Church Of Christ - Youth Group

Today we are looking at Romans 12:1-5 and seeing what kind of sacrifice God wants from us. Salvation is free, but it does require sacrifice. Take a look and see.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

If you were asked what part of the body symbolizes yourself, what would you say? The majority of the answers wouldn’t be an eyelash or a toenail. You would probably want to be the head, heart or leg. This is true when we talk about the members of the church. Many churchgoers believe that a pastor or a teacher is the best role you could play in the church, but the person who cleans the carpeting could be just as important.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” For example, let’s say Sarah carries out many tasks for the church each week, but Kara is only able to volunteer once every year. Who is more important in God’s eyes? The answer is found in these passages. Even though one person may possess more talents, this doesn’t mean that God looks upon him/her as better than someone else.

God says that we should join together and use each other’s talents in service to Him. Whether you are a Sarah with many talents or a Kara with only one talent, use your gifts to glorify your Savior today.

Points To Ponder: What types of activities have you done to benefit the church (remember it could be something little)? What would happen if half of your church’s congregations weren’t members? What are some gifts that you could share with people outside of the church?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for blessing you with many talented men and women in your church. Also ask Him to help you use your time and gifts to reach out to unbelievers. Ask God to use you as a way of getting other members to volunteer in church.

Today we are looking at Psalm 27 and we look at the idea of being scared. Below are verses 1-5, make sure you click the link and read the entire passage. . . please?

“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

Some of you know that I have two sons. The oldest is 3 and the youngest is 1. My oldest relies on his night light to keep him safe at night from whatever evils they might fear at night. A while back, the power went out right before he was to go to bed. This created quite a panic because he was convinced that the monster that lived under his bed was going to eat him. I sat them down in bed and told him that there weren’t any monsters and that I was here to protect him. I also reminded them that God was watching over him and He wouldn’t let anyone harm him.

In Psalm 27:1 it says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” God makes it clear to us that He is going to be with us and He will protect us from all the problems that we may face in our life. Our fears might be different than those of a child, but no mater what problems we face, God will take care of us.

Points To Ponder: What are you afraid of? Why? Where can you turn for help when you are afraid? How does God help to comfort you when you are afraid?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for those who don’t know God’s comfort that they will learn of it. Pray that those who are afraid will find comfort in Christ. Pray that God would strengthen your faith in Him as your Comforter and that you can show your faith by comforting those who are afraid. Thank God for His comfort that He extends to each of us.

We are looking at 1 Timothy 6:6-16 this morning.

I’m quoting the entire passage below because it is all important. If you want to click the link above and bookmark this passage that would be great!

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”

In December I was doing my Christmas shopping when I passed a toy store. At the window was a boy with his nose pressed to the glass. “Oh, I want the blue Power Ranger sooooo much,” he said. Later on I as shocked when I saw two teens my age begging their mom for a certain article of clothing. “Please, Please, I have to have it. I’ll just die without it. Everyone else has one…Please, Please…”

I wondered if these two girls knew that God has already given us all that we need and more. I Timothy 6:6-8, “But Godliness with contentment is great gain…But if we have food and clothing, we should be content with that…” Why do we constantly feel that God has deprived us of something? The Son of God had all the riches in the heavens and earth and ruled over them all, yet He came to earth to live a poor life. But He never complained about all the things that He didn’t have. He gladly bore the burden of sin and died on the cross for us so we might have all the riches of heaven. The next time you feel you absolutely “need” something that you want more than anything in the world; think of what Jesus died without: glory, fame, His reputation, and what He died with: OUR sin. Be content with what you have, and be glad that Jesus did away with the sin that was ours.

Points To Ponder: In the past month, name all the things that you “had” to have. Then think about why you needed them. Do you need them now?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for those who are less fortunate than you. Thank God for all the blessings that He has graciously given you.

What do you live for? Do you live for the moment of today and don’t care what happens tomorrow? Or do you spend so much time worrying about what will happen tomorrow that you miss out on life today? Read Colossians 3:1-11 as we start today.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

An “oldies” song I heard on the radio a couple of weeks ago has a refrain that goes something like this: “1, 2, 3, 4…Sha la la la la la, live for today…don’t worry about tomorrow, Hey! Live for today.” Aside from the silly lyrics, there is a main point made in this song—live for today. What does that mean exactly, to live for today? Actually, it has become the motto for many people in society today. Live for today’s fun, today’s money, today’s friendship, today’s party, and forget about tomorrow’s consequences. Skip the church service, skip the homework…it won’t be fun RIGHT NOW and it doesn’t matter. Why do today what you can put off for tomorrow, right?

But if we take a look at what God says, this attitude is exactly the opposite of what He expects. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In other words, our time of grace is a short one, but we shouldn’t throw it away as unimportant. Living for today may be fun while it lasts, but we should set our minds on God’s will. God gave us the time on this earth to learn of Him and to help others learn of Him. If other things start to get more important than God in your “live for today” life, maybe you’d better look back at what God has to say. He is not telling us to have no fun at all…He is simply reminding us of what is important.

Points To Ponder: Are you “living for today?” What are some ways you can set your mind on things above?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for help to set your priorities straight. Ask God for His help to set some friends straight who may be “living for today.”

Today we take a look at a single verse from Psalm 27:1 and see what keeps us safe, secure and grounded.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?“

Have you ever felt that everyone was out to get you? That all in one week everyone seemed to be mad at you? I’m sure it has happened to all of us at one point. Who did you turn to when you had these problems? Where did you get your strength to keep a smile on your face, and keep joy inside your heart?

The Lord will always be your guide, and will never let you down. You may have many trials in your life such as: death, disease, or even a broken heart, but always remember that the Lord is your light and He will bring joy into your heart. We just have to realize how good of a friend He is to us, and what He has already done for us.

In the Bible, light is often a symbol of joy and happiness. Here the Lord is our source of joy, and is called our light. The security is symbolized by calling God a stronghold under whose protection a believer is safe. No army of enemies is strong enough to deprive us of the joy and safety we have in the Lord’s presence. He will always be there for us, and will always be our best friend. We may still have some troubles in our life that still lurk around in the background, and our joy should always come to our rescue. The Lord is our rock and our fortress. He will never fail us.

Points To Ponder: What does God say He will always do for you in your times of need? Where do you get your strength and security from? Why should you always have joy and happiness in your heart?

Prayer Possibilities: Help me to realize the love and care you give to me each day. Let me remember that you are my best friend, and you will hold me up when I start to go down. Let your light shine in my heart.