prayer

I know many, many studies can be devoted to prayer, but last Sunday (11/11/07) we took a glimpse at it. This was by no means a complete study on prayer, but we looked at the Lord's Prayer and a couple of other things about it.

We first started in 2 Chronicles 33. This chapter refers to King Manasseh, someone who completely ignored God at first and did many evil things. We're talking about making altars to other gods, sacrificing his sons, witchcraft, and more. Manasseh and his people ignored God. But sometimes the Lord gets our attention in dramatic ways. He did so with King Manasseh by having the Assyrians capture him and do some amount of torture to him. Manasseh called upon the Lord and truly repented. It says in verse 13 that the "Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea."

We looked at the four different areas of prayer as well (praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition) and compared that with the Lord's prayer. Often when we pray, we just ask for what we want, or when we are in serious need or trouble, confess our sins. It's a habit to build up each area of prayer and remember to do them. And this is just the time when we talk. It is also very important to listen to God. This takes time to build up as well, and is something I need to work on.

I also used a couple games with the junior high kids to illustrate a couple of other points. We played the game telephone. That's where you pass on a message down the line by whispering and see what you have by the time it reaches the last person. You can only whisper so the person next to you can hear, and you can only say it once. Often times, it produces hilarious results! The connection is this. No longer are priests or any in-between people needed to talk to God. In the Old Testament, the high priest was the only one allowed to enter in the presence of God in the tabernacle. And this was only once a year after long, elaborate cleansing rituals. But now, as it says in Hebrews, we have Jesus as the great high priest who allows us to talk directly with God.

Next we played pictionary. Where you have an object to draw, and your teammates try to guess what it is. This is a little bit of a looser connection, but prayer is one of the ways we can see what God is doing- in our own lives and the world. I'm a very interested in the big picture. Through prayer, reading God's Word, and fellowship with other believers we can grasp a better understanding of what God is doing.

God longs to hear our prayers. He tells us in Luke, that we do not have because we do not ask. And when we do ask, we must be patient for answers. God knows what is best for us and wants to bless us. But sometimes we cannot see the big picture as He can. God only answers in 3 ways- yes, no, not now. It's kind of like the person who prayed, "Lord give me patience and give it to me now!" Doesn't quite work that way. Waiting is where we build our character. Waiting is where God sees if we will be persistent with our prayers and depend on Him.

Commitment

Last Friday, we talked about commitment. This was very influenced by a message I recently heard at Harvest Bible Chapel. There is a passage in Luke 9 where Jesus deals with commitment with three different guys.

The first guy approaches Jesus and says, "I will follow you wherever you go" (v. 57). It doesn't seem like a bad opening statement to make to Jesus for several reasons: 1) The guy recognized that he is the follower. 2) He knew that Jesus was the one he should be following. And 3) The guy said he would follow "wherever you (Jesus) go." And what is Jesus' response? At the end he says "...the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (v. 58). Basically meaning that it will be difficult to commit to the statement he just made.

Jesus Christ approached the second man and said, "Follow me" (v. 59). This is different than the first guy. The second guy's response in verse 60 is up for debate. Was his father dead yet? Is he actually referring to his father or implying something else? Whether or not his father is involved is not the main point. The main point is that he was place something else more important than following Jesus. Jesus addressed this in his answer in verse 60.

Like the second guy, the third one place something else (in this case, positively his family) as more important than following Jesus (v. 61-62). Commitment. That is something that not a lot of people, atleast here in the U.S. like to do these days. Pastor MacDonald at Harvest compared it to a flame. It's not what starts the fire. Professing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and in His redeeming work on the cross is what starts the fire. Commitment is more like adding some alcohol or tabasco sauce. As long as it's there, it will really make the fire huge and burn bright. It reminds me of a few of Jesus' other teachings about light and being a city on a hill.

This is true whether one is talking about their commitment to God, family, friends, or any group or team. It is my prayer that we may apply it to every important area of our lives.

the foundation of Dots and skewers

On Friday, 9/21/07, we had a large gathering as everyone was at the church for the celebration. So we did an activity on foundations, that's very analagous to what we will be doing on Sunday mornings.

We divided up into 3 groups and each group got a bunch of Dots candy and skewers. The goal? To create the highest structure that could stand on its own for 30 seconds. After 5 minutes of planning, supplies were given out.

Group dynamics were interesting, as I intentionally divided up some friends who wanted to be in the same group. I gave them 20 minutes to build. See pictures for results. Group 3 clearly came out on top.


After the activity, we had a devotional on our foundation. In I Kings 6:11-13, God speaks to Solomon, who is in charge of building this magnificent temple for the Lord. Up until that point, the Israelites were not settled in one spot and used more portable, less than stellar places for worship. Obviously, the foundation of a structure is the most important part. If that is not solid, the building will most likely fall. On top of that, God makes a promise to Solomon that He will not abandon His people if Solomon keeps the commandments and regulations. Basically, obedience is the key.

We find this to be just as true in the New Testament. One of the most popular passsages on this is found in Luke 6:46-49. Hearing Jesus' words and putting them into practice is obedience to God for us as Christians.

I said earlier that this is analagous to what we will be doing on Sunday mornings because we are about to start a series on foundations of our faith. More details on that later.

Bigger or Better?

Last Friday (7/13/07) we started off with a great activity called Bigger or Better. It's great because it gets the youth out of the church and into the neighborhood. However, it does get them out of their comfort zone because you have to approach people, most likely strangers, and ask them to trade. By far, the best item we probably received that night was a TaterTwister. It was a lot of fun and a couple of the youth stepped up really well to do the activity.

After we returned to the church, we went into a study of two very similar parables, but each with distinct lessons- the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Mina. The first, found in Matthew 25:14-30 has a master that leaves for awhile and entrusts different amounts of money to three servants. The first two double the money they were entrusted with and receive the praise of their master. The third hides his money and returns the original amount to the master when he returns. This angers the master, and he gives the one talent to the first servant and throws the third servant out.

The latter is found in Luke 19:11-27. Not as well known as the Parable of the Talents but starts off in a similar way. This time it's a king giving a mina (significantly larger than a talent) each to ten servants this time. But it still only focuses on the actions of three of the servants. As you can see, the same amount is given to each servant (unlike the former) with different results (like the former).

Both the talents and the mina can be seen as financial resources. However, the talents can also be seen as gifts/abilities. We each have different skills and need to be faithful with the ones God has blessed us with. The mina can also be seen as resources to expand the kingdom of God. As Christians, we all have gifts like God's Word, prayer, and the help of the Holy Spirit to further His kingdom. It is what we do with these different gifts that produces the different results, just as in both parables.

Another big difference in Luke is the situation with the king. In their time, it was familiar for a King, not Jewish, to leave on a trip to claim his inheritance in another city (Rome) and then return as their ruler. Obviously this upset the Jews and verse 14 shows their negative response to this. However, Jesus is referring to Himself, being sent from another place (heaven) to rule over the Jews and unfortunately, will receive the same response.

In both parables, the reward for being faithful is praise from the Master and more responsibility in the future. That future being in heaven. It's like God saying, "Ha! You thought that was a lot? That was nothing compared to what you will do in heaven." In Luke, the servants who multiplied their mina are put in charge of as many CITIES as they multiplied their mina by.

In conclusion, we all have varying gifts abilities but the same amount of resources I talked about before (God's Word, prayer, etc.) to be faithful with in order to expand His kingdom. If we are faithful with what may seem like a lot, or what is difficult, here on earth, it directly affects our reward and what we are given in heaven. It is my prayer that we all become "10 mina" servants.

blessings

p.s. Bruce Wilkinson teaches a lot about these topics and parables, which were very influential to me. The book that relates most to this blog is A Life God Rewards.

Responsibility

Taking a cue from the whole Noah's ark/Evan Almighty story, we talked about responsibility on Friday, 7/6/07. More than once, the bible says that Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. We looked at how that can apply to us today.


We went through a lot of lists of things for this lesson. First was statements about it. The youth had to reply yes, no, or maybe to the following (taken from a Group Publishing teen talk sheet):
1) Being responsible is boring.
2) Being responsible is part of growing up.
3) People my age don't need to be responsible.
4) People my age are less responsible than adults.
5) People my age don't get a chance to show they're responsibe.
6) I'll get more responsible as I get older.
7) Being responsible is a good thing.

Reasons for young people being irresponsible:
1) too young
2) not the one to blame
3) i forgot
4) i was mad
5) bad luck
6) i don't care

How responsible are you for:
1) personal hygeine
2) homework
3) getting along with parents
4) choosing good friends
5) staying away from alcohol/drugs
6) reading your Bible
7) keeping a secret for a friend
8) telling the truth

It's good for you to see where the youth think they are at with these things. I remember using the heck out of "I forgot" when I was growing up! It was good to see that the youth do have many opportunities to show they are responsible and that it is important to show that when it matters.

We went all over the Bible to see how some biblical characters displayed responsiblity:
1) Gen 3:12 (Adam blames Eve)
2) Ex 32:21-24 (golden calf)
3) Mt 25: 31-46 (the least of these)
4) Lk 10:30-36 (the parable of the Good Samaritan)
4) Lk 15:11-16 (first 1/2 of the parable of the Prodigal Son)
5) I Cor 10:33

And finally went over some more passages/verses to point out how responsiblity comes into play with certain characters or conditions:
1) I Cor 15:33- choosing good friends
2) Phil 1:27- being responsible inspite of circumstances
3) Rom 14:12- we all give an account to God and God alone
4) Mt 27:24- Pilate removed responsibility from his hands in condemning Jesus
5) Mt 25:14-30- parable of the Talents
6) Gen 1:28- God gives authority to Adam & Eve over the earth and its living things

I then had everyone break into small groups to discuss and pray for each other's weaknesses to close. If anyone tries this, let me know how it goes for your group.

blessings

Relying on God

Last Sunday morning, I spoke during the adult service. Ahhhh! Scary, I know. I have no idea why my pastor let me do that, but it turned out alright. After much prayer and meditation on what God wanted me to say, I spoke about how God can use us best when we are most reliant on Him.

3 points stem from this:
1) We need a relationship with the Lord.
2) God can work past our doubts and inadequacies.
3) It usually gets worse before it gets better. Especially when it's a big task or purpose.

Plenty of biblical examples and personal accouts from friends to use. From the bible, I chose to talk about Moses and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Exodus 4:10-17, 7:1-6 and Luke 1:26-38). After seeing Evan Almighty with the youth group, I gladly referred to the movie a few times as well.

I am taken back to a time in Mexico just at the beginning of my time in high school. We served in a border town, or colonia, but stayed in Texas each night. Every morning we would pray for safe travels and our work that day. Well, one day (I can't remember if it was Wednesday or Thursday) we forgot to pray. Guess which day we had troubles that week...

1) It doesn't matter how long our relationship with the Lord has been going. It doesn't matter what we did in our past. What is important is that our relationship is continually growing and getting more intimate with the Lord. After all, Paul rejected Christ's name and persecuted Christians before his life-changing encounter on the road to Damascus. Moses killed an Egyptian after watching him beat up a Hebrew (Ex 2:11-12).
Evan Baxter had virtually no relationship with the Lord. Just a slogan to "change the world" as a newly elected Congressman. As the movie and the building of the ark progressed, so did Evan's relationship and intimacy with God.
The truth is we are all called by God for a purpose. It is up to us to answer that call and follow- just as the disciples had the ball in their court to drop what they were doing and follow Jesus.

2) Moses expressed 5 times to God his doubts and inadequacies! He complained of being slow of speech and tongue and not an eloquent speaker. I love this part. In Ex 4:14 it says "the Lord's anger burned against Moses" (emphasis mine). Even though Moses didn't have the confidence of speaking in front of Pharoah with God's help, He still worked around that anyway and sent Aaron with him.
Mary just had one doubt- she was a virgin. Quite reasonable to feel as such. But the angel, Gabriel, explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. Mary's answer? "I am the Lord's servant." Sometimes women just get it quicker than men.
I have to admit that I mirror Moses' feelings. I am not an eloquent speaker. Some piece of advice from Pastor Lee came in handy. It actually relates quite well to point #1. "Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Prayer is a 2-way dialogue with God." Which means I need to take time to talk to God and take time to listen as well.
My friend, Matt, was asked to go to Chile a few years ago by his then-pastor. 2 weeks before leaving, his pastor told him that he (the pastor) couldn't go and Matt was quite a bit short financially as well. Uncertain but still reliant on God, Matt prayed whether he was supposed to go or not. A week before the trip, a man approaches Matt and tells him that he is supposed to support him on his trip. He proceeded to write a check for $1000 to Matt. Guess how much money he needed to go on his trip...

3) The Israelites faced harsh conditions under the Egyptians. After approaching Pharoah for the first time, Pharoah made them find their own straw instead of supplying it to them (Ex 5:6-21). Straw was mixed with mud to make bricks more durable. The Israelites had to find their own straw and keep up the same production level as before (Ex . They were also in fear after being released, as they found themselves in between the Red Sea and Pharoah's army (Exodus 14).
It's no doubt that both Mary and Evan (from the movie) faced ridicule. I'm not sure exactly how the conversations and insults went, but I'm pretty sure it went something like this. "You're pregnant. You and Joseph aren't even married yet! What's that? The Holy Spirit did it? Riiiiiight. Good one there." And with Evan or Noah... "You're building an ark? It barely rains at all! We don't even need an umbrella here! Yeah, you keep building that ark. We'll just keep doing what we're doing."
It is also important to mention that Mary and Joseph had to escape from King Herod, who ordered the slaying of all boys under 2 in Bethlehem (Mt 2:13-18).

What does this mean today? Small problems require just small solutions. But bigger problems are bigger opportunities to showcase God's power. Do you wish for big miracles to happen in your life? Let's not forget that through faith in Jesus Christ, we have the miracle of eternal life. Although not quite as visually stunning as turning the Nile into blood, it is no less of a miracle than the plagues God inflicted upon the Egyptians.
In closing, I leave with a thought from Evan Almighty. Evan's family has left him because they do no understand what he is doing. God talks to Evan's wife through a busboy at a restaurant. "If someone asks for courage, does God just give them courage, or the opportunity to be courageous? If someone asks for more time with the family (Evan's wife prayed for this at the beginning of the film), does God just give them happy times, or the opportunity to spend more time together?"

My prayer for all of us is to seize those opportunities, and rely on God as much as we possibly can so He can perform greater works through us.