Group 1 Crew - Let's Go
9/26/12

YouTube Video

What is a Christian? (expect= someone who believes in God/ Jesus, someone who goes to church, etc)

So you can tell a Christian because they act nice and go to church, right?  Not necessarily.  Some people go to church just so other people see them there.  They want people to think they are good. But, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car.

Being a Christian means that you believe Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness of your sins.

Trivia question: Who were the first people called Christians?

Acts 11:25-26

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

The people of this church in Antioch were the first to be called Christians.  It was also the start of the worldwide spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  After Jesus was crucified His message was originally shared with the Jews, but not the Gentiles.  It was shared sporadically with non-Jews before Antioch, but the emphasis was clearly on spreading the Good News to the Jews. 

Antioch would have been a major city at the time connecting Europe with Asia and it would have had a diverse population.  They would have been of different races, lifestyles, and even languages.  What they did have in common was a belief that Jesus Christ died for their sins. 

It can be hard for us to remember that we are saved not because of what we do, but what Jesus did.  In the Gospel of Luke (23:40-43) when Jesus is being crucified we are told about the two robbers that are crucified at the same time as Jesus.  One of them accepts Jesus while on the cross and Jesus tells him that the robber will be with Him in Paradise.  We don’t know a lot about this robber, but he does say that he deserves the punishment he is getting.  So it seems fair that we can make the assumption that he has lived a pretty bad life.  Yet when he decides to be a believer, he becomes a Heaven bound Christian.

So Jesus makes it clear that the requirement is accepting Him.  It appears that is all it takes.  Which is great news for us, but it can also be very difficult for us to deal with.  The great news is we don’t have a set list of things to accomplish.  We don’t have a big white board that is tallying our good deeds and our bad. 

So what is the bad news?  Jerry Sandusky is a member of a Methodist church in Pennsylvania and a believer in Jesus Christ.  He also is the monster in the recent Penn St scandal that included him doing disgusting things to young boys.  My human feelings say that this vile man should not be allowed into Heaven.  When I read the Bible it appears to me that he is allowed into Heaven when he dies.  That kind of pisses me off.  I don’t think I would be happy to see him standing at the pearly gates. 

So the bad news is that we may not be happy with who receives God’s forgiveness.  It doesn’t seem fair does it?  In all honesty though, we don’t want fair.  Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Has anyone in here not sinned before? (No) So that means we all deserve a death in Hell.  That is what fair would be.  Without Jesus we all deserve Hell, not just the non-believers and really bad and disgusting sinners.

So we should all be believers in Jesus Christ.  I believe this and I hope you are all at this point.  If you aren’t please don’t hesitate to ask the leaders questions about anything that is holding you back.

Accepting Jesus isn’t really what this song was about though.  The church in Antioch was the first to be called Christians, not because they were the first believers, but because they had a true desire to live like Jesus.  This is where the song “Let’s Go” comes into play.  Although we can receive God’s forgiveness at any time, none of us know when we are going to die.  So there is no better time than right now to start living a life more like Jesus, because each one of you can make a difference in the world.  There is someone out there who needs you to show them the love of Jesus.  The song said “the future’s what we make it so let’s go.”

Small group questions/think about on your own

1.       Do you live your life as an example of Jesus Christ?  Think about things you could improve on.

2.       Do you share with your friends that you are a Christian? Do you share what it means to you?

3.       What can we do as a group to help make the future better?

3/27/13 King of the Comebacks

Audio Adrenaline -King of the Comebacks

 This past Sunday started what we often call Holy week. So what is Holy week? Holy week starts with what is often known as Palm Sunday. If you were at church this week you would have seen the kids carrying the palms around the church. Do you know why we do that?

Matthew21:1-9

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”^[a]

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]

“Hosanna^[d] in the highest heaven!”

You can see that the palms are representing the branches that people cut down from the trees. We also sang Hosanna to go along with what the people were shouting.  This is one of the few places in the Bible where a large group accepts Jesus as the Son of God while he is still alive.  The irony of that large group is that a lot of those people praising him on Sunday had turned on him by Friday.

The next day that is historically celebrated is Maundy Thursday.  Thursday is the day that Jesus and the Disciples had “The Last Supper.” This started with Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples. Jesus knew that his time on Earth was close to an end but he wanted to continue teaching the Disciples. Why do you think Jesus washed the Disciples feet, a job that would typically be done by a servant? Jesus tells the Disciples in John 13:13-17

¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus made sure to emphasize this to the Disciples because he wanted to remind them to be humble.  He didn’t want them to start acting like the older religious leaders.

A lot of other things occurred during “The Last Supper” including Jesus predicting Judas’ betrayal and the first communion where Jesus said told them that His body was being broken for them.  So why do we call it Maundy Thursday? Maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means commandment. In John 13:34-35 Jesus gives this new commandment.

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

After they left the supper Jesus went to pray. During this time Judas returned with the crowd that was going to take Jesus. Jesus is arrested and taken to the High Priest. This would be the start to a very long day, Good Friday.

Good Friday is the day that Jews took Jesus to the governor to have him killed.  Pilate, the governor didn’t see any reason to kill him, but instead turned him back over to the Jews. The Jews shouted they wanted to crucify him. They didn’t just crucify him though, they basically tortured him, along with the Roman soldiers, all day long. After that they nailed him to the cross and waited there to watch him die. 

It seems strange that we would call this day “Good Friday.”  It sounds like an awful day to me, but you have to look a little further into it. Jesus was aware of what he was doing. Before Jesus, people were sacrificing animals, specifically lambs, trying to ask forgiveness for their sin.  Jesus took his place as The Perfect Lamb, to die for our sins. When we look at Good Friday we should view it as very good for us. This is the day that allows our sins to be forgiven by God. When Jesus took our sins to Hell he opened the connection between us and God.  For us to really understand that this day was “good” we have to know what happened on the following Sunday.

Easter Sunday is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. “The King of the Comebacks” proved that everything he told people was true when the stone was rolled away from the tomb and He was not inside. The tomb couldn’t hold him in. He was not governed by death, but instead had defeated it to return to Heaven. Easter is what lets us know that we have a Heaven to go to because of Jesus’ comeback from death and Hell.

Switchfoot - The War Inside

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGSpPN04jcE

Switchfoot-The War Inside

Do you have times where you argue with yourself?  You know what you should do, but maybe that isn’t what you want to do. Maybe you aren’t even sure which choice you should be making anymore.  It happens all the time.  Let’s hear how Paul explains it to the Romans.

Romans 7:14-25

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

It can definitely be a little confusing.  To greatly simplify Paul here, I think he is saying that we are all tempted by sin.  Sometimes we are so mislead by Satan that we don’t even know what is right anymore.  If we try to fight that temptation by ourselves we probably won’t win.  We end up with a war inside that confuses us too much.  The great news that we need to remember is that Jesus already defeated Satan.  When He died on the cross he took our sins to hell, battled Satan and won.  So we can overcome the temptations if we actually turn to Jesus for help. 

In one week we will have Ash Wednesday service, which marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is the period leading up to Easter.  You may know Lent as a time that people “give up” something that they like.  Almost every year I can remember someone (or a lot of people) saying that they were giving up chocolate for Lent.  My antagonistic response was usually something to the effect of “and how does that make you a better Christian?”  I don’t think the Bible tells us that chocolate is bad so the connection between chocolate and lent seemed a stretch. 

So why should we “give up” something we like during Lent? I’m going to answer that by asking another question.  Have you ever sinned? (Obviously yes) Is that sin forgiven? (Yes) Why is it forgiven? (Jesus’ pain and suffering and murder on the cross).  So if Jesus suffered so much pain for the forgiveness of your sin, the least you could do is suffer through a month or so without a candy bar. 

What if we take it a step further?  Let’s say on average you have a little chocolate 3 times a day.  What if, instead of just skipping the chocolate, you also took 2 minutes to pray?  Now you are paying respect to Jesus’ suffering by not feeding your chocolate temptation and you are spending time with God.  Do you think praying 3 more times a day could make a difference in your life?  Maybe it would help take care of some of the wars inside.

Questions:

1.    Have you ever given up anything for lent? If so, did it make a difference in your life?  Why or why not?

2.    What happens if you don’t make it all the way through Lent?  Do you have someone you can share your plan with to help make you more successful?

3.    How do you handle the battles going on inside your head?  Do you think you let Satan win sometimes?  How can you improve the odds of making the right choice?

Jamie Grace - You Lead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmSzL2ppvg

Jamie Grace- You Lead

God leads and you follow.  Is it easy to follow God in the world we live in? (No) Why not?

1.        We have a lot of distractions. Most of us are really busy.  You have school work, chores at home, sports, plays, speech, band, dance, work, and plenty of other things going on.  Obviously these aren’t all bad things.  They actually can be great things to be involved in, but there is no doubt that it takes away from time you could be spending with God.

2.      A lot of the stuff around us doesn’t exactly portray a Christ following lifestyle.  I turned on a local station and the first song playing is talking about getting drunk, doing drugs, and getting with all of the girls.  Turn on the TV at night and people are hooking up with someone different every episode.  No one respects anyone else or themselves.  Absolutely no one honors their mother and father by doing what they are supposed to.  That would be “un-cool.”

3.        Don’t even try to check out the news because that feels like it is always focused on people at their worst.  All day yesterday the sports talk shows were about Lance Armstrong “kind-of” admitting to cheating.  He took steroids, or something like it, in a sport that almost everyone else cheated.  He came back from testicular cancer to win 7 Tour de France titles, but he apparently made some unethical choices along the way.  At the same time, he created the Livestrong foundation that, according to their website, has raised over $470,000,000 to support cancer victims.  Now that he cheated a cycling, it apparently wipes out any good that may have come from Livestrong.  I think you could find thousands of people that have benefited greatly from Livestrong and would say great things about it and Lance, but that isn’t what sells news stories.  The local news isn’t much better.  It always seems to focus on death, scandals, and political bickering. 

4.    If you look around the world, we spend a lot of time trying to find people to lead us, but the qualifications seem to be lacking.  A significant number of our leaders also seem to not follow God, at least not in their daily decisions or actions.  If our leaders don’t follow God it tends to make it harder for us to follow Him. 

If we go back to Israel around 1050 BC there is only one king and his name is God.  God appointed judges to help lead the people but these judges were followers of God.  At around 1050 BC the people of Israel went to the judge, Samuel, and told him they wanted a king like everyone else had.  This made Samuel mad because he felt like the people were disrespecting him.  The Samuel prayed to God about what to do and God responded in 1 Samuel 8:7 “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”  Samuel warned the people in 1 Samuel 8:10-18 about how bad it would be if a king was appointed, but the people wanted it anyway.  Do you know the saying “be careful what you wish for?”  That saying fits perfectly here.  God gave them exactly what they wanted, a king who looked impressive.  Saul was an impressive young man a head taller than any of the other Israelites.  God selected Saul because he would have been like the kings of other nations, impressive looking.  He also had a bad temper and frequently disobeyed God. 

Overall, Saul turned out to be a less than perfect king.  This was the start of Israel’s roller coaster of kings.  Some of them, like David, were considered to be good kings.  More, like Jeroboam and Rehoboam, were marginal at best.  Even the good ones like David made some pretty big mistakes that upset God.  When the Israelites asked for a human king like other nations they appeared to have forgotten that humans make mistakes.  They could have stuck with God as king, but they thought they knew better.  They actually asked for the problems they had.

I don’t want to get in to a political debate.  Multiple polls have shown that the approval rating of our current and previous president was around 50% or lower.  The approval rating of Congress has typically been even lower than the President.  So I think it is safe to say that a lot of people don’t think we have selected good leaders.  So we need to make a choice to follow God’s lead.  Make the time to talk to God.  Tell Him “You lead and I will follow.”  Then you actually need to follow.  It doesn’t matter who our elected leaders are, the choice to follow God can only be yours.   

The Afters - Never going back to OK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TTVGt9dNuHU#!

1-9-13

Who here plays video games?  I’ve always played mostly sports games.  Does this sound familiar to you at all?  You’re playing NCAA Football and you pick your favorite team, the Hawkeyes (of course) and you are playing some poor team like Minnesota.  You know you are going to win easy so you are going to just run up the stats.  You throw the ball deep…it’s intercepted.  Okay, no big deal because you have plenty of time left.  You get the ball back, run it up the middle and BOOM, you fumble and the other team recovers.  Now you are starting to get a little angry because the game is cheating you.  Your down 2 TD’s now and you need to get some points fast so you go deep again and the intercept it again and return it for a TD.  Now you’re mad because the game is “cheating you.”  What usually happens next?  You hit the reset button.

Every year about this time a lot of people hit the reset button on some part of their life.  They call it a New Year’s Resolution. Do any of you have a resolution you are working on? The most common resolution usually involves working out and losing weight.  Think about the words from the song.  “I’m afraid,” “I feel alive and it hurts,” and “I’m never going back” all sound like the sayings of someone starting a work out plan.  Scared they aren’t going to be able to do it, knowing that it’s going to hurt after the workout, and planning to get in shape and make a “lifestyle” change.  I’ve just renamed their song The Resolution song.  I’m sure they are thrilled.

One resolution I am working on this year is a commitment to reading the Bible every day.  It’s a similar plan to what I had last year.  I did a better job of it last year than I did the year before, but I can still get better.  That is what I think of when I hear the song “Never Going Back to OK.”  Do you think resolutions are a good thing?  I think resolutions can be a great thing if we treat them like we are hitting a reset button.  Too often we get hung up on what we have done in the past.  We dwell on the mistakes that we have made.  We refuse to forgive ourselves.  We focus on the times we have failed in the past, possibly with last year’s resolution.  We can’t treat it like we are just re-trying something that we already failed at.  We have to hit the reset button and completely start over. 

Did you know that the idea of a reset button comes from the Bible?  When we get into the book of Genesis we start with the first family, Adam and Eve.  Adam & Eve had kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc, etc, etc.  When we get to Genesis 6 we learn that the Earth wasn’t a very great place anymore.  Of all the people living only one family is still worshipping God, the family of Noah.  God saw how corrupt the Earth had become and he was prepared to hit the reset button.  So he gave Noah a job to build an ark.  God gave Noah very specific details of how to build the ark, including the enormous size that was needed.  Do you remember how big the ark needed to be?  (450’ long, 75’ wide, and 45’ tall)No cranes or forklifts, just Noah and his sons, and the help of the animals if you have seen Evan Almighty.  If we were unsure of Noah’s faithfulness before, it would have been very clear after seeing the ark. 

After the ark was built God told him to get in with his family and bring 2 of every animal, a male and female.  Then God hit the reset button and flooded the Earth.  For 40 days and 40 nights the flood water came and stuck around for 150 days.  God wiped out all of the bad things and started over.  That is exactly what we talked about with the resolutions.  God could have just left things as they were.  Things weren’t perfect but God had still filled the world with living things. That had to feel somewhat impressive.  God didn’t want to settle for a world that was just ok though.  He also could have just turned off all living things in the world.  He could have decided that the whole game of life wasn’t going how He wanted it and hit the “power button” and turn off the lights.  God went the resolution route and decided to give man another shot to live life the right way.  You may want to argue that we are failing again, but that is where the challenge returns to us.  We have to live a life that strives for perfection in our relationship with God.  We can’t settle for just ok.  We need to make the resolution to grow in our faith and the Never go back to ok.  

12 Days of Christmas - Reliant K

12 Days of Christmas - Reliant K

How many of you could remember that entire song before we just listened to it?  I was never good at remembering all of the parts to the song, but I’ve gotten better since I picked up the Reliant K CD.  It is a lot catchier to me than the old version. Of course that has been the point of the last few weeks is to check out some new versions of classic songs.

One of the interesting things about the 12 Days of Christmas is that every year a group of accountants get together and determine how much it would cost to give someone the presents for each day of the song.  Have I told you before how cool accountants are, because we are awesome! So how much do you think it costs this year?  $107,300.  I’m guessing none of you are getting $107,300 spent on you this Christmas. 

I have 2 trivia questions for you.

1.       What do you think the most expensive item is?  (7 Swans swimming = $7,000)

2.       What do you think is the cheapest item? (8 maids milking = $58, minimum wage)

You may be asking yourself what the 12 Days of Christmas song has to do with Jesus Christ, the Bible, or youth group.  Well it is definitely not because I’m going to spend $107,300 buying you presents.  Do the 12 days have something to do with the Bible?  Probably not.  The song probably has very little to do with our faith….but what if it did?  Hugh McKellar, a Canadian teacher in 1979 wrote an article to “decode” the song.  This is what he came up with:

12 Drummers Drumming – The 12 points of the Apostles Creed.

1. I believe in God, the Father, almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

5. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

10. the forgiveness of sins,

11. the resurrection of the body,

12. and life everlasting.

Amen.

11 Pipers Piping – 11 faithful Apostles

Remember that there were 12 Disciples, but Judas betrayed Jesus.

Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, & Simon

10 Lords a leaping – 10 Commandments

The laws that Moses took from Mount Sinai

1.       Place no gods before God

2.       Do not make any carved image to worship

3.       Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.

4.       Keep the Sabbath day holy.

5.       Honor your father and mother.

6.       Do not murder.

7.       Do not commit adultery.

8.       Do not steal.

9.       Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10.   Don’t covet your neighbor’s possessions.

9 Ladies Dancing - 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit

According to Paul in Galatians 5 – Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

8 Maids a milking – 8 Beatitudes

From Matthew 5 – Blessed are:

the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:3)

those who mourn: for they will be comforted. (5:4)

the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (5:5)

they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be satisfied. (5:6)

the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. (5:7)

the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (5:8)

the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. (5:9)

those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (5:10)

7 Swans a swimming –7 gifts of the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 11 – Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude/Courage, Knowledge, Piety/Reverence, Fear of the Lord/Wonder and Awe, and Wisdom

6 Geese a laying – 6 days of creation

5 gold rings – the first 5 books of the Bible

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy – The teachings of God given to Moses

4 calling birds – the 4 Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

3 French Hens – 3 kings bearing gifts

2 turtle doves – 2 books of the Bible – Old and New Testament

1 partridge in a pear tree - Jesus

There you have it.  You can use the 12 Days of Christmas to represent 12 gifts that God gave to each of you.  Even though the song may not be Biblical, we can still use it to remember that God loves us and has given us a lot.  As we get closer to Christmas remember that the most important gift God gave us is the gift of his son, Jesus Christ.  Happy birthday Jesus!

Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday- Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley video

It’s that time of year again.  It’s the time where people take political correctness to extremes.  It happens at the mall.  It happens at the gas station.  It happens at school.  If you listen to people say goodbye over the next few weeks they now add something.  Happy holidays!  What holidays are they referring to though?  Is it Hanukkah, because that last for 8 days?  Is it Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since a lot of businesses close for both of them?  Maybe it’s New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day because we are celebrating the end of a year and the beginning of a new one.

Not too long ago people would be very clear about what holiday they were referring to.  Merry Christmas! Some people/songs took it a step further and said “We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”  I think when people started saying Happy Holidays that they were probably referencing Christmas and New Year.  It was probably an innocent attempt to add something to a goodbye.  However, in recent years it has been taken as a way to be politically correct.  Apparently it is now a symbol that you have “respect” for everyone’s views and opinions.  Now if we say happy holidays people can assume we are talking to them about whatever holiday they want.  Maybe I’m really excited about Trivia Day and National Bird Day, which take place on January 4^th and 5^th next month.  Maybe I’m still celebrating Thanksgiving.  Maybe I’m really excited for college football bowl season and I treat it like a holiday.  Someone might even think that I’m celebrating a holiday for the crime of trespassing.  Isn’t that what Santa does when he climbs down your chimney (kidding)?  Now we aren’t offending anyone.

Is that what the Bible tells us to do?  Did Jesus travel around speaking to groups and being extremely careful not to offend anyone?  This is not at all what Jesus did.  Jesus offended a lot of people because he went against a lot of the laws they had put in place.  Let’s look at Matthew 5:17-20:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus directly calls out the Pharisees for not being righteous enough to get into Heaven.  So who were the Pharisees?  They were a major religious group in Israel at the time of Jesus.  They were committed to obeying all of God’s commands and were often admired for their piety, or devotion.  Then why do you think Jesus would say people needed to be better than the Pharisees?  Although the Pharisees were focused on following the laws they often failed to understand that God also had a message of grace and mercy.  They may have followed the laws, but they failed to let God change their heart.  Also, even though they focused on following the laws, they often placed a greater importance on the laws they created than the laws God created.  This is an area that I still think is dangerous today.  We are so concerned about the laws and rules, whether written or based on political correctness, that we lose the message of Christmas.  Even in families and businesses that are still bold enough to say Merry Christmas, we often celebrate Christmas without including Jesus in it.  Christmas has become about having a day off of work, opening presents, giving presents to people who already bought the things they really wanted, and eating too much.  That doesn’t sound much like what we think Jesus was all about. 

I’m going to leave you with 2 challenges for the next two weeks.  First, I want you to say “Merry Christmas” to people because of the Great Commission.  In Matthew 28:18-20 we read:

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

If we are going to make Disciples of Christ we first have to be willing to talk about Him.

The second challenge is to watch the people around you, at school, at home, at the store, or anyplace else you go.  Do you see someone that has a real need that you could help with?  Remember, this doesn’t always include spending money.  It could be they just need someone to talk to or a hug.  Remember the love part of Christmas, because Jesus came because of God’s love.