The 12: Part 3- John: Jekyll and Hyde

In the novel, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", we read about a scientist who is studying how every person is capable of both good and evil. Dr. Jekyll develops a formula, that, when ingested, turns him into the evil version of himself (Mr. Hyde). Unfortunately for Jekyll, he soon begins to turn into Mr. Hyde even without drinking the formula! The evil version of himself starts to take over!

The disciple we focused on this week, John, isn't a mad scientist, but when we're first introduced to him, he's a lot like Mr. Hyde. However, after spending a few years with Jesus, we discover some BIG CHANGES in his life and attitudes, like he had become a completely different person!

1. BEFORE: THE SON OF THUNDER

The Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about John, aside from the fact that he was a fisherman, but it DOES reveal something interesting about his life. John, along with his brother James, was given a rather strange nickname by Jesus- they were called the "Sons of Thunder". When you think of thunder, you probably think of something that's noisy and explosive. That perfectly describes John. He was like a bomb just waiting to go off. He was probably a little scary to be around.

In Luke 9: 51-56, we read of a story where Jesus and his disciples weren't welcomed into a Samaritan town. During that time, Jewish people HATED Samaritan people. There was a lot of racism. They also disagreed as to how they should worship God. So, when John heard that Jesus and his disciples weren't allowed to go into the Samaritan village, he went ballistic.  He and his brother were so steamed they asked Jesus for permission to pray that God would rain down fire from heaven to destroy the village! Talk about an explosive reaction!

2. AFTER: THE MAN OF COMPASSION

Fast forward a few years later, and in Acts 8 we find a John who is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! In fact, we read of him traveling through Samaritan towns praying for people to receive the Holy Spirit and telling people about Jesus. These were the same people he had wanted to see destroyed with fire from heaven, and now we find him devoting his life to sharing God's love with them!

3. EVEN THOUGH JOHN WAS LESS-THAN-PERFECT, JESUS LOVED HIM

Six times in the New Testament, John is referred to as "the disciple Jesus loved". Now, that's not saying that Jesus didn't love all of his disciples, but it specifically singles John out as someone who was especially close to Jesus, even though he was by no means perfect. What's cool about that is a lot of people think that if you mess up, if you aren't perfect, God wants nothing to do with you, but that's FAR from the truth. Jesus called this guy to be one of his disciples, one of his closest friends, and he gives us the same invitation too! No matter what you've done or what kind of mistakes you've made, God has a crazy love for you!

4. SPENDING TIME WITH JESUS KILLED MR. HYDE!

So, how in the world did this guy who was so full of hatred and anger, turn around and be loving and compassionate to the same people only a few years later? When John first met Jesus, he was more like Hyde than Jekyll...but over time, something cool happened. Those sinful tendencies started to diminish as he spent more time with Jesus. When you decide to follow Jesus, you're probably far from perfect, but the more you read the Bible, pray, and are a part of church community, something amazing happens. You find that the Holy Spirit renovates you-- changing you more into the person God wants you to be. God doesn't want to turn you into a robot so you think and act like everybody else, but he DOES want to change you! If you spend time with him and LET HIM, he'll start to turn you into the best version of yourself. The Holy Spirit will change you from BEFORE into AFTER!

PARENTS DISCUSSION:

1. Talk to your teen about the difference that Jesus made in your life. Tell him/her about what you were like BEFORE, and in what ways Jesus has changed you for the better.

2. Ask your teen if there are any areas of their lives where they really struggle to do the right thing and make choices that God would be proud of. Are they short-tempered? Do they gossip? Do they mistreat a brother or sister? (Ask them about areas of their life that THEY PERCEIVE to be in need of improvement, don't SUGGEST a long list of flaws yourself). Talk to them about areas where they would like to see God change them for the better. Pray together and ask the Holy Spirit to renovate them, to keep making improvements so that they can become the best versions of themselves!

THE 12: PART 2- The Jar-Jar Binks of the Bible

In the Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace, we were first introduced to an awkward, clumsy character, who has become, what many consider to be the worst part of Star Wars. Jar-Jar Binks is an outsider, even banished from his own city. He's even referred to as a "pathetic life form", by Obi-Wan Kenobi! While there are certainly Star Wars fans who love Jar-Jar, there is a very vocal group of "fans" who passionately hate the character. In fact, even the guy who played Jar-Jar in a motion capture suit has vowed to never play the character again, because so many people treated him badly and said nasty stuff about him! Even today, 15 years after his debut, Jar-Jar is still the subject of memes and is regularly hated on.

This week, as we continued our series looking at the stories of some of Jesus' disciples, we took a look at the Jar-Jar Binks of the Bible. This guy was so hated that people would cross to the other side of the street when they saw him walking. He likely was spit at and booed. And what's even more shocking is that even the religious leaders of the day treated him like he had some kind of disease, even referring to him as "scum".

Matthew (also known as Levi, the Jewish version of his name) was a tax collector. Tax collectors were hated so much because their job was to take money from the Jewish people and give it to the Roman Empire- this occupying force that ruled over them. On top of that, tax collectors were known for over-charging people and pocketing the extra for themselves. And if that weren't enough, because Matthew was a Jew working for the Roman Empire, he was considered to be a traitor to his own people. Nobody wanted anything to do with him! Well, almost nobody.

Mark 2:13-17 tells us that Jesus approached Matthew (Levi) and asked for him to be one of his disciples. Matthew not only followed Jesus, but decided to throw a house-party so that all of his friends (other tax collectors and people who were generally hated and looked down on) could meet Jesus. The fact that Jesus attended this party caused a big stir. The religious leaders questioned how Jesus "could eat with such scum".

1. Even though Matthew was hated, Jesus treated him with love and kindness. Jesus saw his worth.

Our world is full of many terrible examples of human beings treating other human beings like garbage. You see it in high school. You see it on the news every day. Even though Matthew was treated like garbage by everybody around him, Jesus treated him differently. Jesus invited him to be a disciple. Jesus hung out with Matthew and his friends over supper.

Do you have a reputation for being someone who cares about others and treats people with kindness, even when others might do the opposite? Jesus was known for having love and compassion for people who were often mistreated and rejected. Jesus was known for touching the untouchables! If you call yourself a Christian (a Jesus follower), then we're reminded that the greatest commandments are to love God and love others. Probably all of us know people like Jar-Jar Binks. How do we treat them? We can all agree that there's enough hatred, anger, bullying, and violence in our world. Every day we face choices where we can join in with the crowd and do what seems so normal, or to live the way that Jesus calls us to.

2. Jesus was slammed for hanging out with people known as scum.

Even the religious leaders mocked Jesus and were shocked that he would eat dinner with people who were so universally hated and looked down on. In fact, in Matthew 11:19, Jesus said that he was called a pig, a drunk, and a friend of scum. He was hated and looked down on for showing kindness to people who were hated and looked down on.

Are you someone who's willing to treat others right, showing love, kindness and respect, even if the consequence is to be mocked yourself? Do you let the crowd intimidate you into bullying, mocking, or mistreating others? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:11-12 that when we are treated badly for doing the right thing, when we are insulted and mistreated for simply doing what Jesus would do, God will bless us.

Parent Discussion/Follow-Up:

1. Can your teen think of someone in their school or neighborhood who is mistreated, bullied, or mocked? Is there someone your teen has a hard time being nice to-- maybe because they are annoying or unkind themselves? Take the time to pray for that person. Pray that they would come to experience God's love and forgiveness for themselves. Pray that God would help them. Pray that God would open an opportunity for your teen to show kindness to people who aren't used to that.

2. Ask your teen what they think their reputation is? If someone were to look at the things they say and do, would they see someone like Jesus? Would they notice a difference in their lives? Would they see someone who is kind and cares for others? Pray together than God would help your teen follow Jesus' example, even when it's hard. Pray that they would live in a way that would show others that they're serious about loving and following Jesus.

3. Challenge your teen to do one thing in the next week that would show kindness and care to someone who is often bullied or mistreated. Brainstorm together what that thing might be! Maybe it simply means saying "hi" or having a casual conversation with that person? Maybe it means sitting next to a person in the cafeteria/lunch room who often sits alone, or inviting them to join your circle of friends? Maybe it means stopping your friends from saying unkind things or gossiping about that person?

THE 12: PART 1 (A Simple Introduction)

This week we launched a series called "THE 12" where we're going to take a closer look at the lives and stories of people who walked and talked with Jesus- his twelve disciples. What were their lives like before they met Jesus? How did Jesus change their lives? What twists and turns did their lives take? What impact did they have on the world?

This week, our focus was on two of Jesus' lesser-known disciples, Andrew and Philip. These guys aren't really famous. They didn't write any Books of the Bible, and they're barely mentioned in its pages! In fact, both of the combined have less than 6 sentences recorded in the whole Bible! While, at first glance, these two might seem like minor characters, they actually ended up having a huge impact on the world!

In John 1:35-50, we see the moments when they first met Jesus. These encounters with Jesus changed their lives, and even after spending a short time with him, they believed that he wasn't just some ordinary dude. Andrew calls Jesus "the Messiah", the Saviour, the one who would rescue people from sin. Philip calls Jesus "the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about"! Yes, these guys were convinced. So, what did they do?

1. Andrew and Philip both introduced people they cared about to Jesus.
Right after meeting Jesus, Andrew went to find his brother Simon and brought him along so that he could meet Jesus for himself. Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael, and told him all about Jesus. Nathanael was a little doubtful, but Philip simply said to him, "Come and see for yourself".

One of the things we can learn from these two guys is that they were open and honest with their friends and family about what they believed and invited them to meet Jesus for themselves! This is a simple reminder to us that we need to be open and honest about what we believe with people around us and should look for opportunities to invite a friend to join us at church or at youth group.

 2. Something so simple had a HUGE impact!
It was such a simple thing they did, but when Simon and Nathanael met Jesus for themselves, their lives were changed. They became disciples too! Simon, in particular, was given a new name by Jesus-- Peter-- which means "the rock". Jesus told Peter that the entire church would be built and strengthened because of his life! Peter went on to share the good news of God's love with THOUSANDS of people! He even wrote some of the books of the Bible! Lives were changed and are still being changed today, just because Andrew simply introduced his brother to Jesus.

When we are open and honest about what we believe, when we tell people what we did on Friday or on Sunday, and don't keep our faith hidden, and when we simply invite a friend along with us to youth or to church, you're creating an opportunity for them to get to know Jesus for themselves. Maybe they have spiritual questions or want to learn more about what the Bible says? A simple invitation might change their lives for the better-- and you never know what kind of impact that might have on the world. Andrew simply brought his brother to meet Jesus-- and through Peter, thousands more experienced God's love and forgiveness. How cool is that?

Discussion:
1. Talk to your teen about where some of their friends are at spiritually. Do some of their friends make terrible, even destructive, choices? Do some of them feel far from God or are even hostile when your teen bring up things that they believe? Take time this week to pray for those friends--either together, or that your teen would do so on their own-- that God would use your teen to be a positive influence on the lives of their friends and that they would come to know Jesus.

2. Encourage your teen to invite a friend to join them at CATALYST sometime in the next few weeks. Let your teen know that you can even help out by giving them a ride. A great first-time introduction to our youth group is our SLIDEJAM sledding event happening on January 22nd. Talk to Pastor Ben to get a permission form for their friend.