Posted on March 7, 2010 at sometime around 11:57 pm
The following was a bulletin insert for the young people at Calvary Assembly on the topic of complaining. It is filed under the Creative Commons license, meaning you can take it, use it, and remix it. Just give me a thanks if you do.
…A Word from Jonathan
There is nothing better in the morning than taking a nice, long, hot shower. This morning, I woke up frustrated, as the water for my shower was cold. Not freezing cold, but cold enough to make me uncomfortable. I don’t know if it was because it was a colder night and the pipes were cold, or what the problem was, but it was an unpleasant way to start my day.
I wanted to call my landlord and tell him to get it fixed, but it seemed a bit too soon. Yes, I do pay my rent and heating bill on time every month, and I had a whole host of reasons as to why I should have hot water every morning.
As I was standing in the cold shower, attempting to wash myself quicker than normal, I thought back to the verse found in Philippians 2:14 that says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” To me, this seems like a ridiculous standard. Really? Everything without complaining? Think of the irony - I’m actually complaining about this being too high of a standard!
Then I thought about putting my complaint into perspective. According to a recent health care statistic, over 884 million people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water. For us, we can drink the water we bathe in. Others can’t even find safe water to drink! To think how insanely blessed we are can go a long way in helping to stop our useless complaining.
Maybe you complain about school because your teacher is treating you unfairly or you feel you are receiving too much homework. But if you flip your perspective, you can be thankful that you are getting a solid education that will provide you a variety of opportunities for your future. Maybe you complain because your parents seem like ridiculous human beings. Next time it seems this way, think of how many times you have acted irrationally and maybe this can help allow you to give some grace to your parents.
As for me, I think I’ll go downstairs and turn the water heater up a notch and leave my landlord out of it. Complaining without first trying to help the solution on our own usually doesn’t help anyone.
Posted on March 4, 2010 at sometime around 5:29 pm
“Something is wrong with me. I am stained because of my past mistakes. I am not able to be repaired. I am gross. I am a sinner.”
I have a friend who had sex before she was married. She made a bad choice one night that completely rocked her life. Because she had heard her whole life that this was a sin unlike any other, she could not forgive herself, no matter what she tried. In fact, it changed everything about her being. Whenever she was interacting with other people, she always felt like she was being judged. She began to think that everyone else around her was being fake, even when they weren’t. She felt insecure anytime her boyfriend would go and talk to any other woman. She was becoming a person completely different from the joyous person she had once been.
The mistake she made one night consumed her.
Her guilt was turning her into a completely different person.
You see, any guilt beyond whatever brings us to free repentance is a false guilt that usually leads to us feeling worthless.
Completely worthless.
And this is more of a hindrance to us being a light in the world than the actual wrongdoings in our past.
Because when our conviction is taken too far, it turns to guilt. God’s love is not dependent on how good we are, how bright we are, how caring we are, or even how well we love. God loves us because we are.
Last week at our youth gathering, we made a dance video that we showed in church. The young people had a great time filming it and we had a phenomenal service. When we first started filming the video, I announced, “Anyone who wants to dance, go ahead out on the dance floor and show us what you got”.
As expected, no one moved.
But I prompted them and got a couple kids to do it. Then, a couple more kids. Soon enough, everyone wanted to jump in and we had a great time, as well as a great video (coming soon).
The way we can conquer guilt is much the same way. Do you realize the freedom we have in Christ? Christianity is not just a set of restrictions and a “do” and “do not” list. What is more important to God is not our perfection, as if that were possible, but our understanding that the world rests on God’s shoulders and that God loves us despite our many flaws.
There is an old hymn I recently introduced at our church called “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”. The modified lyrics say:
Behold the man upon the cross
My guilt upon his shoulders
It was my sin that held him there
His dying breath has brought me life
God took up our shame and our guilt with one fellow swoop with His Son. Jesus came and died for all, that we might have life forever with him and freedom from guilt and bondage to sin (Romans 6:10).
The Bible says:
Nothing can separate us from God’s love–not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Nothing can separate us from God’s love for us.
Nothing.
And that is why I pose this question: “How Big Is Your Dance Floor?” Because God wants you to experience freedom. He wants your dance floor to be huge!
Stop beating yourself up for past sin. God doesn’t want you to live that way. There is freedom in Jesus.
Dance.
For further exploration, watch this great story from Rob Bell:
This was one half of my discussion with our young people last night, with the other half dealing with conviction. The notes can be downloaded for free here. All my writings are written under the Creative Commons license, so feel free to re-make them yourself. Just leave me a shout out below if you do.
We also listened to the following song for a quiet reflection at the end of the teaching. It may behoove you to do the same.
Posted on February 9, 2010 at sometime around 5:14 pm
“I have come, that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Jesus says this, as recorded in John 10:10, and he meant it. God does not want us to live in fear, but to enjoy life. Each day is a gift from him - so go out and experience it! As Donald Miller’s life mantra seems to be - live a life that is worthy of a story being written about.
Do exciting things.
“Live a little.”
Laugh a lot.
Paul writes in Romans 8, that we are more than conquerors, through God who loved us. Be thankful for life.
Help others.
Live simply.
Don’t waste your time, but use it to push others towards the Light.
Posted on February 2, 2010 at sometime around 5:04 pm
Here is a quote that Pete posted for all of us who have been hurt by the church from Henry Nouwen:
“When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, “I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,” we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too.
The challenge is to forgive the Church.
This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.
It is important to think about the Church not as “over there” but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.”
The yearly subscription is $15 and is worth it on its own, but now that half of that goes to Haiti, it is an offer you can’t pass up on. It’s also a great gift idea for anyone who is interested in some incredible writing on current issues, exploring how we as Christians can play a role in shaping God’s story.
Also, if you would like to buy an album, iTunes released “Hope For Haiti” for $7.99, of which 100% of the proceeds go towards Haiti relief. Jay-Z, DMB, Stevie Wonder, and Beyonce have nice performances on the CD, despite it being a more b-ranking album in my opinion. Either way, even if it’s not the best of songs, it still goes towards rebuilding.
