ReSunday-ing September 28th
I don’t even know where to begin today. It’s Monday…morning. That is always a tough realization for me. But nevertheless, life goes on. We keep plugging away. We’ve got a busy week coming up: Third Day/Switchfoot/Jars of Clay concert on Friday ($20-meet at WHCC, 5:00 pm) and laser tag for the junior high on Saturday (7:30 pm-meet at Laser Quest). I’m really excited about everything going on.
Alright, what you’ve all been waiting for: SUNDAY. Sunday’s class was an interesting one. The kids and I had a heart-to-heart, cleared the air, and are all best friends! This past Sunday was the first of a six-week series during which we will look at what it means to be God’s people. We’re going to look at God’s people in the past, how He worked in their lives, and what that means for us as God’s people today. I think that it is important to understand who we are as God’s people so we can then understand further our purpose and goals for this life as He has set for us.
This Sunday we found ourselves a little tight on time. So, I strongly encourage you to bring some of this up if you get a chance. Now, I’ll give a little bit of background on class. The idea behind this first week is that we are God’s people because he created us to be that way. The first couple chapters of Genesis chronicle the creation story and all that it entails. Our story as God’s people begins on the fifth day. God creates man in his own image, gives him a purpose and sets him in the world he created. From the beginning, God nourishes and cares for his people. When man is lonely, God created a companion for him, an equal to share life with. And so we see the beginnings of the people of God.
This all seems pretty simple. Everyone knows the creation story, right? But this is the BEGINNING! This is where everything we believe and the faith we hold on to begin. It is in the moment God created Adam that our stories begin. While we might not experience God in the same ways we read about in the Bible, God is still alive and active in our lives as he has been in the lives of His people for all of history. It is our responsibility as His people of today to learn for the past and do everything we can to be people that honor God and reflect his love to the world.
The verse I keyed on in class this week is James 1:18. I particularly like the wording in the New Living Translation.
“In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.”
God has chose us to be his people. He gave us His word and instruction to help explain what that means. We are HIS. And that’s what we are striving to understand and learn about over the next six weeks. I am praying that over this time we (myself, the teens, and you as parents) can all take ownership of our identity as the people of God. I pray that we will find an excitement in this call and a new outlook and commitment to living the way God desires his people to live. Thank you for being examples of this to your children. As I said in previous posts, the strongest example of faith for a teen is the parents and guardians they see each and every day. This week be the men and women of God our teens need. I’m praying for us all and can’t wait for next week!
