Teenage Trends - "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift released “Shake It Off” as a single off her soon to be released album 1989.  While some have critiqued this song for the booty shaking in the music video, the beat is quick and the lyrics are catchy.  I can’t imagine this song will be on the radio in a decade, but expect to hear it frequently over the next few months, at the very least.

Pros:                                           Cons:
Stay above the drama Might be seen to promote individualism

Scripture talking point:
Col 3:1-17 - Don’t be dragged down by those who are focusing on things that bring death and heartache, but stay above the fray and focus on “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (CEB).

Let’s start off with the positives.  Swift sings that she is going to let the players play, the haters hate, and the heartbreakers break, but she’s just going to dance to her own tune and shake it off.  When people are telling tales and saying mean things about her, she is just going to let them play their game.  She won’t allow herself to get sucked into it.  She’s going to stay above the fray and not stoop down to the level of the players, haters, heartbreakers, and fakers.

Negatively, this song does promote individualism.  The, “I don’t care what others think” attitude can be healthy, but it can also represent a philosophy of radical individualism and sensationalism.  All too often, our cultures sends a message that one should do what one’s senses/feelings tell one are true, even if everybody else in one’s life is telling you that it’s the wrong thing to do.  Swift is not promoting this to the extreme in this song, but it is a talking point with our children as we process these lyrics and common cultural messages.

We have to be careful with the underlying story that songs are telling, but we also must point out the positives we see in popular culture.  As Wesleyans, we often talk about something called Prevenient Grace.  This is just a fancy way of saying that God is at work long before we notice, and that God is enabling you and I to respond to God’s love even in the valley of the shadow of death.  James tells us that every good gift comes from the Father.  So when we identify a great message (even if it has some things we might disagree with or phrase differently), we should use that as a chance to share the Gospel.

Overall, this is a fun dancing song that many of your teenagers will love to blast.  And teenagers need to hear this message - don’t worry so much about what others think.  Rise above that.  Let the players play and the fakers fake.  You just need to be faithful to who God wants you to be.  While we should value the advice and companionship of true friends as well as faithful saints of the Church, we don’t need to be dragged down into the pit of “he said/she said,” of rumors and gossip, of dating around, of looking down on others.

"Shake It Off" Lyrics
"Shake It Off" on iTunes

"But for the Grace of God, Go I," Col 1:13-14

Imaginations are essential to life.  It is our imaginations that give us our options, imaginations that dictate what decisions we make, and imaginations that give us the tools to enact those decisions.

I can make a decision to open up a 401k.  It is within my imagination to come up with the idea and find the tools to do it.  The average person in Somalia would probably not think of opening up a 401k.  It would never occur to them to do that.  First, that country does not have the resources for the average person to substantially save towards retirement.  Second, retirement means something entirely different to Somalians.  And finally, they have a different tax code that would make the term 401k entirely irrelevant.  Entirely different imaginations guide how the average American thinks about retirement compared to the average Somalian.

Our trip to Los Angeles opened our eyes up to the radically different imaginations that people in the United States have from one another and how our imagination needs to be planted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Let’s turn to Colossians 1:9-14 to hear what Paul has to say about imaginations.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (ESV).

We’re going to focus on verses 13-14 this morning, but I wanted to give you a little bit of context.  Immediately after this section, there is a wonderful poem about how everything was created through Jesus and for Jesus, who is the Lord of the entire universe.  This all really sets the tone for the rest of Colossians, but verses 13-14 summarize so well what Paul is trying to say throughout the rest of the letter.

The first thing Paul wants to say here is that you have been delivered from the domain of darkness.  Another translation might be control of darkness or authority of darkness.

Imagine darkness is a place, perhaps a country.  You are a part of that country, a citizen of that country.  No matter where you go within that country, no matter where you work, vacation, live, you are in that country.  All decisions you make are guided by what is available to you in that country, what is imaginable by citizens in that country, and what is feasible with the tools of that country.  There is no escaping it.  That is where you live.  You live in that domain.

It’s kind of like the song, “Blue.”

Yo listen up, heres a story
About a little guy that lives in a blue world
And all day and all night
And everything he sees is just blue
Like him inside and outside
Blue his house with a blue little window
And a blue Corvette
And everything is blue for him
And himself and everybody around
'Cause he ain't got nobody to listen

If everything is blue, you can’t even imagine red.  If everything is darkness - you can’t even imagine what it means to be faithful to the gospel.  This is why Paul says in 1 Cor 1, that the cross is utter foolishness to the world.

The world can only imagine blue when the Gospel is bright red.  The world can only imagine darkness and slavery when the Gospel is life and freedom.

Paul writes that we have been rescued from this country, this place, this domain of darkness.  We don’t live in a blue world anymore.

There are two ways that we can take this.  The first is cosmologically.  We said earlier that Colossians shows how Jesus is the Lord of the entire universe.  When he comes back, Scripture tells us that every knee will bow and every tongue confess.  God is going to make all things new.  This corrupt world will be transformed and renewed as God makes a new heavens and a new earth where the sun is not needed because the Son is our light.  This is great news for the world.  Eventually the domain of darkness will be no more.

But this also must be taken on a personal level.  We don’t have to wait until all things are made new for us to live into the kingdom of the Son.  Paul tells us that we have already been rescued.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  We don’t have to sin in thought, word, and, deed anymore.  We have been rescued from that.

But it doesn’t end there.  When we were at the L.A. Mission, myself and four of the guys had the pleasure of working alongside several of the residents.  The L.A. Mission works with homeless people and addicts to provide wholeness and healing.  They unashamedly proclaim the Gospel with those in their program and those they encounter on the streets.  We heard several stories of folks who had been in prison and, upon release, went back to the same old habits.

If the Gospel ended there, we would be in the same boat.  It would be like we were released from prison, and then left at the front door with no resources, no plan, no map of where to go and what to do.  We would be like these folks that we talked to who popped out of prison and then ended up right where they started - in desperation and hopelessness, drunk, and living on the streets.

Thankfully, the stories we heard didn’t end.  Even as our justice system failed them, Jesus Christ didn’t.  Paul tells us that as we have been rescued from the domain of darkness, we have been transferred to the kingdom of the Son.  We were in that domain, that kingdom.  Now we are in this domain, this kingdom, the one of the Son, the one in the light.

The stories we heard at the Gospel mission ended in redemption, in a renewed imagination, ended in freedom for serving God.

Paul tells us we have been rescued for a purpose - that is, for following Jesus, for living “lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way” (v. 10).

Just like when God rescued Israel from slavery under Pharaoh, he rescued them so that they would be a light to the nations.  God has done the same thing for us.  We are rescued for a purpose.

Charles Wesley in his famous hymn “And Can It Be” gets it.
“Thine eyes diffused a quickening ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

We are freed from the prison of darkness and have the extraordinary privilege to follow him instead.

We’ve been talking about imaginations because I believe that that is what Paul is worried about in a lot of his letters.  When we are transferred to the kingdom of God, we see things in red, in the light.  Our decisions change.  Our options change.  Our hopes and dreams change.  Our goals change.  Our families change.  Everything changes.  We no longer think about things the same because our very way of processing life changes.

We are no longer controlled by the story of addiction, by the American Dream, by the lie that money equals happiness, by seeking power over others.  We are controlled by the story that led Jesus to the cross.

Everything changes as we live into the kingdom of God.  As we are transferred into the kingdom of the Son.  Everything.

Her name was Hope.  She was in her mid 30s and had had a tough life.  We had gotten to know her over the past week as she stopped by the church for a variety or reasons that past week - VBS, Community Day, Sunday Worship, and sometimes just to say hi.  She wanted to thank us in a tangible way for our work so Friday morning, she brought us homemade flautas, still warm from the oven, for us to eat on our way home.  Well it just so happened that we had quite a bit of food that we had brought that we didn’t use.  The people of New Heights Church had provided us with more food than we could eat, so we gave it all to Hope.  We were glad she was there so it would not be wasted.  You could tell she was thankful but I didn’t think much of it.  A few minutes later, Pastor Don pulled me aside and told me some of her story:

A while ago, she gave her life to Jesus and started attending New Heights Church.  The Sunday we were there, she responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and had entirely surrendered her life to Jesus Christ.  She didn’t have a lot of money, but really felt God wanted her to make us this gift, even if it meant she didn’t eat as well that week.  The equivalent of chicken flautas for 14 people could have fed her for 3 or 4 days.  Yet she desired to be faithful and made them anyway.  Then we gave her 3-4 times as much in groceries as she gave us.  It was as if God used us to show her God’s incredible abundance.

You see, Hope had been living within a story of scarcity.  It was a story that said, take care of yourself first and if you have any left, then you can look to others.  It was a story that believed there isn’t enough to go around.  And when she gave herself entirely to Jesus Christ, she began living out a story that said there is abundance in Christ Jesus.  I have enough and more.  I am going to think of others first and give even if I don’t have enough to give.  I am going to try to out give the Creator of all things.  And in her first act of giving since Sunday, she received back triple what she gave.  As you can expect, Pastor Don was ecstatic that we “coincidentally” had those leftover groceries.  Her faithful gift is an incredible example of what happens when we live in the kingdom of the Son.

Repeat verse 13: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”

Finally, and most importantly, there is nothing we did or can do to rescue us from the domain of darkness.  We don’t escape - we are rescued.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget this.

When we drove up to the L.A. Mission, you should have seen the looks on our faces.  I had never been to Skid Row before.  I had never seen anything like this.  There tents everywhere - camping tents, tents made of tarps, tents made of clothes, tents made of cardboard, tents made of towels.  There are little to no white people around - a few hispanics, a few Cubans, but mostly black people.  And then quite a few cops.  Now the cops were reassuring to me, but any place that requires a number of cops can’t be the safest place in the world.  So we pull up and our eyes are bugging out of our faces.  We had never seen anything like this.

A little later in the week, we used Col 1:13-14 for our morning devotional.  We talked about how if it weren’t for the grace of God, that could be us.  Not only have we been born to parents who have introduced us to Jesus at an early age and steered us clear of addictive substances, but we only have Jesus to thank for being rescued from the domain of darkness.  We didn’t do anything to deserve it, we just responded.  And if it weren’t for the grace of God we would be just as addicted, just as hopeless, living in darkness just like the drug dealer on the street corner.

I realize that their are choices that lead to that lifestyle.  I’m not saying that.  What I am saying, is that if it weren’t for the grace of God, we wouldn’t know any better.  We wouldn’t know that there is anything better than the next hit.  We wouldn’t know any hope.  We wouldn’t know any love.  It is only because of what Jesus Christ did that we can have hope!

It’s all because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  Verse 22 tells us that he has reconciled us by means of his death.  That is why we can be transferred to the kingdom of the Son.

That’s what I learned in Los Angeles.

I wish I could go on and preach through the entire book of Colossians.  There’s such good stuff here.  But I can’t.  I’m just here to tell you what God did in my life on our trip.

It’s easy for me to look at “those people” and condemn them for the place in life where their decisions have led them.  But I can’t.  I know that if it weren’t for the grace of God, that would be me.  And even if I wasn’t on Skid Row, I would deserve to be.  If it weren’t for Jesus Christ, I would still be in the domain of darkness and would have no hope, no life.

Sometimes its easier for us to extend grace when we go on missions trip than it is when we are in Baker City.  We know people’s stories here.  We know their decisions.  We know how they have arrived at the place they are at.  But we can’t stop extending grace when we come home from a trip like this.

It should break our hearts when we see people who are still living in the domain of darkness.  It should break our hearts when we see people living by the hopeless stories of this world.  It should break our hearts when we see our friends following for the same old lie, when they keep on feeding the addiction, when they keeping on falling for that guy or girl who might be no good but makes them feel loved somehow, when they buy into the idea that money equals happiness.  The gospel compels our hearts to break.  We have done nothing to deserve what we have.  Jesus Christ did everything.

And we must proclaim the Gospel to those who are still living in the domain of darkness.  We must tell them that God has a rescue plan.  We must invite them to participate in what God wants to do in the world and demonstrate with our lives what freedom looks like.

My prayer is that the lessons we learned in Los Angeles would not stay in Los Angeles.  My prayer is that we would be changed in Baker City and we would change Baker City.

I’m going to close in prayer.  I would encourage you to ask one of the participants about their trip and ask them what they learned about Jesus Christ and about themselves.  Their answer may differ from what I learned.

My challenge to each of you is to focus on the things God has rescued you from, and pray that those whom we encounter today may also come to participate in God’s Great Rescue Plan.  We have an incredible and free gift.  May we not take that for granted, but may we share it with everybody whom we encounter.

Preached 8/17/2014 at Baker City Church of the Nazarene

"The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

This was our final week covering the Apostles' Creed.  It's been quite a ride these past several weeks. By the end of it, the teens were ready to be done with this series, but they learned a lot.  Some of the teens thought the plants were dumb, but several others really got into it.  I realize I can't hit everybody's learning styles effectively every week, so I do something a little different every week.

"The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

Recite the Apostles Creed

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to the dead.  On the Third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Review

We are at the final week in The Apostles’ Creed.  We’ve prayed through this creed for a few months and have arrived at the hope of Christianity - resurrection.

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 15:20-58 from The Message (It’s a long passage, so have multiple readers)

Questions to help breakdown the passage and enable better comprehension:

20-28: How did death come?  How did resurrection come?  And who is the last enemy?

29-33: What is the end point of this life - the point to which each of our lives is headed, the point toward which the entire universe is headed? (Resurrection in Christ)

34-38: What does a resurrection body look like? (We don’t know - it’s as different as a seed and the plant it produces)

39-44: Why do you think Paul is using this metaphor of a seed for the resurrection of the dead?

45-50: Who is the Last Adam? What is the natural end of our lives?

51-57: What is the hope of Christianity? (Resurrection).  What is the last enemy to be defeated?  How is that enemy defeated? (Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death.  When the dead are raised in Christ, death will be defeated forever).

There’s a lot in the passage, but it’s one of the most important in the entire New Testament.  Our great hope is the resurrection of the body.  One day, we who have died with Christ will be raised from the dead to resurrection life with him.  This is great news.

We have great hope for the future.  If you have not given your life to Jesus, I urge you to do so today.  You can participate in what God is doing with this world and be a part of the future in God.

What does this have to do with us now?  What does this have to do with our lives today, June 5, 2014?

We talk a lot about resurrection in church, about eternal life.  But this is not just something for the future.  This is something that we experience here and now.  Before Christ, we were dead in our sins, dead in our addictions, helpless in those things that bring us pain and sorrow and death.  When we come to Jesus, we have life, even life to the fullest.  We call this resurrection life.  

I want to watch a quick music video, and then we’re going to do something a little funky to illustrate this new life.

Watch Gungor Music Video, "Beautiful Things"

Here’s what we’re going to do.  We’re going to go outside and plant a seed.  

When you plant it, I want you to think about something in your life that needs to die with Jesus.  Like the music video we saw, perhaps there is an addiction, a habit, or a practice in your life that needs to die with Jesus.  Perhaps there is something from your past that has already died with Jesus, something that attests to resurrection in your life.  That’s awesome.

We’re going to plant this seed, water it, and send it home with you.  In the coming weeks, you can watch it grow and become something completely different, yet made of that same material.  Somehow God makes it grow.  May this model your life.  May those things that cause death, destruction, sorrow, in your life be buried with Christ and raised in new life.  That’s what a resurrection life is.

Plant the seeds.

Close in prayer.

"The Forgiveness of Sins"

Gay marriage became legal in Oregon a couple days before we talked about this.  It was a great chance for us to talk about forgiveness and how we can begin to proclaim God's forgiveness to those who need to hear a life-giving message.  While the focus was on us offering forgiveness to those who have hurt us because God offers us forgiveness freely, it was still a great chance to discuss this politically charged topic.  Afterwards, one girl brought her mother in so the three of us could pray together for forgiveness and peace in their relationship.  It was a beautiful thing to see a 16 year old girl take the initiative to ask her mother for forgiveness.  (Side Note: It also helps that her parents are great intentional disciplers of their children).Recite Apostles’ Creed

"The Forgiveness of Sins"

Read the Apostles' Creed

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to the dead.  On the Third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Review

What do you guys think forgiveness is?

Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve had to ask for forgiveness?

We are a community of forgiven people
This phrase falls right after the part about the Church

And yet, the community of God can be one of the least forgiving people in the world.

Have you guys ever held a grudge before? (ask someone to define “grudge”)

Where does it get you?  Where does revenge get you?  How do you feel after you made that person feel something similar to what they did to you?

Share a personal story about getting even
It didn’t make me feel any better, it only made him feel worse about himself

We are supposed to be the most forgiving people, calling others to repentance and offering God’s forgiveness freely.

Yet so often we fail to offer the same grace and forgiveness that God has given us.

Read the Story of Jonah (I used the Jesus Storybook Bible because its concise and to the point - its our infant son's Bible).  But another short version will do if you have it.

I love this rendition of Jonah because it so pointedly describes what it means for us to offer acceptance and forgiveness to sinners.  When we don’t, we are running away from God.  We are failing to be the people God wants us to be.

Split up into small groups.
1) Describe a time in your life when you needed to ask for forgiveness?

2) Is there something in your life for which you need to ask forgiveness now?

3)  Read Romans 5:8.  What do you think about God dying for us so that we can be forgiven even when we were still sinners?

4)  Who are people (or, what kinds of people) that it is really easy for us, like Jonah, to hate or for us to hold back our forgiveness?

5)  What would it look like to offer these people forgiveness? (First, it would require a relationship.  We couldn’t run away from all sinners.  Second, it would require us to know that but for the grace of God, we would still be living in sin and death.  Third, it would require us to intentionally proclaim the Gospel to others with our words and actions in such a way they see the call to repentance and life in Christ Jesus).

Regather:

I’m interested in question 4.  Who are people that it is easy for us to hate?
Write down answers on large paper

What are ways that we can offer these people forgiveness?

I love the story of Jonah because he has to offer forgiveness to those people he hates.  Yet they are absolutely ready for it.  They all quickly turn to Jesus.

It’s easy for us in this town to look at other people outside of our bubble and pray for God’s condemnation on them.
When Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein dies, we celebrate, instead of mourning that they never came to know and love Jesus.
When Portland (our local liberal city) does something we think is crazy, we talk amongst ourselves about how this world is going to hell in a handbasket, instead of praying for our Christian brothers and sisters their who are faithfully and steadfastly participating in God’s mission in Portland.

Even here in our town, we have people who we won’t offer forgiveness to.
When someone gossips about us, we refuse to talk to them and starting gossiping about them.
When a gay teen comes to our school, we avoid them, instead of befriending them and proclaiming God’s love.
When someone hurts us, our natural, human reaction is to hurt them back.

But this is not how we are called to live.

There’s a phrase that I really like.
“There but for the grace of God, God I.”
You see, but for the grace of God, for God’s forgiveness in our lives, for God’s life and Spirit working in our lives before we were even aware of God’s presence, we would be that terrorist, we would be that crazy hippy liberal, we would be that poor girl going to get an abortion because she doesn’t see another option, we would be that gay or girl confused about who they are, we would be that one who lashes out at others because of so much hurt inside us.
“There but for the grace of God, God I.”

I want to end in a time of prayer.  Will everybody close your eyes and quiet your minds.  I want you to do some introspection - look within yourself.

Perhaps some of you don’t know God’s forgiveness.  You have been a little confused by this entire lesson because you haven’t experienced God’s life yet.  Perhaps you have done something that you just don’t see how anybody could ever forgive you for.  Perhaps you are hurting inside, or confused, or you don’t know who you are.  All you know is that you need to be released from some things and you need God’s forgiveness.  So if you want God’s forgiveness, if you want God’s life-giving presence, if you want Jesus to be in control of you life and actions, pray with me.

Pray.

For others, perhaps you need to be reminded that “There but for the grace of God, God I.” We need to be reminded that we need to forgive others because God has forgiven us first.  Perhaps you have been holding a grudge against someone.  You have sought after revenge instead of forgiveness.  You have tried to hurt someone else because they hurt you first.  Or perhaps their is an entire group of people you have hated and avoided simply because they are sinners.  And you need to be reminded that “There but for the grace of God, God I.”  If you want to need to offer God’s forgiveness to somebody today, if you need to offer life instead of hatred, joy instead of pain, pray with me.

Pray

End in Lord’s Prayer with everybody reading from the screen.

If anybody wants to talk about things tonight, we’re here.  If there is anybody you need to forgive or anybody from whom you need to ask forgiveness, do it tonight.  Don’t dawdle, don’t say I’ll do it tomorrow.  Tonight.  Wake up whom you need to wake up.  Call whom you need to call.  Pray with whom you need to pray.  And ask God to bring life to previously dead relationships.

In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth

My first encounter happened with a new Sunday School teacher.  I had just began serving as the youth pastor, and I figured I should visit the classes under my department right away.  The teacher had a long history with our congregation, but had just moved back into town after a six year stint in a neighboring town.  He had just started teaching Sunday School again after no involvement with the teens in his last congregation.  He showed a video to the class that held absolutely no interest for me.  I thought this was just one person and one class and did not think too much of it.  My next memorable encounter came from another video.  A member of the congregation had taken it upon himself to order dozens of copies of a DVD on this topic so that each teacher, pastor, and board member could own a copy and show it in their bible studies and classes.  Sure enough, one by one, most of the adult and teen classes watched and discussed this 30 minute video.  It rapidly became apparent that this issue was a really big deal here.
What was it?  The atonement?  The authority of Scripture? Alcohol?  Homosexuality?  How to be Christlike in a post-modern world? Perhaps even styles of worship?  Nope.  It was how the world was created - or rather, the world was created in six literal 24 hour days.  Never before had I encountered such dogmatism on something so trivial.
You see, growing up, I never cared much about science.  I found the easiest science classes I could in both high school and college, and did just enough work to keep up my GPA.  When I read the two accounts of how God created the world in Genesis 1 and 2, I believed God created the world but never even thought about how God created it.  That’s just not how my brain is wired.
I respect those who strive to understand how the universe works.  We need people who ask hard questions and follow the evidence wherever it leads.  I may not be asking these questions, but somebody needs to.
Furthermore, I understand the worry that many have that the subject of evolution is helping derail many young people’s faith.  However, it doesn't have to contribute to the loss of faith for anybody.  It all depends on how we approach the connection between science and faith.
So how can we approach Genesis 1 and 2 in our youth groups?

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 NIV).  Over and over again, the Book of Psalms poetically declares the beauty and majesty of God’s creation.  It doesn’t stop there - the prophets join in the worship as well: “…the whole earth is full of God’s glory,” declares Isaiah (6:3), and, “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom,” proclaimed Jeremiah (10:12).  There is no doubt in the Bible that God created this wonderful world, and created it in such a way that it should inspire awe.  The prophets remind us that our God is infinitely complex.  We should never expect to understand everything that this God does or has created.  We will be constantly discovering new things about creation.  We will constantly be in awe of the God of the universe.
This is where we should always start - with worship of an incredible God who is bigger than anything we could ever face.  When we read Genesis 1 and 2, we should stop everything and surrender our lives anew to a God who created life - even life to the fullest!  This is what we have to be passing on to the youth of our congregations.  If we fail at this, then we fail to pass on the Faith to the next generation.
What bothers me about the framework of this argument is the box within which we place God when say how God created the world.  To insist that God had to create the world in six literal 24-hour days is like telling Leonardo Da Vinci that he can only use red, blue, and yellow.  Even if you hold to the full inerrancy of Scripture along with reading it as a scientific document, you still have to believe that God’s power can be captured by human words.  You have to believe that God’s creative, awe-inspiring power can be so fully expressed in two chapters that we can understand the intricacies of the universe from them.  I will say the same about evolution.  We can create theories, follow the science where it leads us, and learn more about our great God.  But the moment we think we have it figured out, our hubris has gotten the better of us and we’ve fallen into idolatry of self.
How can we approach creation in our youth groups?  We can learn about the world our God created from scientists, knowing that it only leads us to fall more and more in love with the Creator God.  More importantly, we can read Scripture knowing that it tells a story about a God who created us and has given us the chance to be in relationship with God.  It doesn’t matter how God created the world.  What matters is that God has continually poured God’s self into God’s creation so that, by the grace of God, we can be in Christ.

The holy, catholic, Church, the Communion of Saints

The history buffs really appreciated this lesson.  Some of the others were really bored.  I believe it is important to hit all sorts of learning styles, so I wouldn't do a lesson like this every week.  However, it's important enough for our youth to know how we fit into our family tree.  I used a couple of graphics I found on google images to show the denominational tree.  If you don't have one, you'll find something useful there.  Also, because we are Nazarene, I emphasized our particular lineage.  I did not really attempt to be objective in my descriptions of each denomination, although I made sure not to disparage any one of them.  Throughout, I would pause and say, "Still all Christians, right?"

“The Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints”

Recite Apostles’ Creed

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to the dead.  On the Third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Review

Let’s define our terms here (have people read the dictionary definition of the following terms):
Holy
Catholic
Communion
Saints

After we have looked at the individual terms, what do you think this is saying about the Church?

Do you think its possible for us to be morally perfect? (No)

Why do you think this is contained in the article under the Holy Spirit? (Because the Spirit is “Holy,” the Spirit makes us holy, it is only in the Spirit that we are a part of this community and are holy)

Over the last few months we have been talking a lot about God - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We worship a big God.

Our God is bigger than anything life can throw at you.  God is bigger than the problems you are having at school.  God is bigger than the divorce of parents.  God is bigger than the death of a loved one.  God is bigger than a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend.  God is bigger than my miscarriage last year.  God is bigger than anything life throws at us.  And this phrase in the creed reminds us of this.

God is bigger than Baker City.  God is bigger than the Nazarene Church.  God is bigger than Protestantism.  God is bigger than the Church.  God is bigger than this world.

Today we’re going to look at the church, this communion of saints that God has used, is using, and will use.

Before you is a tree laying out the history of the Church.  I’m handing out pieces of paper with the name of a larger tradition and a brief description of each.  We are going to construct a tree that shows us where we fit and how God is using us and those of other traditions.

Early Church: During the first few hundred years, the church had a lot of new issues with which to deal.  They began informally, meeting in houses, but within a couple hundred years they had much more structure.  For several decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the early Christians were considered a sect of Judaism and participated in the same rites and practices as the Jews.

Roman Catholic:  Until 1054, there was only one official church.  During the first 1,000 years, the church had moved from being on the margins of society to “Christendom,” from being a sect of Judaism to an anti-semite society, from informal gatherings of all sects of society to feudal system that promoted the status quo.  Today, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest sect of Christianity.  They have come a long way since 1054.  The current Pope (the leader of the Catholicism) is Pope Francis.

Orthodox:  In 1054, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches officially separated, although they were two different traditions from early on.  They spoke separate languages and had two competing leaders.  The Orthodox Church gave the most authority to the Patriarch of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).  The current Patriarch is Bartholomew I.  Traditionally, they have emphasized the relation nature of the Triune God and mysticism.

Lutheran:  In 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses.  This sparked an intense debate that ended in his excommunication, as well as thousands of Europeans leaving the Catholic Church in “protest” (i.e. Protestants).  Luther’s main argument was that we are justified by grace alone, not works.  Currently, there are over 70 million Lutherans.  Unbeknownst to Luther, he started a movement that has produced thousands of denominations and “nondenominational” congregations.
Denominations in this Tradition:
Lutheranism
Evangelical Free Church

Anabaptist: In the mid 1520s, a small movement began that focused on baptism.  They believed that baptism was only for those who can express an “oral confession of faith.”  Their detractors called them Anabaptists because they baptized each other, considering their infant baptism as not real.  They emphasized pacifism, separation of church and state, and the priesthood of all believers.
Denominations in the Tradition:
Amish
Mennonite
Hitterite
Quaker
Friends Church

Reformed:  Shortly after Luther, John Calvin began a movement of his own.  While he agreed with Luther on much, he had important disagreements that led him in another direction.  The Reformed tradition is probably the most influential tradition in America.  This tradition is best known by the acronym TULIP, although each of these has been modified in the past 500 years.
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election (No merit, nothing we did or can do)
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (once saved always saved)
Currently, the most direct descendant of the Reformed tradition is the Presbyterian Church.
Denominations in this Tradition:
Presbyterian
Baptists
Congregationalist

Anglican: In the 1530s, King Henry VIII wanted to get an annulment from his wife, Catherine, who did not give birth to an heir.  The Pope wouldn’t grant the annulment, so, in November 1534, the King declared himself the head of the Church of England.  While this was an awful reason to split from a church, the Anglican Church was able to establish Christian theology and praxis.  Currently, the Anglican Church is present all over the world and is still the “via media” (middle way) between Catholicism and Protestantism that it desired to be in the 16th century.
Denominations in this Tradition:
Methodist

Baptist: In the 1600s, a movement began in the Reformed tradition over baptism.  They believed only professing believers could be baptized, and it had to be done by immersion.  This is a very diverse group with many different branches.  However, they are a part of the Reformed tradition and generally hold an Evangelicalized reformation theology, compared to the high-church reformed Presbyterians.
Denominations in this Tradition:
Southern Baptist
Churches of Christ
Adventists

Methodist: In the 1700s, John Wesley began a movement within Anglicanism that emphasized personal holiness.  They were mocked as “methodists” because of the strict methods they used to keep each other accountable.  Wesley believed that we can be free from sin here and now, by the power of the Spirit, and do not have to sin in thought and word every day.  He also believed that you cannot do Christianity on your own.  It is not just between you and God, for salvation takes place within the Church.  “There is no holiness but social holiness.”
Denominations in this Tradition:
Salvation Army
Christian and Missionary Alliances
Church of the Nazarene
Pentecostal Tradition

Pentecostalism:  In the late 1800s, a revival movement began that emphasized a direct and personal experience with the Holy Spirit.  Closely tied to the holiness movement, they expected God to spiritually renew the Christian Church.  They distanced themselves from the holiness movement early in the 1900s.  Pentecostalism has traditionally emphasized gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in tongues, divine healing, and prophesy.
Denominations in this Tradition:
Church of God
Assemblies of God
Foursquare Gospel
Calvary Chapel
Vineyard Ministries

Church of the Nazarene:  In 1907, several holiness congregations came together and formed the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene (Pentecostal was dropped a few years later).  Their earliest roots were in the poor areas of Los Angeles.  They named themselves after the Nazarene, because nothing good can come from Nazareth (John 1:46).  Currently there are over 2 million Nazarenes in 159 world areas.  They have traditionally emphasized holiness and service to the poor and marginalized.

This is our wider family, the “catholic Church,” the communion of saints.”

For our last few minutes, I want to focus on the community that has surrounded us.  We do not arrive where we’re at by ourselves.  For better or worse, others have influenced us.

I’m going to pass out pieces of paper.  I want you to map out your spiritual history.  Some of you might not think of yourself as Christian, or perhaps you have few Christian influences in your life.  That’s okay.  I want you to map out who the religious influences are in your life.  If your dad was an atheist and heavily influenced you, then put him there.  If your great uncle Jon was the one who most influenced your theology, write that down.

What strikes you?  Does anybody stick out?  Did you forget anybody that, upon further reflection you should have added?

Close in prayer

Sharing Stories Across the Generations

I have heard of a few youth groups providing intentional opportunities for adults to share their story with the group.  Sticky Faith (www.stickyfaith.org) has a blog about this, but I have heard of others doing this.  It’s not something particularly new.  The older generations have been telling their story to the younger generations for millennia.  However, in recent years, the usual means of passing on stories (e.g. testimonial services on Sunday nights) within the congregation have all but vanished.  My church is finally canceling its Sunday night service due to incredibly low attendance.  In reality, however, the younger generations stopped going to Sunday night testimony services years ago.  Furthermore, in my experience, many parents do not share their faith journeys with their children.  Because of this, I decided to provide intentional opportunities for parents and other adults to share their stories with the teens.  This not only helps connect the generations but also helps the teens to formulate their own stories.

Last month, on a “Teen Sunday” (once a month, our Sunday night service is led by myself and the youth group), we had four adults share their stories two the congregation, about 1/4 of which were children or teenagers.  Two mothers of teenagers, myself, and our associate pastor all shared our faith journeys.  It was absolutely incredibly to hear the stories of the two mothers.  I am not sure how much of the story they had shared with their children before this moment (I am going to assume they had!).  However, it was my first time hearing it, as well as most of the congregation.  And it is a service I will not soon forget.

A couple of Thursday nights ago, we had our first congregation member share his testimony with the teens.  He is in his mid 60s and came to know Christ in 2006.  As he started sharing his story, the teens sat in complete silence.  He shared how he became an alcoholic early in high school.  He doesn’t remember anything besides playing football his junior year because of alcohol.  His senior year, a caring teacher pulled him aside and told him he was not going to graduate if he did not pull himself together.  By the grace of God he did graduate and was able to stay sober for at least a few years.  However, the next 40+ years of his life was a struggle with alcohol that got him nowhere.  In 2006, his sick and dying son sat him down and told him the truth he needed to hear.  His son had become a Christian several years before and shared the Gospel with his father.  It was not the first time he had heard about Jesus, but it was the day he chose to live in Christ the rest of his days.  When asked to choose one word that described him before he was in Christ and one word for after, he said, “Hell, and Heaven.”  Later in his explanation for why these two words, he used the synonyms, “death,” and “life.”  After he finished, I told the teens that they have no reason to ever walk by this man at church and not say hi.  They know him now, know his story, know his name, and can greet him by name every time they pass him in the foyer.

In one Thursday night, this man shared the Gospel in a more memorable and penetrating way than I have in two years.  My teens will remember this story when offered alcohol during high school.  They will remember this next time they wonder what the consequences of sin are.  They will remember this when formulating their own story about what God has done in their lives.  In two weeks, we are having a married couple share about what God has done in their family as they began investing in the work God is doing in Cambodia.

As we begin this process of connecting the generations, our goal is always discipleship.  Both the people who share their testimonies and the hearers benefit.  Both grow in discipleship.  My prayer is that by the time my teenagers leave high school they would be able to formulate how they fit in God’s story, that they would no longer view it as “my story,” but would say this is the story of God and how God has been at work in my life.

Does anybody have stories about sharing stories within their congregation?  I would love to hear some ideas.