Object Lesson - Bubbly Christians

Everyone loves soap bubbles – Preschoolers, Children, Youth and Adults. They gleam and sparkle in all the colors of the rainbow. They float along and drift in delightful and unexpected ways. They come in all sizes and shapes, and can be caught or set free, alone or connected. But one thing is true of all bubbles. There will come a time when each bursts and is forever lost. Bubbles do not last forever. They remind us to focus on this things that last forever.

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What You Need

1. Soap Bubbles

You can buy ready-made soap bubble solutions with wands inside, but it is so much cheaper to make your own by simply mixing together the following ingredients in a container:

• 1/4 cup glycerin – You can find it at drugstores
• 1/2 cup dish soap – Various dish washing detergents will have different characteristics so experiment a little to get the best solution.
• 2 cups warm water – Distilled water is recommended by some.

2. Bubble Wands

For bubble wands you can use pipe cleaners, plastic lids with a hole cut in the center, a can or round plastic container with the bottom cut out, fly swatters, a slotted spoon, a wire whisk, cookie cutters, strainers, cheese graters, or a clothes hanger wrapped tightly with cotton string.

Games using Soap Bubbles

• Biggest Bubble – Using a bubble wand, see which team can blow the biggest bubble without popping it.
• Biggest Bubble using only your hands – Put your fingers together so they form an opening, dip your hands in a bowl of bubble solution to get a bubble film, and if you blow gently, you can make bubbles up to two feet in diameter.
• Bubble Archery – Place a bullseye target at the end of the room. Youth must blow a bubble from behind the line and then use their breath to blow it into the target to get points.
• Bubble Baseball – Divide the youth into teams and have them stand in line one behind the other. Set up a turn around point at some distance from the starting line. One at a time the someone from each team will blow a bubble and catch it on their wand. They must then run to the turn around point and back to their team with out losing or popping their bubble. When they return to the start then the next person in line goes. If a bubble pops or they lose their bubble from their wand they must run back to the start and begin again. The team with all their players to finish first wins.
• Bubble Blast – With just one breath, see who can blow the most bubbles. If you get a good deep breath, you’ll be amazed just how many bubbles you can blow!
• Bubble Catch – Blow a limited number of bubbles then youth run after them and try to catch them on their wand. If they pop the bubble or don’t manage to catch one they are out.
• Bubble Count – One youth blows bubbles while you call out a number. The first person to pop that many bubbles wins.
• Bubble Dodgeball – Youth each get a bubble wand and bubbles and staying in a designated area they try to blow bubbles at each other. If a bubble pops on you, you are out. Players must be stationary in one spot and can only pivot on one foot, but can duck and twist to avoid the bubbles. They can even blow them away.
• Bubble Float – Who can float one bubble in the air the longest before it pops. Youth can keep their bubble floating in the air the longest by blowing gently underneath it. Variation, give the team 30 seconds to blow the bubbles. After the 30 seconds is finished, time them until the last bubble pops.
• Bubble Freeze – Youth blow bubbles on a paper plate and then, before the bubbles pop, put them in the freezer. Biggest frozen bubble wins.
• Bubble Pop – Form pairs or teams. One person (or more) blows the bubbles while another person pops them. The pair / team who pops the most bubbles in 1 minute wins. Make it more difficult by not allowing them to use their hands. Change it up by requiring the bubbles to be popped with different body parts – nose, ear, elbows, foot, etc.
• Bubble Race – Divide the youth into teams. Teams line up in single file lines. Mark off a finish line at least ten feet away. The person at the front of the line must blow a bubble and he or she must then guide that bubble across the finish line. He or she then runs back to the team and sends the next person to do the same thing. If anyone’s bubble pops or floats away, they must go back and start all over. This continues until every member of one team gets a bubble over the line and makes it back to her team.
• Bubble Race – Youth must blow their bubble along the race track and across the finish line!
• Bubble Stack – One person blows a bubble while another catches it on the bubble wand. Another team member blows another bubble, which also must be caught and placed on top of the first bubble. The team with the highest stack at the end of sixty seconds wins.
• Highest Bubble – Who can blow a bubble the highest into the air?
• Mega Bubble – This game from Minute to Win iIt requires the youth to first blow a bubble from behind a starting line, then use their own hot air to move it across the play area and through a waiting hoop that is hung from the ceiling. The smaller the hoop, the more difficult the challenge. You can also increase the distance to the hoop to increase the challenge. Rules: You cannot touch the bubbles. If a bubble bursts while traveling through the hoop it does not count – it must actually go through the hoop and be seen on the other side. You may not touch the hoop itself. If a player must return to the beginning and start again, he or she must be standing behind the foul line to blow the next set of bubbles.
• Nested Bubbles – Blow bubbles inside of bubbles. Using straws, who can get the most bubbles inside of a bubble without it popping.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Use the games as a discussion starter about the things in life that are temporary vs. eternal.

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

• What do all bubbles have in common? – Eventually they all burst!
• What are some things that last forever?
• What are some things that we strive for in life that are only temporary?
• Why is it so much easier to focus on the temporary things?

Some bubble last longer than others, but in the end the bubble bursts. The same is often true of life’s attractions.

• What are some things in life that may at first seem long lasting but in reality are only temporary?

Explain that each bubble is filled with air. While you cannot see the air you know its there because it gives the bubble its shape. In life sometimes we must believe in what we cannot see and this is called faith.

• How is faith related to the desire to live for things that are eternal rather than temporary?

Bubbles grab our attention. So do the things of the world. In fact the bubble is like a small little world.

• What are some of the things in life that grab our attention?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

• What are the characteristics of a person that is living for eternal things?
• What things do they live for? Focus on? Strive for?
• How can a reminder that so many things are temporary change the way a person thinks and lives life?
• How can having an eternal perspective on things affect a person’s focus? Dreams? Aspirations? Actions? Priorities?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• What are some of the priorities in your life right now?
• Are these things more beneficial for the here and now or for the eternal?
• Are you focused on things that will last?
• What would change if you had a more eternal perspective on life?

SCRIPTURE VERSES

• James 4:13-14 – “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
• Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
• Luke 12:15-21 – “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
• Colossians 3:1 – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
• 1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
• Mark 8:34-36 – “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
• Matthew 6:31-33 – “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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Object Lesson - Spiritual Lifesavers

In 1912, Clarence Crane, a chocolate manufacturer in Cleveland Ohio, USA invented Lifesaver’s as a summer candy that could withstand heat better than chocolate. The candy’s name is derived from its similarity to the shape of the rings used for saving people who have fallen off of ships. But this candy, with the empty hole in the middle, can also be used as an illustration of the emptiness we experience inside without God as the center of a person’s life.

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What You Need

Lifesavers, lifesaver Gummies, or any round candy with a hole in the middle can be used for this game. For some of the games that don’t involve colors you can also substitute polo mints or any candy or or donut shaped breakfast cereal (e.g. Fruit Loops) with a hole in it.

Games using Lifesavers

• Blind chicken – Each team is assigned a specific color of lifesavers. While blindfolded, a member of each team must pick up a lifesaver from a table and bring it back to the team in his or her mouth. If the sweet is the wrong colour, the player has to start again. The team is allowed to shout instructions to their team member.
• Candy Introductions – Get enough lifesavers for each person to be able to have at least five pieces. Pass around the candy and tell each participant to choose anywhere from 1 to 5 lifesavers of a color that they want. Instruct them not to eat it yet, though. After they have chosen their candy, you tell them what each candy type/color represents. (Example: Red = Favorite hobbies, Green = Favorite place on earth, Blue = Favorite memory, Yellow = Dream job, Orange = Wildcard – tell us anything about yourself!)
• Cutting it Close – Fill a teacup with flour, packing it firmly, then flip it over onto a plate and place a Lifesaver candy on the top of it. Each youth takes a turn cutting the flour with a knife. Whoever makes the lifesaver FALL, has to fish it out with their mouth! No hands are allowed!
• Guess the Color – Divide into groups of 8-10 with the same number of youth on each team. Teams line up for a relay race with the first member of each team blindfolded. With directions from their team, the blindfolded person must find their way to a hanging bag full of individually wrapped lifesavers candy or lifesaver gummies, open one and put it in his or her mouth. Then they must shout the color to a judge with their mouth open so he or she can identify if the color is correct. If it is correct they return to their team and sit down. If it is incorrect they get back to the end of the line on their team and must go again. First team to have everyone identify the correct color of the candy wins. or some extra fun place a super tart or sour candy among the lifesavers and watch the lucky person who gets it.
• Lifesaver Distance Roll – The objective is to roll a LifeSavers candy along the ground the farthest. Conditions: The candy may not leave the ground and must roll on its edge.
• Lifesaver Horseshoes – Construct two ring toss pegs by placing a toothpick vertically in a slice of bread for each team. Youth attempt to toss LifeSavers candies onto their team’s toothpick for points. Each player gets two tosses. The nearest lifesaver to the stake counts as one point. If both of a player’s lifesavers are closer than the opponent’s, that player scores two points. If the lifesaver lands on the peg (called a ringer) then three points are scored. In the case of one ringer and a closer lifesaver, both lifesavers are scored for a total of four points. If a player throws two ringers, that player scores six points. If each player throws a ringer, the ringers cancel and no points are scored.
• Lifesaver Measles – Youth must stick licked lifesavers on someone’s face. If you want a more hygienic version, provide a saucer with some water to get the lifesavers wet. Any that fall off during the game, must be put back on. The first to get them all to sick to a team members face or to have the most stuck on the face after a given time limit wins.
• Lifesaver on a String – Sit the youth in a circle and cut a piece of string long enough to reach around the entire group. Thread a Life Savers candy on the string and then tie the ends together. All players must place both hands on the string holding it so that each hands makes a fist around the strong. Select one youth to be “it” and have him stand in the middle of the circle. He must close his eyes while the players pass the candy ring from fist to fist around the circle. When he says, “Freeze,” the players must stop passing the lifesaver. The person in the center has three guesses to correctly identify who has the lifesaver hidden in his or her fist. If he guesses correctly, he selects the next player to be “it.”
• Lifesaver Puzzles – Choose an equal number of lifesaver candies for each team. If you want to make it more difficult, use candies of the same color. Break the lifesavers into several pieces and place them on a saucer. Teams must reassemble the pieces. The first to correctly do so wins.
• Lifesaver Race to the Middle – Two contestants face each other with a long piece of string between them and a lifesaver tied to the exact middle of the string. The string is placed with one end in each player’s mouth. At your signal they must pull the string into their mouth and move toward the candy in the center of the string. No hands are allowed. The person who gets the candy in their mouth the first is the winner. Beware – there might be some accidental kissing involved.
• Lifesaver Relay – Give each player a toothpick to hold in their teeth. The leader places a Lifesaver on the toothpick of the player at the head of each line. It is then passed from toothpick to toothpick until it reaches the end of the line. If the candy is dropped, it must be quickly sent back by hand to the beginning of the line and be started down the line again. Have a few extras in case they break when dropped. The winning team is the one whose Lifesaver reaches the end of the line first. Instead of toothpicks, you can also use hard, uncooked spaghetti or coffee stirrers. Drinking straws are usually too big to fit into the lifesaver.
• Lifesaver Ring Toss – Place an apple on a table so that it does not roll and then place one or more toothpicks in the top of the apple. From a designated distance, the youth must toss lifesavers onto the toothpicks for points. Highest score in a given time limit wins.
• Lifesaver Scavenger Hunt – Each group of youth has 1 minutes to collect their own color of lifesavers which are spread out throughout the room. You can hang them on almost anything. Just beware those that are never found are great at attracting ants.
• Lifesaver Seekers – Fill two pie tins or plates with flour. Drop several Lifesavers in each tin and mix them in so they are not visible. Smooth out the surface. Two youth must race to see who can retrieve the most Lifesavers, using mouths only, in one minute.
• Lifesaver Team Colors – Give lifesavers candies to everyone as they enter the room so that there is an equal number of each color. Players can suck on the lifesavers candy or just place it on their tongue. Without speaking they must gather in teams according to the color of the lifesavers by sticking out their tongues so others can see the color.
• Lifesaver Towers – Youth are given a pile of lifesavers and must stack them into the tallest tower possible in 60 seconds. Players can rebuild their tower if it falls within the time limit. When the time is up, the player or team with the tallest standing candy tower wins the game.
• Lifesaver Toss Game – Place six teacups in a vertical row, one in front of the other. Mark a starting line about 4 feet from the first teacup. Give each player six LifeSavers to try to toss in the teacups. The players must make one candy in each one of the labeled buckets. Award a prize to the first team player who lands all his candies in the individual teacups. If you want to make it easier use bowls or saucers rather than teacups.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Lifesaver’s Candy is known for the hole in the middle. At it’s center is emptiness. Unfortunately, this also describes a lot of youth. Outside everything seems sweet, but inside there is an emptiness.

In the Bible, Solomon had the opportunity to try everything that is supposed to make us happy and bring pleasure in life. But everything he tried left him empty inside. (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)

• What was Solomon’s goal in this passage?
• What are some of the things Solomon mentions in his pursuit of happiness?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

Inside everyone of us is a God-shaped hole that only God can fill. If God is not the center of your life, everything in life will leave you feeling empty.

• What are some of the foolish things youth and adults do to find pleasure and happiness?
• Why should our meaning, our happiness, be centered in Christ?
• What things can a person do to make God central to everything in life? To their goals? To their happiness? In their pursuits?
• What makes life meaningful?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• What are some of the accomplishments you are most proud of? Why?
• What are some things in life you find meaningful? Why? Are they things that will stick with you as having meaning for a long time to come? For an eternity? Why or why not?
• What things do you sometimes find meaningless in life? How can you find meaning in them?
• How can you make Christ more central to your life this week?

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE VERSES

• Mark 8:36 – “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
• Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
• Philippians 3:7-9 – “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christthe righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
• Romans 14:8 – “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
• Paul says, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) That tells me that being crucified with Christ, having our meaning from Him makes time irrelevant for we are in Him the timeless one.
• Matthew 22:37-40 – “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with thy entire mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

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Object Lesson - Spoon Fed Christians

We often use the term “spoon fed” to refer to babies. It is also used for people who have been given so much by others that they never learn how to think for themselves or take care of themselves. Scripture uses a similar term to describe some Christians. Like a spoon fed baby, some Christians have never grown up in their faith.

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Games using Spoons

• Cotton Ball Spooner – Each youth is blindfolded, given a metal spoon, and placed in front of a large bowl of cotton balls. They must also hold a bowl or cup on top of their head. In the time given they youth compete by using the spoon to scoop the cotton balls into the cups on their heads while everyone else watches. Many times, they will deliver empty spoons to their heads and many times they will miss the cup. When time is up, the youth with the most cotton balls in the cup wins.
• Fastest Spoon – Get two volunteer victims from each team. Both youths will need to put on a big garbage bag with arm / head holes so they don’t get messy! The first youth sits on a chair. The second person is given a bowl of chocolate pudding with a spoon and stands behind them whilst blindfolded. The idea is that the person who is blindfolded has to feed the other person by following their verbal instructions. Alternatively you could get other members of the team to hold to bowl or give instructions. First team to finish wins.
• Hang it on your beak – The first youth to hang a spoon on his or her nose for more than 30 seconds wins. Variation: how many spoons can they hang from their face? Variation: See who can get the spoon off the nose and into his or her mouth using only his or her tongue. BTW, there is a world record for the most spoons hanging on a person’s face. It is 31 and was achieved by Dalibor Jablanovic (Serbia), in Stubica, Serbia, on 28 September 2013. Can you break it?
• Musical Spoons – While the music is playing, a spoon is passed from person to person. When the music stops, the person holding the spoon must eat something gross like baby food and is eliminated from the game play.
• Potato Fencing – Players hold a spoon with a potato on it in one hand. In the other hand the players hold an empty spoon. Then they try to knock the opponents potato off the spoon without losing their own potato.
• Pudding Slurp – A new pair of stockings per contestant, a small bowl of pudding, some newspaper to play on and some damp towels for cleaning up. Contestants pull the stocking over their face and must race to eat all their pudding through the stocking.
• Spoon clumps – Clang two metal spoons together. If they clang 5 times then the youth must clump together in groups of 5 persons. If anyone is not in a group of five they are eliminated from play. Continue with different numbers of clangs until there is one small group of winners.
• Spoon Delivery – Choose a collection of objects of increasing size to be passed from the front of the line to the back of the line for each team. To avoid chipping teeth it might be best to use plastic or wooden spoons. First team to pass all the objects to the end of the line wins. Here are some ideas for objects: Cotton Balls, Ping Pong Balls, an egg (raw or hard boiled), marbles, lemon, apple, inflated balloon, ice cube.
• Spoon Feeding – Divide into pairs. For each pair, tape a spoon to the end of a broomstick and place a bowl of food on the table. One person stands on one side of the table and attempts to feed his or her partner the food using the spoon. The pair that eats the most food in a minute wins. Chocolate pudding works great for this.
• Spoon frog – Teams must launch teaspoons into plastic cups, using another spoon as a catapult. When the timer starts, the person must place a spoon in front of the cup with the spoon end facing him/her. Place the second spoon, facing the same way, so that the rounded end of the spoon is resting on the end of the first spoon. Then give the rounded end of the first spoon a good whack to send the second spoon flying. Keep sending spoons into the air and try to get one to land in a the cups. First to get one in, or the person who gets the most in the cup in one minute wins.
• Spoon fulls – Using spoons in the mouth for each team member, each individual team member will scoop up dried beans or popcorn kernels from a bowl and then drop them into a 1 liter soda bottle. At the end of one minute, the team with the highest filled bottle wins.
• Spoon Launch – One team member uses a spoon to launch food to the other. The youth that catches the most launched peanuts, M&Ms, or kernels of popcorn in their mouth wins.
• Spoon Tunes – Place ten tall drinking glasses that are filled with different amounts of water in order so that, when you tap them in a row with a spoon, they play a simple but familiar tune like Mary Had a Little Lamb. There should be one set for each team. Set them up and then scramble them so they have to figure out the order. Get the song right in under a minute to win the game.
• Spoons – Depending on the number of players, you need at least one deck of cards, and one spoon less than the number of players. Players sit in a circle with the spoons in the middle of the circle with their ends touching. To begin, each player is dealt 4 cards. The first player picks up a card from the top of the pile, and can choose to keep it, or pass it to the person on his or her left. Players can only hold a maximum of four cards. When someone gets four of a kind, he grabs a spoon. Once one person grabs a spoon, everyone else also grabs one until all the spoons are gone and 1 person is left without a spoon. Play resumes with one less player and one less spoon. Play continues until there is only one player left, the winner.
• Thread the Spoon – Cut some yarn into long segments, allowing about 4 feet of yarn per team member. If in doubt, always make your yarn longer than necessary. Tie one end of one piece of yarn to the end of one metal spoon to create a needle and thread for each team. Put the spoons (with the yarn attached) in the FREEZER to chill for at least an hour. If you want to make it even more fun, feed the string through an ice-cube tray so that when the ice is removed it forms cubes spaced along the string. In teams, the first youth must put the spoon down their shirt, through pants legs (or skirts) and out by their feet and repeat it down the line until everyone on the team is connected. First to finish wins.
• Wooden Spoons – Blindfolded, a youth must guess someone’s identity by feeling them with wooden spoons. Each person in the youth group in turn is guessed. Of course, any outburst of laughter when the spoons are going over a face would disclose the identity, so participants must keep perfect silence. When anyone’s identity is guessed, he/she has to be blindfolded and must take the spoons. Be careful when using the spoons to touch another person with them quite lightly, so as not to hurt anyone.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

Some of these games required us to feed others with a spoon. We often use the term spoon fed to refer to babies. It is also used for people who have been given so much by others that they never learn how to think for themselves or take care of themselves. Scripture uses a similar term to describe some Christians. Like a spoon fed baby, they have never grown up in their faith. What is normal for a baby is NOT normal behavior for an adult.

• What are some things that babies do, that adults normally do not do?
• What are some immature, childlike habits and actions that might be ok for children, but are not acceptable for adults?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

Read Hebrews 5:12-14 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.

• What were some of the characteristics of the Christians referred to in the scriptures?
• What are some of the signs of Christian immaturity?
• What is it that spiritual babies need to know and do in order to mature?
• What are some characteristics of spiritual maturity? What attitudes and actions would you expect to find in a mature Christian?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• How would you describe your current level of spiritual maturity? Why?
• In what ways have you grown as a Christian?
• What do you need to do to continue to grow and mature as a Christian?

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE VERSES

• 1 Peter 2:2-3 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
• 2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
• Ephesians 4:11-15 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
• 2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”
• Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

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