'you are in the world, but not of the world'
how many times have we heard that quoted before? :)
our first series of the year, 'darkness + light' was intended to encourage us to think about current issues, and how do we live as a christian, facing different challenges to our faith and our walk with God.
how does a youth deal with issues like contentment, when everyone and everything around us, keeps telling us 'you need this' 'you're not complete without this' , just like iphone apps, there are endless updates/upgrades.
in a world that's instant, quick and spontaneous, how does one think about endurance and living for God's Kingdom and have eternity in mind? 'live for the moment! you only live once' or even 'life is short, play hard!'
it kind makes sense, but does it make gospel sense?
so, we've been using the material from this book:
and this is what one of the book reviewers had to say:
"In a fresh and readable style, Vaughan Roberts, issues a challenging call to Christians to live out their faith. We should be different from the world around us - Christians distinctives should set us apart in how we live, think, act and speak.
Targeting difficult but crucial areas such as money and possessions, sexuality, contentment, relativism and service, Roberts helps us to consider how to respond biblically to the temptations and pitfalls surrounding us - giving what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. "
for the leaders who led the series, let's see what they have to say about their experience in sharing the material.
"Which topic did you do, and what was the one take away for u?"wei-loong: "Lydia and myself did the topic on contentment. My take away? To be more contented la. Hahaha, kidding kidding.
I think among others, one of my biggest take always is that the Bible exhaustively lays down all the reasons for which we should be contented.
That being the case, to continue living in discontentment is nothing short of utter foolishness.
rachael: "I help led the topic about 'Purity in a sex-crazed world' with Cherie. Often, we tend to think of "purity" as abstaining from pornography and sexual immorality, which is what the world also condemns.
So what makes the Christian distinct?
Preparing the session allowed me to realise that God's view of purity does not just apply to sexuality, but also to dressing and relationships with the opposite sex."
timo: "i was involved in leading a workshop with Yvonne, we were sharing about 'service in a world that looks out only for self'. if u think about it, being kiasu is self centred. the whole 'oh-man, i can lose out to to others' mentality is basically self serving. The world around us tells to 'follow our hearts' and live for your own dreams. While preparing for the series, we were struck that it was not just about being others-centered or looking out less for self, but it's about being Christ centered, and following Jesus's example of service + sacrifice for God's purposes. being others centred, minus the gospel, just leads others to see that we're kind / moral. it doesn't show Christ and His purposes. John 3:30"
'what do u think about the whole series, how has it encouraged you to live for Christ in this world?'
rachael: "The series addressed a range of issues like contentment, self-centredness and instantaneity, which bombard Christians and non-Christians alike. It contextualises the Bible's teachings to today's society, and helps us to see how God's word practically works out in many, thought-to-be-trivial, areas of our lives (e.g. what we wear, the songs we hear, the beauty tips we buy into, etc.).
God's standard is so much higher, so haha, it doesn't seem very encouraging right? BUT knowing what Christ has accomplished for us gives us hope and courage to live for Him instead of worldly pleasures - because this world is only temporal, while His kingdom will last forever!"
lydia: "I think this series has challenged me to see and evaluate how I have been living my life. I always proclaim to people around that I am Christian. But what makes me distinct as a christian? It is because of the verses that I can quote? It has caused me to pray for my own spiritual walk that God continue to open my eyes to the sins that I have been making unintentionally (e.g. like living for the moments) and slowly change me to often think about the kingdom perspective. But even as I type this my heart is heavy because I know I still fall short in so many ways =( So like everyone else, continue to pray for me and lets keep praying for each other that we will grow together as a church to live for Christ because his kingdom has come, it is not something in the future and God calls as his people now."wei-loong: " I didnt attend the series so i'm not sure what I think about it. From the workshop on contentment, I think i've been encouraged to look towards Christ and turn away from 'earthly' pursuits. Matt 6:19-33 gives us 2 reasons why we need not turn to earthly pursuits and hence need not be discontented or worry any further.
First, he tells us that we have an inheritance which is 'heavenly' and which cannot be destroyed by rust or vermin, with this promise, we therefore have every reason to abandon our pursuit of the 'earthly' treasure because the 'earthly' treasure has a limited life span and we shall find that any pursuit of it leads to futility.
Second, he tells us that God provides. If God cares for the birds in the air and the lilies in the field, then all the more will he care for us. Because God is sovereign and he gives to us providence, we need not worry about accumulating earthly things."
timo: "the series takes its key verse from 1 peter 2:9, it shows us that we i) belong to God, ii) we are to declare God's excellent praises, iii) we've been called out of darkness into His wonderful light. In contrast, the world then, i) doesnt acknowledge God, ii) usually quick to slam christian faith and thought to be 'old fashioned' or 'rigid set of rules' iii) is still in darkness.
As Christ's redeemed people, we are to grow and develop a christian worldview based on His Word, and i've been really struck by that! may we not be blind to how the world is shaping our worldview and attitudes.
'..one encouragement for our readers?'
wei-loong: "Most of the time when we learn something in the Bible, resonation within our internal clockwork is a matter of much time and much struggle.
For e.g: when we first learnt that God hates sin and wants us to live a righteous life, did we immediately become become flawless in conduct or didnt we continue to struggle time and over with falling to sin?
Or when we learnt that God wants us to care for other Christians and to lead them into spiritual maturity, did we immediately start loving all our brothers and sisters or didnt we not continue to be concerned mainly for our own interest? The point is that of course we would find that we naturally continue to be worried and discontented and that is because naturally we are all evil and depraved. But it being natural has never been and should never be excuse for us to not strive towards the standard that God wants of us.
No matter what you have learnt in the series, whether it be about contentment or something else, I think we have to realize that if we want to see change in that area, then it would come with a tremendous amount of struggle and difficulty. Internalize God's word, repent, pray, struggle and allow the spirit to transform you."
timo: "hmm. one of the verses in a praise/worship song goes: 'Jesus, your all this heart is living for.' To even begin/start to look at whether culture is shaping our faith and understanding, or is our faith and understanding shaping the culture we live in? yup. that would be good start to think about how we live for Him."
rachael: "Continue to live for God's eternal kingdom, not those fleeting earthly pleasures! :)"
lydia: "One encouragement that I have is God's has immeasurable grace =)
So even though I fail countless of times, I know that God forgives. And I pray that he changes me to be more like him. So for everyone, my greatest hope and treasure that is that God has saved me through faith by His grace.
Something I find baffling but yet so amazing because whenever I reflect and see my sins and unworthiness, I see how great my God is to be able to save me. Sometimes we as humans tend to forget what it means to be saved, but I pray that we will always come back to the knowledge of how we have been saved. i.e the Gospel."
