I am glad it doesn't depend on me

Last Wednesday night was one of the hardest teaching times for me. It wasn't hard because I teaching on a difficult topic. It wasn't hard because I didn't prepare. It wasn't hard because I was tired. It was hard because of all the interruptions.

At the beginning of each youth group I take up all the cell phones so that students will not text each other and so that they will not ring during my teaching time. However, this night would be different.

When I start to talk I normally have to find my rhythm which will allow me to teach the material correctly and not say something I shouldn't which I am very prone to do. For last Wednesday, I could never find my rhythm. A cell phone was on vibrate and went off in the middle of a story. About 1 minute later it went off again. I am thinking things are okay, but about 5 minutes later one of the junior highers is turning around in his seat making hand motions to the person behind him. The junior higher sitting across the isle from him starts opening his Bible and slamming it shut.

I finally finished and dismissed everybody to small group time. I was a little frustrated as I thought this talk would be one that the students would really like and that I felt very comfortable teaching on.

I sat in with the junior high small group and I could tell in listening to their discussion they understand the message. I got a little excited as I thought to myself "if the junior highers understood, I bet the high schoolers did as well." When small group was over and we were putting everything up both high school small group leaders told me they had great discussion in their groups and that their students really enjoyed the message.

To hear a great report from all the small groups that the message was communicated clearly and they understood it made me very happy. I am so glad that the success of a message does not depend on me, but entirely on the Holy Spirit. If left up to me, then the night would have been a disaster and the message lost. Thankfully, I rely on the Holy Spirit and he can overcome cell phones and Bibles slamming and still speak to his children.

Game Show

On Wednesday May 14th, 2008 we started our Bible study on the Sermon on the Mount. Last night, February 4th, 2009 we finished our study on the Sermon on the Mount. That is roughly 9 months that we have spent studying the greatest sermon ever preached.

Next Wednesday February 11th we are going to have a game show. We are going to play guys verses girls and see who paid attention the most over the past 9 months. Be sure to freshen up your knowledge on Matthew chapters 5 through 7.

See you then.

Universalism...What is that?

Last night we looked at Matthew 7:13-14. In this teaching Jesus says there are two gates, one is a wide gate that is easy to enter through but in the end it leads to destruction. The other gate is narrow and hard to enter but it leads to life. I talked about universalism last night and thought that I might expound on it a little more.

According to dictionary.com universalism is "the doctrine that teaches the universal fatherhood of god and the final salvation of all souls." Simply put, universalism is the belief that you can worship god any way you want. You can call god Allah, Vishnu, Baal, Jesus or whatever you would like, but in the end we are all worshiping the same god and thus all people will receive salvation. This flies in the face of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.

Throughout the Old Testament one can see that God tells his people to have no other gods but him (Exodus 20:3). When God punishes Israel and sends them into exile it is because they have chosen to worship other gods and not Him (See 1 Samuel through Malachi). If Jesus taught universalism then Israel in the Old Testament would have never been punished for worshiping another god since they were still worshiping a god, but calling him by a different name.

In the New Testament this is even more clear. In the book of John Jesus has a series of teachings where he says "I am..." He says, "I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world; I am the good shepherd, I am the door; I am the resurrection and life; I am the way, the truth and the life; and I am the true vine." There is one more "I am" statement and Jesus simply says "I am". One can see as well in Acts 4:12 that Jesus is the only name given for salvation.

The Bible is clear that not all people will receive the fatherhood of God and final salvation. Only those people who place their faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in Jesus will receive salvation. This is a tough teaching, but one that Christians believe. This is why Jesus says it is hard to enter through the narrow gate and that only a few do enter.

The Christians response to universalism is evangelism. We must be looking for opportunities to share the gospel or good news of Jesus with those around us. Pray for those around you that they may see that Jesus is the one true God and follow him.

I am Second

Back in 2003 Switchfoot released an album titled "The Beautiful Letdown". If I am not mistaked it sold over 1 million copies. The album is incredible. Towards the end of the album is a song called "24" Below are the lyrics:

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

The lyrics "I am the second man" always intrigued. I remember asking roomates and friends in college what they thought it meant. The consensus is that Jesus is first man. The one we should strive to be like. He is the ultimate and if possible, we are a very distant second. For Switchfoot to write that they are second is a humbling thing. It is only in humility that one can say, "I am not number 1. I am not the best. I am second."

My wife told me about a website called www.iamsecond.com. I thought that it might have been a Switchfoot fan devoting a sight to them. I was wrong. iamsecond.com is a website that has people sharing their testimony of how Jesus has impacted their life. People both young and old, black and white, male and female are on this sight. Their stories range from helping bring water to the Sudan, to overcoming drug addiction. It is a really great sight. The message of the sight is that everybody is second and Jesus is first. Whoever put this sight together may or may not have heard the Switchfoot lyrics, but in any case both the song and this sight are true: Jesus is the number 1 man.

Be sure to check http://www.iamsecond.com

Senior High Gathering and Sea Gulls

Over the Christmas break the Southwest Texas Synod held their annul Senior High Gathering in Corpus Christi, Texas. We took five students all crammed into an Aspen and had a fun time. The theme was "Divine Design" and each day focused on taking care of a different part of God's design. Day one was taking care of our bodies. Day two was taking care of the world and day three was taking care of each other.

One of the best parts of the entire weekend, and I think it was the students as well, was the worship leader Aaron Strumpel. He has traveled the world leading worship and playing his songs. He is part of a group called Enter the Worship Circle and their goal, other than worshiping God through music, is bringing in the arts back into the church.

Aaron led a break out group where he taught on how he wrote songs, where he got his inspiration, and then led us in an activity. He had us close our eyes while he played a song that one of his friends had recorded. The song only had two lines of lyrics that where sung, chanted or said in many different ways. The music also did different things. After the song was over he had us talk about what we experienced, what we felt God was communicating to us. It was really cool getting to hear what the students experienced.

I bought Aaron's newest album and haven't been able to put it down. His music has spoken to me in a very profound way, a way that I haven't experienced from a Christian artist in a long time.

You can check out Aaron at www.aaronstrumpel.com...and I recommend you do!

Now, for a funny story. There are three different types of high school students; the first is the one who learns from being told what to do and what not to do, the second is the one who learns from observing other people's failures and successes and the third is the person who has to experience it first hand.

Corpus is the home of the first Whataburger and when we arrived in Corpus we went to the two story Whataburger that is located on the water for dinner. We ate outside and all around the eating area are signs that read "Please do not feed the birds." There were Sea Gulls all around us, but we weren't being bothered. However, the one student of the group who has to learn by experience decided to toss a french fry up in the air about 3 feet. Man, that was a mistake. Those birds were on us in a split second. The girls got upset and went inside while the guys laughed so hard we almost puked. It was pretty funny to say the least. Needless to say, next time we are in Corpus I will make sure everybody obeys the signs!

Some ideas for Christmas

Christmas can and is always a hectic time of year. Everybody is going to the store, fighting the crowds and hoping to find that perfect gift. Some people wait until the last minute and shop for hours and come home with a gift they are not to proud of. Sometimes, Christ gets pushed a little too much to the side during the hustle and bustle of the season. With that said, I have put together a list of some ideas to help us all get centered around Christ.

• Grab your Bible, go to a quiet place with no interuptions, and read Luke chapters 1 and 2. Take a note of all the different people mentioned (Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna) and really think about what might have been going through their minds as the birth of Jesus happened
• take some time to send a personal Christmas card to someone. Get creative and make the card and then write a special note to that person wishing them a Merry Christmas
• make a playlist of your favorite Christmas songs. While making that list ask yourself "why is this one of my favorite Christmas songs?" and then answer the question.
  
• go rent It's a Wonderful Life
• in whatever way possible, spends some time with Jesus, thanking him for coming to Earth for our salvation
  

Mission Monday- Israel

Keeping with our Christmas theme of praying for the countries where Jesus lived, our focus this week is on Israel.

If you watch the news on any day of the week it is a great possibility that you will hear something about Israel. Whether it be a bomb going off, a president visiting with Israeli leaders, or the "normal" conflict that continues there on a day to day basis, Israel is always in the news. Eighty percent of the population in Israel follow Judaism. Fourteen percent follow Islam and a mere 2% are Christian. The number of Messianic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah and fulfillment of the Old Testament) has increased greatly since 1967. There where approximately 250 Messianic Jews in 1967. In 2000 there was an estimated 7,000 Messianic Jews.

Let's Pray:

• that more Jews would see Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah and place their trust in him.
• Outside of Israel the Messianic Jew Churches have grown. Pray that they may continue to be a strong witness for Jesus to the other Jews living in their midst.
• There is much tension between the Israelis in Israel in the Arabs in Israel. Pray for a peace resolution on both sides and that both would find true peace in Christ.
• With so many branches of Christianity seeing Israel as an important part to their faith (which is certainly is), this leads to some tension among the Christian churches, especially in Jerusalem. Pray that those different branches of Christianity may be able to come together under the cross of Christ and respect each others beliefs.
• there will not be true peace in Israel until Christ returns. However, pray that the Christians in Israel may live in such a way that the kingdom of Heaven is experience on Earth and that the presence of Christ is felt.
  

Mission Monday- Palestine

Since it is December and all the talk is about Christmas I think it would be good for us to look at the place of the world where Jesus lived and pray for that area. We will start will Palestine this week and next week we will look at Israel.

There is much tension between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Simply put, the two countries hate each other. This stems from a long history dating back to Biblical times.

The major religion in Palestine is Islam with almost 87% of the population adhering to Muslim beliefs. The next is Judaism (Jews) with almost 10%. The Christian percentage is almost 2%. As one can see, the very area where Jesus walked and taught has not responded to his message.

Pray:

• that the gospel or good news of Jesus to be received and accepted by the Palestinians.
• for peace between Israel and Palestine, so that the bombing and killing will end
• for a land settlement that both Israel and Palestine will agree to (they both claim Jerusalem as their capital so there is much fighting over this)
• that the 2 million Palestinian refugees will be able to return home
• for the Christians who live in Palestine. Pray that they may be able to stand firm in the face of persecution and that their lives my be a witness to all that would cause people to come to know Jesus.
  

Mission Monday on Tuesday-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Watching on the news the current activity that has happened over in Mumbai I think it would be good to spend some time in prayer for the people over there as well as praying for the gospel to go forth into that nation.

Here are some numbers so that you can get acquainted with the Maharashtra state in India. 95,000,000 live in this state (that is a lot) in only 308,000 square feet. Mumbai is the capital of the state (like Austin is the capitol of the state of Texas) The main religion is Hindu with 80% of the people belonging to the Hindu faith. 10% of the people are Muslim and 6% of the people are Buddhist. The Christian population is only 1%.

Pray for:

• the city of Mumbai. There has been recent terrorist activity there leaving many dead and wounded. Pray that healing that comes from Christ would take place
• Mumbai is also the home of the continent of Asia's largest slum, 100,00 street children, as well as an alarming number of child prostitution and AIDS suffers. Pray that the Christians in Mumbai may be able to reach out to those children and save them for the horrendous things they may face.
• The church in Maharashtra needs a lot of help. Seeing that only 1% are Christians that means the church is small. Pray that those 1% of Christians may be able to be salt and light and bring the hope of Jesus to the people around them.
• Pray for the government of India and its leaders as they rule their country.
  

Disciples...Now

This coming weekend we are doing our first ever Disciple Now. A disciple now fulfills a couple of our purposes as a youth ministry but the main purpose is a focus on becoming a better disciple of Jesus. Throughout the weekend there will be game times, Bible study time, and a whole lot of fun.

Why focus on becoming a disciple of Jesus? What is the big deal?

Back in Bible times, the most ultimate job was that of a rabbi or teacher of the Old Testament (the New Testament wasn't written yet). All the schooling was based around the teachings of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the prophets and the rest of the Old Testament. When boys started to turn 15 years old, Rabbis would come to their schools and start asking them questions concerning the Old Testament. The rabbis were doing this because they were looking for disciples. The only way to become a rabbi, which was the ultimate job, was to become a disciple of rabbi first. As the rabbis asked questions of the young boys they would give one of two responses. One response would be "You are a well educated young man, but you are not what I am looking for as my disciple." With that said, the schooling would be finished for the boy and he would return to his father's house and continue the family business. The other response would be, "Follow me." The rabbi would say no more then that. Those two words meant that the young man had what it took to be a disciple and he would now devote his time to the teachings of his rabbi.

When Jesus, who was a rabbi, called his first disciples they were fishing. That meant that they "did not have what it took" to be a disciple, or so they thought. When Jesus called out to Peter and Andrew, "Follow me!" they immediately dropped their nets to follow rabbi Jesus. Jesus' words of "follow me" restored hope to these two young men who had been told they were not good enough. Jesus words let them know that they had what it takes to be a disciple.

Likewise, Jesus calls out to all of us, "Follow me!" It is an invitation to follow the true King of the world. It is an invitation that goes out to the most wealthy, popular person as well the poorest and loneliest person. Jesus calls us to be his disciples.

Since Jesus calls us to be his disciples...NOW, we are going to focus on that this weekend as we go through the first ever DISCIPLE NOW weekend at PV. My prayer is that you would be able to connect more with Jesus and become a better follower of him!

I hope to see you there.

Mission Monday- El Salvador

Seeing that we sent a group of students from our church to El Salvador I figured we would focus this week on the prayer needs of El Salvador. El Salvador is Spanish for "the Savior".

Pray for:

• there has been a growth of Evangelical Christians, but now they need prayer for effective discipling that motivates the believers into service, witness and missions for others.
• increased unity among the different churches, renewed vision of the church, and effective outreach that this nation might belong to Jesus.
• leadership in the churches. Pray for the Bible school and seminaries that they may have funds to provide the best education and equipping means possible for its students.
• Pastor Figueroa and his wife Elba as they lead the Spanish mission here at Palm Valley.
  

United States of America

Okay, so it isn't Monday so I am either early with the post or late, but any event I figured we would pray for the USA. Seeing that we have a huge election coming up on November 4th it would be good to pray for our own country.

Pray for:

• the next president and all the leaders of the government. Pray that they may have wisdom in making tough decisions as well as the support of the country.
• the churches and church leaders that they may be able to use the blessing of being in the USA to bless and reach out to those in their communities as well as around the world.
• the jr. high and high school students. Pray for the Christians to bold in sharing their faith and inviting others to church. Pray for the non-Christians to begin to see their need for a savior and that they would see in Jesus everything they need.
• those who are sick. Pray that they may be healed, but that God's will be done
• anything else you can think of, that needs prayer.
  

Mission Mondays

Last week we had many different prayer stations that all focused around the Lord's Prayer. One part of the Lord's Prayer is "your kingdom come, your will be done" which is such a vital part to that prayer. In praying those words we are asking that God's kingdom be established here on Earth and it is every day. God's kingdom comes to Earth whenever the gospel is proclaimed and people come to know Jesus Christ as their savior. In keeping with the Lord's Prayer I am going to post on Mondays a country that we can be praying for throughout the week. We will pray for many different aspects of the country, but most importantly we will be praying for the salvation of the people living world wide.

I will post a country tomorrow, but for today, pray through the Lord's Prayer and focus on every word. You can find the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Game Show on Wednesday

This coming Wednesday, June 18, we are going to have a game show for youth group. We will have prizes for the winners and maybe a Rob Dubois' CD if it gets here in time.

All of the questions are going to come from what we have studied this past semester so all the questions are going to be about Jesus or what he taught.

Here is a list of the passages of Scripture that we have studied in order from January to last week.

Temptation Luke 4:1-14
Jesus Purpose Mark 1:14-15
Follow Me Mark 1:16-20, Luke 9:57-62
Peter Walks on Water Mathew 14:22-33
Peter confesses Christ Mark 8:27-30
Peter denies Christ, but is restored John 18:15-18, 25-27; 21:15-19
I am the bread of life John 6:22-35
I am the light of the world John 8:12
I am the door and the good shepherd John 10:1-18
I am the resurrection and the life John 11:25
I am the way, the truth and the life John 14:1-6
I am the vine John 15:1-6, 11
Beatitude 1 Matthew 5:3
Beatitude 2 Matthew 5:4
Beatitude 3 Matthew 5:5
Beatitude 4 Matthew 5:6

The Beatitudes

Our current series is over the beatitudes. Check them out below:


2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.