He Must Increase

John 3:30 ESV

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He: Jesus -

Must: “to be under necessity of happening, it is necessary, one must, one has to”

Increase: “to cause to become greater in extent, size, state, or quality, grow something, cause to grow, increase”

But: This connects one thought to the other thought. It indicates that the truth presented directly effects or connects to what is about to be said. Sometimes it changes a situation presented, other times, such as in this moment, it shows a comparison and what will happen now.

I: duhhh. John is saying that Jesus has a direct effect on him. Jesus, should have a direct effect on you and me!

Must:

Decrease: to cause to be lower in status, make lower, inferior,

As we spoke about in the fall at our last vision night… Everything about WSM and what we do is about Jesus.

This ministry, this night, exists to make Him big while we get small.

This is the best things for us.

If Jesus is who He claimed to be, God, and God is truly what the bible declares Him to be:

Creator,

Sustainer,

Perfect,

Beautiful,

All Powerful,

All Knowing,

Holy,

Good,

And in who’s right hand holds the best and most purest pleasures

Then the best thing for a human to have is MORE OF HIM and LESS OF THEMSELF.

23-24 School Year Vision

Jesus defines our purpose for being here

Here, we will...

1. Sing to Him in praise and worship.

2. Seek to know Him more intimately by studying His Words.

3. Prepare to share Him with others outside of these walls.

Jesus will be the aim of our behavior here

Here, we will all be committed to...

Modeling Jesus with our words and actions.

We see what this should look like in Galatians 5 and John 3.

Scripture defines behavior that glorifies Jesus Christ as fruit that grows from the Holy Spirit of Christ. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). These fruits are manifested as we die to the fruits of our flesh. In essence, we are echoing the declaration of John the Baptist in John 3:30: [Jesus] must increase and I must decrease.

Jesus formed in you is our goal for you here

Here, our goal is...

for you to know Jesus more intimately and look more like Him by the time you graduate

So, in order for us to all have that vision and goal...

We are going to have a signing ceremony.

This signing ceremony is sort of like a road marker for you. You are signing now so that in when you graduate, you can look back and remember what God has done. It is also a sign that you understand what I've just communicated. Which will be communicated every new year. And that you understand that we will uphold the purpose statement, behavior statement, and goal statement with you.

Reflection Questions

What is the purpose for us gathering at WSM?

What are ways I can make this purpose my own personal purpose outside of WSM?

Does my life make Jesus look big?

What does making Jesus big and making myself small look like at:

youth group?

home?

school?

when I’m with my friends?

in private?