Youth Service on Peace

Start with everyone in a circle around a lit candle. We also had lots of other lit candles scattered around the room. Otherwise the room is dark. Say:

There are different kinds of peace. There’s spiritual peace – meaning we are at peace with God. We’re believers – we’re reconciled. There’s emotional peace, which is an internal sense of well being and order. And relational peace – peace with other people.

Right before Jesus went to the cross, He said in John 14:27 “I leave behind with you peace. I give you my own peace and my gift is nothing like the peace of this world.”

It’s a gift. And it’s different. God’s peace allows us to be tranquil in the midst of trouble. In order to have this kind of peace we must obey His principles, found in the Bible. When we’re cheating on something or not getting along with someone we are not at peace at all. But, when we’re doing what’s right and know it, we can feel peaceful even when everything else is coming unglued. We need to be in harmony with God. We need to do what He tells us to do. Our life will run more smoothly if we live it according to God’s design as presented in His Word. It’s that simple.

Guilt is a peace destroyer. We need to accept that He’s forgiven our past. Only God can give us a clean conscience. In the book of Micah it says God delights in showing mercy. He is willing and waiting and likes to forgive. What we can do immediately in any stressful situation is take a deep breath, let it out and focus on God’s presence surrounding us. God says be still and know.

And then trust His purpose.

All of our questions won’t be answered in our lifetime, but God never says, “oops!” because He never makes a mistake. All He expects from us is to trust Him and acknowledge that He’s in control. If we do this He’ll direct our life. He’ll make our paths straight. The safest, most serene place to be is in the center of God’s will.

Ask the kids to close their eyes. (My husband started to play the piano softly as back ground music.) Say:

Peace does not necessarily mean a world without problems, pain, or imbalance. Peace is a state of being. While it may sometimes seem impossible, inner peace is possible despite the emotional influences from world events, media, negative people, and our own judgments. We can access this state when we cultivate peace from the inside, rather than looking for it externally.

Ask yourself, what does peace mean to me? Is it long stretches of quiet time, or just feeling less stressed? Is it a hike in the woods, a day by the ocean or perhaps time alone to enjoy a book or a movie? What would your daily life look like if it was peaceful? Think about this a minute - what does peace mean to me?

Pause

How am I inviting and embracing the wholeness and peace God intends

Pause

Peace comes with gratitude. Think about everything good in your life. Think about things you are grateful for and thank God for them.

Pause

We are called to be peacemakers. Sharing your love and your kindness is not always an easy task, but it is one of the most powerful ways to create peace. There is a great reward each time we greet another human being, or a situation, with love instead of anger, resentment, and fear. Think of ways you can spread peace this week. This Christmas season.

Pause

Now that you’ve come up with some ideas, commit to God that you will do this.

Closing Prayer:

(Girls read lightface type; guys read bold.)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console,
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Youth Worship Service on Patience

We’ve been doing worship services on the different Fruits of the Spirit and this months was Patience. Here’s what we came up with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46mrtRYMags
Hosanna – opening song – kind of loud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBew65zSPK4&feature=related
The Freedom We Know

This month’s fruit of the spirit is Patience. God will put us in situations that test our patience because that’s how we get more patience. This happens with interruptions, inconvenience, irritation and inactivity. (or waiting) If you think about it we’re really the most impatient when we’re being selfish, because that’s when things are getting in the way of “my needs, my goals, my schedule.” So if we want to develop patience we need to look at things through a different perspective.

We need to know that we are not in control of most things that happen. We need to know that we can’t keep all the traffic lights green as we drive up to them, or the people in front of us in the check out line from asking questions or paying for what they’re buying with 500 pennies that they have to count out – twice!

We have to remember that we are only human. And we need to remember that everyone else is only human too.

Patience is a mark of maturity. And maturity gives us the ability to wait and live with delayed gratification.

It helps to develop a sense of humor. Humor dissolves tension. If you can laugh at it you can live with it. And than to look at things from a loving perspective. Love is patient.

When people irritate us, when bad things happen to us, and we praise God thru it all, if it’s Satan trying to get at us, he’ll eventually give up when he realizes he can’t penetrate the wall of praise around our life.

But, you can’t say, “I’m going to be patient if it kills me.” It’s not will power. Patience is a form of faith. It says, “I trust God. I believe that God is bigger than this problem. And I believe that God has His hand in these irritations and can use them in my life for good. So I’m going to wait and watch and see what He does with this.”

Right now there is a lot going on in the world that is testing our patience.

Kids don’t feel it that much because we adults do try to shield you from that kind of stress. But, this election and the direction our country is taking in so many areas, the stock market and people losing their savings, people losing their jobs and homes. It’s a very tough time.

Faith helps us look at life from God’s point of view. It helps us ask, “God, what do you want me to learn from this?” Instead of, “Why did this happen?”

Some people think all this financial stuff going on is a huge wake up call from God about the way many of us spend money. There was a lot of greed involved in the whole situation. Not just the banks and Wall Street, but the individual people who wanted to live lives they couldn’t afford to. Keeping up with the Joneses is just another way of coveting your neighbor.

As far as the country and its many problems is concerned, we’ve turned our backs on God over and over again. For over 200 years we’ve been a blessed nation because we gave Him credit. We put His names on things. We’re not doing that anymore. We’ve put other gods before Him.

But, the Bible says in 2nd Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Noah had to wait 120 years for the promised rain to come. Abraham had to wait 100 years for a son. Moses waited 40 years in the desert and then another 40 years leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. Those are all long times to be patient! Look how long people waited for the Messiah to come. Look how long we’ve been waiting for Him to come back! The Bible is a book about waiting. Why? Because waiting demonstrates faith and faith pleases God.

The hardest kind of waiting comes when you’re in a hurry and God isn’t. It’s hard to be patient when you’re waiting for an answer to prayer, but it’s a test of faith. God’s timing is perfect. Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” He may not move on our schedule (and usually doesn’t) but He is always on time and He wants us to show we trust Him and are willing to wait on Him.

Prayer:
Lord, we are only a tiny part of this nation, but we cry out to You. Make us people who show our trust in You every single day. Please bless our country.
We pray that the election’s turn out is Your will and that good comes out of this financial crisis, but much more importantly we pray that we spend our lives and all of eternity praising You. As always we come to You through Your Son, Jesus, and it’s in His Holy name we pray. Amen.

Youth Worship Service for Senior Sunday

This is a youth worship service we did on Senior Sunday and I wanted an “advice” type message for the seniors that was still meaningful to every age present. It was also outdoors so had to be “low-tech”. I used information from The Purpose Driven Life, Christianity Today and also just my own studies.

My husband was holding up a frame picture that we had used crayons to draw an image of a person where half the face was a girl and the other half a boy. Under the glass was a picture of Jesus and John (my husband) was scraping small bits of crayon off as I shared the message slowly exposing the face of Jesus.

The message:

There are 2 things really important to God. First, more than anything, He wants His lost children back. That’s why He sent Jesus to earth. He wants His children, who He created and loves, to spend eternity with Him and as Christians it’s our job to help Him by spreading the Gospel. I get that.

The other thing that is really important to God is that we become like Christ. And according to 1st Corinthians by the time we stand in front of Him in heaven we will be like Jesus. When we die some of us will be only 10% like Him and others may be 90% like Him. But, He will make up the difference then.

Our goal in life is to keep moving in that direction and becoming more and more like Christ. What I wished I had learned earlier is – think about what Jesus was like. He was humble, compassionate, strong in His faith and determined to live out God’s will. What does it take to become like that?

Trials. Problems.. People who have been through a lot of health problems will have more compassion on others going through illness. People who have been lonely are often the first to reach out to other lonely people. People whose hearts have been broken tear up when they see other people hurt. People often have to get knocked down a bit to become humble. Some – more than a bit!

Romans 8: 28-29 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose..”

A lot of people misquote and misunderstand these 2 verses. It doesn’t say, “God causes everything to work in the way I want it to.” And it doesn’t say, “God causes everything to have a happy ending on earth.”

These verses were written to believers. Those who love the Lord. What is our good according to God? To become like Christ. What’s it going to take to become like Christ? Trials, problems, things that will test our faith, things that give us the opportunity to show other people how God and our faith can help us get through bad things without becoming bitter or giving up.

How do you know you have faith if it’s never tested?

There is a wonderful story called ‘The Refiner’ that is based on a verse, Malachi 3:3. “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” and also on Isaiah 48:10 which says, “Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver, I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.” God is the silversmith and we are the silver. The story goes, “I heard a silversmith talk about refining silver. He said, “I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace. The silver is too precious to risk losing. If the time necessary for refining were exceeded by the slightest degree, the silver will be injured. If I take it out of the furnace too early – it won’t be purified. When the silver is in the furnace I must focus on it and not let anything distract me, waiting for the exact moment to take it out. I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected there.”

That’s kind of a heavy thought. Being put through trials to become refined. And don’t take this wrong – most things that happen to us are because we live in a fallen world and it’s either our sin or someone else’s sin that cause our problems. But, you’ll learn when you study Job, that they are God-filtered. And He will use them for His purposes and His Glory. He will also give us the strength to get through them and come out better if we have the right attitude.

Some of us have a long way to go before we can be as humble, compassionate, loving and sacrificial as Christ. How many more problems will it take for us to be like Him? What’s it going to take in our lives to cause that?

The author of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, says, “We are like jewels, shaped with the hammer and chisel of adversity. If a jeweler’s hammer isn’t strong enough to chip out rough edges, God will use a sledgehammer. If we’re really stubborn He uses a jackhammer. He’ll use whatever it takes. The more difficult the problem, the greater the potential for building muscle and moral fiber.”

Paul wrote, “We know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character.” What happens outwardly in our lives isn’t as important as what happens inside us. Our circumstances are temporary, but our character will last forever.

Peter wrote, “These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold.”

And James wrote, “Under pressure, your faith life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.”

See? They all talked about it. So we’d know!

Since God intends us to be like Jesus, He will allow us to go through the same experiences Jesus went through. These include: loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection and a lot more. The Bible says, Jesus learned obedience through suffering. And that He was made perfect through suffering.

In order for us to come out like Christ from all these trials we have to respond as Jesus would. Some people do become bitter and good doesn’t come from it. In order to respond like Jesus would we have to remember that God’s plan is good. God knows what is best and He has our best interests at heart.

Joseph “got it” when he told his brothers who had sold him into slavery. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” In order for Joseph to become the Prime Minister of Egypt – God had to get him to Egypt! His brothers sold him as a slave to a group of Ishmaelites who (just happened?) to be on their way to Egypt!

It helps to remember what Hebrews 12:10b says, “But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God's holy best. At the time, discipline isn't much fun. It always feels like it's going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it's the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.”

The secret to endurance is to remember our pain is temporary, but our reward will be eternal. And we don’t ”just get through it without becoming bitter.” We are also told to give thanks in all circumstances. That’s in all circumstances, not for all circumstances.

We can thank God that He will use our problem to fulfill His purposes. And we can thank Him for His love. His wisdom. His power. His faithfulness. Etc. And we know God doesn’t leave us alone in our suffering even though it may feel like it sometimes. He is with us always. He said that and He doesn’t lie.

Like Jesus we must refuse to give up. We must be patient and persistent. Character building is a slow process. When we grasp the eternal consequences of our character development, we’ll pray fewer “comfort me” prayers and more “use this to make me more like You” prayers.

We know we are maturing when we begin to see the hand of God in the seemingly random circumstances of life. Instead of asking “Why me?” Ask, “What do You want me to learn?” Then trust God and keep on doing what’s right.

Even if you don't believe you can become more like Jesus, even if you can't see any way the old you will ever fade away, even if your friends don't believe this Christianity deal is anything more than a passing fad with you and that you will fail...Even if no one else believes in you...God does.In fact, He can already see you changing, already picture you becoming more like Jesus.

The Bible says"...those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..."He knows you can do it. And he's planning on your seeing it through - walking with Him, relying on His Holy Spirit to guide and direct your paths while he is working everything together for your good. See, the thing is - He's planning a BIG family reunion for His lost children.

Christianity is not for wimps! But, God’s love is everlasting and His patience endures forever. Ask Him for the power to do the right thing and then expect Him to provide it.

We then led the kids in the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and closed in prayer.

How to Walk Consistently with God

My husband and I did another youth service with the kids on Sunday. We took thick white candles (lit) and formed a large cross on the floor. Then we had the kids sit at the foot of the cross.

I started with a story, which I’ve printed in this blog before: http://teachingsundayschool.blogspot.com/2007/01/trust-and-obey.html

Then said, “How do we consistently walk with God so that at the end of our lives we’ve had the kind of life God envisioned for us?

First: we seek God above all else. Let’s join together singing the hymn, Seek Ye First, the Kingdom of God

(John played it on the piano/ words were on power point)

2nd: Know that God is always present. He is with each of us all the time.

Power point responsive reading:

Leader: In this place
In this moment
God is present

All: A mystery of love

Leader: Around us
Within us
Above us
Beneath us
God is present

All: A mystery of love


3rd: Know the Bible. Read it every day. Memorize it! Share your favorite verses

At this point, I had had all the kids write their favorite Bible verses down and we passed around a flashlight so each read theirs. (I’ll share the verses and each kid’s age in tomorrow’s post – the variety is pretty cool.)

And 4th: The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. To keep the channel to God open at all times, so that we can ask for His guidance and directions in everything we do all day long. So that even when we don’t understand why some things happen, we acknowledge that He’s in charge and has a plan.

Played the video song below on the big screen: Bow the Knee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9z6l1PxsFE

We ended with each kid picking up a candle and silently saying something to God, just from his or her heart to His and blowing out the candle.

Youth Service about how to treat others

We had a dartboard set up with a construction paper target taped up over the board. We told the kids to draw a picture of someone they disliked or made them angry. Each kid taped their picture up over the target and threw 3 darts at it. When everyone was done, we removed the paper target and underneath was a picture of Jesus, with many dart holes.

We had the kids sit down and then shared:
Matthew 25:40 says, "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'"

I once read, that whenever we judge someone or complain about him or her to another person we are working for the devil, because that's his job. The Bible calls him the accuser and he accuses humans to God all the time.

So anytime we blame, criticize or complain about God's family we are doing Satan's work. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to do anything that makes Satan happy and God sad. Plus it hurts us spiritually.

When we judge someone else 3 things instantly happen:

1. We lose fellowship with God
2. We expose our own pride and insecurity
3. We set ourselves up to be judged by God

God wants us to not only get along, but also love each other. The New Testament gives more attention to unity and love then heaven and hell. It's important to God.

Paul says in Romans 12:17 "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

The Bible also says in Proverbs 19:11, "A man's wisdom gives him patience: it is to his glory to overlook an offense." It's a sacrifice to patiently absorb the anger and mistreatment of others, especially if it's unfounded, but remember, that's exactly what Christ did for us.

He tells us in Ephesians 4:2 "Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love."

People aren't always going to agree about everything. We all think differently based on our personality and circumstances, so sometimes we have to agree to disagree and show the other person we love them and want a good relationship with them inspite of some of our differences. I like what Rick Warren the author of 'The Purpose Driven Life' wrote about this: "God expects unity not uniformity and we can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue."

Sometimes living this way: putting others first, always giving them the benefit of the doubt, being kind to them no matter what, helping people when no one's helping you, will cost your pride and often your self-centeredness. But, maybe people will see you doing it and then they'll start doing it and we'll all live in a nicer place! But, even if they don't - our goal is to please God not the world.

We can do this if we stay focused on what matters most: learning to love each other as Christ loves us.

John and I went to Lakeview Baptist Church several weeks ago to hear Gold City, a Southern Gospel group. They were great, but the best part was they had a preacher there from Puerto Rico who gave the sermon and he was on fire! He talked about how when we become Christians, and also in order to grow as a Christian, something has to die. We have to let it go. And we have to bury it.

Or we can't become what God wants us to be.

He said anything that makes us anxious, or fearful, or angry, or worried; we need to let it go. Being judgmental of others, being unkind toward others - are things we have to let die and then bury.

Gossip is another thing to let go of. Refuse to listen to gossip. We all know it's wrong to gossip, but we shouldn't even listen to it. This makes me think about how people complain about trash magazines and movies and sensationalized newspaper headlines, but keep on reading and buying, so those kinds of things keep getting produced and printed!

When someone starts gossiping to us, we shouldn't participate. We should have courage to stand against it.

Plus you know, people who gossip to you will gossip about you. So we should just stop it! Solomon wrote in Proverbs 21:20 "Fire goes out for lack of fuel and tensions disappear when gossip stops."

God wants us to love Him first, then everyone else. To do that we have to treat each other as children of God and remember that we are all made in His image.
"And whatever we do to the least of these, we do to Him."
Sometimes it's hard to do, but He is in all believers and He gives us the power:

Then we played this from You Tube on the big screen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N425kFh3xSI

Youth Worship Service

This is a service we put together for our youth this coming Sunday night. The narrator reads all of this from behind a curtain. The room is completely dark except for one candle in the middle of the room. The kids are lined up at the door, each with an unlit candle.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light"
Candles are often used in worship services to symbolize the presence of Jesus. Jesus said “I am the light of the world” and as you can see, He shines brightly in the darkness.
"In Him there is fullness of joy. There is no darkness at all"

Enter and light your candle from Him. Troy and Nancy will start passing the light. Stand in a tight circle around Him.

The Bible tells us "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden"

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?"

"The Lord is God and He has made His light shine upon us"

"Let us walk in the light of the Lord"

Jesus’ light offers us warmth and comfort. It provides us with light to see and a guide of where to walk.

Take a big step back if you have ever lied to your parents
Take a big step back if you laughed at some one and caused them pain
Take a big step back if you have cheated on your homework
Take a big step back if you didn’t do something your parent asked you to
Take a big step back if you ever had an unkind thought about someone
Take a big step back if you were ever selfish

Blow out your candle if you have every broken one of the Ten Commandments.

Focus on the remaining light, how it looks farther away, and how with your flames gone it’s harder to see. You no longer feel the warmth from the candle's flame.

If you have ever broken the golden rule and treated someone as you would not want to be treated then turn around and sit down.

Even though you can’t see the Christ candle anymore you know its there.
Remember how the light looked when you all had yours lit facing the center light. Sit and think about times when you’ve turned your back on Jesus and walked away from Him.

Play the Lifehouse song Everything

Stand up and turn around if you have ever said, "I'm sorry"

Take a baby step forward if you ever helped a friend
Take a baby step forward if you ever helped your parents
Take a baby step forward if you ever said I love you to someone you cared about
Take a baby step forward if you go to church most Sundays
Take a baby step forward if you ever prayed for someone
Take a baby step forward if you try to do what you are suppose to

OK, if you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to save you from your sins so that you might live with Him for eternity - come the rest of the way back to the candle.

No matter how far away we get from God He is always ready to take us back. WE may turn our backs and run away from Jesus, but he's always there ready to guide us home and give us warmth and comfort. But, no matter how many “good” things we do – that’s not what gets us there. We have to repent and acknowledge Jesus for who He is and accept His gift of eternal life.

Look at everyone in the circle and see how when we're all together we can help one another in our journey of faith and spread a lot of light out into the world.

Nancy and Troy, light your candles and pass the light around.

Play Go Light Your World by Kathy Triccoli

Pray: Lord, thank you for coming into our lives. Help us be lights that show others the way to You. Amen

Everyone can blow out his or her candles.