Religions of the World

On Sunday nights this summer, we have enjoyed enthusiastic discussion as the youth have learned about the teachings and practices of other religions. Unfortunately, summer will quickly draw to a close well before we can cover more than a handful of the major traditions. One thing I have stressed again and again is that the youth can have a clearer understanding of their faith if they better understand the beliefs of others. Since we won’t even come close to revealing the great diversity of religions, I thought I would share some links to helpful websites. Everyone is encouraged to study more on their own!

BBC: Religions – This British website hosts pages featuring a number of different faiths.

Religion Facts – Includes some helpful charts for comparing the beliefs not only of various religions but Christian denominations as well.

Religious Tolerance – This Canadian site holds over 6,000 articles, including discussions about religious views concerning “hot” social topics.

Sacred Texts – Instead of reading articles about religions, go here and read the scriptures and other important books that are revered in their traditions.

 

 

 

Is God Dead?

The new God’s Not Dead movie has focused the attention of many on the never-ending debate between belief in God and atheism. The central story of the film pits freshman Josh Wheaton against the bullying professor of philosophy, Dr. Radisson. Josh must defend the rationality of his Christian faith or risk failing the class and hurting his future plans. By the end, he convinces his classmates to declare, “God’s not dead.”

Let’s face it: an 18-year old is not going to outgun a professional philosopher when it comes to arguments. If ever this situation were to happen in real life, the best response is a trip to the academic dean’s office to explain that a violation of religious liberty is taking place on campus. But the movie does raise important questions for every Christian to consider. Why do I believe as I do? Does my faith make sense in a world of competing ideas? Could I give reasons for my belief if I were challenged?

We discussed these and other questions in youth on Sunday night. I made the point that, according to Scripture, the best “evidence” for the reality of God is a life of compassionate, selfless service (Matthew 5:14-16; 1 Peter 2:12). Every time we mistreat one another, God might as well be dead to us. But God is shown to be alive for us when we allow God to be alive through us, as the Spirit guides our words and our deeds.

But I also think a mature Christian faith must face the challenge of hearing and responding to other viewpoints (in a spirit of gentleness and respect, of course – 1 Peter 3:15-16). It is better to have an authentically-explored faith with reasons rather than a shallow, blind faith that is based on simply accepting what your parents (or your youth minister!) told you.

With that in mind, I gave the youth a handout with some resources that could help them explore the age-old “God debate” on their own. I’ve reproduced and expanded that list below.

On the God Side:

The following websites can be helpful:
Reasons to Believe
The C.S. Lewis Society
Veritas Forum

And I recommend looking at these books:
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The classic, entry-level defense of Christianity.

On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by William Lane Craig, who is the most prominent Christian debater of these issues in the world.

 

Neutral Ground:

These websites feature interviews and debates with persons of many different opinions:
Closer to Truth
Debate God

 

The Other Side:

Anyone with Google can find atheist materials anyways. If our faith is real, then it can stand up to these arguments. Read these sources if you feel ready to be challenged.

The Secular Web

The Christian Delusion and The End of Christianity by John W. Loftus, ed. A pair of anthologies that explore multiple arguments for atheism and against Christian faith.

 

I encourage you to explore the important questions in faith and joy. As Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find.”

 

Worship is a Way of Life

Each Wednesday night for the next several weeks we are exploring the meaning of worship. Our most recent lesson highlighted the notion that God is worshiped through faithful daily living and not simply by acts that “look like” worship – praying, reading Scripture, singing, and so on. In other words, if “worship” means declaring that God is “worthy,” then every act of kindness, every moment we tell a difficult truth, every denial of self in service to others, is a form of worship. We worship God by living in step with the example of Jesus given in the Gospels.

Many Christians love to quote Ephesians 2:8-9. There we are told that salvation comes by the grace of God through our faith. We do not “earn” God’s love through our actions. There is no required minimum of good deeds that must be performed before heaven smiles on us. Everyone needs to hear this. As I heard one teenager put it years ago, “God cannot love me anymore than he already does.”

But that’s not the end of the story. Read Ephesians 2:8-9, but then read verse 10.

There is a purpose for our lives: to love as we are loved. And this will show in the good that we do in the world. Not so that we can get a reward we don’t already have. But just because we can’t imagine living any other way. If God is love, we worship by being love ourselves in our everyday actions.

Do you truly worship God outside of Sunday mornings and youth meetings? How can you replace a sinful habit with a good work for which you were created in Christ? Present this in prayer to God, offering yourself yet again as a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). May worship be for you a way of life!

 

Tour Poverty USA

Last Wednesday, we wrapped up our hunger and poverty emphasis by playing the Community Food Game created by the Atlanta Food Bank.  The youth group was divided into “players” and “community members.”  Each player was given a certain role to play, with a profile specifying income, expenses, and other resources.  Most of the players were poor, one could be considered struggling middle-class, and one was rich.  Each player had the goal of traveling through the room (our “community”)  in order to secure 2,000 calories worth of food.  The community  members ran stations representing places one may visit in this process: the convenience store, the grocery store, social services, a food bank, and more.  We even had police on patrol and a bus driver!

This simulation helped us understand the daily struggles that a poor person in America may experience.  Each of our youth takes for granted that he or she will have enough…no, more than enough to eat.  Our families are stable with good incomes such that our needs and many of our wants are supplied.  We don’t worry about where our next meal will come from, whether we can afford it, and if we can get the right nutrients.  We can’t even imagine what it’s like to live in Roxboro without a car!

But millions of Americans wake up everyday to a radically different reality.  As we focus on aid efforts for crises abroad such as the rescue and recovery effort in the Philippines, may we remember the ongoing, slow-burning crisis of poverty and food insecurity at home.  Our “land of opportunity” still leaves too many lagging far behind.

Here’s another resource that informs us about the plight of our neighbors.  This video was created last year by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for their “Poverty USA” initiative.  Please watch this and learn more about how poverty affects 46 million Americans today.

http:///vimeo.com/35903896

 

Hunger and Poverty Challenge 1

For the next six weeks we are discussing the issues of hunger and poverty on Wednesday evenings.  We began last night by talking about what it means to be rich, different ways we can define that word, and how, materially speaking, every one of us is far better off than most of the world’s population.  We are absolutely, filthy-stinkin’ rich.

So we discussed Jesus’ summons to “store up treasure in heaven” and the warning against placing our trust in, and defining our worth by, the stuff we collect.  We need to turn from selfish extravagance to generous extravagance.

Our study this year draws from the Journey to Awareness curriculum.  I am adapting the material for our group at Roxboro Baptist Church.  JTA features an eight-day challenge for youth in which they give up one particular luxury each day in order to better understand the plight of the poor.  During our poverty emphasis, I will be presenting one or two of the challenges each week with the encouragement that the youth devote one day to going without.

Here are the challenges for this week:

No Bed
In the world today, there are around 2.2 billion kids.  Sadly, over 640 million of them live without adequate shelter.  When they go to sleep tonight, it won’t be in a bed.  The majority of these kids end up on the streets, sleeping on the hard ground with no pillow or blanket.

Experience a taste of poverty by sleeping on the floor.  If you want to add more challenge to the experience, allow yourself no pillow or blanket.

Read Isaiah 1:11-20 and pray for kids around the world who will spend the night without a bed.

 

No Car

There are almost 200 different car companies in the world today, yet only 8% of the people in the world own a car.  Does your family own one car?  Two?  Three?  You are among the richest people in the world!

The rest of the world has to use public transportation, bicycles, or walk to get where they need to go.  Too often we take for granted the luxury of personal vehicles.  Choose a day in which you will not ride in your parents’ car or drive your own.  If you want to get somewhere, walk or use your bike.

 

Read Jeremiah 22:13-17 and pray for those who don’t have a car to make getting around easier for them.

 

(The descriptions of the challenges are adapted from the JTA materials for the express purpose of the RBC youth ministry and should not be copied in any way.)

 

Jealousy and Friendships

Read James 3:13-18

A Story:

Bill wished he could play baseball like Steven or be really good at science like Gina or play piano like Hope.  Bill whined and complained, constantly telling his friends that he wished he were like them – until they were all sick of hearing it.  Instead of learning to do something like play the trumpet or dance the latest dance, he began to really dislike his friends.  “It’s not fair!” he thought.  “They’re all a bunch of show-offs.  What jerks!”

Admiring your friends and enjoying the talents God gave them is fun, but being jealous is another thing entirely.  It’s easy to become jealous when you don’t totally like who you are or what you can do.  Pray for God to give you peace and appreciation about who you are and to help you enjoy and encourage the friends he has given you!

Questions:

1. Are you happy with who you are?  Why or why not?

2. Are your friends happy with who you are?  How do you know?

3. Do you think hanging out with jealous people is a good or bad idea?  How might it affect you?

Read Proverbs 14:30

When you focus all your energy on trying to be better than someone else, that person becomes you’re enemy.  It’s really hard to love someone you’re trying to outdo.  Don’t compare yourself and try to be better than your friends.  Be the best person God has made you to be!

 

This concludes our series on friendships.
All devotional reflections are adapted for RBC youth group use from:
Kara Powell, Friends & Peer Pressure (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 2009)

 

Serving our Friends

What would you be willing to do for your friends?  What would you risk or give up?

Read John 15:12-13

What if your friend asked you to:

• Give up your favorite sport to tutor him in math?
• Use your allowance to buy her a pizza?
• Spend the weekend helping him move instead of going to the beach?
• Take care of her bratty little brother while she went to a dance?

What would you do if your best friend asked you to die so he or she could live?

Do you ever sacrifice your time, money, or comfort to serve your friends?  Why or why not?

 

Strengthening Friendships

Last Wednesday, we continued our series on friends by talking about how to strengthen friendships.  If you want good friends, start by being one yourself!  Practice the qualities that will make you a true friend for those around you: kindness, honesty, dependability, and more.

Let’s talk some more about honesty.  It’s easy for us to make excuses for the times we lie to others, but we are devastated when we find out that a friend has not been honest with us.  But good friends trust each other enough to share what they’re really thinking and feeling.  And they care enough about each other to tell the truth even when it’s hard because the other person may become upset, scared, or worried.  Even if the truth isn’t “fun” or easy at first, in the long run you’ll be glad that your friend is straight up with you.

Read Proverbs 24:26

Imagine for a moment that you have to write a really important paper for your English class.  In fact, your teacher tells you it will count for half of your grade!  The topic is hard and you work on it for a long time.  When you are done, you ask some people what they think of it.  Whose opinion would you listen to the most:

A: “It’s nice…what a pretty paper you printed it on!”

B: “Yeah, it’s ok.  Can I borrow ten bucks?”

C: “It’s all right, but you have a few errors in spelling and grammar and you need to re-write your introduction.  Do you want me to help you with it?”

D: “Well, I didn’t really have time to read it, so I just skimmed.  It looks fine to me.”

Can you depend on your friends to tell you the truth, even when the news is not good?

Do you tell your friends the truth about yourself and what’s going on in your life, even when you are hurt or sad?

Thank God for the gift of true friends, and ask for the courage to be a true friend even when it is hard!

 

Building Friendships

Last Wednesday we began a new study on friendships using the lesson book Friends & Peer Pressure.  Each week includes take-home devotions and reflection exercises which I am sharing here on the blog.

Building Friendships

Read Galatians 6:1-5.  What does this say we should do, as Christians, for our friends?

Check out 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11.
If you were going to build a fort for your kid brother or little cousin in your backyard, what things would you use to make the fort a strong one?

• A package of Pop Tarts, some straws, and a jar of paste?
• Two graham crackers, a gallon of paint, and some peanut butter?
• An old refrigerator box, some 2×4 lumber, and a heavy blanket?

Every conversation you have with your friends can build them…and you, too.  When you speak with your friends, are you giving them solid things to build with, like encouragement and wisdom, or are the things you tell them silly or mean?  Choose to be extra encouraging for your friends today!

Read Ruth 1:14-18.
Sometimes being a good friend means doing things that may not be easy.  Is there a friend you know who is going through a tough time?  Call your friend and ask if there is anything you can do to help.  If you are the one going through a hard time, call a friend and ask him or her to pray for you and with you!

 

Week of Hope Pictures

We had a great time of service, worship, and fellowship at the “Week of Hope” mission camp!  Fifteen youth and four adults traveled to the Charleston, SC area to work in day camps, nursing facilities, and landscaping efforts.  Thank God for all that was accomplished in us, through us, and for us!

Click on the picture below to view the full album.