Westminster Christian School | Take Off Your Mask

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Who loves Halloween?

Of course, who doesn’t?!

Everybody loves getting free candy!

Specifically, who enjoys dressing up for Halloween?

Totally, in fact, who already has the costume picked out?

Does anyone plan to make a homemade costume?

Who thinks they have made the best homemade costume of all time?

What was it? Spit it out!

A friend of mine made this costume! Check it out:

[[[Slide of Jeremiah as a mandalorian]]]

A mandalorian. This costume has been a work-in-progress for over 4 years and cost over 2,000 dollars. He won first place at HeroCon in 2018.

The helmet alone cost $300.

I’m always amazed by what homemade costume and masks my friends create for Halloween.

But do you know what I realized?

We wear all kinds of homemade masks - all year long, not just on Halloween.

Except we don’t make these masks from fabric or other materials. Instead, we create them in our imaginations and wear them to hide parts of ourselves that we don’t want others to see.

All of us do.

We wear masks to hide our insecurities, fears, and doubts.

We wear masks to hide parts of our lives that we don’t want others to see.

Just like a mask hides your face, other masks hide emotions and hurts.

But here’s what I’ve learned about masks.

Though my masks covered up the outside, they didn’t heal me on the inside.

Masks didn’t heal my hurts, they simply concealed my hurts.

Do you wear a mask?

What do you not want others to see?

Masks are fun to wear on Halloween, but not everyday.

They’re fake.

They hide the real you.

And worst of all, they keep you from getting to the heart of the real stuff inside of you.

What masks do you wear?

What do you not want others to see?

Do you know what else masks do besides covering the parts of us that we want to remain hidden.

Masks, ultimately, separate us from others… from ourselves… and also from God, who created you and knows you inside and out.

In fact, God created you to live free and honest with yourself and others, but masks stifle that.

Let me ask you a question: what would happen if you tried to plant a seed apart from the soil? Nothing would happen, the seed would just remain a seed.

It wouldn’t grow and flourish to become what’s inside the seed.

The same with masks.

Masks keep us separated from becoming our true selves - the kind of people that God created us to become, but the Good News of Jesus says, I’m here to help you take off your mask and show you how much I love you.

In fact, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Perish means death, death means separation.

God loves you so much that God entered into our world as a human being in the person of Jesus Christ to show his love for us… for you… and to save you from living separated now and separated forever from your Heavenly Father.

Ever wonder why believing in Jesus gives you eternal life?

The answer is ‘because of forgiveness’

Jesus’ forgiveness through his sacrifice on the cross redeems us from forever being separated from God.

Redeem means to buy back. Think of it this way, if a friend owed you $10 for lunch, but you decided to forgive your friend of his lunch debt to you, then you bought their debt by paying for their meal.

Someone needed to pay the $10, so by forgiving your friend’s debt, you paid for lunch.

Jesus did the same thing with our sin. Our sin owed a debt to God that we couldn’t pay back, but God loves us too much to live apart from him forever, so Jesus paid our sin debt by dying on the cross so that we could live forever with him!

That’s how much Jesus loves you.

He offered his own life for yours so that you might live forever with your Heavenly Father, starting right now.

Jesus said, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Which means if you place your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and allow him to take the lead of your life, then you will live free now into forever… free from the masks and free to live as the young man or young woman that God created you to be!

In a letter written by a man named Paul to a church in a city called Ephesus, he wrote:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. [[[Grace means a good gift that we didn’t earn]]]

And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [[[None of us can do anything to earn God’s love for us. God loves you simply because he created you]]]

One psalm says that you are: fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful… Psalm 139:14

When you wear a mask to keep a part of you hidden from others to see, it’s like placing a cover over a one of a kind, priceless piece of art.

In God’s eyes, you are a priceless piece of art. Some of you might have priceless pieces of art in your home, but you don’t feel like a priceless piece of art.

But do you know what God says about you? Listen:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Some of you may not know that the New Testament was written in Greek. In the Greek language, the word for masterpiece is translated from a word called “poema.”

What English word do you see in the Greek word “poema?”

Poem.

You are God’s living poetry in the world, and for anyone who believes in Jesus and receives his forgiveness, they become a new person, living poetry, a child of God!

Instead of faking happy, Jesus gives ‘JOY’ [[[write JOY]]]

Instead of earning our worth, Jesus made you a son or daughter of God [[[write WORTHY]]]

Instead of seeking popularity and acceptance from others, Jesus chooses you as his very own! [[[write CHOSEN]]]

Let me summarize everything I just said in a quick drawing:

THREE CIRCLES

Friends, today, I’m here to tell you that masks are only cool on Halloween, not all year long.

Jesus sees through your masks into your heart and says, I love you, regardless of what you may be feeling or trying to hide. Jesus says, I love you and am here for you and offered my life for you so that you could live as a child of your Heavenly Father.

As we close, I have three action steps that I want you to do:

[[[Trust Jesus]]] First, if you don’t yet know Jesus, then today’s your day. Trust him. He’s so good and wants to give you the best life. Receive his forgiveness.

[[[Talk to an adult]]] Second, tell a trusted adult about what you’re really dealing with inside. Take the risk to take off your mask. It’s worth it. Let me encourage you to find a teacher, coach, parent, or pastor, and just say, hey I want to talk to you about something. It might feel tough. You may not want to do it, but don’t wait. You’re stronger than you know. Do it!

[[[Be Kind]]] Third, be kind to each other. Middle school’s hard on everybody, so don’t make it any harder than it needs to be by being mean to others. If you do see someone being mean, then be courageous and stand up for what’s right. All it takes is one. Be the one! No one celebrates the bully, but everyone loves the hero!

In Christ, you are God’s good poetry.

Let’s pray together…