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Student Ministry - June

Dear Church Family,

The Summer has begun, and things seem to be returning to something like what we would call “normal.” For the Student Ministry this is great news! The students have been itching to spend time together, so now that restrictions are loosening and groups are permitted to gather again, they have never been more excited just to hang out. That said, wisdom is still necessary to continue to love our neighbors and ensure that people who are at-risk are not needlessly endangered.

We are planning events for students to safely gather together and enjoy fellowship and be built up in their walk with the Lord during the Summer. At each of these events we want to be sure to have a short devotional time. For these devotional times the family ministry intern (Trey Scott) and I will be discussing the Fruit of the Spirit as given in Galatians chapter 5. This past week we started that discussion with the fruit of Love.

Here is an overview of that devotion:

Love is something that is produced within those of us who have the Holy Spirit, which is anyone who has a relationship with God through faith in Christ. If we know God, then He will produce love in us. So what is love? Not the world’s definition, but God’s definition.

Love is a choice, not only an emotion. It is a choice to 1) value something or someone, and it is a choice to 2) take action that expresses that value. The world sees love as an emotion or a strong desire for something. It is when we really want something, or really don’t want to lose something. But the world doesn’t see love as necessarily valuing and respecting something.

We know that godly love is valuing something or someone because God Himself shows us that He chose to value our good so much that He willing sent His Son to the cross in our place (John 3:16). Jesus loves the Father and loves us enough to willingly give up His own life for our sakes. That is true love; valuing someone and their wellbeing enough to sacrifice for it. We confuse love with lust all the time in this world. We think because we want something really badly that we love it. Students want a relationship with someone so badly that they think that they love that person. But do they truly value and respect them? Will they seek that person’s wellbeing, or are they just pursuing a selfish desire?

We also know that godly love involves action. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us a clear list of what love really looks like. And in that list each item is some form of physical action or an act of the will. Either way, genuine love displays itself for the good of that which is loved. We think love is about how we feel. But often the reason why we don’t feel love for someone is because we have not been acting in love toward them. And sometimes we say we love someone (like our family for instance), but we do not display marks of true love towards them, proving us to be hypocrites.

But we need not lose hope if we see that we do not always love the way God loves. If we have a relationship with God, then we know that the Holy Spirit will produce that fruit within us. We simply need to turn back to God and ask for this transformation of the heart. When we look to the One who loves perfectly, our love will be made more and more glorious as time goes on. I hope that we all will seek the Lord and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And if any of us is struggling with godly love, I pray we turn to the Source of love itself and ask that He grow and change us to be more like Himself.

Sincerely,

Brian Van Doren

Student Ministry - May

Dear Church Family,

During this time of social distancing and home isolation we as a church have continued to make much of the Lord and His goodness and glory. We’ve moved our services to online venues and have switched our Life Groups to Life Group video chats. The students have been video chatting in their Life Groups on Wednesday nights and have been joining a video chat with me on Sunday nights. I want all our people to know that God is still in control, and His people still need to hear His Word. Hearing from God and encouraging one another is how we are going to get through this. And I pray that on the other side, we will be more passionate for God’s glory than ever before!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our Student Retreat last month, but the Student Ministry has been looking at this whole situation as a God-mandated, long-term retreat of sorts. So, we have been discussing what resting in Christ really means and what it looks like. It has been very relevant for the time we are in. Here are just a few things about true rest that I want to share with you:

True rest happens somewhere between anxious toil and laziness. We can only rest when we trust Christ to work perfectly for us and are then motivated by that freedom to work in His grace and power. God does not want our lives to be filled with anxious toil and perfectionism. Psalm 127:2 says ^“It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Matthew 6:31 says “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’” God wants us to put our faith in Him and receive our righteousness from what He has done for us through Christ on the cross. Matthew 6:33 says “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” And Hebrews 4:10-11a says “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. ¹¹ Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest…”

Trusting in Christ is how we find true rest! But in that, we are not made lazy. The reason is because we now have new desires filled with a God-breathed work ethic. Look at what Titus 2:11-14 says: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, ¹² instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ
Jesus, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous for good deeds.” (emphasis mine) This means that once we have put our faith in Christ, we are given a new heart and new hope, and our work ethic actually grows because of our newfound love for God. When we live on mission for Him, He provides us with all the energy we will ever need. Colossians 1:28-29 says “²⁸ We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ²⁹ For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (emphasis mine)

So, what does this mean for us? It means that we cannot be lazy, but also that the burden of life is not really up to us. It means that we can get up day after day and face what life has to throw our way, because we don’t have to carry it. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.” As we follow Jesus and trust in Him as Savior and Lord, He is carrying the yoke and He has the burden under control. Trust Him and rest in His grace and power as you zealously live for His glory!

Sincerely,
Brian Van Doren