What Gives You the Right to Tell Me How to Live My Life? - Why Are There So Many Rules?

Tonight after our DVD session, we talked about rules. We asked the kids what rules are, where they have rules to follow, and whether or not they like rules overall. We asked them how having rules makes them "feel" and what they think their lives would be like if they had no rules at all.

We talked about just a few of the rules we're given in God's Word to follow, namely the Ten Commandments. We talked about how six of them pertain to how we relate to other people and four of them pertain to how we relate to God. We asked the kids if they ever wished the Bible didn't have so many commands concerning how we are to live or if they found those rules helpful to them.

Then we read Psalm 119:52, 62 and talked about how David found comfort in God's laws and even thanked God for them. We talked about why David might have felt this way about God's rules.

We talked about how some people felt like they were being robbed of their freedom by so many rules and that real freedom for them was having no restrictions at all and being able to do whatever they wanted to do. Then we asked the kids why having this kind of total freedom could be destructive...to ourselves and others around us. Then the trick question. What about having rules actually makes us more free?

We also talked with the kids about why they obey their parents' rules. Do they obey them so that their parents will love them more and accept them more...or to make their parents proud of them? Or do they obey their parents' rules BECAUSE they love their parents and know how much their parents have done for them? Similarly, do they obey God's rules to earn God's love and make Him accept them and proud of them or do they obey God's rules because they love Him and because of how much God does and has sacrificed for them?

We ended our discussion by playing Mother, May I? and Simon Says...two good follow the rules games!

How Can There Be Only One Way To God?

Tonight after the DVD we started by asking the kids to think about how many different way there are to get to the kitchen from inside the church building. Since there are eleven rooms in the building, there are eleven ways to get to the kitchen. But then we came up with more because there are shortcuts from each of these rooms, or multiple paths that can be taken from each of them before entering the kitchen. Each room could potentially cut through the nursery in either direction or the yellow room, for example. We eventually gave up counting the different ways that we could take to get there because there were so many! We all had our own guesses.

Next, we talked about how there can only be one way to God, unlike the number of ways there are to get to the kitchen. Each youth was given a chart of the world's religions and their beliefs (43 of them anyway). Only one believes that Jesus is the only way through which you can truly know God and someday get to heaven...Christianity. Some didn't even believe in a God or place called heaven!

We talked about how it is not narrow-minded to insist that Jesus is the only way to really know God and be assured of heaven. Simply put, because Jesus said it and then demonstrated it when he sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins. We looked at:

John 14:5-6

John 10:9-10

Acts 4:12

Revelation 21:27

Jesus didn't say, "I am ONE way or ONE door". He said, "I am THE way and THE door".

We talked about why some people today insist that all religions are equally valid...or logical, correct. Maybe it makes them feel more tolerant, kind towards others. Maybe it makes them feel better about what they believe because it's not Christianity.

We asked the kids how they would respond to someone saying to them, "Since you only believe in Christianity and one way to salvation and heaven, then you must be intolerant or unwilling to accept the opinions of others". What does it mean to be tolerant? Is it okay to say we're not willing to accept the opinions about others' beliefs as true? Does that make us stiff-necked or arrogant people?

Some people think that what you believe about your faith should not be talked about in public places, like at work, school, social gatherings, etc... For example, you cannot pray in school anymore, though you can have quiet times and moments of silence. Some schools have even omitted "under God" from their Pledge of Allegiance. People can also be fired from their jobs for sharing their Christian views and beliefs with co-workers. We asked the kids what they thought about this.

Then we opened a discussion with the kids about how they came to be Christians. Is it how they are being raised? Is it because their parents are Christians? Is it because something happened to them and they experienced God at work in their lives as a result? Is it because of the church they go to...or extracurricular activities at their church? Was it their choice?

Overall, we had a very good discussion. We are simply amazed by the openness, honesty, insight, and depth of understanding these youth have when discussing issues of this magnitude.

The Reason for God - Week 1 - Isn't the Bible A Myth?

Ok parents, bear with us here, but we really felt the new lifegroup series was so important in this generation's understanding on how to defend and explain their faith, that we'll be spending the next six weeks watching the same DVD and answering very similar questions to that of the weekly lifegroups. We will of course bring the questions down to their level. Mostly, we're going to just discuss possible scenarios with friends, strangers, people we run into, grandparents and other family members who might question what we believe and why we believe it. We really want the discussions to be led by the kids so they can talk through with us and each other what they're thinking. We'll be using Pastor Billy's notes from each Sunday as well.

First we asked the kids:

• People say the Bible has some truth in it, but that it cannot be trusted word for word and that it certainly is not all God's words. What are some reasons people might not believe the entire Bible is really the Word of God?
• If someone questioned you about what you believe and why you believe it, would it make you feel nervous and uncomfortable? Why or why not?
• Has anyone ever asked you a really tough question about your faith? If so, please share.

Some of the questions we asked after watching the DVD were:

• Give some evidence you know of that proves the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus really happened.
• Do you need religion to be moral or a "good" person?
• If someone asked you if you ever thought about the fact that Christianity may not be true, what would you say to them?
• Read 2 Timothy 2:15. How do you know if you are handling God's Word (the Bible) correctly?
• Read 1 Peter 3:15. Was the way Mr. Keller dealt with the people he talked to a good example of what Peter means by "gentleness and respect"?

We hope we gave the kids some deep things to really chew on and think about and that they understood the importance of being able to defend and explain their faith. We look forward to the future sessions with Tim Keller and discussions they will invoke in this next generation of defenders of our faith.

We also made some brown bags for the homeless ministry at TPCC. We've been out for a while now and wanted to get everyone re-stocked for the warmer weather. Those vitamin waters are life-savers to those out on the street corners trying to earn a living. We have decided to use Ziploc bags instead, however, as the paper bags kept ripping. Besides, with the rainy season upon us, Ziploc bags can be used by the homeless to keep things dry....such as socks, money, etc...

Removing the Rust - AKA - Genuine Repentance

We talked about true repentance tonight and used the visual Mr. Dave Hancock gave us in his sermon on Sunday. Basically, Mr. Dave said that walking around and calling yourself a Christian and even acting and talking like one does not qualify you as a true Christian if you have not first sincerely repented from the sins in your life. We talked about the steps to true repentance...confessing our sins to God, asking for His forgiveness, and then turning 180 degrees from those sins.

Mr. Dave gave us the visual of painting a car that had rust on it without first removing the rust (sin, in this case). The car might look nice on the outside for a while, but soon the paint will start to bubble and chip and peel because of the underlying rust. So too, we cannot walk around looking and acting like Christians on the outside for very long before our true selves come to the surface, especially when we face hardships and unexpected trials.

We passed images around of rusted cars and bad paint jobs because of the rust underneath. Then we spoke of the tedious process of removing rust from a vehicle. Rust can be sanded off using a sandblaster, buffed out, cut out of a vehicle, or even chemically neutralized. Even after the rust is taken care of however, there is still work that needs to be done before the car can be repainted. Fillers and compounds need to be used to fill in the body where the rust used to be. Then the spots must be sanded down or even gently banged into shape with a rubber mallet so they match the rest of the car. In severe cases of rust, new patches must be wielded in where the rust was removed or entire panels of the car actually replaced! Only after all of this is done can a car be repainted.

The article I found on killing and removing rust from a vehicle actually said, "The best way to ensure that rust won't return is to completely remove it from the car." How appropriate! Likewise, the best way to ensure that sin won't return is to completely remove it from the person through genuine repentance.

We talked about how simple this act is in comparison to removing rust from a car and how good our God is to have made it so easy for us. We also discussed how, though simple, it can still be a painful process as it requires broken hearts, torn down walls, and admitting we have sinned against our Savior.

Then we took the kids into the prayer room and gave them the opportunity to use the altars to get quiet before the Lord and search themselves for any unrepentant sins they may have. We gave them as much time as they needed.