Student Ministry Talk

This is the talk I did for the High School kids today. I stole it from John Ortberg. I want critique from smart people.


Topic Title: LIFE CHANGE FOR DUMMIES

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:17
God does not want my __spiritual_ life, he wants my __whole_ life.

How do we keep score:
The question that matters is am I __growing_ in love of _God_ and people.

1 Timothy 4:7

This is about _training___ not __trying_.

IMPORTANT ASIDE:
The Christian Life is basically about two things--Jesus Christ is nuts about you and showed it on the cross; live life in response to that grace. When we talk about training we are NOT talking about getting good enough to win God's love, we're talking about actually transforming. When climbing an instructor will say "I believe in you, you can do it, stay close to me." This is the same as the call of discipleship.

FIVE MINUTE BREAK OUT:
• What reaction to you have to the idea that God wants your “whole” life. Does it give you courage, fear, guilt, pride…
• What is the hardest thing for you to do with God each day?
• Have you ever felt like you really experienced God powerfully?

Live with God at the _beginning_ of the day, _through_ the day, and at the _end_ of the day.
STARTING THE DAY WITH GOD
Genesis 1:5
What’s weird about this timeline?
Day begins the night before.
Psalm 127:2
What does this mean to your daily life?

EXPERIENCING GOD THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Practice the __ongoing__ presence of God. Here are some strategies.

Build “Altars”
11 times in Genesis the Israelites built an altar…why?
Work for the Bigger Boss
See Collosians 3:23

Two big things from Philippians 2:3-4
Serve
Receive feedback well
Two simple prayers:
God, please show me simple acts of service I can do today.
God, what is the truth you wish for me to learn from this?

ENDING THE DAY WITH GOD
A “Postgame Review”
1)Quiet your mind. Recognize Jesus’ presence and ask for his guidance.
2)Recall your day like a video. Speak to God about the game film. Pray for the people in it.
3)Pray thankfully for God’s mercy and love. Ask him to refresh you in sleep.

Ten Minutes to Refresh My Morning

So you want to start a revolution.
Draw a circle in your closet.
And pray for God to start a revolution in your heart.
I read that in a really lame book about youth ministry the other day.
The book--lame.
The quote--great.
I feel like I'm sitting on the bench in eternity, or maybe playing in the JV game.
It drives me bonkers...but maybe that's where I belong.
I think that somewhere before, during, and after every revolution is a crystal clear revelation of God's intended providence & vision. I don't know what the next big thing is.
In some ways if I map my spiritual progression it can be seen as a giant and perpetual pendulum swing between being God's servant and his beloved. I know I should be both at all times, and I'm working on it, but that doesn't tend to be how I roll.
I'm not sure where I am right now on that swing. I feel like the servant vibe is strong, but I'm not sure what grand goal I'm chasing or what wind mill to tilt with. That's odd for me. Throughout the course of my life I've been given bigger and bigger arenas to fail and succeed in, and standing still for this time without knowing what comes next is unusual. My LIFE is pregnant. This prompted my last post, and paints the back of my eyelids when I lie down.

It's coming up on April 9, not my favorite day, so maybe it's simply a function of emotional sadness passing itself off as existential conceit. Or maybe I'm bored with work. Or maybe having done a middle aged man job for a few years I'm having a wannabe midlife thing at age 26 (convenient because the hot young chick in her 20s is my wife).

But it's not any of that stuff. It never is. Something big & signficant is about to happen. And I have no clue what the heck it is.

And my ten minutes are up.

I'm Pretty Sure

That me and the 10 people I love the most are supposed to do something world changing soon.