpose is, where God is when things go wrong and how God deals with our mistakes and selfish actions. Above all, we’ll look at salvation: how God saves us from the disaster our lives can become without Him and gives us a purpose, a future and eternity with Him. We start at the very beginning; the Bible goes through the whole creation process – from darkness to God

READING: Genesis 1:20–31 K y

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‘Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!’

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THINK Just think about God looking at you and what He feels when He does: He saw that [insert your name] ‘was excellent in every way’!

Try to ignore those bad hair days or the lack of sporting ability you feel you have.

God looks past everything you are feeling, and sees how He made you and how excellent you are – He loves you completely. Talk to God about how you feel about yourself.

WEEKEND 1/2 SEP

resting. (Even evolutionists agree that the world was developed in the same order as is detailed in the Bible.)

In this weekend’s reading, God is looking at what He has created and He saw that it ‘was excellent in every way’ (TLB). He loved it. He thought it was great. He was pleased with what He had done. Starting at this point – God’s feelings for the earth and everything in it – we are going to look at what happened next, right through to the life of Jesus.

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READING: Psalm 8:1–9

MON 3 SEP

‘When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers …’

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KEy

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It’s simply amazing looking up at the sky on a clear night – you are actually seeing millions of miles! You can see the stars and moon, even a planet on occasions. How insignificant are we?!

Yet look at all we do. We really are at the top of the scale – we invent, we cure, we communicate globally.

In today’s reading, the psalmist, David, is writing about how he feels after looking up into the sky. We may be more technologically advanced and have more scientific knowledge than David had then, but in his time also human beings were at the top of the scale. God had put humans in charge of everything He had created, ‘… putting all things under their authority …’ (v.6).

What are we doing with the power God has entrusted to us as humans? How are we going about dealing with our responsibility?

Think about the words David, the psalmist, uses. Do you agree with him?

CHALLENGE ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ (from the film Spider-Man 2).

READING: Psalm 75:1–10 KEy

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‘God says, “At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked.”’

CHALLENGE Be assured, God is watching and knows what is happening. In His time He will judge. ‘It is God alone who judges …’ (v.7).

TUES 4 SEP

‘Crime doesn’t pay’ is a saying often used, based on the notion that eventually the criminal will be caught. You might be able to get away with doing something wrong for a while, but sooner or later you will be found out.

God does judge what happens. He sends out warnings and asks people to stop their wrongdoing, as we read in verse 4 of today’s psalm: ‘I warned the proud, “Stop your boasting!” I told the wicked, “Don’t raise your fists …”’. It may seem that God is letting a lot of bad things happen on earth, with no real consequences. People are getting away with it. Wars take place, corrupt governments rule.

Some ask, almost accusingly, ‘If God exists, why does He allow this or that to happen?’

We have choices to make, and our choices affect us and other people, for good or for bad.

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READING: Genesis 3:1–13

WED 5 SEP

‘The woman was convinced. She saw that the … fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.’

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KEy

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‘Yum! It looks good, it smells good, so it must be good!’ ‘Who says you can’t try it? Why not, it can’t hurt, can it?’

Ooops! God got cross – a bit of an understatement – He got really angry! Read verses 14–24. What happened to the serpent, to Eve and to Adam?

When God asked Eve for an explanation her response was, ‘The serpent tricked me … That’s why I ate it’ (see v.13). Is that our response when we get caught? We were tricked! It was somebody else’s fault! They said it would be OK! Look up 1 Corinthians 10:13. We are not on our own when we are tempted. Others have experienced similar temptations and have not given in – and God is always there to help us through. ‘… God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.’

CHALLENGE We need to take responsibility for our actions and think before we act. We all get tempted, but what makes the difference is how we handle it and whom we turn to for help.