NALOPKT: Do you have any idea what that means? Don't worry, you're not alone. It is in fact text lingo for "not a lot of people know this." If you don't believe me, you can click here for proof that I didn't make it up. It was also the theme for Restore 2010 this past weekend in Myrtle Beach. The overarching idea of the weekend is that we as Christians have important knowledge that very few people know. As the latest Pew Research poll results have made the rounds on the news, it has become clear that even many professed Christians don't know the real truth behind Jesus. To get a better idea about Jesus, we talked about the 7 statements made by Jesus while he was on the cross, or as David Skidmore, the weekend's speaker put it, "the seven messages made by the man in the middle"
They were:
fthr 4giv them, 4 they don't no what they're doing.
i tell u the truth, 2day u will be w/ me n pradise
wman, bhold ur son, son bhold ur mother
omg, omg, y have u 4saken me?
i thirst
it is finished
fthr, in2 ur hands i commit my spirit
The teens were encouraged to text message these to themselves rather than take traditional notes. On the first night, they also were encouraged to send a text message to a friend who they knew to be struggling with their faith, and to stand up if a response was received. By the time worship ended, there were dozens of students standing as they had text conversations with their friend about what they were doing in Myrtle Beach. The teens were given a scriptural view of our Redeemer in the 7 messages of the cross. A savior who was obedient, even when he didn't understand. A savior who would not return evil for evil. A savior who even in the midst of the worst suffering one could imagine, thought about the well being of others. This, I believe is the Savior the world needs to see in our lives and in the lives of the students in our ministry. It is not always easy to see God at work in our world, but he can be found. At one point, David compared finding God to the art of Chinese artist, Liu Bo Lin (you may have to look closely at some of the pictures to see what I'm talking about). It is possible to see God in the world around us, but some times it takes slowing down enough to look. It is our job as Christians to make God more visible in the world around us. Every act of righteousness, every act of kindness, generosity, love, that we do in the name of Jesus helps us point the world to Creator of the Earth and the heavens.
One of the things I loved about this weekend was the challenge for teens to engage in meaningful conversations not just with the people on the retreat (we had great devotionals in each room every night where we did just that) but also with those who were not on the retreat for whatever reason. I'm not sure what it is about us, but there seems always be a part of us that fears a changing world. We worry about kids having instant access to each other all the time through their phones, and it's a valid concern, but I think we need to have the vision to see the good that can come through new resources. Near the end of the weekend, one of the teens from our group told me that since Friday night she had been engaged in an ongoing conversation with a friend about her friend's doubts about God. While she was telling me about the conversation, she kind of smiled and said, "Greg, I am going to have to really step up how I live my faith if I am going to be the right kind of example for my friend." Such a statement made me so extremely proud and grateful that God let me be a part of what went on in Myrtle Beach last weekend.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September Cell Groups
September - Galatians "Inside Out"
Cell groups have now, finally, officially begun. Last Wednesday, we had our first Sanctuary of the school year. Sanctuary is where all the groups meet to worship together and to make sure we are all more or less on the same page. Starting tomorrow, individual groups will meet together in various places around town. Each month this year, our cell groups will be taking a look at a different epistle from the New Testament.
First up: Galatians (the Roman and Corinthian letters would be too long to try and hit in just a month)
As a disclaimer: Parents, understand that Cell Groups are not "Bible Class" or even "Bible Study". Cell groups' main purpose is to provide teens a community in which to live out their faith. Looking at Galatians, and the other epistles serves to generate a conversation about how the Bible might apply to them and their situations. In order for there to be any genuine discussion about these scriptures, they must be read outside of cell groups. I encourage you to encourage your teens to read the book each month that they will be discussing in cell groups. I also encourage you to read along with them, so you can continue the conversations at home, or have conversations that time won't afford in cell groups. One of our Servantship Team members broke the book of Galatians into a monthly reading plan. It works out to about 5 verses a day - so I don't think it is too huge a time commitment.
Paul was someone who understood transformation. I think most of us are pretty familiar with Paul's conversion experience on the way to Damascus, but I think sometimes that familiarity might cause us to forget just what a monumental transformation it became. Not only did Paul go from killing Christian converts to becoming one himself, and eventually losing his own life for the cause - he went from a Pharisee, a group that taught that their narrow interpretations of the Law were the only way to be right before God, to the "Apostle to the Gentiles" who advocated on their behalf that they did not even have to follow the Law. Paul's message to the Galatians, as I understand it, is that outward symbols and practices are not the key to a transformed life. Near his closing remarks, he tells his readers that he boasts in only in the cross of Jesus Christ (6:14). In the chapter before, he writes to them that the only thing that has value is faith in Christ that expresses itself in love (5:6). The problem in Galatia, as it was in much of first-century Christianity, was that there were people saying that in order to receive Christ, believers had to be circumcised, or in other words, they had to observe an outward symbol on the Old Testament Law. Paul's argument was that this argument was only made to appease outward appearances, so that the Jewish Christians could "boast in the flesh" (6:13) of their gentile converts. What Paul understood, and wanted the Galatian Christians to understand is that transformation doesn't come from practicing a set of "thou shalls" and "thou shall nots". True transformation comes from a life lived in obedience to the Spirit that comes by the grace of Jesus. In chapter 5, he lays out what an untransformed life looks life. It's a life consisting of immorality, greed, selfishness, fighting, etc. (5:13). He then contrasts it to a transformed life, which consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Our actions matter. As Paul says in the last chapter "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." If we live a life that is all about indulging our selfish desires, there is no reason to suspect that we won't bear the consequences of our selfish behavior. But our actions are more than a means to an end. Our actions are an extension of who we are. If we truly want to live a redeemed, transformed life, then we have to be intentional about changing our spirit.
Week 1 of cell groups will deal with questions on "sowing to please the Spirit." How do we change our spirit, or souls, or hearts, or whatever you want to call it?
Week 2 will deal with questions regarding expressing our faith through love. How do we do good to all people? How can we especially do good to the family of believers? (6:10)
Week 3 will deal with questions regarding our focus. How do we not get distracted from doing good? How do we keep ourselves from forgetting that we aren't saved by our actions, but by our relationship to Christ?
Cell groups have now, finally, officially begun. Last Wednesday, we had our first Sanctuary of the school year. Sanctuary is where all the groups meet to worship together and to make sure we are all more or less on the same page. Starting tomorrow, individual groups will meet together in various places around town. Each month this year, our cell groups will be taking a look at a different epistle from the New Testament.
First up: Galatians (the Roman and Corinthian letters would be too long to try and hit in just a month)
As a disclaimer: Parents, understand that Cell Groups are not "Bible Class" or even "Bible Study". Cell groups' main purpose is to provide teens a community in which to live out their faith. Looking at Galatians, and the other epistles serves to generate a conversation about how the Bible might apply to them and their situations. In order for there to be any genuine discussion about these scriptures, they must be read outside of cell groups. I encourage you to encourage your teens to read the book each month that they will be discussing in cell groups. I also encourage you to read along with them, so you can continue the conversations at home, or have conversations that time won't afford in cell groups. One of our Servantship Team members broke the book of Galatians into a monthly reading plan. It works out to about 5 verses a day - so I don't think it is too huge a time commitment.
Paul was someone who understood transformation. I think most of us are pretty familiar with Paul's conversion experience on the way to Damascus, but I think sometimes that familiarity might cause us to forget just what a monumental transformation it became. Not only did Paul go from killing Christian converts to becoming one himself, and eventually losing his own life for the cause - he went from a Pharisee, a group that taught that their narrow interpretations of the Law were the only way to be right before God, to the "Apostle to the Gentiles" who advocated on their behalf that they did not even have to follow the Law. Paul's message to the Galatians, as I understand it, is that outward symbols and practices are not the key to a transformed life. Near his closing remarks, he tells his readers that he boasts in only in the cross of Jesus Christ (6:14). In the chapter before, he writes to them that the only thing that has value is faith in Christ that expresses itself in love (5:6). The problem in Galatia, as it was in much of first-century Christianity, was that there were people saying that in order to receive Christ, believers had to be circumcised, or in other words, they had to observe an outward symbol on the Old Testament Law. Paul's argument was that this argument was only made to appease outward appearances, so that the Jewish Christians could "boast in the flesh" (6:13) of their gentile converts. What Paul understood, and wanted the Galatian Christians to understand is that transformation doesn't come from practicing a set of "thou shalls" and "thou shall nots". True transformation comes from a life lived in obedience to the Spirit that comes by the grace of Jesus. In chapter 5, he lays out what an untransformed life looks life. It's a life consisting of immorality, greed, selfishness, fighting, etc. (5:13). He then contrasts it to a transformed life, which consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Our actions matter. As Paul says in the last chapter "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." If we live a life that is all about indulging our selfish desires, there is no reason to suspect that we won't bear the consequences of our selfish behavior. But our actions are more than a means to an end. Our actions are an extension of who we are. If we truly want to live a redeemed, transformed life, then we have to be intentional about changing our spirit.
Week 1 of cell groups will deal with questions on "sowing to please the Spirit." How do we change our spirit, or souls, or hearts, or whatever you want to call it?
Week 2 will deal with questions regarding expressing our faith through love. How do we do good to all people? How can we especially do good to the family of believers? (6:10)
Week 3 will deal with questions regarding our focus. How do we not get distracted from doing good? How do we keep ourselves from forgetting that we aren't saved by our actions, but by our relationship to Christ?
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