Welcome to this week’s online youth lesson. Catch up on previous lessons by clicking here.
Kicking off this week with Casting Crowns’ song “Start Right Here”:
Continue to pray for Pastor Paul and Sherilyn as they make final preparations for a big benefit yard sale as they continue to transition to a new stage in life.
Continue to pray for our church, our youth group and the people we have influences on each day. Schools are resuming and COVID is evolving, so we ask for prayer for all these ongoing needs.
Also, continue to pray for Jim Mulaney, Janice Sprenkel and those who are struggling with cancer and other health ailments. Among them is Bob Smith, who fell on Saturday and is healing from some broken bones in his face.
Also, please pray for the Sock family — a friend of the Zaktanskys, Jeffrey Sock unexpectedly lost his father earlier this week and is struggling through the transition.
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For this week’s lesson, we are going to watch and dissect a conversation between two Christian celebrities … Kirk Cameron and Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson:
The video “teaser” references a part of the conversation about God’s people being the ones that need to show others what Jesus is like. We will talk more about that in a moment.
It kicks off with Phil Robertson talking briefly about his poor choices as a younger person before knowing Christ before he talks about the concept of going to church and what that should look like — not necessarily in terms of a brick-and-mortar church building, but moreso the spirit of “church” as a family coming together to worship Him. Consider these verses from Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV):
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
As this grouping of verses suggest, church should be about meeting together in an opportunity to encourage others. The visual of what the early church looked like before the concept of designated buildings for worship can be found in Acts 2:42-47 (NIV):
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Consider the concept of church from this passage in relation to the “Start Right Here” song from Casting Crowns shared above. What themes or similarities do you notice? How can we learn to be better Christians in serving others from this sort of mentality?
Later in the conversation, Phil Robertson references the narrow path vs. a wider path. Consider what is stated in Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV):
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
A number of years ago, I had to leave kids camp in Johnstown early in the week to attend a family funeral. It was late at night, and it was a tiring week. The journey back consisted on driving mostly on bigger highways, and I really struggled to stay on track. I kept nearly dozing off, swerving and almost going off the road. When I hit Route 45, a much smaller, windier road, I actually had less issues because I needed to force myself to be more alert because even a small swerve on such a road could have ended badly.
I think of that trip whenever I read Matthew 7:13-14. As Christians, the narrow path forces us to stay more alert to watch for hazards and unexpected turns, where, on the wider path, we can get too comfortable and miss something that can quickly knock us off course completely.
Near the end of the conversation between Kirk and Phil, they return the concept of Christians living as an example to others … that through us, others may see Jesus. Consider what Matthew says about being a light in Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV):
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
So, again, looking back to the message within the song “Start Right Here”, what is our goal as Christians? An easy hour or two sitting in the pews half-listening on Sunday morning and going through the motions on Wednesday night … and then whatever feels good the rest of the week? Hopefully not … our goal is Christians should be to use our time together worshipping and lifting each other up to hone us, so that we can be sharp for God’s missionary work for us when we head out into the world we live. Consider Mark Hall’s (Casting Crown’s lead singer) teaching through story behind the song:
Next week’s Wednesday night youth group — the last before the start of AWANA — will be a back-to-school youth gathering. Bring some snacks and bring a friend. We will show a movie, have some discussion and This is an opportunity to make attending church more than just showing up at church, but instead an invitation to those — like all of us — who are broken and seeking a better picture of Jesus through us and through our youth group.
Then, starting September 1, we will be looking at some devotionals connected specifically to the messages hidden in the song “Start Right Here” in an effort to make our youth group more than just a weekly gathering, but a movement to improve the local community.
We will close this week with a newer song from Lauren Daigle, an artist that we have questioned lyric-wise in some of her songs, but this one is different in a variety of ways:
