SPL Teen Blog

Genesis 2:18-4:16

Whenever I read the story of the fall I am struck by how small the promise of the Savior seems in light of everything that had happened that day. They sin, and whammo! the reality of what they had done comes crashing down. They look at each other and suddenly feel exposed, uncomfortable, even though they are husband and wife and until that moment never gave a second thought to clothing. Now they feel an immediate need to cover up. Since we don’t know what time of day it was that they sinned, we don’t know how long they crept through the garden, weeping and in terror that soon something big would happen.

Then evening came. They heard God coming. They hid. Don’t let that slip you by too quickly. They hid. God created them to be with him. God created them to have full, open communication with him and to enjoy his presence. At his coming they ought to have lept for joy. Instead they fearfully ducked into the underbrush. But God is not so easily avoided. And once confronted, the whole story is out. The day has just gone from bad to worse.

And then God says something. Not to Adam. Not to Eve. To the devil, the serpent, of all people. He promises that humanity will be saved. One sentence. That’s all he offers. And then he turns and gives Adam and Eve the news of what their curse will entail.

Not a lot to go one for humanity, and until the time of Abraham we do not hear another mention of a promise of a Savior. Perhaps God gave them more. Perhaps there is something that he did not inspire Moses to write. But why wouldn’t he? As far as we can tell, this was it. Can you imagine having only one sentence to hold onto for all of your hope, and passing only that down to the next generation? It would take a lot of faith. But it was enough. The promise was there. It was enough.

Matthew 2:1-18

There’s a Michael Card song called “The Spirit of the Age” where he talks about this section. Actually, he starts further back, and calls to mind the sacrifices to ancient false gods like Molech whose priests demanded infant sacrifices as a requirement for receiving blessings of prosperity. Then he laments the murder of the children by Herod. In the third part of the song, he shifts way ahead to our time, and strikingly makes the point that we haven’t really gotten any better. Our society just politely calls it “abortion” and “termination of pregnancy.” But it still comes down to killing for the sake of convenience.

Maybe this doesn’t really seem like it affects your life that much right now. But it is still a horrible tragedy that it takes place. I pray often that God would turn the hearts of our nation back to a love for life. I would hope that you are moved to do the same.

Psalm 2

Neat psalm. Your thoughts?

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Just to put it in front of everyone again, we are going to go to see the movie Expelled on Sunday. The movie starts at 6:50 PM in Mankato at the River Hills Mall Theatre. The cost is $7.50. Those who need to carpool, we’ll be meeting at church at 5:45. Please email me (bsteenbock@newulmtel.net) if you plan on carpooling, because I need to know to plan for you. If you plan to meet us there, we’ll assemble at about 6:40 in front of the theatre box office to buy tickets.

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Genesis 1:1-2:17

Matthew 1:1-25

Psalm 1:1-6

You might notice I’ve started at the beginning. It’s a very good place to start.

Growing up in Washington state I saw a lot of rivers. We had rivers everywhere. To get out of the town I lived in (if you were going anywhere worth going) you either had to cross the Tolt River to the south, or the Snoqualmie to the north west. My trip from my house to my high school would take me across the Tolt, across the Snoqualmie, along the Snoqualmie for a while, across the Raging River, and across the Snoqualmie again.

Rivers are a pretty consistent theme in the Bible as well, and in these passages we see a lot of mention of rivers. God creates the world and it mentions that he waters it with streams coming up out of the earth. Then he plants a garden and from it flows a river that separates into the headwaters of four rivers. In the New Testament reading there’s a river. Okay, so this is a little hokey, but if you imagine the line of the Savior, the genealogy, as a river flowing through the generations, then you see how God is consistently providing that sustenance for his people. And then in the psalm it talks about a person who is blessed by God is one who is like a tree planted by streams of water.

It’s a good image. A river provides a constant flow of fresh water to nourish the plants that grow alongside it. Eastern Washington is like a desert. It is dry. It is rocky. It is dusty. But the Columbia River flows through it and all along that river you find green fields, tall trees, colorful flowers. Rivers bring life.

God’s love is like a river. It always comes new and fresh. It gives us life. That love is found in his son, Jesus, whose death on the cross saves us from all our sins.

So next time you’re standing on the banks of the glorious Cottonwood River, think of God’s love.

 Better yet, look at a picture taken from the banks of a different river. The Cottonwood really isn’t a pretty picture of God’s love.

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Daily devotions are a good idea. Okay, duh, right? But isn’t it true that it’s not always easy to sit down and do them? I find that. What should I read? How much should I read? How long should I read? What should I think about? Not easy to figure out.

 I’m using a book called the Seasons of Reflection Bible. Actually, it’s just the NIV organized into a 365 day reading plan. Every day has a section from the Old Testament, a section from the New Testament, and a reading from the Psalms or Proverbs.

So here’s what I’m going to do. Every day (or so) I’m going to post in the daily devotions category the references and then some of my own personal reflections on what was read. I invite you to read the references with me, read my reflections, and feel free to post in the comments your own thoughts and questions.

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We are going to have Youth Group this Sunday. Totally breaks the rotation, I know, but it just works out that way. Since MVL has prom and then the next weekend a concert at St. Paul’s, we would have gone a whole month without. Not gonna do it.

So, we are having open gym at St. Paul’s school from 7:00-9:30 PM. Devotion at 8:00.

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 The forum space for Chapter 1 has been posted on the forum site. Please navigate over there using this link: splnewulmyouth.freeforums.org and post your questions and comments.

 The study guide for the preface is available below:

God Delusion Chapter 1 Study Guide

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The forum space for the Preface has been posted on the forum site. Please navigate over there using this link: splnewulmyouth.freeforums.org and post your questions and comments.

 The study guide for the preface is available below:

God Delusion Preface Study Guide

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Since we are doing a book study of “The God Delusion” by Richard Dawkins in Sunday Morning Bible study, the idea was mentioned that we ought to have some room on the website to start and continue discussions, as we will not always have enough time in class to touch on everything people would like to talk about.

To make this a little easier to navigate, instead of using the blog here as the space for discussion, I set up a forum board on one of the many free forum hosting websites available on the internet. The link is at the bottom of this post, and will be at the bottom of every related post on the blog. When you go there, you will need to set up an account. It will take you about 30 seconds and you’ll be ready to start posting. 

If you are not currently attending our Sunday morning meetings, but are interested in the discussions, please, feel free to weigh in. I will upload a copy of each chapter’s study guide to make it easier to follow along (though having a copy of the book itself would also be helpful, I suppose).

The forum is at splnewulmyouth.freeforums.org

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I have a friend that I grew up with in Washington that leads a double life. No, he’s not an international spy or CIA agent. He’s not even an actor. He’s just an average person. When we get together (which doesn’t happen too often any more, for obvious reasons), and it’s just the two of us, we mesh like two peas in a pod. There are no awkward moments in the conversation, we make each other laugh, we can always find something to do, because we know each other so well we can’t help but have fun together. But when we’re in a group of people, I feel like I barely know the guy! He says and does things I don’t expect, he’s like a stranger.

Sometimes when we’re around certain people, or when we’re in large groups, we tend to act different than we do when we’re on our own, or with someone who knows us well and who we’re comfortable with. It’s like we lead a double life. Do you do this? Do you know someone who does? Why do we do this kind of thing? Are we trying to impress? Or do we even know we’re doing it? What’s behind it? Is it okay to just be yourself? Is there ever a time that it’s not? Please share your thoughts.

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