PHOTOS: Coach Dan's Pictures from Districts

The paparazzi were on the job on Saturday.  Click here for the whole set or on the image below.

TRUMBULL WINS FIRST PLACE AT DISTRICTS!

DISTRICTS IS TODAY!

See you at the church by 10:30 AM!

SCHEDULE: DISTRICTS IS TOMORROW!

Key things to remember:

• Wear a clean Quiz Team shirt
• Wear jeans (don't worry, you can change for the ride home)
• Bring your scripture portion
• Bring any study materials you want for the ride down
• Bring $5 for the pizza lunch
• Be at the church by 10:30 AM

See you tomorrow!

THIS WEEK: Review Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon

The next two weeks (April 21 thru April 23), please review all books and chapters from this year.

If you want to review the books online,

• Click here for Galatians
• Click here for Ephesians
• Click here for Philippians
• Click here for Colossians
• Click here for Philemon

Remember these key items for Districts:

• We're leaving the church at 10:30 AM (please arrive before then!)
• Bring $5 for a pizza lunch at Cresskill
• We'll quiz all afternoon
• You'll have a chance to call your parents on the way home to let them know when we'll be back.

Tonight is our last practice of the season!

Tonight is the LAST practice of the 2015-2016 season.  This is your last chance to cram before Districts.  Take a moment to consider what you know and what you still need to learn for success.

SCHEDULE: DISTRICTS IS SATURDAY!

Districts is this Saturday, April 23!  Are you ready?

• Is your team shirt clean?
• Do you know where your scripture portion is?
• Are you ready with an outfit that DOES NOT include shorts?  (Feel free to change for the ride home.)
• Do you have material to practice on the ride down?  (Questions, MP3s of the books, etc.)

See you soon!

SCOREBOARD: Practice - April 13

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Until These Tears Are Gone

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Memories of Districts

WEEKLY COMIC: It's not a show

THIS WEEK: Review Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon

The next two weeks (April 14 thru April 20), please review all books and chapters from this year.

If you want to review the books online,

• Click here for Galatians
• Click here for Ephesians
• Click here for Philippians
• Click here for Colossians
• Click here for Philemon

Study Tip: We've only got a few weeks left until Districts.  Now is the time to shore up your knowledge of these essential books, and ensure you are ready to quiz against the other teams.  Take some time to identify which weeks you did well and which weeks you did poorly.  Study the weak spots and be ready for what's coming!

SCHEDULE: DISTRICTS IS COMING!

Districts - our FINAL Bible Quiz Meet of the year - is coming up Saturday, April 23 in Cresskill, NJ.  Mark your calendars and be sure to keep the date clear!

HOLY WEEK LEFTOVERS: Why do we call Resurrection Sunday by the name "Easter"?

Holy Week raises lots of questions worth answering, which we don't always get around to discussing during Holy Week.  We'll take a few days this week to look at those questions.

QUESTION 3:  Where does the name "Easter" come from?

This is a big question and hard to answer, because language changes so much over time.  There are two primary theories for the origin of the word "Easter".

Pagan Origins:  Eastre (or Eostre) was a goddess of the Saxon peoples of Northern Europe, associated with Springtime and especially rabbits.  (It is believed this is where the idea of the Easter Bunny may have come from, although the fact that rabbits emerge from a hole in the ground also makes them a natural symbol for Jesus emerging from the tomb.)  This theory is that a feast to Eastre was held in the Springtime. Christian missionaries did not want to deny their converts a chance to celebrate, so instead of banning the old celebration they replaced the former significance with a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The practice of "redeeming" pagan holidays with new Christian significance was quite common in the old Roman Empire.

German Origins:  The german word for "resurrection" is "auferstehung"(say it fast, you can get a sense of how it could have morphed into "easter" over centuries of time).  Under this theory, the word was first used by early German Christians to refer to the time of Passover, reflecting the fact that Resurrection Sunday would historically be the Sunday after Passover.  Over time, the word's use was expanded and expanded as people began to not only note the day on their calendars, but make a celebration out of it.  Finally, the word "Easter" eclipsed Passover in the mind of Christian Europe (much of which had never known a Jewish person or read a Bible, so the significance of the old Hebrew holiday was lost).  This theory is supported by the fact that Easter first appears as a word in German writings, rather than Saxon ones.

SCOREBOARD: Practice - April 6

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Come to the Table

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Miracles of Springtime

WEEKLY COMIC: Hymn It Your Way

THIS WEEK: Study Philemon

The next two weeks (April 7 thru April 13), please study Colossians, Chapter 4.

If you want to read the chapter online, click here.

Click here to listen to audio of the chapter.

If you'd like to read a commentary on the chapter, click here.

Study Tip: This is our last week of new material!  Review is easy in some ways, but there is nothing like "new" to engage the mind and keep you interested.  Be sure to leverage the beauty of "new" this week as you study.  And keep in mind that Philemon is only one chapter long. If you memorize this one chapter, you can tell people have memorized a whole book of the Bible!

ARE YOU READY? - Colossians 3

Are you ready to quiz tonight?  Here is a quick self-test you can do to see whether you're prepared or need to do some last-minute cramming!

QUESTION:  REFERENCE:  According to Colossians 3:11, Christ is what?

QUESTION:  2 PART ANSWER:  God's chosen ones are what?

QUESTION:  MULTIPLE PART ANSWER:  Here there is not what?

QUESTION:  Love binds everything together how?

QUESTION:  Children, obey your parents in what?

HOLY WEEK LEFTOVERS: Was Jesus really in the tomb for 3 days?

Holy Week raises lots of questions worth answering, which we don't always get around to discussing during Holy Week.  We'll take a few days this week to look at those questions.

QUESTION 2:  Was Jesus really in the tomb for 3 days?

There are big questions and there are little questions, and this is one that people argue over the size of. Many ask, "If Jesus died Friday night and rose Sunday morning, how does that work out to three days?"  After all, he was only in the tomb for a full day on Sunday, right?

Nope.  First century Jews thought about the calendar differently than moderns do:

1. Days start at sundown on the Jewish calendar.
2. People of the time didn't think in 24 hours days, where 3 days meant "exactly 72 hours".  Rather, they thought in terms of day periods.  For something to happen "on the third day" was always considered to mean "sometime during the third day".  (72 hours later would be "on the fourth day".)
3. When Jews of the time spoke about "three days and three nights", partial days were considered sufficient.  In Esther 4 and 5, she fasts "for 3 days and 3 nights" but goes to the king "on the third day". 

Thus, Jesus being in the tomb for three days was fulfilled by:  

1. Some time on Friday (Jesus died in the afternoon, before sunset)
2. All day on Saturday
3. Some time on Sunday (Jesus was seen by the women in the morning)

3 days, even though it was not 72 hours later.

SCOREBOARD: Practice - March 30

MUSICAL INTERLUDE: He is Risen!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Ancient Colosse

WEEKLY COMIC: April Fools?