Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 19: Knots and Unity

Key Verse

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 WEB

Lesson

What is the best knot? There are hundreds of knots. Knots are used for many purposes. Some are used for decoration. Others are useful for every day tasks because they are simple and effective. Some knots are good for very specific tasks but not much good for anything else. Knots can be easy and quick to tie or complex and take a long time to master.

Knots have a real power. What would we do without them? A piece of rope is not much good without knots. You could jump rope with it, or play tug-of-war. Perhaps it would be good for scratching your back. Ok maybe not. Knots provide endless uses for ropes.

Joining two ends of rope together with a knot makes the rope pieces more useful then either would be alone. Knots are incredible because the rope itself will break before the knot comes undone. Knots have represented a bond of togetherness or unity for centuries. When we unite together with each other as friends or family we are stronger than alone. Uniting with God makes us even stronger. Philippians 4:13 tells us that Christ strengthens us enough to accomplish anything. 

So what is the best knot? A figure 8 knot is said to be the strongest knot. A bowline knot never tightens even when pulling a heavy load. A square knot has an endless number of applications. But the best knot is always the correct one for the job. Knowing the right knot will allow you to do anything with rope. Knowing God and being united with him will allow you to do anything he asks of you.

Questions

What is your favorite knot?

How to we unite with God to receive his power?

How do we achieve unity with friends or family?

Written By David F. Garner
Photo Credit Steen Jepson

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 5: The Rope Of Eternity

Key Text


"Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win." 1 Corinthians 9:24 WEB


Lesson

Frances Chan uses a great object lesson is some of his sermons. It is a powerful lesson, especially when done by yourself rather than just seeing or hearing it. So grab a piece of rope if you have on handy, if not picture one in your mind. To do the illustration for yourself, take a piece of long rope, at least 20 feet or 6 meters if possible. This works best if you can stretch the rope out in a straight line. If you are unable that is OK, stretch it out as much as you can. Now grab the very end of the rope so that only a few inches stick past your hand. In other words, hold the rope just a few inches from the end. Do you have it? Look at the rest of the rope. Now look back at the part of the rope in your hand.


Chan compares the rope to a timeline of our life. The few inches of rope between the end and your hand represents our life hear on earth. The rest of the rope represents eternity! Think about this for a minute. Our short time on earth is just a tiny amount of the millions of years of eternity! Chan says, "What blows me away is that some of you, all you think about is [those first few inches]. Its all you think about, your consumed with it." How can we be so short sighted?


Paul gives some very critical advice in 1 Cor. 9:24-27. This is where he likens our life on earth to a race. He points out that we should run in such a way that we will receive the prize of eternal life. We need to stay as focused as someone training for the biggest race of their life to make sure that in the end we are not disqualified.


Like the short amount of rope in hand, we often get distracted with worries of this life. We are concerned about getting a new pair of nice shoes or the newest smartphone. When we grow up we can get completely focused on making money or saving enough for retirement. We need to keep perspective. Our childhood or adulthood is only a couple inches of rope compared to eternity! Psalms 103:15 says our lives are like blades of grass that are hear today and gone tomorrow. What we do in this short, short life determines how we will spend eternity. Remember that every time you grab a piece of rope.


Questions


What are some specific things we can do in our life to make sure we are running our best to reach heaven?

How can we stay focused on eternity and avoid getting distracted by this short life?

What types of things distract you?

What types of things motivate you to stay focused on the race for heaven?


Sources


Frances Chan "What Are You Living For?" Rope Illustration, produced by Nate Hanson,

Apr 1, 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86dsfBbZfWs.




Written by David F. Garner

Photo Credit: David F. Garner

Christian Outdoor Object Lessons 2: Rock Climbing and Prayer

Key Verse

“He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.” Psalm 62:2 KJV

Lesson

As you cling to the rock, sweat drips off your brow, your hands are getting slick and clammy. You breathe rapidly and you can feel your heart beating in your body. You are lead climbing, 75 feet off the ground and 6 feet past your last anchor. You are still a few feet from the next bolt. You know if you fall now it will be at least a 12-foot drop. But you’re not sure if you can hold on much longer. Then the doubts start to flash before your mind. Did you place that last quick-draw correctly? Did you back clip? Did you check to make sure it was bomber? Can your belayer even see you after that last roof? Does he even know what you are going through? Or is he down there not paying attention, distracted by his new girlfriend he brought along?

Sometimes in life, we go through similar situations. We struggle and struggle up the difficulties of life. Sometimes its fun. Other times it becomes real and serious, even dangerous. We work hard to create anchors in our life. We try to set them to catch us in case we slip. We wear our seatbelt. We have some money saved aside. We have some solid friends in case our relationships don’t work out. We assume our parents will always be there to support and help us. But can we always trust those anchors to be there?

What if our friends move away? What if we don’t have enough money for an emergency? What if our parents split up, or even die? Do we have a second back up? Are our anchors in life redundant? In some situations, they may be. But if we start to think about it we may realize they are not. When the going gets tough we may start to doubt that our anchors will hold up.

As Christians, we have another Anchor. Our anchor to the Rock that David speaks about in Psalms is the Word of God. It is there to assure us that God is real and who He claims to be. Just as important is our rope, our connection to the Anchor—prayer. This is how we stay connected. When the going gets rough and we can’t double check the anchor, we have prayer at our disposal. It is the life-link to God our Rock. We can know that our God is always listening, even if our earthly belayer gets distracted by their girlfriend or boyfriend.

Questions

How do you stay anchored to the Rock?

What is your favorite verse in the anchor (Word of God)?

Has prayer ever kept you connected when everything else has fallen away?

Written by David F. Garner
Photo Credit: Pexels via www.pixabay.com