Youth Pastor's New Years

Well, a new season of youth ministry is upon us. Today I celebrated the 2009-2010 season by cleaning out and organizing my office. I found junk that I had stored away in boxes since we moved into this building 4 years ago... a lot of it hit the recycling bin. It's amazing how much changed over the course of 4 short years. Different youth, different emphases, different me.

I'm really pumped about this year... definitely a lot of changes coming down the pipe, a new group of kids, new ministries starting for kids who have moved on. Just excited about having my head around what will be happening.

So, if anyone is reading - fasten your seat belts! It's going to be a great ride!

What's the deal with heaven?

When I was a boy, the thought of Heaven used to frighten me more than the thought of Hell. I pictures Heaven as a place where time would be perpetual Sundays, with perpetual church services from which there would be no escape.

David Lloyd George

What do you think heaven will be like?

In order to figure out how our future will look, we must first look to the beginning of time. Read Genesis 2:4-25

What kind of place did God originally intend mankind to live in?

Do you think the Garden of Eden would be a cool place to live? Why or why not?

Read Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:6-9; 25:6-8; 55:12-13; 60:18; 65:17-25; Zechariah 14:6-9

According to the passages above, what is God’s ideal for humanity?

God never gave up on his original plan for human beings to dwell on Earth. In fact, the climax of history will be the creation of a new heavens and a New Earth, a resurrected universe inhabited by resurrected people living with the resurrected Jesus.

Randy Alcorn

Read Acts 3:21; Romans 8:19-23; Colossians 1:19-20

What do these passages say that God is going to do through Jesus? What will be restored?

According to biblical faith, God’s plan of restoration includes the whole creation, not just individual ‘souls’.

Ronald J. Sider

Jesus’ physical resurrection is presented as the prototype of where God is taking His people and His planet. Jesus is the “firstfruits” of what we will all experience and our resurrection life will be the “firstfruits” of what all creation is looking forward to (Rom. 8:19-23; 1 Cor. 15; Phi. 3:20-21; Jas. 1:18).

So, if Jesus experienced what I will experience, what does the Bible tell us about what we can expect (Luke 24:13-43; John 20:11-21:14; 1 John 3:2)?

Read Revelation 21:1-4; 10-14; 18-27; 22:1-5

According to this passage, where is heaven? What happened to the earth? Where will we live? What are some things we will enjoy?

We will be given new bodies to rule wisely over God’s new world. Forget those images about lounging around playing harps. There will be work to do and we shall relish doing it.

N. T. Wright

What are we supposed to do with this information?

What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived— these things God has prepared for those who love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9

Christian living is simply a relationship with God that is lived by faith, believing what He said is true. Heaven is the fulfillment of that faith – the relationship continues on… “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully…” The common denominator? A relationship with God.

Could it be that maybe heaven doesn’t seem exciting or appealing because we don’t know God and His character?

Jesus calls us to live ONE life, starting NOW!

(1 Pet. 1:3, 23; 2 Cor.5:17)

engaging our doubts

doubt [dout] v. - to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe; to distrust; to be uncertain about something; be undecided in opinion or belief; a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something.

Every Christian has them – sometimes about some very basic things relating to our faith. Haunting questions that we don’t have answers for; doubts that somehow keep us an arm’s length from fully embracing God’s truth.

Where does doubt come from? Read Genesis 3:1-4; John 8:44

What does doubt keep us from? Read Matthew 14:22-31; Mark 11:22-25; James 1:5-8

Is it alright to have doubts in regards to our faith? Why or why not?

Dealing with our doubts:

There were a group of people mentioned in the New Testament who lived in a town called Berea. During one of his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul went to Berea and told them about the forgiveness of sins that Jesus had won for them by dying on the cross. Paul taught the Bereans that Jesus was the Messiah (the Redeeming King) that the Jews had been waiting for all along.

Read Acts 17:10-12

How did the Berean’s respond to Paul’s message?

The Bereans give us an excellent example of how to respond to any form of teaching that we encounter:

1) _________________________________________________________

2) _________________________________________________________

3) _________________________________________________________

If we find that the teaching that we’ve received is false or flawed, it is important to go back to the source of the teaching, ask questions for clarification, examine it again, and if still doesn’t line up with what God’s Word says, reject it.

Read John 20:24-31

How would you describe Thomas?

Look at the way Jesus handled Thomas’ doubt. What does this tell you about Jesus?

If we have doubts, what should we do with them?

S

C

R

A

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God wants us to be able to trust Him and believe that what He has said is true. Having doubts get in the way of us trusting God. It’s really important for us to do whatever we can to clear up any doubts that we have because doubts trip up our relationship with God. For each of us to have a real relationship with God we need to discover truth for ourselves, we also must wrestle with our doubts and turn them into certainty.

Over the next while we are going to be

examining several “Hot Topics” that we need

to engage as Christians. Some of these

will come out of the doubts survey that we

did tonight, others will come out of a Christian response to our culture. As we study and dialogue with some of these issues and doubts we’ll receive clarity and boldness in our faith.

On being called to be sent...

Read Luke 9:1-10; Luke 10:1-20

When Jesus saw that the time was right, He transitioned His disciples from being merely learners and invited them into sharing with Him the ministry that God had sent Jesus to do. The disciples enter the phase of apostleship – they became “sent ones,” messengers of the Kingdom of God.

Why do you think Jesus took so much time before He sent them out?

In what ways do we put the cart before the horse and focus on the “doing things for Jesus” rather than prioritize simply becoming like Him?

What did Jesus do with His disciples when they returned from being sent out by Him?

So, the discipleship process didn’t end just because Jesus sent the disciples out. He had to correct their pride and teach them how to use the power and authourity that He had given the disciples. Discipleship is an ongoing process – every Christian at every level in their walk with Jesus need to be discipled, taught, corrected, and encouraged by Jesus. We can’t do it alone…

Read Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18

What surprises you about the “Great Commission”?

Does Jesus’ promise to “be with us always” bring you comfort? How does it help those who can’t see Him?

Read Acts 1:4-5

On being called a disciple...

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about calling. God has called each of us not only into mission, but more importantly into a dependant relationship with Him.

Disciple – mathetes – “a learner, pupil, or apprentice”

Apostle – apostolos – “messenger, one that is sent”

Jesus seemed to be intentional about teaching His disciples how to live and how to obey the Scriptures before He entrusted them with mission. They were disciples first before they became apostles.

Read and describe the calling of the disciples in these passages:

Matthew 4:18-22 –

Luke 5:27 –

Mark 3:13-19 –

What were these disciples willing to give up in order to follow Jesus?

Why do you think the disciples would make such a sacrifice?

Read Matthew 10:24-25, Luke 6:40, and John 13:15.

After reading the above passages, why did Jesus call the disciples to follow Him? What was Jesus’ end goal?

What did the disciples do as they followed Jesus (See Mark 3:14-15; Matthew 11:1; John 8:31; John 13:13-15; Luke 14:26-27)?

Being like the rabbi is the major focus of the life of talmidim (disciple). They listen and question, they respond when questioned, they follow without knowing where the rabbi is taking them knowing that the rabbi has good reason for bringing them to the right place for his teaching to make the most sense. In the story recorded in Matthew 16, Jesus walked nearly thirty miles one way to be in Caesarea Philippi for a lesson that fit the location perfectly.

Do you think Jesus really believed that His disciples could be like Him? Why or why not?

What does John 14:12 say?

Has Jesus called YOU as a disciple to follow Him?

In what ways is our calling as disciples the same as the 12? In what ways is it different?

What does it look like practically to be a disciple of Jesus in this day and age?

What seems to be Jesus’ priority in Matthew 7:21-23?

This means that the present day talmid (disciples) must be no less focused on the rabbi. We must be with Him in His Word, we must follow Him even if we are not sure of the final destination, we must live by His teaching (which means we must know those teachings well), and we must imitate Him whenever we can. In other words everything becomes secondary in life to being like Him.