Outdoor Object Lesson 84: Almonds For You

Key Text

“Moreover God’s word came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then God said to me, “You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it.”” Jeremiah‬ ‭1:11-12‬ ‭(WEB‬‬ paraphrased)

Lesson

Almonds are a spectacular nut. They offer great health benefits. They are high in vitamins E and B2, protein, fiber, and healthy fats. They offer a high level of antioxidants and are beneficial for the cardiovascular system.1 These nuts have a mild taste that is great alone and with many other foods. They make a great nut butter. They can even be used to make a tasteful milk substitute.

They grow on trees and are native to southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region. They grow well in warm regions such as California which produces 80% of the world's almonds. Although almonds are normally called a nut they are technically a seed which grows inside a hard fruit covering called a drupe. There are two varieties of almonds, sweet and bitter. As you likely guessed the sweet almond is the one that is eaten as a nut. The bitter almond variety is used to produce oil.2 The most striking aspect of the almond tree is the flowers. When in full bloom they are beautiful with five white to light pink petals. They have a rich fragrance that smells of honey butter.

In the Bible, almonds are mentioned several times. In Genesis 43:11 Jacob tells his sons to take almonds with them into Egypt as one of the best foods of the land. These are to be a present to Joseph, probably because the almond was not a native to the region of Egypt. In Exodus 25:33-34 Moses was directed to decorate parts of the candlestick for the wilderness Tabernacle with carvings resembling branches and blossoms of the almond tree. Aaron's rod yielded almond blossoms and ripe almonds to prove he was God’s choice for high priest (Numbers 17:8). The most unusual mention of almonds is in the key text where Jeremiah sees an almond branch in vision. It is an odd verse the first time it is read. God asks Jeremiah "What do you see?" and Jeremiah says, "the branch of an almond tree." Then God seems to congratulate him on his powers of observation then completely change the subject.

While God may seem absent minded at first, when reading the verse in context, it makes more sense. Throughout the chapter of Jeremiah 1 God repeatedly asks Jeremiah what he sees in vision, then makes an important statement. God uses these images as symbols. He is trying to help Jeremiah understand the crucial points of His message. Almond buds are usually the first to appear after the long winter. They usually start growing in late January before winter is completely gone.2 The Hebrew word for almond (shaked) means the tree that "hastens to awake." Here God is emphasizing his hast to fulfill his promises to his people. God would not delay in fulfillment of his gracious and divine promise. His message is the same to us today. Look at the bare branch of the almond tree, watch as I fulfill my promises in your life and make them bloom into a beautiful flower and bear delicious fruit.

Questions

What is your favorite nut?

What can you do when you read something in the Bible, like the key text, that doesn't make any sense?

Is it significant that God compares the fulfillment of his promises to a flower that blooms towards the end of winter?

What promises has God given for your life that he has yet to fulfill?


Sources
1. Joe Leech, "9 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Almonds," Healthline online, last modified September 6, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-proven-benefits-of-almonds.

2. Melissa Petruzzello, "Almond," Encyclopædia Britannica online, last modified September 20, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/plant/almond.


Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: LinArt via www.pixabay.com

Outdoor Object Lesson 80: Autumn Joy

Key Text

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:21‬ ‭(WEB‬‬)

Lesson

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The beautiful colors of the changing leaves. The cool weather. The flocks of migrating birds. Seasonal flavors like apple and pumpkin. The warm glow of a fire. All these things help make this time of year special. Fall is not just my favorite season though. It has been a time of celebration for many centuries in many cultures. This is because fall is the time of harvest. Farmers and gardeners have worked long hours through the rain of spring and the heat of summer to till fields, plant seeds, remove weeds, and water crops. All that hard work pays off in the fall during harvest.

Of course many crops are harvested at other times in the year. But the most are harvested around the months of fall. This is a happy time of year because the farmer and gardener reap the rewards of their hard labor. They now have crops that they can sell at the market. But they are not the only ones who are happy. All the people who depend on the farmers and gardeners for their food are also joyful in this season because they have plenty of food as well. It is a time of much rejoicing. Many cultures have celebrated a harvest festival in the autumn. It is still popular today in the form of Thanksgiving.

Having plenty of food is not the only reason everyone is happy though. They also celebrate because now they have plenty of food stored to last through the cold winter. Little food will be able to grow during the winter months so everyone will depend on the food harvested in the fall. It will need to last until the next spring. So how disappointed would a farmer be with a tree or plant that she worked hard to grow all spring and summer that produced no fruit in autumn? I think extremely disappointed.

The Bible only refers to autumn a few times. The Bible uses autumn to represent harvest. In Jude 1:12, false teachers are compared to “autumn trees without fruit.” False teachers are disappointing because they seem like a good tree that will produce much fruit in the fall, but when harvest time comes they have nothing. As Christians we are all teachers according to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to teach others about Jesus and his love leading them towards him. This is the fruit we are to produce. But many Christians are like trees that produce no fruit. Jesus warned his followers sternly about this in the key text. He said not everyone who calls me Lord will enter heaven. Only those who do God’s will.

In Revelation 14:14 Jesus is described as holding a sickle at the Second Coming signifying he is coming to reap the harvest. This is the autumn of the world. Autumn should be a fruitful season, the most abundant of the year. But not all the trees and plants will have a harvest for Jesus to reap. Many Christians may look very fruitful now. But some are false teachers that don’t actually produce anything good. These will be gathered up and discarded. Only those that do the will of God and work to teach others about Jesus will be gathered with the harvest to live in Heaven. Only those who work now in the spring rain and summer heat will have joy in autumn. Which type of tree will you be at the last autumn?

Questions

What is your favorite thing about fall?

Does the key text mean that we have to convert other people to our religion to get to heaven?

How do we go about teaching others about Jesus?

How can you teach others about Jesus even if they don’t want to talk about him?


Written by David F. Garner
Photo credit: giani via www.pixabay.com

Outdoor Object Lesson 79: A Thanks Giving Turkey

Key Text

“Oh give thanks to the God of heaven; for his loving kindness endures forever.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭136:26‬ ‭(WEB‬‬)

Lesson

“Gobble, gobble.” That unique sound is unmistakably the sound of a turkey. Turkeys are most notably associated with the Thanksgiving holiday. If you have ever had the pleasure to see live turkeys then you know they are interesting birds. Wild turkeys live all over the North American continent. They are native to this land. They usually live in wooded habitats and like to frequent fields and meadows. They spend most of their day looking for food which includes seeds, grass, insects and most anything they can eat. At night they roost up in the branches of trees safely above their predators. You may be surprised to learn that turkeys can fly. They can run 25 miles per hour (40.2 kph) and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour (88.5 kph)!

In the spring time hens (female turkey’s) make nests on the ground often at the base of trees to raise their young. After poults (turkey chicks) hatch they grow quickly and are big enough to roost in trees at two to four weeks old. The poults join their mothers in her flock. Turkeys separate themselves into different groups called flocks based on gender and age. The mature gobblers (adult male turkey) are in their own flock, the young hens with chicks are in another, the older hens are in a third flock, and the young males are in a forth. Each flock is a close group that stick together and watch out for one another. These smaller flocks move independently through the forest but stay close to the others forming a large flock.

As the flocks roam the forests looking for food they continually gobble to each other to keep track of their flock-mates. They also work together to watch out for danger. When danger is sensed the entire flock becomes very silent to avoid detection. During mating season in the spring there is much gobbling by all the turkeys and especially the males. Their gobble is the most distinct.1 Turkeys gobble a lot to communicate about various things. It is hard to decipher exactly what turkeys say when they gobble. An interesting connection is how the weather affects their gobbling. Some recent research seems to suggest that turkeys gobble most between the mild temperatures of 60-69° F (15.6-20.6° C). They also gobble most with a light breeze between 3-6 mph (4.8-9.7 kph) and are almost silent with winds over 12 mph (19 kph). They also gobble less when the barometric pressure drops to levels that indicate rain and more when it indicates mostly clear sky’s. It’s as if the turkeys can’t help but give thanks to the Creator for good weather. They talk the most during cool temperatures with a slight breeze and little to no rain. What creature could live outdoors and not give thanks to God for every moment of good weather!2

Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from the turkey about giving thanks. It is not something to do only once a year at the Thanksgiving holiday. Nor is it something to do only when we receive a big blessing or have our prayers answered the way we want. We receive numerous blessing each day from our Father. We can be thankful for each of those blessings every day, even simple blessing like good weather. We always have a reason to give thanks to God. One good reason is that God’s love for us endures forever, just as it says in the key text. We should give thanks to God no matter what, even for the difficult things we go through (1 Thessalonians 5:18, James 1:2). God brings the good weather and the storm and he is with us in both. That is reason enough to praise him every day!

Questions

Where did you see your first turkey?

How do you give thanks to God?

Should I give thanks to God even if I don’t feel like it?

What can a Christian do when they don’t feel like God is near?



1. “Wild Turkey Behavior.” (2018). National Wild Turkey Federation online. Accessed November 22, 2018 from https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/behavior.

2. David Hart. “The Science of Gobbling.” (2018). National Wild Turkey Federation online. Accessed November 22, 2018 from https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/article/the-science-of-gobbling.

Outdoor Object Lesson 76: Joy Not Fear

Key Text

“For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”

2 Timothy 1:7 (WEB)

Lesson

Pumpkins are almost synonymous with fall and especially Halloween. Have you ever wondered why we carve pumpkins for Halloween? Some can be pretty scary. Halloween is an old holiday that was originally celebrated by pagan people in the British islands. Those people believed that on Halloween or Samhain (pronounced ‘sow wan’) as it was called in Irish, spirits of the dead and evil spirits came to wander the earth. 

Out of fear, some people carved scary, ugly faces into gords, turnips, and other pumpkin like food. They put hot coals or candles inside to make them glow to be seen at night. They believed these ugly carvings could scare away evil spirits and protect them on Halloween.1 This is where we get the term jack-o’-lantern.2

In modern times people still carve pumpkins at Halloween. Most people don’t do it to scare away evil spirits. They may carve ugly faces in pumpkins to scare other people. As children of God we no longer need to fear evil spirits. Not at Halloween or any other time of year. Jesus came and defeated Satan and his evil spirits long ago. When we pray and ask for him to protect us he will. We also don’t need to be scared of what other people do (Romans 8:38-39). They may try to scare us with carved pumpkins or other decorations at Halloween. They may try to do other things to scare us too. But Paul said in the Key Text that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of love. No matter what we face we can trust God instead and give him our fear. 

God’s love comes from the light of joy that Jesus places inside us when we accept him into our hearts. It can turn our fear into joy. This Halloween, let other people see what it looks like when you have God’s light inside. Carve a pumpkin with a happy, smiling face or perhaps a cross or message of joy on it. Put a candle inside and set it outside to let everyone know that you have joy instead of fear on Halloween and every other night.

Questions

What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Is Halloween a holiday Christians should celebrate? Does how we celebrate it matter?

What do we do if we ask Jesus to take our fear but still feel scared?

Did Jesus ever feel scared? Why or why not?

Written by David F. Garner

Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

Sources:

1. “HISTORY OF PUMPKIN CARVING AND HALLOWEEN (SAMHAIN).” (10/28/2017). Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland online. Accessed October 19, 2018 from https://stairnaheireann.net/2017/10/28/history-of-pumpkin-carving-and-halloween-samhain-2/.

2. “The History of 'Jack-O'-Lantern'.” (2018). Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed October 19, 2018 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-jack-o-lantern.

IS NOT THIS THE LAND OF BEAULAH?

IS NOT THIS THE LAND OF BEAULAH? 

Is Not This The Land of Beulah? 

I am dwelling on the mountain, 

Where the golden sunlight gleams, 

O'er a land of wondrous beauty, 

Far exceeds my fondest dreams; 

Where the air is pure, ethereal, 

Laden with the the breath of flowers, 

They are blooming by the fountain, 

'Neath the amaranthine bowers. 

I can see far down the mountain, 

Where I wandered weary years, 

Often hindered in my journey 

By the ghosts of doubts and fears, 

Broken vows and disappointments 

Thickly sprinkled all the way; 

But the Spirit led unerring 

To the land I hold today. 

I am drinking at the fountain, 

Where I ever would abide, 

For I've tasted life's pure river, 

And my soul is satisfied; 

There's no thirsting for life's pleasures, 

Nor adorning rich and gay, 

For I've found a richer treasure, 

One that fadeth not away. 

Tell me not of heavy crosses, 

Nor of burdens hard to bear, 

For I've found this great salvation, 

Makes each burden light appear; 

And I love to follow Jesus, 

Gladly counting all but dross, 

Worldly honors all forsaking 

For the glory of the cross. 

Oh, the cross has wondrous glory! 

Oft I've proved this to be true, 

When I'm in the way so narrow, 

I can see a pathway through; 

And how sweetly Jesus whispers, 

"Take the cross, thou need'st not fear, 

For I've trod the way before thee, 

And the glory lingers near." 

Is not this the Land of Beaulah, 

Blessed, blessed land of light, 

Where the flowers bloom forever, 

And the sun is always bright?

By Anonymous  

Photo Credit: 12019 via www.pixabay.com

Christian Outdoor Object Lesson 67: Wind Unseen

Key Verse

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,” Galatians 5:22 WEB

Lesson

Can you see the wind? Of course not. Can you hear it? Nope. That might surprise you. We often talk of hearing the wind. In actuality, we are only hearing the affects of the wind. When the wind blows by, the air itself makes no noise. The sound comes from the air interacting with objects it meets. You only hear the affects of wind.

Air can cause sounds in many ways through its interactions with different objects. It can cause a kite to flap making a distinct noise. It can rattle the windows in your house. When the wind blows past your ear or through a whistle it creates yet another sound. All these interactions cause the air to separate rapidly creating pressure waves. These pressure waves are what make the sound of the wind. On its own, wind cannot be seen or heard, but when it affects an object it is quite obvious.

It is similar with the Holy Spirit. It cannot be seen or heard. Its movements are unknown to us until it affects a person. When the Holy Spirit interacts with a person, and that person is receptive, the affects are often quite obvious. Galatians 5:22 tells us what to look for – the fruit of the Spirit. When a person is changed by accepting Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes into their heart and begins to make them more kind, patient, loving, joyful, and good. Watch for the affects of the Holy Spirit in your life and those around you.

Questions

In what other ways does the Holy Spirit change people?

How has the Holy Spirit affected you?

Can we affect what the Holy Spirit does? If so, how?



Written by David F. Garner

Photo Credit: @mostafawagdi via www.twenty20.com

Autumn And Winter

 

Autumn And Winter

I.

Beautiful Autumn is dead and gone--
Weep for her!
Calm, and gracious, and very fair,
With sunny robe and with shining hair,
And a tender light in her dreamy eye,
She came to earth but to smile and die--
Weep for her!

Nay, nay, I will not weep!
She came with a smile,
And tarried awhile,
Quieting Nature to sleep;--
Then went on her way
O'er the hill-tops grey,
And yet--and yet, she is dead, you say!
Nay!--she brought us blessings, and left us cheer,
And alive and well shell return next year!--
Why should I weep? 

 

II.

Desolate Winter has come again--
Frown on him!
He comes with a withering breath,
With a gloomy scowl,
With a shriek and a howl,
Freezing Nature to death!
He stamps on the hills,
He fetters the rills,
And every hollow with snow he fills!
Frown on the monster grim and old,
With snowy robes and with fingers cold,
And a gusty breath!

Nay, nay! I shall give him a smile!--
For I know by the sleet,
And the snow in the street,
He has come to tarry awhile.
Ho, for the sleigh-bells merrily ringing!
Ho, for the skaters joyously singing--
Over the ice-fields gliding, swinging!--
So let the Winter-king whiten the plain!
Fetter the fountains and frost the pane,
His greeting shall be--
Not a frown from me,
But a smile--a smile!

  By Mrs. J. C. Yule

Source: Poems of the Heart and Home By Mrs. J. C. Yule

Photo Credit: