Close Encounters
What has scared Liz and Lucille while lost in the woods? Liz is sure it’s an alien from Planet Xenon planning to kidnap them! What’s going on?
Before You ListenLet's Get Started
Theme: Purity of thought
1. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true...noble... right... pure.. ...lovely...admirable...think about such things.” Define what these words mean: admirable, pure, lovely, praiseworthy. What are some things that you spend a lot of time thinking about or doing? Do they fall into those categories?
2. In Exodus 32, the Israelites were at Mount Sinai, and Moses had gone up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God. He stayed there a very long time. The people asked Aaron, Moses’ brother, to make an idol for them that they could worship and that would lead them in their journey. Instead of telling the people it was wrong, Aaron took their gold jewelry and made a golden calf from it. He then gave the calf to the Israelites and built an altar in front of it, and the people worshipped the calf. God was very angry with the people and wanted to destroy them all, but Moses pleaded with God to save them. God punished them but spared their lives. Think about the things that got in the way of the Israelites’ relationship with God as you listen to today’s program.
After you listen
Memory Verse
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”
Quiz
A: There were weird shapes—crooked lines and half-circles and crazy triangles
Reflect
In this episode, Liz cluttered up his mind with thoughts about his video games. Have you ever watched a scary movie…and then had a nightmare? Have you ever thought about owning something so much…that you were tempted to steal it? Then you need to know Eve’s story.
Eve had the perfect life….until the serpent told her some lies about God and about a certain tree in the garden. Suddenly, all Eve could think about was the fruit on that one particular tree. The more she thought about that fruit, the more she wanted to taste it. She finally ate it—and at that moment, her perfect life was shattered!
Your thoughts can get you into trouble, so how do you control your thoughts? Paul gave us this good advice: whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy—we should think about such things (Philippians 4:8). Paul is saying to be really careful about what you choose to think about. The more you think about good things, the more your words and your actions make your life better and happier. The more junk you think about—or look at—the more the junk comes spilling out in your words and actions. So be on your guard, because what we think about really matters—just ask Eve!
Want to dig deeper about idolatry and how to keep your thoughts pure? Read Deuteronomy 5:8-10 and Luke 10:27.
Challenge
Idolatry is anything that takes up room in our hearts and minds that pushes God out. Ask an adult to help you with this activity: Take a glass of water and fill it right up to the top. Find some small objects (marbles, coins, pebbles or small stones, small toys). Our hearts are full of God and his love. That is the cup and water. But there are many things we enjoy in our lives. Think of one thing you enjoy (video games, watching TV, toys, shopping, clothes, sports). Pick up an object and say what one of those things is, then dropit into the cup. What happens? Think of another thing that takes up a lot of your thoughts or time. Drop it in. Repeat this a few times, with each person taking a turn. What happens to the water?
God wants us to enjoy the many things he gives us (toys, sports, etc.) But when you spend too much time thinking about them or doing them, they can start to push God out of your heart and mind. Talk with your family about how you can keep God first in your heart and mind.
