Welcome to our youth group online blog for Wednesday, April 15.
We hope you all are weathering this changed lifestyle as well as can be expected. Here is one of my (John’s) favorite songs to pump things up for God … and very timely as we ask God to build His kingdom within each of us, our families and our church during the coronavirus crisis. As the lyrics in the chorus suggest:
Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray
After a song like that … hopefully we are more than just surviving day to day through this time of quarantine, but fired up and ready to really make a statement for God … to be His lighthouse in a dark and fearful world!
If you have missed our previous Wednesday installments, you can catch up here:
April 9, 2020: Preparation over procrastination
April 1, 2020: Standing up in the midst of a storm
March 25, 2020: What route do our roots run?
March 18, 2020: God’s calm guidance during a coronavirus craze
Prayer needs continue to be plentiful. Our extended church family members who are on the front lines of the fight vs. COVID-19 need to continue being at the forefront of our prayer lists and include Beth and Russell Jordan, Abby Faulhaber, Deb Angelo, Ned Campbell, Nicole Hoover, Brittany Keister, Brooke Keister, Joleen Keister, Wanda Keister, Barry Kuhns, Ryan Long, Sarah Russell, Jerry Rute, Tasha Rute, Jason Shaffer, Crystal Shambach, Ruth Smith, Michael Sprenkel and Starla Wagner.
Austin’s mother, Cindy, has gone through quite a lot of medical issues over the past week, and we are SO thankful to everyone who has prayed for her, Austin and Blake. A special thanks, too, to Julianna for providing supper for our extended family last week. It was greatly appreciated! Cindy had a heart catheterization and blockages were found. Two stents were placed on Friday. Yesterday, she had foot surgery to remove parts that were infected and she may be discharged as early as tomorrow based on how the healing goes.
Your prayers were felt and answered numerous times — not just in her physical health areas, but also spiritually. She also accepted Christ during the ordeal. The family has a variety of adjustments and adaptations ahead, but we know God is moving through this situation, and that is due in no small part to each person who helped pray for her.
Another thing to lift up in prayer is Youth Camp. Leadership within the district will be meeting tomorrow (Thursday) to reassess where things stand. There is talk that if Youth Camp doesn’t happen as it is currently scheduled that a condensed version may be offered in August. We will continue to stay as plugged in as possible to the situation and update everyone as soon as we know more.
Do you have any specific needs? Please reach out to us and we will gladly talk and pray with you!
Our Youth yard sale will be rescheduled — tentatively — for June 6. That means it may need to be bumped later due to any lingering restrictions. However, we wanted to get a date out there as a reminder that it is still coming. Please continue to collect items for donation and encourage your family and friends to do the same.
We hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend. I know one of the highlights for me (John) was watching the special online showing of Sight and Sound’s “Jesus” with the family, including Austin and Blake. What an incredible show, and there were so many talking points it sparked for us.
What were your favorite parts? What stuck out to you through the broadcast? I am hoping we can find ways to get copies for everyone in the group in the near future.
For me, one of the most emotion-packed moments was during the Last Supper scene when Jesus is washing the feet of his disciples. We’ve talked numerous times about the washing of the feet aspect and how impactful it would have been. For me, the moment where Jesus washed the feet of Judas was especially notable. He knew what Judas was about to do, and yet Jesus washed his feet regardless. He ministered to him through that action despite knowing where Judas’ heart stood at the moment. That moment always fascinated me within the Bible’s accounts of that time, but seeing it acted out — what a moment of clarity on how we should treat people, even the ones we feel don’t deserve our respect and compassion.
Paige was moved by the show as well, mentioning afterward about rethinking her stance on watching certain movies and shows that don’t do enough to honor God and His commandments to us. She doesn’t want to waste time on things that can take us away from God’s calling.
Her comments came to mind today when doing a new educational video for the riverkeeper website. I did a separate video to share here with you now:
Some verses that can help us better understand what I shared in the video include 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV):
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Proverbs 13:20 (NIV):
Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
Proverbs 22:24-25 (NIV):
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.
It isn’t the people we surround ourselves with, but also the things we engage our time on … the movies, songs, books, etc. And, going beyond the reference to “anger” in that last verse shared, really associating with anyone (or thing) that defies God’s direction and guidance can lead to tripping us up.
Here is an example … a song I just noticed today for the first time that I desperately wanted to like. It is by Thomas Rhett, with vocal cameos by Keith Urban, Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott and Reba McEntire. It is a response to the fear and darkness of the current circumstances, called “Be a Light.” I am not sure where Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban stand in terms of their faith, but Chris Tomlin, Hillary Scott and even Reba McEntire (more recently) have professed and recommitted to Christ. Check it out, and see if there are certain parts that you appreciate … and maybe some that make you, as a Christian, feel uncomfortable:
“In a time of war, be peace. In a time full of doubt, believe.”
“In a world full of hate, be a light. When you do somebody wrong, make it right.”
“Don’t hide in the dark, you were born to shine.”
All good messages, especially if we remember Who created us to shine — and why. But then, about two minutes in:
“In a race you can’t win, slow it down. Yeah, you only get one go around”
“‘Cause the finish line is six feet in the ground …”
The finish line for non-believers may be in the grave — but thankfully that isn’t the case for Christians. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection story we all just relived via the Easter season is a vivid reminder of how wrong that one line is.
Does that 10-word chunk of lyrics mean the message of the entire song is incorrect? Not necessarily. But it weaves a pretty big untruth into a song I’m sure countless people are rallying around as an anthem for their coronavirus struggles.
What do you think? Do you have examples of things (or people) in your own lives that seemed harmless on the surface, yet posed potential stumbling blocks? We’d love to hear your stories on this topic!
We will close with a pair of songs … the first we have enjoyed for quite some time together, but listen again to lyrics in the context of current events:
And one more reminder to smile:
