Losers Club : Lessons from the Least Likely Heroes of the Bible

by Jeff Kinley

• ISBN13: 9780310262626
• ISBN10: 0310262623
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-02-16
• Publisher: Youth Specialties

Summary

We usually think of Bible characters as dressed with their Sunday best-lookin' good, smelling of accomplishment, and holding the posture of unshakeable faith. We marvel at these "flawless saints" while thinking, "Wow! I'm not worthy!" Hey, not so fast. Believe it or not, the most celebrated people in the Bible were plagued by doubt, bad decisions, and less than perfect reputations. In a word, most were losers! And yet, God had plans that would take them beyond their humble, imperfect lives and dub them proud members of the "losers" club. Losers Clubis a real-life look at famous Bible figures such as Moses, Solomon, David, Thomas, Rahab, and others. Each vignette reveals people who struggle with weak faith, confusion, and frustration-people very much like you and me! These stories will help you connect with these flawed heroes, find encouragement in their stories, and get inspired by God's love and care for "losers."

Table of Contents

Introduction	9	(4)
Section One Famous Doubters, Identifying with Scripture's Strugglers	13	(66)
Reluctant Redeemer	15	(22)
Moses: Can God Really Use Me?
When God Feels Far Away	37	(14)
David: Is God Really There?
Deathbed Doubts	51	(14)
John the Baptist: Is Jesus Really the Messiah?
The Absent-Minded Professor	65	(14)
Thomas: Is Jesus Really Alive?
Section Two Faithful Failures, Encouragement from Scripture's Overcomers	79	(60)
Wisdom and Wildness	81	(16)
Solomon: Why Do I Feel So Empty?
Possessed!	97	(12)
Mary Magdalene: Can God Use Me after All I've Been Through?
Muscle-Bound Lust-Hound	109	(16)
Samson: How Can I Stop Messing up My Life?
Never Give Up!	125	(14)
John Mark: Will I Always Be a ``Newb''?
Section Three Forgotten Heroes, Inspiration from Scripture's Unknowns	139	(58)
Rooftop Religion	141	(14)
Rahab: Does My Life Matter?
Beggars and Blind Men	155	(14)
Bartimaeus: Am I Desperate for God?
Closer Than a Brother	169	(14)
Aristarchus: What Kind of Friend Am I?
A Standing Ovation from Heaven	183	(14)
Stephen: Will God Ever Cheer for Me?
A Final Thought	197

Excerpts

Losers Club: Lessons for the Least Likely Heroes of the Bible
Copyright © 2005 by Jeff Kinley
Youth Specialties products, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are
published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible:
New International Version (North American Edition). Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.
Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included
with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites
of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in
printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication.
Please contact Youth Specialties via e-mail ([e-mail]) to report
URLs that are no longer operational and replacement URLs if available.
Creative Team: Doug Davidson, Shawn Odegaard, Laura Gross, Janie Wilkinson,
Holly Sharp, Rule29
Cover design by Burnkit
Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 10 • 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kinley, Jeff.
The losers club : lessons from the least likely heroes of the Bible / by Jeff Kinley.
p. cm.
ISBN-10: 0-310-26262-3 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26262-6 (pbk.)
1. Failure (Psychology)--Religious aspects--Christianity. 2. Bible--Biography. I.
Title.
BT730.5.K56 2005
220.9’2--dc22
2005024229

CAN GOD
USE ME?
October 13, 1990, was a red-letter
day for the Glascock County
High School football team. On that crisp,
fall Friday night, the Panthers soundly
defeated Long County High 14-0. It was
the second time Glascock had beaten
Long County that season. But that Friday
the 13th proved to be an unlucky day
for the team from tiny Gibson, Georgia,
as it marked the last time they’d win
a game all year. In fact, the Panthers
wouldn’t win a game the following
year…or any in ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, ‘95,
‘96, ‘97, or ‘98. Thus began the
longest losing streak in the history of Georgia high school
football.
Season after season the Panthers struggled, only
to lose game after game. With fewer than 100 boys in the
entire high school, the “pickins,” as they say, were slim.
Nevertheless, each Friday night, all 15 players kept giving
it all they had. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. With
most boys playing both offense and defense, there just
wasn’t enough energy in their adolescent bodies to outlast
their opponents. They simply couldn’t produce a win.
The streak swelled to 87 straight losses.
Now, imagine if through some miracle of time
travel, Moses could step out of the Bible and walk into
the Panther locker room after one of those heartbreaking
losses. Moses might take a knee, look each one of those
teenagers in the eyes, and say:
“Boys, I know exactly how you feel.”
Now, you remember Moses. He’s the guy
who delivered Israel from Pharaoh, received the Ten
Commandments, wrote the first five books in the Bible, and
courageously led an entire nation for 40 years, ultimately
taking them to the Promised Land. If that’s the Moses you
recall, then your memory serves you correctly.
But that was the “public Moses,” the image his
agent might sell to a prospective nation needing immediate
redemption. That’s the official portrait. You know, the 8 x 10 glossy.
There’s another Moses. Same guy, just a different
season of his life. We know his famous exploits, successes,
and accomplishments, but what about his foul-ups,
failures, and disappointments?
Is it really possible that Israel’s redeemer could
identify with a group of high school boys? Is it really
possible that Moses could identify with us, in our own
times of struggle, doubt, and failure? Did Moses ever have
a losing streak? Let’s take a closer look at this larger-than-life
Bible character.
BACKGROUND CHECK
Moses was born during a difficult time in his nation’s
history, a time when more than a million Hebrew slaves
lived in Egypt. With so many slaves living in his country,
Egypt’s ruler, Pharaoh (possibly Thutmoses I, or “King Tut”
to us), became very nervous. Concerned about a possible
slave revolution, he devised a sinister plan to kill all male
newborn babies. (Nice guy, huh?). “Just throw ‘em into
the river,” he declared. However, his master plan had one
glitch. Jewish midwives assisting in the birthing process
feared God more than any human leader, and they were
protecting the newborn infants. It was the world’s first
Right to Life movement.
God blessed these women for honoring him in
this way, and the Jewish population kept growing. One
of those babies was born to a woman named Jochebed.
After keeping her boy’s birth a secret for three months,
she could hide him no longer. So this mother made a
difficult decision. She wove a “boat-basket,” laid her baby
inside, and placed the basket along the bank of the Nile
River, hoping someone would find her son.
And someone did.
By “chance,” while bathing in the river, Pharaoh’s
daughter found the basket. Feeling compassion for the child,
she adopted him and began raising him as an Egyptian.
Little is known about Moses’ next 40 years, but
the Book of Acts tells us, “Moses was educated in all the
wisdom of the Egyptians and he was powerful in speech
and action” (Acts 7:22). In other words, Moses received the
best education money could buy. An Egyptian education
included studying hieroglyphics, mathematics, science,
medicine, astrology, the doctrines of Egyptian religion,
and interpretation of dreams. Moses probably spoke
several languages and was destined for an influential
government job in the mightiest nation on earth. He really
was the “Prince of Egypt.”
MID-LIFE MURDERER
However, later on something began stirring within this
Hebrew hunk. Maybe it was a midlife crisis, but Moses
wanted to know about his Jewish heritage and identity.
Feeling a strong kinship with his people, he decided he’d
rather live as a peasant Jew than as an heir to Egypt’s
treasures. Pharaoh must have thought Moses was crazy.
How could he possibly do this, considering all Egypt had
done for him? There was only one way.
By faith.
Moses took a huge gamble on God, choosing to
go with his gut feeling instead of Pharaoh’s fortune.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up,
refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter. He chose to be mistreated along

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Excerpted from Losers Club: Lessons from the Least Likely Heroes of the Bible by Jeff Kinley
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.