Port Ann Wesleyan Youth group 05/06: Serving as samaritans

Hello! It is hard to believe that this is the eighth installment of our weekly online youth group substitute message series. For those who have fallen behind, or are just getting into these, here is the list of our previous lessons:

Obviously, we aren’t the only ones who have tried to find creative adaptations to keep plugged into God during this time of weirdness. For King and Country just a few days ago shared a new music video for a song they created using feedback from fans called “Together.” Check it out (and be sure to watch to the end with a unique reveal):

Please remember 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.

Please be praying for Pat and Janie Mitchell, who are dealing with quite a bit of pain and can’t find relief. Pat fell a few days ago and is dealing with the ripple effect from that. Julianna and Sammy’s other grandfather, Lee Jordan, fell several times Sunday into Monday and is currently in the hospital with some pelvis fractures. Doctors are considering sending him to a nursing home for a couple weeks for physical therapy and to rebuild his strength. Please pray for the entire Jordan/Mitchell family during this rough spell.

Cameron had asked for prayer for his grandmother, who was diagnosed with cancer. I found out today that the doctor now states that he was wrong and she doesn’t have cancer. However, they have found a spot on her lung and the family finds out more on Monday. Please continue to keep her and the family in prayer. She is staying with Cameron and his mother for the time being.

Michelle and Austin’s mother, Cindy, are both doing better after their recent medical issues. Austin had an infection in his one eyelid, but that has cleared up with antibiotics.

Our former pastor, Rev. James Leininger, passed away last week. Services are set for Friday at a cemetery in New Columbia. Please be praying for his wife, Peggy, and children as they navigate the arrangements in the midst of quarantine circumstances, along with family travel arrangements and weather (looks a little soggy at the moment).

Also, please keep our church leaders in prayer as decisions are made on what the next steps look like for the church in regards to in-person services, upcoming events, etc. Along those lines:

We are tentatively looking to have in-person youth group next Wednesday at the church, with the goal of doing our annual spring trash pick-up event, ice cream and time of catching up and fellowship in the pavilion where everyone can be together, yet not right on top of each other. This is all dependent on weather, but for now, that is the tentative plan. Goal is to meet at 6 p.m. and wrap up by 8 p.m. That should give plenty of time for the trash pick up, catching up, prayer and ice cream. Let us know if you have any questions, comments or other feedback.

Also, we are still tentatively looking to have our youth yard sale on Saturday, June 6. If it happens then, it will likely look a little different than normal, with a need for youth to help maintain cleanliness, etc. of items as people move through. It may wind up postponed again, but we are looking at every avenue to attempt to make it a reality with necessary adaptations to ensure safety. Again, any questions, comments or feedback is welcome.

With district youth camp officially cancelled, we are looking at an alternative option using the campground near New Columbia. More details as they become available.

Around the age of 11 or 12, a young Allan Scott was enjoying what he considers a mini-revival of faith.

“I was plugged into my Bible and I was reading devotionals and things were going pretty well,” he said.

But things changed around that time after his mother remarried, causing chaos at home.

“She had been divorced for like three or four years, and during that time, there was a lot of stability raising us as a single mom with no fighting,” he said. “But when she remarried, it was really bad from the first day. Things were very verbally abusive between her and her husband and that transferred into the rest of the household. It created an environment that was out of control.”

Around that same time, Allan felt himself needing more and more approval from others, and acting out to get the attention of classmates. He fell in with negative peers and ultimately went down a path of drug and alcohol addictions that tore apart his life and led to numerous stints at rehab and prison over the course of the next decade.

Allan shared his testimony recently in a Keeping the Beat music podcast interview I did this week, talking about how God intervened when Allan was in his early 20s and ultimately helped him pick up the pieces, form a God-centric family and develop a music-based ministry that shares God’s Word across the country and even to inmates in prison settings.

“I am not qualified to be up there by the world’s standards. I was a dropout with nothing to my name, and God gave me a life I didn’t deserve,” Allan said. “No matter what you are facing, nothing is impossible for God. If God can work in the life of this drug addict – this loser – when I had nothing to offer Him, He can do the same for anyone else.”

You can listen to the full interview and several of Allan’s songs at the podcast, located here. I called Allan back today with one question that I never asked during the podcast, but kept nagging me afterward: What signs or “symptoms” did his family, friends and church leaders miss in his life at age 11/12 that may have helped him avoid so many hardships.

“It is so important at that age to have someone close to be vulnerable around — to have open conversations about what is going on and feel comfortable to share when something is going wrong,” he said. “It is amazing how teenagers open up when they know someone genuinely cares about them — they open up more than adults typically, as long as they know that connection is true and genuine.”

The second sign of potential trouble?

“Changes in behavior,” Allan said. “When friends start to hang out with different people. Sometimes it is a person who used to be chatty and open and suddenly is withdrawn. Maybe you notice different behaviors or posts online — like they are trying to get the attention of others by posting more and more provocative stuff because they connect the likes and comments to positive attention. There can be a lot of small changes that you’ll only ever really notice if you get to know the person up front.”

In both cases, making a difference boils down to time and effort put into your relationships — even with people you may not normally associate with. Biblically, the parable of the Good Samaritan comes to mind. Luke 10: 25-39 (NIV)

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Samaritan intervenes first because he is observant enough to notice the beaten person in the street. The potential patient doesn’t call out for help — it is the Samaritan who sees him and takes pity on him.

Then comes action — the Samaritan doesn’t hesitate to address the man’s needs. He bandages wounds, he pours on oil and wine. Then he puts the man on his own donkey and takes him for help, sacrificing time and eventually money to help this stranger.

For a much more thorough breakdown of the Good Samaritan story, and how you can be better prepared to react to someone who needs your help can be found here:

How much effort have you put into staying in touch with friends during this quarantine time? Have you been building the kind of friendship that Allan Scott suggests can really make a difference — especially if your friend feels trapped and isolated during this time of uncertainty? How observant are you in seeing potential changes in behavior — even if not as obvious as a bloody, beaten man in the street — that may be a sign of something brewing? And how much are you willing to do to help your friend (or family member) through a potential rough patch?

To get through trying times such as these, it much easier “together” as the song at the beginning of this post suggests.

If you have questions about what steps to take next with a friend or family member that is weighing on your heart, feel free to reach out — even if just for prayer over a situation. Michelle (570-495-3740) and I (570-847-2718) are available to chat, or you can email us by clicking here.

We’ll leave you with two songs from Allan Scott that tie in well with today’s message.