Youth Worker Essentials Audio

Let me give you links to audio from our retreat...

Youth Worker Essentials by Bob MacRae
Profile of a Beloit Student by John Kaminski
Serving in the Strength God Supplies by Cory Williams

Youth Worker Essentials

The day went well! It was a busy day but I believe we all learned a little and were encouraged in our ministry roles today. I am working on getting the audio online so it can be downloaded and listened to. Check back soon.

Days Off

If you have faithfully kept with the DJ reading plan you should be experiencing some free days... I would recommend that you use this time to either read a shorter book of the bible (Amos, Philemon, Philippians, Ruth, etc...) or to go on in the reading to February... Don't lose momentum if you have developed a strategy I would hate to see you lose it one month in.

Just wanted to offer you that piece of advise.

Also if you have yet to start the reading plan it is never too late. It has been such a blessing to those that are reading and I encourage you highly to join us in reading through the bible in a year.

Acts 5- Getting Whooped On

The apostles had already been arrested and divinely busted out of prison. Now the religious officials decided to flog them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Then this happened, "the apostles went away rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer disgrace for the Name" (Acts 5:41).

What is with that? The closest thing that I can think of to an experience that I have had like that is fighting my brothers when I was younger. We would hit each other and if you wanted to make the other one mad you would giggle when they hit you and tell them that it tickled... We were faking it. But, something about this biblical account tells me that these guys weren't faking it. 

So how did they rejoice when they suffered? I will offer a couple suggestions that I draw from scripture.

First, I think they looked forward to the reward. Their king Jesus who they were suffering for taught them that they would be seen and rewarded. Matthew 6 says your Father in heaven sees and rewards. So, they had to believe that their whooping was being looked down on and even commended by their Father. These guys wanted nothing more than to make their heavenly father pleased. So, they gladly accepted getting beat up to stand up for his glory. 

Secondly, I think they thought about the effect that their beating had on people. When a christian suffers for the sake of their faith it has a transforming effect on onlookers. Imagine the effect that this would have on you? If someone got beat up because they wouldn't stop preaching in the name of Jesus then you would realize that Jesus must be worth it and there must be a reward that you can't see. I think Paul puts it best, "now I rejoice in what was suffered for you. I fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions, for the sake of the body, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24). What he is saying is that people that didn't witness Jesus on the cross and see how he was willing to suffer for people, can now see that physically manifest in the life of Christ's followers. Meaning, that when Christ followers suffer for Christ it shows the world the willingness of Christ to suffer for them. 

So my question to you this morning is are you willing to suffer for Christ? If your answer is no, is it because you don' t love Christ enough to suffer or is it because you don't think you will be repaid? An African missionary who suffered immensely on the mission field famously said, "I never sacrificed anything." What he meant is that being sick, and losing friends, and not having his comforts isn't a sacrifice when compared to the sacrifice of Christ and the reward that we get. You cannot out give God. He gives you Himself and even if following Him costs you everything your reward far outweighs your earthly discomforts. 

My challenge for all of us is to pray that we would treasure Christ. We should love Him so much that momentary discomforts get swallowed up into the thoughts of our eternal rewards. Then we will be freed to live courageously. We will become passionate evangelists and we will become courageous missionaries and the Gospel will spread and our faith will grow. Suffering is the mark of passionate Christ followers. 

Acts 5- Be Bold

In Acts the 5 the apostles are arrested and placed in prison... then in the middle of the night an angel broke them out of jail and gave them this bizarre command to go back to where they were arrested and "tell the people the full message of this new life." (Acts 5:17-21)

First off, I just have to note that they were so bold... the result of preaching in the public square was a whooping. They got beat on and flogged and they went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy of suffering for The Name. My question for us is... are we that bold? Would we speak up even if we knew it might cost us? If you can easily answer yes, or even maybe, then ask yourself, 'have you spoken up lately?' Having a treasure like eternal life with God is something that is meant to be shared. If you had the cure to cancer and kept it for yourself I would say you are an evil and selfish person. The same is true for Christianity. You have a cure for eternity. All sickness and decease and sin cured. No more tears. No more separation from God. How can we possibly keep that to ourselves? We should boldly proclaim that everyday in everyplace no matter the cost. So be bold!

But I see a second element that concerns me about this verse... 'tell the people the full message of this new life.' What is the full message? Can you outline the full message? Do you have a working definition of saving faith? If God put you in a situation to share would you have words to articulate the Gospel? We often talk about sharing our testimony and being ready. If you do not have your testimony figured out then I think that is a good place to start. 1) explain your  pre conversion life 2) Explain your conversion experience 3) Finally, tell others what life has been like since you joined Jesus' team. Sharing your testimony is as easy as 1-2-3. But, is that enough? Acts 5 doesn't say, 'share your story.' It says share God's story. So, we need to start figuring out what God's story is. Every christian should be ready to give the Gospel. I would say memorize Romans 3:23-25 and be ready to explain it. More Christians need to think through this. The reason why sharing is so scary is because so few know what to say. Search the scriptures to find the full message and write it down so you can share it when God puts you in the town square or the temple courts or in your school or at your job or with your friends. Be ready. Be bold.

Arrogance of Youth, Folly of the Old, Hatred of Prophets

I recently read some of my older articles and I just want you to know that I am treading as lightly as I possibly can... I realize that some of the things that I say can be controversial and offensive.

As I read them I want you to know that I am aware of the arrogance of youth. I am a young man and young men have a problem with recognizing that the world is big and they are small. That they don't know everything. Let me just say that I know that I know very little. I mean who would presume to 'rightly divide the word of truth' without having at least some hesitance. And I definitely feel the weight of 2 Cor 2:16 where Paul says, "who is sufficient for this!?" I am not the brightest star nor the most educated nor the most godly. So, read my articles carefully and with thought. Be a Berean that tests everything that I say against the bedrock of scripture. If you can't see how scripture warrants or backs up what I say then throw it out. Or even call me on it. I don't want to wander from the truth.

I also know the folly of the old. What I mean by that is not age but length. As Christians we can get into routine. We can become comfortable. Sin seems less threatening. God seems less glorious. Church is our social gathering and religious duty. Bible reading is flat and lacking vitality or even non existent. Our faith is not an active relationship with Almighty but a dead faith (James 2:17). So, sometimes I will say things to try to shake you to life. If you are playing in traffic I won't always gently say, "hey please don't play in traffic. It isn't best for you. If you don't want to get out of the traffic I understand and I will be your friend even if you stay in the street. But, please come over here on the sidewalk where it is safe so we can talk." That is a careless and wussy way to handle an extremely important situation. Sometimes the best thing to do is yell, "HEY GET OUT OF THE STREET!" Some will be offended because the tone was harsh and the message short. But, I would much rather explain my love after you are not about to get crushed by a bus. 

The hatred of the prophets is a third element that I want to bring into the light. Prophets were always hated because they called sin into question. They told people to turn to God and that is offensive but the most important message people need. I would say that all pastors have to have a little prophet in them. We have to stand up and declare to our people, "this is what God says." Or if you like an older rendering, "thus saith the LORD!" Sometimes we have to allow the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin through us. People will hate that and even resent the instrument that delivered the message but it is best for the people.

Let me end by saying I am a clay pot. A common ordinary household item that holds garbage or waste or dirt. But, I am pouring out the richest treasure the world has ever known... Jesus Christ. And I am living to please God and not man. Take all that into account when you read these articles.

 

Fighting Presumptious Sin

During communion at church today a verse came to me from recent reading... Psalm 19. There is a point at the end when David says, "Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression" (Psalm 19:12b-13).

Ok, I totally understand the hidden faults. He says in other places search me and see if there is any offensive ways in me (Psalm 139). I understand that in us there is a lot of bad things that we might not even be aware of. We can go on thinking that we are good people but when contrasted with a holy Jesus we are lacking. So, search us and reveal in us hidden sins, and forgive them Lord... but the next line is so bizarre to me. "keep your servant from willful sins; may they not rule over me" (vs 13a). David is praying against the sin that he knows is wrong and does it anyways. 

Friends memorize this verse and fight your 'old self' when he tempts you to sin in a way that you know is wrong. God keep us from willfully breaking your command... don't let our willful sins master us. 

Two things I want you to do with this. 

1) Memorize this verse so you can fight when your flesh leads you to sin.

2) Pray like David prayed... "keep me from willfully sinning. Don't let it master me.

If we learn how to do this we will become more like Jesus. We will be more successful in our sanctification. And we will draw closer to God.