Beulah Baptist Church, Hopkins, South Carolina

His embrace or the distant country?

Beulah Baptist Church — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:37:45 +0000

Last night was a special night for us as a youth ministry. We officially brought in the school year with SLAMtheSLAB. It was such a fun night in many ways. Among all the activity of last night, we saw kids worship and zone into the Word of God. And at least a few made decisions for Him. He is good.

Our message came from Luke 15, primarily the story of the lost son. Our main idea was: No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you can come to Jesus. We noted that as the chapter opened, Jesus was sitting with the worst of the worst (tax collectors and sinners) to tell them these stories. His heart is for the lost.

You may know the story of the lost son well. But just to hit our highlights from last night:

1. The selfishness of the son caused him to ask for his inheritance early, and basically tell his father he is as good as dead.
2. The son’s eyes were wide with the allurement of the distant country, yet his wild living left him desperate, hungry, and in pain. The distant country (living outside of the presence of the Father in sin or selfishness) may be appealing at first, but it will always leave you empty.
3. He repented and left his life of sin to be back to the father.
4. The love of the father caused him to run to meet him, not immediately scolding him, and lavishing him with love and celebration.

We are all lost in the distant country in sin and in need of forgiveness/relationship with the Father (Romans 3.23, Ephesians 2.1). God sent Jesus to sacrifice His life and rise from the dead to make atonement for our sins to make a way back to the Father’s embrace (Romans 5.8, 1 John 4.9-10). We must trust Him by faith, turn from our sins, and let Him be our Lord…coming back from the distant country to the embrace of the Father by relationship through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2.8-9, Romans 10.9, Acts 3.19).

This is the message for those who have never come the first time to the Father’s embrace. Heaven celebrates when sinners repent and turn to God. But this is the message, as well, to the Christian who has chosen to live in the distant country, in darkness. It will wear us out, cause us pain…desperation. It dishonors God. And we need to repent and come back to the Father’s embrace.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3.19.

And for the student that is living in the Father’s embrace. This is the story that we need to be sharing to those around us who are living in the distant country, and need to come into God’s embrace through a relationship with Jesus.

Questions to discuss with your students: Have you put your trust and faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? How has He changed your life? Give examples. What has He saved you from? If you are a Christian, are there areas of your life where you are living in the distant country? What is it that lures us there? What are some ways to make sure we don’t get lured there? What are some of the consequences of remaining there? How can I pray for you, as your parent, to so that you stay in the embrace of the Father? Are you sharing with others how they can know Jesus and come into relationship with Him?

Amazing grace. Amazing God. Amazing worship.

Beulah Baptist Church — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:14:40 +0000

For those interested in a brief glimpse of the amazing encounter with God that the BYM experienced at the Big Youth Thing at Carowinds with Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio this summer, watch the video below that I ran across online. It was amazing to see this generation of students worship like this as God made Himself known…through a torrential downpour.

My description of the night of worship can be found here: No roller coasters in heaven.

Ken

The Big Youth Thing 2010
- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Parent Connection: Compassion & Prayer

Beulah Baptist Church — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:57:08 +0000

During Elevation last night, students were challenged in a few ways concerning this school year and their impact on their generation.

1. From Matthew 9.35-38, we noted that Jesus spread the gospel in word and in deed. That He had compassion on the crowds He came upon who were confused, helpless, and like sheep without a shepherd. We talked about how our generation is like the same way, and we need to have Jesus’ compassion for our generation. Key phrase: The way we view people affects how we treat and respond to them, and therefore determines how we will impact them. If we view people with disgust and “oh my gosh,” we will ignore them and not seek relationship, and therefore not impact them. If we view people with love and compassion, we will serve them and seek relationship, and impact them for the gospel. Jesus also called for prayer for more workers to reach others. As we do, we need to realize we are workers in the harvest field of our generation. Last week, students were challenged to target three people they will seek to love and share the gospel with in word and deed this year. That will continue to be a theme all year long.

Questions to discuss with your students: Do you have compassion for your peers who are living like sheep without a shepherd, no matter how they act? How can you develop that type of compassion that Jesus had? Who are your “three” that you will seek to impact for the gospel this year? How can you show the gospel in word and deed to them?

2. From 1 John 5.14-15, we realized that God hears our prayers when we pray according to His will and what pleases Him. We talked about a few things that we know already are according to His will that we can be praying for our generation: that they would be saved, that they would be faithful, that families would stay united, that they would remain pure, and others were ones that came up in our discussion.

Questions to discuss with your students: What other things does Scripture say is God’s will for our generation? Are you praying these things for your peers? What type of things stop us from praying for them? How does prayer does prayer and compassion for our generation compliment each other and work together?

See Ya at the Pole
Students were also challenged to be a part of getting “See Ya at the Pole” started at their school this year on September 22, or to be a part if it already is planned. This is a prayer effort where Christian students gather on that day around the flagpole to pray for their campus. More info on this can be found at the See Ya at the Pole website. Encourage your student to be a part and help them in getting it going on their campus.

BYM Facebook page ……… BYM page (with calendar)

Secret Place

Beulah Baptist Church — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:36:52 +0000

BYM Parent Connection Blog

Beulah Baptist Church — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:43:34 +0000

Welcome to Beulah Youth Ministry’s Parent Connection blog. Every Thursday, a description of what we discussed in Elevation the previous night will be posted, with suggested questions given to ask your child, so that you may keep updated on what your child is experiencing and so that you may continue that discussion throughout the week.

BYM Facebook page ……………BYM website (including BYM calendar)