May your lance pIErce the heart of darkness

What are you doing here?

You are important; you have a positive influence on others.  You also have problems, hang-ups, foibles, quirks, and irritating attitudes, but God loves you… and we are commanded to love one another. 

God in you is perfect, yet the carnal you is not fully surrendered to Him.  In spite of this, never let your perception of self get in the way of God’s perception of His maturing gift in you.  You are His dear one, chosen to express His message by doing His work.  Is there anything more worthwhile?  Come on… think it through.  Be real with the big picture of His purpose for your first birth and your second birth—God has a job that must be accomplished by nobody but you.  You are the man; you are the woman!  Bury your treasure or hide your light and then what—suffer the consequences—not pleasant according to Jesus! (See Lk. 8:16, and Mt. 25:25 for the gruesome details.) 

Be excited about your God-job in this life!  The Bible never encourages apathy?  Why would anyone choose to live a casual pedestrian life?  Sure, you are just passing through, but God means for you to make a difference… in a good way.  Life without a passionate message is like a glass of water without the water—its empty! 

We must have a message burning in us before we pretend to play Christian Graphics at OCS.  It’s no longer about the grade; it’s about the reward that comes by knowing you are effectuating positive change by fulfilling the Lord’s will right now, in this present world.  If our enemies have more passion than us….what will happen?

Where is your world? 

A good chunk your world is enclosed with cement-block walls, finely design classrooms and pleasant teachers and friends.  Your fellow inhabitants, regardless of height, width or depth are aptly uniformed, yet cleverly accessorized with telltale traces of individuality (the slightly tucked shirt, the oversized, spangled earrings, the off-colored shoelaces, and risqué flipped collar of the regulation polo shirt).   Conformity is not a four-letter word, yet the evolving-you seeks an escape into God’s identity for your life.  It’s a spiritually genetic instinct.  Who you are becoming is yet to be seen.  All the groping can leave you momentarily empty-handed.  How will you get there? 

In “What About Bob?”  Bill Murry took “baby-steps” from where he was toward where he hoped to be.  This is your answer!  Be the best you can be where you are in order to get where your destiny beckons.  The obscurity of God’s will is obliterated as we purposely execute the steps of faith in daily life.  Actually, where you live is the exact location where God issues empowerment on your heard, heart and hands.  Get it, be His messenger today at OCS, and tomorrow will take care of itself, because you took care of today—by grace.  Get God’s message for your life.  Be the message.  Communicate the message!

FOUR SMALL STEPS TOWARD HUGE RESULTS                                                                     

1. 1. Answer Two Questions to Structure Your Poster
   

A message without structure is like a spilled glass of water—it’s wasted!

1. a)What’s Your Beef?
   

Interestingly, most of the great heroes of all times, Bible times and throughout history, have been people-of-the-beef, people possessed by a holy commission to right the wrongs of society - in and out of the Church.

Slaughter the beef and cook-up a delicious solution, a feast for the eyes, a message-poster.  After all, Jesus said, “The light of the body is the eye.” 

Where’s the enemy? “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places “ (Eph 6:12). 

We all have opinions (beefs), and we generally feel that our perceptions are accurate.  We even feel that God agrees with us.  Prayerfully seek His assessment of your school life.  What about your school-world that could be improved?  I’m talking about areas of lack in the ultimate goal of Christianity—perfect love which is the fulfillment of everything in the entire fat Bible.  “Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10).   What attitudes and behaviors violate His Spirit of love?  What images pop in your heard when you think about your school day?  Can these pictures be incorporated into a poster-message that builds up fellow students, and our school staff?

GROUP ACTIVITY - Divide up into groups of 3-4 people.  Beging with prayer and then build a list of beefy issues.  What would God like to see changed about the Christian climate at OCS?  What are His beef?  Don’t just chew the fat.

   

                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                            

This first question, “What’s your beef?” pinpoints a problem, and this second question provides the solution.  

Important side note: Please keep in mind, God always requires obedience to what He knows we can do by grace.  Quite often, His directives are “baby steps.”  If we expect to impact our world for Christ, it begins with little steps of obedience - right where we live. 

Positive change will not happen by complaining, but by complying with God’s engaging plan for each of us at. 

2. b)What is God’s Plan of Attack?
   

Prayerfully answer this question. You must get your personal answer to this question!  When God purposefully reveals a problem to a person He often involves that person in becoming part of the solution.  That’s you!

                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                            

Please consider this awesome truth as well: if our Christian community will grow in numbers and influence, it must first grow inwardly, in our love for the Lord and one another.  After all, Jesus made it perfectly clear: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:35). 

Get as much as possible out of this assignment.  Please do not fabricate a message to have something to illustrate.  Allow God to make you the message; He’ll supply the imagery to illustrate the problem and the solution.  You are not working for a grade; you are genuinely about your Father’s business.  He’s building His kingdom with you.  Therefore, you can be assured that He will supply every minuet detail of imagery and skill that He deems essential.  He’s fully equipping you to be His perfect messenger.   He actually wants this more than you do.  Expect big things of God.  He never disappoints!

2.  Use online study materials or books to gather Truth.

Do word searches to find the truth you need to answer the problem you are resolving with truth that sets people free.   Get lost in the Word for a while.  If you drift into various veins of connecting truths, I get it.  We’ll summon you back to class and the task at hand.  I see students carried away with computer games, why not God’s word!

3.  Gather the Imagery.

Gather what you need in the form of digital photography, scanned stuff, or hand-draw illustrations.

What words will you include in your poster?  You may use Scripture or any other words of truth that will engage and shake or shock your audience into enlightenment.  Catch phrases are sticky words, easily memorized and recalled.  Do it!

22x28 canvas size

18x24 image size

300 dpi on screen resolution 

PSD file format 

RGB color format

Include text