A week ago today the Mexico Mission team of New Harvest returned home. We had an incredible time. We were able to provide a home for a family and a church building for a community. The team was challenged, found joy, and even had a little fear (heavily armed Federali wearing ski masks). We’d work hard all day and play hard in the evenings. We formed relationships with each other and the families in the neighborhood we worked. We spent time in the Bible and worshipped God in different languages. It was an awesomeexperience.

Just like in previous years, the drive home consisted of many comments similar to, “I can’t wait to do this again next year.” As the organizer of this trip, I am glad students were impacted so much that they are willing to raise money, give a week, and spend countless hours in a vehicle just to experience it again. At the same time, I sort of cringe when I hear this.

As we returned to the US and filed into the church we would be sleeping at that night, I gathered the students and shared my heart with them. This Sunday I’ll be doing the same with you. We’ll have student testimony, a great slideshow, and some awesome stories. In the end I will be asking you the same question I asked them,

Does God call us to a variety of missional experiences or to missional living? 

I look forward to being with you this Sunday at New Harvest. See ya then.

(If you aren’t able to attend this Sunday, I’ll be posting part 2 on Monday.)

Prayer

Two Sundays ago (I know this post is late… back off!) we discussed the discipline of prayer. Prayer is an opportunity for us to step into conversation with our Savior and King. It is a valuable discipline for each of us to practice, yet most of us don’t consistently communicate with God. We decided that one of the main reasons is that we don’t know how to pray. There are certainly other things that keep us from praying on a regular basis (i.e. it takes too long, not sure if it works, etc…), but this seemed to be the primary reason within our group. So, I shared the 3 primary ways that I personally talk with God.

1. Conversation — This is how most of us view prayer. Simply stopping what we are doing and spending time just sharing with God about our life. Basically, you simply carve out time to be alone with God and talk to him. In Matthew 6, Jesus gives an example of how to pray in this way in what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. As I sit down to pray in this way, I try to remember and acknowledge who God is and how high above me He his. This helps me remember to pray for what he wants to have happen, instead of only focusing on what I want to happen. My favorite part about the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 is the fact that Jesus prays for His “daily bread”. In essence, he was praying to have his basic needs met. God cares deeply about the little things in your life and he wants to hear about every detail.

2. Meditation — While conversational prayer is both biblical and important, I often find myself doing all the talking in my time with God. I will just sit there and talk and talk and talk, but never really listen. Its funny, because I have a tendency to do this in all of my relationships. God has used a passage in Ecclesiastes 5 to greatly shape how I approach Him. In verses 1 & 2 of that chapter Solomon writes this,

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”

I have learned that sometimes the best way for me pray is to shut up and listen to for God. Sometimes that means that I read a passage of Scripture and just meditate on it in a way that allows the Holy Spirit to speak. Other times, I simply begin with a statement like, “God, I’m listening” and then leave the rest of the time to Him. Whatever method you use, it is important to remember that God is not impressed with our big words or perfectly articulated prayers. Sometimes, often actually, a few words are best.

3. Ceaseless — This idea, as with both of the above, comes directly out of scripture. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul challenges us to “pray without ceasing”. These words used to really confuse me. I remember thinking “how is it possible to constantly be praying?” Seriously, are we supposed to walk around constantly talking to God and not really pay attention to what is happening around us? However, as I read scripture I began to understand the importance of day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. Throughout the New Testament we are reminded that we are not able to produce anything of eternal significance apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in us. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit (God) dwells inside of me. The idea of ceaseless prayer is really an ongoing connection and conversation with the Holy Spirit. Asking Him to guide your words and thoughts throughout the day. Asking Him to direct your response to both good and difficult situations. The hope is that at some point it becomes natural for you and me to confer with the Holy Spirit before making any decision or choice.

My prayer for each of the students within our ministry is that you will learn to enjoy your time with God. That you will want to carve out time in your day to talk to Him. That you will understand the value of just being quiet and listening sometimes. And that you will learn the art of day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment connection with the Living God.

See you Sunday.

Last week we began a series discussing the issue of division within the Body of Christ. We will be continuing the series this week as we build toward our campout next weekend. In preparation for tonight, take a look at the following passage from Philippians 2:

^“5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…”

See ya tonight. Don’t forget to bring your registration and money for camp if you haven’t already turned it in.

The high school campout is just 17 days away! There is no doubt in my mind that this will once again be an awesome time together. However, I am hoping that God shows up and does a work like never before in your lives. The camp theme this year is unity and we desperately need God to bring a spirit of unity into our midst.

In preparation for the campout, we will be spending the next three weeks (beginning tomorrow) in a series entitled “Seeking Division – Three Keys to Destroying Unity”. The title may seem funny, but the reality is, it often appears that many of us are trying very hard to create divisions within the body of Christ. This is a real and serious issue within our local body, epic youth ministries.

I am looking forward to hanging out, worshipping God, and diving into the Word with you tomorrow night. To get you thinking about the discussion we’ll be having, I encourage you to take a look at the following words out of James 3:8-12

It (the tongue) is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine produce figs? Niether can a salt pond yield fresh water.

I’m praying for you. Invite a friend or two and we’ll see ya tomorrow night at 6:45. Don’t forget your Camp registration and money.

*Podcasts of this series will be available here beginning Thursday, April 22nd. Podcasts will be posted by 4:00PM every Thursday.

God is Freedom Intro from Chad Harvey on Vimeo.