-- What a fun night!
-- We were a little down last night with 18, but we had the most fun and laughs we’ve had since we started!
-- We stayed in one group last night and talked about the importance of CONNECTION
-- We played a game called “Have you ever…” which got everybody a little winded and put smiles on our faces.
-- It was great to emphasize our similarities rather than or differences. Fun to see people make new friends and develop community within the group.
-- Talked about times in our lives where we have felt the most connected and one guy said that theSHIFT was the most connected he’s ever felt. Loved hearing that!
-- The same guy brought his parents and future sister-in-law to church on Sunday and she got saved! So cool to see God working.
NEXT WEEK:
Talking about SERVING… what’s the difference between doing good things and serving like Jesus did?
COMING SOON:
Camping Trip July 10-11! Want details? Email me or get them at theSHIFT next week. It’s gonna be an awesome time… hope to see you there!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
H – The New Scarlet Letter
The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the story of a woman who is caught in adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest to signify her sin and to reveal to all her shame.
What I always found ironic about that story was the emphasis on her sin over all others. Now I understand that adultery is a terrible sin and the Scripture talks about how it affects more than just the individual, but why the “A”. Maybe we should be handing out L’s for lying, G’s for gossip, and S’s for Sabbath violators.
Well, today we have a new scarlet letter among conservatives and mainstream Christianity; and that is an H for homosexuality. There is so much fear, confusion and condemnation associated with this sin that all other sins appear to be insignificant. Make no mistake, homosexual ACTS are sinful, as CLEARLY outlined in Scripture; but what if someone admits that they are tempted by homosexuality but chooses NOT to act?
Now I’m not claiming to have all the right answers (and I know this opens up a debate about the "nature vs nurture" aspect of homosexuality), but what if someone who rejects their homosexual temptations and someone who rejects their deceitfulness temptations are the same in God’s eyes? VICTORIOUS!
What if the propensity to sin that has run through all of our veins, since Adam, includes homosexual acts in the same way that it includes the sins that YOU struggle with (pornography, greed, hate, materialism, idolatry, bigotry, racism, lust, gossip, etc)?
Christ's blood covers their sins in the SAME WAY that it covers yours!
Maybe we should stop handing out sin letters and start loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. I don’t see anybody signing up for the EXCOMMUNICATE-ME-FROM-THE-CHURCH club... so please don’t sign up your homosexual neighbor.
What I always found ironic about that story was the emphasis on her sin over all others. Now I understand that adultery is a terrible sin and the Scripture talks about how it affects more than just the individual, but why the “A”. Maybe we should be handing out L’s for lying, G’s for gossip, and S’s for Sabbath violators.
Well, today we have a new scarlet letter among conservatives and mainstream Christianity; and that is an H for homosexuality. There is so much fear, confusion and condemnation associated with this sin that all other sins appear to be insignificant. Make no mistake, homosexual ACTS are sinful, as CLEARLY outlined in Scripture; but what if someone admits that they are tempted by homosexuality but chooses NOT to act?
Now I’m not claiming to have all the right answers (and I know this opens up a debate about the "nature vs nurture" aspect of homosexuality), but what if someone who rejects their homosexual temptations and someone who rejects their deceitfulness temptations are the same in God’s eyes? VICTORIOUS!
What if the propensity to sin that has run through all of our veins, since Adam, includes homosexual acts in the same way that it includes the sins that YOU struggle with (pornography, greed, hate, materialism, idolatry, bigotry, racism, lust, gossip, etc)?
Christ's blood covers their sins in the SAME WAY that it covers yours!
Maybe we should stop handing out sin letters and start loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. I don’t see anybody signing up for the EXCOMMUNICATE-ME-FROM-THE-CHURCH club... so please don’t sign up your homosexual neighbor.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday Night Reflections
-- God continues to amaze me with what He's doing with theSHIFT.
-- We had 25 last night and we were talking about our Personal Time with God!
-- Something seems to have struck a chord because the group seems to desperately want more of God.
-- they seem tired of living dull lives and want to know God in an intimate way.
-- I thank God endlessly for the opportunity to have ringside seats for lives being changed!
-- Our discussion about Personal Time with God centered around Quietness, Prayer, Bible Reading, and Journaling.
-- I'm supposed to be the teacher, but I'm amazed by how much I learn.
-- I was challenged by one young man with how much of God's Word that I've hidden in my heart, but now it's just hiding in there! Ready to be unleashed and applied!
-- I was challenged by another young lady with making my interactions with God "never ceasing" as it says in 1 Thessalonians.
-- Love talking about these "basic" topics that are so HUGE in our walks with Christ!
NEXT WEEK: Talking about CONNECTION and our need receive and share with others in order to grow.
COMING SOON: Park Clean-Up - Wednesday, 6pm, MLK park on Lincolnway and Missile Drive. Great opportunity to serve and hang out together!
-- We had 25 last night and we were talking about our Personal Time with God!
-- Something seems to have struck a chord because the group seems to desperately want more of God.
-- they seem tired of living dull lives and want to know God in an intimate way.
-- I thank God endlessly for the opportunity to have ringside seats for lives being changed!
-- Our discussion about Personal Time with God centered around Quietness, Prayer, Bible Reading, and Journaling.
-- I'm supposed to be the teacher, but I'm amazed by how much I learn.
-- I was challenged by one young man with how much of God's Word that I've hidden in my heart, but now it's just hiding in there! Ready to be unleashed and applied!
-- I was challenged by another young lady with making my interactions with God "never ceasing" as it says in 1 Thessalonians.
-- Love talking about these "basic" topics that are so HUGE in our walks with Christ!
NEXT WEEK: Talking about CONNECTION and our need receive and share with others in order to grow.
COMING SOON: Park Clean-Up - Wednesday, 6pm, MLK park on Lincolnway and Missile Drive. Great opportunity to serve and hang out together!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Should We Offend?
I’ve spent about half of my time as a Christian with no qualms about offending anyone. I wore the term “Jesus freak” with pride and my zeal knew no bounds. I justified my offending of others by claiming that as long as I was speaking truth, I was in the right. I felt like if I suffered for the sake of Christ, I was doing my duty and I was storing up treasures in heaven.
The other half of my Christian-life has been spent loving my neighbor as the 2nd greatest commandment tells us to do. I’ve made non-Christian friends, dined with “tax collectors and sinners”, and taken up the cause of the poor and downtrodden. I felt like I had seen and heard enough hell, fire, and brimstone to last a lifetime; and I didn’t want to be grouped with the intolerant, closed-minded crowd.
Offending people is a delicate issue, and both of the stances I’ve taken in my life have BIBLICAL merit. But as we look at the life and teachings of Jesus, I made an interesting discovery: He did BOTH! He unashamedly offended people with the gospel, while offering life instead of condemnation to those that needed it.
We have got to be more deliberate in how we handle this topic! It is one of the primary ways that non-Christians judge us. “But the Bible talks about judging”… non-Christians don’t know that!
There is a MAJOR difference between offending someone unnecessarily out of ignorance and offending them intentionally out of love! We need to do BOTH… the health of our ministries depends on it!
The other half of my Christian-life has been spent loving my neighbor as the 2nd greatest commandment tells us to do. I’ve made non-Christian friends, dined with “tax collectors and sinners”, and taken up the cause of the poor and downtrodden. I felt like I had seen and heard enough hell, fire, and brimstone to last a lifetime; and I didn’t want to be grouped with the intolerant, closed-minded crowd.
Offending people is a delicate issue, and both of the stances I’ve taken in my life have BIBLICAL merit. But as we look at the life and teachings of Jesus, I made an interesting discovery: He did BOTH! He unashamedly offended people with the gospel, while offering life instead of condemnation to those that needed it.
We have got to be more deliberate in how we handle this topic! It is one of the primary ways that non-Christians judge us. “But the Bible talks about judging”… non-Christians don’t know that!
There is a MAJOR difference between offending someone unnecessarily out of ignorance and offending them intentionally out of love! We need to do BOTH… the health of our ministries depends on it!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday Night Reflections
-- theSHIFT was great again last night
-- we had 23 that came, and a lot of the newcomers from last week returned. PTL!
-- talked about ACCOUNTABILITY and how it affects our lives as college/20 somethings
-- I love the opportunity to discuss... I mention a few things that God has taught me, and the rest of the time I get to learn. Sweetness!
NEXT WEEK:
Talking about Devotions/Personal time with God. This is a huge area of struggle for us, myself included!
COMING SOON:
Redo -- Saturday the 20th, we’re going hiking at Vedawoo. Meet at LCCC @ 9a if you want to go!
-- we had 23 that came, and a lot of the newcomers from last week returned. PTL!
-- talked about ACCOUNTABILITY and how it affects our lives as college/20 somethings
-- I love the opportunity to discuss... I mention a few things that God has taught me, and the rest of the time I get to learn. Sweetness!
NEXT WEEK:
Talking about Devotions/Personal time with God. This is a huge area of struggle for us, myself included!
COMING SOON:
Redo -- Saturday the 20th, we’re going hiking at Vedawoo. Meet at LCCC @ 9a if you want to go!
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