Revisiting China Country

Tonight we passed by the Great Wall of China once more - of course, this is bone china.  As in, china cups, china saucers, and all sorts of inhabitants made entirely out of china.  It is a delicate place.  Madison has been wanting to go back to Oz lately, so this was a logical first step:  the movie is "Legends of Oz," released just last year.  It was not well-received, which explains why we finally saw it tonight.  And yet, it wasn't all that bad either.  Just getting to spend time with Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man was fine enough for Madison - and Mommy and Daddy too.  I suppose we'll get around to the other Oz movies within a week or so, but the books might not be far off either.  And with all that said, there may be an appearance of Oz at KidPak in time.  Why not?  There are plenty of things to draw inspiration from, and Madison certainly enjoys it.  So do Mommy and Daddy, in fact.

Today was the coldest day of the year.  Which isn't saying much as we're only a few days in.  But still, it's cold.  The windchill made it feel like zero.  The actual temperature was around nine degrees.  The ground crunched beneath your feet, and your skin begged frantically to get back inside where it was warm.  As you might suspect, we had a fire in the fireplace today.

Madison had a bit of homework to do, and piano work as well - we're back on that again, full steam ahead.  Lots of piano practice, in fact.  But we've recently received some donations from families moving and so forth:  these are incredible gifts still in the boxes and in pristine shape.  We don't want to just throw these in Madison's lap, but instead what we'll do is give them to her one at a time as a reward for various tasks, like finishing her piano work.  And tomorrow, there is a report card coming - hopefully we'll see some good marks!

Today we continued our DeSantafication process, which will probably keep on going until Monday.  We had a lot to do.  It was also Ba-Ba's birthday today, and a big one.  Madison made a birthday card for him, one that we put in the mail. But we also called on Skype and had a really long conversation.  How great to have the three of us talking to the two of them, and to be able to lug the camera wherever we want to.  We probably talked about a half-hour, the three of us.  Madison popped in and out, saying "boo" or "Happy Birthday."  But it was nice nonetheless.

Another big thing that Daddy did today was write the message for this upcoming Sunday.  It's one of my favorites, a message that starts with Thor!

KidPak Adventures:  Northern Lights
The Hammer of God

CUE SLIDE:  SNOW

CUE TRACK:  5

Place HAMMER, and BIBLE on STAGE during SERMON INTRO

HOST enters STAGE RIGHT

HOST:  "Welcome back to the Frozen North!  If you think it was cold this week, you have no idea.  The place we're visiting with this series is a land of snow and ice - let me show it to you on the map."

CUE SLIDE:  "SCANDINAVIA"

HOST:  "It's way north, closer to the North Pole than it has any right to be.  And yet, it's a place where a lot of people lived.  Last week and this one, we saw some of the Vikings that lived in the region."

CUE SLIDE: " VIKINGS"

HOST: "And last series, do you remember the LEGO toys we talked about?"

CUE SLIDE: "LEGO"

HOST:  "They were first made by people who lived in this area.  And of course last winter, who can forget this person here?"

CUE SLIDE:  "ELSA"

HOST:  "This is a story that takes place here as well.  But today, we'll be talking about one famous guy from this land.  He's a guy who holds a hammer.  Anyone know who that is?"

CUE SLIDE:  "THOR"

Let audience answer

HOST: "Yes.  This is Thor.  He's a superhero.  He has super strength and is pretty invulnerable.  It's for this reason that in the movies the people of Norway used to think he was a god.  But he's not.  He's a superhero.  And what is his weapon of choice?"

HOST picks up hammer on stage, as audience answers.

HOST: "That's right.  A hammer.  Would you like to see a clip of him using it?"

Let audience answer.

HOST:  "Me too."

CUE VIDEO CLIP:  "THOR:  DARK WORLD - 'ANYONE ELSE?'" (Thor is challenged by a rock monster, but uses his hammer quickly to break it to pieces - he turns to everyone around and asks, 'anyone else?')

CUE SLIDE:  "The Mjölnir"

HOST:  "While others have laser guns and swords and shields, Thor uses this hammer.  And as you just saw, he uses it pretty well.  In that clip we just watched, he used that hammer to break a rock monster into pieces!  And that brings me to an amazing scripture I found in the Bible.  Check this out!"

CUE SLIDE:  "JEREMIAH 23:29"

HOST:  “My message is like fire,” announces the Lord. “It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.”

HOST swings hammer dramatically.  Thwak!

HOST: " This brings us to our first point pretty quickly.  Let's look at it now."

CUE SLIDE:  "POINT ONE:  It's Hammer Time!"

HOST:  "It's Hammer time!  God said His word was like a hammer.  And He said it has some real power behind it."

CUE SLIDE:  "The Mjölnir"

HOST picks up Bible.

HOST:  "Picture that rock monster getting blasted to pieces.  This Bible, God said, is like a hammer.  And it can be used in battle, because it is God's promise - and God never lies.  Let's say someone says you are too young to be something in life.  There's 1 Timothy 4:7 NIrV."

HOST swings hammer dramatically.  Thwak!

CUE SLIDE:  "1 Timothy 4:7"

HOST:  "It says, 'Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young.'  But what about the future?  Most movies show the future as this scary place.  Pick up that hammer.  What does God say about you and the future?"

HOST swings hammer dramatically.  Thwak!

CUE SLIDE:  "Jeremiah 29:11"

HOST:  "'I know the plans I have for you,' announces the Lord. 'I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.'  But what about all this sickness going around - like the flu?"

CUE SLIDE: "OPRAH - EVERYONE GETS THE FLU!"

HOST:  "You get the flu.  You get the flu.  Everybody gets the flu!"

HOST swings hammer dramatically.  Thwak!

HOST:  "We'd better use the hammer on THAT one.  Let's bust sickness to pieces with this scripture here."

CUE SLIDE:  "Isaiah 53:5"

HOST: "By his stripes we are healed.  Have you ever loved someone so much that when you saw them suffering, you wish it was you instead of them?  That's what Jesus thought too."

HOST puts down hammer.

HOST:  "God's word is like a hammer.  We use it in battle - and throughout the Bible, it was used in battle.  In fact, today I'm going to tell you about an epic battle.  It was one between a hero, and a villain.  And it took place here."

CUE SLIDE: "The Wilderness"

HOST:  "Let me set the stage for you.  Our hero was Jesus.  And just like you right now, he was fasting.  Only he was fasting food for forty days.  His body was no doubt tired and hungry.  He was there when food was created.  He was there when we were created.  If he wanted to, he could have instantly had an angel bring him one of these!"

CUE SLIDE:  "STRIKE-IT-RICH CARAMEL SUNDAE"

HOST: "Oh yeah.  Who wants one of those?  Okay, seriously.  Get that off the screen please!"

CUE SLIDE:  "CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE"

HOST: "That's is NOT funny.  Seriously, we're all fasting here!  No more!  Now let me show you an image of what Jesus actually saw instead of food."

CUE SLIDE:  "KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS"

HOST:  "KidPak, can you turn back to the sound booth and scream 'STOP IT!'"

Let audience respond.

CUE SLIDE:  "WILDERNESS"

HOST:  "That's better.  Now you know Jesus saw all those things in his mind.  But of course he didn't eat any of them.  Just like you, he decided to stick to his fast.  But that's when the deceiver entered the picture.  This was a voice that didn't belong to God.  This was the voice of the trickster.  There's your next point."

CUE SLIDE:  "POINT TWO:  BEWARE THE TRICKSTER"

HOST:  "Beware the Trickster.  We were talking about Thor and his hammer earlier.  Can anyone tell me the name of Thor's enemy?"

CUE SLIDE: "LOKI"

Let audience reply.

HOST: "Loki.  He's a trickster.  He's a deceiver.  He makes things seem as if they are, when they really aren't.  The Vikings knew about tricking others a lot.  In fact, to this day, there are two places the Vikings named:  one is Iceland and the other is Greenland.  To this day, both of these islands have these names - and yet these names are a trick!  When I say 'Iceland,' what do you think?  You think of ice and snow.  And yet look at this picture of Iceland."

CUE SLIDE:  "ICELAND"

HOST: "It's a really nice place, filled with nice people and a beautiful amazing countryside.  And... I might add... a lot of green.  Now let's look at the place we still call Greenland.  It's going to be green, right?"

CUE SLIDE:  "GREENLAND"

HOST:  "Nope.  You have to be pretty tough to want to live there.  And that's what the Vikings were thinking when they named these places - they were trying to trick other people into going to the wrong place.  They were twisting the words."

CUE SLIDE:  "LOKI"

HOST:  "And that's what this guy Loki is an expert at in the movies.  He's a villain, and one of his goals is to bring Thor down.  But Loki here is only  a comic book character.  And there is a real enemy voice out there that comes to kill, steal and destroy.  He is the devil, and he'll do his best to trick us.  Listen to this scripture here."

CUE SLIDE:  "2 CORINTHIANS 11:14"

HOST:  "'Even Satan himself pretends to be an angel of light.'  That's his 'super power,' trying to fool people.  He came at Eve in the Garden of Eden, and right off the bat he started trying to twist God's word.  'Didn't God say?' that crafty trickster said."

HOST:  "He fooled Adam and Eve.  And he tried the same thing coming at Jesus in the Wilderness.  'Didn't God say?' He said.  And you know what Jesus did?"

HOST grabs hammer and swings it.  Thwak!

CUE SLIDE:  "The Mjölnir"

HOST:  "He defeated the devil in that battle.  The devil kept bringing up the Bible, twisting it to deceive.  But Jesus' real power in that battle came from the fact that he knew the Word better!  And that's our real power too.  If you're wondering why you don't have that much power in your life, maybe it is because you're not using your hammer."

HOST puts down hammer, and picks up Bible.

HOST:  "If you're not winning those battles in your mind, maybe it is because you're not using your hammer.  If you're feeling lost or without hope, maybe you're not using your hammer.  And that's the challenge for you during this fast, at the start of this year of increase.  We all need to use this hammer more.  And when we do that, we'll find more power in our lives - and we'll find ourselves more of a hero.  Let me conclude with this last thought related to Thor, and his mighty hammer."

CUE SLIDE:  AVENGERS

HOST:  "Recently, I saw an advertisement for the next Avengers movie.  All of the heroes are in a room, each one trying to lift that hammer.  Iron Man, War Machine, Captain America, and Hawkeye give it a try.  But none of them can lift the thing.  Not even the Hulk could lift the hammer.  Let me show you this one clip from the first 'Thor' movie that shows you what I'm talking about."

CUE VIDEO:  "TRYING TO LIFT THOR'S HAMMER"

CUE SLIDE:  "HAMMER in DESERT"

HOST is seen attempting to lift the hammer, but cannot.

HOST:  "Nobody could lift the thing.  And in the trailer I saw for the new Avengers movie, Thor explained it:  "It's simple.  None of you are worthy."

HOST gives up trying to lift hammer, and goes over to the Bible, also on stage.

HOST:  "Ouch.  And the truth is this.  None of us are worthy of using this hammer here either.  But something amazing happened.  The ultimate superhero came to earth - Jesus.  He came here, and what he said was this... our third and final point."

CUE SLIDE:  "POINT THREE:  YOU ARE WORTHY!"

HOST:  "You are worthy.  It isn't what WE did.  It is what Jesus did that gives us the power.  That's very important to remember.  Listen to this one final scripture."

CUE SLIDE:  "1 Corinthians 1:30"

HOST:  "He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free."

CUE SLIDE: "CROSS"

HOST:  "We didn't earn this power.  Jesus paid for it, paying a terrible price.  He went to the cross.  He was tortured.  And he didn't deserve it at all.  But nevertheless, he went through it all - just for us."

CUE SLIDE:  "NORTHERN LIGHTS"

HOST:  "He went through all of this for us, and the LEAST we can do is spend time reading His words.  It is a love letter for us, and it is filled with His thoughts towards us - but scriptures with so much power that you can walk - or fly - with victory."

You can have that little strut about you, but in your mind you know that you didn't earn it.  You've got the power, but it was a gift given to you.

We're all fasting this month, and starting the year out right by drawing closer to God than ever before.  That's why this is the best time to make a schedule of when during the week you promise to read more of this book.  Write it down in the back of your booklet what times each week you'll pick up this hammer.  And stay with it!

His word is like a hammer.  And you are worthy to pick it up.  And the more you pick it up, the stronger you will get.

Let us pray."