All Nighter Message- The Gift
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QUESTION | What’s the best gift you ever received?
INSTRUCTIONS: Give a few students a chance to respond.
Think about the best gift you ever received. Remember what it was like receiving it. Was it Christmas? Your birthday? Just because? Do you remember the joy that filled your heart, and all of the exciting feelings you were getting, leading up to that moment? While you’re remembering that moment, what do you remember about what was going on in your mind? Were you thinking something like, “This is too good to be true,” or “What did I do to deserve this?”
I WANT TO SHARE A GIFT WITH YOU
In the next few minutes, I want to offer you a gift. It’s a gift that is so incredible, it almost seems too good to be true. It’s so good you might wonder what you’ve done to deserve it. Some of you here tonight may have never been inside this building (or any church) before. If that's you, welcome! We're so glad you are here! For some of you, it might be the very first time you hear about this gift I’m going to talk about. Others of you show up every single week — sometimes more than once a week. This probably won’t be the first time you’ve heard about this gift, but that’s okay. I’ve heard it talked about so many times, and in so many ways, but it still doesn’t get old for me. I hope that’s true for you today too. But no matter how often you go to church (or don’t go to church), you might be sitting there, right now, not sure if you believe in God at all. If that’s you, I want you to know I've been there. I know what it feels to have questions and confusion about what you believe (or don’t believe).
SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?
STORY | Talk about a time you remember questioning one of your beliefs.
*Ancestry DNA Story*
Last weekend I went to TN for my 21 year High School Reunion.
It was good to see people I hadn’t seen in a few decades, but even better to stay at my Big Bro’s house and hang with family.
While I was at my Bro’s he showed me his DNA results from Ancerstry.com.
Now, we were always under the impression that we were mostly of European descent, with a little Native American (Our great grandma was part Cherokee… or so we thought)
But here are the results of the DNA test:
*Ancestry DNA Pic*
Now, I’m not sure how accurate that test was, but I remember my brother saying “we were lied to.”
Having the feeling that we were lied to our entire lives about who some of our ancestors were felt kinda bad...
It doesn’t feel good to have your beliefs challenged or questioned. It’s scary to feel like you don’t know what’s true. Wouldn’t it be great if we could always know the truth?
VIDEO | A Clip from “The Carbonaro Effect”
*Disposable Paper Phone Video*
It’s kind of fun to watch people get tricked in harmless ways, but it’s way less fun when we’re not sure what to believe about the most important things in life. Like is there a God? And if there is, what is God like? Does God care about me? And how am I supposed to live in light of that? Sort of like that illusion we just saw, I believe there is truth and there are lies. There is God’s way of living, the way of love and there is the opposite of God's way of living, a life of hurting others, opposite of love. And here’s the tension. The tension of not knowing what to believe can cause fear, dissatisfaction, and despair. And the tension of needing to choose between God’s way and not the way of love towards others.
*title slide*
So what is true?
Who do we believe?
And what do we do about it?
SIN DECEIVED US
In the beginning of the world, the Bible tells us that human beings were created by God, in God’s image. Unfortunately, we humans have had a bad habit of inventing our own beliefs instead of trusting God’s truth. That’s how sin came into the world, and into our lives. Here's what I mean when I say "sin": sin is anything that goes against God's plan for you or for the world. Sin is anything that has a negative impact on your life, or the lives of others, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. God's original path for us was good, and still is good, according to the Bible.
Sin leads you away from who God created you to be. Sin hurts others. Sin convinces you of lies. Sin keeps you from having a relationship with the God who made you. We all naturally learn toward sin. It’s easy to sin! Sin is both our tendency to stray from truth and our blatant decision to ignore or disobey it.
SCRIPTURE | 1 Peter 2:25
INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 Peter 2:25 together.
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
From the moment we were born, we’ve been given directions. The people who raised you taught you how to walk, talk, read, get potty trained, and take on new responsibilities that all by yourself. God has given us directions too, but we’ve missed or ignored those directions. Have you ever gotten lost? Maybe at a store, or the mall, or in a Walmart parking lot? The author of the book of Peter tells us that because of sin, we lost our way. Unless we can find our way back to the path God has for us, we’re going to stay lost. But here’s the scary part — any path that is not God’s path leads to death.
SIN WILL DESTROY US
I don’t mean every bad decision will actually kill you. I mean that sin leads to spiritual destruction. If you’re caught up in sin right now, or you have been in the past, maybe you’ve already realized that.
Maybe you're in a relationship that is sinful — one that's less than God's best for you. You know it’s harmful, but you just can’t seem to walk away, and you don’t know why. Maybe you once found yourself saying, "Just one time. One hit. One drink." But now you keep going back again and again. You know you should stop, but you feel like you can’t. Maybe you’ve looked at things on the internet you know you shouldn’t have looked at, and now it's an obsession — you just can't stop looking. Maybe you feel jealous of the people around you, which leads you to gossip, which leads to anger and bitterness. You know it’s not God's best for you, but you just can't help it. At their core, each of these is the result of our deep brokenness or the brokenness of the world around us. They're a result of sin — of separation from God’s best for us. Because of sin, we're separated from everything God has for us, both now and forever . . .
but there is hope.
SCRIPTURE | 1 Peter 2:24-25
INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 Peter 2:24-25
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Because of God's incredible love and mercy, we don't have to stay lost, dead, and hopeless. Through Jesus, God acted to save us, not because of anything we had done, but simply because God loved us and chose to be gracious toward us. Through Jesus, we've been moved from death to life. Through Jesus, we don't have to be separated from God or live in our own brokenness anymore.
SCRIPTURE | Romans 3:23-25 and John 3:16
INSTRUCTIONS: Read Romans 3:23-25
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
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.
*Title Slide*
So going back to our first question. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Romans tells us that God presented Jesus as a gift to all of us. It’s a gift I’ve received. It’s a gift many people in this room have received. So tonight I’m extending this same gift to you. It’s God’s gift, freely available to anyone who asks for it. If this is the first time you’ve ever heard about the gift of Jesus, this gift isn’t anything you need to work for or earn. It’s received through faith. “Faith” simply means to trust and accept. Or maybe this isn’t the first time you’ve heard of this gift, but you’ve been running away from the idea that it’s true. I get it — sometimes it feels more comfortable to cover up your own brokenness and sin, or maintain your same belief systems. But just because it’s comfortable doesn’t mean it’s true or good. The truth is that there is a brand new life on the horizon for you if you fully trust and accept what Jesus is offering you. Life apart from God can't fully give us the life, hope, or perspective we crave.
NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?
SAY YES TO JESUS’ GIFT
It all starts with a “yes.” Say “yes,” in your heart, soul, and mind to Jesus’ gift. Saying “yes” will lead you down a path toward truth:
Your true identity in Christ. The truth of who God is. A true anchor you can count on when life gets difficult. A deep sense of true belonging and peace that only comes from being connected to your Creator. But there’s even more! In order to truly follow Jesus, know Him, and receive His gift, you have to act. You have to decide and declare, "I believe Jesus is who He said He is, and that He can do what He said He’ll do. I believe God is making me into a new creation.” This declaration can’t only be done with words. It’s a declaration you make when you turn fully away from your old patterns of living. It’s a readjustment that positions you to experience true life change. It’s important to make the choice to walk into a life that honors God. Here’s why.
Your brokenness, fears, hurts, and let-downs are not only on you anymore. God will help you carry them. Knowing Jesus doesn't mean God will make your life perfect, but it does mean God will be with you, to guide and protect you. If you want to know more about this gift Jesus offers, there are some people here tonight who would love to talk with you some more, celebrate with you, and help you take some next steps if you'd like. Talk to the friend who invited you tonight. Talk to me. Talk to any adult in this room. We would love to have a conversation.
PRAYER | Closing and Salvation Prayer
INSTRUCTIONS: Close with a salvation prayer. Encourage students to pray silently along with you.