Youth Blog: 2005

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Christmas Quiz from Santalady.com

TNF - Lesson Notes December 8, 2005

Thursday Night Fellowship

December 7, 2005

Christmas Hymns

Order

Snack/Fellowship
Games
Singing
Lesson
Singing

Introductory Questions

What is your favorite Christmas song?
What is a Christmas tradition in your family?
Why or what do unbelievers celebrate at Christmas?

The message of Christmas is amazing both really clear and really skewed in our culture. We have Christmas parades, Christmas caroling, Christmas cookies, Christmas parties. Many secular artists sing the traditional Christmas hymns without even editing out some of the words that are politically incorrect and downright intolerant. How can our culture be so immersed in this most celebrated holidy and yet miss the Christ of Christmas? Busyness, shopping, focused on giving or receiving gifts. Who knows?

The point is that we don't want to miss Christmas. We want to celebrate the baby who was born, and celebrate the man that he became who died on the cross for us. This man was God in the flesh. What's the best way to remind us of the reason for the season? It's not family or snowmen or turkey dinners. I think one way is to sing Christmas songs and to understand what they mean.

Let's look at the two we sang tonight.

Turn back to hymn 214, Angels We Have Heard on High.

Let's look through the lyrics together to see what they mean and some of the scriptures they come from.

Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains.

Who heard the angels? The shepherds is the answer given to us in verse 2.

What were they singing? Gloria in excelsis deo. (Can angels speak Latin?) I wonder what that would sound like in Hebrew? Literally “glory to excellent God”

Were the mountains singing too? No, just echoing. Praise the Lord!

Shepherds why this jubilee? What's a jubilee? A celebration.

What are you shepherds talking about? Why are you so excited? Well that is verse 3, but it comes from Luke 2:8-15. Let's read that together.

Come to Bethlehem and see? Who's speaking now?

Whoever this is must be pretty important. I don't recall hearing any angels singing when Simon was born.

Why would shepherds bend their knee to a baby in a feeding trough?

What was harder to believe? The Messiah had finally come, or there's a baby wrapped in clothes lying in a manger?

Because the shepherds saw the one part they believed the other.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Jesus means savior.

How long has he been expected? The plan was in place since the foundation of the world, but more specifically Genesis 3:15 at the fall. Let's read that together.

Here's some other scriptures on the coming of Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14 – promised a birth of a son named Emmanuel to a virgin. That doesn't happen too often, only once in fact.
Isaiah 9:6-7 – who would you be expecting?
Micah 5:2 – O little town of bethlehem
Luke 2:25-35 – Simeon announces Jesus as Israel's consolation and for the rest of us too

What was the purpose of Christ's coming? To set his people free.

Free from what? Fears and sins.

What fears, what sins? When we are free we get rest. Aaah.

Jesus is the answer for the world today: Dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. Jesus is the joy and desire of our hearts.

Born to deliver...we talked about that.

Born a child, yet a king? People aren't born kings. They inherit the kindom of their father when he dies or is killed. This was a unique situation. Jesus was already king of the world when he was born.

Where is Jesus kingdom? Well the whole world, but for now it's in us. He should be reigning in us.

His own sufficient merit...We are not worthy to be in God's presence. Jesus puts his merit on our account so that we can be raised to his glorious throne, both now in Christ (see Ephesians) and later in the body.

So let's sing these songs again now that we know more about them.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Thursday Night Fellowship Lesson Notes December 1, 2005

Thursday Night Fellowship

December 1, 2005

Study of John

Week 2

Order:

Fellowship
Songs
Lesson
Game
Leave

Introductory Questions:

T or F – There is no record of Joseph speaking in the Christmas story. (T)
T or F – The wise men were three kings from the orient. (F)
T or F – The little drummer boy came to the manger after the shepherds left. (F)
T or F – The star did not appear above the manger. (T)
T or F – Jesus' ancestral line included a prostitute, an adulterer, a woman who committed incest, and a non-Israelite. (T)
T or F – The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary first and then to Joseph. (F)
T or F – There is no story of Jesus' birth in the gospel of John. (T)

Review:

Matthew – 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,the Son of the living God."
Mark – 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Luke – 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.
John – 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Let's read John 1:1-18 together.

Things I learned from Dr. Dan Wilson:

Do john 1:1-18! Most basic fundamental point in Christian theology, who Jesus was, who he is, and what he did, the prologue tells the whole story in a nutshell, very similar to the Septuagint version of genesis 1:1, God reveals himself through the Word, the man Christ Jesus, why he reveals, to adopt children, both Jew and Gentile did not know God.

Why is there no story of Jesus' birth in John?

King, Servant, Human, Deity – reviewed from last time. John was writing from a specific perspective, to a specific people, with a specific purpose. That purpose was to show the deity of Jesus, that is that Jesus is God. The “beginning” of Jesus is bigger than Mary and Joseph and a baby in a manger. In fact before the beginning, if you can grasp a thought like that, Jesus existed. Let's read John 8:58. Notice what Jesus said. He did not say, “Before Abraham was born, I was.” He said before Abraham was born, I AM. This should conjure up hazy thoughts of Moses at the burning bush. Who did God call himself? “I AM.”

The prologue of John is paramount to understanding who Jesus is, and if you don't grasp and believe chapter one, then the rest of the book is merely mythological. Who could turn water into wine and feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish? Who could raise a man from the dead after he's been dead for four days? No one! No human being could do such a thing. How could Jesus claim over and over again that God is his Father and that He is equal with his Father. There is no way that a mere man could die on the cross, pay for the penalty of all mankind's sin, and then come back to life again unless he was not just a mere man. He has to be God. Only God has the power over life and death.

The main point:

The main point of John 1:1-18 is that the Jesus you heard about wasn't just a man, he is God.

Questions

Who is the Word? How do you know?

How do we know that Jesus is God from these verses?

He existed before the beginning
He was God
He created
Life is in him
He gives the right to become children of God
Glory of the Father

Verses 10-11 – the people didn't know who he was

Verse 15 – Did John the Baptizer know who he was?

John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin who was born six months earlier than Jesus. John here says that Jesus existed before He did. John understood that Jesus was more than just a man.

As we study John, try to read John as if you were reading it for the first time and you don't have the rest of the New Testament. All you know is what you heard people talking about Jesus, the stories you've heard. I have been reading John from a skeptic's point of view. I am trying to take it as face value and put myself in the shoes of the disciples, the pharisees, and the other people Jesus knew. What would I have thought of Jesus, of his miracles, of his claims, of his teachings? Would I have believed? I want us to see Jesus in a new way. I want us to come to admire the man Jesus Christ who is God himself. Pray for that as we study through this gospel.

Homework:

Read John chapter 1 three times before next Thursday.

Guys night Friday night!

Thursday, November 17, 2005

TNF - November 17, 2005

Thursday Night Fellowship

November 17, 2005

Introduction to the Gospel of John Study

Order

Fellowship and Food
Games – Pew Beach Volleyball
Songs – You are My King, We Fall Down
Lesson
Prayer

Introductory Questions

What is Jesus' last name?
What is one of the first stories you can remember from the gospels?
What is your favorite gospel? Why?
What comes to your mind when you hear the word gospel?

Why do we have four different gospels?

Different authors
Different perspectives
Different Audiences
Different Times
Different Purposes

Authors

All of them are actually anonymous – we know who wrote them by whom the early church fathers attributed them

Matthew – Jewish tax collector, probably wealthy, key – he's Jewish, one of the twelve

Mark – not one of the twelve, a later disciple, possibly a Gentile, assisted Paul and Peter in the early church

Luke – also writer of Acts, a doctor by profession, attention to detail, a Gentile who was a God-fearer, not one of the twelve

John – the disciple whom Jesus loved, one of the twelve, Jewish, older when he wrote the gospel of John

Perspectives

M – King

M – Servant

L – Human

J – Deity

Audiences

M – Jews, Jewish Christians, or unbelieving Jews

M – Romans, Gentiles

L – Theophilus – historical account

J – Church, Jewish Christians, Gnostics, the world in general

How many audiences are there?

At least three.

The immediate audience – the people Jesus spoke to originally (i.e. The disciples, pharisees, etc.)
The secondary audience – the people to whom the gospel was originally addressed to (i.e. Jews, Romans, Gentiles, circa AD 50-80)
The tertiary audience – all people throughout time, you and I

Different Times

Mark – AD 50's

Matthew – AD 60's

Luke – AD 60's

John – AD 80-90's

Different Purpose

M – Jesus is the King, the promised Messiah

M – Jesus is the Messiah (savior) of the world, not just the Jews

L – Luke records a detailed account for his patron Theophilus (see Luke 1:1-4)

J – John 20:31 - “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” See John 1:12 as well.

What does the word gospel mean?

Literally “good news”
a proclamation about a coming King

The four gospels as we call them are actually a type of genre. We have genres today for literature and music. Name some genres of literature and music.

The gospels therefore are not biographies as we have today. They don't tell the “whole” story. In fact they don't even necessarily tell it from beginning to end. The gospels don't tell us everything Jesus did and said. See John 21:24-25 (what admiration). I want to be like that.

The gospels are written for a specific purpose to portray a certain aspect of Jesus, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, the disciples, the Jews, and the Gentiles. This isn't to say that the gospels aren't historically reliable, it's just that the culture in that day did not value empiricism like we do today. So we must remember as we study John what the purpose is, and relate every event to that purpose: that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing in him we have eternal life.

Addendum:

Theme Verse

Matthew – 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ,the Son of the living God."

Mark – 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Luke – 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

John – 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

TNF - November 10, 2005

Thursday Night Fellowship

November 10, 2005

Order

Snack
Activity – pew beach volleyball
Announcements – bring your jars of clay money, welcome the Dyers
Proverbs

Check Up

How many of you managed the discipline to accomplish eighteen chapters over the last two weeks? And how many actually did one a day?

Why do you think most of us were unsuccessful? Accountability is important.

Guidelines:

Read the verse you liked in that chapter.
Read your paraphrase (optional).
Read your handle (optional).
Tell us why you picked it.
We'll discuss it (optional).
Only three per chapter (be willing to volunteer, but don't dominate the conversation).

Chapter 5 -

Chapter 6 -

Chapter 7 – 8

vs 6-8 – how do you know that this young man was foolish according to what it says here?

Chapter 8 – 9, 13, 35

vs. 9 – wisdom should come easier to those who desire to learn

vs. 13 – the fear of the Lord is to hate what God hates and love what God loves

vs 35 – what does it mean that whoever finds wisdom finds life and gains approval from God

Chapter 9 -

Chapter 10 -

Review Process:

Pray
Read the chapter
Select a verse
Paraphrase the verse
Write a handle of the verse
Prayer of application
Memorize one a week

Why are we using this process? What is important about each step? This is not the only way to spend time with the Lord. Sometimes we need more studying or prayer or just meditating on who God is.

Review

What is a proverb? A short saying that expresses a general truth

What is wisdom? “skillful living”

The ability to choose what is best, not merely what is right or wrong, good or bad.

Why did we study proverbs?

To gain wisdom
To develop holy habits

Bible Reading
Prayer
Journaling

Did we accomplish our goals?

How many of your for the first time with this study? Why was it important for us to journal?
How many of you actually prayed almost everyday because of our study?
How many of you read your bible more in the last two months than you have for most of your life?

So what do you think? Did we accomplish our goals?

What about our first goal to gain wisdom? Let's see if we did.

List of famous or weird proverbs from our introductory lesson.

26:11
26.14
16:18
3:5-6
15:17

When we first started proverbs no one knew how to give the general truths for these proverbs nor the application. I believe we have grown in wisdom. For that we should thank the Lord.

Why do I want wisdom?

Avoid evil and deception
to gain wealth
healthy friendships
healthy marriages
avoid unnecessary heartache
understand the fear of the Lord
to avoid the immoral woman
to be a virtuous woman
to live a long life
to have success
to be discreet
to make good career and business decisions
to uphold justice
to control our tongue
to escape the snares of the wicked
to have peace with others, ourselves, and God
to obey and honor our parents
to keep from pride and destruction

And what reason did I give you every week as to why we want/need wisdom?

gaining wisdom is necessary for a growing relationship with Jesus.

Why do you think I repeated that every week?

Everting comes down to our relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ then reading proverbs is meaningless. Youth group is meaningless. He is the reason why we meet every week.

Do you know Jesus? Do you know who He is? Do you know what he is doing right now? He's right here with us. He's so excited that you came tonight. He's been looking forward to you coming to youth group tonight. Jesus loves you.

Our faith is based upon a relationship with Jesus. Some say it's a personal relationship, but most people live like it's an impersonal relationship. We need wisdom to know how to grow in our relationship with Jesus.

Because Jesus is so central to why we are here and why we exist, our next study will be about Jesus. We will be reading through the gospel of John to see who Jesus is, and how he treated the people he came in contact with. We also want to look closely at how people responded to Jesus so that we can learn how we ought to respond to him as well.

So as the band Pillar sings, “Where do we go from here?”

For our devotions this week write a paragraph summary of a story you remember from the life of Jesus. Do this four times this week. In addition to that, spend some time praying for God to reveal to you who Jesus is.

Optional Homework: Fill in the remaining days with the day's chapter of proverbs.

Optional Homework: Read John 1-3 and note in your journal how people responded to Jesus.