Welcome to the online youth group lesson for this week. It is our first in a few weeks … two weeks ago, we had a back-to-school movie and pizza night. The evening was a great opportunity to reconnect with everyone, gather prayer requests and bond over a Christian movie with strong messages of strengthening our belief system, making active choices in everyday life to follow out that belief vs. following the world’s lead and how God can use trying situations and trying people to make an impact for His kingdom. If you haven’t seen the movie, it is available for free here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC6tQpCy10w&t=1220s
Last week, there was no youth group as we endured the remnants of tropical storm Ida. When it comes to prayer needs, we need to continue to remember those in our country who were devastated by the storm.
In other prayer news, church member Judy Bowersox is recovering from recent open-heart surgery. Austin, Paige and Samantha’s nana Lucille Rothermel continues to work on building strength at Penn Manor nursing home’s rehab. A meeting to determine next steps is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday. Pastor Paul and Sherilyn Sheets are in North Carolina visiting his parents. Please pray for Patrick and Johanna Jordan after their big wedding on Saturday as they start a new family together. Also, be remembering school situations, COVID concerns and other ongoing issues. We should also praise God for all the blessings in the midst of uncertain times.
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A little over a week ago, Paige, Samantha and I (John) had a cool opportunity to travel to New York and help with a pilot program where juvenile Eastern hellbenders — our state amphibian which has seen drastic declines in numbers — were reintr0duced to the wild.
Here is a video overview of the program:
As you can probably tell from the video, hellbenders aren’t exactly photogenic creatures. They are blotchy brown, really flat and lurk under large rocks in the bottom of creeks and other waterways. They can get quite large — more than two feet and up to four to five pounds — and aren’t exactly something you’d be thrilled to encounter while playing in a creek in your back yard.
And yet, the creature is not as nasty as it appears. They are quite docile, are a major control for crayfish populations and function as an indicator species. Because they breathe through their skin — including the odd lasagna-noodle-shaped flaps on their sides — they are highly susceptible to contaminants that enter a waterway. An unexplained reduction in hellbenders means that creek or stream or river needs attention before other species start to suffer.
As we helped weigh, transport and release the small juvenile hellbenders — which can live up to 30 years in the wild — it was impossible to ignore the excitement of the dozen or so volunteers that helped out. They felt good doing their small part to help a species most don’t even know exist. On the long drive home that day, it was hard to not see the parallels between their efforts to help a species that was in dire need, and what Jesus tells us we should be doing to help the “least of these” people who live within our families, schools and community as a whole.
Jesus didn’t mince words in a powerful message about sheep, goats and our duties to serve the “least of” those in our lives. From Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV):
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The passage can be divided in two parts, the first looking at those who did respond to God and their rewards, the second half looking at those who neglected their call to help and their “eternal punishment.”
The theme, of course, is that by serving those in need in our local community, we are serving God directly. We become his hands and feet, and while we may not see the benefits while enduring the sacrifices of helping others, especially when it is out of our comfort zone, God notices and promises us rewards for doing His work.
The passage is illustrated in an old country Christmas song that pops up on radio stations during the holidays. However, the song isn’t really about Christmas, but more the importance of serving others even if we aren’t getting what we feel we want/need/deserve in the process. Here is a video of the song with the story:
Ultimately, it boils down to a phrase repeated in the verses above … about whether or not we make the effort to help “the least of these” among us. Who are those considered the least?
These can be kids in school that seem like outcasts, who may be the victims of bullying or shy and unable to connect with others. It can be older people who aren’t able to care for themselves. It can be people with disabilities or mental health issues or financial struggles who barely seem to be able to scrape by. What are some specific examples of people in your life who fit this definition of being “the least.”
As a youth group, what can we do about it? Obviously, keep an eye out for people who may need assistance. That doesn’t mean we need to take on all situations — many times, it may require a referral or request for help beyond our means. But in situations where we are able to serve someone who is struggling, we should do what we can.
Along those lines, I have reached out to Dane Aucker, the Midd-West High School principal, to see if there are students/families connected to the school that may need assistance that maybe we can help provide. If you are aware of specific situations our youth group (or larger church body) can address, reach out via email at zaktansky@gmail.com.
We’ll wrap up with Micah Tyler’s newest song, “Walking Free.”
