Sinners & Saints

Here is a personal reflection I wrote for a retreat I planned this past weekend.

Open your journal and write down your response to these questions. Spend as much or little time as you need to answer these questions. When you are done please sit quietly until your small group leader tells you it is time to come back.

When you think about the word sinner, what comes to mind?

What does the word saint make you think about? Would you ever call yourself a saint?

Martin Luther said that we are all both sinners and saints. Open your Bible and read Ephesians 2:8-9. This passage talks about how we are saved by God’s doing – not because of anything we do for ourselves. Even though we sin, God continues to forgive us and offers us his free gift of grace.

What do you think about being both a sinner and a saint? Do you think this means it’s ok to sin, or does it mean something else?

What does this information mean to you when looking at other people?

Does it make it easier to forgive them?

How does this affect your relationships with friends, family and others around you?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Youth

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

I've been reading a lot on youth ministry lately: books, emails, and papers written by friends in seminary. One of the themes that keeps coming up is relationships, and how relationships with youth are an important part of youth ministry. This is youth ministry 101, so it's not surprising it comes up. One of the things I've been thinking about though, is that it's not just about adults having relationships with youth, or even youth having relationships with each other.

Youth ministry's ultimate goal is to make new Christians. Therefore successful ministry must not only model healthy relationships, but teach its participants to create new relationships and sustain them. Most of my closest and longest-lasting relationships are with people I grew up with in the church. These are the relationships I come back to - the people I fall upon in times of need. They are also the people with which I share my joys.

1 Timothy is called one of the pastoral letters. It is written to leaders. It is famous for the above verse. This verse is calling youth to mentor others. You do not have to be an adult to work with youth. Ministry of any kind is about relationships and you are never too young to minister.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Delightful Service

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

So today's verse comes from Princess Belle. Chelsea LeValley who I watched play Belle this past weekend, had the above verse in her cast Bio. It struck me as very appropriate for a Princess, someone who is a role model to little girls and young women alike. :)

Recently I've been talking a lot with people about the purpose of their lives. "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" "What is God's plan for me?" "How can I feel fulfilled?" The answer is simple, and yet it is a lifelong journey.

What is God's plan for you? He wants you to share the good news. He wants you to tell everyone about Jesus. That is God's plan for you. "But how?" you ask. Well that's where it gets a bit tricky. That's also where today's verse comes in handy.

What does it mean to delight in the Lord? God gives us all gifts. When I am asked, "What does God want me to do Doug?" My reply is, "What do you like to do?" God gives us gifts. The things that we really like to do are the things we're good at, and those are related to the gifts God gives us. So the question, "What should I do?" can be answered, "Whatever God made you to do!"

Of course, it's not always as easy as that. When I asked someone the other day what they liked to do, the answer was soccer. How do you turn that into a lifelong way to serve? I don't know. I'm still working on that one. However how you act on and off the field is a chance for you to witness. You never know who you might inspire and not even know it.

The other thing you can do is listen to the people around you. Part of the process for becoming a pastor is to have the internal call that God gives you be affirmed by an external call. That means people have to think you'd make a good pastor. When someone tells you you're good at something, even if you have trouble accepting the compliment, file it away. External call is God's way of helping to affirm that we're on the right path.

So take a look at what God is calling you to do, and if it doesn't make sense you know where to find me. :)

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

It's All in the Timing

For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!

2 Corinthians 6:2

I was in the Ash Wednesday service at Peace Lutheran in Charlottesville this week. The past week had been pretty stressful because I had some pretty major things hanging over my head. I had gotten them done earlier in the day and I felt tons better. As I listened to these words in the service, they spoke to me. I remembered someone saying that sometimes God's time is waiting for us to be ready. I felt like that was what happened to me. I had to be ready to take a step on my own, and that was what made the time right for things to work out. In the same way we are not meant to be a passive people, but to act out our faith on a daily basis.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com