Leave Your Mark

I love you. Say the church. Thank you, Isaac and thank you Mac for lenus this morning. How's the weather today?

Y'all awake alive awake alert enthusiastic or something like that, right? Every time I get up here. I was figure out all this Podium is I'm so short compared to lie, but it's okay we'll make do. I know and it does not adjust so a couple weeks ago just going to I took a small group from our church to a Christian summer camp at Harding University called uplift Jessica and I love uplift. We she grew up going to it. I went to a couple times I just do it and it's a great Camp. It's an easy camp but can't buy group was like a roofing in the woods camping. This is a camp on a college campus. There's air conditioning. There's no chance of snakes being in bed with you. It's great and it's a camp that youth groups go to together. And so here's a couple pictures. There's like six hundred people of the week we went to and it's all these churches that come together as youth groups their youth ministers come. Sometimes you have to come just by themselves, but you have big churches small churches really small churches in really big churches are all come together to do this this camp together from all over the country. We had some folks are there like from Virginia and Florida? Some of the Northeast and some even further west but churches from all over go to the little tiny Searcy Arkansas for free Christian Camp duty three sessions and all that and this was our first time going with our group and we took for Junior High girls from our church that I can pin. It was a lot of fun. It was weird. Me and David were the only guys and our group and so that was strange but we took for girls lots of fun and actually a small group from me and Jessica's home Church in Tennessee. They decided to come on the road about 7 people from that church, so they don't have a leader but they came and we met up with them to adjust Jessica siblings were there and so we kind of ended up having a combined group. I was like, I guess they're step youth Minister for the week. And so we had like a combined Evo at night. We're all that all four groups work together. And so it was a really really good good week of camp and I was like I said be kind of come together and unwind a little bit and go to the next line and That girl from Henderson our group kind of became one group of school. And there's a lot of stuff that they clean the researcher took a list of things that that that they learned and I won't go in everything we can talk all day, but everybody who went from that group of 11, they seriously had some meaningful nuggets and they took away from this week of Camp. All of them is incredible and they're all pretty different to this morning though. I want to try and share with you some of the things that I learned and I definitely go again next year. So I'll be thinking about that. But today I wanted to share with you some of the things that we discussed the theme for camp. This year was leave your mark. There's a nice t-shirt leave your mark and so I don't work with this now, but we talked about how all of us are marks and shaped by our experiences everything that that has gone on our passes the shape to we are and there have been different things that have marked us. Does whatever in the same time, we also Mark and shape other people or experiences of Tainted us that colored us, they filled our lives. And so we Mark people just like we Mark others and so it's important for us to be thinking about how are we painting filling and marking the people around us? How are we leaving our mark? Cuz we have some incredible influence and so add up with we learned that we view our experiences and leave you our marks through the lens of colors and sore when I walk through some colors today that they did a walk-through with us, you know this about me. I love graphic design and media and all those kind of artsy things and I've been kind of where I've been aware of some of this like color theory stuff, but I was profoundly like this was much more deeper after this week cuz of you that have experience in art design psychology education marketing any of those things. You probably heard some of this before but there's this thing called color theory would basically for Generations. We have Associated certain colors with certain feelings or experiences both good and bad and whether it's in Arch or film or Designs, we sometimes use color to express things that words can't even or don't even communicate properly. So color is the way that we communicate and colors all around us. Of course, what's really interesting about all this color theory stuff as it needs colors will talk about they have two sides to it. Sometimes more performances just to mention the two sides. There's a positive thing a positive part of the color and a negative part of the color. And so there's a lot of meaning and by the way up lift and the Harding staff. They got this idea from a guy named Hank fortener who spoke at a conference in Nashville called the the story conference back in 2016 in the Harding staff went to that conference. They heard that guy's speak and then they kind of shape the whole Camp based on his idea. And so today I'm sharing Harding's ideas, which they got from him and you'll see a couple of like slides with that guy Hank in it and you'll see a clip at the end of him sharing his thoughts about all of this comes from And so when Hank starts his presentation he is wearing all white and he does that to be a canvas to better demonstrate some of these colors and you'll see what I mean in a second. The first color I want to talk about is blue color blue. What is the color blue when you think about it people sing the blues, right? That's one thing that comes to mind is it it's when were feeling down there. When was feeling blue blue is often the color of sadness or depression if we think about it. There's a lot of us have probably felt blue and some way original preferably before how many of y'all a few of you? Okay. Don't brave people. Yeah, so we have some blueness right where we feel down depressed sad, whatever and probably some very varying extreme. Some people probably have dealt with some serious depression. I don't want to make light of that everybody's a different experiences here, but there's a lot of us. I know how to experience this negative side of blue this I guess On the positive side of the color blue there is loyalty family friendship in the concept of immortality. You know, we think of like water is Blue Notes clear. Is that about that whatever reason blue, comes to mind we say water but there's water is life-giving I guess.

Police officers they they are so stupid color blue because they're loyal to the law Facebook with over 2 billion people who use it like that's like more than 1/4 of the population of the world are on Facebook because it represents friendship and loyalty and all these connections with people so blue is everywhere. So it's it's a positive thing because it's loyalty. It's family. It's friendships. I think that each of us are painted blue. It's not that guy Hank is doing if people come after the stomach from the crowd to paint him different colors. And so we both we all have blue whether it's the feelings of deep loss and depression, but it's also connectivity. It's sadness, but it's also loyalty. So the color blue is something that we are covered in. You know, what's interesting. I think we tried to convince people. That we don't have blue. Everything's good in our life. And for whatever reason blue was the color of struggle that we try to just push down push away. You know, we want to be loyal to our friends to our family. We want to be the positive side of blue but there still is depression and sadness in our life that they're kind of there's a conflict between the two, you know, I'm saying so these two Blues are fighting and I laugh a lot of times. And we keep on shoving the bad Blues further and further down for a lot of people against generalizations, but something that I've known I've noticed and what this guy said as well. Cuz we're afraid to share our colors in this is one especially that were afraid to share because it is we feel like there's shame with depression which by the way tons of people deal with some levels of depression is not understand that there's a lot more to depression but is very very common. Here's the deal whatever we share. We usually find others all around us who experienced a lot of the same things who experienced a lot of the same color. And so we all have some blue and all of us and blue is a color that might be really really close to you might be near to you. So that's blue. It's it's the sadness but it's also loyalty next is red. What in the world is Red Man are some things you could talk about with red today? But two things on a mission today red is love helplessly in love. How many of you are helplessly in love raise your hand are those of you that are sitting next to your spouse in your hand is not up you were all in trouble. Hopefully we think of red and love and we're all hopelessly in love, right? Like that's how it works. Is it everything from the warm fuzzies kind of love to the I will sacrifice anything for you because I love you. So red makes us think of love which is a beautiful thing. Right? I see this red color everywhere marketing professionals. They use red a lot Chick-fil-A uses this color. Let me tell you. I love me some Chick-fil-A and so it's really fitting that they've got red as their logo. So red is love but red is also the trail. It's pain it's loss. It's the feeling when someone takes your heart and rips it out. Already here story. There's a here's a red story for you guys. Just preface. This is a like Teenage Drama story. So in hindsight is not nearly as dramatic as it was when I was going through it, but it was serious for me. So and high school, so I'm going to I'm going to change the names of these characters to protect their identity. So these are not their real names but there's this girl named Jennifer and I like you alot right start to get to know her started have a crush on her and I thought she was in a meeting started talking. We went on some casual dates and I was ready to ask her if she would be my girlfriend. And I guess what then I learned that she liked me too and I'm like, this is great. Jennifer likes me. I like her. What? What did he look any better? But then I learned Jennifer also liked Craig my best friend. So here's this awkward thing. It's pretty much like a love triangle Zephyr Craig didn't like me that would be weird. But I like Jennifer Craig like Jennifer Jennifer like both of us. And so it kind of came to this point where me and Craig were okay with her liking both of us, so she had to choose somebody and to make my teen drama even worse that she chose Craig. I was crushed. I didn't love Jennifer we weren't love or anything, but I liked you and I made myself vulnerable. I wanted to be in a relationship with her and I did not work out and I felt this this red betrayal and Craig was in the middle seat in that was weird. It was it was a mess was interesting though. Is that that very same kind of season of Life Jessica. My wife was also just getting out of a relationship with a really really bad boyfriend when she talks about this is okay with me sharing and all that but this dude consistently cheated on her with other girls and like that all kinds of way way Siri do stuff with other girls and she too felt incredibly betrayed by that relationship and so both Jessica and I are at the same time the start of the school year in September of 2008. Both of us decided we're done was serious relationships. We're not going to be hurt anymore. We're done with these things called dating relationships, whatever it was too much then a month later we met Fell in love. It started dating fell in love became best friends that was 10 years ago guys. And so that's our little story of how both of us from this betrayal from those relationships that didn't work out kind of made the right environment for us to meet since about the kind of a cool story and that's my read story for you. But each of us is painted and red guys. It's a passionate color on both sides. I've seen this you have seen this released you will see this but we're all painted with red. It's great and it's glorious but it can also be very very painful whatever we open ourselves up to love and relationships, even though like non-romantic relationship just like friendships and you know communities relationships only open ourselves up like that. We are opening ourselves up to the opportunity to get hurt and to be burned the feel betrayed and all those things and so red is a beautiful beautiful color. And what is that thing about like the church world? One of the best images that we talked about at church is the red Crimson blood of Christ and we talked about the blood of Jesus were talking about the pain and the lost and the hurts that our savior went through and bearing our sins on the cross. But it did that because of his great love for us. And so even in the in the cross of Jesus, we see both this hurt and betrayal and his great love. So this red thing mean those two things that is all over the place. So each of us were covered in blue and Ross are covered in red next. There's some yellow and we need to talk about Builders in the movie Jaws. There's yellow everywhere in that movie because it's trying to get your attention yellow is the color of caution It's usually the first color your eyes are drawn to you. That's why school buses are yellow. So you see them in Ark luscious around them. Yellow at a traffic light means slow down not speed up watching you. It means I slow down and be cautious right now. The way that I caution often express. Is it in our lives is anxiety. It starts with caution when it becomes anxiety. And so yellow, I think represents anxiety and we can talk a lot about that. I think this one that I relate to a lot. I'm a pretty anxious person. Some of you will come up to me and like put your head on my shoulders like dude just take a breath cuz I'm like always uptight. I need I have a lot of anxiety. So I are late with this. So yellow is anxiety, but yellow is also happiness. Our joy, you think of like the sun and sun lights and how we all need to be outside more. I was thinking like sunflowers. I don't know what what does things that don't make you happy electricity, maybe I don't know but there are things that are yellow that we associate with happiness as well. And I think just like blue and red. Each of us is painted with yellow. We are marked with yellow. interesting

whenever we're filled with anxiety. We have a really hard time being happy. He knows that it's like we only have room for one of the other and so whatever. We're anxious all the time. We're probably not as happy and that's not something that that's worth noticing and we're thinking through now. I know it for a lot of us myself included. I think we work really well under pressure. We kind of get into those habits where we've dealt with his anxiety for so long that we kind of use it as fuel because I think we're missing some of that happiness that could be in our lives because we have too much yellow anxiety and Its Spots but like I said, these these tensions between the good and bad of these colors is constantly fighting and I think yellow is one that that same thing that causes you anxiety one second can cause you happiness. The next for example does be their parents your children. Oh my goodness my son David, he fills me with so much anxiety. He's in that stage of life right now where he is testing the limits of everything currently his thing he does for fun. Is climbing the coffee table and jumping under the couch half the time. It doesn't make it he's got bruises all over himself from other failed experiments like that because he's just in that phase where he's learning what he can and can't do so we're a nervous wreck. Like we're on like serious like skit out freak out like high anxiety all the time because I never know when he's going to try to make a bolt for the door or something. And so we're anxious with that child by the same time. He's also learning how to share how to love how to play and that gives us so much happiness. And so our son who is anxiety and happiness the same time. It's crazy how that works, but it was using only have one or the other but I think yellow is a fun color. What do you say we have too much anxiety not enough happiness.

So something with all these colors that's important. We're talking about them for one so we can kind of understand ourselves and understand what experiences have shaped us, but I can't say this enough. The other probably more important side is for us to know what we need to do for other people and what other people around us neat and I think that we need to share some yellow as an happiness. Not anxiety with other people. We need to be the people that bring other people happiness is not just about happiness. There's other things we talked about as well. But I think happiness replacing anxiety, especially it's something that our world needs. I want to share a story. This is not to make me and Jessica look good. But I hope that it's a good example and something that they can give you guys some ideas. I hope to all of us can do stuff like this in the future. So couple weeks ago. We went back to Tennessee for a wedding and one day we drove 10 hours in Nashville. Then the very next day. We drove 4 hours to Knoxville went there for the wedding is an outside wedding wobble of wall, hung out Fellowship drain, where's exhausted then we had to turn around and drive 4 hours back to Nashville that same day before we left Knoxville. We decided to stop at Cracker Barrel on the highway and eat supper. And so We got in there and our waiter was a really good waiter like you I don't know who's the best we've ever had ever, but he definitely was good. He was a tentative he was he was respectful. He was like promptly listen to well everything about a new just a good good waiter and at the end of the night we thought hey, let's let's help him have a better night. Let's try to make his night a little better and toward the end of the meal. We asked if if we can speak with a manager now confession whenever we first said this he shot up with anxiety and so is not the right kind of yellow. We were giving him we made him pretty anxious, but I tried to say hey we want to brag on you, but can you get your manager? And so he rushed off hardly in like less than a minute later. The manager was politely walking up and Whatever the manager manager was there. We buy name bragged on our manager and told sorry our server and told the manager how awesome of a job he was doing and all those things that he was doing. Right? And he said there's nothing to complain about. We just want to tell you how awesome he's been and the manager told us that the our server he was so nervous when he came to the manager. He was like, I think I filled up their drinks and brought their food on time. He was freaking out because he lives in a world of anxiety. And so we told that manager good news that changed his night. He got excited and so he rushed off to go tell the server what good he was doing and Shane is that yellow anxiety to a positive yellow. That's only if you doing you all we need to be changing people's attitudes pushing some yellow happiness in other people's lives. So we got blue we got red. We've got yellow next. Let's talk about Green. the last color for colors There's a lot of things that come to mind with green as well. When you get nauseated your face turns green. I have never seen it like a full-on green, but we say that all the time right when you're new at something. You're called Green. You're great at what you do when you're jealous your Green With Envy. So green is bad things right? It's I would say the biggest thing I think for at least the most. I guess that was meaningful is whatever reason we had that shame but being new at something until that's the negative we're going to talk about is being green at something but the positive of green is dreaming. It's the color of plants and nature in life of things growing and prospering when you sit at a traffic light and you're staring at Red for forever and that green beautiful white illuminates. Everything's better in the world, right? It's your turn to go and so you don't hesitate at all you take off because we probably should look first, but it's green for go. It's a good thing. It gives you permission to go and so green is freedom. I think that each of us is painted with the color green. Remarks with green and just like the other colors. There's an interesting relationship we have with green. Like I said, whatever were new or starting something fresh. We kind of have this this feeling of Shame we're embarrassed that we don't know as much as the next guy or they're not doing a very good job, but it's actually a beautiful thing to be starting over and being new and something it's a fresh start is all we need to start embracing the opportunity that comes with green and I think that some of us need more green especially when it comes to to Green as permission to go. Permission to start something new. I know that some of y'all are probably lived a safe comfortable life for a long time doing what you had to do. And that's that's great. That's what we need to do. The guys there might be some of you who haven't fulfilled a colony in your life because you meant afraid or because no one has given you permission to let the color green be a reminder that you have permission to go things may not work out. They may not be all. Okay, but I think part of our growth process is change sometimes and sometimes following a vision that God has given us as what we need to do, but we're too afraid to step out and do it. And so we need some green need some permission to go and so let's start again to be green. And just a second. We're going to watch a video clip not yet. But this guy is going to going to wrap up his conversation on how these words are powerful. So listen to him as he kind of wraps things up in your head Loren. See my invitation to you tonight. Is that every single person in your life? They look like me. Every single person your life is splashed with colors. Every single person in your life is carrying a lot of colors that we might hide in different ways that we might close in different ways for cover them. They have red all over them or they have blue all over them. Are there yellow or the green my invitation to use to ask yourself this question. How did this person get this way when you meet a person that you can't stand anyone have a person you work with or that's in your life that you just can't stand and if they disappear to some wonderful place, you wouldn't cry about it. Anybody have those people in your life. Take a deep breath and go how did they get that way? What color do they need from me? Some of you have huge audiences and very large platforms. The question is what color does my audience need now? In a world of turmoil where we're losing Facebook friends over a political war that no one's going to win. What color did the does the world need from you where can you place your color? Where can you put color on people's lives? What about your children? What about your spouse? What about you? Where can you put color on yourself? Or you go? Yes, this is what I need. This is me. I'm going to give myself green and you don't want have been way too anxious and it's time for me to get myself a little more yellow. It's time for me to give myself a little more blue. I need some loyalty in my life that you in this room. You are not a person whose only been marked by the world. You have paint all over your hands all deep in your pockets to the tools impact that you have through your job and to the resources you have those are colors and the world is your canvas and the people who follow you into listen to you and consume what you create. You have the capacity to color them with whatever color they need to our invitations to ask the question. What color does my world need from me right now? Where do I need to put some yellow who needs a little blue from me who needs permission to say go and who needs a little red do what's extraordinary about the power that you hold in this room. What's amazing about story and this gathering in this place is it we've gathered in this place to all for all of us to say, okay. I have all these things inside me. I've all these things outside and somehow you you masterful creators have found a way to make your passion. Also your business a very rare and high Echelon of humanity. And now that responsibility comes down to the single solitary question. What color will you paint your world? How will you use the power? You have to give the world the color that they need? So the next time you meet someone or put a project together or when something rubs you the wrong way or you see it you ask yourself the question. How did it get this way? What colors do they have? And what colors do they need from me?

Okay.

I think he he said that really well so these colors blue red yellow and green they cover our lives where each marked with them. And I think we each Mark other people with I want to turn our attention now to God's word guys. I apologize. Usually we spend a lot more time and God's word with the parents terminal late notice. This is messages not focus on it enough. That's not normally how my sermons gon or how does Church usually operate so I had I do apologize for that, but I wanted to know how to look at a few passages and I think speak these exact same things. So it will look at this first passage and I want you to have in mind these colors as I read this because I think they're not explicitly, you know, red blue yellow green, but I think they're in there. So listen, This is Ephesians 4:29 through 5 verse 2. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth. But only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen. And keep going there's a bunch sorry and do not grieve the holy spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness rage and anger brawling and slander along with every form of malice be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as Christ God forgave you as in Christ. God forgive you. Follow God's example there for as dearly loved children.

And walk in the way of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Did you catch it? Did you see the way that those colors I've been talking about all morning or in that passage guys are tons of passages we could be looking at today. I think all of those are are are clearly in the Bible. But in our lives we have the opportunity to colorful paint in the lives of others to those who are overwhelmed with blue with other sadness depression, whatever we can be the loyal Brothers and Sisters in Christ and speak. What is good for building up. Is that passage said We can paint broad Strokes of red as we forgive one another as Christ forgave us and as we walk in love that's all red comes in a play. We can use our words and actions to paint yellow as we are kind and compassionate to one another and when our words and actions give Grace to those who receive them. Verse 31 Lindsay's I think green is calls us to put away bitterness and Malice. So when we get over our negative Green Envy we can choose to appreciate the green opportunities. God gives us each day, but our separate from others. We shouldn't be envious because God gives us things that only we have opportunities. The only we have been so we can help other people see the uniqueness in their lives and encourage them to go be green eyes that color screams. I want to look at one more passage. That's a familiar passage and it's earlier up in Seasons up in chapter to read Ephesians 2:10. It's a lot just follow up with me.

Sorry. For we are God's handiwork created in Christ. Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Let's go back for a second Lauren. I want to camp out there for a second.

What are the first like phrase for we are God's handiwork for God's other translations call it workmanship guys all the colors that have been painted on your life the good and the bad and the place where it looks like it's a jumbled mess or a hot mess.

All those things have made you into who you are today who who all of we are today? And you know what God claims you as a masterpiece. All those the experiences you've gone through the terrible. The tragic mom is all of those things have shaped you into who you are today. That's not the end of the verse that says we are gods are go back over time when you were created in Christ, Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. This is so much this color thing we've been talking about we are painted this way and he said that we've got other we got so much paint in our pockets so we can go out and paint other people to do those good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. So we have these opportunities to go out and paint others. You can go in at Lord. I'm sorry. So what color do you need more in your life? And what color do those around you also need? We're going to have a invitation now. So Realtors will be up here really wants to pray receive some encouragement any else any other needs that are coming on anything that's unrelated to what I've talked about going to know more about our church or Jesus whatever Maxwell sing another song and we have the invitation for you before we do that. Let me pray for us and then let Matt come up and see what spray.

Father God thank you for the day. Thank you for the ways that you shaped our lives down there. So many moments in our lives that have led us to where we are today. I know there are still many more that are coming. I pray that we look for ways that we can be involved in the people around us and their lives so we can be an encouragement. We can be a brother who who lovingly disciplines them and correct them somebody who's there for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. God help us to be there the community in the family that you called us to be. I pray that we use our opportunities to paint to paint and where Bolden that guy. We love you. We thank you for this time today in Christ name we pray. Amen. My back feel Stan will sing this together.