We finished our 4 week series called “YouPick” this past week with the students. It was a blast! Students submitted questions about life, God, the Bible, relationships and more during the previous month. We jumped into four of the best questions for the month of August.
We answered some of these questions: How do I know the Bible/Christianity is true? Is Christianity a religion or relationship? What about dating and purity?
I learned so much through studying and stretching myself to understand God’s Word and how it applies to everyday life. Students are exciting to be around as they hunger for truth in this postmodern culture.
Here are a few notes from last night’s message:
Christian students experience pressures to trade purity for popularity. God’s plan for relationships is the only way to find lifetime fulfillment and peace.
1.Guard your heart - Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for out of it flows the wellspring of life”
- I shared an illustration on the “Leeches” of life. One of those are “obsessive love” that is built upon emotion and not on a commitment to life/purity.
Obsessive love - “perfect for me!”….“We are always happy!”…”I’ll never be happy unless we’re together forever!”
Pornography: It destroys God’s plan for a pure view of beauty. It destroys lives, marriages, and families. (Matthew 5:27,28, Mark 7:21-23).
Emotional Porn (fantasizing for false emotional fulfillment)
2. Guard your actions
What do I wear? 1Tim. 2:9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety…Does my clothes draw attention to my body or my eyes?
Love vs. Lust – Love is pure and patient. Lust only takes and is never satisfied.
God’s grace never quits giving and will restore and forgive past mistakes. The goal is to surrender to God all relationships and be sure that they are built upon loving Jesus.
The bottom line: Marriage is God’s ONLY provision for sexual fulfillment and it is worth the wait
There are so many choices that families have to make in today’s culture. With technology moving rapidly and all things becoming more accessible, what should be our response to these choices?
One of the biggest questions that I encourage students to ask in any situation is, “Is this the wise thing to do?”
Many times I get the question, “Josh…so what is wrong with this movie…?” Along with many other questions that arise. I could simply respond with my thoughts, background, preferences, etc. The simple response to this question, should be a question in return…pointed towards the heart. Leading students to make wise decisions must begin with them finding truth through asking the right questions.
Instead of, “What is wrong with it?” We should pursue this question, “What is right with it?”
I’m convinced that God is working in the lives of students. As leaders, we need to encourage them to pursue godly wisdom in life’s decisions.
Here are a few websites that me and Cassidy use often in our decision-making progress:
Plugged-in Online – Christian media reviews (I use this many times per week)
I really enjoy movies. They tell a story, draw you in and make you feel part of the movie. Media is one of the largest culture shapers today. It can lead to shaping someone’s beliefs, convictions and even lifestyle. For example, there were many reports of car races the night the “Fast and Furious” movie came out. Back in the day, after watching “The Mighty Ducks” me and my brothers were begging our parents to go pick up some roller blades and hockey sticks!
My younger brother, Justin has a passion to use media to reach people with Jesus. I just wanted to highlight his work on my blog for a couple reasons. First, he is my awesome brother and second, he does a great job in writing, filming, and editing videos. Growing up, we always wanted to video our boxing matches, bike racing, etc. Justin has taken it to another level and I look forward to God using him in a mighty way. Ultimately, that should be our goal as Christ-followers – to lead people to Jesus.
As technology progresses and the culture become increasingly mobile, we must stay current in knowing what students are facing. Students are facing temptations today more than ever.
Jim Burns (a respected youth worker) addresses some of the temptations students will face…on their cell phones.
I encourage parents to watch this video and have open communication with their students about the issue of purity.
I have been writing down my thoughts on ministry lately. I’ve been reading a few books more in depth now that I’m done with Liberty Seminary for this year. Here’s a few thoughts of mine from the book, “7 Practices of Effective Ministry” (by Andy Stanley).
Narrow the Focus
We need to focus on what makes student ministry powerful and not just good. Narrowing focus seems to make things limited, but the great strength of focus is freeing people up to do things with excellence.
What things in ministry are not benefiting the main purpose of the church?
Teach the Fundamentals
I believe that many sermons need less information communicated and more application of God’s Word in their life. In other words, it is asking the “Now what?” question for the listeners to respond too. Jesus always taught with illustrations, parables, stories, etc to drive home a point.
What fundamentals do students need to learn while they are in middle and high school?
I will be writing more on what I believe should be the basic truths students should learn and become in Middle/High school.
