Church Of Christ - Youth Group

Romans 12:9-21 is a great piece from the Bible. It is worth reading every week as a reminder of how we ought to live and act. Head on over and read the entire passage, as I’ve quoted only a few verses below.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.  Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.  Do not be conceited.”

There was a girl who was very mean to everyone. She would rant on others’ hair, clothes, life, jobs—anything and everything. No one understood why she was doing this, so they just kept all their hurt feelings bottled up inside. After a while, they were sick and tired of putting up with her, so they decided to play a prank on her to teach her a lesson. She did end up learning her lesson, but they got in trouble. After it all happened, they found out that this girl had some major family problems, and that’s why she acted the way she did. That’s no excuse for her behavior, but the situation should have been dealt with differently.

As Christians, we should not want to get back at others for things they have done. It might be a hard thing to do, but we are to live from Christ’s example. You need to analyze the situation, and consider what Jesus would do in the same situation. The best thing to do in this situation is to approach this girl and inform her that she is hurting you. Maybe she’ll stop. If not, that’s a sign that she needs some serious help. Right there is your chance to be like Christ, and help her out. It may be tough, but we need to be understanding and patient with them and look to God for guidance.

Points To Ponder: How would you handle the situation? What would you do to pay for damages the prank caused? Would it be easy to forgive and forget? Do you think you could be a good Christian friend to her?

Prayer Possibilities: Pray for patience, tolerance and understanding.

Even though it’s a longer passage, please click the link and read Luke 5:1-11 today. I’ll quote a few verses below, but if you want “The Rest of the Story” as Paul Harvey says, click the link.

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Our text talks about Jesus and the disciples’ fishing trip where the boat overflows with fish.

Think about all of the things that you have at home. Think about all of the luxuries that you have, but just let sit around. What about all of the things that you really do need, but just take for granted? All of your expensive jewelry, your warm comfortable bed, even your refrigerator just sits there with you never even giving it a second thought.

I am not trying to make all of you feel guilty; I’m just trying to prove a point: Why does God give us so much in life? We take for granted the fact that God provides us with all of the things that we need, our staples in life. He gives and keeps on giving us food, water, shelter, and warmth. God goes much farther than that, by giving us those things that we don’t necessarily need in life: expensive jewelry, hi-tech computers, fast cooking microwaves, iPods, DVD’s and camcorders (just to name a few).

God’s love is just the same way. It goes much farther than someone simply saying to you, “Oh, I love you.” God loves us so much more than that. He loved us so much that He gave up His one and only son for us on the cross.

God will provide for us!

Points To Ponder: What has God given me that I really do not need? How can I show God that I am thankful for all the things that He has provided me?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for all the things that He has provided for us whether we need it or not. Pray that God keeps on providing for us even though some times it may seem that we are not too thankful.

Today I want to challenge you to be what you promised God - a Christian. So many times we act like everyone else - except at Church where we put on a nice smile. Let’s live like God wants us to. Read Romans 12:9-21 as we start this morning. Please click the link and read the entire passage, only verses 9-13 are quoted below.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

On a cold day in the middle of January, there was a little boy named Jason. Jason was about 4 years old. Jason and his family lived upstairs from his grandmother. His grandmother wasn’t a very kind person—in fact, she was rather mean.

Never the less, Jason was going to visit her to show her a picture he had just drawn of her. Jason was in such a hurry, he ran out the door without his jacket. He ran to her back door and was yelling, “Grandmother, it’s me, Jason.” However, she did nothing and walked into the next room and turned up the TV.

The next door neighbor was just coming out from the garage and saw Jason out in the cold and brought him inside. The love from the neighbor helped Jason back home to the warmth and safety of his family.

Points To Ponder: How can you help people open their hearts and show the love they need? As you reread the text, note how you have fulfilled each verse, or could have.

Prayer Possibilities:

Ask for patience and understanding. Pray for __________ who doesn’t seem to be living the Christian life.

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 10:13 this morning. I know this may be familiar to some of you, but it’s a good reminder.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Finally, a weekend without restrictions. It was what Tony had been waiting about two weeks for. It was the same every time he went up north to spend the weekend at his friend’s house. They ended up spending every Saturday night trying to find a party or a buyer. However, after that killer hangover last time, he wasn’t really sure where he wanted to be. That was why he was glad that Karla was going to be there tonight. Karla had made an oath for a peer listening group at school and had made good to that commitment. He was sure that having at least one person there who was going to be sober would help him resist the temptation of alcohol himself.

It was only after many aspirin and hours of sleep the next day that he realized that he was going to have to rely on more than the actions of others around him if he didn’t want to be snared by alcohol’s delusions. In I Corinthians 10:13, God tells us that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Temptations like this are very common for man today. I’m sure that you yourself have experienced something similar to Tony’s situation at some time or will soon in the future. And what will you do? Resist or submit? It is certainly one thing to say that you won’t fall, but completely different when it actually occurs.

Tony really had no one to blame for his actions but himself. If he would have only listened more carefully to these words he would have seen that Karla was more or less what God was talking about when He said, “…he will also provide a way out so that you can stand under it.” But God created him with the freedom to make his own decisions and if he would have outstretched his hand to God, he may have been able to follow Karla’s abstinence as easily as he had at first thought he would be able to.

Points To Ponder: How could Tony have avoided this situation? Was it wrong for Tony to think that Karla would help him retain sobriety? Give examples of how God provides “outs” for the temptations in our lives?

Prayer Possibilities: Begin each day asking for God’s help in turning down the temptations we’re faced with in our everyday life.

Often times in people’s lives, when things go wrong, they look to place the blame somewhere. Let’s take a look at Job 42:1-6 and see who Job blamed.

“Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Sometimes, people blame God. They might ask, “God, how could you do this to me? I thought that you loved me, but now I just don’t know.” Then they might sulk and complain about things that are beyond their control, as if it will change things. They despair of hope—seeing nothing good to come. This is what leads some to suicide; they see that they have nothing left to live for, and may as well just die.

However, human beings, like you and me, lack both the knowledge and the foresight to see what will happen in the future. How can we know that things won’t turn around for us, even tomorrow? Like Job in his sorrows and sicknesses or a man in a dark pit, all we can see is the darkness of our present situation.

God has, however, given us His promise many times that all will turn out for our good; that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

God’s plans for each of our lives are too complex by far for us to grasp. Only He knows exactly how the pieces of our lives will fit together to form the masterpiece that He has designed.

Therefore, we should place our lives in faith into God’s loving and merciful hands; forgetting our troubles, and trusting in Him to lead us through our lives on His path.

Points To Ponder: What is my knowledge compared to God’s? Will God’s good plans always win through? What will God’s plans lead me to do?

Prayer Possibilities: Thank God for the faith that trusts Him today. Pray for strength to handle the trials that come your way, and the faith to trust in God’s plan.