Anybody mind if I brag about our youth for a bit?
I didn’t think so.
On the First Friday of every month a church in Petaluma hosts a worship night, inviting everyone from the surrounding churches to come and worship with them. It’s always a full house, and it’s always a good time of worship.
I wasn’t planning on going this time, in fact I usually forget about it until half an hour before it starts and I’m hip deep in one project or another and I don’t feel like tearing myself away from whatever thing I’m doing to drive 20 miles to sing for a couple hours.
This, I admit, is generally a mistake.
This month it was the same story, except this time my house was full of young teens. Teens from our church and from the school that meets there (Jim Bridger School, a good group of kids), all of whom were pretty excited about going. It’s hard not to be swept away when everybody in the house wants to spend their Friday night at church.
So we packed out my family’s 11 passenger van and headed up to Petaluma.
Now these gatherings of many churches are always good because it reminds us that we are not a small church fighting tooth and nail to stay afloat in a stormy world. We are part of the body of Christ. But anyway, I’m getting off topic.
Let us set the stage: the band is playing, the people singing, the lights darkened, many voices raised together in unity to worship God. As the night went on the presence of the Lord became more and more apparent. The youth around me began to weep as they were touched by the worship, by the glory of the Lord testified through song, but what could have been just an emotional high became something more, because as I watched they began to minister to one another.
Groups of two or three or four gathered together in their seats, each of them praying for one another. This wasn’t a youth leader gathering his tiny flock, this wasn’t a group of people following the instructions of the worship leader; this was youth seeing God touching the lives of their friends and peers and then responding to it.
My first response was to covet it. Here were youth that could be going to my youth group, doing amazing things and seeking after God’s glory in my youth group (funny juxtaposition there David). With people like these my youth group could be amazing. I began plotting how I could lure them to Wednesday night services.
Oh how fast God slapped that one down, because as I watched the youth praying I realized that I didn’t want to covet them.
I wanted to become them.
Here were young women of faith with tender hearts. Here were young men leading their peers towards God. Here were youth who cried out to God from the depths of their hearts.
Here was something worth striving for.
Nights like these tell us the truth. It’s not about numbers, because if we have two or three people like these youth, tender hearted leaders who seek God, then what can’t we do?
It’s true. Our youth group is small, but our youth seek God and lead others toward Him. Isn’t that encouraging?
Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Notes from 5-27-11
Why Do I Need to Know This?
a primer on the significance of doctrine
Hebrews bible study introduction:
As I've mentioned several times in the last couple of weeks, I have been attending a great bible study that's about half pastors and half laymen, and most recently we've been digging into the authorship.
Quick show of hands: Who wrote Hebrews?
Right, no one really knows. Some people say it was Apollos, others Barnabas, some people say Priscilla, others Paul. There are maybe another 3 or 4 contenders for the title of "author of Hebrews" but long story short is no one really knows. There is strong circumstantial evidence that points to one or the other but no ones found a ancient copy of Hebrews where the author signed their name.
So, we've been talking about this on and off for the last month, probably lets say 5 or so hours of discussion and teaching and someone (and you knew someone had to) popped the big question.
Why does it matter to us who wrote Hebrews?
It will not save us, there is no heavenly pop quiz. Sure, we'll be able to rock at Bible Jeopardy but in the long run, how will feeling like we know who wrote the book of Hebrews change our lives?
(And bible knowledge should change our lives)
Even in Romans it says:
Romans 14:1 - Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
Meaning: You don't need to agree with everything a fellow christian believes in order to love them, and you shouldn't mistake identical doctrine for saving faith.
In fact a good chunk of Roman's could be described as Paul saying "Woah, woah, woah, Guys. You are way over-thinking this salvation thing."
So, why does it matter? Go broad. All those little details, why does it matter that I know the ins and outs of the church's doctrine? Why?
Matthew 14:30-32
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Here is the key, here is the reason we search for understanding
These things make us stronger, help us build a foundation that will not be shaken.
The more we understand what is written in this book, the word of God, the more we understand God himself.
The more we understand God himself, the stronger our faith becomes.
Doctrine does not save us, doctrine does not make us better christians.
Doctrine is an accepted translation of what a group of people believe about what certain things mean.
Everyone has doubts: everyone has (and this will sound more dramatic than I intend: everyone has crisis's of faith, big or small)
Emily Petty and Calvinism
To a lesser extent, me and Calvinism.
Kris the Bible Study Leader and the authorship of Hebrews.
Martin Luther didn't preach from James because he doubted that it was scripture.
(That, by the way is why its important for us to understand who wrote Hebrews. It establishes that, in fact, Hebrews should be part of the bible.)
So, we study the scriptures not only for our own faith but for the faith of others, not just to answer our own questions but the questions of others, not only to grow our own faith but the faith of others. And because of the rewards promised to those who seek wisdom.
Proverbs 2:10-12
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
Proverbs 3:13-14
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
There is one last thing, and that is the fact that aren't we supposed to be in heaven right now?
Here is a man that studied the bible for longer than I've been alive, Harold Camping, who decided to mislead hundreds of people into selling everything they owned, quit their jobs, move away from their families and their churches, all because he said Jesus was coming back.
So, there's got to be more to seeking wisdom than reading:
James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
If you would want to understand this great book, understand the doctrine and teachings of the bible and how it should change your life, ask God.
Now, when I started being youth director here I wanted this youth group to be a sanctuary, a place were it is safe to ask questions and try and understand the "deeper things" of our faith.
I'm probably still going to be talking about the nuts and bolts of faith, because I love the simple stuff, but that is why I've made this cool box, and I'm hoping to launch the youth blog, and of course I've got a Facebook, an email, and I hang out talking with you guys.
If you've got questions, I want to hear them. If you have questions about the message, ask me them. If you have questions that aren't about the message, write it down and put them in the box. I'll try and answer them, or just ask me them after youth group (I may not have the answer on the tip of my tongue, in which case I'll ask you to write them down and put them in the box, where I will take them home and research the living daylights out of them to find you an answer).
a primer on the significance of doctrine
Hebrews bible study introduction:
As I've mentioned several times in the last couple of weeks, I have been attending a great bible study that's about half pastors and half laymen, and most recently we've been digging into the authorship.
Quick show of hands: Who wrote Hebrews?
Right, no one really knows. Some people say it was Apollos, others Barnabas, some people say Priscilla, others Paul. There are maybe another 3 or 4 contenders for the title of "author of Hebrews" but long story short is no one really knows. There is strong circumstantial evidence that points to one or the other but no ones found a ancient copy of Hebrews where the author signed their name.
So, we've been talking about this on and off for the last month, probably lets say 5 or so hours of discussion and teaching and someone (and you knew someone had to) popped the big question.
Why does it matter to us who wrote Hebrews?
It will not save us, there is no heavenly pop quiz. Sure, we'll be able to rock at Bible Jeopardy but in the long run, how will feeling like we know who wrote the book of Hebrews change our lives?
(And bible knowledge should change our lives)
Even in Romans it says:
Romans 14:1 - Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
Meaning: You don't need to agree with everything a fellow christian believes in order to love them, and you shouldn't mistake identical doctrine for saving faith.
In fact a good chunk of Roman's could be described as Paul saying "Woah, woah, woah, Guys. You are way over-thinking this salvation thing."
So, why does it matter? Go broad. All those little details, why does it matter that I know the ins and outs of the church's doctrine? Why?
Matthew 14:30-32
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Here is the key, here is the reason we search for understanding
These things make us stronger, help us build a foundation that will not be shaken.
The more we understand what is written in this book, the word of God, the more we understand God himself.
The more we understand God himself, the stronger our faith becomes.
Doctrine does not save us, doctrine does not make us better christians.
Doctrine is an accepted translation of what a group of people believe about what certain things mean.
Everyone has doubts: everyone has (and this will sound more dramatic than I intend: everyone has crisis's of faith, big or small)
Emily Petty and Calvinism
To a lesser extent, me and Calvinism.
Kris the Bible Study Leader and the authorship of Hebrews.
Martin Luther didn't preach from James because he doubted that it was scripture.
(That, by the way is why its important for us to understand who wrote Hebrews. It establishes that, in fact, Hebrews should be part of the bible.)
So, we study the scriptures not only for our own faith but for the faith of others, not just to answer our own questions but the questions of others, not only to grow our own faith but the faith of others. And because of the rewards promised to those who seek wisdom.
Proverbs 2:10-12
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse,
Proverbs 3:13-14
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
There is one last thing, and that is the fact that aren't we supposed to be in heaven right now?
Here is a man that studied the bible for longer than I've been alive, Harold Camping, who decided to mislead hundreds of people into selling everything they owned, quit their jobs, move away from their families and their churches, all because he said Jesus was coming back.
So, there's got to be more to seeking wisdom than reading:
James 1:5-6
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
If you would want to understand this great book, understand the doctrine and teachings of the bible and how it should change your life, ask God.
Now, when I started being youth director here I wanted this youth group to be a sanctuary, a place were it is safe to ask questions and try and understand the "deeper things" of our faith.
I'm probably still going to be talking about the nuts and bolts of faith, because I love the simple stuff, but that is why I've made this cool box, and I'm hoping to launch the youth blog, and of course I've got a Facebook, an email, and I hang out talking with you guys.
If you've got questions, I want to hear them. If you have questions about the message, ask me them. If you have questions that aren't about the message, write it down and put them in the box. I'll try and answer them, or just ask me them after youth group (I may not have the answer on the tip of my tongue, in which case I'll ask you to write them down and put them in the box, where I will take them home and research the living daylights out of them to find you an answer).
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