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StartUp – 2016-05-27
Good Day Passionate Youth Reaching Out, today is Friday May 27. My name is Grant and this is Start Up, helping you start your day with an upward focus.
How do you respond to someone who has been bugging you for years. This is a person who has been trying to bring you down and making life difficult for you? Most of us would want to avoid that person, or find a way to get revenge. That’s why what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 is so challenging.
Matthew 5:43–48 (HCSB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus is not telling you to convince yourself to be kind to enemies. If all you are doing is being kind to your enemy on the outside, while on the inside you want to see them fail, you still have a problem. The only way that we can truly love our enemies, is to have our hearts changed from darkness to light.
Its not good enough just to be kind to our enemies, we have to want to to see them do well too, and that needs to come from our hearts, not just our minds. I think that’s why praying for our enemies is so important here. Not only will our prayers have a positive effect on their life, but God will use our prayers to change our hearts as well.
By loving our enemies, and truly wanting the best for them. We show that God is at work in our lives. Because while we were still enemies of God, God loved us and sent his own son to die on the cross in our place, so that we could be made right with God. He wanted what was best for us, and with his help we can want what is best for our enemies as well.
Here is this weeks challenge.
We have changed the name of our mentoring groups to D- Groups, (can you guess what the D stands for? Its Discipleship.) I’m challenging all youth to get involved with a D-Group this summer. This is a long term commitment to meet regularly, and to live your life for God’s glory. Each meeting involves Bible Study, Christian Thinking on Current Headlines and exploring and implementing your own strengths. I challenge you to contact me this week with the goal of joining a D-Group.
Tonight is our Grand Finale youth event. We are having a shmorgaborg of fun. Laser tag, lounge night games like Lego Rock band and a barbecue. The night ends with a showing of the new Charlie Brown movie upstairs. We will also take some time in the night to make sure that you are all able to stay connected with the Church this summer. The night goes from 7-10 PM and is for students in Grades 6-12.
If you want to find out more about our youth group, you can find us online at hbcyouth.ca. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just search for Hawkwood Youth.
https://www.facebook.com/HawkwoodYouthPYRO/
https://twitter.com/HawkwoodYouth
https://www.instagram.com/hawkwoodyouth/
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By Grant van BoeschotenGood Day Passionate Youth Reaching Out, today is Friday May 27. My name is Grant and this is Start Up, helping you start your day with an upward focus.
How do you respond to someone who has been bugging you for years. This is a person who has been trying to bring you down and making life difficult for you? Most of us would want to avoid that person, or find a way to get revenge. That’s why what Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-48 is so challenging.
Matthew 5:43–48 (HCSB)
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus is not telling you to convince yourself to be kind to enemies. If all you are doing is being kind to your enemy on the outside, while on the inside you want to see them fail, you still have a problem. The only way that we can truly love our enemies, is to have our hearts changed from darkness to light.
Its not good enough just to be kind to our enemies, we have to want to to see them do well too, and that needs to come from our hearts, not just our minds. I think that’s why praying for our enemies is so important here. Not only will our prayers have a positive effect on their life, but God will use our prayers to change our hearts as well.
By loving our enemies, and truly wanting the best for them. We show that God is at work in our lives. Because while we were still enemies of God, God loved us and sent his own son to die on the cross in our place, so that we could be made right with God. He wanted what was best for us, and with his help we can want what is best for our enemies as well.
Here is this weeks challenge.
We have changed the name of our mentoring groups to D- Groups, (can you guess what the D stands for? Its Discipleship.) I’m challenging all youth to get involved with a D-Group this summer. This is a long term commitment to meet regularly, and to live your life for God’s glory. Each meeting involves Bible Study, Christian Thinking on Current Headlines and exploring and implementing your own strengths. I challenge you to contact me this week with the goal of joining a D-Group.
Tonight is our Grand Finale youth event. We are having a shmorgaborg of fun. Laser tag, lounge night games like Lego Rock band and a barbecue. The night ends with a showing of the new Charlie Brown movie upstairs. We will also take some time in the night to make sure that you are all able to stay connected with the Church this summer. The night goes from 7-10 PM and is for students in Grades 6-12.
If you want to find out more about our youth group, you can find us online at hbcyouth.ca. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just search for Hawkwood Youth.
https://www.facebook.com/HawkwoodYouthPYRO/
https://twitter.com/HawkwoodYouth
https://www.instagram.com/hawkwoodyouth/