"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
-Ephesians 2:1-10
This was one of the passages that I was dwelling on the week of scatter. As we were dealing with the kids, I was tempting to judge them and I needed to preach the gospel to myself. I needed to remember that I am no different from them outside the blood of Christ. We had the tendency to pair the kids off into "good kids" and "bad kids." The gospel says there are no "good" and "bad" people; there are just sinners.
One thing I really like about these verses is that Paul tries to capture the wickedness of our hearts. It should be very sobering to read the first three verses. We were spiritually "dead." We "followed the the prince of the power of the air (Satan)." We were "sons of disobedience, living in the passions of our flesh." We were children of wrath. These are very graphic descriptions that Paul is giving trying to show how sinful we are.
Then we have the gracious words "but God". Paul heaps praises and praises upon God through His work, giving Him all the glory. As Paul shares the good news of salvation, he can't do it without trying his best (with our feeble vocabulary) to exalt God to the place he should be in our minds. It's all to glorify God. But the kicker for me was in verses eight and nine:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
-Ephesians 2:8-9
I have read these verses a million times and have known them from Awana, but this time it was different. Paul went from describing how sinful we are, to glorifying God, and then goes back to warning us about sin. He glorifies God, but he knows that we are so sinful that we will try to take credit for God's great gift! How wicked are our hearts to boast and be prideful of the change in our life, when it is God that is gracious enough to cause the change that happens at salvation.
I was hit with this especially when dealing with Tyler (for the story click here). It was very humbling to me. We go from sinning, into God's grace, then right back to sinning. God indeed in gracious to save a wretched people like ourselves. Praise Him and give Him the credit.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Seeing Christ
Wednesday was a hard day for everyone. The kids were hard to deal with at the DreamCenter and it seemed to wear on everyone. We had a kid named Tyler who was very rebellious and liked to make fun of us anyway he could. He would cuss at us, call us names and then cut up with his friends about us. We tried to ignore the rude comments, letting him know that we didn't say those things and if he continued we would have to go get the director.
Seth Singleton(18) and Andrew Etherington(15?) were watching over the sound equipment so that none of the kids would mess with it. Tyler and his posse came over and starting asking if they could play with some of the stuff. When Seth told them no, they began to call names and say things they shouldn't. Seth kept his cool, but held his ground on the rules.
A little later when we were packing up, Tyler starting making more trouble; throwing food on the ground, lying about it, and getting mad at those who told him to pick it up. I was coming back from putting a canopy away when George Lawson (youth pastor and leader of the trip) came looking for the director. Tyler had received his last warning and was getting kicked out. As I watched them take him out of the pavilion, I saw Andrew in the distance. He was sitting at a picnic table crying.
Alan Thornton (youth leader) was already headed his way when I started over. Andrew could hardly say anything as Alan asked him if he was crying because of the language and the things Tyler had been saying. He nodded, and I was immediately overcome. It was all I could do not to break down and start crying with Andrew.
As I had watched Tyler, all I could think about was how terribly misbehaved he was and how he needed to be punished. Both of these things were true, but it drove me to anger. This knowledge that he needed judgement elicited a response from me; anger. Jesus was put in a similar position, only his was more gruesome and the sin more disgusting. He saw all the sin of man. He didn't just see it but he experienced it as they denied him, beat him, and nailed him to a cross.
This triggered a response from Christ. He wept. He felt pity for humanity as they mocked him and spit upon him. They forsook the very God they claimed to follow and yet when Jesus hung on the cross he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Tyler doesn't understand that what he is doing will land him in hell where he will pay the punishment for all his sins by spending eternity apart from God. Christ pleads on our behalf, "Father, forgive them." He had every right to be mad for the sin that humanity commits and yet he takes the punishment for us and appeals to God for us.
When I sat next to Andrew, as he tried to stop his sobs, I saw Christ. I saw Christ weeping over the sins of the world. The very sins that condemn us to death. The difference was that I got mad at Tyler for his wrong doing, whereas Christ died for him, so that if he believes he won't have to. Christ was moved to pity and compassion for everyone, including me. I have believed and I am now covered by Christ's blood. I should be moved to compassion for the unbelievers, because I was just as lost as they were.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive Luke for he knows not what he does." God forgave me and showed me the wrong that I did and continue to do. Tyler hasn't been shown yet. He is still in the dark, and that should make me sorrowful for him, because without Christ he has nothing. He is dead in his trespasses and sins just like I was. Have pity on the lost, because without Christ you would be no different.
Please keep Tyler in your prayers. He did not come back to the DreamCenter after that day, so we don't know where he is. All we know is that he needs Christ. Pray for him and the rest of the kids there.
Seth Singleton(18) and Andrew Etherington(15?) were watching over the sound equipment so that none of the kids would mess with it. Tyler and his posse came over and starting asking if they could play with some of the stuff. When Seth told them no, they began to call names and say things they shouldn't. Seth kept his cool, but held his ground on the rules.
A little later when we were packing up, Tyler starting making more trouble; throwing food on the ground, lying about it, and getting mad at those who told him to pick it up. I was coming back from putting a canopy away when George Lawson (youth pastor and leader of the trip) came looking for the director. Tyler had received his last warning and was getting kicked out. As I watched them take him out of the pavilion, I saw Andrew in the distance. He was sitting at a picnic table crying.
Alan Thornton (youth leader) was already headed his way when I started over. Andrew could hardly say anything as Alan asked him if he was crying because of the language and the things Tyler had been saying. He nodded, and I was immediately overcome. It was all I could do not to break down and start crying with Andrew.
As I had watched Tyler, all I could think about was how terribly misbehaved he was and how he needed to be punished. Both of these things were true, but it drove me to anger. This knowledge that he needed judgement elicited a response from me; anger. Jesus was put in a similar position, only his was more gruesome and the sin more disgusting. He saw all the sin of man. He didn't just see it but he experienced it as they denied him, beat him, and nailed him to a cross.
This triggered a response from Christ. He wept. He felt pity for humanity as they mocked him and spit upon him. They forsook the very God they claimed to follow and yet when Jesus hung on the cross he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Tyler doesn't understand that what he is doing will land him in hell where he will pay the punishment for all his sins by spending eternity apart from God. Christ pleads on our behalf, "Father, forgive them." He had every right to be mad for the sin that humanity commits and yet he takes the punishment for us and appeals to God for us.
When I sat next to Andrew, as he tried to stop his sobs, I saw Christ. I saw Christ weeping over the sins of the world. The very sins that condemn us to death. The difference was that I got mad at Tyler for his wrong doing, whereas Christ died for him, so that if he believes he won't have to. Christ was moved to pity and compassion for everyone, including me. I have believed and I am now covered by Christ's blood. I should be moved to compassion for the unbelievers, because I was just as lost as they were.
Jesus said, "Father, forgive Luke for he knows not what he does." God forgave me and showed me the wrong that I did and continue to do. Tyler hasn't been shown yet. He is still in the dark, and that should make me sorrowful for him, because without Christ he has nothing. He is dead in his trespasses and sins just like I was. Have pity on the lost, because without Christ you would be no different.
Please keep Tyler in your prayers. He did not come back to the DreamCenter after that day, so we don't know where he is. All we know is that he needs Christ. Pray for him and the rest of the kids there.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Little Rock Missions Trip
Today is saturday; day six of our missions trip. We have a cookout at the Boys and Girls club and then we are done. It has definitely been one of the best missions trips I have ever been on, but it has also been one of the hardest; physically, mentally, and spiritually.
We get up and meet at the church by eight o'clock. We usually get to our individual backyard Bible clubs at ten til nine to set up. My crew (led by Allen Thornton), Lauren Howell, Rebekah Magnus, Alyssa Romand, and Andrew Etherington were at Jessica Bunting's house. The first day we had a girl named Justis come and towards the end of the day two brothers, Brent and Javon.
Then we pack up and head to the DreamCenter around eleven. We are there playing with the kids from 11:30 to 3:30. We have music, a lesson, games, crafts, and a lot of time to hang out. Most of the boys from our team would get there and start running and wouldn't stop until we left.
Next was the Boys and Girls club. Our team then split into about half. One have went into the gym to help with the basketball camp while the other half stayed in the craft room, snack room and game rooms to play with the kids that didn't want to play basketball.
While this trip was trying physically, it was more trying spiritually. These kids weren't the good, bible belt Christians that we were used to. Some of them were rude, disrepectful (especially to women), and openly selfish. We faced the smae things everyday. "Hey, We don't say those words." "No, you can't have that. I said no. Give it back." "Don't hit that kid." It was a lot of repeating ourselves just for them to barely obey us.
In all that though, we did have great conversations and we began to impact them. Most of these kids don't have fathers or any authority figures. That being said they are still faced with rules (from the dreamcenter, etc.). When faced with rules they will do everything in their power to kick and fight against them. Even if they do end up obeying, they let you know they don't like it.
They also take advantage of the weak spined. They would ask for things we were instructed not to give them. They would try to tell us that the leaders said it was alright. Anyone that gave in a bit were preyed upon. Most of the people I saw on the trip did well. They loved on the kids. They played with them. But when they needed to they stood strong. They spoke strong and confident telling the kids what they could not do. The kids seemed to respect that and eventually started to submit more.
This is a brief overview of what we were doing and some of the things we were faced with, but I will be writing more about our trip. The second day was a very impactful day for me. I got to see a team member go through something and God taught me through it. I will write about that tomorrow.
We get up and meet at the church by eight o'clock. We usually get to our individual backyard Bible clubs at ten til nine to set up. My crew (led by Allen Thornton), Lauren Howell, Rebekah Magnus, Alyssa Romand, and Andrew Etherington were at Jessica Bunting's house. The first day we had a girl named Justis come and towards the end of the day two brothers, Brent and Javon.
Then we pack up and head to the DreamCenter around eleven. We are there playing with the kids from 11:30 to 3:30. We have music, a lesson, games, crafts, and a lot of time to hang out. Most of the boys from our team would get there and start running and wouldn't stop until we left.
Next was the Boys and Girls club. Our team then split into about half. One have went into the gym to help with the basketball camp while the other half stayed in the craft room, snack room and game rooms to play with the kids that didn't want to play basketball.
While this trip was trying physically, it was more trying spiritually. These kids weren't the good, bible belt Christians that we were used to. Some of them were rude, disrepectful (especially to women), and openly selfish. We faced the smae things everyday. "Hey, We don't say those words." "No, you can't have that. I said no. Give it back." "Don't hit that kid." It was a lot of repeating ourselves just for them to barely obey us.
In all that though, we did have great conversations and we began to impact them. Most of these kids don't have fathers or any authority figures. That being said they are still faced with rules (from the dreamcenter, etc.). When faced with rules they will do everything in their power to kick and fight against them. Even if they do end up obeying, they let you know they don't like it.
They also take advantage of the weak spined. They would ask for things we were instructed not to give them. They would try to tell us that the leaders said it was alright. Anyone that gave in a bit were preyed upon. Most of the people I saw on the trip did well. They loved on the kids. They played with them. But when they needed to they stood strong. They spoke strong and confident telling the kids what they could not do. The kids seemed to respect that and eventually started to submit more.
This is a brief overview of what we were doing and some of the things we were faced with, but I will be writing more about our trip. The second day was a very impactful day for me. I got to see a team member go through something and God taught me through it. I will write about that tomorrow.
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