About 3 years ago we decided to rename the New Harvest Youth Ministry, epic Youth Ministries. We obviously wanted a name that would be appealing and attention-getting; but more than that, we wanted a name that got to the heart of why we do what we do. Our purpose statement is this:

epic Youth Ministries exists to introduce students to Jesus Christ and empower them to reach their campuses and communities with His life and love.

II Corinthians 5:21 is the verse that drives what we do. Paul has been explaining what motivates Him to live a life in pursuit of Jesus and he says this:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This one verse describes one of the most incredible theological truths we find in the Bible: Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus, who was perfect, became imperfect. He became the object of His Father’s wrath and took the whole of sin on His shoulders. He was completely sinless; in fact, He was the opposite of sin. He was Holy. Yet, for our sake He became God’s example of how serious sin really is. In essence, He became who you and I were supposed to be.

… That’s the first part of the verse. Even though that is an incredbile reality that completely blows me away, it isn’t even the coolest part. The second half of the verse says that Jesus did this so that we could become the righteousness of God. You see, Jesus ‘became us’, so that we could ‘become Him’! No, I’m not saying we can become Gods; but we are able to become God’s children because we, who believe in Jesus as our Savior, have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

epic stands for Eternally Perfected in Christ. We are so far from perfect it is almost laughable to suggest that we can attain perfection. But, the truth is, we are perfect. Not by our own work, but by His! Our goal is to share this truth with whoever God gives us the opportunity.

Substitutionary Atonement… what a beautiful combination of words.

Leave a Comment • 1 Comment

We looked at John 4 last night in youth group. In this chapter, Jesus engages a Samaritan woman in conversation near a well. Ultimately, He explains who He is and offers her “living water”. He says that whoever drinks of this “living water” will never thirst again. Obviously He is talking about eternal life through faith in Him. He is talking about spiritual thirst rather than physical thirst. He is wanting her to be completely satisfied rather than just going from one brief pleasure to another (she had had 5 husbands and was living with a 6th man at the time). This is what I tried to explain to all of you last night.

This world offers many pleasures. Some are good and some are very dangerous. Some of you find your pleasure in popularity or keeping up with the latest fashion. Some of you find it through alcohol or drugs. And some of you… well, you cut or hurt your body in other ways. All of you are just trying to feel a little more “satisfaction” in your life. You think if you buy one more thing, go to one more party, lose 1 more pound, or cut a little deeper; it will feel better. You will finally fill the void you have in your life.

You see, we were all created to be satisfied. Our problem is that we don’t understand what satisfaction is. We believe that if something makes us feel good, it is satisfying us. The truth is, the satisfaction that you and I are created to experience is so much deeper than that. To be trully satisfied is to “experience fully your deepest desire” or “to have no doubt or uncertainty” or “to be lacking nothing”. What will it take for you and I to have these definitions be true in our life? Jesus.

We were created to have relationship with God. We can never be satisfied apart from Him. Why? Because, even if we don’t know it, our “deepest desire” is to be with Him. Jesus makes this possible. Our sin separated us from God. It doesn’t matter what we do, we can never cover up that sin. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stepped in and took our place. He took upon Himself our sins and thus opened the door for relationship with God.

As Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman at the well, He took her beyond her weak attempts at satisfaction. In essence, He asked her, “are you tired of having an unquenchable thirst for satisfaction – purpose, hope, peace, love?” I ask you the same question… Are you thirsty?

As a Believer you can still be thirsty for satisfaction. We quite often take our focus off of Jesus and back to our useless attempts at meaning in this world. My hope for each one of you is that you will pursue Jesus with everything you have. Spend time in His word, pray often, and share with those He has placed in your life.

The beauty of God’s Word and His plan is this: It’s not about making you feel good. It’s not about making things easier. It’s not about getting you to live a nice life. It is about fulfilling your deepest longing — Relationship with God through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Tomorrow night I invite you all to remember and celebrate this incredible event in history. Our Good Friday service will be held at 7:00pm. See you then.

Leave a Comment • 1 Comment

March 20th-24th was an awesome time in the life of epic Youth Ministries. We took 23 students and 5 leaders to Seattle, WA for our annual “Selfless in Seattle” mission trip. This was the largest group we have ever taken and God did some awesome things in the lives of the students who went.

Tomorrow night, at youth group, we will be hearing from some of these students. They will be sharing their stories from the week and challenging all of us to evaluate how we currently spend our days. We will hear about serving, praying, and sharing the Gospel with others. I believe that it will be an awesome night, where God steps in and takes the lives of our students to the next level.

At the end of the night I will share some thoughts on one of the most exciting and challenging passages in all of Scripture. John chapter 20, verses 21-22 says this:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

We have been given an incredible gift and an enormous responsibility. I am excited to dive into this tomorrow as a group. I’ll see you there at 6:45pm. Don’t forget to invite your friends!

Leave a Comment • No Comments

Tonight in youth group we will be taking a look at the subject of fasting. Fasting is an incredible spiritual discipline that seems to almost be a lost art among the upcoming generation of believers. We will search the Bible for its origin and purpose; and ultimately we will see that this is something we should all be including in our lives as Christians.

So, what do you think fasting is all about? Is it limited to food? Is there any reason for a non-believer to fast? Why should you fast?

Leave a Comment • 2 Comments

Today was an incredble day to be an American. Some of you, like me, did not vote for the man who took office as our President this morning. Some of you aren’t able to vote yet. However, we can all appreciate two things about today. The first is obvious; we have finally seen the day in this country when an African American man has been sworn in as President of the United States.

The second thing we can appreciate is the fact that Americans are engaged with direction of their country. I don’t think I can remember a time in my life when more people were actually paying attention to where our country was heading as a whole. There were 2 million people at the Inaguration today… 2,000,000. That is a lot of people.

I am hopeful for what the future may hold. Even though I have some serious concerns about some of our new President’s policies, I do believe that he sincerely loves this country. I honestly feel that He truly wants to see good prevail in the lives of Americans and those abroad. I hope that each one of you will remember to pray on behalf of our new leader. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide his decisions, that Jesus will be his refuge, and that God will be His final authority. If you need some encouragment, take a look at the awesome prayer Pastor Rick Warren delivered at the Inaguration this morning:

Almighty God, our Father:

Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.

It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.

Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans—united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you—forgive us.

When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone—forgive us.

When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve—forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations–and all people–will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, ‘Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Leave a Comment • No Comments

…complicated.

Really, the answer is pretty cut and dry, but when we try to understand every single aspect of the Trinity we will get confused. We must realize that He is God and we are not. There are some (ok, many) things that we cannot grasp. With that said, the definition we used last Wednesday night is this:

The Trinity is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons-Father, Son, and Spirit-who are each fully and equally God. (1 Timothy 2:5, John 6:27, Titus 2:13, Acts 5:3-4, Isaiah 48:16, Matthew 28:19; to name a  few supporting passages)

At first glance that may seem somewhat difficult to comprehend, but really, who are we to question the nature of God? Throughout the Bible this definition is supported. God has made who He is clear. And rather than question that nature, we are to rest in it and learn from it.

For youth group we stole The 7 characteristics of a “trinitarian life” from Mark Driscoll. For any of you who don’t know, Mark Driscoll is a Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. The 7 characteristics of a life that is centered around the truth found in the Trinity, aka the “Trinitarian Life”, are:

1. Trinitarian — We live by the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father.

2. Loving — God is love. True love comes from Him. We are to love with this kind of love.

3. Communal — God intends for us to have relationships, because He is by nature, in relationship.

4. Transparent — There are no secrets between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… what are your secrets?

5. Humble — There is no jealousy within the Trinity. The Spirit isn’t trying to persuade people to praise Him more than Jesus.

6. Submissive — There is no defiance within the Trinity, although all three persons (who are one God) are equal, they know their roles and are true to them (See Jesus in the Garden).

7. Happy — There is unbelievable joy within the Trinity. It is not blind to the troubles of this world (See Jesus on the Cross), but it is a real joy. God is not some angry old guy up in the sky.

For youth group we briefly discussed these 7 characteristics, but focused on the 3rd one. We renamed it relational and discussed what it means to live a life that is relational. We gave three aspects to this incredibly important lesson we can take from the truth of the Trinity:

1. God wants you and I to have relationship with Him. If He didn’t want that, the Crucifixion of Christ never would have happened. He has been pursuing you and I ever since Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan in the Garden of Eden. He wants relationship with you.

2. God wants us to have open and honest relationships with other Christians. We need to encourage and be encouraged by other believers. We are not supposed to live our life in solitude. Jesus’ death on a cross didn’t just bridge the gap between us and God; it also gave us the opportunity to be a part of an incredbly diverse family that we will spend eternity with. God wants you to get to know and be known by other Christians.

3. God wants each one of us to have relationships with non-believers. You see the church represents the body of Christ and Jesus Christ said in luke 19 that He came to seek and to save the lost. Seek is the operative word for this point. We are to pursue relationships with people who have never trusted Jesus as their Savior. We have the most incredible message anyone can hear living within us! The facts don’t lie; the overwhelming majority of people come to personal faith in Jesus through an existing relationship. Remember, Jesus was never brought down by these relationships. He never compromised righteousness in order to fit in. If you can’t be strong in your faith around non-believers, you may not be ready for these relationships yet.

If you have any questions about our look at the Trinity, feel free to ask them via the comment section. Also, what are your thoughts on the importance of relationships in the Christian life? Do you think our three aspects of relational living are accurate?

Leave a Comment • No Comments

Andy is the one on the right… he’s 26.

Leave a Comment • 5 Comments

The question we will be looking at this week centers around the Trinity. The Trinity is an essential piece of Christianity. It is the belief that there is only one God, but He exists in 3 distinct persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This can be a very confusing concept for us to understand. In fact, I believe it is somewhat beyond our comprehension. However, we can understand a portion of it. This Wednesday we’ll be looking at why the reality of the Trinity is such a central piece of Christian belief, even though the word never appears in the Bible. We will also discuss the roles of each member of the Trinity and see what we can apply to our lives because of this “profound mystery”. I look forward to reading your thoughts or questions about this topic. I would also love to see what verses/passages you can find in the Bible that prove the doctrine of the Trinity. Remember, you won’t find the word “Trinity” in the back of your Bibles…

Don’t forget to comment. I’ll see you all Wednesday @ 7pm. Invite your friends!

Leave a Comment • 7 Comments

Well, there are actually a lot of answers to this question. However, rather than go through every single one at youth group; we discussed five major reasons for attending church. Our main reasons for attending church are:

1. The Bible Says to (Hebrews 10:19-25) — We have discussed the absolute authority and accuracy of the Bible. Therefore, this is a pretty compelling argument for the Christian to spend time gathering together with other local believers.

2. The Message Carried by the Church is Literally the Hope of the World (Matthew 16:13-19) — In this passage Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ. Jesus then says He will build His church on that truth. That Jesus is the Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The Savior of the world. Jesus then says that the power of Hell will not be strong enough to stop what He will accomplish through His church. While Jesus is certainly talking about the “global church”, there is no doubt that local churches also carry this power. If we want to see lives changed, relationships restored, oppression defeated, and people reconciled to God; the church must do what it has been called to do. In order to do that, Christians must actually be a part of this powerful agent chosen by God; called the church.

3. Spiritual Gifts are for the Body; not individuals (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) — Every believer has received gifts directly from the Holy Spirit. Some have received multiple gifts; others, just one or two. Some will receive more gifts and some are receiving gifts as I type. What is important is not necessarily what the gift is (although I highly encourage you to look into what your spiritual gifts may be), but how you use it. The Bible is clear that spiritual gifts are not given so that you and I can feel good about ourselves. They are given so that we can contribute to the Kingdom of God and, more specifically, our local church. If every believer has gifts that we are commanded to use, yet we aren’t actively plugged into a church… we may have a problem.

4. We Need to be “Fed” (I Timothy 4:11-16) –Some of you may have read those verses and asked, “why is this the passage he chose?” I chose it for the last line. You see, Paul is challenging Timothy in the way he should pastor His church. After instructing him on a few things he writes this, “…Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” There are many different opinions on this verse. I think most of them are actually valid. It could be discussing a number of things at once. God was a pretty impressive author. But, it pertains to our 4th point because of its connection to spiritual growth. Salvation means “to be justified” (made right with God), “to be sanctified” (basically growing spiritually), and/or “to be glorified” (the final product of us in Heaven). What Paul seems to be saying to Timothy is this, “if you teach the way I have told you to, you and the people in your church will experience spiritual growth.” In essence, there is incredible value in sitting and being taught by someone who’s spiritual gift is teaching or preaching. When we listen and put into practice the things God reveals to us as we attend church services, we will experience a strengthening in our walk with God.

5. Because We Need Other Believers and They Need Us; The ‘One-Another’s’ (1 John 4:12, Heb. 3:13, Gal. 5:13, Rom. 15:14, Romans 12:10, Eph. 4:32, etc….) — We need to be in fellowship with other believers for our benefit and theirs. We are called to spur one another on, to love one another, to encourage one another, to hold another accountable, and so much more. We are called to do this life together as one body, with one purpose, one heart, and one Hope. You can be a Christian without fellowship, but you’ll be a pretty weak one.

Obviously, there are other reasons for attending church. I think it is important to note that church is not about you. Even though a number of the above reasons for attending have obvious benefits to you. Church is about being actively being a part of what God is doing in this world. It is a privilege that should be treated that way. Through Jesus we have not only been given forgiveness of our sins, but we have been brought into a family of people that, though we are diverse, has been called to one purpose. “Go and make disciples…” This purpose is achieved most effectively when God’s people are actively involved in God’s church; both locally and globally.

Leave a Comment • 1 Comment

So, this week we were planning on covering the Trinity… however, that will be happening next Wednesday. We are going to be doing things a little different this week (don’t worry you’ll like it) and I believe this question will be more appropriate. It seems that one of the most popular questions from students is: “Why should I go to church?” It is in the question box almost of every week.

When I was younger we used to always talk about how you didn’t need to go to church to be a Christian. We would say things like, “if going to church makes you a Christian, does going into a garage make you a car?” The truth is, a lot of Christians seem to believe that church isn’t very important. Many of you may think church is a waste of time. Maybe you would rather be sleeping or hanging out with friends, than getting up and heading to a building full of people on Sunday mornings. And… to an extent, I would have to agree with you. If you think of church simply as what happens on Sunday mornings, then maybe you don’t need it in order to be a Christian. However, the church is so much more than Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights!

I can’t wait to see you at epic this Wednesday @ 7pm as we challenge the common definition of “church” and find out why you should absolutely be a part of the church. Both locally and globally!

So, what are your thoughts on this question?

Leave a Comment • 6 Comments