Jesus > Religion: Jesus Revealed

I hope you all enjoyed last weeks Youth Group. It is always fun to see students engaging with other students and reconnecting with leaders. As always, I want to encourage you to dig into the lives of the students who are a part of your group. The smaller group design is on purpose and in hopes of making this a reality in their lives, and yours. Trust me - regardless of what they say or how they act - most of the students are asking for a mentor. This is a common theme in the Millennial and this iGen generations. The fact they show up is evidence they care, if they didn’t they would figure out a way to get out of it. Parents forcing their kids to come is the exception not the norm.

This week will will be continuing the process of exploring the idea that Jesus > Religion. The focus is on revealing Jesus, last week was a broad brush approach, this week is more surgical. For those who have already decided to follow Jesus, this week will give them information to enable them to share Jesus with others. For those on the fence or just surveying the field, I hope this week brings an eye opening encounter with our risen Savior. I hope they will see that Jesus’ choice to save us was not just something we say, but a significant event in the history of the world, of God’s creation. The primary passage of Scripture this week is from , and

Welcome & Announcements:

Play Video For SYATP -

A few small items, Make sure you are not going back into the Gym until 10 after 8. There are too many small children in there, be respectful of the space and the leaders over there. Food - Please be considerate and keep your food mess to a minimum and if you make a mess clean it up. I like having food for you, but last year it got a bit crazy with the mess.

Play Video For SYATP - September 27th, 2017 - 30 Minutes before School. - This is something you will need to be in charge of. I am hopeful a few of you will step up and get excited about this opportunity, encourage all of your friends - especially your friends - to gather around the pole for a session of prayer.

Questions - The Quest Box:

Review: Again, thanks for coming. I know that in today the act of being here is significant. There is always a ton of stuff we can choose to do, so when I see a group of students your age making the choice to explore Jesus, come to know Jesus, grow closer to Jesus, or Go out for Jesus I get excited. I realize there may be some in the room who feel like they did not have a choice in the matter, I get it. My prayer is for you to encounter Jesus in such a way your heart turns from reluctance to excitement - from Aw-man to AMEN.

Last week we talked about the Big Deal, why it is important for us to know Jesus is greater than religion. We discussed how religions are the systems set in place by people in order to relate to something they believe is worthy of their time, energy, affection, and effort. We acknowledge that Christianity - by those standards - is a religion as we - those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus - believe Jesus is worth it. Jesus is worth our energy, our time, our affection, and our worship.

For those of you still trying to decide if Jesus is worth it - WELCOME I am glad you are here WE are glad you are here. This is the best place to be to discover Jesus, to experience what a life lived for Jesus means, so you too can decide if Jesus is worth it. There are many questions that every person on the planet will ask at one time or another. Questions like Why am I here, Why is there evil in the World, Who am I, Why do certain things make me feel guilty, What do I believe.

Many people seek the answers to these questions in various ways. I am hopeful - in one way or another - we are able to help you answer these questions and more. By the way - if you have a question that you want addressed and you do not feel comfortable asking in front of your peers, feel free to drop me a note in the Quest Box.

We also talked about the negative aspects of religion. How religions - at least for many - results in a list of rules, a List of DO’s and DONT’s. We also celebrated the reality that Jesus > Religion - Pursuing Jesus does not mean following a list of rules - that He calls us into a personal relationship. I get it, telling you to have a relationship with Jesus can be confusing. After all, the only relationships we are aware of are those in front of us. They include people we can see, or write to, or talk to. Some of you may only know some people because you text back and forth, maybe you have never seen them.

My Cop side is asking me to warn you about those relationships. To warn you about the person you think you know online - I promise you there are many sick people out there pretending to be someone they are not. Actually, I have a friend in the cities who is a cop. His whole job centers around catching those guys. It is unbelievable how many of them are actually out there, and how many of them have bad intent. They are not just trying to be nice, they are looking for someone to take the bait and be willing to meet up…I don’t need to tell any of you who know anything about the recent events in our community how dangerous that can be.

So to tell you to focus on a relationship with Jesus can be confusing. Tonight, I am hoping to help you do two things. First things first - I want to help reveal Jesus to you, who He is. The second is help you identify Jesus is worth pursuing a relationship with. In the weeks to come I will be talking a little more specific on how to come to know Jesus through a relationship with him, and how that relationship will help you with Anxiety, Stress about the Future, The struggles of Today, Your self-worth, Identify healthy friendships, be strong in the faith when others tease you, and realize you are not trapped by sin.

This week, since I have told you Jesus is about entering into a relationship with Him and not a list of rules, I want you to see why He is worth getting to know. If you think about all of those relationships in your life, there are not too many that you have that are not by choice. Sure you have relationships with your parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, and the odd uncles, but the quality of that relationship depends on your decision to deepen the relationship.

How many of you will admit to the odd uncle… I have one for sure. come to think of it, my uncles are kind of all over the map. I have millionaire uncles, and uncles that live at home. Granted he is taking care of Grandma, but still. I have uncles who are Atheists, Catholic, and Evangelical. I have some who were cops and lawyers, some CEO’s of major companies, investors, and some who work in IT. I did not have any say who I would call my uncles, they are who they are. I do, however, have a choice in who I build a relationship with and the purpose of the relationship. For example, I choose to meet up with one of them to continue to witness to him about Jesus, even though he doesn’t believe. I love him, and I care about his eternity even if he doesn’t. Until recently, I did choose to avoid one of them. he has traditionally had some interesting ideas and taken random chances with life. So, for years, I just decided I was not available to him. That has since changed, as I want to witness Christ to him. - Hmm common theme isn’t it.

I choose to engage with them because of my relationship with Jesus. My point is, the purpose and depth of a relationship is based on your choice to get to know them, care for them, learn from them, teach them, have fun with them, and walk through pain and suffering with them. You get to choose who you associate with at school, and who you sit around at the family reunions. So, I am hopeful by the end of the night you will decide to start to get to know Jesus, continue to grow closer to Jesus, or decide to Go with Jesus into the mission field - across the street and around the World.

JESUS REVEALED:

; think it is supremely important to understand the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Trust me when I tell you there have been many who have tried to deny the divine nature of Jesus, and the essence of the Holy Trinity The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Some made claims that Jesus was created by God, or that he was not always divine. Let us put that to rest. This will be a familiar verse for some of you but very important.

John 1:1–5 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is Eternal

John was speaking to the Greeks, using their term “the Word”. He was telling them that what they thought was just an idea, or an element of the ordered universe was actually Jesus. He told them Jesus was and is eternal, is constantly present even the moment leading to creation. Basically telling them the thing they worshiped or understood as Logos, is Jesus and he was helping them get the proper view of Jesus.

I talk about this all the time, probably because it was a lie I fell victim to. I used to think Jesus was just a man like any other man in his day, and the stories about him were simple exaggerations. I thought he was a good moral teacher, that he gave some decent advice. That was my view of Jesus. At your age, I knew God existed but it didn’t change my life, I knew there was a Jesus but I didn’t know he is God - fully God and fully man. Nobody ever explained this to me, they just told me to have faith!

Here is what I believe - correct me if I am wrong - you guys and gals are not too young to have this discussion. That you are not too young to care about matters of eternity. Am I wrong. How many of you say you are too young for this? How many of you are uninterested in things concerning eternity?

Jesus Is God

Jesus Is God - Is is and always will be. I know that may be difficult to fully get, why because we are created and He is the creator. Think of it this way, computers have the ability to do all kinds of stuff. Most of my studying was done on the computer with the Bible program providing countless volumes of books of much smarter people who have studied this stuff much longer than me. The computer was created, but has no way of knowing the mind of the creator. The computer only understands what it knows base don the data it is given. We cannot possibly know everything about God or how Jesus is fully God and fully man. But we do need to at least understand enough to desire a relationship with Him.

Jesus Chose US

Jesus Chose Us -

Philippians 2:6–8 NIV

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

He chose to leave the comforts of heaven, to leave his Glory and power. Not only that, not only did he say I will leave heaven, but he said I will come as a baby and grow up in the world! Seriously, how many of you are itching to be adults. He could have done whatever he wanted and showed up however he wanted, and he decided to show up as a baby! Wrap your head around that for just a second.

Even to death on a cross! We are not talking about him choosing to come to earth to live a full life. 33 years old, that’s it. He made it to about 33 years old and laid his life down so that we may know God! I am 40 - I feel I am in my prime mentally - not physically but mentally. So not only did He decide to come to earth so we may know God but willingly went to a brutal excruciating death on a cross - after being tortured. He did it on purpose, how many of us are willing to be tortured for people who love us let alone for those who oppose us? He was so intentional, even when his followers - Peter - wanted to take up arms against those who came to arrest him he said this

John 17:26 NIV

I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

John 18:11 NIV

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Philippians 2:6–8 NIV

Meaning, I know what my purpose here is and I am willing to do it. Hear me know - He didn’t do it for only those who loved him, who chose to follow him. He also did it so others would come to know God. One of the last things Jesus said before his death was “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!” And he also said “IT IS FINISHED” it id DONE - All other religions and worldviews require those who hold that view to do something - Jesus said it is all DONE - those who believe He is the Savior and Lord are not bound any longer to sin, or a list of Do’s and Don’ts we are set free!

So, let me ask you the question: Do you believe Jesus is worth your time, energy, effort, and worship? Do you believe God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit loves you enough to humble himself and die the torturous death on the cross so you will see He is worthy of your worship? - All the laws didn’t get us to God, and by the way our sin is not what keeps us from God- it is our self-centered nature that keeps us from God. Living a self-centered life places the self on the throne and not God. Will we do this perfectly? Of course not, but is the pattern or posture of your life centered around God or you? What will it take, what do you need to decide to live for Christ first and everything else second.

1. God 2. Self, Family, Job, School, Sports, comfort

Is this the order of importance similar to your life, or do you have it different in your mind? What will it take for you to put God above all things?

If you had to order the priorities in your life what would they look like?

John 1:1–5 NIV

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

If you had to order the priorities in your life what would they look like?

Philippians 2:6–8 NIV

Have you given much thought to Jesus choosing to come from Heaven as a baby? If you were him, how would you choose to live on earth.

What do you think of when you think of Jesus’ death on a cross?

Where do you feel you are in your pursuit of Jesus? (Still wondering what’s the big deal about Jesus, interested, seeking, believing, believer but struggling, no doubt, follower, disciple). Why do you say that? [Try to phrase this in a way where the nonbelievers do not feel as though they need to believe]