VIDEO BLOG: Sermon & Camp Highlights

Posted by Jarrod | Filed under Ministry, Summer camps 09

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Read more | Comments (1) | June 20th, 2009

What have I done?

Posted by Jarrod | Filed under Ministry, Summer camps 09

What have I done, indeed.

This camp is very different. It’s a camp for teen leaders who are growing spiritual leaders. These are teens who were handpicked by their church to attend.  These teens had to fill out applications, get references, etc., to be allowed to come.  The camp’s motto is “Church, send us your best and we will send them back better!” Quite an honor to be invited to speak here. Love the challenge to go to another level in teaching too. But it can be overwhelming at the same time.

I decided, yesterday, to speak on Daniel tonight. Daniel chapter 1 nails the kind of culture teens face today.  Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, were taken as teens into a culture that was Godless.  King Neb’s goal was to brainwash them, so to speak, by educating them with what was right and true according to the Babylonian culture, not God’s Word, as well as give them pleasures such as the King’s food and wine.

In other words, the boys were immersed into a culture with a Godless worldview.  But they knew God’s Word, and knew where to draw the line. So, at 2:00pm this afternoon (only hours before our worship service), God moved my heart to tackle some worldview issues.  I banked off of Daniel 1:4—”He (King Neb) was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.”  My whole talk was about being “resolved” to live for God’s glory, think for God’s glory, and stand for God’s glory.

I don’t believe that the goal of our culture, or of our enemy (satan),  is to get us to renounce our faith, necessarily, but to numb us, desensitize us, inoculate us, to what is truly right and beautiful (even normal) according to God and His Word. Likewise, there’s the pressure to lessen our values, morals, Biblical doctrine, and view of Christ in the name of tolerance and relevance. So based out of the book of Daniel, for about 32 minutes of a 40 minute message I dealt with Worldview.

Worldview is a combination of all that you believe to be true. Decisions, opinions, behaviors, are filtered through this particular belief system.  Emotions flow out of this belief system.  Worldview affects every response to life and the stuff of life—–God, science, politics, sexuality, conception, philosophy, beauty.

Tonight I tackled these…

1) Jesus and God’s Word (There are certain things that Christian leaders, with powerful Christian influence, and God-given platforms, do not question as to confuse the people of God. So I picked a truth that’s been questioned. I asked the crowd if it really mattered that Jesus was born of a virgin.  YES IT DOES! If it doesn’t matter then our faith is futile and we just need to go get drunk or something. I declared and explained why the Virgin Birth has monumental impact on our faith, and therefore our souls, and our lives. Interesting, and relieving, that the students and leaders cheered.)

2) Beauty (Is it right to believe that “Beauty is only in the eye of the beholder”? What’s the standard then? I may think a painting of my wife is beautiful, the next guy might think a painting of a mutilated body is beautiful. Who’s to say, if God is not the standard and declarer of beauty? Philippians 4:8)

3) Sex. (1 Thess 4:3)

4)  Conception/Abortion (Psalm 139:16)

5) Sexuality/Gay Marriage (Gen 1:27, 31; Gen 2:20-25)

I don’t have the energy to go into explaining all these but you get the picture. I’ve received a lot of encouragement about tonight, but I don’t feel I did it justice. I walked off stage with that “bury my face in my hands” feeling. Still I felt I was faithful to the Lord and I have entrusted it to him. I spent the last 8 minutes of my sermon unpacking the power of Daniel’s life and resolve to never be deterred by a godless worldview, and the impact and influence of his courage that he had upon others… particularly his friends, Shad, Mesh, and Abed.

You could have heard a pin drop all night because this is an epic issue in the lives of students, indeed all of us, today. Tonight was hard work. But I rejoice that I honored the Lord and invested this 40 minute nugget of truth and encouragement to teen leaders. I pray they’ll be Daniels. I pray we’ll all be.

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Read more | Comments (4) | June 18th, 2009

SS Texas Night 1 (”I’m giving up your speaking!”)

Posted by Jarrod | Filed under Ministry, Summer camps 09

SuperSummer Texas camp, ‘09. Yesterday, I challenged the students and leaders to give up one thing this week out of a desire to have more of Jesus so that they could give more of Jesus. (I also assured them it didn’t make them any less holy or spiritual if they didn’t give anything up for the week.  I did have one guy say to me yesterday, “Hey dude, I’m giving up your speaking this week!” Wiseguy).  The concession guy stopped me today and said he was “upset” with me (he was kidding of course). He said the only thing kids are buying are water and Gatorade. Apparantly, most are giving up sodas. I’m thinking they want more of Jesus.

Just wrapped up first night of Supersummer ‘09.  Incredible night.  Clear Vision, the drama group, did a drama about a father losing his kids to drugs, alcohol and such, and a wife to an adulteress affair. At the end, they all came to the Cross.  Very powerful and stirring.

Sweet 180 (an all hispanic band of 7 members (including sax and horn player), led worship. AMAZING! These guys are so expressive and excited about worshiping musically. Absolutely contagious.  I wanted what they had.  We all did! God definitely used them to set the tone of the night preparing the way to the message.

I didn’t decide what to preach on until yesterday. I pleaded all weekend for God to show me.  The theme here is “Called!” The Lord impressed upon me Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6 is Isaiah seeing God’s glory, repenting, hearing God’s “call” to go, and him going… to a people who would not listen. Isaiah had no one respond to his message. I told them he would never have been invited to speak at an evangelism (or church growth) conference. :)  I told them of the missionary David Livingston, who saw no-one respond to the gospel for 16 years.  He had one convert at his death. Yet through his influence, 200,000 Africans were saved.  The Africans embalmed his body and buried his heart under a tree because his heart was for Africa. I asked the students what if God called and used them to harden hearts instead of melt hearts by the message of Christ. Would they go even if they so no response or fruit in ministry? Would they doubt God’s call?

At the end, I had them stand with heads bowed.  I led us in reflecting back on God’s holiness, weightiness, and how God applied the blood of Jesus to our “lips.”And I can’t say it was anything else but God. But as the band played behind me I started shouting glory to the Lord.  And soon the place erupted in praise and clapping and worship to Jesus!  Then we sang Revelation Song with all our might.

After students dismissed, many of us remained behind worshiping and praying. Just a powerful night. Powerful in me personally. God has rewarded me and blessed me, I think, in my desire to give up some things for the summer, marinate in Scripture and memorize it.  I believe He has given me more of Himself, and tonight He poured out of me in a way I’ve rarely experienced.  Praise the Lord.  Thanks for reading and praying for me.  Love you all….

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Read more | Comments (0) | June 17th, 2009

I said TV not MOVIE!

Posted by Jarrod | Filed under Personal, Summer camps 09

[These summer blogs are more of journal entries I think. In other words, they’re a bit self-absorbed.  However, I hope you find some things that encourage your heart in Christ, challenge you, and potentially relieve you that I have monumental issues and baggage just like you.  I hope you can take away perspectives to apply to your own life and walk with Jesus. Thanks for reading.]

Tonight will be the first official worship gathering of the week.  Saturday night and Sunday morn I spoke to pastors/youth pastors/leaders only.  Yesterday afternoon I did a 10 minute intro of where I’d be going for the week.

Thee past 3 weeks have been sweet with the Lord.  I’ve been memorizing more Scripture than I have ever in my life. Or, I should say I’ve been more committed to memorizing Scripture that I ever have.  Amazing what God’s word is doing to my mind and emotions.  It’s like I see colors that I’ve not noticed before. My mind feels cleaner in a sense; my emotions at ease; my conscience purged; my love and joy heightened.  Not sure that makes sense to you.

Disclaimer:  Please don’t take the above as my saying that I am a super spiritual giant.  Indeed, I am not. And that is precisely why I am taking measures this summer to have more of Jesus. Okay, moving on…

Arrived here Friday night. I had Saturday off to myself since I finished washing my clothes by midnight. I had plans to diary some future blogs, read, and so forth.  As I was driving to a Chinese buffet for lunch ☺ I passed a Blockbuster.  Now remember, I am “fasting” from soda, desert, and TV all summer. My personal summer theme is: “Jesus, I want more of you, so that I might give more of you!”

But I began debating: “I am fasting from TV. I didn’t say movies.”  So I pulled into the Blockbuster.  I  sat there for a few minutes and argued with myself.  I thought, “What’s the big deal.  It’s not a legalistic thing!  And I never said I was fasting from movies. I have all day. So why not?”

I walked into Blockbuster.  I started scanning the new releases aligning the walls.  Yet I still had this sense of unease.  There were four movies I was dying to see.  I rationalized and decided to just rent one.  As I held it in my hand, these words came into my thoughts: “Jarrod, it’s not about whether or not you watch this movie. Do what you want. But you said you wanted more of Me.”

So, I put the movie back on the wall.  I ate a big meal at the Chinese buffet, came back to my room, and spent time in things that encouraged my heart in Christ. And it was wonderful.

Suffice it to say, my heart was overjoyed to have resisted the movie.  I am a movie fanatic.  I sensed God’s pleasure.  It was not a legalistic move at all. It was just my honoring what I prayed to the Lord before the summer—– “I want more of you so that I might give more of you.”

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Read more | Comments (0) | June 16th, 2009

Spider glory

Posted by Jarrod | Filed under Ministry, Summer camps 09

As I mentioned in my previous blog I had no cell or internet service last week. And the first couple of nights I missed it.  Wednesday night following the camp worship service I flipped on the porch light, walked out onto the deck, and so forth.  I looked up at the light and thought about how annoying it was for all those gnats, bugs, flies, moths to be flapping around it.

Then I saw it.  A spider about the size of the top knuckle of your pinky had a perfectly spun web that glistened in the light. It was beautiful, really.  Right in the very middle was the spider.  I saw a little bug fly into its web.  In the blink of an eye it sprinted down the net, grabbed it’s prey, bit it (or stung it), then spun it at lightning speed in webbing.  Then the little spider sprinted back to the middle of its web.  As it adjusted itself in position, it would pull the web tight with its legs.

I walked around the deck and tried to catch little bugs and moths.  Then I would toss them into the spider’s webbing.  The spider wasted not a second. He scrambled, bit, spun, sprinted back, adjusted, and tightened the web.

We became friends.

Big honkin’ moths would bounce off it’s web. The spider didn’t back down. It would raise it’s two front legs in the attack position.  Most of the big moths flew through the web.  The web would be in a shambles. But the spider was not freaking out or running around or repairing it’s web.  It sat patiently and let come what may.  One time, a big moth got stuck. The spider ran to it and grabbed it. There was a stuggle. The moth was flapping its wings furiously. The spider just held it down pumping poison into the moth.  Then slowly, the spider began wrapping and spinning the big moth in webbing, even while it was still flapping.

For two nights I stood awed for at least 40 minutes.  I had to make myself go to bed.

I left the porch light off at night until I got in from the worship service.  I knew bugs would flock around the light and the spider’s web and I didn’t want to miss the show.  Thursday night, I giddily walked in the door, flipped on the light, walked out the deck door, and said, “Hey little buddy! Hungry? Supper’s comin’!”  And I stood and enjoyed the show.

Following both nights, I walked out the next morning to check on the spider. It, and it’s web completely gone.  Not a trace of it’s existence anywhere. The spider ate its web once his meal(s) for the night were in the ‘frig, so to speak.

God thought up that little spider and how it survives.  What glory! I have not been able to get it out of my mind. The little guy will be missed.  Well, not really.  If it was a kitten, maybe.

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Read more | Comments (0) | June 16th, 2009

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