This week, we continued our series, “WHY?” by tackling a pretty tough, but super relevant issue- “Why are some Christians so homophobic?” This is an important issue, because, let’s face it, there are A LOT of people who call themselves Christians and yet are mean, hateful and offensive. These kinds of people often take aim at gay people or people who they disagree with on other issues, and because we live in a country (and culture) that’s "generally" super accepting of gay people, Christians are sometimes portrayed as the enemy! Just this past week, one of my old Bible College professors posted an article on Facebook that had to do with gay marriage, and it was just SHOCKING to read some of the comments made by “so-called Christians”. Unfortunately those are the kinds of people who often make the news, and as a result, there are a lot of gay people who feel that Christians are against them- that we hate them and that even God hates them!
So, this week we took the time to look at what the Bible says about homosexuality, talk about how Christians and even some gay people disagree on the issue, and then looked at how God wants us to treat people who we might disagree with.
1. BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS SAYING THAT GOD HAS THE RIGHT TO CALL THE SHOTS IN YOUR LIFE.
Before we really dig into this issue, the first thing we need to understand is that, if you’re a Christian (which LITERALLY means being a follower of Jesus), then not only have you accepted God’s love and forgiveness, but you’ve accepted that God has shown us a right and wrong way to live. God, as our CREATOR, intends for us to live our lives a certain way, and when we go our own way or reject the way God wants us to live, the Bible calls that “sin”. So, “sin” basically means to walk away from God’s plan or purpose for your life, and the Bible says that, when we walk away from God, we’re lost. We’re in trouble. We’ve chosen to separate ourselves from the God who loves us.
Following Jesus isn't easy because it often means giving up the things you might REALLY want to do, to live the way that God wants you to live instead. You’re basically saying, “God, I’m giving YOU the right to call the shots in my life”, "I’m giving YOU the steering wheel of my life"! TRUST ME, THAT’S NOT EASY!
It’s WAY easier to do what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do! It’s way easier for me to stay angry or get revenge on somebody instead of forgiving them and showing them kindness! It’s pretty easy to sleep with your girlfriend or boyfriend when cartoon hearts are floating in the air all around you. It’s pretty easy to lie in order to get out of trouble! It’s pretty easy to fight and argue with someone who disagrees with you instead of having a kind conversation. Following God’s way is HARD STUFF! Even Jesus found it hard, but in Luke 22:42 he famously prayed, “GOD, NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE”. In other words, “God, I want to ultimately do what you want, not what I want. You’re the boss! You’re in charge! I trust that you know best, so I’m going to follow your directions!” In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, YOU MUST GIVE UP YOUR OWN WAY, take up your cross, and follow me.”
So, as Christians, if we’re giving God the steering wheel of our lives, then that means being serious about living the way that he designed life to be lived! But, HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT WAY IS? Well, he’s given us the Bible—which is essentially our instruction book for living direct from the manufacturer of life. It's full of stories and teaching to help us know what’s right and wrong and to live the rich and fulfilling life God has planned for us! So, if you’re a Christian who has said, “God, not my way- I want to live life YOUR way”, then when we’re discussing LGBTQ issues, we really owe it to ourselves to look and see what the Bible says on the subject.
Below is a brief overview of what the Bible says about homosexuality, and we'll look at how and why some Christians (and even gay people) disagree about what it might mean.
2. ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, GOD CREATED MALE/FEMALE
Genesis 1:27 says, “God created male and female”. Genesis 2:18- 23 gives us a reason why. When God created the first man he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone”, so here, God acknowledges that loneliness isn’t healthy. (as a side note- in the same passage, he says that animals can't meet our need for human companionship either). So, what did God do? He created a partner who Adam could share life with...and that partner was a woman! It concludes with Genesis 2:24, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one”.
So right from Genesis we’re told that God invented male/female marriage! Now obviously this is kind of essential for procreation—you need a male and female to have children biologically, but more than that, it was an answer to LONELINESS. God made male and female to be the perfect partners for each other! (Note: this doesn't mean that a person who never gets married is missing out on God's best for their lives. As humans, we need to surround ourselves with friends who really care for us and meet that need of loneliness, but God definitely meant marriage between a man and a woman to be the ultimate expression of companionship.)
In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus said the same thing. When someone asked him if it was ok to get a divorce, Jesus said, “Haven’t you read the Scriptures? They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.” And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
Jesus, who by the way, was single (so he wasn't biased towards male/female marriage for personal reasons), emphasizes male/female marriage and that God has joined male and female together.
3. ANYTIME HOMOSEXUALITY IS MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE, IT'S REFERRED TO AS A SIN
Now, the Bible doesn’t mention homosexuality a lot (the purpose of the Bible is largely to know about who God is and our need for him), but in the six passages that SPECIFICALLY mention homosexuality (Gen 19, Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Cor 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10) it describes it as a sin or lists it right beside other sins like lying, stealing, being unkind, being greedy, getting drunk, cheating, and abusing people. So, in other words, these are all things that are the opposite of how God created us to live.
Probably the most compelling of those passages is Romans 1:18-32 which talks about how, when people continue to reject God and go their own way, one of the results will be that men and women will pursue same-sex relationships. It's saying that homosexuality is a result of the sin sickness in our world.
So when we look at the passages that speak of God’s INVENTION of male/female marriage, and when every passage that references homosexuality includes it in a list of other sins, then you can see why the vast majority of Christians would believe that homosexuality isn’t God’s intention for humanity. So, if someone is gay (in terms of them having same-sex attraction), most Christians would say that it’s because we’re all born with this sin problem where we naturally want to do what’s opposite of what God wants for us (which is just as true for a gay person as it’s true for me), and so that person who is attracted to someone of the same sex needs to struggle against that and not act out that attraction (because for Christians, it's not TEMPTATION that's wrong-- it's actually DOING the opposite of what God wants that's wrong).
There is a guy named Wesley Hill who is an author, a professor in a Bible College, and a gay Christian who believes that even though he has a same-sex attraction, that it's not what God intends for his life. In his book "Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality" he writes about how hard it is to give up what he might want in order to do what he believes is right- what he believes is right in God's eyes.
4. THE GREAT DEBATE
Now, all that said, there ARE Christians (gay Christians & Christians who aren’t gay) who would disagree and say that homosexuality isn’t a sin. This is why there are a few church denominations that have decided to marry gay people. They don’t see it as something wrong in God’s eyes. When those people read and try to understand what the Bible says, they’ve concluded that gay marriage is just as pleasing to God as male/female marriage, largely for two reasons…
A) The first is that Gay marriage wasn’t even a possibility at that time in history, so when the Bible was written, the concept of gay marriage didn’t exist! In fact, today in 2017, gay marriage is only LEGAL in 22 out of the 195 Countries on the planet, so, because it wasn’t legal at the time, it makes sense that any reference in the Bible to homosexuality would be negative.
B) The second argument is that because gay marriage didn’t exist at the time, anytime the Bible references homosexuality, it has to be talking about sex outside of marriage. The Bible tells us that God meant for sex to be a part of a committed marriage relationship. That’s the way he designed it! So, because any sexual relationship (gay or not) outside of marriage is a sin and gay marriage didn’t exist, then it's no wonder why the Bible speaks against homosexuality! The presumption here is that if gay marriage had been an accepted part of society at the time, God would be just as thrilled to see two people from the same sex get married as two people from the opposite sex.
So, as you can see, there’s a lot of disagreement on this issue. Christians don’t all agree! Gay people don’t even all agree! There’s a website called The Gay Christian Network where they’ve posted something called THE GREAT DEBATE, where two gay people have posted essays arguing both points. It’s pretty interesting to read the perspectives of two people, both gay, and both Christians, who disagree with each other about whether actually living a gay lifestyle is right or wrong.
5. WE CAN DISAGREE AND STILL BE FRIENDS
I know someone who is gay and EVERYBODY in his family knows about it except for his dad (who is a Christian). They’ve actually all decided to keep it a secret from him, because they think that if he were to find out, he would disown his son and want nothing to do with him! Isn’t that terrible?
That’s nothing like the way God sees us! A few weeks ago, we looked at the story of the Prodigal Son. This kid decided to leave home, insult his dad, spend all his money on parties and sleeping around—and the dad never stopped loving him! I’m sure the dad wasn’t all happy and excited about how his son had chosen to live his life—but he definitely didn’t hate him! When the son returned home, the dad ran out to meet him and welcome him back into the family with a huge hug! He offered him love and forgiveness! That’s the way God is with ALL of us—no matter what we’ve said or done!
If we’re people who have chosen to follow God’s way, then we should be known as people who are loving and kind to EVERYONE- even if we disagree with how they choose to live their lives! If I disagree with how someone chooses to live their life, whether that person is gay, or is a part of a political party that I disagree with, or gets wasted every weekend, or swears a lot, or likes the Toronto Maple Leafs, that shouldn’t change the fact that as a Christian, God has called me to LOVE that person.
In the Bible, Jesus was known as a “FRIEND OF SINNERS” (Luke 7) He would actually eat with people who were considered to be the “scum of the earth”- like prostitutes and thieves and other hated people! That doesn’t mean that Jesus thought the way they lived their lives was awesome! In fact, he often offered people forgiveness and told them, “go and stop sinning—start living the way God wants you to!” (John 8:11), but he was never all hateful and judgey towards people.
I have a lot of friends who make life choices that I disagree with. I have friends who sleep around. I have friends who get totally wasted. I have friends who download music and movies without paying for them. I have friends who REALLY hate God and want ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM (mostly because they’ve had a really bad experience with a jerk Christian in the past). I’m not all pushy and obnoxious and forceful with my beliefs. I don’t take every opportunity to let them know that “what they’re doing is wrong and GOD THINKS SO TOO!” If I’m having a conversation with a friend and they ask me my opinion, then I can share it in a way that’s loving and kind (1 Peter 3:16 emphasizes answering questions in a gentle and respectful way), but I don’t HATE people I disagree with! I want them to come to know Jesus. I want them to live the life that God intended for them. I hate to see them make destructive choices and have a lot of regrets and baggage in life, because I care about them, but I’m not their enemy. I’m not AGAINST them!
Some gay people would say—“Well, because you think I’m living my life in a way that’s opposite of what God wants for me, that means you’re against me and God’s against me!” BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE. That’s like saying that, I’m against my friend who gets drunk! I might disapprove of his life choices and pray that he makes some changes, but that doesn’t mean he’s my enemy! In the same way, Jesus showed love and hung out with the “scum of the earth” in his day. That doesn’t mean he loved the way they lived their lives! No. He wanted them to change and draw close to God, but he wasn’t their enemy!
This week we looked at what the Bible has to say about LGBTQ. We’ve seen how there are even Christians who disagree, but the most important think we can take home with us is that we can disagree with people and still be friends. It's a shame when Christians who disagree with a gay lifestyle are hateful and offensive. That certainly doesn't have God cheering. No matter where you might stand on this issue, if you're a Christian, then you need to be known for your love. Loving someone doesn't mean loving everything they do, but it means treating them with value and respect.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. This week, discuss with your teen about what they learned at CATALYST this week (discussing the Great Debate about Christianity and homosexuality). Ask them what they think about LGBTQ issues, and more importantly, what do they think God's opinion is? Ask them if they have any other questions they would like to talk about.
2. This week, Pastor Ben repeated, "We can disagree and still be friends". Ask your teen to explain what that means and how that might impact the way they interact with others as people trying to live the way God wants them to. For example, if your teen believes that homosexuality is the opposite of what God wants for people, how should they, as Christians, treat their friends or classmates who are gay? If your teen accepts what the Bible says about drunkenness being a sin, how does that impact how they treat people they know who get drunk or abuse drugs?
This week, I've posted more extended notes of my talk so that this post could be used as a reference for teens (or adults) who want some basic questions about The Lord's Supper or Water Baptism answered in a relatively easy-to-understand way.
This week, we looked at two of the strangest things you might witness if you were to go to church on a regular basis; THE LORD’S SUPPER, also known as COMMUNION or THE EUCHARIST, and WATER BAPTISM. These are two rites or traditions that are practiced by probably 98% of all churches…and you may have even seen them yourself….BUT WHAT DO THEY MEAN, and WHY DO CHRISTIANS DO THEM?
1. BREAD & WINE (COMMUNION, THE LORD’S SUPPER)
The Lord's Supper involves eating and drinking bread and wine. Generally, at some point during a service, people will pass around bread and wine as you’re sitting down, although in some churches they might even ask you to leave your seat and go up to the front to get the bread and wine yourself! Now, it’s not always bread and wine. Some churches substitute the bread for crackers or something gluten free, and a lot of churches use grape juice instead of wine because they want as many people as possible to participate and don’t want to serve something that contains alcohol to an alcoholic.
When I was a little kid and my family started going to church, I thought the LORD’S SUPPER was one of the weirdest things ever! I mean, it was kind of like having a snack time in church…but it wouldn’t happen every week…usually only once-a-month, and when they passed the “snack” around, they weren’t giving you a bowl or even a handful (you know, enough to tide you over until lunch), but they would want you to take just ONE SMALL PIECE. Then, when they passed around the grape juice, they weren’t handing out juice boxes, but they had these SUPER TINY cups of juice that barely contained a mouthful! I don’t think I had ever seen cups that small before! And THEN, when they gave us this microscopic “snack”, we were supposed to hold onto it until everyone got theirs and the pastor said it was ok…and then EVERYONE would eat or drink it at the same time! You can see why the Lord’s Supper is a pretty weird thing for people who’ve never been a part of a church service before.
As I got older, I began to understand that this wasn’t some weird monthly snack time where we all pretend that we’re giants holding tiny food, but that there’s ACTUALLY a reason why Christians take part in the Lord’s Supper—in fact, they’ve been doing it for a COUPLE THOUSAND YEARS! In the Bible, it tells us that just before Jesus was arrested and crucified on a cross, he shared a last meal with his disciples. You’ve probably seen the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting that depicts it! The Last Supper is actually recorded by FIVE different authors in FIVE different books of the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and 1 Corinthians)- which rarely happens…so that gives us some clue as to how important it is.
Now this wasn’t just some normal meal. Things got a bit weird, because after Jesus passed out a piece of bread to all of his disciples, he said “THIS IS MY BODY THAT’S BEEN BROKEN FOR YOU. EAT IT REGULARLY TO REMEMBER ME” (Luke 22:19)! That’s kind of a weird thing to say, isn’t it—the bread was his body and we should eat it? Jesus then passed around a cup of wine and told his disciples, “THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE COVENANT. IT IS POURED OUT TO FORGIVE THE SINS OF MANY PEOPLE”. DRINK IT REGULARLY TO REMEMBER ME! (Matthew 26:28) I’m sure the disciples were thinking, “What in the world is Jesus talking about here? Why is he calling the bread his BODY? Why is he talking about drinking his blood? That’s just messed up!" Jesus finished by saying, “TAKE PART IN THESE THINGS TO REMEMBER ME. WHEN YOU DO THIS, YOU’RE ANNOUNCING MY DEATH UNTIL I RETURN AGAIN” (1 Cor 11:26)
So, first things first—Jesus wasn’t actually telling his disciples that cannibalism is ok, but he was saying that the bread and wine were symbols of what would happen to him. The disciples wouldn’t have understood it at the time, but just hours later, Jesus would be arrested, beaten, and tortured and he would die on a cross- and EVEN BEFORE ALL THAT HAPPENED, Jesus was saying that something pretty amazing would happen through his death. God was going to make a way for all of us to be forgiven of our sins and have our broken relationship with God restored.
While Jesus was passing out the bread and wine to his disciples, he was telling them to “DO THIS OFTEN TO REMEMBER ME”. So, that’s why Christians all over the world regularly participate in the Lord’s Supper. It’s important that we REMEMBER how much we need Jesus and what he did for us! At our last CATALYST we talked about how sin (this tendency to go our own way instead of God’s way) dirties us up, pollutes us, and separates us from God—but through what Jesus did on the cross, God offers us a brand new start—a chance to be clean and have our sins forgiven!
Generally, the things you do REGULARLY are things that are essential for survival—eating, breathing, working, bathing….and Jesus is saying that it’s really important for us to REGULARLY remember our need for him! We need to REGULARY remember how much God loves us—and how, when we mess up, he wants to forgive us and clean us back up again. So, the next time you see the Lord’s Supper happening at a church—now you know- it’s not miniature snack time, but it’s a time where we think about our need for Jesus and thank him for what he did for us!
2. WATER BAPTISM
The other thing you might see in churches is this strange thing called Water Baptism. Water Baptism is such an important part of the church that most churches actually have "baptismal tanks" installed somewhere near the stage--that's right- they actually work it right into the building design! That's not always the case though- some churches will baptize people in lakes, rivers or swimming pools! Wherever water is handy!
Water Baptism generally involves someone getting in front of the whole church and stepping into a giant tub of water (which is kind of odd, because we don’t normally get in a tub with an audience watching—but this is different than that—you have to wear clothes!). Then, the pastor will usually say a few words and actually DUNK the person underwater! (which sounds like a pretty fun perk of the job, but the pastor doesn’t hold them underwater though—it’s usually a pretty quick ‘down and up’). When the person comes out of the water—the whole church is usually cheering and screaming and celebrating! You’ll never forget the first time you see something like that, because it just seems so bizarre!
So, why do people get baptized in water? Why do people cheer and celebrate when it happens? Well, the first time we hear about baptism in the Bible, this guy named John (who is actually known to us as JOHN THE BAPTIST) is telling people by the riverside that they need to turn from sin and make their lives right with God, and when people were deciding to do this, John was dunking them underwater in the river as a symbol that their sins had been washed away! Matthew 3 (along with a few other places in the Bible) tells us that right before Jesus began to teach people about God and do miracles, he asked John to baptize him. At first John didn’t want to do it, because he knew that Jesus wasn’t just some ordinary dude—Jesus didn’t have any sin to be forgiven---but Jesus told him that it was important. When John baptized Jesus, something amazing happened. The Bible says that people heard THE VOICE OF GOD—OUT LOUD—say, “THIS IS MY SON, AND I LOVE HIM. I AM VERY PLEASED WITH HIM.” (Matthew 3:16-17) and then the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove (which meant that people somehow visibly noticed the power and presence of God landing on him...not that an actual bird perched on his head.)
In Matthew 28:19-20, it tells us that after Jesus died and rose again, he gave his disciples a special mission- “GO INTO THE WORLD, SHARE THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD’S LOVE WITH OTHERS, AND BAPTIZE THEM!”…so the disciples started doing that right away! In the Book of Acts alone, it tells us 6 different times that when people believed in Jesus, the next step was that they were baptized in water right away! (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:38; 10:48; 16:15; 16:33; 19:35)
Just like the Lord’s Supper, Baptism is a symbol. It symbolizes how through Jesus, God has cleaned us up and given us a brand new start. Getting dunked in water doesn’t actually wash your sins away, it doesn’t do anything magical, but it’s a symbol of what God has done on the inside! It’s also a way for you to make a public declaration that you’re a Christian- someone who has decided to follow Jesus. So, that’s the reason why people get baptized in church- that’s the reason why people will cheer and be all excited about it-- because it’s that person saying, “Jesus has forgiven me and I’m serious- I want to follow him with my life”.
Now, there are some churches that baptize babies (including ours), but FUN FACT- that’s more of a church tradition—it actually never specifically mentions babies being baptized anywhere in the Bible. It does tell us in a few places that families were baptized (Acts 16:15; 16:33), but it never specifically mentions children, and in those cases, baptism happened after people believed in Jesus, so while you COULD argue that infants were baptized, it's a bit of a stretch.
Usually, when a baby is baptized, the parents bring their baby to the front of the church and instead of dunking them underwater, the pastor sprinkles them with a little bit of water. When churches baptize a baby, it’s a way to ask God to bless that baby, that he/she would grow to know and follow Jesus, and it’s a way to welcome the new addition to the church community. It’s also an opportunity for the parents to make a promise to raise their child in a way that they would know and follow Jesus when they’re older and it’s an opportunity for the congregation (the people in the church) to promise to help those parents and that child!
Now, because it doesn’t mention anywhere in the Bible about babies being baptized and that, in the Bible, water baptism always happened after someone made a personal decision to follow Jesus, most churches do BABY DEDICATIONS instead (which is exactly the same thing but doesn’t involve water). At Arlington Woods, we do both- depending on what the parents prefer—but they mean the same thing. That said, unless you go to a Roman Catholic church (which almost exclusively baptizes babies), you’re way more likely to see older kids or adults being baptized—something people do when they are old enough to understand the decision they’re making.
So there you have it. This week we looked at two rituals that most churches do on a regular basis. Churches celebrate the Lord’s Supper regularly to remember what Jesus did and remind ourselves how much we depend on God’s love and forgiveness. Because Jesus told us to do it regularly (probably because we're so forgetful), that's why most churches do it at least once-a-month when they get together. Water baptism is a public declaration of the change that Jesus has made in our lives- again, something Jesus told us to do and something that was done all through the New Testament!
So, if you’re a Christian—if you’ve asked God to forgive you and have invited Jesus into your life, deciding to follow him, you’re someone who can take part in the Lord’s Supper when it happens. If you've never been baptized in water before, you should really consider it. Talk to your parents (if you're a teen) or a pastor about it. It’s not something that you need to do to be saved from sin. It’s not a requirement for getting into heaven, but it’s something Jesus told us to do as a way of showing and telling others that we love God and want to follow him with our lives.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HOME
1. Ask your teen about what they learned about The Lord's Supper and Water Baptism this week! If your teen hasn't been baptized, share with them your experience when (if) you were baptized. Why did you do it? Why was it meaningful? If you were baptized as a baby, talk to your teens about why your parents thought that was important. Encourage them that baptism isn't something someone forces you to do- it's something you do when you're old enough to understand your decision to love and follow Jesus. If they're interested in being baptized, have a chat with your pastor about it!
This week, we continued our "WHY?" series, tackling the topic “Why is sin such a big deal?” Christians talk a lot about SIN. In fact, we even SING songs about how God has saved us from SIN. Just next week, Christians all around the world will celebrate GOOD FRIDAY and EASTER SUNDAY—this holiday weekend that’s not about some weird bunny that clucks like a chicken…but even MORE STRANGELY, it’s all about celebrating the fact that when Jesus was brutally killed on a cross a couple thousand years ago, something incredibly mysterious and miraculous happened—where he took the sins of the world on himself! But what exactly is sin- and why is it such a big deal?
SIN IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM
I shared a few stories of some EPIC messes, including when my daughter found a sharpie left on the table and preceded to draw all over our white couch, or the time I spilled the blood of a roast I was going to cook all over our white carpet. When I saw those stains, I was horrified! I knew that I had ruined something good. The Bible lets us know that our sin is just as horrifying.
Isaiah 64:5-6 says, “We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.”
When we do things that we know are wrong, when we choose to ignore what God wants us to do and do what we think is best instead, it leaves us with this nasty spiritual stain. As a result, we become disconnected and grow farther away from God—we might even feel a lot of regret, guilt, and shame. God doesn't want us to experience life apart from him. He doesn't want us to be filled with regrets and shame. Because he knows and wants the very best for us, he shows us the right way to live. "Sin" is simply the name for our choices to go our own way instead of God's way. In fact, the actual definition of the word is to "miss the target" (Think of an archer who shoots her arrow in the wrong direction).
This week, we took a look at the story of King David in 2 Samuel 11. The Bible actually records his greatest moment of failure. He was someone who loved and followed God, but when he faced temptation and gave in to it, it ruined his life. It started with him watching a woman bathing. He then sent his servants to get the woman and he committed adultery. When David found out she was pregnant and realized that his sin would be found out, he actually had her husband killed on the battlefield! David had walked so far away from God that God sent a prophet named Nathan to give him a bit of a wake-up call. Nathan made David aware of his sin--but it wasn’t just to lay a guilt trip on him—it was for him to repent (which is a fancy word that means to ask God for forgiveness and to turn from the direction you’re headed in, to stop doing those same things that are destructive for your life and that pull you far away from God).
In Psalm 51, it records David crying out to God. David realized the wrong he had done and asked God to forgive him. He said, "Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart".
JESUS IS THE ULTIMATE STAIN REMOVER
I shared with the teens how I used a cleaning product that really was miraculous. It cleaned the bloodstain out of the rug completely! The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Ultimate Stain Remover. It's very mysterious, but when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible tells us that something amazing happened. He took the sins of the world on himself! Your sin! My sin! If we repent, like David did, we can experience God's love and forgiveness. We can be made clean from the stain of sin!
Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool”.
When my kids get filthy and dirty playing outside—as a good parent, I’m not going to leave them all dirty and gross and let them sleep in their filth and go days without washing. NO WAY! That would be super unhealthy! Me letting them stay all dirty would actually be a form of child abuse—neglect! As a good parent, I’ll start the tub—I give them a good scrubbing, I dry them off and give them clean clothes! That’s just basic hygiene!
God is interested in our spiritual hygiene. He wants to clean us up! He wants to wipe away all of the guilt and shame. He wants that "wall of sin" that we've built up between us to be knocked down. He wants to give us a brand new start! And what's amazing is that, despite what we deserve, if we ask him to come into our lives and clean us up, he will! If he could do that for David, he can certainly do that for us.
That's why we talk so much about sin. It's a REAL problem. When Christians celebrate Good Friday and Easter, they remember how God did something miraculous and made a way for us to be close to him and to have all of our sins forgiven.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Share some funny stories with your kids about a time when you (or they) made a horrific mess. How did you manage to clean it up? Did someone help you? Did you use a cleaning product that actually did what it said on the label? Remind them about Isaiah 64:5-6. It says that our sin is such a big deal, that we can't clean it up by ourselves. We need Jesus to help us.
2. Share about how you experienced God's love and forgiveness (maybe for the very first time). Why did you ask God to help you? What was the spiritual mess that you needed help cleaning up? Remind them that God doesn't want them to live with guilt or shame, or to go through life far from him-- and that's why he made a way for the spiritual mess in our lives to be cleaned up- through Jesus!
This week, we continued our "WHY?" series by tackling the question, 'Why are there so many rules in the Bible?" A lot of people look at the Bible as an old, irrelevant rule book, so we took a closer look at the difference between rules in the Old Testament and why Jesus encourages us to live a certain way in the New Testament.
NOT EVERY RULE IN THE BIBLE IS MEANT FOR YOU!
There are a lot of crazy rules in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:19 says that we shouldn't wear clothes made out of two types of material. Leviticus 19:27-28 outlaws trimming your sideburns and getting tattoos. And let's not mention Leviticus 11:13's rule that we shouldn't eat bacon. These are usually the kinds of things people mention when they say that the Bible is irrelevant and out-dated, but as Christians, a lot of those rules aren't meant for us!
Particularly in the Old Testament, the majority of the rules were meant for the Jewish people at that particular time. These were the very first rules EVER. At that time, there were no laws, no police, no health code, no building codes- so a lot of the laws in the Old Testament were meant to ensure that the Jewish people would live by standards that would make them happy, healthy, safe, and close to God. Those laws also helped them stand out from some of the other nations around them who didn’t know or follow God and lived without any kind of morality. It’s crazy to think about, but some of the surrounding nations were even sacrificing their kids to their idols….so, it was a messed up world- and God was calling his kids to be different!
Now, that doesn’t meant that we should ignore all of the rules in the Old Testament. Most of them were given to the Jewish people for a reason....and some of those same reasons are relevant to us today. For example, the 10 Commandments not only remind us how God wants us to treat each other (no killing, stealing, lying etc...) but they also concern our relationship with him (don't worship fake gods).
FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS TRUSTING THAT HE KNOWS & WANTS WHAT'S BEST FOR US!
That said, as Christians (people who follow Jesus), it's the teachings of Jesus and the early church in the New Testament that are the most relevant to us. It's here that we're reminded that there is a right and wrong way to go through this thing called life, and that when we choose to go our own way instead of God's way (the definition of sin), it can hurt our relationship with him, it can hurt our relationship with others, and we simply won’t enjoy life the way our Creator designed it to be lived.
I shared a few stories from when I took woodshop in high school where there were a lot of people who didn't take the shop rules very seriously, and as a result, some serious accidents happened. While I wasn't one to break safety rules, I had the tendency to ignore the building plans and just make things up as I went along. While I had a few successes, I also created a few monstrosities (like the bathroom cabinet made completely with two-inch-thick pieces of wood or the desk I made that was so big, I had to cut the legs off just so I could fit it in my room).
In Matthew 7: 24-27, Jesus told a story about a couple of construction workers.
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
The first guy in Jesus’ story was pretty smart. He followed the plans, and as a result, when a storm hit, his house stood firm on a strong foundation. The second guy might have thought the instructions were irrelevant or old fashioned, or maybe he simply wanted to do his own thing, but the end result was that when a storm came, his house was blown apart.
Jesus told that story because he wanted to convey the importance of not just recognizing that God has given us guidelines for living, but that it's WISE to actually put them into practice. When God tells us the right way and wrong way to live, we need to see those things as being INSTRUCTIONS DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER. God spoke life into existence with just a word, he DESIGNED us, and we need to trust that God really does know and want what's best for us! In fact, Jesus himself said in John 10:10 that his purpose was to give us RICH AND SATISFYING LIVES! The whole point of God’s instruction manual isn’t to rob us of fun, but to help us through life, to point us in the right direction, to warn us of dangers, and to ensure that our relationship with him and others is healthy.
This is why Christians dig into the Bible so often. It's a part of what we do at youth group and church. It's something that (hopefully) we make time for during the week. It's full of things that challenge us and help us steer our lives in the direction that we were meant to go. It's meant for us to get through life with as few bumps, scrapes and regrets as possible. Part of being a Christian means FOLLOWING Jesus- living the way he directs us to live- choosing to let God call the shots in our lives, and trusting that he tells us how to live, not because he wants to suck the fun out of our lives, but because, as our CREATOR, he truly knows and wants the very best for us.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Share with your teens a time when you ignored the rules or guidelines to something (maybe a recipe, something you built, or even something your parents told you) and ended up with a disaster or really regretting it later. Can they relate? Have they ever decided to ignore rules (maybe as younger kids) and were nearly seriously injured? Talk about it.
2. Ask your teen about what they learned at youth this week. Do they know why there are so many rules in the Bible? Do they know why God cares how we live and why we should care about listening to what he says?
3. Encourage your teens to spend a few minutes reading and thinking about God's Word this week. Maybe that means having family devotions together? Maybe that means buying a devotional book to help them get the most out of that time? If they don't have something like that, point them towards one of the resources listed below. Tell them that, at least a couple of times during the week, you want them to tell you about what they read and what they think it means for their lives.
ONLINE DEVOTIONAL RESOURCES:
STUDENT DEVOS
DEVOZINE
FOR KIDS/YOUNGER TEENS: KEYS FOR KIDS
