Follow Your Dreams

Nike: Wait!...

Camei: Why are you always following me?!!

Nike: Because my parents told me "FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS."

Promise

Nike2x: I'm sure that everyone has seen a ring like this one. It is a very special kind of ring. Do you know what kind of ring it is? It is a wedding ring. It is a very simple ring. It has no diamonds or any other precious stones. It is just a plain, simple band of gold, but it is very special because it is a reminder of a promise that is made when a couple gets married. On the day that they are married, a husband and wife make a promise that they will love and stand faithfully beside one another "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as they live." Each of them wears a wedding band as a reminder of that promise that they made. The ring also tells everyone who sees it about the promise that the couple made.

We all make promises, don't we? You might promise your mother that you will clean your room and do your chores before you go out to play. Or you may promise to keep a secret told to you by your best friend. You may promise to return something that you borrowed from a neighbor.

Has anyone ever broken a promise they made to you? How did that make you feel? What did you say? You were probably very disappointed and said something like, "But you promised!" Sometimes we aren't very good at keeping our promises.

God makes promises. Our Bible lesson today is about a promise that God made to a man named Noah. I'm sure that you know the story of how God sent a great flood to destroy the earth because the people had become so wicked and evil. He destroyed everything he had created except for two of every kind of bird and animal and Noah and his family. He spared them because Noah was a good and righteous man who walked with God.

After the flood waters went down and Noah's family and all the animals could leave the ark, God made a promise to Noah. He promised Noah that he would never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. Then he did something to remind Noah of that promise. He placed a rainbow in the sky and he said to Noah, "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the promise between me and all life on the earth." God said that every time he saw the rainbow, he would remember the promise that he made.

God has kept that promise, hasn't he? God keeps all of his promises. In fact, the Bible says that, "No matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." (2 Corinthians 1:20) The next time you see a rainbow, remember the promise God made to Noah, and remember that just as he has kept that promise, he keeps all of his promises.

The Stick

Nike2x: I am looking for someone who is very strong to help me this morning. Who would like to help?

One kid volunteers.

You look pretty strong to me. Do you think you can break this stick?

Nike2x gave the child one small stick that can easily be broken.

Wow! You are strong! You easily broke that stick.

Let's see if you can break these sticks.

Nike gave the child a bundle of sticks that are bound together. After giving the child time to try to break the bundle of sticks he said...

“The sticks in this bundle are just like the stick that was so easily broken. Yet when they are bound together, they are much stronger than they are when they are by themselves. Even the very strongest person here this morning could not break this bundle of sticks.”

These sticks can teach us an important lesson about the church. Sometimes when we think of the church, we think of a building where we come to worship, but the church isn't a building. The church is made up of men, women, boys, and girls who have chosen to follow Jesus. You, me, all of the people here today -- all of us together -- we are the church.

Some people say, "I can be a Catholic without going to church" -- and that may be true -- but by ourselves we are not very strong. When Satan tries to tempt us to do something that we know is wrong, it may be difficult to resist him if we try to go it alone. But if we stand together with others who follow Jesus, they will be a source of strength and encouragement. We will be much stronger than we would be by ourselves.

One day, Jesus went off by himself to pray. He prayed for his disciples because he knew that his disciples had to live in the world and that they would be tempted by the evil things of the world. He also knew that if his disciples would come together as one, they would be much stronger than they would as individuals. So he prayed and asked God to protect them and to help them to be one, just as he and his Father were one.

When Satan tempts you to do things that you know are wrong, remember the lesson of the sticks -- there is strength in unity.