Last night in youth I taught from John 14:1-6. We’re in a series that I’m calling “Who Is Jesus?” The answers we are looking for are found in specific instances were Jesus stated. “I am the ...” Last week we looked at “I Am the Vine” and last night was “I Am the Way.”

I know that it’s not considered sensitive to other religions, but Jesus in this passage leaves no wiggle room. He states unequivocally, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV). If you believe what Jesus taught (which I do), then he makes it clear that there is only one way to be with God, and that’s him.

To clarify, we don’t make it to heaven by just following Jesus’ teachings, we don’t make it by being a overall good person, we don’t even make it by selling everything we have and working for the oppressed. We make it by having a relationship with “the way.”

As I was in my Bible this morning, my reading brought me to Proverbs 10:29. “The way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil” (NIV). I thought it was fitting. There is no doubt that Christ is a refuge for his people, and sadly for many, he will be the ruin of all that reject him.

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Last night in our youth service I taught from John 15:1-8. In it Jesus describes himself as a vine, us as the branches, and God the Father as the gardner. The passage has some serious implications if you ponder the truth that God completely cuts away branches that don’t bear any fruit. Serious implications as these branches are described as then being thrown into the fire.

While I dealt with that, the main emphasis was the second part. We are told that those that bear fruit can expect God to prune their lives so that they can bear even more fruit. I headed to Wikipedia* to learn a little more about pruning. Here’s the relevant portion I found.

“[Pruning] usually entails removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted tissue from a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots.”

Pruning is getting rid of the all the junk in a plant that hinders it from reaching it’s full potential. I like the two aspects presented. Some of the material removed can be diseased which in turn could destroy the the entire plant. Other items removed may not necessarily be harmful, but definitely not productive.

If we examine our lives, we will find that God is wanting to do the same thing in us. Often times we’ve allowed things into our lives that are harmful. Sometimes it’s things we even enjoy. Yet, if we are to follow Christ we must allow God to prune these things away. In the same vein, sometimes there are things that come into our lives that are not necessarily wrong, but they can begin to consume us. Sometimes God will choose to prune these things out of our lives as well. And, to let you in on a little secret, I don’t think most people enjoy being pruned. It’s hard to hear the Lord’s whisper telling us to change something. It’s hard to have the Lord direct us away from things we enjoy. It’s hard to hear him say “No.”

I guess what it comes down to is an issue of trust. Do we really believe that God knows what’s best? If we really do, we can honestly say, “Even though it hurts Lord, please prune away at the junk in my life.” Not always easy, but so necessary.


*For the intellectual purists I’d like to mention that I know Wikipedia can be hit or miss on the accuracy of their information. While I wouldn’t trust it when writing a thesis, I do trust it enough to gain some insights on a subject as simple as pruning.

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Tomorrow night will be the last night of our youth ministry's Dating & Sex series. Without a doubt this is the one series that seems to turn youth against me. Youth that laughed and loved me suddenly have a chill in their attitude. Not outright hatred, but a cooling of the relationship. I look back over my years in youth ministry and this has always been the topic that does it. My best guess is that what I preach hits far too close to home and they don't like it. I believe everything that I teach is Biblical concerning the subject. Popular? No. The truth? Yes. What bothers me is not the fact that I get the cold shoulder, but that they're rejecting the truth.

Let me share a word with any of my students that might stumble across this. I love you more than you even realize. I love you enough that I promise to always share the truth with you, even if it hurts sometimes. How could I call myself your friend and do anything less? My only alternative is to lie to you, but then I wouldn't really be your friend.

A few of my youth and I ran a fundraiser tonight at our church. It was a bluegrass gospel concert and we prepared and sold food during the intermission. A lot of work, but we did fairly well. I arrived to the church at 3:45 this afternoon and left some time after 9. Over five hours, and the most exciting time was that 30 minutes where everyone descended en masse. There is an adrenaline rush when everything is happening at once and you have to move everything to high speed. Anyway, it was good to work with some of my youth and raise a little money for our retreat

Tonight I preached my final sermon in the "Everything a Message" series. Next week my wife will take a stab at it to finish the series. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but my mom came up with the basic premise that I ran with.

I talked about how it is a fun and crazy hat. It's bright orange and fuzzy. Yet, if you turn the brim of the hat up, you see a leopard pattern. Leopards are hunters. They hunt and kill other animals. So beneath the fun and frivolity, you find the pattern of a killer.

Our enemy is no different. He masquerades as an angel of light while he is really a killer. He works his best to package evil as something lighthearted and fun, but beneath it is eternal death.

I kept the message short and to the point. I closed with the point that if we want to escape eternal punishment, we have to allow God to be God in our lives. That means we must give him the right to point out things in our lives that displease Him and then when He does, we must change. Too often we accept and enjoy what God doesn't want us to partake of (the fun side of the hat). We may think it's harmless, but only God knows the end result in our lives of so called harmless fun (the killer side of the hat).

I ended with a call for every student to prayerfully ask God to examine them. After a few moments, I asked for students to raise their hand of they honestly felt God was pointing out something that He wanted them to stop doing or give up. I'd say at least half if not a little more raised their hands. I prayed over them, but then I left it in their hands. If God has pointed out something, they must make the decision to obey.

It felt like a powerful ending, but I hope it remains with them.

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My final contribution to the "Everything a Message" series must be based upon this crazy hat to the right. The liner inside is a beautiful leopard print while that outside radiates a happiness that can only come from a stunning Day-Glo orange fuzz. Yeah, that was a stretch.

Anyway, this one is a stumper. I know with a hat people automatically think helmet of salvation, but this hat really doesn't conjure up images of strength and warfare. I know I could make one of my youth extremely happy if I preached on Samson while wearing the hat, only to take it off when I get to the part of Delilah cutting off his hair. Yet, wearing the hat definitely would be a distraction. The object is meant to help us learn something, not just be an amusing prop.

So, I need to figure something out. As always, I would love some ideas from people that read this. Either leave a comment on my blog or leave a comment to the post in Facebook.

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Tonight's "Everything a Message" had to deal with a cottage cheese container. My main emphasis was the three types of Christians represented by the container.

1. The Empty Container

A cottage cheese container is really only a cottage cheese container if there is cottage cheese in the container. That was as much fun to write as it is to say. The thought is that there are a lot of people that call themselves Christian, but inside their lives you don't find Christ. If Christ isn't living and working in you, then it doesn't matter what you say, you really aren't a Christian.

2. The Full Container

Cottage cheese in a container is meant to be consumed. For the Christian, we are to pour out what God pours into out lives. We pour out love to others because Christ freely pours love into us. The amazing thing is that we can never outpour God. The more we pour out the more He pours. Our lives should constantly be refilled by the Lord, and it happens as we share what He has done with others.

3. The Moldy Container

If you wait long enough, a container of cottage cheese will go bad if it isn't used. Sadly, some Christian have allowed God to pour into their lives, but they have refused to pour it out for others. Christ gives them love but they don't show love in to others. The work that God has done in them begins to sour and bitterness sets in. It falls in line with the example of the Dead Sea. All it does is take water in. There is no outlet for the water. With no outlet, the Dead Sea is...well...dead. Too many believers take and never give, then wonder why they seem so far away from God.

Well, that is what I came up with. Originally I had one more point that I wrote up but I scrapped it because it didn't seem to fit.

I realized that I never got back on here and shared what my message on the garden gnome was all about. I did some light research on gnomes and then narrowed it down to garden gnomes specifically. I stress the word "light" in my research. I gleaned four points about garden gnomes from this.

1. They are helpers.
2. They work behind the scenes.
3. They work to help things grow (in the garden).
4. Some people absolutely hate them.

With those four thoughts in mind, I preached about the Holy Spirit.

1. He is a helper the Lord has given us.
2. He works behind the scenes deep in our life.
3. He helps us to mature and grow.
4. There is an amazing amount of hatred for the Spirit today.

I thought the points were pretty good and it fit well. Now honesty. I got into the prep so much that I wan't thinking about length. I went longer than what I think is the max for youth that are listening. That was my fault. I should have worked more to streamline the message. Another proof of my lack of perfection.

Anyway, I enjoyed it and if you're following this blog, you know that we are on to our second item now. The cottage cheese carton.

Part 2 in the "Everything a Message." This past Tuesday there weren't many items brought. Quite a lot of head smacking and I forgot. However, a few items were placed out with some items scrounged from the church. This weeks top vote getter was a carton of large curd cottage cheese. Just to refresh, by next week I have to come up with a message that is in some way related to that carton. I think I might already have an idea. Would love for readers to post some of their ideas in the comments below.

My youth ministry’s “Everything a Message” series begins next week. You can read a little about the idea here. We had all the students bring in items this past Tuesday for the first vote. There was a lot a crazy items (some of which I’m sure will be brought back next), but the winner was this gnome to the right.

So basically, by next Tuesday I have to prayerfully come up with a message from the Word of God that is in some way based on this gnome.

I’ve already spent some time studying, praying, and thinking, and I do believe I already know what route I’m going to take. Need to spend some time fleshing the whole idea out, but I think it will work nicely.

I would love to have anyone that reads this to post some of their ideas on a basic message idea or thought that can be brought out of a garden gnome.

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My youth ministry and I went back to the Warren Family Mission today. It was an awesome experience because I basically had to do nothing. My students jumped right in and just did the work. They hung out with and played with kids that were there. They were flexible when our plans for the day had to be changed in an instant. Basically, they did what needed to be done without much prodding from us. I literally sat and was able just to watch them in action.

A lot of my position is to lead and be out in front. Just a couple years ago I would have had to do everything, but that’s not the case anymore. It’s a good feeling. May there be many more opportunities for me to sit and watch my youth do ministry, and then more opportunities to work right beside them.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is looking promising. It looks like we might have youth again. Just for the record, the last time we had an actual youth service was December 9, 2008.

Wednesday.

Permission granted for youth to meet together during service instead of their normal classes.

January 14, 2009 - Special Youth Service Canceled (weather)

January 13, 2009 - Youth Canceled (weather)

Winter always throws a monkey wrench into church services. We want to have services, but sometimes the weather makes travel unsafe. My youth group has been hit extremely hard as of late. Check out my review of the last month.

December 16, 2008 - Youth Canceled (weather)
December 23, 2008 - Youth Canceled (weather)
December 30, 2008 - Overnighter (bad driving home)
January 6, 2009 - Youth Canceled (weather)

Now I turn my gaze to tomorrow. The forecast as of now is calling for up to three inches during the day and potentially three that evening. One thing I read yesterday mentioned winds up to thirty mph causing blowing and drifting snow. Now I know the weather can change and it might not happen at all, but it gets really frustrating when you want to have youth and it doesn’t happen.

To all my youth that read this I want you to know that I miss being with you. I’m sick of the snow, ice, and freezing rain coming every Tuesday too.

Well, I will hopefully be able to update this tomorrow with the news that we had youth.

I think the hardest thing about heading away on a retreat is the fact that you have to come back to reality. Life and the enemy are relentless in their combined purpose to strip away all the good that God accomplishes. I know some of my youth are already battling this with mixed success. To those of them that read this I have one thing to say. Don’t let go of what God did in your life. No matter what happens, no matter what others may say, and even if the power of that moment with God begins to fade a little in in your mind, don’t let go. I was there. I witnessed God doing some powerful things. Continue allowing him to work.

Maybe a message tailored more to my youth, but it holds true for all of us.

Note: Don’t forget the current book giveaway going on right now. Click here for more info.

I got to spend an incredible weekend with my youth group. There’s something powerful about getting away from everything and having a time to be with each other and God. From what I’m hearing, God did some incredible things in some of our students lives. Experiencing God’s love, forgiving people that have hurt them, and realizing that God does care.

Planning a weekend retreat is stressful, tiring, and sometimes a downright pain. But seeing God do some great things makes it all worth it.


Note: Don’t forget the current book giveaway going on right now. Click here for more info.

Heading away this weekend for a retreat with my youth. Looking forward to having some fun and having time with God.

We just got word today that our missions trip to Mexico is going to happen. It really was a God ordained event that brought it about. My youth are pumped for something that is still over 10 months away. I’ve even got youth attempting to learn Spanish. To be honest, I’m even excited.

Youth group was almost over when the screams came (from some of my young men no less). Bat! With a door open for air flow a bat found its way into our room. The next fifteen minutes were some of the funniest I’ve witnessed as my youth attempted to direct the bat back out the door. Tablecloths, pvc pipe, poles, and even a flag were used in the endeavor.

The final culmination came when the bat flew into the tiny foyer leading outside. One of my young men practically dove into the foyer to face the beast while my wife shut the doors leading back into our room. Yeah, our main concern was to get rid of the bat.

Anyway, the bat flew away severely traumatized and my youth got a memory they’ll never forget.

Had a blast today heading out with a bunch of my youth for several hours of water balloons, swimming, and then roasting hot dogs. In my opinion this was the best event so far in this week of events. Just hanging out in a pool playing stupid games was refreshing. Won’t deny the fact that being in the water sure felt good on my back. Of course, the water allows you to move a lot without realizing it and my back is letting me know that tonight. Still, incredible fun.

I’m a strong believer that any group, whether it be children, youth, or adults, need time to just be together to laugh and have fun. It’s been one of my heart cries recently for my youth group. I want the Lord to draw us together. Jesus prayed that there would be unity among believers. May it be so.