Church Of Christ - Youth Group

What would you spend your money on if you won the lottery? Take a look at Luke 12:13-21 and be careful about what you wish for.

“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

A man has just won the lottery and he is thinking about all the money he now has to spend on whatever his heart desires. This man is thinking, “Wow, things are going great in my life, why do I need God to take care of me?”

Luke 12:13-21 tells us to be aware when things seem to be going great because suddenly, your life may be taken from you. The Lord isn’t trying to scare us, but he is trying to make us realize that if we don’t see His will in our lives, we may lose our lives. Christians must understand that everything we have is a gift from God. God works everything for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) There is not one thing in this world that isn’t a part of the Lord’s perfect will.

The Lord will allow good to happen in our lives, but when we don’t praise Him for it, we may soon find things going bad. When we think we have done good for ourselves and not God doing good for us, we may soon have everything going wrong in our lives.

So, remember your Lord, the author of the good in your life.

Points To Ponder: Have things ever been going so good in your life that you have asked yourself, “Why do I need God?” If so, what caused you to think this way? When has the Lord sent something bad in your life to remind you who’s in charge? When have you gone out on your own and said, “I can take care of myself. I don’t need God to take care of me?”

Prayer Possibilities: Pray that the Lord never lets you disregard or forget His will in your life. Pray that when the Lord does send something to remind you of His power, that you can handle it. Pray that you are never caught unaware, and you always respect the Lord’s power until the day you are called home to heaven.

At Christmas time there is a lot of exchanging of gifts. Department stores and toy companies have managed to capitalize on this tradition. The meaning of gift giving has inevitably been lost. Take a look at Matthew 2:1-12 and see what is up with that.

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”

So, why do people give and receive presents at Christmas? Well, in our text, the story of the Magi bringing gifts to the baby Jesus can help us find the answer. Matthew 2:11 says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with Mary and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, and of incense and of myrrh.”

Jesus was God’s gift to the world. This little baby came to save us living under God’s Law, by dying on the tree and forgiving all our sins. When the Magi brought Him their gifts, they knew that they weren’t even good enough for Christ. When we give gifts, it is a response to God’s gift to us. With each present we should remember Jesus’ sacrifice and love for us. He died for us and carried the weight of the world on His shoulders.

Points To Ponder: Have you ever had the opportunity to share the real meaning of Christmas with anyone? How often do you thank God for sending His only Son to die for our sins? At Christmas, do you remember the real meaning of the season? Think about how you can celebrate this time and remember Christ’s birth at the same time.

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for help in remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Thank God for sending His one and only Son to die for us. Pray that God will help others to see what a great gift He has given to us all.

I have read in the Bible that we are to sing praises to God and “make a joyful noise.” God doesn’t care if we are on tune or if we sound like Canadian idol. Let’s take a look at Psalm 147 this morning and see what else God says about this.

“Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Ever since I can remember, I would wake up early Sunday morning and my whole family would hop in the car and go to church. To me that was just what we did, no questions about it. I remember sitting next to my dad and always being a little embarrassed because he would sing off key. Not until I got into 7th or 8th grade, did I realize what a blessing it was to have my dad sit there and sing praise to God. He was showing me how not to be afraid to let my faith show.

Psalm 147:7 says, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp.” This verse clearly states how we are to praise our Lord every day of our life. We are to let our light shine. There are so many situations each day where we have the chance to do this. It could be as simple as saying, “God Bless.”

We are to live our life showing our faith to everyone, not being afraid to let others know our life style. God will bless us all greatly. We just have to praise our Lord and let our light shine. A couple of Sundays ago, I was sitting next to my Dad once again at church and I could here him singing to one of my favorite Hymns and it brought tears to my eyes to see my Dad’s heart and love for God. It is because of my Dad that I am writing devo’s today.

Points To Ponder: How can we let our light shine? How does God help us to show our faith? What can we say to others to help them let their light shine?

Prayer Possibilities: Ask God to help us let our light shine. Ask God to give us the patience to let our faith grow. Ask God to help us show others the blessings God has given us.

I’m sure that there is many times that we think life is not fair. Let’s take a look and see what Habakkuk 1:1-3 and 2:1-4 says about this.

“The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. . . I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith.”

How come everything always has to happen to me?” Is this a question that frequently escapes from your lips? As teenagers, we face all kinds of burdens. Homework assignments, part-time jobs, and extra-curricular activities all keep us on our toes and without a moment to rest. Deadlines seem to pile up on us, and just when you think you can’t take any more, God throws you a curve ball which sends you reeling in every direction.

Everyone handles these situations differently. In every case, however, we are reminded to look to God for deliverance. Habakkuk was in a situation similar to ours and felt no one was listening to him. “How long must I call for help, but you do not listen?” (Hab. 1:2)

At times we may feel that God is not listening to us, but you must have faith that He hears our prayers. The Lord replied to Habakkuk, “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Even though life seems to spin out of control, God has promised that He will come again to relieve us from our despair. Until then, rejoice in the love of God, “for the righteous will live by His faith.”

Points To Ponder: What burdens do you feel you can’t deal with all of the time? What proof does God give us that assures us of His love? What should we, as Christians, do with this assurance?

Prayer Possibilities: Ask God to be with us during both smooth and rough times. Pray that we never doubt God’s mercy and love. Thank God for always being with us.

Have you ever been locked out? It kinda sucks doesn’t it. Take a look at Luke 23:35-43 today as we look at doors that are opened.

“The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Picture yourself late to your high school graduation and the door is locked. What do you do? There is not much you can do, but knock on the door until someone opens the door for you. After a few seconds, your principal opens the door and says, “Come in and graduate with your classmates.” This scenario is like that of Jesus opening the gates of heaven for us.

We all know that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins, but that is not the only reason Jesus died on the cross. Jesus also died so that the gates of heaven would be opened to believers. While Jesus was on the cross, one of the criminals asked Jesus if he could be with Him in heaven. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.” With these comforting words, when we “close our eyes” to this life, we will open them in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.

As Christians we know that when we “graduate” from this life, we will be in paradise with all the “graduates” of the Christian faith, because of Christ’s life and innocent suffering and death. Christians won’t have to stand outside a locked door.

Points To Ponder: Why should we as Christians, not be afraid of dying? How can you be the “principal” and “unlock the door” for others? How has Jesus “unlocked” the gates of heaven in your life?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank Jesus for dying on the cross. Ask God to help you get the courage to be the “principal” to others. Ask God to keep you in the faith until your “eyes close.”