WINSTON STANDINGS

With only six weeks to go in the 2012/13 Btln 3739 Season we have a three way tie for first with three other guys only one Helmet behind! Jeremy and I worked out all of the tiebreakers this week. We have never ended the season in a tie but it looks more and more like we will this year! Good luck to all!

 

WINSTON STANDINGS
 

GERRALD NICHOLSON - 3 Helmets and 1 Major
AUSTIN SCOW - 3 Helmets and 1 Major
MAXWELL NICHOLSON - 3 Helmets and 1 Major
JAKOB BOSCHMANN - 2 Helmets and 1 Major
JOHN VAN - 2 Helmets
NATE KLASSEN - 2 Helmets
DARTAGNAN BUTCHER - 1 Helmet
JORDAN HAMMETT - 1 Helmet
CODY HARP - 1 Helmet
TRISTAN HARVEY - 1 Helmet
SPENCER HENDERSON - 1 Helmet
LUKE BOSCHMANN - 1 Helmet
NOAH MAKORTOFF - 1 Helmet
LUKE MARTENS - 1 Helmet

THE CAPTAIN

 

BTLN BIRTHDAYS - MARCH

Btln Birthday time! It is never a chore for me to look through old pictures. I love reminiscing! (All by myself sometimes! Ya I know kinda weird.) It always amazes me when I look back at how time has flown by! Anyways, Happy Birthday and may God bless you again this year!

 

 

Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

 

David Barney - March 4

Tyler Francis - March 8
Josh Ridsdale - March 14

Zach Coupland - March 20
Evan Podovinikoff - March 28

 

 

THE CAPTAIN

 

BTLN UPDATE

Congrats John! This is John's second Helmet of the 2012/13 Btln Season! At the end it was Austin and John battling it out for the Helmet. Austin is tied for first in the race for Winston so he had everyone gunning for him! Austin fought hard but in the end it was John pulling out the big win!

We haven't played Handball in over a month so it was time to pull out the nets! This week the teams were totally uneven. Not sure what happened but Ben's team had most of the big guys. My team was down 5-0 early and we were chasing the rest of the game. We restarted the game and decided to play to five. Ben's team worked us over again winning 5-1!

This week in Bible study we looked at Jonah in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story". (The book of Jonah)

The story of Jonah actually took place before Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So we are doing things a little out of order but no big deal right?

Jonah 1:1-6  The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Jonah disobeys God and is found sleeping! You would think that his conscience would be bothering him. And how could a prophet of God think that he could run away from God? Where was Jonah going to go to get away from God? Jonah should have listened to David!

Psalm 139:7-10  Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Jonah 1:11-12  The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

Isn't it sad that Jonah would rather die than deliver God's message to the people of Nineveh? If Jonah had prayed to God and asked for forgiveness I am sure that God would have calmed the sea but Jonah was not ready to listen to God!

Jonah 2:1  From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.

Jonah 2:7  “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.

Why do we wait until we have hit rock bottom before we turn to God? Jonah's life was ebbing away before he called to God for help!

Jonah 3:1-5  Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Jonah 3:10  When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah should have been excited to see that God was going to save the people of Nineveh but instead he was disappointed!

Jonah 4:1-2   But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

We need to have compassion for those that haven't accepted Jesus! It took Jonah a long time to figure this out! The Lord God is a God of second chances for the unsaved and for the saved! How many mistakes did Jonah make and God was still willing to use him! We can all be thankful that God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE - BTLN NIGHT 2013

Congrats to Jake Boschman, the 2013 Btln 3739 Ping Pong Champion! Jake jumped out to an early lead in the first game and Austin never recovered. Jake won three games in a row to take the 18th annual Btln Ping Pong Championship! Jake is the youngest Btln Member to ever win a Btln Major! Calvin Peters won four Ping Pong Tourneys in a row starting in grade nine and Parker Steadman won his first Ping Pong Tourney in grade eight and then won two more (grade eleven and twelve) for a total of three in his Btln career! Jake could beat Calvin's record! (Most Ping Pong Tourney's in a Btln Career.) Congrats to Jake and Austin, both played well!

Earlier in the night some of the boys recited Memory Work on the stage in church!

GeRRald Nicholson - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Maxwell Nicholson - Ephesians - 1:3-14

Jake Hachey - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Jonathan Fojt - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Ben Nicolson - Hebrews 1:3-12

Luke Boschman - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Luke Martens - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Congrats to all! So proud of all of these guys! It takes a lot of nerve to get on the stage in front of everyone and recite a passage!

Ben Jepsen did the Btln Top Ten again this year, it is always good and this year was no exception!

Top Ten things you WON'T hear at Btln!

10 - I'm so bored!

9 - What's a Bible?

8 - I'm hungry!

7 - Where are the girls?

6 - This should be pain free!

5 - I'm not afraid of Ben Jepsen!

4 - I'd rather be making cupcakes!

3 - Please throw that ball as hard as you can at my face!

2 - Will there be a vegetarian option tonight?

1 - I wish I was on Lance's team!

Again, Congrats to Jake, winner of the 18th annual Btln 3739 Ping Pong Tourney!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN NIGHT TONIGHT!

Who will win the 18th Btln Ping Pong Tourney? Will it be Austin or Jake? What about the Top Ten? Top Ten things never heard at Btln? (You know the Top Ten will be good!) Can't wait to watch the guys that will be reciting God's Word! And yes there will be food!

 

Check out the pics from last years Ping Pong Final!

 

THE CAPTAIN

 

18TH ANNUAL BTLN PING PONG TOURNEY

Congrats to Austin and Jakob! Jake and Austin are our two Ping Pong finalists! 33 guys competed in the 18th Btln Ping Pong Tourney! So many twists and turns along the way! GeRRald, Jordan, Maxwell, Nate and Lukas all were picked as potential favourites. Landon nearly beat Austin after knocking out Jordan. The 18th was one of the best we have ever had and we still have the finals on Sunday Night!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN PING PONG

Here is a look at last years results! Who is the favourite this year? Is it Jordan, Spenny, Landon or Max? Or will someone else surprise? We will settle this on Wednesday night!

Don't be late!

Can't wait for the 18th Btln Ping Pong Tourney!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE

Congrats Luke! First Btln 3739 career Helmet for Luke! Luke is the second grade seven this year to win the Helmet! Tristan started in the middle for Bulldog and he started by taking out Maxwell, GeRRald, Austin and Nate. After taking out the favourites for Winston, T-Square took the rest of the bigger guys out leaving the grade sevens. Luke survived the last round winning his first Helmet!

This week we played Stickball 2.0 for the second time ever. In the first inning Ben's team made it look easy scoring seven runs and jumping out to an early lead. Zach's team struggled early only scoring two runs total in the first two innings.  GeRRald's team was close after the second and Zach's team had a fourth inning rally but ultimately it was Jake's team lead by T-Square that would take the win!

Stickball final scores 

Jake's Team - 14

Ben's Team - 12

Zach's Team - 11

GeRRald's Team - 7 

This week we looked at Daniel as we continued our series "The History of the World" or "His Story".

(Daniel 6:1-28)

Daniel 6:1-5  It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Daniel sets himself so far apart from the rest of the leaders in Darius' kingdom that Darius put him in charge of the whole kingdom! Because Daniel also did his best to follow God, God used Daniel to influence King Darius who was the most powerful man in the world!

Daniel 6:25-27  Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Looking back at some of the stories we have looked at this year it is interesting to see that God was able to take men that were in jail, were exiles and sentenced to death and put them into positions of influence. What else did these men have in common? They were all doing there best to serve God! God is looking for men that are willing to serve him like Daniel, Joseph, Moses, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! God also has a plan for your life! If you are willing to serve God with your whole heart he will use you in some amazing ways just like he did with Daniel!

Daniel 4:17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.’

Next week is the 18th Btln 3739 Ping Pong Tourney!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE - MIKE NIGHT

 

Congrats T-Square! First Helmet of the year for Tristan. I had to check the Winston Standings to be sure, it is hard to believe that this was Tristan's first Helmet of the year! The good news for Tristan is that there is still enough time to get back in the race for Winston!

Congrats also to Noah who is the first to 100 points in our Memory Work Challenge! Halfway home Noah! Keep up the good work!

It was Mike Night this week! Can't get enough of the strobe and the blinking balls! Jake's team jumped out to an early lead but was caught by Jason's team and then by Zach's team. Nathan's team was close halfway through but couldn't keep up to Zach's and Jason's teams. It came down to the final round with Jason's team holding on to their lead and the win.

Final Mike Score

Jason's Team - 44

Zach's Team - 41

Nathan's Team - 34

Jake's Team - 28

This week in Bible Study we took a look at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story". (Daniel 3:1-30) 

Romans 13:1-2  Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

1 Peter 2:13,14  Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

God tells us that we need to submit ourselves to the governing authorities that he has set in place. But what if these authorities ask us to do things that we know that God would not want us to do?

Daniel 3:13-14  Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?

Daniel 3:16-18  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were willing to risk their lives to follow God and do what is right! King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man in the world but he was no match for the all powerful Creator of the Universe that gave Nebuchadnezzar his power.

Next God saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from Nebuchadnezzar and the fiery furnace. The change in Nebuchadnezzar's attitude is amazing.

Daniel 3:28  Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

Because of  Shadrach's, Meshach's and Abednego's faithfulness the most powerful man on earth began to acknowledge the one true God!

THE CAPTAIN



BTLN BIRTHDAYS - FEBRUARY

 

 

Btln Birthday time again! (I can't believe we are nearly half way through February!) So thankful for all of these men! So good to see the Alumni growing with God and praying that the younger guys will follow their lead!

Hebrews 13:7  Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Happy Birthday and may God bless you again this year!

HARRY TOURNEMILLE - February 2
DYLAN WARWARUK - February 2
ANDREW NEUFELD - February 6
GEORGE KOZUB - February 13
TIM FEENSTRA - February 14
BEN JEPSEN - February 14
JUSTIN BEKKER - February 17

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN PREVIEW - MIKE NIGHT!

Mike Night this week at Battalion! Spread the word!

THE CAPTAIN



BTLN UPDATE

 

Congrats to Noah! First Helmet of Noah's Btln career! It was Noah and George battling it out at the end and this time it was Noah that came out on top! How was the Yorkie? Chocolate never tasted better!

We had Owen Spisak show up this week! Talk about a blast from the past!(I forgot to take a picture, I must be getting old.) I have said it many times before, it is so good to have Btln Alumni show up on a Wednesday Night! Thanks Owen!

It was more than a month since we last played Murderball and Owen was in town, easy decision! Unfortunately for Owen and the rest of his team (Myself included) we got destroyed! It was not even close! We lost 5-0! Nevertheless it was Murderball at Btln 3739, how could we not have a good time?

This week in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story" we compared promises that God made to David and Solomon.
(2 Samuel 7:8-17)(1 Kings 9:1-9)

I didn't think that we would be still looking at David and Solomon in our Bible studies but there is just so much to cover that we needed another week.

2 Samuel 7:16  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

God promises David an everlasting Kingdom and that his family would never die out.

1 Kings 9:4-5  “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

Solomon is promised the same thing as his father David, but God adds that if Solomon or his descendants don't follow his decrees and laws that the kingdom would be taken away.
Solomon does not follow God's decrees so most of the kingdom is taken away.

1 Kings 11:34-36  “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.


1 Kings 11:39  I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

God knew that Jesus would one day fulfill these promises. (Take a look at Jesus' geneology in Matthew chapter 1.) Jesus did not sit on David's throne when he was on earth but he will one day!

What can we learn from these stories? Even though we will not always follow God's plans for our lives he will always keep his promises! When ten of the twelve tribes were taken away from David's descendents and then later when David's descendents were carried off to Babylon God was still in control.

Numbers 23:19  God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?


2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.


  THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE - WINTERSLAM

Congrats to Austin, Winterslam 8 Champion! Congrats also to Nate winner of the Lightweight Division! What a night! We started with the Lightweight Division. We had four groups in the first round of the Lightweight division and four winners. The winners from the first round were ...

Nate K.

Jakob B.

Alex S.

Curtis

In the second and final round of the Lightweight Division Nate cleaned up. It is now (painfully) obvious that Nate belongs in the Heavyweight Division. Congrats Nate!

In the Heavyweight Division we had three groups in the first round. Like in the Royal Rumble the luck of the draw can either help your chances or end your chances of winning the Belt. The guys all battled hard, one group had five guys!(group of death anyone?) The winners in the first round in the Heavyweight Division were ...

Austin S.

Cody H.

Tyler C.

Cody and Tyler were working together trying to take out Austin but Austin would not to be denied. Austin fought hard and took down Cody first and then finished off Tyler taking the title!

Again Congrats Austin and Nate!

Thanks to Ben and Jason for all their help setting up and tearing down!

THE CAPTAIN


WINTERSLAM 8

 

Grade twelves have dominated Winterslam in the past, winning five out of seven Winterslams. Devin Chursinoff and Steven Feenstra (2008) were the exception to the rule when they won Winterslam in grade eleven. Will this trend continue? Or will one of the grade elevens surprise? This is the last time in the ring for GeRRald, Cody, Dan D, Dart, Jordan and Austin. Who will win the belt? Good luck to all!

Don't forget that there are two divisions. Heavyweight(grade 10-12) and Lightweight(grade 7-9).

Make sure that you are early! (6:45 p.m.)

THE CAPTAIN

WINTERSLAM CHAMPIONS

It is Winterslam 8 this week so I figured it was time to honor the Champions from the past!

 

WINTERSLAM CHAMPIONS

 

NATHAN KLASSEN - 2012

KALEB HORKOFF - 2011

SAM SCHIESSER - 2010

STEVEN FEENSTRA - 2009

STEVEN FEENSTRA - 2008

DEVIN CHURSINOFF - 2007

BEN JEPSEN - 2006

 

THE CAPTAIN

 

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

BTLN UPDATE

Congrats Max! The Nicholson's are taking turns winning the Helmet! Austin was there at the end but Max was able to outlast Austin!

This week we played Handball and the teams were even but once again my team came up short! (I am starting to doubt my abilities! Not going to give up though!) Bent had his team firing on all cylinders! Final score was 15-12 for Bent's team!

 

In Bible study this week we took another look at David in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story". 2 Samuel 11:1-27, 2 Samuel 12:1-14

 

2 Samuel 11:2-5  One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

 

Instead of confessing his sin, David tries to cover it up.

 

2 Samuel 11:14-15  In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”

 

David murders Uriah, adding to his sin.

 

2 Samuel 11:26-27  When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.  After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

 

God sends Nathan to David to let him know that he is not happy with his choices.

 

2 Samuel 12:11-14  “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

 

What can we learn from David's mistakes? God is always ready to forgive! (Like John Van said, "It is never a bad time to ask for God's forgiveness!") This does not mean that there will not be consequences for our sins! Four of David's sons would die because of his sin! One of his sons (Absalom) would try to kill David and steal his throne!

 

God could forgive David because of what Christ was going to do for him and for us!

 

Romans 5:8  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

THE CAPTAIN

 

BTLN BIRTHDAYS - JANUARY

 

 

We are already two weeks into the new year! January abounds with Btln Legends! Memory Work Legends, Sergeants and a former Captain! I am so blessed to be able to call these men my friends! Happy Birthday and may God bless you again this year!

 

Psalm 18:1-2  I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

JEREMY FEDDERSON - January 2
COURTNEY FRIESEN - January 4
JASON HAYASHI - January 10
MAXWELL NICHOLSON - January 10
TRISTAN HARVEY - January
OWEN SPISAK - January 23
GEOFF MARTENS - January 31

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE

 

 

 

 

We're back! Let the second half begin! No Second Half slump here! The First Half is so busy that it is hard to comprehend that we could keep it going in the Second Half but we are up to the challenge!

First off Congrats to GeRRald! GeRRald has won two out of the last three Helmets! Max and Jordan were there at the end of Bulldog but GeRRald would not be denied! Props to Jake B. (grade 7) who had to start in the middle for Bulldog, never an easy task!

After being down for month (that is besides Alumni Night) it feels good to throw balls again at each other! I don't think I will ever get tired of  Murderball! The first game was one of the longer games we have played in a while. I could feel the momentum slipping away even though we pulled out the victory in the first game. Bent's team came back and beat us (literally) the next five games. Even though it was never close again it was still Murderball, so much fun!

This week we got back into our year long series, "The History of the World" or "His Story". Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel were the focus this week.

1 Samuel 8:4-7  So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

Why would the nation of Israel want to be like all the other nations?  Why would they reject God as their king? The question is are we any different? No matter how many good things God has done for us we still want to be like "all the other nations".

Samuel warns the people that a king would bring all kinds of the problems but they don't care.

1 Samuel 8:19-20  But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

Why would they want a king to fight their battles when they had God?

God's response?

1 Samuel 10:17-19  Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, ‘No, set a king over us.’ 

God picks a king for the people and where is he? Hiding in the baggage! This is the one that will save them?

1 Samuel 10:21-24  Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” they ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

The people were not worried that Saul was hiding because they were so impressed by his size!

Saul is a failure as a king and his replacement is picked this time by God's standards and not by what the people will be looking for!

1 Samuel 16:6-7  When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God does not pick Eliab (David's older brother.) he picks David the youngest of eight brothers.

Acts 13:22  After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’


We would be so much better off if we would leave God in charge!

Next week we are back at the gym! Where else would we go? Bring a friend!

THE CAPTAIN



WINSTON STANDINGS - THE FIRST HALF

 

 

 

The Second Half is about to begin so I figured it was time to update the Winston Standings! This is the sixth year that we have had The Btln 3739 Winston Championship and I don't think that we have ever had a race that is this close at the end of the First Half! It looks right now like we will probably need a tiebreaker at the end of the 2012/13 Btln 3739 season! With only a two Helmet lead everyone in Btln is still in this race! Good luck to all!

 

WINSTON STANDINGS

GERRALD NICHOLSON - 2 Helmets and 1 Major
MAXWELL NICHOLSON - 2 Helmets and 1 Major
NATE KLASSEN - 2 Helmets
DARTAGNAN BUTCHER - 1 Helmet
CODY HARP - 1 Helmet
JORDAN HAMMETT - 1 Helmet
AUSTIN SCOW - 1 Helmet
SPENCER HENDERSON - 1 Helmet
JOHN VAN - 1 Helmet
LUKE BOSCHMAN - 1 Helmet
JAKOB BOSCHMAN - 1 Helmet

 

THE CAPTAIN