My Epic Journey

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting with 3 middle school girls last night that had a ton of questions concerning God.  One of the questions that was asked was, “What does God do all day?”  I shared with them the verse from 2 Chronicles 16.9, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

This morning, as I was reading in Isaiah, I came across to poignant verses concerning God’s ever watchful eye:

1.  God sees past our words and peers into our heart (Isaiah 29.13)

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.

2.  There is NOTHING we can hide from God (Isaiah 29.15-16)

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?”
You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”?

God, may I be reminded that I can never fool you are hide anything from you.  May I be reminded that though I may look and sound good to others on the outside, You KNOW my heart.  Cleanse me O Lord.  May what you find in me be pleasing in your sight!!!!!

On Sunday night, we challenged our EPIC students concerning their heart and worship.  We used Matthew 6.19-24, as our foundational passage—Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!!!!

Most of us, including myself, say that Jesus is #1 in our life but upon careful and honest examination, we see that we don’t live as though he is.

One test we used @ EPIC was asking our students who had with them something that told others they belonged to Jesus?  Answers could have been, Bible, cross necklace, etc.  Except for a few who brought their own Bible, the majority of the group had nothing that set them apart as being claimed by Jesus.

I was especially challenged when I realized that I would NEVER leave my house without my wallet and especially my cell phone but I NEVER carry my Bible with me when I just run errands around town or head out with friends to dinner. 

Why am I afraid to take Jesus with me?  And if I am not afraid, why don’t I make a practice of it?

How did you take Jesus with you today—in a visible way?

we are in our second week of the 40 days of worship campaign.  this week we talked about the focus of our worship.  Below is the teaching outline we used on sunday night in EPIC:

Week 2: It’s a Heart Matter

Texts: Matthew 4.8-11; Matthew 6.19-21, 24; 16.26; Matthew 10.37-39

Activity: Time-Warp Archaeology

Welcome to the forty-fifth century! You are an archaeologist, and you’ve just uncovered what appear to be homes from the twenty-first century. Your job is to determine what these mysterious people would value most by carefully examining their dwellings. Fortunately, the homes are perfectly preserved. Keep in mind that you know nothing about the people who once lived in these dwellings; you’re drawing conclusions only from what you observe.

Break up into groups. Discuss the following questions:

1. In your own dwelling, what appears to be the most important room?

2. What appears to be the most important piece of furniture?

3. What appears to be the most precious thing in the dwelling? Explain.

4. If an archaeologist walked into your room thousands of years from now, what would appear to have been most important to you? Why?

5. If you could tell a future archaeologist what’s most important to you, what would you say?

Pick six of the things people value from our list on the board, and rank them from one to six with number one being the most important and number six being the least important. List one value on each card. When you are finished, place your number one value on the top of the ladder, the number two value next, etc. with the number six value on the bottom.

Point #1—Your Priorities Reveal What You Worship (Matthew 6.19-21, 24)

Point #2—What Your Worship Matters (Matthew 16.26)

Point #3—Worship Is About Giving Up the Good for the Best (Matthew 10.37-39)

Worship Experience: Meeting w/Jesus

Imagine that Jesus is seated in front of you.

· What would Jesus say to you about how you use your free time?

· What would Jesus say your priorities are, based on how you spend your pocket money?

· What would Jesus say about your energy and focus based on your conversations with your closest friends?

Pair up with a Prayer Partner.

· Is there a difference between what you say you value most and how you live?

· Are there any idols in your life? If so, how do you feel about that?

· Would anything need to change in your life to make God your first priority? Explain.

· How can you begin to make those changes?

Close in Prayer