In thinking about the evening I have been wondering how I should prepare my heart.  I believe there are three things we should all do in preparation for entering any worship environment:

My job for the evening was to guide us in a time of Lectio Divina.  Lectio Divina is a an ancient practice of Scripture reading which helps the reader pull the most out of God’s Word.  You can do this with any passage but we used Psalm 34.7-9:

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
   and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good;
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹ Fear the LORD, you his holy people,
   for those who fear him lack nothing.

These are the three questions we had people reflect on and journal:

1.  Listen to the Holy Spirit minister God’s Word to you. What one word or phrase especially touches your heart?

2.  Enter the passage. What emotions do you have? What personal struggle or longing in your life today is God speaking into? (Be specific.)

3.  Reading: Receive what Christ has for you today. What is your personal invitation from the Lord? What do you sense God might be saying to you?

Once again, you can choose any passage.  I would highly recommend that you start with Psalm 34 and breakdown the passage in 3-4 verse segments and do this exercise everyday this week.  It will both eye-opening and rewarding.

On another note:  After the service we send home baggies with packets of salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard.  We encouraged the participants to find a quite place at home and to taste each of the spice packets and answer this question, “how is tasting God like salt?” etc.

When challenging his leaders in relation to serving students he said there are three things he asks them to do:

1.  Pray

You can’t lead someone spiritually if you haven’t asked the Spirit to guide and help.  Prayer is one of those “must” that rarely ever happens.

2.  Prepare

Be ready to for what might come up with students.  Know what they are going through.  And if you are teaching a lesson, definitely take the necessary time to know and ingest the topic you are discussing.

3.  Pursue

Teens like to know they matter and one of the best ways to do that is to pursue them.  I’m not talking about during church or the EPIC teaching times, but outside of GPCC and EPIC.  Contact them through Facebook, text, or call them.  Meet with them for a shake or a burrito.  Show up at one of their sporting events.  Really, just love them throughout the week.

Thanks Adam, for this great reminder!

5 C’s of Life-Giving Communication

(Proverbs 18.21; Ephesians 4.25-32)

Introduction:

Over the past month we have been studying the book of Proverbs in a series we have titled, Street Smarts.    Our base verse for the series is Proverbs 1.20, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street.” The goal behind the series is to point out that there are two different types of wisdom, wisdom from God and earthly wisdom.  Earthly wisdom is often referred in this world as having street smarts.  We want to have street smarts but not so much in the way the world thinks.  We want to have heavenly street smarts and we want to know what it means to live life according to how God desires us to live it.

In the series we have already looked at giving, compassion, fear, hard work, and purity.  Today we are going to look at the tongue.  I will never forget in middle school, sitting in the main service and hearing our pastor announce the topic of the sermon and hearing it was on the use of the tongue.  I remember frantically getting out my Bible, notebook and pen and feverously taking notes to realize halfway through that this had nothing to do with kissing which was very disappointing to me.  So just to clarify this morning, this has nothing to do with kissing and everything to do with glorifying God with our speech.

Read Proverbs 18.21

The writer of Proverbs has much more to say about the tongue.  Listen to some of these warnings:

Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 17:20 A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

The tongue, according to God, literally is either a spring of life or a pit of death to not only ourselves but to others around us.  So how can we make sure that our speech is life-giving instead of speech that brings death?

5 C’s of Life-Giving Communication

Read Ephesians 4.25-32

1. Be Correct (Ephesians 4.25)

• Speak Out
• Speak the Truth
• Speak the Truth Lovingly

Example:  Someone who is in the church that we feel may be harming themselves spiritually.  Our obligation is to first speak out, but to speak the truth and to do so with love.

2.  Be Current (Ephesians 4.26-27)

• It is not always sinful to be angry
• It is sinful not to solve problems daily
• Failing to keep current gives the Devil an opportunity

Example:  Pastor Pow-wows where we check to make sure there is nothing between any of us that may give Satan any room to cause division.

3.  Be Constructive (Ephesians 4.29)

• Don’t use “unwholesome” words

1.     Your momma’s so dumb it took her an hour to make minute rice

2.     Your momma’s so dumb she stayed up all night studying for her blood test

• Speak only edifying words

Challenge:  How many of your conversations today ended up with the other person feeling better about who they are?  How often, even in sarcasm, do we tear each other down and rarely give thought to building each other up with our words.

4.  Be Controlled (Ephesians 4.31)

• Exercise Self Control.  Don’t allow the situation to control you
• Put off unbiblical reactions: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice

5.  Be Compassionate (Ephesians 4.32)

• Make the decision to act in a Christlike fashion
• Don’t allow yourself to react to the unbiblical actions of others.
• Put on biblical actions and attitudes: kind, tender-hearted, forgiving

Challenge:  If words such as, I’m sorry, How can I help?, is there anything I can do, etc. not in your vocabulary then perhaps you need to start working on being more compassionate with your speech.  The phrase, “If you don’t have anything nice to say than it is better to say nothing at all” is true on some levels but what is best is to work on creating a vocabulary that is full of compassion than just being silent.

These five principles of speech are necessary for us to develop so that we can give life instead of death with our words.

Conclusion:

Just a reminder that one way we can have street smarts is to heed the words of Proverbs 18.21, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  The words that God desires to hear aloud in the street are life-giving words.  May all the words that come out of your mouth be pleasing to the ears of others but more importantly to the ears of God.

Your kid’s an All Star? Wow! Someday he’ll be average like the rest of us.

The church in America is puzzled. Young adults are leaving in droves. Magazines, books and blogs are wagging the finger of blame to point out who is responsible. Some say it is a failure of youth ministry, some point to church budgets and some nail the blame on outdated, unhip worship services. We parents are shocked that our kids just really aren’t all that into Jesus.

When I look for someone to blame I head into the restroom and look into a mirror. Yupp, there he is. I blame him. That parent looking back at me is where I have to start.

If you’re a parent, I’m might tick you off in this post. But, hear me out. I think that we, as parents are guilty of some things that make it easy for our kids to put faith low on their priority list.

Keys to Making Your Kids Apathetic About Faith

1) Put academic pursuits above faith-building activities. Encourage your child to put everything else aside for academic gain. Afterall, when they are 24 and not interested in faith and following Christ, you’ll still be thrilled that they got an A in pre-calculus, right? Instead of teaching them balance, teach them that all else comes second to academics. Quick … who graduated in the top 5 of your high school class? Unless you were one of them, I bet you have no idea. I don’t.

2) Chase the gold ball first and foremost. Afterall, your child is a star. Drive 400 miles so your child can play hockey but refuse to take them to a home group bible study because it’s 20 minutes away.

2b) Buy into the “select,” “elite,” “premier” titles for leagues that play outside of the school season and take pride in your kid wearing the label. Hey now, he’s an All-Star! No one would pay $1000 for their kid to join, “Bunch-of-kids-paying-to-play Team.” But, “Elite?!?” Boy, howdy! That’s the big time!

2c) Believe the school coach who tells you that your kid won’t play if he doesn’t play in the offseason. The truth is, if your kid really is a star, he could go to Disney for the first week of the season and come back and start for his school team. The determined coach might make him sit a whole game to teach him a lesson. But, trust me, if Julie can shoot the rock for 20 points a game, she’s in the lineup. I remember a stellar soccer athlete who played with my son in high school. Chris missed the entire preseason because of winning a national baseball championship. With no workouts, no double sessions, his first day back with the soccer team, he started and scored two goals. Several hard-working “premier” players sat on the bench and watched him do it. (Chris never played soccer outside the school season but was a perpetual district all-star selection.) The hard reality is, if your kid is not a star, an average of 3 new stars a year will play varsity as freshmen. That means there’s always 12 kids who are the top prospects. Swallow hard and encourage your kid to improve but be careful what you sacrifice to make him a star at little Podunk High here in Maine.

2d) By the way, just because your kid got a letter inviting him to attend a baseball camp in West Virginia does not mean he is being recruited. You’ll know when recruiting happens. Coaches start calling as regularly as telemarketers, they send your kid handwritten notes and they often bypass you to talk to your kid. A letter with a printed label from an athletic department is not recruitment. When a coach shows up to watch your kid play and then talks to you and your kid, that’s recruiting.

3) Teach your kid that the dollar is almighty. I see it all the time. Faith activities fly out the window when students say, “I’d like to, but I have to work.” Parents think jobs teach responsibility when, in reality, most students are merely accumulating wealth to buy the things they want. Our kids learn that faith activities should be put aside for the “responsibility” of holding a job. They will never again get to spend 100% of their paychecks on the stuff they want.

3b) Make them pay outright for faith activities like youth retreats and faith community activities while you support their sports, music, drama and endeavors with checks for camps and “select” groups and expensive equipment. This sends a loud and clear message of what you really want to see them involved in and what you value most. Complain loudly about how expensive a three-day youth event is but then don’t bat an eye when you pay four times that for a three-day sports camp.

4) Refuse to acknowledge that the primary motivating force in kids’ lives is relationship. Connections with others is what drives kids to be involved. It’s the reason that peer pressure is such a big deal in adolescence. Sending kids to bible classes and lectures is almost entirely ineffective apart from relationship and friendships that help them process what they learn. As kids share faith experiences like retreats, mission trips and student ministry fun, they build common bonds with one another that work as a glue to Christian community. In fact, a strong argument can be made that faith is designed to be lived in community with other believers. By doing all you can to keep your kids from experiencing the bonds of love in a Christian community, you help insure that they can easily walk away without feeling like they are missing anything. Kids build friendships with the kids they spend time with.

5) Model apathy in your own life. If following Jesus is only about sitting in a church service once a week and going to meetings, young adults opt out. Teenagers and young adults are looking for things that are worth their time. Authentic, genuine, relevant relationships where people are growing in relationship with Jesus is appealing. Meaningless duty and ritual holds no attraction.

There are no guarantees that your children will follow Christ even if you have a vibrant, purposeful relationship with Him. But, on the other hand, if we, as parents do not do all we can to help our children develop meaningful relationships in Jesus, we miss a major opportunity to lead them and show them the path worth walking.

I want my kids to see that their dad follows Jesus with everything. I want them to know that my greatest hope for them is that they follow Him too.

Mt. 6:33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (The Message)

On a personal note: I know the struggle. My wife and I have lived the struggle firsthand. My son was recruited by a few D1 NCAA schools for baseball and opted instead to attend a small D3 school. My daughter was recruited to play field hockey by a couple D2 programs and ended up playing D3 when the scholarship offer was not enough to make her top school affordable. Both played in “premier” leagues. Both got A’s in high school though we often told them not to stress out too much over it. Both are in honor societies in college and my son now has offers from UNC, Univ. of Wisconsin, Johns Hopkins and Weil Cornell for a Phd in Pharmacology. Neither ever missed a youth group retreat, conference or mission trip because of their sports or academic commitments. Both missed a game or two to attend faith-based activities. Both missed school for family vacations. Both held down part-time jobs in high school and learned to give employers advance notice for upcoming retreats. My son often changed into his baseball uniform at church to arrive in the third inning of Sunday games. Robin and I did all we could to make sure they connected in student ministry even when it meant driving straight from a tournament to a music festival at midnight so that they would not miss out. It was that important to us. My youngest, a culinary student, lost a restaurant job because he went on a mission trip. That’s fine. Thankfully, all 3 have strong faith walks today. That is due only to God’s grace. But, I do believe that our efforts and example helped them long for a community-based faith.

Use this post however you find helpful. Reprint, repost, link to it or whatever. A link back to http://scottlinscott.wordpress.com would be awesome.

Tonight, we at Grace Point Community Church are hosting a National Day of Prayer service.  Here are the details:

What:  National Day of Prayer Service

When:  May 7th, 6:30-8:30 pm

Where:  Grace Point Community Church (2393 Peachblow Road, Lewis Center, OH  43035)

You can read some thoughts on prayer from our Discipleship Pastor, Tom Houser.

Join us as we gather to pray for our country, community, schools, families, and individuals.

Tonight, after I anxiously went through my "fortune-cookie-breaking-and-eating" routine, I read this on my fortune cookie:

Your lucky numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, & 42 (anyone know the significance of those numbers?)–jk, those weren’t really my numbers.

Then I turned over the paper and my fortune was:

Be moderate where pleasure is concerned, avoid fatigue.

I found this message very pertinent to my life right now.  Let me explain.  I love everything I am doing now.  Family, ministry, school, etc, but I am finding that I am also constantly overwhelmed and tired about all of these things at the same time. 

In family life, things are becoming crazy with baseball season for the boys, Anna’s mom is moving to Columbus, keeping up with Emma.  I love it but it is a lot.

In ministry, we are getting ready for the summer months, re-evaluating how student ministry is done at Grace Point, re-organizing leadership, kicking off monthly middle school outreach events, etc.–not to mention what is going on in the bigger picture of the church.  I am passionate about ministry–but it is hectic.

In school, I am being challenged, learning how to be a better counselor, reading interesting books, research studies, and journal articles.  I has been good–but a lot.

What I realized tonight is that even though we may love something and are passionate about, if we don’t take things moderately and in God’s timing, we will eventually burnout and become ineffective.  I immediately think of Jesus, who developed His mission and purpose for 33 years on this earth.  He took his time in picking and developing the disciples, teaching those who followed Him and healing those in need.  And He also took regular sabbaticals, or periods of rest, so that He could re-focus.  Jesus was most certainly passionate and loved what and who He was called to but He also did what He could to moderate himself and avoid fatigue.

For me, I don’t want to be ineffective in ANY of those above categories.  Perhaps you are like me and feel as if you are running a hundred miles an hour doing the things you love–but you are tired.

Take some time to rest.

Refocus your purpose and love.

and then Tackle your passion and purpose moderately.

Oh, and by the way, I really don’t LIVE for fortune cookie prophecies, though it was interesting that Noah’s (our 7 year old) tonight said, "you will soon come into some unexpected money."  Tonight, when we got home, he lost a tooth.

Tonight’s and last week’s were.  I really enjoyed getting to know these newer families.

I recently saw this article and thought it interesting!

Here are the notes from yesterday’s message:

Outflow Series (Week 3)—March 15, 2009

What Are You Thinking?

When you hear the name “Holy Spirit” what comes to mind?

Definitions

The Indwelling—Romans 8.9-11

Romans 8.8-11

Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives (dwell) in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

def.– οἰκέω, pronounced oikeō to occupy a house, of the "dwelling" together of those who are married.

Although every Christian is indwelt by the Spirit, unless he is also filled with the Spirit, he will live in spiritual weakness, frustration and defeat.

Ephesians 5.18-21

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Definitions

The Infilling—Ephesians 5.18-21

def.– πληρόω, pronounced plēroō—to fill, replete, level up (as in replenishing something that is hollow).

Be filled translates the present passive imperative of plēroō, and is more literally rendered as "be being kept filled." It is a command that includes the idea of conscious continuation. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an option for believers but a mandate. No Christian can fulfill God’s will for his life apart from being filled with His Spirit. If we do not obey this command, we cannot obey any other—simply because we cannot do any of God’s will apart from God’s Spirit.

The continuous aspect of being filled ("be being kept filled") involves day-by-day, moment-by-moment submission to the Spirit’s control. The passive aspect indicates that it is not something we do but that we allow to be done in us. The filling is entirely the work of the Spirit Himself, but He works only through our willing submission. The present aspect of the command indicates that we cannot rely on a past filling nor live in expectation of future filling. We can rejoice in past fillings and hope for future fillings, but we can live only in present filling.

Ephesians 5.18-21

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Signs of a Spirit-Filled Life

•Self-control—Ephesians 5.18

• Worship—Ephesians 5.19

•Thankfulness—Ephesians 5.20

•Humility—Ephesians 5.21

Many Christians find it hard to believe that they have a wealth of untapped power within them—provided by the Holy Spirit.

Shaving cream illustration.

If a person can do this with shaving cream, how much more can the Holy Spirit fill a person with overflowing power and love?

What’s Keeping You from Being FULL?

•Lack of Self-Control

•A Critical Spirit

•A Unthankful Heart

•An Non–submissive Attitude

The application this morning is three-fold:

–First, do you even have the Spirit dwelling inside of you? If not, why?

Romans 10.9-10:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

–Are you FULL of the Spirit? If not, why not?

–Are you willing to allow the Holy Spirit FULL access to your life?