Q: If you could spend a week with somebody, what are all the ways you could know if they were a follower of Jesus?
Our answers would mostly involve their deeds and religious practices. But, none of those things makes you a Christian.
To follow Jesus, there is something on the inside that happens.
Review:
A. Your life is like a castle - many rooms
B. Some people invite God into the castle, but keep him in a separate room
C. God wants to come into all the rooms of the castle – not just to be a part, but to be a part of all of the parts.
D. Once God comes in, he brings light…
E. He looks around…
F. And then he speaks truth through the Bible
G. After he speaks the truth - we have to listen & obey (the difference between listening and hearing)
Ex: God speaks into relationships, maybe with a brother or sister: As much as it depends on you, live at peace with other people (Rom. 12:18). If I obeyed that...not as many fights would start, I’d probably just walk away when my siblings tried to start things.
So what's the inside change that has to happen?
Luke 9:22-24 - none of Jesus' disciples believed he was going to be put to death. And they believed following him would not be difficult. Jesus corrects that - if anyone is to come after him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow.
"Take up your cross": When a criminal had been condemned, the "beginning of the end" so to speak was the walk to the execution, and criminals carried their own crosses. So when you took up your cross, it meant you were on the road to death - this was a certainty.
For us to "take up our cross" means we say goodbye to our old life. It does not mean we are putting our lives in danger, necessarily.
Even though our lives are full of sin, it takes faith to leave an old way of life behind...you don't know what that new life will hold.
Ex: people not willing to move out of unsafe neighborhoods, bad housing, etc.
Story: Festo Kivengere, the African Billy Graham. You can read the story of this man who came to Christ in Uganda and the repentance he saw all around him in his village here.
You can read about Festo Kivengere and other Christian heroes in the "Hero Tales" series.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
February 21-22: God speaks to us through the Bible
Last week: Your life is like a castle - many rooms. Some people let God into the castle, but keep him in a separate room. God doesn't want to be a part of your life; he wants to be a part of all of the parts.
1. What does God do once he comes into a room? He shines his light. And God is able to see things we can't easily see.
Ex: Hidden pictures game. Once you see the answers (where the hidden objects are shaded differently), it's easy. Prior to that, we miss things that are hidden. God, when he searches our hearts, is able to see things that we can't.
Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
It's a different thing to ask God to search your heart and for you to search your own heart - you might miss what God can easily see!
2. God brings truth. How? He speaks through the Holy Spirit through the words of the Bible.
Scripture is useful for teaching, for rebuking (telling us when we've done wrong), correcting us, and training us in doing right.
Hebrews 4:12 - The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating to divide joints and marrow, soul and spirit - it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
3. God's goal in bringing truth into your "rooms" is to REDEEM everything. When we were created, God called it "very good". But sin produced something broken - God wants to put that back together, to restore things, to make you like Jesus.
My own castle at 11 years old: many rooms, not many that had God as a part of them. The Bible has a message about redemption for each room. BUT >>> I have to listen - it's not enough to just hear it.
How to meditate on scripture: "Meditation" in Christianity means something different than in other religions, where the goal is to think about nothing. To meditate is to take words or an idea and concentrate on that, to learn and understand deeply how it is true. Choose a short passage and spend time with it - what is God saying here? What is he saying to me?
1. What does God do once he comes into a room? He shines his light. And God is able to see things we can't easily see.
Ex: Hidden pictures game. Once you see the answers (where the hidden objects are shaded differently), it's easy. Prior to that, we miss things that are hidden. God, when he searches our hearts, is able to see things that we can't.
Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
It's a different thing to ask God to search your heart and for you to search your own heart - you might miss what God can easily see!
2. God brings truth. How? He speaks through the Holy Spirit through the words of the Bible.
Scripture is useful for teaching, for rebuking (telling us when we've done wrong), correcting us, and training us in doing right.
Hebrews 4:12 - The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating to divide joints and marrow, soul and spirit - it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
3. God's goal in bringing truth into your "rooms" is to REDEEM everything. When we were created, God called it "very good". But sin produced something broken - God wants to put that back together, to restore things, to make you like Jesus.
My own castle at 11 years old: many rooms, not many that had God as a part of them. The Bible has a message about redemption for each room. BUT >>> I have to listen - it's not enough to just hear it.
How to meditate on scripture: "Meditation" in Christianity means something different than in other religions, where the goal is to think about nothing. To meditate is to take words or an idea and concentrate on that, to learn and understand deeply how it is true. Choose a short passage and spend time with it - what is God saying here? What is he saying to me?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
February 14-15: God, a part of all the parts
1 John 1:5-7 - If we claim to have fellowship with God, yet walk in darkness, we are not living the truth! In a contest between light and dark, light always wins.
Therefore, to have God in our lives means we have him in all the parts. He is not just a part, he is part of all of the parts.
Kids were read a parable about a prince who brought a beggar home to live in his father's castle. As the prince grew up and became king himself, he limited the beggar to his own room and to the courtyard. The beggar became a great friend and help to the king's court, but the king himself had little to do with him. Near the end of the king's life, he revisits the beggar and discovers that, strangely, the beggar has not aged since the day he met him as a boy. The beggar expresses his wish that he could have been fully part of the king's life for all these years.
In this parable, the castle represents our lives. We might let the drawbridge down and bring God in, but sometimes we keep him confined to certain "rooms" or limited parts of our lives. God is able and willing to fill the rest of our lives, but we have to allow him to be part of our family life, our thoughts, our attitudes, our friendships, our hobbies, etc. in order to realize his full blessing.
Therefore, to have God in our lives means we have him in all the parts. He is not just a part, he is part of all of the parts.
Kids were read a parable about a prince who brought a beggar home to live in his father's castle. As the prince grew up and became king himself, he limited the beggar to his own room and to the courtyard. The beggar became a great friend and help to the king's court, but the king himself had little to do with him. Near the end of the king's life, he revisits the beggar and discovers that, strangely, the beggar has not aged since the day he met him as a boy. The beggar expresses his wish that he could have been fully part of the king's life for all these years.
In this parable, the castle represents our lives. We might let the drawbridge down and bring God in, but sometimes we keep him confined to certain "rooms" or limited parts of our lives. God is able and willing to fill the rest of our lives, but we have to allow him to be part of our family life, our thoughts, our attitudes, our friendships, our hobbies, etc. in order to realize his full blessing.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
February 7-8: The Light of the World
Light is useful for many things: safety, helping people see what's real and what's false, helping things grow, guiding, warming, etc.
In a contest between darkness and light, light always wins! As soon as the smallest light is turned on, the darkness is gone. The difference is how much light is present - some rooms/places are lighter than others and you get more of the benefits of light because of that.
John 8:12 - Jesus says whoever follows him will never live in darkness. By this he means surrounded by evil, untruth, or injustice - whether the person themselves is responsible for it (by committing acts of sin), or the victim of it.
John 3:19-21 - Darkness and sin are related: men loved darkness more than light because their deeds were evil. We're more likely to do wrong, and get away with it, when what we're doing can't be seen..
If a person has "the light of the world" in them, does that mean they will sin less? In a way - light exposes evil, makes you more aware of your sin. But it doesn't guarantee you'll act on that knowledge, and it might not happen right away. Old, bad habits might not seem wrong if you've grown accustomed to them; even after you know they're wrong, it can take a long time for you to stop.
Matthew 5:14-16 - You have the light, so shine the light, don't hide it.
So if light will chase away darkness, why is that so hard?
Sometimes we don't want others to know we have the light, sometimes we're not confident in the power of the light. Other Christians need to be together to maximize the impact.
Example: if trying to turn on 12 flashlights, only one at a time, in silence, it's not likely to be successful - unless - you coordinate efforts. In the same way, Christians need to know other Christians and combine their lights to fill the world with light.
In a contest between darkness and light, light always wins! As soon as the smallest light is turned on, the darkness is gone. The difference is how much light is present - some rooms/places are lighter than others and you get more of the benefits of light because of that.
John 8:12 - Jesus says whoever follows him will never live in darkness. By this he means surrounded by evil, untruth, or injustice - whether the person themselves is responsible for it (by committing acts of sin), or the victim of it.
John 3:19-21 - Darkness and sin are related: men loved darkness more than light because their deeds were evil. We're more likely to do wrong, and get away with it, when what we're doing can't be seen..
If a person has "the light of the world" in them, does that mean they will sin less? In a way - light exposes evil, makes you more aware of your sin. But it doesn't guarantee you'll act on that knowledge, and it might not happen right away. Old, bad habits might not seem wrong if you've grown accustomed to them; even after you know they're wrong, it can take a long time for you to stop.
Matthew 5:14-16 - You have the light, so shine the light, don't hide it.
So if light will chase away darkness, why is that so hard?
Sometimes we don't want others to know we have the light, sometimes we're not confident in the power of the light. Other Christians need to be together to maximize the impact.
Example: if trying to turn on 12 flashlights, only one at a time, in silence, it's not likely to be successful - unless - you coordinate efforts. In the same way, Christians need to know other Christians and combine their lights to fill the world with light.
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