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TeacherAide Common Unity SESSION 12 ILLUSTRATING THE POINT Entering the Kingdom of Google The success of Google Inc. is such that it is now part of the American cultural vocabulary and consciousness. The Google search engine has tamed the vast resources of the Internet allowing users to access pertinent information with lightning speed. That success, and the company's generosity to its staff (read, stock options), draws hordes of eager prospective employees. Although Google has grown from 700 employees in 2002, to 2,700 in 2004, the company remains highly selective. One way Google weeds out the best from the rest is by publishing a 21-question aptitude test in a number of magazines. The questions alone are enough to confuse those who are not technologically and intellectually elite. For example: "How many different ways can you color an icosahedron with one of three colors on each face?" and "On an infinite, two-dimensional rectangular lattice of 1-ohm resistors, what is the resistance between two nodes that are a knight's move away?" The test also includes more subjective, tongue-in-cheek requests like "Write a haiku describing possible methods for predicting search traffic seasonality" and "What is the most beautiful math equation ever derived?" Another method used by Google and other high-tech companies like Yahoo and Microsoft, is to hold competitions for computer programmers, hoping to identify the most talented computer engineers. The test consists of complex coding problems. Cash prizes are awarded to the top contestants, and new job offers quickly follow. In the summer of 2004, Google tried a different approach, placing billboard ads that simply read: "{first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e}.com." Anyone able to solve that puzzle was taken to another website and confronted with another thorny math problem. Those smart enough to decipher that were taken to an internal Google page that praised "your big, magnificent brain" and invited you to apply for a job. Aren't you glad that God requires nothing like this for entrance into the kingdom? God's acceptance is not predicated upon great intellect, savvy, or skill. The only question that matters is: What have you done with Jesus? Source: Michael Liedtke, Google Working to Recruit Brainy Elite (10-26-04)
THE MORE YOU KNOW Text: John 14:6 Objects: · one sturdy plank, 10–12 feet long · one shorter plank, three to four feet long · one piece of flimsy scrap lumber, 10–12 feet long · two picnic tables (or other sturdy platform), placed end to end, eight feet apart · a poster with John 14:6 printed on it
Activity: I select a volunteer (a smaller, outgoing child works best). I designate one table as heaven, the other as earth, and the long gap between the tables as hell. The volunteer stands on "earth." First, I invite the child to try to get to "heaven" by jumping. (Brief them in advance to refuse.) Next, I use the short, sturdy board to represent false religion. I balance the board on the edge of the table and instruct the volunteer to use it like a springboard and jump across to "heaven." When the child refuses, I place the board in "hell." Then I use the long, flimsy board to bridge the gap. It is obviously not substantial enough to bear the weight of the child. When the child refuses the invitation to cross, place the board in "hell." Finally, I use the long plank to bridge the gap. I say, "Jesus came to the earth to live with us, identify with us, and save us." I nail the poster of John 14:6 to the plank and present the gospel, emphasizing that Jesus is the only way of salvation. The volunteer crosses over to "heaven." Purpose: To act out the truth that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Ed Pomelear, Lolo, Montana
I THOUGHT I HEARD YOU SAY “What does it profit you to give God one thing if he asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it. You will as a result better satisfy your heart than with that toward which you yourself are inclined.” - St. John of the Cross “Ideally, when Christians meet, as Christians, to take counsel together, their purpose is not—or should not be—to ascertain what is the mind of the majority but what is the mind of the Holy Spirit—something which may be quite different.” - English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher “There were only a few shepherds at the first Bethlehem. The ox and the ass understood more of the first Christmas than the high priests in Jerusalem. And it is the same today.” - Thomas Merton “The gospel must be preached afresh and told in new ways to every generation, since every generation has its own unique questions. The gospel must constantly be forwarded to a new address, because the recipient is repeatedly changing his place of residence.” - Helmut Thielicke “The helping professions draw hero types like crazy. These are the people who need to be needed. They don’t call themselves saviors, but in fact that’s what they are trying to be.” - Ted Roberts |