it is the end of october. last night, we stopped youth group for the annual “trunk or treat” thing. do not be discouraged that i called it a ‘thing’ … i rather liked it. but since i did not teach a lesson, i thought it would be valuable to take a look back on what he have already talked about at youth group. so, this is a recap of where we have been.
in september, we did a series simply called – the gospel – where we went through a broad overview of the gospel (based off a book by matt chandler). here is a basic run through of our four weekends.
one) God is holy. everything that is created is meant to worship God. and He is good. He created us in His image. but what happens when we do not worship Him and worship created things rather than our creator?
two) we are sinners because in our hearts, in our motives, we believe that God really is not that big of a deal but the stuff he made is worthy so our desire and passion. so we worship – love, crave, desire, focus, give all our effort into – the stuff he created. God – being perfect – can not be around sin so we are eternally separated from Him as a result of our sin.
three) Jesus is God and He loves us. He came to demonstrate that in a lot of ways. He lived a perfect life. He healed people. He welcomed people. protected people. but Jesus knew that our physical problems were rooted in our sin problem.
four) Jesus died on the cross for our sins, taking our place on the cross, and instead, giving us life with God, gifting to us the rewards for his perfect life. He was resurrected so that you and i would have right standing with God and assure us our our life with Him starts now. All of this is possible and available and counted to anyone who believes simply by faith.
the gospel – which means good news – is that Jesus died for your sins, was resurrected so you could have right standing, a restored relationship, with God and you are united with him – i will talk about this in later posts – by faith. all that he inherited counts as yours. all that you inherited – death, separation of God – no longer counts towards you. By faith, you are brought in, kept in, and nothing can separate you from the love of God, in Christ Jesus.
So what.
well. the heart of the problem – of all problems: addictions, depression, relational problems, finances, worry, doubt, et cetera – is a problem of the heart. the core issue that you and i will ever deal with – christian or non-christian – is that we are sinners in need of a savior. non-believers fail to see the heart of the problem is sin. either they do not care or they believe they can solve their own problems by working it all out themselves (even though they are the problem). believers fail to see that the solution to the problem is found in our union – there is that word again – with Jesus.
this is the foundation for everything we will get into at youth group. this is what we will come back to time and time again. parents: this is the start of parenting, of loving on your children, your neighbors, your co-workers. if you have any questions or want to talk about this post, what we talk about at youth group, or about the gospel, do not hesitate to let me know.
may we live out deuteronomy 6:5-9
[digging deeper – in this section, I will post some verses, articles, links, or quotes to assist in helping you take deeper look into the lesson. sometimes there will be questions to ask your daughter or son. sometimes. there will be a challenge. *note: these words do not count towards my word count promise of the five hundred word region – give or take ninety-nine words]
God is holy (exodus 15:11, 1 samuel 2:2, psalms 24:3-5, isaiah 6:3-5, habakkuk 1:13a / r.c. sproul, The holiness of God, p. forty, fifty-four)
we are sinners (romans 1:19-25, 29-32, 3:10-18,23, 6:23a, galatians 4:8, ephesians 2:1-3, 1 john 1:8)
Jesus loves us (matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34, mark 1:41, 1 john 4:9)
Jesus died on the cross for our sins (romans 5:8-10, 3:22-25, 6:6-11, 23. ephesisans 2:4-9, galatians 2:16, 2 corinthians 5:17-19,21, 1 corinthians 15:3-4)
matthewjmcdermott 