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Student Ministry - August

Dear Church Family,

It has become more apparent to me in recent months that we live in an extremely polarized world. Whether it is political opinions, mask related opinions, dietary opinions, parenting opinions, music style opinions, exercise opinions, or coffee brewing opinions, it seems that we are no longer able to show love, patience, or kindness to people with whom we have disagreements. The current cultural mindset appears to be, “if you don’t agree with me, then you’re a terrible human being.” This makes sense for the world. But it ought to be unthinkable for Christians to behave in the same manner. Unfortunately, though, it is not unthinkable… it happens before our very eyes, and sometimes we are the perpetrators.

Students are growing up in this kind of world. They are looking to their parents and other Christian adults to model for them what it means to be a Christian. If students see Christians acting like non-Christians without remorse, then they will begin to think that Christianity is of no substance and something to be rejected. That is exactly what is happening in the younger generations today. They see Christians acting in truth without love, or Christians acting in love without truth. As Pastor Nick recently preached, a “Christianity” that does not encompass both truth and love united is not truly Christianity. And if we are not careful, we Christians can easily be the ones who preach a false Christianity with our actions. The way we Christians treat one another communicates to the world who our Savior is. That is one reason why Paul wrote this in Romans 14:1-10:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. ² One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. ³ The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. ⁴ Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵ One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

Based on this text we need to ask ourselves these questions:
Am I holding my opinions because of biblical truth?
Are my opinions aimed at glorifying the Lord?
Can I have conversations where my opinions are challenged without becoming argumentative?
Am I challenging others’ opinions with humility, or am I judging them?
Am I willing to let go of a disagreement, or do I feel the need to “win?”
Am I able to love someone who I think is wrong (and treat them with kindness), or do I have contempt for them in my heart?

It is true that “iron sharpens iron.” Therefore, we must challenge opinions and be willing to have our opinions challenged for the sake of becoming more like Jesus. The question is, are we doing this with a heart of humility and love or out of a heart of pride and contempt. One is godly and God-glorifying. The other is evil and self-glorifying. For the sake of God’s glory and the faith of our children, lets be sure to rid ourselves of pride and contempt and be filled by Christ with grace and truth.

Sincerely,
Brian Van Doren

Student Ministry - July

Dear Church Family,

This year has been marked by change and adjustment. I can say confidently that no one’s plans for 2020 have come to fruition the way they thought they would. And that is the strange thing about plans. No matter how well you map things out, they can change on you in an instant without your consent. While that is generally true, it has been especially the case this year. With COVID-19, quarantine, social uproar, and election year, 2020 is sure to be one to bring monumental and lasting changes.

As Christians, however, we are not overwhelmed by this. These things surely cause much anxiety, but we know that “The Lord is near.” So we are “anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” we will let our “requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard” our “hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5-7)  We trust in God who is in control over all things. When we get overwhelmed, we cry out and He hears our prayers and comes to our aid. He is with us and guiding us as we continue to follow Him.

Over the last weekend of June we took a group of students on a Summer Retreat. We had about two weeks to plan it. We decided to theme the weekend: If the Lord Wills. It seemed to be an appropriate theme considering our context. We stayed at a wonderful AirBnb, went tubing on the lake, played tons of corn-hole, and had God glorifying worship. The retreat certainly lived up to its name, because none of our plans went exactly how we thought they would. But it went precisely how God planned it, which was the whole point. In order to convey the idea that Christians don’t need to be overwhelmed by change in life, we went over the following passages.

From Proverbs 16:9 we learned that: We are not in control. But God is, and we can trust Him with our life plans. From James 4:13-17 we saw that: We walk the balance of making plans and trusting God by holding our life with open hands and following Jesus as He directs us in the next right step.

Jesus had this attitude because He loved God and knew that God would turn even the worst possible thing into the greatest possible good. In the garden He prayed that the cup of God’s wrath would be removed from Him, but He knew that God’s will, no matter how difficult it was, would turn out to be His ultimate good (see Romans 8:28). So He prayed “not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39)  It is because Jesus trusted the Father through the worst possible circumstances that we now have access to God and are forgiven of all our sins! Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father in all His glory. God’s will turned out to be awesome! And now, we who are in Christ can also have this attitude of love for God and trust in His plans no matter how hard they may be.

We all need to remember this truth. But students who are still in the formative days of their youth desperately need to be shown that change happens, but God’s plans and His love for us never change.

Sincerely,
Brian Van Doren