Discipleship Thru Soccer

Another dream I have had lately is using soccer to disciple others.

I've loved being involved with the kid's ministry at church. It's been awesome. And God has used it to grow my heart for the next generation.

I want to be part of raising up young men to pursue Jesus and love others out of an overflow of that pursuit. I also see Christ's command to 'go make disciples' as a serious one. I don't think Jesus is talking about solely converts here; He's talking about making disciples -- men who are in it for His Glory and Renown.

When Jesus gives the command to 'go make disciples', I think He says it in a way that translates more like 'as you are going (read: 'as you are living life'), make disciples'. In other words, as we are living our lives, doing whatever it is God would have us do (be that work, play, raise a family), we are to teach/train/raise up others to follow Jesus.

I gain a great sense of joy and thankfulness for this command. I see this command as allowing us the freedom to go pursue things we love to do, such as playing soccer, and make disciples in the process.

What that all comes down to is this: I'm asking God to raise up a group of young men who want to help coach a soccer team, with the intent of using this as an avenue to disciple the next generation of Christ-followers.

I am asking for a few other guys who are willing to help build a team of kids (probably from the church), teach them soccer, model Christ, and pour into these kids. I would love to use soccer as a way to build relationships with kids and their parents, as well as be the salt and light on the pitch.

This is me dreaming, I know. But it's a dream that's been on my heart for a while, and it's growing. Shall God will it, it will be.

If you want to be a part of it, let me know.

The Gospel Thru Soccer

Oh, hey there. It's nice to be back.

Been thinking a lot lately about putting together a soccer team with the purpose of being Jesus on the field. I've been thinking about what it would look like to have a team devoted to playing only for Jesus. I've been thinking what that team would look like. I think it would look a lot different than any other team; truly, if it didn't, we would be doing something wrong.

My dream is to assemble a team who plays hard, plays well, but most importantly reaches out to others. This team would live out Christ's command to 'love our neighbors' as we serve our opponents. It would be as simple as supplying water for our opponents, of being humble in victory and joyful in defeat. Instead of running up the score, we would seek to help our opponents succeed. We would give them opportunities to do well. To be first, we would be willing to be last. We would live the difference.

So I'm working on putting this team together. If you are interested, let me know. Games will be on Tuesday or Wednesday nights with the Austin Sports and Social Club. Talent (or lack of) isn't that important. Only requirements for the league are you are atleast 21 and have not played D-1 soccer in atleast two years.

compassion and the 12.6 curriculum

some thoughts on compassion.

hey guys, so this week we are starting a new virtue. we’re going to be talking about compassion, which is seeing that someone needs help and doing something about it.

there’s some really amazing stuff wrapped up in this, and I don’t want us to miss any of it. so let’s get started.

three main parts of compassion. one, someone needs help (so a need exists; a need must be met, realized, fulfilled). two, we see the need (we are not blind to suffering, pain, and hurt. our hearts are in a place where we are open to the Spirit’s leading. our lives are in a place where we can be molded by the Father’s hands). three, we actually DO something about it (there is action involved; a plan is set in motion to achieve a resolution). all three are important. very important.

so, that’s how we’ll define compassion, and those are some elements of it. now, let me ask you guys, what are some needs you have? food, water, shelter, ok, good. great job guys. what are some ways you or your friends need help? maybe they need help throwing a baseball, or tying their shoe. or with homework, or building something. do you guys remember what we talked about last month, with cooperation? do you remember talking about how we would need help building a house? well, those are all great ideas, and we’re going to talk about different ways that WE can show compassion, but we’ll do that these next few weeks.

before we do that, we are going to take today and focus on something very very important. you see, we can show compassion, and we’ll talk about that soon, but what we must understand is that we can only show compassion because compassion was first showed to us. guys, we MUST understand this. let me show you something…

do you remember last week, we talked about the Gospel? and how everything in our lives comes down to that? do you remember how we described the Gospel as being good news that our biggest sickness can be healed? do you guys remember what the Gospel is?

well, compassion as well comes down to the Gospel. in the book of 1 John, it highlights three important things of God: he is light, life, and love. and we know that we can only love because God first loved us. this is huge guys. we can only live because God first breathed life into us. we can only love because God first loved us, and taught us how to love. and we are going to see that we can only show compassion because God first showed compassion to us. here’s how.

when we talk about the Gospel, we describe it as the ‘good news’. well, in order for there to be good news, that must mean there is also the possibility for bad news. for example, the good news is you won your football game, but that also means there is the possibility of bad news (if you lost your game). or, the good news is your best friend fell off his bike but is OK (potential for bad news is that he could have been hurt really bad). so, with all good news, there is also a chance that something bad could happen.

with the good news of the Gospel, there was some serious bad news for all of us. there is also a potential for bad news that is still there. and here is where compassion comes in.

as we see in ezra 7, malachi 1 and 3, and Nehemiah 8-10, the Israelites were in a really bad situation. they had the law, but they couldn’t keep it. it seemed hopeless, like they had no chance of ever knowing God, or being with God. they needed help living right. they needed help loving each other. they needed help surviving. they needed help getting to God. they needed lots and lots of help, but they could never help themselves.

400 years goes by, still nothing. could you imagine being around for 400 years with no word on how to be helped? think about this for a second: you are hungry, and your mom or dad or grandmother or aunt says she will make you dinner. what’s the longest you can wait to be helped? ten minutes? maybe thirty minutes? possibly an hour?

imagine waiting 400 years. that is what the nation of Israel had to do. you can see why they felt hopeless.

but here is the good news. here is compassion. God knew all along there was a need. He knew from long ago that people needed help living right, and loving each other, and getting to Him. so, in love, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be the way we get to Him. let me read you a story. (story from Jesus Storybook Bible and John 3.16).

do you see guys? do you see how God showed compassion on us? do you see our need for Him? do you see how God saw the need? do you see how God put a plan into action for a resolution? and the great news is, because of this compassion, we can show compassion too. but we’ll talk about that next time. for now, let’s pray…

individuality, cooperation, and worship

just spent some time preparing for our kidstuff lesson tomorrow. figured i'd share my thoughts with everyone. if you think about it, please pray for these kids, that God would move in their hearts and minds and lives, that they come to know and love and run after Him with all their hearts, minds, souls, and strength.

Hey guys,

So today, we’re finishing up the month by talking about worship. What do you guys think about worship? Any idea what it means?

Let me tell you a little about worship. But first, let me connect a few dots for you, before we wrap this up.

Do you guys remember what we talked about last month? It starts with an “I”. Individuality, that’s right. And individuality means discovering who you were meant to be so that you can make a difference. And what about this month we just finished? It starts with “C”. Cooperation, good job. And cooperation is working together to do more than you can do alone.

I want you guys to see how this all fits together. First off, just like everything else in our lives, this comes down to the Gospel. Do you guys know what the Gospel is? (let them explain)…

So the Gospel is the Good News we have, which is that God is alive, and He loves us, and He is here for us. He’s the best friend we could ever have. You see, we all have this sickness that we struggle with, called sin. It’s like a really bad head cold, only it never goes away. It’s really bad.

Do you guys know what a cold feels like? What are some symptoms of a cold? (unproductive, no fun to be around, not good friends, always think about themselves, don’t want to help or play, feel like they are not themselves).

And the problem with this sickness is it makes us unproductive, and lousy friends, and grumpy, and makes us think about ourselves (because we are sick, and we’re focused on getting better because we don’t like being sick).

But, praise God in the Highest, He made a way for us to not be sick. It means we have to have a new life, because the old one wasn’t working. So, He allowed Jesus to take on our old sinful lives, die, and come back to life with a new life that’s way better than the other one. And all we have to do if we want this new life is to ask Jesus for it, and He would love to give it to us. He already paid the price, so it’s free for us. And, with the holidays coming, it’s the best gift we could ever get….better than a Wii.

So, OK, now that we’ve clarified the Gospel, and it’s importance, let’s wrap this up and talk about worship. See, when Jesus saves us, He actually does two things. One, He saves us from Hell, which is the place where sick people go (and where we would go without Jesus – no sick people allowed in Heaven). Two, He saves us to a new life, and to good works.

Now, these works that He has saved us to won’t save us – after all, we couldn’t do them without Him saving us. But they do help us live this new life that God wants us to live. And this is where worship comes in.

In Romans 12.1, God urges us through the apostle Paul to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”. “Bodies” here can better be thought of as “lives”. God wants us to give Him our lives. That is worship. It’s more than singing. It’s our whole life – our thoughts, actions, words, time at school, time with family, time with friends, homework, football games, cheerleading practice – everything. It is all worship.

So the reason we are telling you this is because, as we see in Acts 2.42-47, it is a beautiful thing when individuals worship God together. You can see that some were apostles who taught everyone, some were businessmen who made money to support the group, some were really good at making food and practicing hospitality (so they fed everyone). So some taught, some bought food, some made the food and fed everyone, but they all, as individuals, worked together in an atmosphere of worship. And that’s what we want for you guys.

So here is what I want you guys to think about:

1. How has God made me? I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), I am purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20.28), and I am made in the likeness of Christ (Ephesians 2). As so, I have certain spiritual (and natural gifts) (Romans 12). What are they?
2. How can I worship God? Can I teach others, and help them understand God? Can I play an instrument, and help others make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100)? Can I simply serve, maybe make food and help others fellowship well?
3. What am I not so great at, that I could appreciate others for? Maybe I am not so great at praying, and I am encouraged to pray when I am around others who pray a lot. Or maybe I don’t read my Bible as much as I know I should, but I read and learn when I am around others who like to learn.

So think about all this. I really challenge you guys to consider how you can worship God as an individual, but also how you can cooperate with others to worship God as a community. Let’s pray.

grace, and our part in it

on my mind today has been understanding grace more fully. i'm trying to solidify my theology, and currently it is the theology on grace. not sure if i will ever fully understand grace, though i want to. i think grace plays one of the most important parts in our lives. after all, God, through paul, in ephesians 2 tells us that we are saved by grace, and this is through faith. it is not by works, so that no one can say 'i am better than you', because we have all sinned and fall short of God. (romans 3.23). us being saved is a gift from God. this gift, as are other gifts, is grace.

it's the fact we are undeserving of anything good. we are, by nature, children of wrath. we were once God's enemies. i know people don't like to hear that, but the reality is that is true. our default position is bad. and i am trying to wrap my mind around how bad we really were (or still are, if we haven't yet come to faith in Christ). i can not see my/our response to seeing how bad we were compared to how blessed we are now that we are in Jesus as being anything less than praise and worship. for we were once dead, now we are alive. once enemies, now friends. once damned, now loved fully and incomprehensibly.

i'm hoping to develop my view on grace so i may see so much more of my life (maybe all of it?) is grace. for example, as i am praying for a certain job that i want to see God use me in, or even praying for a wife, understanding that it is grace, as those are both gifts. and not only do i see these as grace, i thank God for this grace.

the flip side of that, maybe, is understanding my role in all of this. how do i still pursue a job, a woman, whatever it may be (these are two easy examples), and to what extent do i pursue, and to what extent do i surrender? it is as it was when i came to faith -- it is more about surrender, and surrendering to God, and trusting. "for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith..."

can we substitute "been given this job, been given this wife (husband for the ladies reading this)" for "been saved", so it becomes "for it is by grace you have been given this job, through faith, not by works so that no one can boast, rather it is a gift of God"? is that theologically accurate? "for it is by grace you have been given this woman, through faith, not by works so that you can not boast; rather, she is a gift of God..." that's what i'm praying through/trying to understand right now.

something else i'm reading...a lot of times, in his letters, it seems like paul says something to the effect of 'grace and peace be with you', or 'may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace'...what does that mean? it seems he is expressing a desire for his brethren to be blessed, which sounds like the result of grace. i think the result of grace is always blessing. we are never worse off than we were before grace occurred; we are always changed for the better. right?

so anyway, this is what i'm thinking about right now. hopefully i'll write more later, b/c i gotta jet in a bit. thanksgiving dinner with the roomies in a bit. later, folks...

light of salvation by desperation band

been listening to 'the desperation band' this morning, and i'm really loving what God is proclaiming through this band. it surely doesn't hurt to truly hear a joyful noise being made to the Lord. i wanted to share some lyrics that are on my heart right now. they are from the song 'light of salvation'. you can listen to the song on youtube here.

VERSE 1
All around the world
You hear now's the time
Break the chains and hold them high
Hold them high

We were made for such a time as this
To make a difference
In the world we live
Now we live

CHORUS
Who's dancing who's singing
Who's living a life worth living
We are we are we're shining
The light of salvation
Who's running who's loving
Who's breaking the doors wide open
We are we are we're shining
The light of salvation

VERSE 2
Old has turned to something new and beautiful
Broken dreams are coming true
They're coming true

CHORUS 2
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
We're shining the light of salvation
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
We're shining the light of salvation

BRIDGE
We have made our choice we are
We are a generation with one voice to shout
Of Your salvation

i am especially feeling the chorus and bridge. i want to believe that is God's heart for His people. and i think one reason a lot of people aren't into church and, more gravely, Jesus, is because we who are called by God don't always live a life worth living. we're not always singing, and dancing, and running after Jesus, and loving like Jesus. i know i am not.

so this is an apology to all of those people who have been hurt by christians, or people who say they are christians. i am personally sorry for not loving like Jesus loves. true, in my frailty i do not expect to fully love like God loves, but that's still no excuse. since God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, has decided that it is up to us to be 'Jesus to the world', to be Christ's ambassadors, we are the ones others look to to see what God is like.

and i'll finish, just saying, i hope and pray we are a generation, a people, that the lyrics paint the picture of us being; that we are singing, and dancing, and living a life worth living. that's my prayer for right now.

cooperation, the Gospel, and Jesus healing a paralyzed dude b/c he had some sweet friends

long title, yes. deal with it.

this upcoming week in kidstuff, we're teaching the kids about cooperation, and we're using the passage where Jesus heals a guy who is paralyzed after the dude's friends carry him to the roof, dig a hole, and lower him down through it. the account is found in luke 5.17-26 as well as matthew 9.1-8 and mark 2.1-12. it goes like this...

The Paralytic Healed

When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.

Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.Je

And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?

"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home."

And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

here are some thoughts i have on it all.

first, cooperation is not the main point of the passage. we would be foolish to not focus on God's ability to heal and, more importantly, God's concern with our hearts more than our outward, physical, and external appearances. we can be in perfect physical shape, but if our hearts are astray, it means nothing.

let this be a reminder to us that outward appearances are secondary to the condition of our hearts. a few weeks ago, we talked about individuality, which is how God made each of us unique so He can use us to accomplish different things. the important thing is that our hearts are chasing after Jesus, so that in the hands of the Potter, we can be used to do great things.

for some of us, that means glorifying God through music. still others will be a Christ-follower in the marketplace, or a man after God's heart working for peace as a CIA agent. maybe one or two of us will go on to be Jesus to a football team. God makes us each to glorify Him where He places us. and we can't lose sight of that.

we also need to think about this when we deal with others. we need to encourage each other in our gifts. we also need to treat others with respect and in a way that points them to Jesus. for guys, we can treat the ladies in a way that encourages them to run after Jesus and not concern themselves with how they look. love Jesus first, not the outward appearances. sometimes, the 'prettiest' (quote, end quote) girls don't love Jesus, and they lose all their beauty that way.

i'll use myself as an example. i've never been the biggest guy, or strongest guy, or physically anything special. quite the contrary. and that always kinda hurt b/c i wanted to be. but God showed me through years of seeking my identity in physical things that really, my identity is in Jesus. i shouldn't look to my gifts or abilities, but solely to Jesus being my righteousness.

so now that we're clear on the main point of the passage, here are some other things God showed me...

*****

we're talking about cooperation, which we have defined as working together to do what you can't do alone. and here is what we are trying to teach the guys this week. as we look at the passage, we see a few things going on:

(a) Jesus is teaching a crowd; (b) a guy who is paralyzed wants to hear and be healed; (c) problem: he can't do it alone (he is paralyzed); (d) solution: his friends who have faith find a way (by working together) to get him to Jesus

result? "seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, 'my child, your sins are forgiven'"

did you notice that? because of their faith, his sins were forgiven. and who is 'their'? his friends!

and that's what we want these guys to see -- that friends, who trust God together, change lives. this isn't just some catchy phrase, it's true. we see that faith drove actions, which led to God healing.

faith was first. we need to believe Jesus is powerful, and mighty to save, and he can heal and forgive. and really, it all comes down to the Gospel. it always comes down to the Gospel.

it comes down to the fact that we can't do it on our own. the good news is that we can't do things alone, and this points us to others and, of utmost importance, to Jesus. once we realize that we are not perfect, that we have a problem of sin, we see that we need friends, and we need a Savior, to help.

so we're going to explain to the little bros that Jesus wants to, and will be, our best friend. our very best friend. and if we let him be our best friend, we will see God do some amazing things. if this is what we want to see, all we have to do is ask. and if we ask Jesus to be our best friend, and mean it, He will. all it takes is asking, or what we call praying, something like this:

"Jesus, thank you for wanting to be my best friend, and showing me you love me by giving up your life for me on the Cross. how cool that is! i know i mess up sometimes, but you say you love me even still, and i believe that. i want you to be my best friend forever. then we can hang out all the time, and you can help me more, because i need it...

...so please forgive me when i do things that hurt your heart and make you cry. i don't mean to, i really don't. i know already that you do forgive me, because you say in your word that if i confess my sins, you are faithful to forgive me, and you will (1 john 1.12). thank you for that. please be my best friend forever. i love you Jesus. in your name, amen."

and so that's it. be praying that God uses this time, and works in these little dudes' hearts. they are some sweet bros, and i really see God using them for some awesome stuff. God Bless guys, thanks for reading...