What I've Done

Tonight we looked at the themes of mercy and forgiveness, aided by the hit song "What I've Done" by Linkin Park. The discussion we did was taken from a youth ministry website. You can view that here. I will just summarize some of the questions and thoughts that were brought up.

The music video in itself is very interesting. Throughout the video the band is performing the song out in the open. Interspersed within the performance are images of great human tragedies. Atrocities like war, hunger, racism, some regimes, harming the environment, abortion, drug use, oil spills, etc. The approach Linkin Park takes with these issues is interesting. Although they are not directly to blame for most or any of these issues, who do they blame? (Hint: You don't have to look farther than the title of the song).

Next, we brought it closer to home. In 5 minutes, try writing all the sins you have committed since you were little; as far back as you can remember. No matter how little or many you come up with, the point is that we all have sinned. Romans 3:23 says that. Are there any sins that are on your list that you regret? In the second verse, Linkin Park used the words "cleaned this slate." Do you want a clean slate? A fresh start?

When we realize how much we need mercy and forgiveness, the grace of God can overwhelm us. That's what the pre-chorus talks about. "So let mercy come and wash away what I've done." God can do that! He can remove sins from His memory if we ask for His forgiveness. Psalm 103:12 and Romans 5:8-9 talk about this. I used another song to illustrate this point. Audio Adrenaline (unfortunately just recently retired) came out with a great song called "Ocean Floor". In the song, it talks about how our sins are behind us now, because after God forgives us, He places those sins far away, "on the bottom of the ocean floor."

To close we had personal prayer time. Asking forgiveness with those sins we committed. Symbolically, we cast our sins away by ripping the list of sins we wrote in many pieces and throwing them in the garbage. You should try that sometime. The message comes forth even better when you physically do it also. Be blessed!

Go out into the world...

....or atleast your community. This morning we looked at how we can fulfill the Great Commission in our own lives. There was quite a bit of music. Atleast more than usual. We listened to Audio Adrenaline's "Hands and Feet" and "AKA Public School", as well as Casting Crowns' "If We Are the Body". We also ended up singing "Hands and Feet" during our worship time.

Sharing the Good News with the world is not all that difficult. Just a willing heart to share what the Lord has done for you. Keep these 3 points in mind:

1) Have compassion on others- Don't treat non-believers as inferior, or as projects. By projects, I mean people you show the love of God to where your only objective is getting them saved. Certainly we want people to come to know the love of God and accept Jesus Christ as Savior, but that can't be the only objective. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus says to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. AND- love your neighbor as yourself.

2) Be prepared to speak up- Remember when we almost did that skit? Everyone should have a testimony of what God has done in their own life. When the time comes and you have an opportunity to answer someone or share about your faith, be ready and have the courage to speak up. Why? Because we have a great hope, as it says in I Peter 3:15.

3) Allow the Holy Spirit to touch the world through you- They say the greatest enemy of being "great" is "good." Don't blend into the crowd. Strive to be different and live a holy life, as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Know what you believe. Come to a deeper understanding of your faith by trusting more in Jesus Christ. Live out what you believe (there is no room for hyprocrisy!) Develop a habit of serving people with the same attitude of humility that Jesus had (John 13:1-17). My prayer is that we would all grow in these areas.

blessings


***much of the input from this lesson is from the book Faith That Breathes by Michael Ross

in need of a Savior

Last Friday (8/10/07) we watched Superman Returns. It's a really great movie and deals with the idea of a world needing a savior. That was our topic of discussion in the middle of the movie.

There is a scene where Superman finds Lois and asks to be interviewed. After Superman left, Lois wrote an article titled, "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." She even won the Pulitzer for this article. Superman confronts her about this and then takes her up into the sky. "You said the world doesn't need a savior. But I hear people that need my help everyday."

The word "savior" is in the Bible almost 40 times. "Save", or some variation of it is in the Bible over 320 times. This idea of being saved is there a lot. Many of the Old Testament references were in the Psalms (i.e. Psalm 69). David and other authors cried out to God a lot for salvation from their enemies. Let's take a step back again. What is the Old Testament about (in general)? Is it not many stories of God's people forgetting about Him, God allowing the Israelites to be put into danger or some bad situation, God's people crying out to Him, God saving them (often working through a person of great faith), and God being close to His people again?

It doesn't take a genius to see this idea in the New Testament with our Savior Jesus Christ. Look at I Timothy 4:9-10. The living God is the Savior of all men. Jesus Christ, being fully God coming down as a human, put His heavenly glory on hold and lived a perfect, sinless life. He sacrificed His own life and took on the wages of everyone's sins through His death on the cross. Those of us who believe that know our citizenship is in heaven. Earth is only a temporary home. We eagerly await for our Savior to return and transform our earthly bodies into something like His (Phil 3:20-21).

Does God hear people's voices that need Him everyday like Superman? Our talks revealed yes, God does hear people in need everyday, but there are differences. For example, Superman is not everywhere at once, although he is very fast, like God is. If you saw Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey, you may recall a scene while God grants Bruce his divine powers for a short time. Bruce checks all the e-mails to God. He gets frustrated due to the amount of e-mails so he just grants all the requests given to him. Do you think God is like that at all? Probably not. People need God and Superman in different ways. But despite the differences, the similarities are apparent as well.

How about you? Have you helped someone out in a big way? If someone comes to you with a serious problem, don't make fun of them for it. Just listen to them and try to understand. If you think God is asking you to take a couple extra steps to help them, then take courage and step forward.


related songs that come to mind:
"How to Save a Life" The Fray
"In the Light" dc Talk