Do You Love God?

 Before you read any further into this post, answer this question with a simple "yes" or "no": Do you love God?

Okay, now that you've answered the question, let's talk about what it means to love someone.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes some of the primary characteristics of love. And before we go into the verses, I need to make sure we are all on the same page here. We are NOT talking about romantic love, dating relationships, or marriage (although this passage is often read at weddings). We are talking about the attitude and behaviors that God calls us to have for others, whether we are particularly fond of them or not. Okay, so here are the verses:

        “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not                 dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6                 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always          hopes, always perseveres.”

Patient, kind, protecting, trusting, persevering. None of these describe a gushy feeling toward someone. Instead, they are all practical and, dare I say, quantifiable. Someone can look at how you are treating someone else and determine if these things are present in that relationship. People can tell when you are patient or kind. They can also usually tell when you are envious, boastful, prideful, dishonoring, self-seeking, easily angered, etc. Do you see where I am going with this? When Paul (the author of 1 Corinthians) describes love, he describes in a very practical way. In one of his other letters, Paul gives us some more direct insight into what it means to love someone else:

        Philippians 2:3-4 - “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility                 value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests          of the others.”

Selfish ambition is when we are willing to hurt others and throw them to the side in order to get ahead. The business world is full of selfish ambition - some describe it as cutthroat. It happens when you decide to put yourself first and everyone else last. Only you matter, and you will do whatever it takes to get ahead - that's selfish ambition. Vain conceit is similar, because it also elevates you above others. It is this idea that you are more important than anyone else and you deserve more than anyone else. Love cannot co-exist with these two mentalities. A selfishly ambitious person cannot truly love others, and here is why: to love someone, based on Paul's letters here, means that you put others first. It's not emotional, but rather a choice that you make to humble yourself and value others above yourself. They come first, not you. That is what it means to love someone.

This is how love works in friendships, with brothers/sisters/parents/children, in dating relationships and marriages, and in general in our interactions with people on the street. When we choose to put the needs or desires of someone else ahead of our own, we are demonstrating love for that person. On the flipside, if we claim to love someone, but only ever put ourselves first, then our "love" for them is just empty words. If I say "I love you" but then spread rumors about you around the church, I don't really love you, do I? Paul says that love is demonstrated by action.

Okay, so that's an overview of what it means to love others, but what about God? What does it mean to love God?

In Mark 12:29-31, Jesus shares the first and greatest commandment:

        “29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.             30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all             your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as                 yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

There is so much to unpack from these verses and we do not have the space to do it in this post. Basically, Jesus has taken all of the laws of the Old Testament and boiled them down to two main points: Love God above literally everything else, and love others. I mean, think about it, if you are loving God (putting Him first) with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, what's left? Nothing. That's everything that you have and covers every aspect of your life. So, in everything, God comes first. These commandments create a bit of an awkward hierarchy of priorities for us, because according to this, our priorities should be structured as: God, literally everyone else, and then us at the bottom. God is first, then everyone else, then me. I'm last. It doesn't sound right, but this what the Bible tells us. In fact, this is the exact set of priorities Jesus demonstrated in His life here on Earth. Paul shares about it in Philippians 2:5-8:

        “5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in         very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7         rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human                likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to         death—even death on a cross!”

God came to the Earth in the form of a man (Jesus) out of love for us, so in coming, Jesus put God first (it was the will of God that He come). Then, in becoming obedient to death (and paying for our sins), Jesus put literally everyone else above Himself. He gave His life for ours. His example for us was: God, everyone else, Him. This is the mentality that we, as Christians, need to have. God, everyone else, me.

So, how do we love God?

Jesus tells us exactly how to love God in John 14:23-24 and John himself elaborates in 1 John 5:3:

        23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we         will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey         my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

        “3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not            burdensome.”

Anyone who truly loves God will obey Him. That's it. That's how we do it. We obey Him. We already talked about the fact that love is an action, and really, it is a choice that we make to put others first. When it comes to loving God, we have to choose to obey what He has told us to do. Love for God is characterized by obedience. So then, if we say that we love God then there ought to be evidence in our lives. People ought to be able to look at the things I do and say, "Yeah, Mike definitely loves God." After all, how do we know that God loves us? Because He put it into action. He sent Jesus and died to save us from our sins. We can look at what God has done and say with confidence, "Yeah, God definitely loves us."

What does that look like?

What does God want us to do? What has He commanded? Well, we have Jesus' summary of the OT Law: Love God and love others. But what else? For the Christian, Jesus has given some very specific commands which can be found in Matthew 28. Right before He ascends into Heaven Jesus commands His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, to baptize those disciples, and to teach them everything Jesus had taught. This means that every Christian is commanded to be baptized, to make disciples, to baptize those disciples, and to help them learn God's Word (the Bible). If you are reading this and you claim to be a Christian (or you answered "yes" at the beginning of this post), have you been baptized? Have you shared the Gospel with anyone? Have you participated in someone else's baptism? Have you helped someone study the Bible?

These are just some of the things God has commanded us to do, and as Jesus said, those who love Him will obey His commands. These are the things which demonstrate our love for God. If we are not doing these things, not obeying God's commands, then how can we honestly claim to love Him?

If you read those things and you felt unqualified to do them, what can you do to prepare?

 - Read and study the Bible (by yourself and with other believers)

 - Spend time in prayer talking to God and asking Him to equip you

 - Find ways to serve others, both in the church and outside it

When we serve, especially alongside other Christians, we learn how to do it better and we learn from their example. Reading the Bible and praying puts God first and choosing to serve puts others above ourselves. These choices put us in line with God's totem pole of priorities: God, others, me.

Now, let's go back to the original question. With all of this in mind, as you examine your day-to-day to life (not just your feelings, what the things you choose to do): Do you love God?

If your answer changed to a "no" (or remained as a "no"), that's okay. I'm not here to judge or condemn you. BUT, don't stay there. Remember that love is a choice that we make, not a feeling that comes and goes. We have to choose to read the Bible, choose to pray, choose to share the Gospel, and choose to serve others. Every time we choose these things we are demonstrating our love for God. My prayer for you is that you will take these things to heart and change the way you live so that your life demonstrates a love for God. Amen.

Anxious Much?

 What is anxiety? This past Wednesday we took a closer look at what anxiety is, what it does to us, and what causes it. Then we dove into the Word of God to find out how we, as believers in Jesus Christ, should handle anxiety. Spiritual leaders often tell us to look at the Bible for answers to life's questions, and yet usually that's not our gut reaction. Why look to some old book when my friends are right here? But, when it comes to the difficulties of life, who should we trust more - the God who created this world or our friends who have about as much life experience as we do? The obvious answer to that question is that we should trust God more. But do we? Do we trust that God knows our problems and how to deal with them the right way?

Hopefully, if you are reading this, you are at least curious to know what the Bible has to say about handling anxiety in life. So, let's take a look at what we discussed at the Summit last Wednesday.

Anxiety defined: "Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness." Notice that it doesn't say "or" there. Anxiety is all of these things mixed together.

What does it do?

Some of the effects of anxiety: sweating, feeling restless and tense, rapid heartbeat, trembling, breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), weakness or feeling tired, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, a tendency to avoid the triggers (avoiding thinking about what you're anxious about), etc. Feel free to add in some of your own experiences of when you get anxious. Usually, anxiety causes different effects for different people. When I get anxious, for example, I get sweaty, tense, I feel weak and I have trouble sleeping. In an attempt to "avoid the triggers" I will try to distract myself by watching a show or playing an immersive game. What does anxiety do to you?

Now, sometimes anxiety can be a good thing - it can force us to prepare for things to come (like when we are anxious about a big test so we go overboard on the studying) or it can light a fire under our butts to start working on a paper before the deadline. Unfortunately, anxiety is usually a bad thing. It paralyzes us from doing anything other than worrying. We call this crippling anxiety. The feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness are so strong that we get physically sick or just feel trapped and unable to do anything.

Does anxiety ever solve our problems, though? No. Worrying, by itself, doesn't solve anything. Like, I can worry about my test all I want, but unless I actually study for it, that worrying isn't going to help me get a better grade. Or, I can worry all I want about the church van breaking down on its way to HCBC, but worrying isn't going to stop it from happening. <= I proved this on our second attempt last year as I worried about the van breaking down, and it still broke down...

What causes anxiety?

The short answer: stress. Anxiety (and worry) is a natural response to stressful situations like a problem at work, a test at school, relationship drama in your friend group, or an upcoming important decision. Sometimes anxiety can be caused by a medical issue (although this is rare). As I said earlier, anxiety is a form of fear. It shows up when we are worried about something, something that we feel like we can't control. Its that feeling we get when we don't know what's going to happen.

How do we deal with it?

Here is where we start looking to God's Word. Before we do, though, I want you to do something. I want you to think about a situation that gives you anxiety. What are you dealing with right now that is making you anxious? Is your friend group going through a fight? Are you having trust issues with a boyfriend/girlfriend? Is it something at home, either with your parents or siblings? Maybe you're just worried about what your future is going to look like. Whatever it is, I want you to have a specific situation in mind as we look at what God has to say about dealing with our anxiety. Do you have it? Good.

The passage we are about to read together is a familiar one to many Christians, and honestly, I think it gets taken out of context too much in the church. The book of Philippians is a letter written by the apostle Paul to a church in the city of Philippi. He talks about a lot of good stuff like the mindset of a Christian, how Christians should interact with each other and with the world, and what our priorities should be. And here, as he is getting to the conclusion of his letter, he gives this advice to Christians as they experience trouble in this world.

Philippians 4:4-7 - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Let's walk through this advice together, step by step. First, he says to rejoice. This is so important that he feels the needs to repeat himself! REJOICE! What do we have to rejoice about? Well, think about your life right now: what are some good things you have to be thankful for? Some things that bring you joy? We have life, that is cause for celebration in and of itself (why else do we celebrate birthdays, after all?). We continue to have breath in our lungs. Through Jesus Christ we have a restored relationship with God, life everlasting, and the promise of an unending future with God. We have a family (who may be troubling at times, but they are usually there for us in one way or another). We have friends (some better than others). We have access to education, food, clean water, a roof over our heads. As we get more specific, we find many more things to rejoice over than we probably thought at first. Paul says that the first step to dealing with anxiety is to rejoice - to think about the joy in our lives.

We can also rejoice because of what Paul says next: "the Lord is near". We can rejoice because God is near us. And we can choose not to be anxious about anything because the Lord is near. Even as you are reading this, God is there with you. He is on your side. And if God is for us, then who can be against us?

This next part is the "famous" part, and gets quoted a lot: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation..." pray. Paul's advice here is not to just "stop worrying". That's not exactly what he means when he says "do not be anxious about anything". Instead, its more of a "rather than be anxious about this or that situation, pray about it". Remember, anxiety is a form of fear. Being anxious about something means that we are afraid of what is going to happen. So, instead of being afraid, pray about it, ask God to step in, and trust that God is in control.

Then what happens? "And the peace of God...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When we follow this process, we will find peace. The situation may or may not be resolved, yet we can have peace of mind because we know and trust that God is in control, so we don't need to be afraid anymore. We don't need to worry anymore (especially since worrying won't actually change anything).

So, in dealing with anxiety, we need to move along this path:

1. Rejoice - find what's good in your life and rejoice in it.

2. Remember (remind yourself) that the Lord is near. God has not abandoned you. He is right there with you, even now. He is there even when you can't feel Him there. Let that comfort you.

3. Identify what you are anxious about and pray to God that He would handle the situation. Entrust it to Him. Stop worrying about the situation and trust that it is in God's hands.

4. Embrace God's peace. Peace is like the opposite of worry. I often picture it as the calmness of the sea after Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew 8:23-27 (go read it if you want).

Now, let's read the next few verses in Philippians 4: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

You ever notice how when someone tells you not to think about something, it becomes the only thing you can think about? Anxiety is just like that. If I said, "Just don't worry about it", or as the New Yorkers say "Forget about it", would you just stop worrying about it? Would you forget about it? NO! Of course not! Paul doesn't just say, "Hey, forget about it." He says to stop thinking about this, and start thinking about that, instead! He says to stop thinking about the situation you're anxious about, and instead start thinking about the things of God. Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy - think about those things.

All of this comes down to a mentality shift. When we are suffering from anxiety, it means we are solely focused on what could happen - usually what we are afraid is going to happen. Then, we become paralyzed because we feel like we can't do anything about it! The Bible tells us to stop. Stop focusing on what might happen, and what you cannot control, and start thinking about what God promises will happen, and what He can control. As Christians, we have already trusted God with our souls and our eternal future. We know that God wins in the end, and we are on the winning side. So, why can't we trust Him with everything else?

Do you still have that specific situation in mind? You know, the one I asked you to think about before we looked at Philippians? Okay, what I want you to do is to walk through these steps with that situation.

1. Rejoice - make a list of things in your life that you are thankful for (and don't settle for just what I listed above, try to be more specific to what you have).

2. Remind yourself that God is near. We are forgetful, and often forget that God is always with us. As anxiety creeps in, remember that God is next to you and you can talk to Him about it.

3. Identify what you are anxious about (name it and be specific about the situation). What are you worried is going to happen? Once you have named it (this works best by either writing it out, or speaking it out loud), talk to God about your fears. Talk to Him about the situation, what you fear might happen, and your feeling powerless to do anything. Turn it over to Him as you talk, saying something like "God, I can't do anything about this, but I know You can. I know You know what is going to happen. I trust that You are in control and that no matter what happens, You have my back."

4. Embrace the peace of God. As you are talking to God about your situation, you are allowed to ask for peace. But, even if you don't specifically ask for it, when you entrust your situation to God, His peace will come to you. For me, it usually feels like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders. What's weird is that most of the time, nothing about the situation has actually changed. The situation is still the same, its my mindset that is different. I am no longer looking at it from a "what if" perspective, but rather from a "God's got this" perspective. 

5. "Think about such things" and "put it into practice". Move on. Don't linger in the worry and anxiety. Look to what God is doing in the world, or perhaps even in the situation you were anxious about, and go join Him.

I hope this has been helpful to you. I hope that you are able to let go of your anxiety and turn it over to God. And I hope you are able to move on with your life, to move forward. In the comment below I have shared some additional verses from the Bible that touch on this topic of anxiety. I hope they are helpful to you as well. I have found that talking about our anxieties with other believers can also help, so if you need to talk, just reach out.

Community: True or False?

 Heya peeps! We had a fun Summit last night between Spicy UNO and Gaga ball. I, myself, am exhausted. But beating MadFrame in a 1v1 was worth it! I wasn't paying too much attention to Spicy UNO until after Gaga, so I missed the setting of the rules, and yall really messed up how that game is played. First of all, no one is ever truly "out" until the game is over. So even if you have no cards in hand, you're still in the game and still need to follow the rules. That means, second of all, that 7s count for EVERYONE. That game better be SILENT or someone is drawing cards. Just saying.

Anyway, we announced last night that summer camp is officially ON, and initial registration is due NEXT WEEK. By the time any of you read this, "next week" will have been weeks, months, maybe years ago (based on current viewing trends), but just thought you should know, we weren't sure about camp and now we are. =)

We sang "All Because of Jesus" by Fee and "Fill This Place" by Red Rocks Worship last night for our singing time, both of which served to remind us of why we are devoted to the things of God. The reason is the same for us as it was for the early church in Acts 2:42 - its all because of Jesus. We are surrounded and filled with a profound love that can only be found in Jesus Christ. It is out of that love that we live and breathe and serve the Lord.

This led us right into a message on being devoted to true community, delivered by our very own Statistician (I looked and I did, in fact, spell that correctly). I avoid using names on this blog when I can, so for anyone who is not sure who that is, you can also call him Mr. L. Hopefully that narrows it down for you. =) He's a statistician, hence the nickname.

He opened with our main passage for this study on devotions of the church: Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Out of this passage we draw 7 things which the early church was devoted to: Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread, Prayer, True Community, Praising God (worship), and Welcoming new members daily. True community is closely connected to Fellowship, as both share that sense of togetherness, so as we focus on it you'll see that when we talk about being devoted to true community like the early church was, it comes down to a focus on Others First.

1 John 1:3 (CEV): "What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you and we together may share in a common life, that life which we share with the Father and His son Jesus Christ."

There are two sides to this for us to understand. There is "Sharing Together" and "Sharing With". Sharing together has this idea of relationship and partnership. In 1 John 1:3, above, the author points to our having a common life with God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. When we come to faith in Jesus, we all enter into a common, shared life as Christians. We enter into a relationship with every Christian on earth (even those we don't even know). In that sense, we have this massive community across the globe of fellow believers, all striving to serve and love God together. And we also have partnership with other believers, and this is specifically the ones we know and interact with. Partnership describes believers as a community in action. So its not just that we share life together, we act in obedience to the will of God together.

Sharing with has the idea of with whom and how we share. In Acts 2, the church was eating together, praying and worshiping together - they communed with one another. It was a very intimate group, despite being such a large group (more than 3,000 people). They loved and cherished each other as fellow believers in Jesus. Luke (the author of Acts) goes so far as to describe what they did to show their love: they sold possessions and property so they could give to anyone who had need. They shared their material possessions. Many made personal sacrifices so that others in the community could be provided for. That is the picture of true community that we want to be devoted to. A willingness to make sacrifices for the good of others.

We closed out the message with a few general things we can be devoted to in order to build true community with each other:

1. Put Others First

- Philippians 2:3-4 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

- 1 Corinthians 10:24 - "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."

2. Share Material Possessions

- Romans 12:13 - "Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."

- 2 Corinthians 9:12 - "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

- Hebrews 13:16 - "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

- 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 - "so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

3. Serve Others

- 2 Corinthians 9:13 - "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else."

- 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."

4. Encourage Others

- Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

As you go into the rest of your life, begin thinking about how you can put others first in your life. As Philippians 2 puts it, "not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Imagine what our community would look like if we were all looking out for each other instead of just looking out for ourselves. What would your family look like? Your friend group? Your romantic relationships?

The community of God, our youth group, needs to be devoted to living in true community, looking out for each other instead of for ourselves. This means having a willingness to sacrifice your time, energy, or resources for the good of others in the community. This all means that others in the community will have the same mindset for you, looking out for you. As with most things, though, it starts with you (whoever "you" are). Set the example, put others first, share your stuff, serve others, and be an encouragement to everyone you come across. As we begin to be devoted to this, you will notice a positive change in our group dynamic that reflects the love of God.

A Christian's First Step - God's Community

 HEYO!

I do not remember when I started saying that, but it has been a staple in my YG greetings for many years now. It has that light-hearted, ecstatic feel to it, you know?

Last night we had yet another small group - but we had fun with it. I introduced a couple of you to the wonders of "Love Letter" (simple game, loads of fun) and I am anticipating a great time at our upcoming Game Night. While I had left Gaga set up from last week, none of us touched it (although MadFrame and I played a nasty game of Wall Ball). Is it just me, or are we all ready for Covid-19 to get over itself?

This was week 2 of our worship experiment (using the bluetooth speaker to play music as we sing along) and I think it went rather well - except for when I printed the lyrics to the wrong version of the song, hehe. The two songs we sang together were We Fall Down and God of Wonders, both by Kutless. They brought our minds to submission and wonder before our mighty God.

Now, on to the message. I shared last night that before I met Emilie, I had been praying for many years for God to bring the right woman into my life. I was getting impatient and frustrated because I was longing for companionship in my life. Then, just a year or two before Emilie showed up, I was hit with a challenge in the form of a question: "Are you the right man for her?" The idea being that I needed to grow and mature and become the man that my future wife needed. I needed to strive to be Mr. Right for my Mrs. Right. This changed everything. Rather than longing for God to bring the right woman, I switched gears and started growing into the right man. And now, looking back, I honestly believe that if God had brought Emilie into my life before this challenge, we would never have gotten married - because I would have messed up the relationship. I was too immature and selfish to handle being in a committed relationship, and it never would have worked. God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to hold off on bringing Emilie until I had grown.

Last week, we talked about a mindset shift for Christians: When we become a Christian, we are not trying to fit God into our story, but rather we are looking for our place in His Story. And this week we looked at part one of the answer to that, the first step in finding our place in God's story - entering into a Christian community (the Church). To see what this looks like we read Acts 2:42-47, which is a picture of the very first church community and what they did as a community. Keep in mind before you read this (below) that immediately before this the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' disciples and allowed them to speak in tongues (other languages) and Peter gave a rousing sermon (and Gospel presentation) to the Jews in Jerusalem, after which 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus! THAT is the community this passage talks about:

Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

At the earliest point of the church, when someone became a Christian, they weren't just left on their own to fend for themselves - they were added to the church community. I condensed the main activities listed here into 7 categories:

1. Teaching

2. Fellowship

3. Breaking of Bread (sharing meals)

4. Prayer

5. True Community

6. Praising God (worship)

7. Welcoming new members daily

Our youth group is a modern day Christian community, so let's see how we measure up to the activities that should be found in one:

1. Teaching - we have teaching (this was a message, was it not?) - check.

2. Fellowship - we have fellowship - check.

3. Breaking Bread - if snack counts as sharing a meal, then we break bread! - check.

4. Prayer - we spend time in prayer, though not much and its usually just one of us, so - half-check.

5. True Community - do we check up on each other outside of YG, helping and building each other up? Perhaps a little bit, but this is definitely lacking - half-check.

6. Praising God - especially now with our worship experiment - check.

7. Welcoming New Members - taking Covid-19 into account, this is still very lacking in our group - no check.

So, we have some of these things in our group, but we really need to work on a few. What is interesting in the passage, and we'll talk more about this below, is that the last part says "the Lord added to their number...". This is where my opening story ties in. Just as God didn't bring Emilie into my life until I was ready to have a committed relationship, so I believe He won't bring in new members to our community until we are ready to welcome them in. Are we the kind of community that is going to help a new believer grow in their faith? So with this in mind, let's look at what it means that the early church devoted themselves to these things and then think about how we can devote ourselves to them as well.

Devoted to teaching: paying attention to lessons and messages for the purpose of understanding how it applies to everyday life. Just like we talked about in our Sunday School series from James 1, its about doing, and not just hearing what God has to say to us. This would also involve reading the Bible on our own and looking for ways to live it out.

Fellowship: This is more than just hanging out. This means that we look for ways to spend time together and work together in service to the Lord. We look forward to doing life together, eating together, serving together, working together, laughing together, mourning together - its that sense of togetherness.

Breaking Bread: This was not only a commitment to observing the Lord's Supper (communion), but also eating together and making sure that everyone had enough food to feed their families - so it involved providing food for the poor and hungry.

Prayer: This wasn't just praying over a meal or sharing requests with each other, this involved praising God, talking to God, thanking God, and looking for the will of God throughout the day. Not just once a day or once a week, but all the time. They prayed both in groups and on their own.

True Community: This involved making sacrifices for the good of others. Now, not everyone sold all they had, but those who had extra stuff (the rich and well-off) sold their excess so that others in the community could be provided for. This involved thinking about the needs of others before their own interests. "Others First" is the mentality here.

Praising God: This involved way more than singing a few songs together on a Wednesday night. This was a mindset of joy that was constantly thinking about God and putting Him first in everything. It certainly included singing songs of praise, but also included acts of kindness and obedience to what God says is right and good.

Welcomed New Members Daily: Now, God was doing the work here. He was the one adding to their number. But why was He adding to their number? Because they were the kind of community that new believers needed in order to grow and mature in their faith. God was doing the work, and the church got to be a part of it.

This is important because we are supposed to be a Christian community, and as such we should be welcoming in new members. Covid-related reasons aside, this isn't really the case, which tells me that perhaps we are not the kind of community that God wants to add new members to. I am not trying to put words into God's mouth, but the evidence is there. So, how do we become a healthy Christian community? By devoting ourselves to these things! Last night we discussed some practical ways to devote ourselves to these things, and I took a picture of the results of our discussion (see below):

We defined "devote" as meaning "to give our whole attention, time and energy to something". So as you look at some of these things, think about what it would mean to give all of your attention, time and energy to them. How would our community change?

Teaching - pay attention to messages, take notes, think through specific ways to apply message, look back at past notes to remember, join a Bible Study (also applies to fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread in some groups), talk to others about the messages...

Fellowship: Get to know other members of the YG better - intentionally have conversations with people you don't know very well...

Breaking Bread: Invite friends over for meals, bring food to contribute to our church's Perpetual Pantry...

Prayer: Pray in the morning before school or at night before bed, talk to God throughout the day, ask other people for prayer requests and offer to pray for other people, share requests/praises with others, volunteer to pray at YG, look at past examples of prayers (like the Lord's Prayer), keep a prayer journal to track how God answers prayers...

True Community: pay attention to what others are going through, offer to help when you can, be willing to give up what you want in order to provide for someone else (example, rather than buying new shoes, offering to buy groceries for someone else), or offering to help someone else go to camp, shoveling someone else' driveway/sidewalk (without asking for payment) - the 5 love languages (acts of service, words of affirmation, giving gifts, quality time, and physical touch - demonstrate love and care practically...

Praising God: Singing worship songs in the car or at home or at YG, thanking God for things throughout the day, obedience = praising God...

Welcoming New Members: invite friends, pray for God to provide new members, BE WELCOMING WHEN SOMEONE NEW COMES, and share the Gospel with your friends - they need Jesus, too!

I hope you are challenged by something shared here, and I hope you begin to work on at least one these areas this week. And don't stop there, continue working on each of these until we all grow into maturity of faith!

A Piece in His Puzzle

 Greetings gang! Despite all this recent snow, we were able to meet in person last night for Summit. =) Although we had a fairly small group, I really enjoyed seeing everyone's faces and playing Gaga with a bunch of you. As I commented last night, I really miss gym class (it was one of my favorite classes in school, which I know is not the case for many of you). Without it, I am left without much pressure to get up and move around from day to day, which leaves me sitting around at home or in my office most of the time. Let's just say that this lifestyle does not lead to health and fitness. All of that to say, Gaga really took it out of me last night. My legs are feeling it today! Whew! Since many of you weren't able to join us, let me just share with you three new moves I introduced in Gaga - the Swooping Strike, the Ricochet, and the more defensive Redirect. The Swooping Strike is simple in concept, but can be hard to pull off, especially if you are close to the wall. Essentially, you swing your striking arm up first (like pitching in Softball) and then swiftly swoop down at the ball. You can get a lot of power out of this, and it looks cool too! The Ricochet is exactly as it sounds (and perhaps it isn't exactly a "new" move). You hit the ball off the wall, angled so it bounces toward your target. Jummel improvised another version of this where she was aimed at one person but struck the ball at an angle so it shot toward a different person. It was pretty awesome. And finally, the Redirect is also as it sounds (maybe I should work on the names?). When the ball is coming at you, rather than dodging or straight up blocking the ball, you hit it to the side. This is especially useful when someone who hits like a cannon is in the game, as it makes it so you don't have to take the full impact of their strike. This can also be offensively to redirect the ball toward someone else - midair. I like to aim it directly at someone's feet so its harder to dodge.

Anyway, enough about Gaga! We tried something different last night in an attempt to bring some intentional worship back into our Wednesday gatherings. Using our Summit "boombox" (bluetooth speaker), I played two songs - Heart of God and Build My Life - and passed out lyrics to both songs to everyone. Then, we sang along with the song. Personally, I think it worked pretty well. The challenge was to be comfortable enough to sing out loud and also to actually mean what we were singing. Worship is a central aspect of what it means to be a Christian, and I am glad we were able to intentionally engage in it last night together.

Now, as for the message. Emilie and I like to put together puzzles (on occasion). *whispers* For Valentines Day I bought a custom puzzle with one of our engagement photos on it that we can work on together. *stops whispering* When I work on a puzzle, I tend to start with one section and look for pieces that fit into my section. Unfortunately, since I usually work on 1,000 piece puzzles, there are just too many pieces to look through and this can get really frustrating. So then I switch gears, and I take one piece and begin to look at the big picture to try and figure out where this one piece goes. Then I take another piece and do the same, over and over until I start to see the big picture coming into focus.

We are each a piece of God's puzzle, but a lot of times we don't think about it that way. Instead, we focus on our little section of life and try to figure out how God fits into it rather than looking for our place in God's puzzle.

The main point of this message is this: When we become Christians, we are not asking God to come into OUR story, rather, we are looking for our place in HIS story!

Matthew 28:18-20 says this: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is Jesus' final command to His disciples before He ascends into Heaven. This is the end of the Gospel of Matthew. However, it is not the end of the story. More on that in a minute. The bolded part there is better translated "as you go, make disciples". And here is where I want you all to make a perspective shift. You see, when become Christians, and we live out our lives here on earth, I think we too often think that we need to fit God into our picture. "Ok, I am a Christian now, so how can I fit time with God into my week?" This carries the idea that somehow God is added to our lives. But, this is not the case. What really happens is when we become Christians, we are not asking God to come into OUR story, but rather we are looking for our place in HIS story.

The next part of the story, after Jesus ascends into Heaven, is found in the book of Acts. Jesus gives the disciples this command to make disciples, and they go home. Then, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes on them and they begin to speak in tongues in the streets, and Peter gets up and starts sharing the Gospel in a powerful sermon (in languages he never learned) to the people, and thousands of them get saved - Peter made disciples. The entire book of Acts is about Jesus' disciples starting the church, making disciples, and pretty much doing what Jesus said to do! When people accepted the message of the Gospel and became disciples (became Christians), they didn't just add God to their lives, they joined into the community of believers and found their place in God's story. They spent time praying, worshiping, reading God's Word, sharing meals, ministering to the needs of others, and sharing the Gospel. Acts tells us they dedicated their lives to these things.

What is really neat is that these things don't require us to pursue a particular career path or live in a particular area. You can pray, worship, read the Bible, share meals, minister to others and share the Gospel wherever you are and whatever you are doing. So in that sense, we can all easily find a way to engage in God's Kingdom work just by dedicating ourselves to these things. The challenge then becomes determining where God wants to use us and where He wants us to go (figuring out how we fit into His Story). Romans 12:1-2, a familiar passage to most of you (especially if you went to the Winter Retreat), gives us a clue: "Therefore I urge you, my brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will."

Did you see what Paul said there? When we respond to God's love and mercy by submitting to Him (dedicating ourselves to the things mentioned above), it attunes us to God's will. The more time we spend in prayer, reading, worship, fellowship, ministering to others and sharing the Gospel, the more we will become aware of God's will for our lives. It opens us up to hear His voice guiding us like a Shepherd guiding His sheep.

So, this means we need to make the mindset shift. We need to enter each week with this thought: "What is God doing this week and how can I be a part of it?" And this will then affect your week-to-week activities like school, work, hangouts with friends, hobbies, family time, and even shoveling snow. This mindset shift will cause you to start thinking more about how you can be representing God and sharing the Gospel wherever you go. This shift has already caused me to think about how I can demonstrate God's love to people I interact with in videogames. I offer to pray for people, I show kindness and compassion to those having a hard time, and I stick up for those getting picked on (which happens a lot in videogames). And guess what, when you start to look for ways to engage in what God is doing each week, the time you spend reading the Bible will be more helpful. When you have a goal and a mindset that wants to follow God, His Word lights the way on how to do just that!

My challenge to you all is this: if you are a Christian, make the shift. Stop thinking about how God fits into your story and start looking for where you fit in to God's story. How can God use you where you are right now, and where might He want you to go next? Then, no matter where you are or where you are going, "as you go" be the light to others that God wants you to be. Share the Gospel, share His love, show His love to others, and make disciples. Then, as you spend time in prayer and reading God's Word, you will find that it lights the way, showing where to go next and what to do. "Thy Word, Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

May God bless you as you seek to serve and follow Him.