BTLN UPDATE

Congrats Austin! 2nd Helmet of the year for Austin! Austin was second last week but this week he would not be denied!(I still owe you a shirt!)

This week we tried Stickball. We first came up with Stickball in 2009 but it didn't work very well. We tried it again six months later and again it didn't work. After four years and some rule changes we tried it again. The guys caught on quickly and were figuring out different strategies to gain an advantage! It was amazing! We have been looking for another game to mix things up a little more often and I think we have finally found it! I am sure that Stickball will become a Btln 3739 classic like Murderball, Handball, Bulldog, Mike, Mike 23 and S*A*M! After playing it for the first time, Noah declared Stickball his favourite Btln game!

Stickball is a four team game like Mike and Mike 23. The final scores were

Jason's Team - 11

Jake's Team - 10

Ben's Team - 7

Zach's Team - 6

Jason's Team wins the first ever Stickball 2.0 game!

This week Ben led us all in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story". Solomon was our focus this week. (1 Kings chapters 1-11)

1 Kings 3:4-14  The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”

Solomon starts so well! He is humble and is doing his best to follow God.

1 Kings 11:1-4  King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.

Solomon had everything. He had God given wisdom, wealth, peace from his enemies, honor and a promise of long life if he follows God! But this is not enough for him! Solomon still searched for happiness without God!

Ecclesiastes 12:13  Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

After all of his searching Solomon realized that happiness can only be found when we fear God and keep his commandments! The key is to learn from Solomon's mistakes!

Next week it is Winterslam 8!

Battalion 3739, more fun than you can handle on your own, so share it with a friend!

THE CAPTAIN