Righteous Rubbish

Philippians 3:8-9 - More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

Last week was testimony Wednesday and so tonight we picked up where we left off in Philippians with Pastor Mike.

After discussing Philippians 3:4-9 tonight, we discussed Paul and the attitude he had towards who he was and all he had accomplished.  Paul was a Jew, a member of Israel, a Hebrew, one of God's chosen people.  He was of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the only tribes that remained faithful in Judah...and Benjamin being the only son born in the Promised Land.  He was one of the most highly educated Jews of his time, with the equivalency of two Ph.D.'s by today's standards.  Paul was the highest and most honored of religious leaders, a Pharisee and he upheld the laws of his religion zealously.  He was legalistically righteous.

Still, none of this impressed God and it sure didn't gain Paul righteousness in God's eyes, let alone guarantee Paul's salvation.

We looked at my high school yearbook then and the individual lists of activities seniors participated in during their high school years....their "kudos" if you will.  We could quickly see that some were involved in almost everything and others in almost nothing.  It's human nature to assume that the elite students, the winners, were the students with the long lists of activities next to their names.  The losers were the students with one-item lists, like "Chess Club".

Then we talked about what it is that really makes our lives valuable.  Paul believed that no honor or activity is worth anything when compared to the privilege of having a relationship with Christ and serving Him.  We gave the kids each a piece of paper then and asked them to make a list of everything that they believed that defined them....daughter, violin player, soccer player, gamer, actor/actress, student, boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, honor roll student, good writer, good artist, photographer, etc...  Then we asked the kids to think about which of those things would matter when they stood before Christ someday to give an account for their lives and the way they lived them.  We asked them to cross out the other things, the things that gave them what Paul calls "confidence in the flesh".  At the bottom of their piece of paper, we asked them to write in all capital letters, "Child of the One True King".  We challenged the kids by reminding them that, how they see themselves now and what they are doing now, is a direct reflection of their priorities.  

Then we talked about what Paul called all of his accomplishments and previous life activities...how he now saw them in relation to knowing and serving Christ...as RUBBISH.  We showed the kids the picture at the top of this blog post.  It is a picture of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean.  It is hundreds of miles...nearly the size of Texas....of garbage.  It's an awesome representation of all of the things millions of people on this earth believe sets them apart, makes them special, gives them value, makes them righteous.  But in the end, when they stand before God, it's all just RUBBISH!  

We believe that our accomplishments and "good" qualities will earn us our righteousness before God someday...they will somehow impress him.  It's like Lt. Hopper in the movie Battleship.  In reality, he was jobless, a drunk, he had no car or apartment of his own, and he often lost his temper and got into trouble.  Still, he believed that he could impress a hungry girl at a bar who did not know him by acquiring a chicken burrito for her when the kitchen at the bar was closed.  he was trying to earn favor in her eyes, the way many of us try to earn favor in God's eyes.  The things Lt. Hopper goes through to get the girl this burrito are absurd!  In the end, he ends up being tazed by the police, looking pathetic in front of the girl he was trying to impress, gets arrested, and shames his brother who is witnessing his stupidity nearby.  

If we take our list of accomplishments, activities, and achievements with us to pridefully boast before God someday in hopes of earning our righteousness, the righteousness that only He can provide, the way we will end up is far worse than even Lt. Hopper did....eternally lost.

Oh Joy!!!!

 

After discussing Philippians 2:19-3:3, we focused on the joy Paul urges the Philippians to have.  First, we looked at some other Scriptures about joy.

Psalm 5:11
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 19:8a
Psalm 21:6
Psalm 28:7
Psalm 66:1
Psalm 67:4
Psalm 68:3
Psalm 71:23
Psalm 126:3
Proverbs 29:6
Isaiah 12:3
Luke 2:10
John 15:11
John 17:13
Romans 15:13
Galatians 5:22
Hebrews 1:9
James 1:2
Nehemiah 8:10

We started out by showing the kids a cute YouTube called Snap Your Joy about a company that set up a camera to capture the joy on people's faces when they knew they were being photographed.  Very cute.  We also talked about some things that typically bring us joy.

Next we took two balloon "friends", Mr. Hothead and Mr. Level-Headed and talked about their joy.  Mr. Hothead had evident joy on his face, but when held over the open flame of a candle, which represented troubles and problems, his lack of inner joy was soon evident...as he exploded into bits all over the place!  We talked about how that is a good representation of our reactions to trials sometimes as well.  Mr. Hothead's fellow balloon man, Mr. Level-Headed had the same look of joy of his face, but quite a different reaction to the troubles that soon plagued him.  When held over the open flame....nothing!  The smile remained, no eruptions or angry outbursts.  What was the difference between Mr. Level-Headed and Mr. Hothead?  Mr. Level-Headed was filled with some water, which represented being filled with God's Holy Spirit.  When we are filled with that same Holy Spirit, we also are capable of responding to troubles and problems with calm...and even with joy!

Next, we took a 1 cm in diameter and 6" long copper tube to teach the kids how Jesus bears the heat of our troubles and problems so we don't have to stress over them and can still live in joy regardless of our circumstances.  We showed the kids how a regular piece of paper, when held to a candle flame, will burn and disintegrate.  This is usually a picture of how we handle difficult circumstances.  We get angry, lose our cool, shrivel up and retreat, burn out, etc...  Next, we wrapped an exact replica of that piece of paper around the copper tube and held it into the flame as well.  Guess what?  The paper never burned!  Why?  Because we had ourselves wrapped around the truths of God and His promises.  The lesson?  When we are on our own over the fire, we are toast!  We can't take the heat....not and remain joyful!  But when our lives are wrapped tightly around God...through prayer, fellowship with Him, and His Word...He takes the heat for us.  God helps us deal with the difficult times in life and maintain our constant joy by taking the heat off of us.

And why is it so important to remain joyful?  Matthew Henry said, "The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks."  Think of fish.  When they are full of the joy of being fish, living in the lake or pond or ocean...wherever they live, they are content with what they have there...krill, fish, algae, whatever they eat.  When they are not happy with their surroundings and their dinner choices, they can be easily tempted by some colorful lure with a big fat yummy worm on the end of it...a lure that will literally lure them to their demise!

For us as Christians, when we are so full of the joy of the Lord we could just burst, we will have no desire to be tempted by anything the enemy dangles in front of us....for two reasons.  First, we're full of the joy of the Lord, nothing is lacking....there are no empty spaces to fill up with anything else.  Second, the joy of the Lord gives us a desire to praise God and give Him some of that joy back.  Falling into sinful temptations will only grieve the Lord and consequently, rob us of our joy.

So, "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say rejoice!"

Without Grumbling or Arguing

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation".  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.  Philippians 2:14-16

Tonight, after discussing the Scripture passages taught by Pastor Mike on Sunday, we focused on a few that we could all use a lesson in....Philippians 2:14-16.  To give the kids a visual, we did a little science experiment most of them were already familiar with.

We began with a pitcher full of "joy" (water actually).  We exampled to the kids what happens to their joy and the joy of those around them every time they complain or argue by asking them to name some common things they complain about and then pouring a little of the "joy" down the sink with each complaint.  They quickly discovered how joyless their lives and the lives of those around them can become with much complaining and arguing.

Next, I showed the kids a clear drinking glass that represents their lives.  When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in us by His Spirit.  I poured water into the glass to represent the fact that God's forgiveness has washed away our sins and their punishment and we now have new life.

I had a cup labeled "Problems and Troubles" and filled with vinegar.  Vinegar is an acetic acid.  It's a weak acid that can be eaten and does not harm your body, but it does add a sour taste to your food.  Just because we've received Jesus doesn't mean that we'll no longer have problems.  Yet even though vinegar has a sour taste, it can add a good flavor to food.  God uses problems and trouble in our lives to teach us to rely on Him so He gets our praise.  When problems come, we may feel like complaining and arguing.  I poured the vinegar into the glass of water.  These bad attitudes and feelings can not only rob us of our joy, but they can ruin our testimony to the outside world watching our reactions to those problems and troubles.  

There are things we can do to combat those bad attitudes and feelings.  I poured a cup with some water in it named "Pray" into the glass next.  When problems come, one of the first things we can do is pray.  We can tell God how we feel and thank Him that He's right there beside us as we work through this problem or go through this trouble.  Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

Next, we have to trust and believe that God will give us a solution to our problem or get us through our troubles.  I poured another cup of water named "Believe" into the glass then.  Jesus said, "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith" (Matthew 21:22).  Having faith means to believe, to have confidence that God will do what He says.

You have just talked to God.  Now it's time to listen for God to talk to you.  I poured another cup of water that had "Bible" written on it into the glass.  Spend time reading God's Word and allow Him to speak to you.  The book of Psalms has a lot to say about praising God during troubles.  Psalm 56:2-4 says, "my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.  When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.  In God, whose Word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can flesh do to me?"

When you pray, believe, and read the Bible, God's Spirit living in you will begin to change your thoughts and attitudes about the trouble or problem you are facing.  Through His Spirit, God will give you His joy and strength to handle problems.  Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."  

Next, I poured a cup of baking soda marked "Holy Spirit" into our glass.  When God's Spirit is controlling your thoughts and attitudes, then the fruit of joy will overflow in your life and consequently, into the lives of those around you.  Your witness will be like "shining stars in a warped and crooked generation".

We ended tonight's lesson with an inspirational video clip from Nick Vujicic, who is a Christian motivational speaker to youth around the world.  Some of our kids actually saw him speak at Acquire the Fire a few years back.  Let's just say it put the things they complain about on a daily basis into perspective!

Let your light so shine!!

New Years' Lock-In!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Gang

ERS

Wii

Watching Fireworks

GaGa Ball

PVC Pipes Filled with Ice Cream!!

Chow Time

We had the best time....no plans, no lessons....just FUN and FELLOWSHIP!  We tried combining the STOMP and ZG youth groups this year for one huge lock-in and it was a gigantic SUCCESS!  So much so that we'll definitely be doing it again.  TPCC has the best kids EVER!!!!!!!!!!

33 kids total were at the lock-in.  We had Wii set up, card games and board games, movies playing, a glow-in-the-dark four square room with black lights, Mr. Jason set off fireworks, Wes brought 2-foot long sparklers, we played GaGa ball, Murder in the Mansion, Sardines, Big Booty, had an ice cream eating contest....on top of mounds of other yummy food, and just had the very best time hanging out.

So, so, so proud of ALL of the kids.  They did AMAZING with each other.