| Sparkle 2010-2011 Theme |
Introduction to Theme
Each season Sparkle dedicates its pages to the exploration of an Annual Theme. The next theme is Feed the Fire! Below you will find a summary of the theme as well as needs for each issue.
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Summary of God is passionate about His people. His Word repeatedly describes His sincere desire to have an authentic, wholehearted relationship with us. His love is lavish (1 John 3:1), His faithfulness reaches to the skies (Psalm 36:5), His promises are sure (Psalm 145:13), His salvation through Jesus Christ is complete (1 Peter 3:18), and through His divine power He has given us all that is needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)! How should we respond to the One who gave His all for us? We must feed the fire by passionately pursuing God (Revelation 3:15-16), zealously serving Him (Romans 12:11), and boldly taking back territory for the King of kings (Revelation 17:14)! |
Theme Verses I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16). Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (Romans 12:11). |
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Concept Our culture has embraced casual Christianity and lukewarm lifestyles as the acceptable norm. According to a 2009 Barna Group report, casual Christians are compromised of minimally active born again Christians who are ambivalent about their faith. Check out the Barna Group’s website to read more about this growing trend across North America. Now is the time to refute our culture’s messages of apathy and complacency! As followers of Jesus Christ we must move from apathy to action, passionately pursing God, passionately serving Him, and living a life that is defined by radical, wholehearted love and obedience to God alone. |
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Aims In Revelation 3:15-16, John is addressing the church at Laodicea. The church had been diagnosed as stagnant, complacent, and self-satisfied – rich in physical wealth, but impoverished by apathy and spiritual pride. Laodicea was located near two notable cities – Hierapolis, a site of hot, spa-like waters famous for their healing, medicinal purposes, and Colosse, known for its cold and pure drinking water. But the waters of Laodicea were stagnant. It had to be piped in and was always lukewarm, nauseous, and smelly. The waters were distasteful in every sense. Hot water was used for healing, cold water was refreshing and revitalizing, but lukewarm water wasn’t good for anything. John uses the imagery of these three types of water as a warning to the church. The word lukewarm went beyond describing a disgusting drink—it described a body of believers that had become nauseating to God. Self-sufficient, halfhearted, apathetic, and Christians by-name-only are repulsive to God and are ineffective in accomplishing His purposes. How would you describe your relationship with God? Lukewarm – sickening to God? Smoldering embers – the glowing remains of a dying fire? Or a spark or fire that is burning fiercely for God and His Kingdom work? To burn brightly for God’s glory and fame, we must let Christ fire up our faith and move us from apathy to responsibility and zealous action that takes back territory for the King of kings. |
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Take the Sparkle Challenge!
We will be devoting each issue to a specific topic. We are looking for fiction and non-fiction that weave the theme into the narrowed topics. You will notice that each issue has a chosen metaphor. For instance, the October issue uses water to teach about prayer. We are looking for creative ways to use the metaphor to teach the topic. This might be a non-fiction article on how a certain animal needs a specific water temperature to survive. This might include a fiction story about a girl who experiences the blahs of lukewarm water. This might include a game about water. We look forward to your creativity!
| Issue: October 2010 Deadline: May 6, 2010 Theme: Prayer all the Time Metaphor: Water Cold water is very refreshing. Hot water is very soothing. Lukewarm water isn’t refreshing or soothing (lukewarm means neither hot nor cold). Lukewarm water is very blah. Sometimes how we pray can be a lot like water. Lukewarm prayers happen when we know that prayer is important, but never get around to spending a large amount of time talking and listening to God. Lukewarm prayer is blah! The opposite is true of those who feed the fire! People who are passionate about talking and listening to God work to give prayer first place in their lives! |
Issue: November 2010 Deadline: June 15, 2010 Topic: Study God’s Word Metaphor: Hiking Sometimes life feels like walking on dark path. It is hard to know which way to go and what is right. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could hear God tell you what to do! Guess what? You can! The Bible is God’s Word. That means that the words in the Bible are messages from God to you. The Bible helps us learn what is right and wrong. Passionate people spend time reading God’s Word every day. Sometimes they do it because they just can’t wait to see what God has to say to them that day. But other times, they really don’t feel like reading their Bibles, or feel like they don’t have time. When that happens, they read it anyway! They know that reading the Bible every day – whether they feel like it or not – is necessary for their walk with God. |
| Issue: December 2010 Deadline: July 16, 2010 Topic: Serve Others Instead of a metaphor, this issue will focus on and celebrate Christ’s birth. We will also focus on serving others. During this month of presents and festivities, we want to first and foremost honor Christ’s birth. We will celebrate and explore how deeply Christ served us through his birth. We will also explore how girls can reach out of themselves and look like Christ by serving others during the Christmas season. Sometimes it is hard to serve others. Sometimes we don’t feel like serving because it doesn’t seem like our job. Sometimes we don’t feel like serving because we don’t like the person we are supposed to serve. Sometimes we choose to serve just to look good to other people. People who are passionate about God don’t just serve others when it is easy or when they feel like it or even just for show. People who are passionate about serving God know that when they are serving others, they are really serving God. People who are passionate about serving God serve with happiness and enthusiasm—they serve wholeheartedly! |
Issue: January 2011 Deadline: August 17, 2010 Topic: Interact with God’s People Metaphor: Spider webs When something exciting comes up it can be tempting to give up activities like church. People who are lukewarm about God only meet with other Christians when it is entertaining or convenient (convenient means when it easily fits into your plans). People who are passionate about God regularly meet with other Christians. Passionate people know how important it is to spend time with people who love Jesus. They know that other Christians can encourage them and help them to love Jesus even more. Passionate people also look forward to encouraging and helping other believers. |
| Issue: February 2011 Deadline: September 7, 2010 Topic: Open up and Talk about God Metaphor: Gifts Have you ever received something wonderful? Maybe you received a wonderful new gift for your birthday. Did you want to keep this wonderful gift to yourself or did you want to tell your friends about it? Our relationship with God is like a wonderful gift. People who are passionate about God love to talk about Him. People who are passionate about God don’t want to talk about God in ways that are mean or that put others down. Instead, passionate people want to talk about how much they love God and talk about all the wonderful things He has done. People who are lukewarm about God keep their feelings to themselves or only talk about God in places like church. |
Issue: March 2011 Deadline: October 12, 2010 Topic: Notice God in the Ordinary Metaphor: Fingerprints It is easy to compare ourselves with other people. It is easy to just focus on our own lives without trying to see what God wants for our lives. However, people who are passionate about God seek to find God in everything they do. They look for God in the words of a song. They look for God in His creation. Passionate people know that God is always around them. Passionate people are always looking for God—even in the most ordinary day! |
Sparkle fills up quickly, so get your manuscripts in early.
We read manuscripts each week. You can expect to hear from us in eight weeks.
