Archive for June, 2009

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In the Upside Down series, we are going to look at something Jesus talked a lot about-the kingdom of God. Many of the people who heard His message firsthand thought that He was talking about a kingdom where Jesus would be in political power, and that their lives would be easier than their present circumstances under Roman rule. But Jesus was talking about something bigger than that-a kingdom where His desire for broken things to be restored is met. Jesus was talking about ushering in an upside down kingdom

Week One: Collision (June 7)
When we’re talking about our lives, most of us wouldn’t think in terms of “kingdoms.” But the reality is that each one of us has one. We have some area of our lives where we rule and reign. A kingdom may be as vast as a school, team or group. Or it may be as small as your bedroom or your cell phone. There’s a place in your life where you are in complete control and really don’t care what anyone else thinks or wants. The problem is, when we live with only our kingdom in mind we often end up doing a lot more damage than good. But in Christ’s kingdom, His desire is for restoration and as difficult as it can sometimes be to allow His kingdom to reign, there is only room for one kingdom and one king.

Week Two: Inverted Reality (June 14)
Last will be first. Give to receive. Lose to gain. People who mourn are blessed. All statements Jesus made, yet they seem so opposite from how our world functions and even how we are wired, don’t they? But the kingdom of God is upside down compared to the kingdoms we seek to establish. The life Christ calls us to counters every natural and selfish inclination we have, but His way, His kingdom, is far better than anything we could have in mind. And when we surrender to God’s kingdom, we begin to live this upside down life that somehow brings more fulfillment, more peace, more satisfaction than the reality we live in every day. (Note: There are two devotionals that will you will need to e-mail to your students betweens Sessions 2 and 3 to help them process what is means to live this upside down life.)

Week Three: An Upside Down World (June 21)
It’s easy to think that God’s kingdom is just about Him and us. It’s easy to forget that we are part of something bigger, something more vast that just our relationship with Him. We are part of His kingdom both someday, and now. We are a part of His mission to restore things that are broken, whether that’s in our own lives or in the lives of those around us, or those half way around the world. And when we live with a future kingdom in mind we can start to make it a more present reality.

(XP3, 2009)

(Dash Student Leadership, 2008)

Clue

• By faith, Noah built a ship …
• By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call …
• By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant …
• By an act of faith, Moses’ parents hid him …
• By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea …
  (Hebrews 11:7,8,11,23,29, The Message)

Don’t you love hearing these stories? What is it about the faith of our fathers and mothers that grips us, even after all these years? Is it the adventure that appeals? The risks and thrills involved in not being able to see around the next corner?

• For we live by believing and not by seeing. (2 Corinthians 5:7, NLT).

Do we wonder if we could do that?

• The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, “Move!” and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle. (Matthew 17:20, The Message)

Is it that we long for an extraordinary life, one fueled by trust that would astonish even Jesus?

• When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” (Luke 7:9, NLT)

Whatever the broad appeal of these stories, faith is, by nature, individual. Each of us chooses to put our faith in something, whether it’s financial security, people around us, or our own abilities. But there’s only one place where our faith is safely “deposited”: in our Heavenly Father. Jesus showed us this again and again. He did it when He taught us to look for everyday evidence of God’s faithfulness in the world around us. He did it when He revealed His identity and power through His miracles. He did it when He encouraged His followers to be His witnesses, to tell what they’d seen and heard Him do. He did it when He gave Himself for our salvation.

So, in June, we’ll be taking a look at what Jesus taught about faith: trusting in what you can’t see because of what you can see. Everything around us is evidence, not just that God exists, but that He’s at work in our lives and we don’t have to live a life of worry and fear. We just have to know where to look, how to spot the clues, and how to collect the evidence.

June 7: You can believe in a God you can’t see because you can see what God has made.
(The birds of the air - Matthew 6)

June 14: When you see what Jesus can do, it helps you face your fears.
(Peter walks on the water - Matthew 14)

June 21: When you hear what Jesus has done, it helps you believe who Jesus is.
(Jesus and John the Baptist - Luke 7)

June 28: When you believe in who Jesus is, you’ll live with God forever.

(Jesus teaches Nicodemus - John 3)

(reThink Group 2009)