busy week

it looks like it is again one of those weeks…

let’s see, today is monday. tomorrow would be tuesday, and the day after, wednesday. impressed yet? i’ll be lucky if i know my name by the end of the week. actually, i shouldn’t complain. it’s not that bad. just a busy couple of days here to start my week off.

i have romans 10 to teach tomorrow night to the high school group, and wednesday night i’m pinch-hitting for the senior pastor. it would be really convenient to just teach romans 10 on wednesday night, but the congregation is also going through romans right now, so that won’t work.

i actually gave it quite a bit of thought today and it looks like i’ll be covering the “I AM” statements of Jesus in the gospel of john. if you find yourself reading this, take a moment and pray for me. better yet, post a comment about what you need prayer for and we can pray for each other.

i’ll probably post again after wednesday to update on how things went.

God is…

how would you finish out that sentence?

that is the question i asked tonight starting into our high school bible study.  as the students filed into the room, i had this whiteboard standing at the door, allowing them to write down their answer as they entered.

what view do you have of God?  Some of the answers i got were a little surprising, honestly.  i know the picture is small, so here are a few excerpts:

God is…  omni-present/potent/scient, energetic, the dean, my hero, not bound by the laws of physics, light. there were actually more written, but i took several off the board before we got started, since i wanted to keep it on a semi-serious note.

the reason for asking this question was because we found ourselves in romans 9 tonight, where we see God as sovereign.  not surprisingly, no one wrote that characteristic down on the board.  give this some thought, though.  how do you see God?  how would you finish out that sentence?  what characteristics of God are you not giving enough weight to?  do you simply see Him as the heavenly santa claus, winking at your wrongdoing and wanting to give you good gifts anyways?  if so, your view is distorted.  on the other hand, do you see Him as a cruel taskmaster, waiting to punish and judge and torment?  if so, your view is also distorted.  get back to the bible, take in the full counsel of God, and worship God for who He is.

tuesday night

for the last 2 years, i’ve spent my tuesday night teaching the high school youth at our church…

before that, i was teaching on wednesday and sunday. ever since i started i have been going through the bible, one book at a time. last week i did something out of the ordinary, i did a topical study. i haven’t ever done that on a tuesday before. sure, there have been times at retreats and special events where i’ve taught a topical study, but never before on a tuesday night.

i’m not against topical studies, but i find that often it leads to the pastor/teacher majoring on the minor points of the bible and minoring on the majors. plus, for someone who lacks any ounce of creativity, going through chapter by chapter saves me a lot of worry throughout the week.

so why did i do it last week? God impressed it upon me. i would have to say that in the months and years that i have been able to teach the bible, i have never had one thing consume my mind in the weeks prior like i did this topic. i originally planned on tackling this topic two weeks ago, but the Lord must have had a few more things to tell me before i passed it on to the group, so he made me sick that week. looking back, i think (know) it was good, because in that week it became a lot less about my frustrations with the group and more about God’s heart for them.

so you probably want to know what the topic was, don’t you? here it is: MISSION

in the two years we have been meeting on tuesday nights, i have seen only a small handful of students not associated with our church come to youth group. to me, this is troubling. after all, part of our statement of purpose as a youth group is to equip the students so they can multiply and make more disciples. sadly, this is one thing i have noticed to be quite lacking.

we got our text from Romans 9:3, where paul says that he would willingly go to hell if only his fellow countrymen could be saved. when i read that, i was strongly convicted. i asked myself, “how many nights have you laid awake concerned about the salvation of the lost? how much time have you committed in prayer for the unsaved?” my answer, honestly, was not enough nights, nor enough time.

i firmly believe that last tuesday was a turning point for our youth ministry (as well as for myself).  i need to come alongside these kids and help them develop their gifts and talents.  even more, i need to give them opportunity to invite friends to different activities.  how can i expect the students to be doing these things when i don’t help give them any opportunities?  as a youth leadership team, we are working on finding ways that we can help our students by giving them a place where they can reach out to their classmates and friends.  our first step toward this goal is by starting a once per month outreach night for the youth; something low-key and fun where students can invite friends.

if you want to read a quick overview of our study from last week, click here.  tonight we tackle part 2 of this study, how to apply what we learned last week about the call and mission of the christian.

get out of the coffin!

i know its an unusual heading, but hopefully it will make you think.

each and every tuesday morning i meet with a group at a coffee shop in downtown redmond. currently we are going through the book of ephesians together. this morning brought us to chapter 2. we read in verse 1 that Jesus has made us alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins. isn’t that amazing? let me explain.

we all do wrong. we all make mistakes, get angry at our dog, fail to do what we know is right, think evil thoughts. its called sin. as a result, we’re dead spiritually. we may think we have life by obtaining the nice things, indulging in the temporary pleasures, but at the end of the day we know we are not made alive by these. the only way to be made alive, truly alive, is by Jesus. just as Jesus explained to nicodemus in john 3 that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God, so we also must be born again. its as easy as putting your trust, your faith, in Jesus. at that moment, you are made alive. alive in a way you have probably never experienced.

so my question is, what are you doing still in the coffin? what man do you know, having been released from prison and given absolute freedom, would choose to stay in the confines of his cell? what person, on their death bed and healed miraculously, given a second chance at life, would choose to stay in the hospital bed hooked up to a respirator and iv’s? Even the thought is absurd. what was it that brought death? trespasses and sins. realize the chains have been unlocked, the fetters loosed. you are no longer bound to sin. instead, you can be bound to Jesus and delight in working the works of righteousness (romans 6:17,18). so get out of the coffin and enjoy life, christian. Jesus has made you alive!

let’s get this started!

so here we go! this is #1 in what hopefully will be a long list of posts and comments.

as i sit here typing, i’m with my family in our bonus room with princess bride playing on the television. i marvel at how differently girls and boys are as i watch my son and my daughter react to the movie. maybe you remember the scene in the fire swamp where princess buttercup and wesley are attacked by the r.o.u.s. (rodent of unusual size). as this giant rat begins attacking wesley my daughter grabs the nearest pillow and covers her face. my son, on the other hand, teems with excitement which is evidenced by the various sound-effects and hand gestures he makes. i realize its the same with my wife and myself. as i open up photo booth on my macbook pro and look at the pictures i have of friends and family with warped and distorted faces (using the different filters, of course; not because my friends and family are warped looking!) my wife refuses to look. i can’t stop laughing, though. God is so good for creating us differently. reading in Genesis i see just where the difference lies: adam was made from dirt while eve was formed from flesh. unfortunately this difference results in conflict some of the time. but don’t worry, God knows what He’s doing.

i was able to catch up with an old friend over lunch a couple weeks ago and we landed on this topic. he said he has been having a hard time adjusting to married life, wondering if he’s compatible with his wife. i told him marriage is where you find out just how incompatible you are. but that’s the great thing, you see! i’d hate to be married to someone just like me. i would drive me nuts. even more than that, i’d be incomplete. romans 5:3 says that we can “glory in tribulation.” what? glory? yep. you see, no matter what trial or difficulty comes your way today you can glory in it, appreciate all of it, have peace through it. i believe the key to this is in verse 1, “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” until you have peace with God, you can’t have real peace with your spouse. until peace with God comes, you can’t glory in tribulation and trial.

how do you come to have peace with God? through Jesus Christ. because He died for you, paying the price for the debt of your sin, you can have peace with God. all you need to do is begin a relationship with Him. ask Him to be your Lord and your Savior. give Him your heart. then, get to know Him. talk with Him throughout the day, read the Bible to learn more about His character. suddenly, all of those things that were difficult for you and weighing on you don’t seem to be so bad.

difficulty in your marriage? don’t go looking for the latest self-help book on marriage. look for Jesus. lack of contentment in your workplace? work for Jesus. tension in your friendship? seek Jesus. as you do, all other things fall into place.