EYES AND EARS PART 2- CATALYST YOUTH- Feb 1, 2019

Last week, we started a new two-part series called EYES & EARS where we talked about making GOOD (OR RIGHT) choices when it comes to what we watch or what we listen to! This is a pretty important topic because technology has made it INCREDIBLY easy and convenient to watch or listen to whatever we want at the click of a button…and most of it is COMPLETELY FREE!

It has never been easier to watch porn, to watch movies full of graphic violence, disturbing images, or insane amounts of swearing. It’s never been easier to listen to music or watch videos that might be full of TERRIBLE messages! For most of us, we carry around the power to choose in our pockets!

1. MEDIA DOES INFLUENCE YOU

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, it contains a pretty famous saying, “BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD CHARACTER.” It means that when you hang out with the wrong kind of people, you’ll start being influenced to do the wrong kinds of things. That’s not just true when it comes to the friends we choose---but it’s the same with the stuff we choose to watch or listen to--- if we’re watching or listening to stuff that isn’t that good, it can CORRUPT US! It can affect us in negative ways! It can even lead us to sin (to make choices that are the opposite of what God wants for us) and distance us from God!

It’s amazing how the stuff we surround ourselves with can influence us! I shared a story of how when I worked at Canadian Tire in the parts department, everyday I dealt with customers who were angry and complaining because they had to buy parts to fix their car. And do you know what? After working there for awhile, I noticed that it started to affect my behaviour—where I was less patient and more angry and irritable--- where I would even snap at my friends! The attitudes of complete strangers were affecting me in bad ways just because I was around it all the time! 

 It's not just people-- the things we think about and spend our time with can also influence us! Now that doesn’t mean that if we watch violent movies, we might go out and kill somebody….but scientific studies HAVE proven that watching violent stuff can affect our outlook on life, our attitudes, and it can even desensitize us to real violence! If you watch stuff that’s full of swearing....you might find that seeping into your own language!  If you listen to music that’s misogynistic (which means that it has messages that treats women like objects, uses hateful language to describe women—a lot of rap/hiphop culture is full of it), that might influence how a guy treats girls or might teach girls that it's normal behaviour to expect from boys. If you spend your time reading and responding to ANGRY trollish comments online…eventually your comments will be more ANGRY!  If you watch porn, it can mess with your expectations of what a REAL relationship is like—and it can lead you to OBJECTIFY and DEHUMANIZE real people! Scientific studies are constantly coming out warning how dangerous it is!  If you’re listening to music that communicates the message that getting wasted, experimenting with drugs, or sleeping around is great, those ideas DO seep into your own values the more you immerse yourself in them! 

2. FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

In the Book of Corinthians, it says- “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.”

What that verse is getting at is that God has given us the freedom to make our own choices in life! God doesn’t force anyone to follow him! He didn’t create robots programmed to do the right thing without any ability to choose! We all have the freedom and ability to do whatever we want! But that doesn’t meant that all of our choices are good and beneficial for us or others!  God wants us to seriously think about what we watch and what we listen to, and make the HARD choice to do what’s right!

To give you an example--- a friend of mine asked if I was watching a particular show on NETFLIX, and I told him that I heard that it was full of a lot of violence and swearing…and he said to me, “Well, you’re an adult! You can watch whatever you want!”. When he said that—the above verse just popped into my head--- “Yeah, I have the FREEDOM and ABILITY to watch whatever I want, but that doesn’t mean that it’s right or it’s a GOOD thing!”

EVERDAY you will face choices to press “play”, and you have the FREEDOM to do it! Nobody will stop you! But that doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing! That doesn’t mean that it’s something God will be super proud of! That doesn’t mean that it won’t influence you in a negative way! God has given us the FREEDOM to choose! He’s given us the FREEDOM to do whatever we want! But he’s also given us some directions in the Bible--- to help us make WISE and HEALTHY choices.

3. TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES

Making wise decisions about what you watch and listen to can be really hard. It means imposing limits on yourself! And doing that might make people think that you’re totally crazy and weird! You might stand out! People might make fun of you for it (just like my friend thought it was ridiculous that I wouldn’t watch a particular show on Netflix even though I’m old enough to watch it). Following Jesus and doing the right thing when nobody else really cares about God or shares your values can be super hard. Doing the right thing is usually never easy!

Here are some helpful tips that might help you make better media choices:

CHECK OUT THE LYRICS

I’ve made a habit of checking out the lyrics whenever I’m interested in listening/buying a song or an album…and you know what, when some of my FAVOURITE BANDS put out music, I’m really tempted to overlook what they say because it sounds so good…but I have to ask myself if it’s something I could sing along to if my kids were in the car, or if the message/values in the song conflicts with my own beliefs/values. That doesn’t mean that it has to be Christian music or worship music (although I’ve been listening to a lot more of that in the last few years), but just something that doesn’t conflict with my Christian faith! Like I said last week, the #1 song on iTunes WAS “7 Rings by Ariana Grande” (it’s now #3! Yay!) with the message that the most important thing in life is how hot and rich you are!

The current #1 is Lady Gaga’s SHALLOW—which actually has really cool lyrics about being tired of living an empty/meaningless life! As a Christian, parts of the song even sound like a prayer where she’s asking if there’s more to life than this!

There are some songs that have weird or perplexing lyrics where the message isn’t that straightforward—and you’ll have to make the call about whether it’s something worth listening to- for example-the #2 song is Billy Eilish’ “Bury a Friend”. There are parts of that song that seem really interesting and deep (where she seems to be questioning what happens when we die), but then OVER AND OVER again she sings, “I WANNA END ME”. Even if she’s making some deep statement, do you think it’s good if I’m singing “I WANNA END ME” over and over? Do you think that’s a good song for some of your friends to listen to? Probably not!

Check those lyrics out! Google has made it SUPER EASY!

VIEW THE RATINGS/CONTENT ADVISORY

In the same way—whenever I’m thinking of watching a movie, there’s a few things I do. First of all, I check out the movie rating. If it’s R or 18A, then the odds are that it’s NOT all that great to watch. Another tip is to visit a movie page on IMDB and click on VIEW CONTENT ADVISORY. It can sometimes be spoilery, so don’t read the details too closely, but it actually breaks down what the content is like in the movie! Each movie is separated into sections like "Sex/Nudity" and "Violence" and right underneath it will tell you if the content is mild, moderate, or extreme. If you’re seeing “EXTREME” or “HEAVY” in those sections, it might be a good idea to skip the movie!

USE RESTRICTIONS/PARENT CONTROLS

This is a super healthy tip. Tell your mom or dad that you want to make sure that what you’re watching/listening to is good, and get them to set up the RESTRICTIONS or PARENT CONTROLS on your phone or tablet! 

I realize that sounds completely crazy, because it means that you're WILLINGLY giving up your freedom and making it difficult to watch whatever you want, but it's a really smart thing to do when trying to navigate the minefield of the Internet- I mean, not even Google Image Search is safe! On pretty much all devices, you can filter the ratings of the music you’ll listen to, the apps you’ll use, or more importantly, the websites you visit! As a full-grown adult, my wife set up the restrictions on all of my devices (and it has a password that I don't know). Why? Because it helps me to avoid situations where I might click on something that isn’t right…AND it also shows my family that I want to be accountable for what I do online! On my computers, I even have accountability software installed, so if I were to visit a questionable website, it doesn't block it, but it sends the links in an email to my wife (who I've chosen as my accountability partner).

TIP FOR HOME

Parents, do you have filters, accountability software or parent controls set up on devices at home or ones that your teens use? If not, now is a pretty great time to start. (Email me if you want some recommendations). Talk to your teens about why it's helpful to have restrictions placed on what they view.

EYES & EARS (PART 1)- CATALYST YOUTH- January 15, 2019

This week we kicked off a two-part series called EYES AND EARS, where we’re talking about the importance of making healthy and wise decisions when it comes to what you listen to or what you watch.

It's a pretty important topic for all of us because, honestly, the world is at our fingertips. With just one click, we can watch or listen to stuff that’s the opposite of what God wants for us—stuff that might tempt us or influence us in negative or unhealthy ways. 

1. TAKING THE ADVICE OF OUR HEAVENLY DAD 

Any good parent wants the very best for their kids. Parents want to protect their kids from things that will do them physical harm (which is why we teach our kids not to play near the stove or run across the street looking both ways). But good parents also want to protect their kids from stuff that might harm them emotionally or spiritually.

All through the Bible, God is referred to as our parent. Often it describes him as our Father—our Heavenly dad—although there are a few times where he’s also described like a mom! For example, in Luke 13:34 it describes God as “wanting to gather his children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings”. 

That’s a pretty cool metaphor for God. He loves us SO much and he wants the very best for us. He wants us to be protected from getting hurt, from going through life and making bad choices and living with regrets! He wants us to stay close to him! He doesn’t want us to be damaged or messed up! When God gives us rules to live by and tells us that some things are right and some things are wrong, it's not because he wants to suck the fun out of our lives, but because, as our Creator, he really does know and want what's best for us! In the Bible, there are a lot of rules or guidelines for life, and even if we don't always understand why God asks us to live a certain way, we have to trust that it's for our very best!

2. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT OUR MEDIA CHOICES

When I was in youth group, there aren’t a TON of things I remember that my youth pastor said… but one of the things I still remember is the Bible passage that he called “The SCREENS chapter”. Even though this Bible passage is thousands of years old, it’s something that’s SUPER RELEVANT today—especially when we all carry screens in our pockets, and with just one click we can watch anything we want or listen to any music we want FOR FREE! There has never been a time when media has been so convenient!

Have you ever heard someone use the numbers 101 to describe something? In colleges and universities, they usually have introductory or foundational courses called __________101 (like Philosophy 101). It means that it’s the most basic course you can take on that topic. Well, tonight, we’re talking about MEDIA 101, SCREENS 101, MUSIC 101. And it can be found in Psalm 101. 

Psalm 101 is a prayer from David where he’s making a commitment to God.

Psalm 101:2-4 says, “I will be careful to live a blameless life. I need you to help me! I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil”.

Here, David is making a commitment not to sin. Not to look at stuff that is VILE and VULGAR—stuff that will dirty him up and is the opposite of what God wants, stuff that you wouldn't watch with your grandma sitting right beside you..

David also says here that he’s committed to rejecting PERVERSE IDEAS (the word perverse means things that are wrong or twisted- more on that in a minute). David is committing himself to stay away from evil (or things that celebrate sin).

In 2019, his prayer would be something like this—“God I need your help. I don’t want to mess with sin. I want to make sure my eyes are looking at stuff that’s right- that when I’m surfing the net on my phone, when I’m texting my friends, when I’m binge watching Netflix, when I’m alone in my room and nobody else is around, I want to be a person of INTEGRITY- a person who does what’s right! I also want to make sure that when I’m listening to music, that the ideas and lyrics aren’t wrong or twisted. I’m committing myself to staying away from garbage—stuff that influences me in bad ways. Stuff that is the opposite of what you want for me. I’m trusting that you know and want the best for me--- and I want you to be proud of what I’m watching and listening to!”

What an amazing prayer that is! It’s amazing that even THOUSANDS of years later, David’s prayer is SO relevant for today! And that’s before everything was just one click away! God wants the things we watch and listen to to be things that are RIGHT, things that won't tempt us or lead us to sin, things that won't fill our minds with images, thoughts, or ideas that are the opposite of the way He wants us to live.

3. A LOT OF MEDIA IS “EXPLICITLY TWISTED”

In David’s prayer he talks about wanting to stay away from stuff that’s perverse (stuff that’s twisted—which means thoughts, images, video, ideas that are the opposite of what God wants for him)…well, funnily enough, LADY GAGA was just in the news last week talking about this!

Lady Gaga is a pretty famous singer (with a terrible celebrity name, in my opinion. It’s hard to take someone seriously when their name is Gaga) who is actually up for an Academy Award for best actress this year. For years, she’s been putting out music that has influenced a lot of people (in some good and some not so good ways). She has over 77 MILLION followers on Twitter! She’s won a ton of awards for her songs and her videos! People are really interested in what she has to say…and some of her fans (called Little Monsters) are OBSESSED with her. She is worshipped by some people!

This week she posted something on her Instagram that I thought was REALLY interesting. She wrote that she REALLY regretted writing one particular song—and that she wished it would just disappear. Now, part of the reason for that is because the song features the singer R. Kelly, who has been charged (AGAIN) with sexual assault. Looking back at her song, Lady Gaga has come to the realization that the message in the song is a terrible one!

The song is definitely not something that would meet David’s criteria for what would be good to listen to—it has quite a bit of swearing it, it talks about doing drugs and getting drunk (and let's not even mention the video that contains a lot of sexuality), and it repeats over and over the line- “You can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind but do what you want with my body”. Great message, right? It’s hard to believe, at a time when the #METOO movement is on everybody’s minds, that this song was made just 5 years ago! And the guy she recorded the song with? He has a long history of some messed up stuff, including charges for making child porn (and that was BEFORE this song was written)!

Here’s a quote from Lady Gaga—“I made the song and video at a very dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was so angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life. I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. I’m sorry both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner.” (paraphrased- actual link here)

Here she’s saying, “You know that super popular song and video off of my award winning album that I made 5 years ago? Well, I was kind of young and I had poor judgment, and I didn’t really think about the message and whether or not it was something good and healthy. I really regret it. And let's not mention the person I sang it with.”

I wanted to talk about Lady Gaga just to highlight the fact that MOST artists, movie studios, youtube channels, websites-- only care about the money and the clicks. They don’t really think about (or care) about how a kid or teen or even an adult might be influenced or negatively affected by what they put out into the world. Honestly, it boggles my mind that a song that kind of encourages sexual assault and treating a woman like an object was greenlit—that nobody close to Lady Gaga, that the record company, that her friends wouldn’t have suggested that maybe the song was carrying a message that wasn’t very healthy- that maybe it wasn’t something worth putting out, that maybe the lyrics needed to be changed!

The thing you’ll find about a lot of music is that there’s lots of stuff that’s put out because it’s got an awesome beat or a super catchy chorus, but the message of the song is terrible. In fact, the #1 song on iTunes right now is “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande—the song contains a bit of swearing and is all about how hot and rich she is. Yup, the WHOLE song is about how great it is to be her. The video is also VERY sexually provocative. Some of the lyrics include, “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it. Whoever said money can't solve your problems must not have had enough money to solve 'em”. 

The song glorifies the pursuit of wealth and good looks and is pretty much the opposite of what the Bible teaches--- that it's not what's on the outside that matters, but God looks on the inside, that you can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t know God, then you’re missing out. That’s just one example!

I wanted to highlight that because the people who put out media don’t really care about you or have your best interests at heart. Most artists don’t care if their message is terrible--- they just want to make more money off of you! When you realize that a lot of the music and movies you watch MIGHT have garbage values, it reminds you to pay closer attention to what the message is before you hit play. 

And you could say, "But it’s just a fun song with a good beat! Really, can it be that bad"?, but when you’re singing or thinking about those lyrics over and over—it can influence your thinking and can influence your own values. I don’t want my kids growing up believing that as long as they look hot and have lots of money to spend on whatever they would like, that's all that matters, and I definitely wouldn't want my daughter to be dancing like Ariana Grande in that video. We're God's sons and daughters! How do you think he feels about it?

God wants us to make wise choices when it comes to what we put in front of our eyes or what we put in our ears! We need to think about whether or not the messages are positive ones. We need to ask ourselves if the stuff we’re watching on our screens is leading us to sin, tempting us, or pulling us away from God! Is the media we’re consuming good for us? Is it making God proud?  Is it celebrating things that are good and right, or is it celebrating sin (actions and choices that are the opposite of what God wants for us)?

The good news is that God offers us forgiveness and a brand new start! We can make better choices starting today!

DISCUSSION FOR HOME

1. Parents, take the time to sit with your teen while they watch a channel or show that they like. Afterwards, talk to them about it. What is the message in the story? Is there anything in it that celebrates sin? Does it have content that features sexuality, profanity, or excessive violence? Does it promote values that are contrary to how God wants us to live? Discuss what the positive messages might be in it.

2. Parents, ask your teens what their favourite song is right now. What's the song or video that all of their friends really love? Take the time to look at the lyrics (and if you dare-- to watch the music video together) and discuss some of the same questions above.

3. Remind your teens that God wants us to make right choices when we "consume" media. He doesn't want us to focus on things that celebrate sin or things that promote values that are the opposite of what he says is right. Take the time to pray together and ask God to help you and your teen make viewing and listening choices that reflects your faith and values.

AMAZING GRACE! CATALYST Youth, Friday, January 11, 2019

My wife and I recently got a board game where we have to be detectives and solve crimes (like we're in the middle of a crime show on TV), so I thought it would be cool to start the year off by looking at the story of a pretty bad dude in the Bible—he even KILLED people…and yet, there’s a pretty big twist in his story! It doesn’t turn out the way we all might expect it to!

It all starts in the Book of Acts. After Jesus had died and rose again, people were coming to faith in Jesus all over the place and churches (groups of Christians who met together) were sprouting up in different cities. Now this kind of thing was a real threat to the Jewish religious leaders who believed that Jesus wasn’t God (because that’s impossible, right?), so he must have been an evil liar who was tricking people into putting their faith in him. And that’s the whole reason why they killed Jesus in the first place! These religious leaders hated Jesus and believed he was a liar and deceiver, even though they had witnessed Jesus doing incredible miracles with their own eyes and couldn’t explain it! They saw Jesus as a threat to their religion!

So, because of this, the Jewish religious leaders made it their mission to put an end to this movement of Christianity. They began to accuse and punish anybody who believed in something different than them, and they made it their goal to kill or imprison anybody who taught that Jesus was the Son of God and that people could experience forgiveness through him.

Last year, we talked about how, one of the reasons we can have confidence that what the Bible says about Jesus is true is because the disciples kept sharing their faith and leading people to believe in Jesus even though there was NOTHING good in it for them! They didn’t make millions of dollars selling their story, they didn’t become rich and famous! In fact, talking about Jesus at the time was SUPER RISKY! Most of the disciples actually ended up being killed for talking about Jesus and refusing to say that it was all a made-up story…and I don’t know about you, but I would NEVER die because I wanted to convince people of a story that I made up. That would just be insane!

Anyhow, in Acts 7, it tells us about the FIRST MARTYR (someone who is killed for their faith). This guy, Stephen, just kept telling people about Jesus, and this angered people so much, that they actually threw stones at him until he was dead! Acts 7:57-58 says that the person overseeing the whole thing, was a young man named Saul.

In a lot of movies, they establish how bad the villain is and make you hate him by having him doing something terrible right near the start. For example, if you saw AVENGERS:INFINITY WAR, it took us about 5 minutes to realize that Thanos was ONE BAD DUDE. Well here, we’re first introduced to a guy named Saul…and it’s pretty easy to see that he was a villain…. the first time we hear about him, he’s helping people kill a guy!

Saul was a Jewish religious leader who HATED all of the “lies” that Christians were saying about God! Acts 9: 1-2 says that he was given a mission by the other Jewish religious leaders- to hunt down Christians and arrest or kill them! This guy, Saul, meant well….he thought he was doing the right thing and making God proud, but little did he know that HE was the villain! It's kind of hard to wrap our minds around this kind of thing these days, but I guess you could kind of compare it to life in a community country. For example, in China, there are people who are arrested and even tortured JUST BECAUSE THEY WENT TO CHURCH!

Acts 9 says that while Saul was on the road to go and kill some more Christians, something kind of supernatural happened! He was blinded by a light from heaven, fell to ground, and heard the voice of Jesus. Jesus asked Saul, "Why are you persecuting me?" and then told Saul to go into the city and wait.

If the story ended there, we would be all like “YES! Saul got what he deserved! He was killing and throwing Christians in jail, so now he’s going to be blind for the rest of his life as punishment!” Only….that’s not what happened!

God sent a follower of Jesus to meet Saul- a guy by the name of Ananias, and Ananias told Saul that Jesus forgave him for the things he was doing and that Jesus wanted Saul to follow him and tell others about him! Now that's a pretty shocking twist! So, Ananias prayed for Saul, and the Bible says that it was like scales that fell off of Saul’s eyes. He could see again! Saul was so shocked and amazed that right then and there, he believed in Jesus and was baptized (which means that he wanted to show people publicly that he was going to follow Jesus with his life!). Acts 9:19-21 says that Saul started travelling and telling people about Jesus, and this just floored people. People were absolutely shocked that this HATER of Christianity became a Christian himself! I mean, this guy had KILLED people just because they believed differently than him! 

Now, this guy Saul, he became kind of a big deal. In the Bible, you might know him by another name—Paul. And this guy Paul, became a pastor and missionary—a leader of the early church. He actually wrote 13 books of the Bible! Maybe you never thought about that before—but a good chunk of the New Testament was written by a guy who used to hate Christians so much that he had them thrown in prison or killed!

Later on, in 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Paul wrote: “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I AM THE WORST OF THEM ALL. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.”

Isn’t that amazing! Paul here, admits that Jesus came to make a way for sinners to be forgiven (sinners are people who say and do things that are the opposite of what God wants). Paul even says that he was the WORST SINNER OF THEM ALL! He definitely didn’t deserve God’s love and forgiveness! He definitely didn’t deserve a second-chance, but God gave it to him anyway, because the thing that God wants THE MOST is for everybody (no matter who they are, or what they’ve done) to experience his love and forgiveness!

Hopefully none of us are killers, but the Bible tells us that all of us have sinned—we all say and do things that are the opposite of the way God tells us to live. We lie. We’re unkind to people. We might gossip. We might look at stuff on our computers that we know isn’t right. We might be selfish, We might lash out at people in anger….the list goes on and on. And that's just what we did today!

But this is the really good news. Despite the fact that we’re all a mess—despite the fact that we keep making bad choices and do things that we know God isn’t proud of, just like for Paul—God offers us love and forgiveness, and a brand new start. A second, third, fourth, and a one-hundredth chance to follow him! When I think about Paul’s story in the Bible---I sometimes ask myself—WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD GOD FORGIVE THIS GUY? I mean, he was throwing Christians in prison and even killing them! I mean, didn’t this guy cross a line?

Some people have this picture of God being someone who enjoys punishing us--- where he wants you to pay for your mess-ups, but that’s not true at all! One of my most favourite Bible verses is in Psalm 103:8-10 where it says, “God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs”.

Definitely, one of the best reminders we can have as we start a new year, is that God loves us—he wants a friendship with us—he wants us to follow him—and he wants us to accept his love and forgiveness, even if we might not deserve it! He did it to Paul--- a guy who killed other Christians and considered himself to be the WORST SINNER EVER—and he can do it for you and me! Christians (people who try to follow Jesus) aren’t perfect people. We’re just people who try our best to follow God with our lives and lean on God’s grace when we mess up! We're people who NEED God's AMAZING GRACE!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HOME

1. What do you find the most shocking about Saul/Paul's story?

2. Do you think it's fair that Jesus offered him forgiveness? Why or why not?

3. What is the hopeful thing about Paul's story? What's the good news?

4. Remind your teen that no matter what they've done or how badly they've sinned-- God isn't standing up in heaven pointing his finger down in judgment. His actual response is quite jaw-dropping! He's wanting for us to come to him for forgiveness! 

Christmas: UNWRAPPED! CATALYST Youth, Dec 7, 2018

This week at CATALYST, we took a look at how the first Christmas in the Bible mirrors the Christmas we celebrate today:

1. THERE'S ANTICIPATION!

A big part of what makes Christmas so exciting is the ANTICIPATION—the build up! When I was a kid, it was REALLY hard to wait until Christmas. It seemed like time slowed down and the days passed by slower than ever! We were so anxious to open our gifts that we would even sneak around and see if we could find where they might be hidden!

In the Bible—leading up to Christmas—there was A HUGE level of anticipation! In fact, even in the story of Adam and Eve at the beginning of the Bible, when humanity chose to sin and ignore God’s rules for living, God spoke to Satan (the tempter) and said that there would come a day when a child would defeat sin and evil! (Actually, specifically, God said that a child would stomp on his head—but that’s what it means). Genesis 3:14-15

From the very beginning, and all through the Bible we’re given TEASES that God had a plan to make a way for us to be forgiven for our sins!

Isaiah 7:14 is probably one of the biggest teases in the Bible. It was written 700 YEARS before Jesus was born! (This is one of those examples of Prophecy that came true in Jesus that we looked at a few weeks ago. Remember, in the New Testament—the second part of the Bible, there are people who are actually READING the Book of Isaiah. They are reading the Bible in the Bible! How? Well, as we looked at, the Bible wasn’t written at one time--- it was written by many people over thousands of years.)

This is what Isaiah said---“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Think about that! 700 years before Jesus was born, God told Isaiah to deliver a message--- that there would be a virgin birth! This alone is incredibly miraculous! That kind of thing doesn’t happen everyday. AND then he says that the child will be IMMANUEL- that this baby would somehow be GOD IN THE FLESH!

In Isaiah 9:6—again, written 700 years before Jesus was born, it says, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” This again, is some pretty shocking stuff--- the TEASE is that a baby would be born who would be called MIGHTY GOD, AND EVERLASTING FATHER!

All through the Old Testament people are told that a saviour would be coming to help them know and follow God. If you think waiting for Christmas is hard when it’s a few weeks away, they were waiting sometimes THOUSANDS OF YEARS to unwrap this gift---for God’s promise to come true!

2. THE BIG DAY ARRIVES!

As a kid, it was REALLY hard to get to sleep on Christmas Eve, but it was SO worth it--- because we knew that there would be some amazing presents under the tree! It was so exciting to unwrap a gift and find that thing that I had been wishing and hoping for! Well, in the Bible---- after a long, painful wait, the thing that the people of Israel had been wishing and hoping for, finally happened!

Some INCREDIBLE THINGS happened on this first Christmas. Mary was visited by an angel! She was told that, through her, God would save the world from their sins! She was then told that she would become SUPERNATURALLY pregnant with this saviour! (Imagine having to explain that to your parents and fiancé. They probably thought she was the biggest liar in town!) In fact, it was so hard to believe that Joseph (her fiancé) was going to break things off until an ANGEL visited him and confirmed everything! Then, when Jesus was born, a STAR appeared to mark the place of his birth! Angels showed up in the fields to announce to shepherds that God’s promised saviour had been born!

That’s the reason why we celebrate Christmas today. God has given us this FREE, AMAZING gift. He wants to forgive us for all of the wrong things we’ve said and done. He wants to give us a brand new start! The God of this Universe wants to have a friendship with us--- and all we have to do is unwrap the gift--- to invite Jesus into our lives! And what's really cool is that the Bible says that when we do that--- when we accept this gift God has given us, it says that ALL OF HEAVEN celebrates! (Luke 15) It’s a BIG DEAL! It’s a BIG DAY!

3. SHARING GOOD NEWS

If you unwrap something AWESOME, you usually don’t keep it a secret! You tell your friends! You’re excited about it! In the Bible, The Shepherds had angels appear to them in the middle of the field to announce that the Saviour had been born! They then were told to go to Bethlehem to see for themselves….AND THEY DID!

Luke 2:17 says, “After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished”. These guys couldn’t keep it to themselves! 

I’m sure some people thought they were totally insane! “Yeah, right—angels talked to you and God is a baby”! But that didn’t stop them…..and God wants us to share the good news of Jesus with others too! This means actually living out our faith and living different from other people. It might mean sharing a Christian perspective in a conversation or discussion or explaining why we choose to live the way that we do. You can share the good news by inviting friends out to CATALYST--- or even just saying that you were out at CATALYST and telling your friends about it! It could be as simple as saying that you were a part of church on Sunday when they ask you what you did on the weekend! You can share good news by offering to pray for a friend who is going through something difficult!
We have REALLY good news to share with other people… and God wants us to share it!

4. THE THANK YOU NOTE!

Luke 2: 20 says that after the shepherds spread the news, “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told”.

It says they worshipped God! They expressed their thanks and praise to him!

Did you ever have to write a thank you note after Christmas? It can be a real pain for some kids—a huge hassle, because we don’t want to write a note THANKING someone for the videogame, we just want to play it! Eventually, we all learn that it's really important to express appreciation to people who've given us a gift. They didn’t have to do it! They didn’t have to spend time and money on you, but they did it because they care about you and want to show it in a tangible way! I learned as a kid that, even if I unwrapped a pair of huge, ugly, hand-knitted wool socks (and I’m allergic to wool) that I could be TRULY thankful that the person cared so much about me. That, at the very least, it’s the thought that counts! Well, thankfully, God’s gift to us is WAY better than wool socks!

If you’ve experienced God’s love and forgiveness--- if you’ve invited Jesus into your life, then every day of your life can be a THANK YOU CARD to God!

That means that we can thank God by singing songs of worship that give him props! We can thank him personally through prayer! We can thank God by spending time reading the Bible and thinking about it on our own! We can thank God by coming out to CATALYST or being a part of church because it shows him that he’s important to us! We can thank God by making the right choices in life even when it’s REALLY hard! We can thank God by living our lives the way he designed them to be lived! We can thank God by giving, helping and showing kindness to others! Our lives can be one big THANK YOU card to God!

Christmas is fun and exciting---and that really mirrors what happened on that very first Christmas! It was kind of a big deal! There was a ton of anticipation! The big day arrived with all kinds of miraculous stuff going on! The shepherds went into the town and told everyone they could about the good news (even if it might have sounded crazy or weird!) AND then they worshiped God! And thousands of years later--- we’re reminded that this gift of Jesus is for us too! We can experience his love and forgiveness for ourselves! We can have a friendship with God! We can show and tell others in the things we say and do that we love and follow God! AND we can worship him with our lives--- not just through singing or talking to God personally, but by living life the way he designed it to be lived!

QUESTIONS FOR HOME

1. What is your favourite part of the first Christmas found in the Bible? What stands out to you? What do you find most interesting? Why?

2. How can you tell if someone is a Christian (if someone loves and follows Jesus)? How might that be evident in their life? Can people see those qualities or attributes in you? Pray that God would help you to be open and honest with other people about your faith and that it would be evident in the things you say and do.

STUFFED Part 2- CATALYST Youth- November 30, 2018

This week, for Part 2 of our STUFFED series, we talked about GENEROSITY.

Generosity is a pretty important message that we often hear at Christmas time! In fact, the whole reason why we celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to one another, is because Christmas celebrates God making a way for us to experience his love and forgiveness. In case you never thought about it, “Christmas” LITERALLY mean’s CHRIST’S MASS (Christ isn’t Jesus’ last name—it means SAVING ONE), and a mass is a service where Christians gather to remember Jesus (Roman Catholic churches still call their services masses!)….SO, the meaning of Christmas is to “GATHER TO REMEMBER THE SAVING ONE!” Christmas is all about generosity because God SENT Jesus to make a way for us to experience his love and forgiveness (even if we don’t deserve it!). THAT’S PRETTY GENEROUS!!

The dictionary describes generosity as showing kindness through giving and sharing, being un-selfish, and being open-handed! That's something we hear a lot about at Christmas. And tonight, we looked at the classic story of "A Christmas Carol" and how it's quite similar to a parable that Jesus told. A parable is a made-up story that contains some kind of lesson about life and God--- and Jesus was pretty famous for telling them! One in particular, has quite a few similarities to Scrooge's story. This makes sense since Charles Dickens was a Christian (he even wrote a book about Jesus for his kids).

In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus told the story of "The Rich Fool". It's similar to "A Christmas Carol" in these ways:

FIRST: The main character is someone who is super rich and has plenty for himself

SECOND: The rich man in Jesus' story hoards more for himself instead of showing generosity. Scrooge, of course, is known for his selfishness and greed.

THIRD: Something supernatural happens. In Scrooge’s story, he’s visited by Ghosts. In Jesus’ story—God shows up!

FOURTH: Scrooge is given a glimpse of what will happen to him if he keeps being greedy and selfish…and if you know A Christmas Carol, it gets pretty morbid at the end, where he sees his own grave. Well, Jesus’ story goes there too! He says that the guy is going to die, having never helped anyone or made a difference in anybody else’s life. He’s going to die alone—greedy and selfish!

FIFTH: Scrooge’s story ends with him realizing that he needs to change….and Jesus’ story ends with a warning to all of us--- that we should be SELF-LESS instead of SELFISH, that we should be OPEN HANDED instead of TIGHT-FISTED! Jesus tells us to be “rich towards God”- or in other words, to worship God by being GENEROUS! 

How is the story of the rich fool relevant to us today?

1. WE ARE THE RICH GUY

If you are reading this, then you are rich. You might not think so, if your family makes $24,000 a year (that’s like $500 a week- which is less than minimum wage and is pretty much impossible to live on in Canada), you are in the richest 8% of the world’s population and make 14 times the global average! (givingwhatwecan.org). We are super blessed! We are incredibly fortunate to have been born in Canada, to have things like a roof over our head and to have most of our needs met. We really take it for granted…but WE ARE ALL THE RICH GUY IN JESUS’ STORY!

2. BEING RICH ISN’T BAD—IT’S ACTUALLY GREAT--- BECAUSE WE ARE IN A UNIQUE POSITION!

Being rich isn’t a bad thing. In fact, the Bible never says that wealth or money is bad, it’s only when we love it too much that it’s a problem! Think about this—who is better able to sponsor a child in Africa? Someone in Africa, or someone in North America? Who is better able to provide food to people who are hungry---someone who is well fed with a fridge full of food, or someone who has empty shelves?

One of my favourite comic book characters is SPIDER-MAN. Spidey's Uncle Ben gave him some pretty famous words of advice- words that Spidey constantly reminds himself of: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. This reminds Spider-Man that he doesn't have powers to make himself famous, to make life more comfortable for himself, or to make money for himsef, but that he has a responsibility to use the "gift" that he's been given in a way that helps others and makes his world a better place. That’s what drives Spidey to be a hero!

Well, just like Spiderman—we have GREAT POWER. Sure, none of us (I think) have the ability to sling webs and climb up the side of buildings, but we are all SUPER RICH…and so with that, there’s a GREAT RESPONSIBILITY that rests on our shoulders!  We each have a choice to make in what to do with what we’ve been given, and when teens get older and jobs and bank accounts of their own, that responsibility is even greater for them!

We can choose to get more and more stuff for ourselves. To upgrade. To BUILD BIGGER BARNS to store all of our stuff. To live in selfish ways. Or, we can choose to be generous- to use what we have to be a blessing to others, to make a difference in the lives of people who weren’t so fortunate to be born in Canada where, for the most part, all of our needs are provided for.

While your power increases as you get older and have a job of your own, teens are still pretty powerful today. They can choose to volunteer in ways that help others. They can encourage their families to be involved in things that they are passionate about! (If my kid comes up to me because he sees a need and really wants to do something to help, I’m not just going to ignore him!). They can be involved in a school fundraiser! Every year, we take a couple of groups down to the Capital City Mission so provide food and goodies to people who drop-in--- and they can be brave enough to join us! They can even put a few bucks in our CATALYST OFFERING and VOTE on what MISSION PROJECT they would like to support!

Being RICH is not a bad thing! And I should mention again, that it’s totally ok to have a Christmas wish list and to get presents…but when you do unwrap stuff on Christmas, hopefully you’ll be overwhelmed with how blessed you are and how thankful you are that people have shown generosity to you! Hopefully it’ll inspire you to be more generous to others!

3. GENEROSITY IS INSEPERABLE FROM CHRISTIANITY

If you’ve accepted God’s love and forgiveness for yourself, then one way we can worship God is by following him—by doing what he values. And all through the Bible, we’re encouraged to love others and do what we can to help people in need.

Christians, have HISTORICALLY been known for their generosity! In the Bible, particularly in the Book of Acts, people in the early church were known for selling properties and extra stuff, making sacrifices in order to help people in need--- and that’s one reason why the church just grew and grew. People were blown away by how Christians loved other people!

That’s not just ancient history though--a recent survey by the Barna instutite (see below) discovered that practicing Christians (people who take their faith seriously and live it out) were more generous than other people! For example, a Christian is 17% more likely to provide food to a poor person or family, is 17% more likely to volunteer to help others in their community, and far more likely to help the poor in their own country AND in other countries! 

Some of the most recognized relief organizations in the world are organizations that were founded by Christians-like World Vision, Compassion International, the Red Cross, and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

If you call yourself a Jesus follower, than you’re challenged to live in a way that follows his teaching and example! And GENEROSITY is a huge part of that.

1 John 3:18-19 says, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees someone in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

DISCUSSION FOR HOME:

1. Think and talk about the many ways that you and your family is rich. How are you blessed? What are things that you have that others would only dream of? What's the difference between wanting things and needing things? Take some time to pray and thank God for the ways that he has blessed you.

2. As we are approaching Christmas, talk as a family about how you can show generosity to others this month, and ongoingly throughout the year. Perhaps your family is already very generous, but your teen doesn't really know of the many different ways that you give? Talk about how and why you give in the particular ways that you do. Ask God to help you and your family not be like Scrooge or the rich fool in Jesus' story, but to live lives full of generosity.

Christmas Gift Guide: Bibles/Devotionals For Your Kids and Grandkids

Christmas is just around the corner, and while I wouldn't suggest substituting a Bible for the videogame that's on your kid's or grandkid's wish list (unless you want a mutiny to happen), Christmas CAN be a pretty good opportunity to buy something for your child or grandchild that can help foster their faith. Here's a list of a few great gift ideas! These are pretty widely available in Canada (Amazon Canada, Indigo, Books For Christ), but most of the links of preview samples are at ChristianBook.com in the U.S.

Note: This post in a new update of an older post on this topic.    -Pastor Ben

FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS

 

The Baby Bible (by David C Cook Publishing)

We wore through this set with our kids! Each of these board books has a different theme (ABCs, 123s, Animals, Stories About Jesus...) with colourful pictures and a simplified Bible story (including actions). If you are ordering these books online, just be aware that there isn't much of a difference between the Boys and Girls versions aside from the colour of the covers.  Here's an example of the Animals book in a PDF (My personal favorite). 

Lift The Flap Bible (by Sally Lloyd Jones)

Lift the flap books are a kids favourite (The Little People series being quite awesome), but this is the Bible with flaps that my kids enjoyed the most. The artwork is great and the flaps help animate the Bible stories quite well (for example, I loved how the flaps in the story of Exodus shows the Egyptian army getting closer and the waters parting). Here's an online sample of this book. 

Little People: Noah and the Animals

I've spent quite a bit of time searching for great "lift the flaps" books, and none can compare to the Little People series. This version of "Noah and the Animals" is a lot of fun, encouraging kids to find hidden animals or objects throughout the story. The pages are colorful and huge. Of course, like most renditions of Noah's Ark, it doesn't highlight the reason why God flooded the earth in the first place, but it's a great read for babies and toddlers. Here's an online sample of this book.

Candle Bible for Toddlers or The Beginner's Bible

These are great for toddlers and kids in kindergarten. The pages are fun and colorful (the Beginner's Bible looks like animation from The Simpsons) and the Bible stories are short and simplified which I like a lot better than the Bibles that just contain excerpts direct from the NLT or NIV. I find that when I read this with my kids, we usually read a few stories at a time. Here's an online sample of the Candle Bible for Toddlers. And here's an online sample of The Beginner's Bible.

The Smartest Giant in Town (by Julia Donaldson)

Ok, so now I'm cheating a little bit. This isn't a Bible, it doesn't contain any references to the Bible, and as far as I'm aware, the author isn't a Christian, but this book is PERFECT. I don't know the names of many authors of children's books, but I know and love Julia Donaldson's stuff (Monkey Puzzle, The Gruffalo, and Stick Man are super fun!). This book, however, stands above and beyond the others. It is very much like Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan, telling the story of a giant who gives selflessly and makes sacrifices to help others in need. Fun artwork, great rhyming and a powerful message! I would recommend getting the board book version if you've got younger kids. As kids get older, they can easily read it for themselves! You can view the entire story on Youtube here (although after reading it hundreds of times, I like my rendition of the giant's song and the character voices more).

The Bible App For Kids

This isn't really a gift idea, although you CAN purchase a physical Bible storybook based on the app, but if you are in the mood for a Bible that is more interactive and portable, I highly recommend The Bible App For Kids. It is a free download for Apple and Android devices. While I wouldn't recommend this replacing times where you sit and read with your kids, this can be a fun change of pace. Kids can use the app on their own to click through the stories, finding hidden secrets, laughing at the animation, and doing interactive activities based on the stories. Some of the animations (like Samson doing his best pro wrestler impersonation) are hilarious!  You can find out more info and get the links to download it here. 

FOR ELEMENTARY AGE KIDS

GodTime Devotional Sheets

These also aren't devotionals that you can buy or give as gifts, but these are FREE every week at KIDZONE (our weekly Sunday morning kids program at Arlington Woods). Each GodTime sheet gives kids an opportunity to dig deeper into the themes and lessons that they learn on Sundays. The GodTime sheet for kids in grades JK-1 includes a colouring page, while the sheets for older kids often include fun puzzles! Oh, and kids can also re-watch the movie and story videos that we use at KIDZONE by visiting Studio 252!



My First Hands-On Bible

This is a great option for families who want to do devotions together with their kids. It's not a complete Bible, but does take excerpts from the actual NLT translation to walk through the Bible's most notable events. This isn't always a good thing, as it's not as read-able as a storybook Bible, but it has some really great pictures, and best of all, has a lot of action cues and ways to involve kids during and after each story. For example, kids are encouraged to make sounds like a storm during the story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves, and in the story of Jesus' crucifixion, you're encouraged to rip a tissue in half to explain the significance of the temple curtain being supernaturally torn! I know, right? You can check out an online example here. There is also a regular 'Hands-On Bible' for older kids.

Read With Me Bible
This Bible is a pretty decent option for early readers in SK-Grade 2 as it contains a lot of great looking artwork and a simple paraphrase of the stories for kids to read on their own. You can see an online example here.

Keys For Kids

Keys For Kids isn't a Bible, but it's a devotional magazine (think of a kids version of 'Our Daily Bread'**) that's been around for years. Each day contains a relevant story where kids learn some kind of biblical truth. It's suitable either for family story time or for kids grades 3+ to read on their own and even includes some puzzle or activity pages. As a kid, I still remember this being the main way I dug into the Bible by myself (aside from comics-- see below!) You can order a FREE subscription and have a physical book mailed to your home) here, or you can read it online or download the app. My personal preference is to read from an actual paper book. (**By the way, there is a kids version of 'Our Daily Bread' which is more of a one-year Bible format. You can view a PDF sample of that here.)

The Action Bible

As an older kid and pre-teen, I would NEVER have spent much time reading the Bible if it hadn't been given to me in comic book form. There are some great comic Bibles available today that will have your kids actually wanting to turn the pages. The action Bible was illustrated by a comic-book artist who has worked on Captain America and Batman, so it looks great! This is more for older kids (grades 3+) as they do depict scenes of violence to a greater degree than in the little-kid Bibles. It's also a pretty large book with a whopping 752 full-colour pages-- so for the price, it's an amazing deal for what you get! Check out a sample of The Action Bible here.

Manga Bible

If your kid likes a more Japanese animation style or is into shows like Pokemon, you can't go wrong with the Manga Bible series. Messiah, Messengers, Mutiny and Metamorphosis are just a few, although Messiah is a good place to start, as it highlights the whole story of Jesus. What I like most about the Manga series is that on every page, it has Bible references to see exactly where to find that part of the story in the Bible.  Check out a version of Manga Messiah here!

The Awesome Coloring Book of Bible Comics

If your kid likes comics AND colouring, this is a pretty great pick. This is most suitable for older kids (grades 2+) who prefer to take their time and colour in more intricate designs. You can see samples here.

The Adventure Bible

If you would like to give a Bible with the complete text with your kids, then The Adventure Bible (NIV) is a great choice, especially for kids ages 8+. It's pages are full-colour and there are a lot of pop-up windows that give extra insight into what's happening. You can also get The Adventure Bible For Early Readers (NIRV) that's a little more readable for younger kids (ages 6-10). To see a sample of the Book of Mark, click here!

I hope this list has given you a few great gift ideas! If your family or your kids like a different Bible or use some other great devotional, let me know in the comments! -PB

STUFFED Part 1- CATALYST YOUTH, November 23, 2018

Today is Black Friday. While we get together tonight, there are crowds of people fighting over the last Nintendo Switch and honking furiously in parking lots! Today is a great day to talk about STUFF. In this first part of our series, we're talking about CONTENTMENT, and next week we'll be focusing on GENEROSITY.

Being content means to be satisfied. To be happy with what you have. Have you ever met someone who is content? It's a pretty rare thing these days. ESPECIALLY on Black Friday! The reason why contentment is so rare, is that we live in a culture that is constantly telling us NOT TO BE CONTENT. Think about it—we’re SURROUNDED by advertising online, in magazines, at the mall, and on TV that tell us that we can’t be happy unless we have what they’re selling. 

In fact—do you know what corporations call us? They call us CONSUMERS! Have you ever thought about that word and what it implies? A consumer is a mindless machine that constantly consumes. It eats, and eats, and wants more and more, and is NEVER satisfied! Companies invest millions of dollars to market their products and brands as something that's "cool", so you'll be lining up to get their stuff. They love it when you wear their logos on your clothes! They love it when you upgrade to something newer! Why? Because they are making money off of you. Billions of dollars off of you! They don’t want you to be happy with what you have--- they want you to buy their stuff…and once you have it, they want you to buy more stuff they’re selling!

Our culture, loves stuff so much that CBC NEWS recently reported that on average, Canadians now owe $1.70 for every $1 they earn--- that means that people spend about 3/4 more than they make! So if you made $10,000, you would spend $17,000! Even kids know that this isn't a very smart thing to do. Eventually, people start owing so much and getting so far in debt, that they feel hopeless. In fact, the #1 reason why couples fight and families get broken up is because of financial stress. It happens because most people have bad spending habits and owe so much that they’re constantly worried about how they’re going to pay for essential things like food and having a roof over their head!

Our culture loves stuff so much, that UNBOXING videos get MILLIONS of views- so many views that people can earn a living off of opening packages! That sounds like a pretty cool job, but it’s totally crazy that we’re all so obsessed with watching people unwrap stuff! This kind of thing just makes us want stuff more and more. The more we look at stuff, the more we think about stuff, the more we want it! Our love for stuff can make us go a bit crazy! Have you ever been in a store with a huge sale during Black Friday? It’s like war! People will actually push and shove to get stuff--- and sometimes they don’t even really want the stuff--- they just want it because OTHER people want it! A mob mentality takes over!

While there’s nothing wrong with liking stuff and wanting stuff and there’s nothing wrong with having a Christmas wish list (I have a Christmas wish list!)---the Bible DOES warn us about becoming obsessed with stuff, it warns us about not letting our happiness depend on what we have. If you’re sad, angry or depressed because you don’t have something you want or because you want what someone else has, then that’s a problem. So tonight, we’re just going to check out a bit of wisdom from the Bible about STUFF.

1. STUFF NEVER SATISFIES

Some of the Bible was written by a guy named King Solomon. King Solomon was kind of like the Donald Trump of the Bible (political views aside). He was the King of Israel, so he had fame and power, and along with that, he was SUPER RICH…but surprisingly, that’s not what he’s most famous for. He’s most famous because he asked God to give him wisdom, so that he could be the best leader for his people, and there are a few books of the Old Testament that are full of his wise sayings and advice.

In Ecclesiastes 5:10, he says, “Those who love money (or what money can buy) WILL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.”

Have you ever heard of the phrase, “money can’t buy happiness”--- well that came from King Solomon, the richest guy on the planet!

Have you ever WANTED something REALLY BAD--- where you felt that you just WOULDN’T be happy without it? Where all you could do was think about getting that thing? How many of those things are gathering dust on your shelf today, or ended up getting tossed in the garbage, or donated? Probably a fair bit. People grow tired of toys. That electronic device that you so desperately want will be out-dated next year and you'll be wanting the next upgrade. The clothing or brand you want now will wear out or go out of style. The video game you want now will be sitting in a stack of unplayed games in a few weeks.

Areally good tip to remember is that where there’s something that you REALLY want—remind yourself that it’s just stuff--- and that it won’t actually make you content. That you might be a happy for a bit, but eventually that happiness will wear off, and you’ll be looking for something else to make you happy!

Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.”

Jesus says that we should BE ON OUR GUARD against wanting more and more things. We need to make sure we don’t get sucked into believing that stuff will make us truly happy--- that if we finally get_________ we’ll be done wanting anything else. That’s just not reality. We are, kind of, naturally, CONSUMERS—but Jesus is reminding us that there’s more to life than just consuming more and more for yourself.

2. REALIZE HOW RICH YOU ARE!

Would you say that you and your family are RICH? You might not think so, but we are considered to be some of the richest people in the world! In fact, if you make $24,000 a year (that’s like $500 a week- which is less than minimum wage and is pretty much impossible to live on in Canada), you are in the richest 8% of the world’s population and make 14 times the global average! (givingwhatwecan.org) 

My wife and I try to live pretty simply. We're been debt-free for 12 years, and we want to keep it that way. We rent a two-bedroom apartment, so with two kids and two adults, it can get a bit cramped, but we live simply because we don't want to spend more than we make and we want to have a parent at home while the kids are still little. We are kind of odd-balls in our culture. Most of my kids’ friends have parents who both work all day and might spend an hour or two with their kids before putting them to bed every day.  Tanya and I aren't like the average Canadians. We rarely meet anybody who doesn't have any debt.

There are days when we think about UPGRADING from our apartment into a house--- but whenever we think about how nice it would be to have more space, we think about how it would cost more. We would have to deal with repairs and upkeep, we would both have to be working and would spend less time with the kids. We also think about how our sponsored child in Africa lives in a hut with no windows---how a grocery store is like something out of her dreams---and that in comparison--- my little 2-bedroom apartment is a PALACE to most people in the world! My fridge full of food is a huge luxury!

When I think about how rich I actually am, how blessed I am to have what I have, it changes my perspective. I find that it helps me not to want something just because others have it. It reminds me to be thankful and content with what I have instead of always wishing for more!

Remember our wise guy, Solomon? Well, in Ecclesiastes 6:9 he wrote, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.”  The richest guy in the world said that dreaming about nice things is like chasing the wind! You’ll never be happy! You’ll never be satisfied! You’ll never be able to catch it! He reminds us to ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE INSTEAD OF DESIRING WHAT WE DON’T HAVE! That’s a really challenging lesson to learn!

3. WE NEED GOD TO HELP US FIND CONTENTMENT

Sometimes, people look to things or circumstances to make them happy, sometimes they even look to a relationship to make them happy!

There was this famous French mathematician named Blaise Paschal in the 1600’s--- and he famously said that in every person there is a GOD-SHAPED hole. So basically, we all have a need to know and follow God--- and when we try to fill that hole with other things, it’ll never be satisfied! Our spiritual need won’t be satisfied with stuff, it won’t be satisfied with a girlfriend or boyfriend, it won’t be satisfied with money or fame… it’ll only be satisfied in God!

In the Bible, Paul wrote a lot about contentment--- and his life wasn’t all that great. He had been beaten up and thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus--- but in a letter he wrote, he had this to say, “I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength”.- Phillipians 4:11-13

Paul needed God’s help and strength to be content—to be thankful—to be happy, even when things weren’t going all that great for him! In the same way, because we live in a culture that’s obsessed with stuff and treats us like CONSUMERS, we need God’s help so that we don’t end up becoming greedy people who just want more and more and never find any satisfaction.

When we know and follow Jesus, he can help us to make wise choices in life, he can help change our priorities so that we’re not as selfish as we used to be, he can help us find contentment and happiness in a world that constantly tells us not to be happy and content.

DISCUSSION

1. Have your kids look around their room at stuff that they used to really want but never play or use anymore. Why do we keep it? Why are we attached to it? Why do you think we love possessions so much? Our culture is obsessed with stuff. In fact, some people even run out of room and have to rent a place to store all their stuff! Think about things that could be donated or given away to someone who could use them.

2. Take a look at some commercials on TV or online. What is the message that all of those ads give us? (That we can't live without their stuff, that it'll make us happy, that we'll be popular or successful if we have it). Remind your teen that while stuff is good, it'll never actually make us happy. It'll always leave us wanting for more.

3. Take the time to pray together and ask God to help you and your family not to obsess over stuff and getting more stuff. Thank God for all that you have and how blessed you are!