Church Of Christ - Youth Group

Take and read through Galatians 4:4-7 this morning as we look at our Father’s Family.

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.  Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Jimmy was an only child.  His parents were leaving to go on their second honeymoon.  Jimmy was invited to his best friend’s house while they were gone.

Suddenly, however, his life would change.  A call came to the house where Jimmy was staying.  The news was not good.  His parents were killed in a sudden train derailment.  Jimmy had nowhere to go and no one to look after him.  Lucky for Jimmy, his best friend’s father was a caring man and invited Jimmy to stay.  Jimmy’s new father took care of him just as one of his own.  Jimmy really and truly felt welcome and did all he could for his new family.

Just as Jimmy was welcomed into his new family, we are welcomed into God’s special family.  God brought us in and made us comfortable by having us call Him “Abba.”  God is our “Father” and our family is the whole Christian Church.  Since He is our heavenly Father, He will guide and protect us and do all He can for us by answering our prayers.

Since our Father watches over us, we should do all we can for Him by going out and witnessing to others about our Family.

Points To Ponder:  What would you do if you had nowhere to go?  What are some blessings God gives you as your Father?  What can you do to please your earthly family?

Prayer Possibilities:  Pray for those who do not have things as easy as you.  Thank God for being your Father and watching over you.  Thank God that He gave you all of your blessings and remember to use them to their fullest.

Have you ever had anyone come up to you and give you something for nothing? Take a look and these verses today before you read on - Isaiah 52:13 - Isaiah 53:12. It’s a long passage, but take some time for God and read it anyway. I’ve only quoted a few verses below.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

One day after school, Bill was walking to his car and a strange man stopped him. The man said, “Here, I have two free Flames tickets.” Bill questioned the man as to why he was giving him the tickets and why he did not want them. The strange man simply told him that he was giving them away to make someone happy.

We are told in the reading from Isaiah that God has tremendous grace for us. We are told about the perfect life that Jesus led, and then the humiliating death he suffered for our sins. Jesus gave up exaltation in heaven, and came down to earth to suffer a painful death.

After hearing what Christ did for us all, we may wonder what we ever did to deserve such grace. The answer is simple - nothing! Everything God has done for us is absolutely free! It has to be, because God demands that we must be perfect to achieve the gift of heaven. It is pretty obvious that all people fall well short of his demands and we cannot do it by ourselves. So, faith is worked in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and we come to believe that Jesus is our Savior.

Once we have come to faith, we should thank and praise the Lord for all that He has done for us. Because He loves us, we should try to lead the perfect life He wants from us. When we fall short of that impossible goal, we should remember Jesus’ suffering, death, and the free gift of heaven which He has given us.

Points To Ponder: Why should we follow God’s commands if heaven has already been given to us? How can we ever thank God enough for His grace? Why do we find it hard to share His grace with others?

Prayer Possibilities: Confess just one sin Jesus took to the cross with Him. Ask God to help you follow His commands. Thank the Lord for everything He has done for you.

My birthday is coming soon, and my wife bought me a “gift card” for Sears.  I went and picked out a sweet Craftsman toolchest and am very excited for it to arrive.  Gifts are cool, but there is a gift that is way better.  Read through Romans 6:19-23 and see what I’m talking about.

I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.  When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.  What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Imagine that a number of houses in your neighborhood were broken into and robbed of their presents during the Christmas season.  Tom’s house has escaped any trouble to this point, but his heart sinks as he sees the flashing lights of police cars in his driveway.  A police officer tells Tom that the thief had been apprehended while attempting to break into Tom’s house.  The policeman gives Tom the option of pressing charges or letting the thief go.  If convicted, the charge carries a minimum five-year prison sentence.  Tom not only chose to let the thief go free, but proceeds to give him a Christmas present.

This whole scenario probably sounds unrealistic to you, but in reality, it has occurred to every one of us.  We are the miserable thief that was caught in sin and deserves extreme punishment.  Tom portrays God, who forgave our sin and even went so far as to give us an undeserved gift.  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We deserve nothing less than Hell because of the heinous crimes we commit against God each day.  Luckily, God lets us go free from punishment by forgiving all our sins through His Son, our substitute.  Through His grace, He also gave us the undeserved gift of heaven.

This next Christmas, if someone asks you to tell them what the best gift you got was, be sure to tell them that it is God’s gift of eternal life.

Points To Ponder: How are we able to receive God’s gift?  Is God’s gift just for us?  How can we share God’s gift with others?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God that He has given us such a precious gift.  Pray for those who have yet to receive the most important gift.

How many times do we take it upon ourselves to go out of our way to help others in need. Read through Luke 10:25-37 today and read about the Good Samaritan.

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.‘

One day Mike was walking home from school and he was upset that he had to listen to an atheist speech all day. He had to listen to it because he went to a public school, even though he was a believer. After he had been walking for awhile, he saw the speaker walking. Suddenly, the speaker was hit by a car and Mike watched the car drive off. Mike immediately forgot why he was angry with the speaker and ran to give him assistance.

Mike did the right thing. Even though we may be angry with someone or they may not like you, you should be willing to extend a helping hand whenever it is needed, whether friend or foe. Just because you have differences with others, that should not mean that if they are in danger or they are hurt you shouldn’t help them. They are our neighbors and you should love your neighbors as yourself, just like the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Only the Samaritan was willing to help the man from Jericho when they should have been enemies. Jesus told others to “Go and do likewise.”

Whenever you should see a person in need of help, lend a helping hand. Jesus did this when He died on the cross. We were His enemies because we sinned, but He was willing to suffer on the cross and die for us.

Points To Ponder: Who is someone in your life that you may be able to help now? How could you love your neighbor as yourself, even though he may be your enemy? When we do not feel like helping our neighbor, who should we go to for assistance?

Prayer Possibilities: Ask God to help us love our neighbor, whoever that is. Thank Him for the opportunity to help our neighbors and maybe bring them to the faith. Ask Him to give us more opportunities to love our neighbor.

I’ve been caught doing this before - not by the Police, but people have found me singing praise to God. Take a look at Philippians 4:4-7 as we begin. It’s goood.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Kelly was driving on I-94 singing to her Christian rock tape. All of a sudden she saw flashing lights in the rear view mirror. Kelly pulled over to the side of the road thinking she was making room for the police officer to pass. Much to her surprise, the car didn’t pass, but stopped behind her. As the office was approaching, she continued to sing praises to God.

“Excuse me, Miss, do you know how fast you were going?” the officer asked sternly.

“No, I don’t know. I am sorry! I was just singing, and I guess I must have sped up,” Kelly replied.

“Well, you were going 85 mph, which is 20 mph over the speed limit,” the officer said in disgust while handing her a ticket of $213. He concluded, “That is 6 points off your license. Have a nice day.” The officer left. Kelly put her tape back in and continued singing on her way home.

You are now thinking, “Yeah, right, that would never happen.” Well, you are probably right. Paul says to us in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Paul was in prison when he wrote this and he was still rejoicing, so why can’t we rejoice always?

Points To Ponder: How often do you rejoice in the Lord openly? Why aren’t we always rejoicing? How could you go about improving your life to rejoice always?

Prayer Possibilities: Ask God to help you rejoice more often. If you live in a religiously free country, thank God for being allowed to rejoice openly. Pray to God for guidance from the trials He sends us as Christians.