2012 State of the Youth Group Highlights
Here are a few highlights from the State of the Youth Group Address that I spoke on this past week. I want to keep you all updated on what we are shooting for in 2012. Hopefully a year from now, we can look back and thank God for helping us fulfill the goals He’s given us:
- 2011 can be summed up in the phrase consistently fun. I’ve spoken on a wide variety of topics. We’ve gone on many exciting and enriching trips. The biggest events of the year, in my opinion, include the junior/senior high split, Brian Tustin’s departure, and my wife Chelsea coming on board to serve you.
- The DEEP exists for a purpose. You can read what our purpose statement is here. The statement is based upon the 5 purposes of the church (evangelism, community, discipleship, worship, ministry). In 2012, God has laid it on my heart that we would be intentional in growing in every area expressed in our purpose statement.
- There are 3 big goals I’d love to see us meet as a group in 2012. (1) The DEEP would be a place where maturity is honored and expected. My promise is to give respect to students who act mature and to call student’s out who don’t. I want to see us grow. (2) Attitudes of DEEP students would develop from “me first” into “others first”. I want to see DEEP students attend and say “How can I make the DEEP all it could be” instead of “Give me something”. I want to see students take ownership. (3) Create an atmosphere that Jesus approves of. This would specifically target the areas of safety, growth, and discipleship.
We took a few moments at the end to talk about Psalm 24:3-6. This passage of the Bible talks specifically about people who wrongly think God is impressed with those who show up to a place of worship, such as a church. Students, we need to understand that coming to the DEEP is not enough for you to receive from God. You don’t grow in Jesus through osmosis (unconscious growth through inactivity); you grow through relationship. Jesus wants to give you life through a relationship with Him. He wants to clean up the mess you may have made of it, or maybe somebody else made of it (clean hands, pure hearts).
Jesus promises us blessing and vindication, or help and justice to those who need it. As a follower of Christ, you aren’t bound to the past. You are set free. The future can be amazing. God is in your corner. He makes a real difference.
The last part of the passage mentions a generation that seeks God’s face. The DEEP isn’t just a place; it’s a group of people. It’s either going to be known as a bunch of people who squandered the life God wanted to give them; or a generation that wanted to experience Him with their whole hearts. This year, you have the choice.
Be all that God desires you to be. Receive life from Him by seeking Him in relationship. Be connected to what God is doing in our part of the world in 2012.
Thoughts on Authority
Hey everybody. This week we had a discussion about authority and if you weren’t there, you missed out! We had two great services between the middle school and senior high DEEP. Whether you were there or you missed it, here are a couple of thoughts to keep in mind this week:
It’s no secret that teenagers don’t like being told what to do. Heck, twenty five year old youth pastors don’t even like being told what to do. The fact of the matter is that authority is a reality, and it’s not going away. You and I will always be under authority in our lives. Because authority is always going to be there, we have to learn to deal with it. Christians should strive to do everything God’s way, including the way we react to people who have power over us. Look at what God has to say about authority in Romans 13:1-5.
Here are three thoughts on authority and how we should and can deal with it:
- God’s command is that we submit to authority – The reason God commands it is because He created it. Often times we don’t make this connection, but to rebel against the authority in our lives is the same as rebelling against God. Bad move. God doesn’t say some authority is there for us to obey, but all. Think about the people in your life right now who have authority in your life. Is your reaction to them overly submissive or overly rebellious? Why?
- Authority is put in our lives for our benefit – God hasn’t put authority in our lives to make them miserable, nor is God’s favorite word “no”. God is about life…but no offense…we’re to stupid to find it on our own. He guides us through the authorities he puts in our lives. Often times we think authority wants to make our lives miserable. That’s usually our own opinions talking. The authority figures in our lives right now come from God and exist for our benefit.
- Our attitude towards authority counts – What this means is that we shouldn’t just obey authority in our lives to not get in trouble. Like it said in our passage: the way we react to authority is how we are actually reacting to God. If we claim to be in a relationship with God but don’t ever submit to those above us, what does that say about our opinion of our heavenly Father? We need to realize where authority comes from and why it exists to formulate the best attitude and reaction.
Some of us cringe a little when we talk about this because we have had bad experiences with authority figures in our lives, like bad parents, teachers, or coaches. Though they may not have acted the way God wanted them to, he placed them there for your benefit. Sometimes people wonder if it’s ever okay not to obey authority in particular situations. I can think of one. The only time it’s okay is if the authority is trying to get you to do something that is against something in God’s Word. But if we really buckle down and think about it, most of the authority in our lives are doing a good job; it’s our attitudes that need checked.
This week, let’s really evaluate how we view and respond to authority. It’s possible that God’s best for us can be hindered by our attitudes and actions on this topic. He’s a good God, and He’s doing all he can to guide us, and a lot of the times the vehicle by which he does is people in positions of power above us.
Christian Atheist part 2
Your past shame is not your present identity, nor your future hope.
Last night we continued talking in our series about Christian Atheists: people who say they are Christians but live like God doesn’t exist. We’ve been talking about how this happens and how we can overcome it. Last night we talked about something that holds us back from breaking out of Christian Atheism: shame.
- Shame is defined as a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.
- Shame happens to us when we do things that we know are wrong. All of us have stories from our lives where we’ve experienced this. It’s an emotion all humans face.
- Shame starts as an emotion, but it becomes an identity. It starts as “I did a bad thing” to “I am that bad thing”. Shame causes us to abandon hope in our futures.
- Shame causes us to abandon any future convictions. We justify our future wrongdoings. We self medicate to try and numb the pain, even if our remedy causes us more shame.
- Shame holds us back from thinking God could ever love us or accept us.
- The disciple Peter experienced shame firsthand. He told Jesus he would be with him until the end; even die for him. When Jesus was arrested, Peter ran away, denied him three times, and cursed Jesus’ name. Check out the interaction Jesus had with Peter after he rose from the dead in John 21:15-19.
- Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” three separate times. It was the same amount of times that Peter denied him. Peter responded that he did love Jesus each time. Then Jesus gave Peter a job to do. At the end, Jesus said, “Follow me”, echoing the very first words Jesus ever spoke to Peter.
- Jesus had restored Peter even after he had done, what we consider, the unforgivable. He gave him a top position in his mission instead of firing him. He gave him a clean slate by going back to the beginning: “Follow me”.
- Accept what can’t be changed – Often times we try to “make it up to God” when all He desires is our broken hearts. He can take them and change them in a miraculous way (Psalm 51:16-17). Our shame does one of two things: Causes us to run away from God, or to Him. Which are you going to choose?
- Accept that God can change your future – The Bible says that through Jesus we become brand new people (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that God desires to work on our behalf in our futures (Romans 8:28). When you break a bone in your body, it heals back stronger than before. God is the only one with the ability to heal the brokeness from your past. He knew your sins before he went to the cross which means He was willing to heal you in advance, no matter how bad or shameful your past is. He loves you that much.
- Give God the opportunity to heal you – There is action required here. In order for God to do something you have to allow Him by going to Him in prayer. This week my prayer is that you would continue to give God your past shame and let him do amazing restoration in you. He desires too so badly.
Christian Atheist part 1
This week we began a brand new series entitled, Christian Atheist. Over the next few weeks we will be talking about the idea that many people claim to know God and yet live like they don’t believe one exists. This week we talked about the difference between knowing things about God and actually knowing God in a relationship. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- 94% of people in America believe in God. Many of those who believe also think that God is good and loving; a Being to be modeled. If this were true, 94% of America would act like God and do what He told them to do. We all know that this isn’t the case. Something is disconnected.
- Take a look at 1 John 2:3-6. What are some characteristics that describe somebody who truly knows God?
- Action is required for a person to truly know God. Knowing God isn’t just something for your brain, but something for your whole life. The Bible tells us that if we claim to believe in him and yet don’t do what he says, we are liars. Where do we stand with this? How willing are we to not do what we want and obey what God has commanded?
- Action produces life. Often times we resist God’s commands and do what we want because we think God is trying to give us the short end of the stick. Nothing could be further from the truth. God’s commands aren’t to hold us back or somehow stroke God’s ego. God’s commands benefit us. His love is made complete when we obey him. We receive fullness in life by obeying. Take a look at Psalm 119:97-104.
- We are encouraged to take Action like Jesus. If we truly want to know God, follow, and be in a relationship with Him, we must allow ourselves to model Jesus. Jesus was obedient to God in all things, because he knew it benefited God’s perfect will, even when it meant going to a cross to die for humanity’s mistakes.
Forgiveness
Last night we were privileged to have Peter Englert from Valley Forge Christian College visit with us and speak to us about forgiveness. If you’re not friends with him on Facebook you can add him by clicking here. Also, check out his Twitter here. He wanted you guys to remember a few things about the message last night:
- All of us have had situations where we have been wronged. When this happens we have to choice to either forgive or be bitter; to release it or be resentful. Unfortunately, our humanity usually sides with refusing to forgive.
- Take a look at the story we read last night in Genesis 50:15-21. Joseph was a man who was his father’s favorite. His brothers hated him for that. One day they beat him up and sold him into slavery. As his life went on Joseph was also wrongly accused and imprisoned. God had other plans for him though.
- Joseph had a gift for interpreting dreams. This gift helped him to be released from jail and given a position next to the most powerful world leader. Can you imagine? Going from being nothing because of your brothers to second in command over the world?
- In this story, Joseph had a decision to make. He could be resentful towards his brothers and had the authority to kill them, or he could forgive them. He chooses to forgive. Why? Because he realizes that there is freedom in forgiveness. He realizes that though his situation was intended for bad, God could change it and make it good. Really good. And God did.
Many of you are in situations like Joseph with a decision to either forgive or be resentful. The Bible tells us that healing will only come by forgiving, because God has chosen to do so for us. He has every right to give us the punishment worthy for our sins, but instead he paid an expensive price to forgive us by sending his Son to die on the cross. How does somebody forgive. Peter gave us these steps:
- Vent to God.
- Let God comfort you in your pain
- Confess your own sins
- Ask God to restore your soul
- Allow God to replace your pain with His goodness
Often times we think that forgiveness has to be a feeling. It doesn’t. Forgiveness is the active release of a wrongdoing. It is allowing the debt you think you’re owed to go unpayed. And maybe, just maybe, forgiveness isn’t for the other person; maybe it’s foryou.
Who have you chosen not to forgive in your life? Let it go, and experience freedom.
Take a look at this story about a girl who was put into a concentration camp during World War 2. She survived, but later in life was confronted by one of her captors. She had every right not to forgive him. I pray that her response would bring hope and healing to you:
