This week as I was sharing with our youth group, I reminded them of the 3 Rs of Bible reading. Often, I find myself and others reading passages so quickly that we glance over most of the details that give insight into what’s actually happening.
I’m trying to remember to do these three things when I read the Scripture, whether its in my own personal time or with a group. I call them the “3 R’s.”
Not too long ago, I heard the story of a young man who felt worthless. He felt that everything he did was ending in failure. He couldn’t see how he could get out of the despair he felt because of the bad things that were happening in his life. I’m sure he’s not the only one.
Not too long ago, I went to the funeral of a 22 year old young man who had taken his own life after battling with depression and struggling to find worth.
Not too long ago, it came to my attention that many students I know have battled with depression despite living in families that are overwhelmingly positive on the outside.
HOWEVER… (and that’s a big however)
Not too long ago, the God of the universe created you in His image.
Not too long ago, the God of the universe showed His love for you by sending His Son Jesus to die for you.
Not too long ago, the God of the universe tells us that you are valuable. You have been bought with a price!
This is the way the Pastor Josh Laxton said it one time in a sermon about the woman at the well. Take some time to watch it, and never, ever forget it.
Yesterday in church, our pastor preached about being content. It was a sermon out of Philippians 4 where Paul says he has learned to be content in every circumstance. You can watch the whole sermon here if you’d like.
At the end of the service, John, one of our members, talked about his story. It really made me think about how I need to be satisfied with Jesus no matter what.
Check out John’s story below or on YouTube.
I don’t know why, but I hadn’t heard this song until a few weeks ago. The lyrics are incredible. For our family, this past year has been a year full of hills and valleys. Things are constantly changing, and even when you think you have reached a mountain top, you didn’t arrive there alone.
God is with you.
We just finished a series about change in our student ministry, and the three great truths we talked about are: God’s character doesn’t change (Hebrews 13:8), His Presence doesn’t move (Isaiah 43:2), and Trials are for our good (James 1:2-4).
One of my friends from church went with me on the trip to Cuba, and he shared his testimony one night for the youth group. His story is amazing, and I wanted to be sure I got it on video and share it with more people. Since you probably couldn’t be there with us, I’d encourage you to listen to his testimony.
This weekend our student ministry spent a few hours serving a local ministry partner called the Apple Patch. We did yard work at one of their houses, getting our hands dirty by pulling weeds and trimming hedges. I spent some time thinking about why we serve in the first place.
Often, we just assume that students (and adults) know why we set up service projects, but most of the time our answer is, “Because it’s the right thing to do” or “Because we love Jesus.”
Have you ever thought about why we serve from a Biblical perspective? I thought of a few reasons, and I wanted to share them.
I’m sure there are other Biblical reasons to serve others, but these are a few that I think can be helpful as we seek to become people who are known for following Jesus.
(Photo by: Gabriel Jimenez)
