We began a brand new series this past Tuesday which will help students understand exactly what it means to follow Jesus. It is more than a prayer, and it requires all of us.
Big Idea: Following Jesus means obedience, change and relationship.
We began by talking about how people follow trends, especially teenagers. It is important when it comes to following Jesus, we are following Him not because it is trendy at our youth group, but because each of us personally have committed to Him.
We read Matthew 4:18-22
Following Jesus means obedience
- We looked at 2 key words in this passage that show obedience -
- "immediately" - do we obey Jesus right away? (we know we struggle with obeying our parents immediately. ;-)
- "follow" - This word had the idea of walking directly behind a teacher, doing what they did and obeying them.
- If we are truly following Jesus, obedience should be our heartbeat (obviously we mess up all the time, but we really truly desire to obey Him.
- We talked about how much commitment these fishermen had to drop everything, say goodbye to their families, and immediately start living with and following Jesus. Amazing!
Following Jesus means change
- Change in Identity - When Jesus saves us and we follow Him, we have a changed identity. We spent a little time talking about how hard it is to find your identity in Middle School. There are so many things that we might be known for, and whether they are true or not, when we are in Jesus there are some things that are more central to our identity than anything else. We considered the following:
- If you are in Christ, then you have a new name! (we don’t even know it)
- If you are in Christ, you are an adopted son/daughter of God
- If you are in Christ, you have a new family - with brothers and sisters!
- If you are in Christ, you are washed clean, and forgiven!
- If you are in Christ, you are God’s workmanship, which God is painting!
- If you are in Christ, you are called a friend of God
- Change in Direction - This is really just repentance. When we commit to following Jesus, it means we go where He wants us to, not just where we want to go.
Following Jesus means relationship…
- It is important to remember that Jesus said, "Follow ME". This is commitment to a person, not just a set of rules or a particular behavior. We actually have a friendship with Jesus!!!
High School - 1 John 1:1-4 ("The Real Jesus")
This was the beginning of our brand new series in 1 John. I am excited to see how God is going to use this book of 1 John to bolster the confidence of our students, and push them to be reflective and evaluate the fruit in their life that comes as a result of God's gracious work in their heart.
We mentioned off the bat that the book of 1 John gives us 3 primary tests to evaluate our life -
- Doctrinal Test (Truth.)
- Moral Test (Light.)
- Relational Test (Love.)
Throughout the book, we will be coming back to these again and again.
I also made sure the students understood an important clarification:
Our salvation is not based on our performance, but on Christ’s work alone. And yet the “corroborating evidence” of Christ’s work in our life is truth, light and love.
We also talked about a little background for the book:
Author: Apostle John (son of Zebedee)
Date: between 90 - 100 A.D.
Recipients: churches around Ephesus (maybe the same churches in Rev. 2-3 Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, etc...)
Purpose: to bolster the confidence of the believers in these churches. They had recently gone through a confusing time, and they weren’t sure about their faith anymore.
Big Idea: Jesus is real and we can experience a personal relationship with Him that brings joy
Jesus is real and He is life (v. 1-2)
- He is eternal - "from the beginning"
- He became flesh
- sense perception (John really, really knew Jesus)
- "heard"
- "seen"
- "touched"
- "made manifest"
- He rose again and is alive today!
We can have a personal relationship with Jesus
- John's personal relationship
- Early believers (Johannine Christians) - they had been confused by false teachers and now needed to be encouraged and emboldened by John
- Us - Our relationship with God; sometimes we need confidence (encouraged the students that they may feel this way and 1 John will help)
A relationship with Jesus connects us with other Christians
- Koinonia - We talked about the richness of this word, and how it can only happen between believers. You can't experience this with an unbelieving boyfriend/girlfriend or marriage partner, or a good friend. This can only happen between believers who share Christ.
A relationship with Jesus brings real joy!
- Joy found in a person, not in an experience (this was a needed clarification since the believes had been influenced by some Gnostic-type false teaching)
- Joy that is full!
- Joy that is eternal! (assurance of salvation)
- Joy that is shared
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