You’ve heard of trampoline parks and escape rooms, but there’s a new trend called the “rage room.” Rage rooms have grown in popularity in recent years, especially due to COVID, and they continue to pop up across the country. Basically, you pay money to go into an enclosed space and smash things to release all that pent-up anger.
One customer described the experience of going with her husband,
“At first, we were a little timid, but it didn’t take long before we were going full-out. We discovered that TVs are surprisingly hard to break, even with a metal baseball bat. …The best surprise? The old-school computer printer. I’d forgotten how much I hated printers for all the times they’d run out of ink, mangled my papers in college, or got jammed. That printer became a symbol for years of frustration, and it felt great to just destroy that thing….
“The most satisfying items to break [were] the glassware. My husband would “pitch” me a beer bottle or glass, and I’d hit it with the baseball bat. We laughed and cheered and smashed stuff until every last thing was unrecognizably destroyed. It was such a huge adrenaline rush. For the first time in what seemed like forever, I finally felt in control.”
This may all sound like fun and games, but these rooms illustrate a deeper problem in society. We have anger issues. Temper tantrums, road rage, campus protests, street riots, cyberbullying, hostile work environments, even assassination attempts on national leaders. People are angry, and most of them don’t know how to get help.
According to one recent report, 30% of adults struggle to control their anger. And 64% of teens and young adults admit they have uncontrolled anger. In this study of Colossians 3:8, we learn…
Why anger is so dangerous
Getting to the heart of the matter
Is it ever OK to be angry?
Five strategies to overcome anger
How Jesus can give you peace
Thanks for listening. For a complete list of sermons organized by book of the Bible, please visit the Sermon page.
If you’re not careful, your mind will drift, and you’ll start thinking and acting more like the world. You’ll forget your identity in Christ. What you need is a regular tune-up or re-calibration. In this study of Colossians 3:1-4, we learn…
The difficulty of finding a quiet place alone with God
Why do we often set our mind on earthly things?
Your identity in Christ changes everything
The role of Scripture in recalibrating the mind
Thanks for listening. For a complete list of sermons organized by book of the Bible, please visit the Sermon page on my blog.
Thank you all who followed me on this journey of remembering my semester in Israel. It’s been a joy to pull out old journals and emails, relive many of these moments, and learn some new lessons along the way.
If you ever get the chance to travel to Israel, do it! I’d love to go back, and for Natalie and the kids to see it someday. Israel is a land like no other. Walking its paths will transform your understanding of the Bible. I don’t think I could ever get enough of this place.
For anyone interested, here’s a complete list of blog posts describing my IBEX adventures.
May 4, 2000. Yes, God is the Great Provider! Thank you for all your prayers concerning our flight situation. I have good news: we’ll all be going home in the next two days! Yes, that’s right! God made a way for all of us. He is so gracious.
The IBEX profs and the Bible faculty back at TMC worked very hard to get us home as soon as possible, and it seems they were 100% successful. Unfortunately, TMC is $20,000 in the hole, but at least all of us will be home.
Everyone has a ticket home, though some won’t make it until Saturday. The first of two groups leave tonight on TWA #885 and will arrive in LAX on Friday morning at 10:45am.
When I step off the plane, I’ll be greeted by my fiancé and my parents, and then, one day later, I’ll be graduating! Needless to say, these next few days will be rather eventful. Yahoo!
~Stephen
P.S. “Shalom’ from Israel, one last time
25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’ve been sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos.Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!
May 2, 2000. It’s hard to believe, but the end has come. My finals are finished, our field trips are done, and now, only 48 hours remain until I depart from the Land of Israel.
How does one leave the Promised Land after 3 1/2 months and casually assimilate back into a normal routine in America? Is it possible? In some ways, I’m sure my life will forever be changed as a result of this experience. In other ways, however, I know that living the Christian walk will be just as hard as ever.
I’ve seen almost every square inch of this great land, from the northernmost Lebanese border to the port of Eilat on the Red Sea, from the Mediterranean Coast to the waters of the Jordan River. The cities and regions of the Bible are no longer foreign words, but familiar places with vivid memories. And now, the most difficult task begins – putting all of the knowledge into practice.
The excitement of Israel is coming to an end, but my responsibility is just beginning. God has graciously provided beyond all I could ask or think, and I firmly believe that “much will be required” in return. Please pray that I will be a humble servant, and that God will use me in whatever capacity He sees fit.
Students sign the IBEX alumni Wall of Fame
Of all the lessons I’ve learned over the course of this semester, one in particular stands out as a recurring theme: the self-sufficiency of God. I don’t quite know how else to explain it! God is utterly self-sufficient; He doesn’t need man (or anything else) to accomplish His plan. In fact, throughout history, He’s proven that He best enjoys working when the odds are overwhelmingly against Him.
Why else would He choose a lowly shepherd boy like David and a band of 400 renegades to establish a united monarchy? (1 Samuel 16, 22) Why would He limit Gideon’s army to a mere 300 men? (Judges 7) Why would He leave Israel without any continual water source like the Nile? (Deuteronomy 11) Why would He tell Jehoshaphat to send the choir instead of soldiers to the frontlines of the battle? (2 Chronicles 20) Why would choose Jerusalem as His capital, an obscure city tucked away in the Judean Hill Country? And why would He appoint a suffering Servant, Jesus, to bring salvation? (Isaiah 53)
Obviously, He would (and did) do all of these things to bring Himself greater glory. At first glance, it doesn’t make sense, but remember, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) If I can hold on to this single truth, my entire semester will have been worthwhile.
Ironically, my trust in God has been tested even during the course of my writing this letter. Just moments ago, Todd posted up a very disturbing notice on the email room bulletin board:
“TOWER AIR FOLDS: THOUSANDS STRANDED”
What does this mean? Well, it means that as of right now, two days before we’re supposed to board our plane, our airline has gone out of business. It means that the seven seniors here (including myself) might very well miss our graduation (which is the day after we’re supposed to arrive). It means that my mom and dad may be flying out to California to see a graduation ceremony without me. It means that we could end up paying hundreds, if not a thousand dollars, more to get a plane ticket back to the U.S!
I guess God is already giving me opportunities to put my knowledge into practice, and to start trusting in Him. What started as a newsletter is quickly turning into a prayer letter, so please pray with us here at IBEX that God will get us home!!! How thankful we can be that He is still in control.
Lord willing, this will be the final chapter of my Israel updates, but you can still contact me through email once I’m back in the States. I love you all, and am so thankful for those of you who took time to write back. It was always a great encouragement!
~”Goodbye and Shalom” from the Land of the Bible, Stephen Jones
25 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Israel for a semester through the Master’s College IBEX program. To celebrate the 25th anniversary, I’m sharing highlights from my journal, emails, and photos.Feel free to share your own IBEX memories here as well!
Pinch Of Clay 