Romans 1- You're Not Getting Away With It

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness... For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of God for images..." (Romans 1:18, 21-23).

The exchange in Romans 1:23, the exchange of the glory of God for images, is common to all people. Instead of worshiping and serving the Creator God, we worship and serve images. The list of created things that we worship is incredibly long. And our ability to dismiss God and withhold from glorifying Him and thanking Him is incredible. In fact, this morning I have given very little worship or even thought to God. Granted I have already had my devotional time of reading the One Year Bible... But I immediately got up from that experience, drove to the office, and began to work without giving glory to God. I've got a task list... that task list is what is important when I work. God is not central to my work, work is. I have not gloried in God yet today, I glory in work. You may think, "Cory, this is a bit ridiculous! You have already had a quiet time and work is for work. Don't beat yourself up." But, we are to work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). That requires a conscience awareness that my work is for God and to God. I am working today but not as if God were the central part of it. Do you see how subtle this exchange can be!?

Furthermore, there is much that we do that is not only unaware of God, but actually in opposition to Him. Sometimes we don't acknowledge God, but other times we simply don't care what He might want. We exchange His glory for whatever we want (vs. 23). And we think we get away with it! Because most days we don't see or feel the wrath of God towards our sin... we get away with it. God must not be that concerned because He doesn't do anything about it. So we persist in our sin. Is it really that bad to persist in sin? Sinclair Ferguson speaks to this issue:

[Men and women] think, "We despise His laws, and break them freely, yet no threatened thunderbolt of judgment touches us." In fact however, they are judicially blinded and hardened. They cannot see that the conscience-hardening and body destroying effects of their rebellion are the judgment of God.(In Christ Alone, pg. 40,41. Emphasis added).

I hope you feel the weightiness of this quote. The very fact that you are able to exchange the glory of God and worship created things as if you were getting away with it... is the punishment of God. That is the argument that Paul goes on to say, "God gave them over" (vs. 26). God, in a sense, lets go and lets us pursue our sins. We don't actually get away with disregarding God. We actually get exactly what we wanted.

Let me just point out how bogus this exchange is. We trade the infinite and awesome God for our petty pleasures. We rob ourselves. Thanks be to Jesus Christ that He redeems us from our futile thinking and foolish hearts. He rescues us. He rightly occupies our place of worship and restores us to a right relationship with the Father. He helps us to glorify God and give thanks to Him. He trades us His obedience and righteousness for our rebellion. We make a poor exchange but Christ strikes a killer deal with us. We get it all (His inheritance)... and our foolish rebellion is nailed to a tree.

Chapter 8 | Don't Waste Your Life

Chapter 8|MAKING MUCH OF CHRIST FROM 8 TO 5

A small group resource for students studying Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

Wouldn't it be incredible to live in constant state of summer vacation? No homework, no plan, no work... just pure bliss...

Actually the bible seems to indicate that we would be extremely unsatisfied without work (even though many of you might reply, "let me try!"). The bible actually makes a clear case for the importance of work and how we use it for the glory of God. Piper takes up his bible and pen once again to convince us to work for the glory of God.

While we are exploring this chapter I want you to extract the principle behind working for the glory of God. It would be a mistake to mentally check out before you finish the chapter because you are in school and don't have a job. The concept in this chapter is big enough to sweep you up into the conversation. The way you do your school work is under this concept, the yard project that you may work on this spring is included, the chores at home are in too, the group project for your AP class is in, and many other activities we do can be called work. So stick with this chapter to see that you have a call to make Jesus famous with the way you do your work.

It is important at the outset to say that both secular and Christian work can and does make Jesus famous. We need to fight the urge to call pastors and missionaries professional Christians and to think of other jobs as insignificant. We are all called to work for Christ and there is no distinction between pastor and layperson. "Martin Luther recaptured the biblical teaching of the priesthood of every Christian and blasted the spiritual line between clergy and laity" (pg. 132,133). We are all a part of the priesthood that speaks of Christ. And all of our work can be holy and pleasing to God. "Our ditches are to be dug straight, our pipe-fittings are not to leak, our cabinet corners should be flush, our surgical incisions should be clean, our word processing accurate and appealing, and our meals nutritious and attractive, because God is a God of order and beauty and competence" (pg. 141). When we work like that our work is just as pleasing to God as the work of a youth pastor studying and writing an article for his students (wink). Every project becomes an opportunity to glorify God and call men and women to Him when we work for His glory.

Now let us explore six ways that Piper gives in which we can use work to glorify God.

1. We make much of God in our secular job through the fellowship we enjoy with him throughout the day in all our work (pg. 136).

As Christians we have the unique ability to take God to work with us through prayer. When we utilize that experience we are working alongside of God and this brings us joy and Him glory. Piper gives us a threefold explanation: God is with us in work, we can constantly breath out praises to Him, and we can meditate on the promises of His word while we work. "In this way we fellowship with God, listening to Him through His word and thanking Him and praising Him and calling on Him for all we need" (pg. 138).

2. We make much of Christ in our secular work by joyful, trusting, God-exalting design of our creativity and industry (pg. 138).

Through our creativity and industry we can show the world what God is like. Piper says, "Being in the image of God means at least that we should image forth God. We should reflect what He is really like" (pg. 139). We have the opportunity to do this through the creativity and productivity of our work. Keep in mind, Piper says, "work is a good, God-like thing" (pg. 139). Work is not a curse, it is a blessing and an opportunity to demonstrate what God is like.

3. We make much of Christ in our secular work when it confirms and enhances the portrait of Christ's glory that people hear in the spoken gospel (pg. 142).

The way we work can serve as an piece of beautiful jewelry being worn by the gospel that we profess. "Our work is not the beautiful woman, but the necklace. The beautiful woman is the Gospel" (pg. 143).

4. We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning enough money to keep us from depending on others, while focusing on the helpfulness of our work rather than the financial rewards (pg. 144).

You are designed to provide for yourself in reliance of the strength God gives you. We are dependent on Him but we are called to be workers and providers. "Work with your hands ... so that you may ... be dependent on no one" (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). Again Paul later writes to the same people whom he heard were not working, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies" (2 Thessalonians 3:10, 11). Piper says it like this, "Able-bodied people who choose to live in idleness and eat the fruit of another's sweat are in rebellion against God's design" (pg. 147).

5. We make much of Christ in our secular work by earning money with the desire to use our money to make others glad in God (pg. 150).

Ultimately, we work not to gain more stuff, but to demonstrate God's goodness and to provide for those in need. "You can steal to have. Or you can work to have. Or you can work to have to give. When the third option comes from joy in God's goodness, it makes Him look great in the world" (pg. 151).

6. We make much of Christ in our secular work by treating the web of relationships it creates as a gift of God to be loved by sharing the Gospel and by practical deeds of help (pg. 151).

Most importantly, work gives us a platform to share the Gospel. "No nice feelings about you as a good employee will save anyone. People must know the Gospel, which is the power of God unto eternal life" (pg. 152). We must speak the Gospel to our coworkers, customers, and friends. Work gives us a platform from which we can do that.

Work is a beautiful opportunity to display the majesty of Christ. It is not a means to get loot to get more stuff. It is not the way that you can get rich so you can be happy. Ultimately, work unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23) is a beautiful act of worship to God.

Do you do your homework in a way that teachers notice your hard work, creativity, and excellence?

Are your chores done in a way that you would want to show them off to Jesus? Sheets neatly tucked in, clothes put away, trash completely picked up and neatly placed on the curb etc...

Do you enjoy God while you are working by inviting Him to be a part of it through prayer and praise?

Would coworkers give you an ear for you to speak the Gospel based on your hard work, attitude, and effort?

or,

Would the Gospel seem out of line because of inconsistencies of your character, slacking-off, cutting corners, and general laziness?

God, help us to work for your glory in way that displays your goodness. And, when you tell us to speak give us courage to proclaim the Gospel with our words, having already lived out the effects of the gospel with our conduct. Amen

Romans 1- Spreading like Wildfire

You know how a good rumor spreads fast? In middle school if a rumor got started it only took about half a day for it to spread within our school (admittedly I attended a very small school where kindergarten through 8th were all in the same building and totaled about 200 kids). Then, it wasn't long after, if the news was big, the parents would all find out that evening. The reason is that news can spread like wildfire.

"I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world" (vs. 8).

What was it about the Romans that caused a worldwide report? There are obviously many factors that must have contributed, including Rome's influence and communication etc... But I do not want to overlook the simple fact that the Roman Christians must have been doing something incredibly right. How could we become more like them?

I think one hindrance we may have is that we segregate our lives. We do work stuff at work, home stuff at home, friend stuff when with friends, and church stuff at church. Our lives our disjointed. Think for a moment what your non-christian friends would think if they saw you at a worship service... they may be weirded out because that is not the same person they usually see. What we need is to allow the gospel to permeate every sphere of our lives. We need to let our faith in Jesus come through in every way in every opportunity.

Shouldn't the work of Christ in our lives be a normal part of our conversation? Wouldn't it make sense to pray before we go to work that the Gospel would be spoken about by us and demonstrated by godly character and holiness? Wouldn't it be cool if God used you on your campus or place of work to be a newsworthy messenger of the Gospel?

Our lives should be a demonstration of faith. Our decisions, actions, attitudes, deeds, and words should all build on one another to prove our faith in Jesus Christ.

Rome was a community of faith that was living out their trust in Jesus in a way that was noteworthy... and I want to be a part of a community of faith like that. When the gospel gets traction in our lives it will be some big news. It will spread like wildfire in our community and throughout the region and even to the world. If we will let the gospel dominate our lives, the world will be dominated with the message of Christ.

Lord, help us to become people that exhibit faith in You. Help our lives to be a message of faith that is noteworthy enough to be talked about. Let the message spread from hear to the ends of the earth. Jesus make us your people. Amen

Where We Might Go From Here

It has been a busy week at Central! Joseph and I moved offices. Above you can see the final product. So for the past couple days we have been working hard at throwing away old stuff, moving office furniture, organizing our stuff, shredding documents, and all sorts of other fun stuff. Needless to say, I have had little time to think about centralstudentsministry.blogspot.com

Last week we finished up our walk through Acts and now we need some new content. I have a couple of ideas... we could either, continue in the New Testament and start Romans, or we could do an Old Testament book, or even blog a few posts on Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers by Arthur Bennett.

hmmm....

Having thought long and hard on this I choose Romans and VoV. I will attempt to regularly post on Romans and intersperse a prayer or two from "Valley of Vision" when time permits. Happy Reading!

Chapter 7 | Don't Waste Your Life

Chapter 7|LIVING TO PROVE HE IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN LIFE

A small group resource for student reading Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

This chapter sounds the same note that has been struck at youth group over the past couple weeks. The truth about Jesus that we talk and sing about should change our lives. Our lives should have a noticeable difference as a result of the gospel. Piper opens the chapter by saying it this way, "To make others glad in God with everlasting gladness, our lives must show that he is more precious than life" (pg. 107 emphasis added). In other words, if we truly value Jesus Christ, then our decisions will reflect that value. Our lives and our possessions will not be our treasure (because Christ is), and others will see that we put our hope in something greater, namely Christ. The idea is that our lives should be an indicator of how great our God is. We should be pointing people to God. This means our lives will look different than the lives of our un-believing friends.

"If Christ is an all-satisfying treasure and promises to provide all our needs, even through famine and nakedness, then to live as though we had all the same values as the world would betray him" (pg. 107). Piper has in mind here both money and possessions. "If we want to make people glad in God, our lives must look as if God, not possessions, is our joy" (pg. 111).

How can we do this? What sort of mindset will it take to help us accurately view our money and possessions? Piper offers us the useful terminology of "Wartime Lifestyle." Which he reminds us that we need to constantly revisit:

"I need to hear this message again and again because I slip into a peace time mind-set as certainly as rain falls down and flames go up. I am wired to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth "home." Before you know it, I am calling luxuries "needs" and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mind-set that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those that have forced me again and again towards a wartime mind-set" (pg. 112)

This is a helpful mindset to remind us to be on mission with Jesus. It is all too easy to settle into routine and forget that Christ enlists us into His Kingdom work. "A wartime lifestyle implies that there is a great and worthy cause for which to spend and be spent" (pg. 114). Then Piper gives many illustrations to help us grasp the nature of the cause. He even points out that sinners give themselves devotedly to causes, so we should be all the more eager to give ourselves unreservedly to the greatest cause ever, the cause of Christ!

But, we can easily be hindered from full on enlistment. Piper offers two distractions... television and clothes. Unfortunately there are way more than two distractions but it helps us to think through these two. With television (and I will throw internet into this discussion too), it is far too easy to waste our lives in front of the monitor. We may not be watching or viewing inappropriate content, but the sheer amount deadens us to the realities of life and the urgency of our mission. The quote from Douglas Groothuis was fascinating and convicting:

The images appear and disappear and reappear without a proper rationale context. An attempt at a sobering news story about slavery in the Sudan is followed by a lively advertisement for Disneyland, followed by an appeal to purchase panty hose that will make any woman irresistible, etc., ad nauseum" (pg. 122).

I was reminded of how much this occurs as we surf facebook and blogs. Many times throughout the day I will read jolly posts from my friends, then click over to some devastating issue addressed in a blog or news site like the death of missionaries, then look at my phone to view a text from my soon to be wife, and unfortunately I cannot process that I should be saddened over the devastating news, or laugh at the facebook post, or smile because of the text. It is simply too much. So, I go into a catatonic state that usually takes me 30 minutes to shake once I leave the office. Then, imagine getting a phone call from someone in need of ministry!? I am hardly fit to take the call!

The other issue that Piper raises is how young people view their clothes, which actually stems from a much larger issue of desperately wanting a noticeable self-identity... or wanting to be cool. "What a tragedy to see so many young people obsessed with what they wear and how thy look" (pg. 126). I know Piper is much older than even some of your parents and maybe you could view him as 'old-fashioned.' So let me point you to some young people raising the same issue. Alex and Bret Harris from therebelution.com have written much on modesty. You can read an article on modesty here.

Piper's prayer for us is in this regard is priceless:

"O God, who will get in their face and give them something to live for? They waste their days in a trance of insignificance, trying to look cool or talk cool or walk cool. They don't have a clue what cool is" (pg. 128).

Our desire is that you think through not only TV, internet, and clothing, but EVERYTHING you do. We want you to really evaluate whether or not your life points people to Christ. So let us end with some questions:

Do you treasure Christ?

Do your decisions reflect that you treasure Christ?

Would friends or coworkers have any reason to ask for the hope that you have?

or,

Are you an undercover Christian that looks exactly like everyone else?

Will Christ be ashamed of you before His Father (because you have been ashamed of Him before men)?

We pray that you live up to the calling which Christ has placed on you.

Acts 29- What's Your Contribution to the Story?

As we have wrapped up our walk through Acts there are a couple things I want to remind you of. First, God is still at work! The book of Acts is a gnarly story of the start of the Church. It shows how the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It shows the beginnings of a Church that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. And, it leaves us hanging because it is only the beginning of an ongoing story. 2000 years later the Church is still on the move. The Holy Spirit is still progressing the Kingdom through the Church. I am reminded that even as I write this great things are happening globally for the cause of Christ. The Lausanne Congress convenes this year in Capetown, South Africa to discuss the future of the Church. Furthermore, so many young people are passionate about Christ and His bride. Over the past years, many networks of young people have cropped up and banned together for their passion to create God-honoring movements.

That leads me to the second thing I want to point out. One of those movements is called Acts29 Church Planting Network. It is a network of people that are passionate about planting God-centered, Christ exalting, bible saturated, Gospel-driven Churches. I recommend checking out their site and keeping tabs on what they are up to.

Finally, what is your contribution to the story? How are you giving yourself to the cause of Christ? Are you sold out to the church? Are you passionate about the Bride of Christ and work of the Holy Spirit through the people of God?

In our day and age many people have a grudge against the Church. Many see the flaws of the Bride and poke fun or boycott organized Christianity. But let me try to help you reconsider. The Church has never been flawless. It is filled with people in need of redemption. Broken people, sinful people, people in need of a Savior. Even in the early church in Acts there were issues. There were hypocrites in the midst (Acts 5), quarrels over how leadership serve (Acts 6), and many other issues. So, in light of the flaws even in the early church, do you really want to be the person calling King Jesus' Bride a hot-mess? I'm just guessing but I don't think it will go well for people that call the Bride ugly?

We want to be a people passionate about Christ's Bride, the Church. Praying for the washing of the Word in preparation of the wedding feast (Ephesians 5). Helping to adorn Her with beauty and splendor.

God make us ready. Give us a deep love for the Church and an eye on the horizon for what you are up to in our world. Help us to recognize that the Church is growing rapidly all over the world. Let us be a part of that Kingdom expansion, for Your glory. Amen.

Acts 28- Two Years of Good Livin'

"For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 28:30,31)

Is this considered a short or long amount of time? Some would consider 2 years a very brief amount of time. Hardly worth consideration. Others might see two years as an eternity. Either way we should note what Paul spent his time doing. Paul to me is the biggest stud ever. I mean he lives life. There are few people living like Paul. This man knows how to be fully alive. He just spent weeks in a ship, got smashed up on the shores of Malta, gets bitten by a snake and cursed by the natives, survives the snakebite and gets called a god, all the while he is a prisoner in transport on his way to a trial. But, he keeps his cool. Preaches to the masses from all of scripture. Then, when they won't listen to them he rebukes em' and rents a house to set up shop and preach!? This guy is incredible. Now he welcomes anyone who comes to visit him and teaches teaches them about the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a missionary. A church planter. A humble yet confident leader. An imitable elder. A lover of Christ and a dedicated follower of Him.

I want to be Paul when I grow up.

But let's ask a few questions to help us wrap ourselves into this text. Do you understand that God has ordered the circumstances so that you would be in the exact place where you are right now? Do you understand that God wants to teach you new things while you are here? In what ways are you planning your departure maybe before God even calls you to leave? Are you giving yourself completely to the task at hand? Are you preaching about Christ relentlessly in your setting?

God help us to be like Paul. Help us to have courage and boldness to proclaim Your greatness. Help us to see Christ in all of Scripture and to live life with passion for Your sake and Your glory. Amen