and to virtue, knowledge… (2 Peter 1:5b).

Theme

This week’s theme is KNOWLEDGE

Origin of the Word

The word knowledge comes from the Greek word gnósis (pronunciation: gno'-sis).

γνῶσις

Definition:

…functional ("working") knowledge gleaned from first-hand (personal) experience, connecting theory to application; "application-knowledge," gained in (by) a direct relationship.

Read or listen to the blog for 5 points

Woah! Look at that! Do you see it?

It looks like a glass bottle…Hmm, wait a second! I think there is a piece of paper inside…what could it say?

Welcome back fellow treasure seekers to another week of the Summer Reading Challenge!

Set down your map for a moment, pull out your shovel, and get ready to dig into our next word: KNOWLEDGE.

The Greek word for knowledge is gnosis. Gnosis comes from the word ginosko, which carries the idea of knowledge that is gained through first-hand personal experience. It’s kind of like the difference between hearing about the beach from a friend, and going to the beach yourself; feeling the warm sand under your feet, smelling the salty air, and hearing the crashing waves (sp-laash!). Gnosis is the kind of knowledge that, once found, changes your life forever!

So…how do we find this knowledge?

Hmmm…maybe that message in the bottle we found earlier will give us a clue! Let’s open it up and find out…

My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:1-5

Ah! I think we’re on to something! Just like we would search for silver and hidden treasure, so we must search for knowledge. But this is not just “any” knowledge. It is the knowledge of God! This is the highest and most important knowledge you can acquire! For, the knowledge of God helps you to discern between good and evil, choose between better and best, know which friends to have, and even what to be when you grow up! If you possess the knowledge of God, you can do anything!!!

So, how does one discover the knowledge of God? Read, study, and hide God’s Word in your heart. Read the Bible like it was a treasure map (it is!); read the Bible like it was a love letter (it is!); read the Bible like your life depended upon it (it does!). Once you have a firm foundation of the knowledge of God under your belt, it is time to branch out! In the book of 1 Kings chapter 4 we read,

“And Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”

As you can see, there is a lot to learn. Solomon was an herbalist, arborist, zoologist, ichthyologist, ornithologist, and even entomologist! Having the knowledge of God as your foundation will make these other areas of study come alive. You will experience the promise of Proverbs 2:10,

“Knowledge will become pleasant to your soul!”

To acquire this kind of knowledge you’ll have to put into practice the diligence (spoudazo) that we learned about a few weeks ago. Is there a subject or skill you are interested in? Don’t stop until you have learned all you can about it. Turn over every stone, and search every corner!

Learn about history, botany, archeology, meteorology, anatomy, theology, etc…etc…you get the point! All these ‘ologies’ and more will help you to pursue new and greater heights than you ever could imagine. If you apply this way of thinking to everything you do, then, like Solomon, you’ll begin to develop—“largeness of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29).

Soon after Solomon died, the children of Israel got lazy and stopped advancing technologically, economically, intellectually, educationally, and spiritually. As a result, they fell behind and lost everything. The prophet Hosea wrote,

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…therefore people who do not understand will be ruined” (Hosea 4:6, 14)

Are you ready to start learning and growing and experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised?! God wants to open the storehouse of heaven for you. “The LORD God is a sun and shield, he gives grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

There is so much out there to learn, discover, and do! The doors of knowledge are simply waiting to be opened, my friend. If you’re truly ready for a change…open the door!

In the name of the King,

Rainey

Weekly Bible Memory:
25 points per passage (up to 3 verses constitutes a passage)

Ages 6-10

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).

Ages 10-13

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Ages 14+

“My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:1-5).

Weekly Bible Reading:
5 points per chapter read (any chapter of the Bible may be read anytime during the challenge for 5 points each)

1 John

Recommended reading List for Faith:
1 point per page read (any Lamplighter book/Lamplighter resource book/non-fiction [biography, spiritual growth, informational] may be ready anytime throughout the challenge for 1 point per page)

Ages 6+

Willy’s Trunk

Anna’s Question

Joseph’s Shield

Kelly Nash: Out on a Limb

Ages 9+

Tip Lewis and His Lamp

Crown of Success, The

Little Preacher

King Jack

Ages 12+

Secret Bridge, The

Ishmael & Self-Raised

Education of a Child, The

Creative Assignment: Bible Memory Map
25 points (one-time activity)

Grab a sheet of printer paper (or a rectangle torn from a brown paper bag), and place it on a cookie sheet. Steep 2 tea bags (a dark tea, like black tea) in 1/2 cup of hot water and let cool. Then, using the tea bags like a sponge, stain the paper to look aged and brown, leaving more tea around the edges of the paper. Once your paper is stained to your liking, leave it to dry in a warm sunny place. Once it is completely dry, you are ready to draw on it!

Using a dark pen or marker, write out a Bible passage you want to memorize, using each line/word as a “clue” on the map, connecting them with dotted lines [see example below]. Then decorate the open spaces with designs, like a compass in the corner, and little trees, mountains, streams, houses, etc. This will be your “map” to help you memorize God’s word and hide it away in your heart!

Optional step: Crumble the map and then flatten it out again to make it look even more “ancient.”

Practical Assignment: A Treasury of Knowledge
50 points (one-time activity)

Set up an interview with an older Christian in your life: this could be a grandparent, your pastor, a trusted member of your church, or a close family friend.

First schedule your meeting by giving them a call, and set up a date, time, and place to meet. This could be a meeting over lunch, tea time in the living room, or sitting in the garden outside. Before you do your interview, make a short list of questions (3-6) that you want to ask them. Here are some questions you could ask: