December 21, 2019

F.U.A.G.N.E.M. - Mark 14:6-9

"We've got a little slogan at our teenage Kamp called K2 that I get to be a part of in the summertime and it's called FUAGNEM. It's not in Webster's. It just means 'Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute.' Basically it means the person who gives it all, all the time will end up winning the game."

Family Discussions:

What does it mean to give it all to Jesus?
What did the lesson of the perfume bottle teach you today?
What do you tend to hold back for being a give-it-all Christian?
Why is it so hard to have a FUAGNEM, as we say, Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute attitude when it comes to your faith in Christ?

Transcription:

00:13 Well, you talk about a hero. This verse today is really a hero. Maybe you would say one of the most insignificant people in scripture, but not so to Jesus. Jesus is in Bethany and he's at the home of Simon the leper. And as he comes in there, a woman comes up to him and she takes this bottle of very costly perfume and she anoints Jesus with the bottle of perfume. And some of the followers were indignant. You know, they were like, 'Hey, you know, you could take that perfume and you could, you know, sell it and feed the poor.' But Jesus says this about that woman. I think it's a great example to you and me today in our life for Christ. He said, "Hey, leave her alone. Why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to me for you always have the poor with you and you do not always have me. She's done what she could and she is anointing my body beforehand for the burial. He says, truly, I say to you, where ever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her."

01:20 We've got a little slogan at our teenage Kamp called K2 that I get to be a part of in the summertime and it's called FUAGNEM. It's not in Webster's. It just means 'Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute.' Basically it means the person who gives it all, all the time will end up winning the game. I don't know the whole story behind this woman, but I imagine because she was probably very poor that she had been saving this perfume her whole life. Perhaps every birthday she had, you know, her parents would put just a little bit more perfume in the bottle. You know, in those days, that sort of thing was scarce and was very expensive. And I think Jesus basically was saying to her, you know what? Leave that girl alone. She has given me every thing that she had.

02:10 I'll never forget a Superbowl years ago that I paid close attention to because I'd been leading some Bible studies with one of the teams in the Superbowl. Well, they were beaten because the quarterback of the other team had said to his team, I will give it every cent I've ever made in the game for one Superbowl ring. That team went on the field and they creamed the team that I had been working with because they were willing to give it all. I remember my son Cooper when he was a sophomore, he was going to play high school football and in our little town that he played for sophomores don't play. And I said to him, I said, Cooper, don't expect anything this year on the varsity. They never give it sophomores. And he said, dad, I'll either get a brain concussion and I'll die or I'll start. Well, you know the end of that story after about four games, you know, they were starting him in the first playoff game. He got player of the game. Because you know what, when you want it bad enough, you know, it's probably, if it's a good goal, if it's a good incentive and God's behind it, then it's probably going to happen.

03:16 So here's the questions for today. It's one thing to give it all for Superbowls. One thing to give it all the start on your team, but what does it mean to give it all to Jesus? What did the lesson of the perfume bottle teach you today? And then the second question is this, what do you tend to hold back for being a give-it-all Christian? And then the third question is this, why is it so hard to have a FUAGNEM, as we say, Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute attitude when it comes to your faith in Christ? And the thought for the day is this. If Jesus was visiting your house today, would you give him your most prized possession whatever it is?

September 20, 2019

The Joy of Being a Christian - 1 Peter 4:1-5

"If I gave you a choice and you could have a $50 bill or you could have a little piece of plastic. Just this thin little cord about two inches by four inches. Which would you take? $50 bill or a piece of plastic?"

Family Discussion:

Why will we ever doing that in the first place and why will we never go back to that again?
What does it mean in Christ that we now have living water, that we're a person who once was thirsty, but in Christ will never thirst again?

Transcription:

00:13 If I gave you a choice and you could have a $50 bill or you could have a little piece of plastic. Just this thin little cord about two inches by four inches. Which would you take? $50 bill or a piece of plastic? Well, by the way, this little plastic has a little seal on the bottom here and it says Mastercard and, there's a little bit in the bank backing this thing up. I think if my wife put it in lately. Um, which would you take? Well, today's passage and scripture is going to answer for that in a whole lot more profound way than getting cash. By the way, I want to know which one would you have taken? Somebody tell me will you?

00:54 It's from first Peter Chapter four verses one through five. It talks about the old life, the $50 bill that we used to live, and then it talks about the new life in Christ, the Mastercard.

01:06 "Therefore," scripture said, "since Christ has suffered in the flesh arm yourselves also with the same purpose because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for the less of men, but for the will of God." Not that the credit cards, the will of God, but I want to talk about this in a minute. "For the time already passed is sufficient for you to carry it out. The desire of the gentiles. Have you pursued a course of sensuality, less drunkenness, carousals, abominable, idolatries drinking parties in all this, your farmer friends are surprised that you do not run with them in the same excessive dissipation and they malign you, but they will give account to him who's ready to judge the living and the dead."

01:54 So the cash represents the substitute. Satan's a prize if you will. You spend it and then it runs out and you never see it again. The Mastercard represents what Jesus called the living water, the bread of life. He said, if you drink from me, you'll never thirst again. And so you look back at your past, you look back at your past friends and things you used to do before you came to a Men at The Cross event, before you came to Kamp, before you went to the FCA meeting and gave your life to Christ, and you see the things you did where you spent your body, your mind on frivolous things, and your friends are still doing that stuff. You know, they didn't go to Kamp, they didn't go to the rally, they didn't change. But now you're living with living water. You're living with a drink that never makes you thirst again. And it says they're gonna laugh at you, but they must give account to him who is able to judge the living and the dead.

02:49 They've got to die the way they're going to live. But hopefully by the grace of God, hopefully by the grace of God, they will see the unquenchable. They will see the unspendable. They will see the eternal in you. And because they see in you what's really valuable. A whole lot more valuable than a Mastercard. It spends in eternity. They'll want to go from this to this. That is the joy of being a Christian.

03:17 And here's my question today. Why will we ever doing that in the first place and why will we never go back to that again? And what does it mean in Christ that we now have living water, that we're a person who once was thirsty, but in Christ will never thirst again?

September 9, 2019

A Sweet Roll and A Cup of Coffee - James 2:1-4

"I learned so much from my daddy. The encyclopedia couldn't contain everything I'll learn from that man. And you know what? 99% of what I learned from him is what he did. Like most kids, I didn't appreciate it all. I didn't appreciate nearly enough that I learned from him until I had my own kids."

Family Discussions:

How do we tend to push aside the less fortunate in our lives?
Why is it a sin to show partiality?
What is our responsibility as representatives of Christ toward the less fortunate?
What are ways that we can show our love and care for the less fortunate around us every day?

Transcription:

00:13 I will never look at a sweet roll and a cup of coffee the same way again. When I see a sweet roll and a cup of coffee, I see a man that I can't wait to tell you about today. We're in James Chapter two verse one. Listen to this. James says, "my brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with the gold ring and dressed in fine clothes. And there also comes a man who's poor and he's in dirty clothes and you pay special attention to the one in nice clothes saying you sit here at a good place and you say to the poor man, you stand over there. Have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives."

00:57 I learned so much from my daddy. The encyclopedia couldn't contain everything I'll learn from that man. And you know what? 99% of what I learned from him is what he did. Like most kids, I didn't appreciate it all. I didn't appreciate nearly enough that I learned from him until I had my own kids. Now wish I had listened more. You know what that men, he's been in heaven for probably five years now, but he's still my hero. I'm still learning from him. My Daddy never told me to love the underdog or to love the less fortunate, but I will never forget watching my daddy meet the men who came to our backdoor to clip the garbage twice a week. Every single time humbly with a cup of hot coffee in a sweet roll for each dear man with a huge smile on his face and with words of encouragement. Sometimes my daddy would come home from work without his coat or without shoes or money because he'd met a janitor, someone less fortunate who needed what he had. In church or at a social gathering, he automatically would find his way to the lowest man on the totem pole.

02:07 And you know what, those humble, poor people are always my daddy's best friends. Funny thing about it all, my daddy was the happiest man I knew. The discussion questions today are this: How do we tend to push aside the less fortunate in our lives? And secondly, why is it a sin to show partiality? And the third discussion question is this, what is our responsibility as representatives of Christ toward the less fortunate? And specifically what are ways that we can show our love and care for the less fortunate around us every day? And the thought for the day is this. Can each of us name someone less fortunate that we come into contact with? And can we show that person Christ's love? Hey, how about a sweet roll and a cup of hot coffee for somebody.

September 6, 2019

Joy In All Circumstances - James 1:2-4

"This is a really cool picture of a lovely mom and three ugly boys, Bob, Bill and Joe. Those are my two brothers up there. Oh, she was too good to have three nuts like us, but there's a story behind this, dear mom."

Family Discussions:

What is the one trial that you're experiencing your life right now?
How does God turn the trials of your life into the experiences that produce endurance in you?
What kind of reaction makes you better?
What kind of reaction makes you bitter?
How do trials produce endurance and why is endurance such an essential quality to possess?

Transcription:

00:14 This is a really cool picture of a lovely mom and three ugly boys, Bob, Bill and Joe. Those are my two brothers up there. Oh, she was too good to have three nuts like us, but there's a story behind this, dear mom. And I want to tell you that story today, the scriptures from James Chapter one starting in verse two and it says this, "consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." My Mom and dad had dreamed and prayed that they would have three children someday. The first baby unfortunately, was a precious boy named Frank. Because of complications during childbirth, Frank only live for an hour. I can't imagine how heartbroken. I can't imagine how heartbroken mom must've been that day. As sad as she could have been, she knew that Frank belonged to God and her heavenly father had a plan for the seemingly tragic death.

01:14 Mom and dad knew the truth of Psalm 16:11, "In Thy presence is the fullness of joy." Frank awaits our ultimate family reunion with God. I'm sure. But as the years went by, she had three boys and her dream came true. The third son, um, humbling as it sounds, um, it was me. If Frank would have lived, I probably wouldn't be here today. Our family has had many bumps and bruises over the years. We've shed countless tears and we have clung to God in prayer. But Mom and dad find joy in all circumstances because with one baby in heaven and three boys on earth, and God has shown them that he is sovereign in the most difficult times. You know what? I think there's a Frank in everybody's life. I think there are tragedies and trials around every single corner, but God always has the last word. God always takes everything, no matter how bad it is and turns it in to his glory for his purpose. My question for you today is this: what is the one trial that you're experiencing your life right now? And how does God turn the trials of your life into the experiences that produce endurance in you? The second question today is this. When trials come, your reaction to them will either make you bitter or they'll make you better. What kind of reaction makes you better? What kind of reaction makes you bitter? And the third question, how do trials produce endurance and why is endurance such an essential quality to possess?

02:51 The lifeline for today is this man, how can we as a family help each other become better and not bitter in times of trials? That's just one of the greatest gifts I believe that people in a family can give to each other.