Purposeful reflection and worship acf salt factory 10 27 10

God’s Character, Continued God is a Creative God and He is Worthy to Be Praised! Patti Plett ACF Youth Salt Factory Night October 27, 2010

Purposeful Reflection and Worship
Instructions:
Spend about 2 min. at each station, following the path. Read the comment and follow the instructions.
Use this time to reflect on the wonders God has created.
This is an individual activity so please keep talking to a minimum.
If you’re waiting for someone to move on, listen to the music and appreciate the sounds, the lyrics, and the fact so much comes together to make the sound you’re hearing.

Station: Water Droplets
Notice how a single droplet of water reflects what is around it.
Notice how droplets of water magnify the details of what is underneath the drop.
Think about the fact our bodies are made up of about 90% water. Water is so important to our survival.
Take time to thank God for fresh drinking water and the beauty in nature we see because of water – lakes, rivers, oceans, and tiny droplets of water.

Station: Beautiful colours
Appreciate the colours we see in nature.
Think about the fact there are seemingly an endless variety of colours that exist in our world.
Think about places you’ve been where you’ve seen amazing colours in nature. As you remember, put yourself back in that place and re-experience it. Appreciate the beauty.

Station: Things aren’t always as they seem to be until you zoom in and pay attention to details.
First look at the picture on your left. What do you see?
Now look at the picture on your right. Take note of the flower stem. At first glance, from a wider perspective, it is hard to notice the flower stem is covered in beetles.

Read the following passage.
Meditate* on the lines that ‘jump’ out at you.
* Meditate – Examples: think about in a worshipful way, reflect, use the line as part of prayer
Station: Creation shows God’s Creativity

Psalm 104 1-13 The Message O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away — your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground.

Psalm 104 14-30 The Message Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God's trees are well-watered — the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look — the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks. The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it's dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening. What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. Oh, look—the deep, wide sea, brimming with fish past counting, sardines and sharks and salmon. Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them. All the creatures look expectantly to you to give them their meals on time. You come, and they gather around; you open your hand and they eat from it. If you turned your back, they'd die in a minute — Take back your Spirit and they die, revert to original mud; Send out your Spirit and they spring to life — the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.

Psalm 104 31-35 The Message The glory of God—let it last forever! Let God enjoy his creation! He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake, points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt. Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live! Oh, let my song please him; I'm so pleased to be singing to God. But clear the ground of sinners — no more godless men and women! O my soul, bless God!

Station: The Eye
Notice the colours in her eye.
Is she Happy? Sad? Thoughtful?
Consider how our eyes express so much – how we are feeling – whether we are happy, sad, worried, or whether we are concentrating on something.
Consider our ability to focus, to think, to concentrate. Thank God for the ability he has given each of us to experience emotions, to think, to focus and concentrate.

The complexity of humans is an awesome wonder! Psalm 139 13-14 NIV For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Station: Up close vs. Big Picture
Notice the details of a single stalk of grain.
Consider the beauty of a field of grain that is made up of millions and probably billions of single grain stalks.
Think about times when you’ve seen a beautiful landscape. Mountains? A lake scene? The ocean? A field? Take time to re-experience that. Think about the wind on your face, the sounds you heard (like a bird in the distance or the leaves rustling in the wind, the view, the people you were with). Experience that joy.

Station: The sun(flower)
Notice the way the sun is shining through the sunflower petals.
Notice the tiny details of the flower.
Remember a time when you were outside and the sun was shining. Remember what it feels like to have the sun shining down on you. Experience that warmth.

Station: Laughter and Joy
What makes you laugh? What brings you joy?
Think of at least 5 things that make you laugh or bring joy to your life that are not necessarily ‘nature’ or people. Thank God for these things.
It’s ok to laugh or smile when you’re thinking about these things. God sees you’re happy and He is happy too!

Station: The Cherry
Imagine this. You’re walking in the woods and come across some cherries. They look sweet. Delicious. And oh so tempting. You take one cherry, pop it in your mouth … and Yuck! Bitter. Dry. Need water immediately! [Believe me, I did this! Doesn’t it look tasty?]
What things in your life look tasty, look really amazing, then taste awful, like this cherry? If anything comes to mind, talk to God about it. Feel free to talk to a youth leader or an adult in your life if you need more help to deal with it.

Station: The Path
What comes to mind when you see this picture of the path?
What does this path represent for you?

Station: Walking
As you take this detoured walk to the next station, think about what is involved when you walk.
Walk at a slow pace, paying attention to each step.
Feel the floor beneath your feet
Notice your knees bending as you walk, your ankles moving with each step, the weight of your body pressing through your feet. Notice if your arms swing as you walk. Think about the complexity required for you to be able to walk. Thank God for your ability to walk.

Station: Moving about
In this square, take 2 minutes to move freely. Do cartwheels, spin, jump, dance, do whatever!
Enjoy that God made you the way He did and that you can move freely!

Station: Music
Listen to the music.
Think about the lyrics or the sounds.
Think about how all the different sounds come together to create what you are hearing. Experience it rather than just letting it be a sound.
Use this time to worship God.

Creation Calls
Creation Calls / Magnificent
Click on the link to see the music video and hear the music

Discussion Questions
Initial thoughts or reflections on the activity?
Taking time to reflect on things you wonder at or marvel at is a form of praising God.
In your groups, take a few minutes to talk about things you wonder or marvel at (popcorn style).
Thank God for these things.
What are some ways you can incorporate taking time to notice, to marvel at what God has given us?
What is one thing you will do this week to marvel at what God has given us? The leaders will follow up with you on how you’re doing next week or in the coming weeks. Youth, you can hold the leaders accountable too.
As the group is comfortable (gauge your group, or encourage members to talk to you after), discuss the “cherry” question from the activity.
What things in your life look tasty, look really amazing, then taste awful, like this cherry?
If there is time, pray together as a group about the following:
Thank God for something cool you’ve noticed about different people in your group.
Praise God for anything else that comes to mind.
Pray about any prayer requests people mention, especially those that were not mentioned in the large group.

Purposeful reflection and worship acf salt factory 10 27 10

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