Christmas Party!

We learn a lot in Surge.  We have deep, meaningful conversations that help form our theology and build our relationship with God as we explore discipleship and address important faith-forming topics.  We pour into our spiritual lives and look for ways to pour into the lives of others as well. 

But when it's time to party... we party hard!

And what party is complete without loud, sugared up kids building gingerbread houses that balance themselves across the chasm of creativity and utter grossness?  So, enjoy some pictures and be glad it wasn't in your kitchen...

Christmas Cards

This past week we had a great time creating and decorating some Christmas cards for the residents of the Winter's Park Memory Care and Assisted Living home.  The kids not only expressed a lot of creativity in making their cards, but also tenderness and sweetness to individuals that may get very little else this year.  Here are a few pictures of them working hard and having fun...

What's My Point?

Before I even start unpacking our class last night, I just have to say that the "why am I here" question is universally one of those topics that stumps a lot of people.  Individuals will question their existence for decades, if not their entire lifetime, searching for some enlightened, deep, moving answer that will bring focus and purpose to their life.

The Surge kids did it last night in an hour.

Ok, maybe that is a little too general of a statement to be completely accurate, but I have to give them credit for engaging in the best discussion I've had in any discipleship group in the past ten years.  The whole thing started with just the basic question: why are you here?  The answers were all over the board, but basically they understood before we even got started that God was responsible and played a role in the question of "why".  So, the first place we looked in scripture was Proverbs 3:1-6.  I read the verse out loud and asked the kids what it had to do with the question of why we are here.  Ok... I have to gush for a minute.  The answer I got almost knocked me over.  One of the kids took the verses and broke them up into two parts to answer.  The first part (1-4) was all about making God the priority of our life and the second part (5-6) was the results if we do that.  She said it a lot better than that, but that's the simplified idea.  If God created man to have a relationship with, then the purpose of life is the relationship and making that the priority is how we should live life.  And when we do that - follow God and make Him our priority - then He will lead us the best way.

We talked about that part for just a minute.  I used the illustration of hiking through the woods with my family.  When we camp in the fall, we end up hiking at least once.  And since the adventurous part of me detests staying on trails, we usually just start walking through the woods in a general direction.  My kids usually start out excited, wanting to lead and direct the path we take.  But like most kids, they usually only look a step or two ahead of where they're walking and pretty soon end up waist-deep in thorny-vines, step in a hole, get trapped in by undergrowth or any number of other situations.  It is only when they let me lead and they get behind me that the hike becomes successful.  I go before them and avoid the things that poke and trip, places that might cause injury and things that would make the hike bad.

The same is true with God.  It's not that He so much goes before us and makes everything quick or easy.  It's that He shows us the best way.  The best way isn't always the shortest, clearest, easiest route.  But if we trust His directions, we know that He will take us the best way, even if the path is long, bumpy or difficult at times.

So if our relationship with God is the point, then how do we maintain that relationship?  We then flipped to Micah 6:6-8.  As usual, the nation of Israel is struggling to follow God, despite all He has done for them.  As the prophet is talking to them, he talks about they are constantly looking for ways to fix their relationship with God.  They want to make things right, so they ask which things should they offer.  He starts with a very small thing and then builds to bigger and bigger things to cover the debt of sin that they have committed against God, even to the idea of sacrificing their own children.  But Micah's answer is simple.  Instead of focusing on fixing the problem, focus on not breaking it to begin with.  How?  By doing these three things: treating people fairly, loving others faithfully and living the way God wants you to live.  If the relationship with God is the purpose, then the easiest was of maintaining the relationship is doing everything in our power to not mess it up.  And if you don't want to mess it up, then just do these few simple things.

But how do we do these simple things?  For help with that answer, we turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  There we see three very basic ideas that hold true for every successful relationship that exists, but certainly for our relationship with God.  First, always be joyful.  It's all about our attitude.  When our attitude toward God is right, our relationship with Him flourishes.  And what better attitude is that there than being joyful?  After all, the Creator wants an intimate relationship with you.  It's hard not to be joyful when you think about that.  Second, pray constantly.  It's all about communication.  You cannot be my friend it we can't communicate.  There is no relationship if there is no relating.  And so dialogue (not monologue) with God is how we work at keeping the relationship relational.  And prayer is that vehicle.  Lastly, thank God for what He does.  Perspective is everything.  If all things come from God, then He deserves to be thanked for all things.  When we lose perspective of our position in the relationship, we have a problem.  God is God and we are not.  We need Him; He wants us.  When we pat ourselves on the back for all we have achieved or accumulated, we skew the perspective of our relationship with Him.  By thanking Him, we not only display our gratitude but remind ourselves of our dependence on Him.

I often get asked how I can stand to put myself in a position to teach wild and crazy 4th and 5th graders.  If you've ever been in the room before or after class (and sometimes during), then you know what I'm talking about.  Honestly, it isn't always the easiest thing to do.  But nights like this make it all worth while.  They never cease to amaze me with their ability to understand and process Truth in ways that skeptical adults struggle with.  They may just be a bunch of 10 and 11 year-olds, but sometimes the wisdom they have is years beyond anything we would expect from them.  And getting to be a part of that is incredibly exciting.  I hope it excites you too.

"Domo arigato" that we're not Mr. Roboto

In a slight change of plans, this past Wednesday night we switched topics from what we had planned on talking about to discuss the question of why God didn't make us robots, or why He gave us free will and the ability to reject Him and Truth.  Wouldn't the world be better if God just made us love Him and obey Him?

To get to this, we had to start in the beginning.  In the garden, God made man in His image.  He gave him responsibility and instructions.  The primary instruction God gave was concerning some trees.  All the trees in the garden were good and man could eat from all of them.  But there were two special trees.  There was the tree of life, which man was not forbidden to eat from, and there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God commanded man to not eat the fruit from.  Of course, we know how the story goes and the implications from that sin, but the question we talked about was why would God plant a tree in the garden if He didn't want man to eat the fruit from it?  Wouldn't it have made more sense to simply get rid of the tree entirely and thus avoid the temptation from existing?

We then looked through the story of Abraham as an example of God's plans.  God promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations, and yet, he had no offspring until he was well past the age of producing kids.  And yet, miraculously, God gives him a son, Issac.  But, not too long after, God commands Abraham to take his only son up to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him.  This made no sense, but out of obedience, Abraham goes through with the preparations.  Right before he jabs the knife into his son, an angel of the Lord stops him and provides a ram in Issac's place.  We read the story and wonder why God would test Abraham.  The answer most often given was so that Abraham could prove to God that he trusted Him.  But an omniscient God knew what Abraham would do before he did it, or even before He created anything, so did He really need the test to prove it?  Of course not.  So why test Abraham?  The answer is so that Abraham would know he trusted God.

Back to the garden.  Why put a tree there that an all knowing God knew was going to play a part in the first sin?  Why let one man make a choice that would lead to death for all men?  God knew Adam and Eve would eat the fruit, that their eyes would be open and that sin would enter into the world and need covering, so why allow it?  Was it so God would know for sure?  No, it's so man would know and then would have to choose.  By giving man the choice, God takes the biggest gamble of all: to be loved or be rejected.  And to God, it would appear that the risk of some choosing to love, even while in a state of sin and separation, was worth the pain and loss of those who would refuse.  A forced love is no love at all.  God didn't want robots to obey Him out of obligation, but rather people that would love Him out of relationship.

We also looked at how that works by reading Deuteronomy 30:15-20 where God gives us instructions on making the choice.  He says that if we want life and success, then we have to choose to follow Him and obey Him.  If we don't, then life will be full of pain and suffering.  Doesn't seem like much of a choice.  Do you want life and success or pain and misery?  If you choose life, then here is the cost - love and obey God.  If you can't do that or don't want to do that, then you automatically choose death.

Finally, we looked at 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 where Paul talks about how he can't help but love God and obey Him out of that love.  If God wanted gospel-wielding robots, He was certainly capable of doing that, but He took the risk of giving us a choice.  And when we choose to love Him, He is glorified because of the choice rather than the obligation.

WWJLT?

The question posed this past Wednesday night was all about What Would Jesus Listen To?  Ok, it might not be the next fashionable bracelet or t-shirt design, but it is a good question to ask.  If Jesus was alive today and listening to music, which music would he be listening to?  The first thing we did was clarify what makes music good or bad.  No, I don't mean quality of musical performance... but rather, what makes a song appropriate or not?  There is nothing in the notes or instruments that makes it evil or not, as music in itself is neutral, so lyrics are the thing we want to focus on.

So, what makes the lyrics good or bad?  Is it just language?  Is it content?  Is it more subtle, perhaps with suggestive ideas or innuendo?  All of these things play into deciding if a song is worthy of praise or pure or honorable, as we looked at in Philippians 4:8 last week.  But what if it sounds really cool?  Is there a way to listen to a cool song for the music and ignore the lyrics?  How big of a role do lyrics play in our lives?

Obviously there isn't anything in the Bible that directly speaks to music in such a way.  And so, we looked at a couple verses that speak into the heart of decisions that we make, not just as it relates to music, but all choices in life that aren't clearly called out in scripture.  The first places we started was 1 Corinthians 6:12 followed very closely with 10:23 as Paul clarifies that everything is allowed, but not always good.  Part of the difficultly of the new covenant that God created with man through His son was the freedom of making choices for ourselves.  The old system was so much easier: God gave rules and you followed, or as you felt led, added to the rules to make other rules that you used to judge people in their ability to follow rules.  Well, ok, maybe it wasn’t that much easier…

But Paul brings up an interesting point that God doesn’t give us specific instructions about all of the things in life we’re going to encounter.  Whether it is music, movies, books, television or even something huge like jobs or who we should marry, our choices have to be based on more than the law itself.  And so, God provides a type of filter that we see here.  Imagine everything is permitted… then which things do you choose to do?  Well, if it goes directly against a commandment of loving God or others, then it’s a no (including if our parents tell us no, since we are commanded to obey them).  And, if it is against the law of the land, you can’t do it because God commands us to obey the laws. We looked at the Philippians 4:8 filter last week, and now Paul adds to it by saying if it isn’t good for you, if it causes dependency and if it causes someone else to stumble, then you shouldn’t do it. So, even without saying it directly, God has some pretty descriptive guidelines for us to use as we make the choices in life.

Lastly, we looked at Paul’s instruction in Colossians 3:16-17 about what we should sing and why we should sing it.  Does that mean that only songs about God are good?  I’m sure that could be argued, but what about songs of love or victory or hope?  And what would the book of Psalm look like without David lamenting and writing songs of despair, loss and anger?  How do we reconcile the music we choose to listen to with the Bible and our freedom?  These are great questions and ones that I personally struggle with.  But the great news is that God has provided some guidelines for us in His Word and has given us His Spirit to help us discern.  And as we asked in class, if God was sitting next to you (which of course He sort of is), would you listen to that song?

Kids Just Wanna Have Fun

This past Wednesday night in Surge began a new series we're talking through that has everything to do with the technology and multimedia that our kids are constantly exposed to and the potential that they all create.  Of course, the things in and of themselves are absolutely neutral, so the potential for good or ill comes from how we use those things.

We started with movies, asking the good ol' question of "Why can't I see PG-13 Movies".  Obviously for some of them, this is less of an issue, but we looked at the top 10 box office hits of 2011 (so far) and the ratings of those films.  There were 2 G rated movies, 2 PG rated movies, only 1 R rated movie and 5 PG-13 movies.  In all the years I've taught this lesson, the numbers are almost always exactly the same.  And if you look at the vast majority of movies put out, the PG-13 rating is hands-down the most popular.

We talked through Philippians 4:8 and Romans 12:2, how we are supposed to be different from the world and how we should focus on thoughts that are pure, lovely and worthy of praise.  We also talked about the things in movies that go against those virtues and why guarding ourselves against them are so important.  However, the conversation didn't stay on movies as we branched out to talk about other things in life that work in much the same way - from music and books to tobacco and alcohol.  We also talked about how the rating system doesn't mean that the movie is bad or that if you're old enough to see it that you should.  There are some great movies out there that are rated R because of the graphic nature of modern cinematography.  (Passion of the Christ was mentioned) And there are some PG movies that aren't as appropriate as the rating might suggest.  (Rango was brought up by the kids)

The main point that we ended on was that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.  Being old enough to get into a movie doesn't mean that it doesn't have images or thoughts that affect us, no matter how old you are.  And the Bible is clear that our thoughts should be focused on the good and honorable things around us rather than the bad that is in our world.

Rebel without a clue

To wrap up our 4-week topic on the enemies of God, we look specifically at those who rebel and stand opposed to Him.  There are countless stories in the Bible that deal directly with rebellion against God, from the story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit to Armageddon, the Bible is filled with stories of how man rebels, God punishes and man either repents or is destroyed.  We talked about how rebellion is the basis of sin; how when we put our wants and desires ahead of God's, we are in rebellion.

As we looked at a few stories in the Old Testament, we saw how God's righteous judgement was poured out on those who opposed Him.  This was done in a number of different ways, from God's hand directly to Him allowing enemies of the nation of Israel to inflict the punishment.  We talked about how mean and harsh God seems, but that in reality, it was because of His great love for His people that He punished their rebellious actions.  But we saw the great consequences of His punishment as entire families were swallowed up by the ground.  We talked about how unfair it seems that wives and children of rebellious men would be killed, but we were also reminded that everyone sins and that the wages for those sins are death and separation from God.  So, even though it seems unfair, really they are simply getting what they've earned.  The only reason we don't when we sin is because of His mercy and grace.

Not only did this give us a great opportunity to talk about God's discipline out of love, but how it works with our parents too.  Parents aren't being mean when they punish or discipline, but rather, are acting out of love to correct and teach.  As parents, we have a great model in our heavenly Father.

Lastly, we looked at the scripture in Isaiah 53 where the prophet eludes to the wrath that Christ would take for our rebellion.  The consequences of our sins were placed on the one who was blameless.  And his act of love has given us the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and found clean in the eyes of God.

Watch your step...

This past Wednesday we unpacked the issue of pride as being one of the biggest things that opposes God.  While it differs a lot from the first two weeks of the devil and other religions, this one hits a lot closer to home with us.  We talk about SIN, focusing on the "I" in sin to describe doing what "I" want instead of what God wants.  The pride of elevating ourselves or our ideas and plans above God is a huge issue now, just like it was then.  So many stories in the Bible are directed toward the people on both extremes that had pride issues.  On one end, those that oppose God by rejecting Him as God and elevating themselves as being sufficient enough to save themselves.  And the other end are the religious leaders who were so wrapped up in the pride of their religiosity that they put their actions of religion above God and everyone else.

We looked at the example of King Manasseh and the fluctuation we find of good and bad kings in Israel and Judah. With King Manasseh, we see the typical cycle of sin, punishment, repentance and redemption that was so prevalent during the kingdom years of the Old Testament.  When God allows the Assyrians to capture King Manasseh, put a hook in his nose and take him back to Babylon, we see his pride fall away and he humbles himself before the Lord.  And when he does, God forgives him and allows him to return to Jerusalem.  And while this cycle is shown all throughout the Bible, it is still very much a part of our life now.  Of course, the main difference is that we now have Jesus interceding on our behalf and the Holy Spirit convicting us to keep us from getting to far into sin and our pride, if we're willing to listen.

We also read some great advice from James who was trying to convince a group of people to turn from their prideful ways and repent.  And while we don't necessarily fall into the category of the people that James was writing to, we certainly move through times of sin where we put our desires and plans above those of God's and need to humble ourselves.

It's always a good reminder to me that, while a Christian, my actions and decisions can sometimes put me in opposition to God.  Just because I have been saved by faith through grace does not give me license to sin.  While redeemed, I am still sinful and pride is always going to be something I have to keep watch for.  However, our God is merciful and gracious and is very quick to forgive when we ask.  God is good!

The Other Guys

As we continued to talk through God's enemies this past week in Surge, we discussed other religions and how they distract and take away from the one true God.  This is a really hard topic to discuss, especially in such a racially and religiously diverse area because so many of the kids have friends and acquaintances that believe different things and practice different religions.  But the Bible is clear that there is only one way to God... and it ain't the fat, golden statue at the Chinese buffet.

Most of our lesson revolved around the scripture in Matthew 7 where Jesus talks about the wide and narrow roads and the trees producing good fruit.  Anytime Jesus uses this kind of imagery to make a point is such a great tool for discussion with kids.  Both of these pictures clearly depict that the majority of people don't have a relationship with God and that those that do stand out because of the life that they live.

A large part of the lesson was spent talking about the fairness of Jesus being the only way to God.  For a lot of people, this is really unfair.  The reality is that it is completely unfair; that the fair consequence for sin is death and separation from God completely and eternally.  It is the wages of what we earn when we sin.  The unfair part is that a holy God loves us so much that He gave us a way to cover our sin by allowing His son to die in our place.  It is the best unfair thing that has ever existed.

We finished by talking about how important it is for us to help those who don't have a relationship with God to find that narrow path that leads to the small gate.  We do that by sharing the gospel, by living lives that bear good fruit so that the world sees Christ in us and by standing up, in love, for what is true.  Those are not easy things, especially when the world looks down on those that say and do things that they don't want to see or hear.  But thankfully, God has given us His Spirit to guide and strengthen us as well as fellow believers that we can seek support from.

Double the fun!

With our first two Surge classes under our belt, I am pleased as can be to say that we have doubled our numbers from Surge last year.  I cannot tell you how excited I am about that.  We also started our study yesterday in a large-group setting as we begin to examine "God's Enemies".  Our first discussion was all about the devil and why he opposes God and messes with us.  We read through and discussed Jesus' temptation in the desert in Matthew 4 and how Satan used all sorts of tactics to trick Jesus, even quoting scripture and mixing truth in with lies.  This gave us a great opportunity to talk about how important scripture memory is and why it is a part of our weekly work in Surge. We also looked at a few more references to the devil being tricky, boldly lying, twisting truth and basically all the other sneaky ways that he distracts us from our relationship with God.  We ended by looking at 1 Peter 5:8-9 and the depiction that he gives us of Satan moving about like a hungry lion.

A really good conversation bloomed out of this last section as we talked about the devil.  Someone mentioned "the guy down there" which led to a great discussion of God and Satan.  So often we hear the phrases "the Guy up there" or "Someone up there must like me".  While we associate God with being in heaven and also with heaven being above us, neither of those things are true.  Or course, they aren't really untrue either.  God is in heaven, but God is also everywhere else.  That might not seem like a big distinction, but His omnipresence is part of what makes God, "God". And being that we don't really know the location of heaven (though the kids are pretty sure it's not in the clouds), it being "above" us is probably not exactly accurate though probably not completely false.

In much the same way, there is no reason, other than a very Greek idea of Hades and the underworld, to think that hell is in the center of the Earth.  After all, the Earth will be gone one day and yet we know that hell is a place of eternal separation.  But by far, one of the biggest misconception that kids (and some adults even) have is that the devil lives in hell and even rules there, popping up from time-to-time to stir up trouble.  So, he is "the guy down there" rather than a roaring lion, walking around looking for lunch.  The reality is that hell was created as a final punishment for the devil and the third of the angels cast out of heaven with him.  He doesn't hang out there, doesn't want to go there and certainly will not rule there.  He will be imprisoned there, separated for eternity from God, suffering and desolate just as much as everyone else there that rebelled against God.  But right now, he is on the earth and he and the demons are doing there best to disrupt, distract and distort the relationship between God and man.  And when we move him from roaming around up here to hanging out down there, like some sort of director of evil, we take the realness of his danger away.

In an interesting turn, brought on by the comment from a student, we looked at the imagery that Peter uses of a lion, knowing what we know about them.  Lions are lazy.  They sleep a lot, but when they're hungry and get up to stalk and chase prey, they never pick the strongest or fastest animals in the group.  Instead, they pick out the lame, weak and ones off wandering by themselves.  The kids immediately drew the correlation between being strong in your faith and reliant on God's strength to keep you away from the jaws of the roaming lion.  It was a very impressive moment having them form that realization and then own it.  Obviously all metaphors break down at a point, but it was great seeing their minds working some of these details out.

We ask a lot of questions in Surge and don't always give all the answers.  Part of that is because we want the kids to form their own views as they wrap their minds around their faith, rather than just us teaching facts for them to parrot.  Part of it is because we want those conversations to be carried home and for parents and siblings to be involved in that process.  And part of it is because we simply don't have all the answers.  And since that is the way God planned it, we're okay with not knowing the whole mystery.  But even here at the beginning of the year, I am very encouraged by what I see with these kids.  I know we're going to have an amazing year growing together.

Next week we'll be looking at other world religions as being enemies of the one, true God.

A Brand New Year

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am that Surge is starting back up tomorrow evening.  Just for a little bit of history, Surge is actually a rebranding of a discipleship program that actually started at the Rockwall Campus over a decade ago called Extra Innings.  Since then, the program has grown to almost ten times it's original size, is on multiple campuses, has added 4th graders to its numbers and incorporate missions into part of its dynamics.  Last year we launched the program at the Firewheel Campus and had 9 kids faithfully coming each week to grow in their walk and gain a deeper understanding of their relationship with God.  Of those 9, 6 went down to Mission Waco with us over Spring Break, with 4 of their parents, to love on and serve the homeless community there.  It was a great start for us here at Firewheel.

With the success that we had with our launch last year, more people have expressed an interest to be involved with this rapidly growing discipleship program.  This year we promoted a large class of 4th graders and many 5th graders who were not able to join us last year have made plans to jump in.  As we look forward to the year ahead, we're already considering some local outreach ministries we can partner with as well as planning some unique way to raise money for Mission Waco 2012.  But most important, we'll be looking at ways to pour into the lives of each other as we strive to live more like Christ.

It's going to be an amazing year with a great group of kids who are striving to know, love and follow Jesus.