This past week, we ended the series called the King's Speech. These past weeks, we've been going through different topics that Jesus addresses in the famous Sermon on the Mount. This past week, I talked about revenge and forgiveness!
Jesus addresses these topics in Matthew 5:38-45 when he says, "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." (bolding added)
Many times, we have seen Jesus in this sermon say "you have heard..." and "but this is what I say...". So as we talk about revenge, I want to share with y'all some modern quotes of revenge that we have heard a lot.
"There's nothing I do better than revenge." (a title of Taylor Swift's song)
"Don't get mad, get even."
"Get the last laugh."
"Revenge is sweet."
"Nothing's better than revenge."
"I was just doing to him what he did to me." (one I've been guilty of using that myself)
These might sound familiar to you, but for you to want to seek revenge, someone has to first hurt you. Some hurts are smaller; you forget about them easily, but some hurts last a long time. They are like stains. No matter how many times you wash them; they're still there. We don't just wear these pains out in the public. These are the pains that are hard to forgive. Check out this video and see if there are some pains that you can relate to.
That quote in the end is a quote that was found in the journal entry of Mary Karen Read, a victim from the VA Tech shootings, before she died. Her dad shared these words at her memorial as a reminder of what needed to be done.
Let's look at the "this is what I say..." part now. Jesus says don't just forgive, go further, love those that are hard to love.
So what is forgiveness? Let's start with what it is NOT. Forgiveness is not forgetting. It is not avoiding the problem or ignoring it. And forgiveness is not saying the words, "I forgive you." Forgiveness is a process! Sometimes it takes a long time to forgive someone. It can be a daily struggle, but it is a freeing act! Instead of bitterness and grudges, you have a relationship that sincerely looks like nothing even happened because you aren't holding something against that person. It is a pardon, a free pass.
Let's look at why we forgive! Perhaps the most important thing to understand in the process of forgiving. We're going to look at a verse, Luke 23:34b. The setting is one you might be familiar with (the reason why we celebrate Easter). Jesus is on the cross. He has been mocked, spit on, insulted, beaten and now he is dying on the cross. Let's look at what He has to say even in the act of dying a death He does NOT deserve. "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'"
Why do we forgive? Because He has forgiven us!!! He forgave you! even when YOU have hurt Him, YOU have ignored Him, YOU have betrayed Him, and when YOU have abused His love. and guess what? He forgave YOU.
What a cool feeling! To know I have been forgiven. Now, it's our turn to follow Christ's example and to forgive others! At least start the process!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Ipod Idol Series
Recently, we played a series of a game called Ipod Idol. To show how it's done, we introduced the game with the videos of myself, Kyle, and Chris playing it ourselves. Check the videos out if you're looking for a laugh!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Gideon - Judges
Last week at Vibe, Chris finished the series of Flannel Heroes. We ended the series talking about Gideon in Judges 6.
As we read through the chapter, we see that Gideon thought very little of himself. In verse 15, Gideon says to God, '"Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."'
Finally, when Gideon gathers his army and go to battle as God instructed him to do. We see that in chapter 7, twice God told Gideon that he had too many men. In the end, we see the number go from 32,000 to 300. Talk about a downgrade, but they still won the battle! You want to know why? Cuz God was with them!
Just like God is with us today! Sometimes, people tell us that we aren't good enough, and a lot of times we tell ourselves that! Not only does God use the weak, He looks for the weak! How encouraging is that?
Discussion guide for the night:
Who are some of your heroes or role models?
Why are these people your heroes?
Do you think you are a hero or could be one?
Read Judges 6:15, ‘“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the
weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”’
Do you think Gideon was expected to be a hero?
Do you think he was afraid?
Why do you think God chose to use the “weakest”?
Are you afraid to do something great for God? What is it?
How did Gideon do it and how can we do it?
Judges 6:12, “The Lord is with you, might
warrior.”
Judges 6:14, “Go in the strength you have and
save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
(He’s not asking him to get more strength; we don’t have to fix things first. God uses our
weaknesses.)
Judges 6:16, “I will be with you, and will
strike down all the Midianites together.”
Remember that it is through God that all things are done, we know that God is with
us. Time to take action!
As we read through the chapter, we see that Gideon thought very little of himself. In verse 15, Gideon says to God, '"Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."'
Finally, when Gideon gathers his army and go to battle as God instructed him to do. We see that in chapter 7, twice God told Gideon that he had too many men. In the end, we see the number go from 32,000 to 300. Talk about a downgrade, but they still won the battle! You want to know why? Cuz God was with them!
Just like God is with us today! Sometimes, people tell us that we aren't good enough, and a lot of times we tell ourselves that! Not only does God use the weak, He looks for the weak! How encouraging is that?
Discussion guide for the night:
Who are some of your heroes or role models?
Why are these people your heroes?
Do you think you are a hero or could be one?
Read Judges 6:15, ‘“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the
weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”’
Do you think Gideon was expected to be a hero?
Do you think he was afraid?
Why do you think God chose to use the “weakest”?
Are you afraid to do something great for God? What is it?
How did Gideon do it and how can we do it?
Judges 6:12, “The Lord is with you, might
warrior.”
Judges 6:14, “Go in the strength you have and
save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
(He’s not asking him to get more strength; we don’t have to fix things first. God uses our
weaknesses.)
Judges 6:16, “I will be with you, and will
strike down all the Midianites together.”
Remember that it is through God that all things are done, we know that God is with
us. Time to take action!
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Story of Deborah
Chris started a series called Flannel Heroes. He talked about the story of Samson in the book of Judges. Last week, we continued this series by looking at the story of Deborah in Judges 4.
As in every story, there are characters. The first character is Deborah, the judge of Israel. Even though judges in these times were more like spiritual leaders whom God used than Judge Judy. Deborah was a mix of both, we will see that God uses her to lead the country, but in the start of this story, she is already consider a wise, Godly woman who people are coming to in order to settle their disputes.
Chris talked about the cycle Israel would continually be in, where they would praise God, fall into sin, suffer/be in pain, cry for God, God would send a judge to save them, and they would go back to praising. This cycle happened at least 12 times in Judges.
In Judges 4:6-9, we see that Deborah sent for Barak and tells him to go gather 10,000 mean to fight Jabin’s army [an army led by Sisera that’s already trained to fight, oh and happens to have 900 chariots!!! (think of them as tanks)]
We see Barak’s response in verse 8, 9. “Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” “Very Well,” Deborah said, “I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.”
We have a new character, Barak. He gathers 10,000 men from the towns all around. They’re regular Joes, up against the big dogs! You could say he’s the underdog. Maybe he’s not feeling good about his chances.
So why do you think he wants Deborah to go with him? We don’t know why. But we know in some way Deborah was going to be helpful to him. She could easily be his plan B. Hey, I’ll do this, but in case it doesn’t work out, we’ll have you (the one that surely God wouldn’t kill possibly).
A lot of times, we approach things the same way he does… “I hear what you’re saying, BUT…”, “That sounds great, BUT…”, “I’ll do this, IF…”
So Barak is the man with a plan!
In verses 12-15, we see that God does just as Deborah told Barak, He gives Barak victory. In some way, God confusing the great army of Sisera, and Sisera fled on foot.
We see all kinds of battles in movies and books. A lot of times we see the underdogs about to lose and suddenly trees or werewolves come and save the day. We expect this to happen in movies, but not our own lives. This battle is not like the movies, IT IS REAL! God really does this in the Bible AND in our lives!
We see that Sisera fled to the tent of Jael (where he was on friendly terms with Jael’s husband) in verses 17-21. “Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my Lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent, and she put a covered him up. ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent,’ he told her. ‘If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say ‘No.’” But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.”
So Deborah was right, God gives Sisera over in the hands of a woman. This is no coincidence, it was a lot harder than we think for this to happen. First of all, men didn’t go into a woman’s tent unless invited, 2nd of all, she is supposed to be on his side! 3rd this was a crime, because if you invite someone, it was law that you show hospitality, good hospitality, not the kind where you kill people. So we see that Jael had some guts for this to happen. And God chooses to use her!
So we see God using these characters, Deborah, Barak, and Jael, in big ways although they may have not been ideal leader type. This gives us big hope that God can use us! even when our faith is small like Barak or big like these women in this story.
In chapter 5, we see that there is a song sung to praise God in delivering them.
Are we living in a way that would sing praises to God!?!
How are you having trusting God in your life? There are opportunities to show big faith in your life. God wants to use your faith, little or big!
As in every story, there are characters. The first character is Deborah, the judge of Israel. Even though judges in these times were more like spiritual leaders whom God used than Judge Judy. Deborah was a mix of both, we will see that God uses her to lead the country, but in the start of this story, she is already consider a wise, Godly woman who people are coming to in order to settle their disputes.
Chris talked about the cycle Israel would continually be in, where they would praise God, fall into sin, suffer/be in pain, cry for God, God would send a judge to save them, and they would go back to praising. This cycle happened at least 12 times in Judges.
In Judges 4:6-9, we see that Deborah sent for Barak and tells him to go gather 10,000 mean to fight Jabin’s army [an army led by Sisera that’s already trained to fight, oh and happens to have 900 chariots!!! (think of them as tanks)]
We see Barak’s response in verse 8, 9. “Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” “Very Well,” Deborah said, “I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.”
We have a new character, Barak. He gathers 10,000 men from the towns all around. They’re regular Joes, up against the big dogs! You could say he’s the underdog. Maybe he’s not feeling good about his chances.
So why do you think he wants Deborah to go with him? We don’t know why. But we know in some way Deborah was going to be helpful to him. She could easily be his plan B. Hey, I’ll do this, but in case it doesn’t work out, we’ll have you (the one that surely God wouldn’t kill possibly).
A lot of times, we approach things the same way he does… “I hear what you’re saying, BUT…”, “That sounds great, BUT…”, “I’ll do this, IF…”
So Barak is the man with a plan!
In verses 12-15, we see that God does just as Deborah told Barak, He gives Barak victory. In some way, God confusing the great army of Sisera, and Sisera fled on foot.
We see all kinds of battles in movies and books. A lot of times we see the underdogs about to lose and suddenly trees or werewolves come and save the day. We expect this to happen in movies, but not our own lives. This battle is not like the movies, IT IS REAL! God really does this in the Bible AND in our lives!
We see that Sisera fled to the tent of Jael (where he was on friendly terms with Jael’s husband) in verses 17-21. “Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, ‘Come, my Lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.’ So he entered her tent, and she put a covered him up. ‘Stand in the doorway of the tent,’ he told her. ‘If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say ‘No.’” But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.”
So Deborah was right, God gives Sisera over in the hands of a woman. This is no coincidence, it was a lot harder than we think for this to happen. First of all, men didn’t go into a woman’s tent unless invited, 2nd of all, she is supposed to be on his side! 3rd this was a crime, because if you invite someone, it was law that you show hospitality, good hospitality, not the kind where you kill people. So we see that Jael had some guts for this to happen. And God chooses to use her!
So we see God using these characters, Deborah, Barak, and Jael, in big ways although they may have not been ideal leader type. This gives us big hope that God can use us! even when our faith is small like Barak or big like these women in this story.
In chapter 5, we see that there is a song sung to praise God in delivering them.
Are we living in a way that would sing praises to God!?!
How are you having trusting God in your life? There are opportunities to show big faith in your life. God wants to use your faith, little or big!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Service Day! Spring '11
Two weekends ago, we had the privilege to serve the community of Plano as we did a clean up in the area around Andrews Elementary School. It was a privilege to not only serve but to serve alongside with Vibe students! They have such great serving hearts, and we loved serving with them! Enjoy this slideshow with pics from the day, and the pictures are also on our facebook page!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
This Life
This week at Vibe Chris talked about the life we have on earth and how we live it.
Jesus says in Matthew 7:26-27, "But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” More often than we think, we are foolishly living our lives.
So often we get caught up in things that don't matter! We spend most of our life working toward something. When we are children, we can't wait to be big kids! When we're teenagers, we can't wait to be adult, make our own decisions! When we're adults, we can't wait till we get settled down and are retired!
We set goals that have will have no impact beyond the end of our life. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
So the things we do now matter! The things you do, would they be something to be proud to lay before the feet of God?
Paul uses another illustration (one you might have heard of it) in Philippians 3:12-14. We are running the race! Paul encourage us to forget what is behind us and to strain toward what is ahead. We strive to be successful. But do we strive to please God with our prize?
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." -Matthew 13:44
Follow-up study/questions:
Read Matthew 6:19-21
- Which treasures sound better? Why?
- What is the ultimate treasure we will receive in heaven?
(Being with God!)
- What "treasure" do you value? Where do you spend the most money, time, effort?
- In light of this passage, how should we live our lives? What kind of lifestyle leads to the permanent rewards?
(Kingdom focused as opposed to self – focused (Serving others as opposed to serving ourselves), being obedient to God)
 |
So often we get caught up in things that don't matter! We spend most of our life working toward something. When we are children, we can't wait to be big kids! When we're teenagers, we can't wait to be adult, make our own decisions! When we're adults, we can't wait till we get settled down and are retired!
We set goals that have will have no impact beyond the end of our life. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
So the things we do now matter! The things you do, would they be something to be proud to lay before the feet of God?
Paul uses another illustration (one you might have heard of it) in Philippians 3:12-14. We are running the race! Paul encourage us to forget what is behind us and to strain toward what is ahead. We strive to be successful. But do we strive to please God with our prize?
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field." -Matthew 13:44
Follow-up study/questions:
Read Matthew 6:19-21
- Which treasures sound better? Why?
- What is the ultimate treasure we will receive in heaven?
(Being with God!)
- What "treasure" do you value? Where do you spend the most money, time, effort?
- In light of this passage, how should we live our lives? What kind of lifestyle leads to the permanent rewards?
(Kingdom focused as opposed to self – focused (Serving others as opposed to serving ourselves), being obedient to God)
Monday, February 21, 2011
All You Need is Love
We're back!!! We are finally back in action after two weeks off due to the snowy/icy weather! Love was definitely was in the air, especially since it was the first Vibe after Valentine's Day! So in honor of this day of LOVE, we wanted to talk about what love and God have to do with each other!
First, check out this video we made on the topic of love!
If you randomly asked people, you are probably going to get a lot of different answers! God is the universe! God is you, He's in all of us! These are answers you won't find in the Bible, but even Christians have a hard time figuring out who God is! One answer you might hear a lot is God is Love!
We see that this is true in 1 John 4:7-8, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
So He really is love! But how do we know what love is when we hear people use love in so many different ways! I love this video game! I love this car! I love Justin Bieber! (something Chris confessed to us!) Love is a word that we hear all the time! The word is one of the most abused word in our language. And sometimes, we can abuse others in the way we love.
Too often, we stop loving things or people when they stop benefiting us! We practice a selfish love. We no longer love our phone because it is not as nice as the phone someone else has. We no longer want to be friends with someone because there isn't much in common. The world says that things will make you happy. If you have that new phone, you will be happy. Somehow, we are never happy enough though. So the choice is yours, what do you believe, the world or Scripture?
What does Scripture say? We read in 1 John 4:7-8, Love doesn't come from things! Love comes from God. If we look further down in chapter 4, we see one of the best examples of God's love. In verse 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Even after sin separated us from God, God loved us! So much that He sent His Son as a sacrifice, a way to be with us again! That is how great His love is!
Let that sink in with you, God loves you. truly loves you.
First, check out this video we made on the topic of love!
If you randomly asked people, you are probably going to get a lot of different answers! God is the universe! God is you, He's in all of us! These are answers you won't find in the Bible, but even Christians have a hard time figuring out who God is! One answer you might hear a lot is God is Love!
We see that this is true in 1 John 4:7-8, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
 |
| Chris has Bieber fever! |
Too often, we stop loving things or people when they stop benefiting us! We practice a selfish love. We no longer love our phone because it is not as nice as the phone someone else has. We no longer want to be friends with someone because there isn't much in common. The world says that things will make you happy. If you have that new phone, you will be happy. Somehow, we are never happy enough though. So the choice is yours, what do you believe, the world or Scripture?
What does Scripture say? We read in 1 John 4:7-8, Love doesn't come from things! Love comes from God. If we look further down in chapter 4, we see one of the best examples of God's love. In verse 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Even after sin separated us from God, God loved us! So much that He sent His Son as a sacrifice, a way to be with us again! That is how great His love is!
Let that sink in with you, God loves you. truly loves you.
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