Subs and Substance Week 9 - Relationships Matter

Bill led the boys through a discussion on the importance of relationships and challenged them to find their Pallbearers...

Relationships Matter

Subs and Substance

November 9, 2011

I’ve got some questions for you…

?.) What kind of relationships did Jesus have?

·         Intimate relationship with his Father God… Mark 6:46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray”. Also in the garden of Gethsemane…

·         Intimate relationship with his disciples

·         Loving and caring toward the masses

·         What about the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin – he was careful around them because he knew they were a problem for him and his mission

?.) Did these relationships matter to Jesus?

?.) What kind of relationships do you have?

·         Close friends

·         Family – Sisters, brothers, cousins, grandparents

·         Parents

·         Ones that are good and some that may not necessarily be healthy or good…

?.) Do you think relationships matter in your life?

In Dennis’s latest book he wrote, “He (men) needs to know that if he doesn't have relationships, he misses life." 

?.) Why would he say “he misses life”? He is implying that relationships are life or at least the purpose of life. Why would that be?

?.) Is life intended to be a team sport or an individual sport? What happens to a lion or a animal if it goes it alone? We are not called to go “Lone Wolf”

Relationships do matter! Your relationship with God, with your family, with friends, with those who call you up and recognize those that pull you down.

So here is a very simple principle that I want you to think about:

Has anyone ever been to a graveside funeral service where they carry the casket in? The people who carry the casket are called Pallbearers. It’s usually 6 of the person’s closest friends and family members who carry that person to their grave. I have done it 3 times and it is a very sober and humbling experience (Eccl. 7:2).

I want to challenge each of you to create deep meaningful relationships that result in the 6 people you would want to be your Pallbearers. 

Now, the interesting part of this is that not only are these the people that would carry you to your grave, they are also the guys who carry you through life. These are the people who will pick you up when you fall, call you out when you stray, cheer you on in your dreams and morn with you in life’s losses.

What a blessing that would be and something you would not want to miss in life!

Relationships Matter!

Subs and Substance Week 8

Doug led the boys through a discussion on a correct view of our bodies and how, as believers, they are not our own...

QUIET TIMES ALONE WITH GOD

JEREMIAH 15:16

THEME: Our Bodies Are The Temple Of The Holy Spirit

The cult of self-ownership is so prevalent in today’s world that it is accepted without question and without subjecting it to Holy Scriptures. A woman may have an abortion – “It is my body and I have the final say!” A man or woman may tattoo, pierce or mutilate their body in any fashion they see fit – “It is my body…!” Women may dress in men’s clothing, men may dress in women’s clothing, either as full-blown cross-dressers or simply as vain and self-willed individuals – “It is my body…!”.

Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth. God the Holy Spirit teaches us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own ? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

This trend began, on the woman’s side of things, with the abortion movement and the mantra that a woman’s body was her own. It began on the man’s side with the anti-establishment movement of the 60’s which included long hair, grunge attire and a view that no one could tell him how to dress or what to do with his body.

During this period, when a person came to Christ, it was immediately evident. I could always tell when a guy in my evangelistic Bible study or one of his friend’s study came to Christ. He sobered up, quit smoking, cut his hair, either shaved or trimmed his mustache and beard and began dressing in an acceptable manner. Of course there were inward changes as well, but the outward change was immediately recognizable. His friends would respond, “Hey man, what’s with you?!?!” This response is foretold in holy Scripture, (1 Peter 4:4 “In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;”) His response would be to share Christ, their response would be to laugh and persecute. By God’s grace he would apply the Word of God as given by God the Holy Spirit in Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” He gave a clear demonstration, not only by word of mouth but also by lifestyle change, that he had been born again.

How things have changed. I remember sharing with my son’s Youth Minister: “It has been a long time since I have seen a CD cover of a popular Christian singer that I would want my son or daughter to emulate.” Now, brother Donny Anthony was in every way a model for Sam of what a Christian gentleman should be – in dress, in language, in sports, in walk with God-- modeled it for Sam. When brother Donny was called to another church, John Ballenger took his place. John was a graduate of Texas A & M University and had served in the Corps of Cadets. He was also in every way an example for the young men of the church of what a Christian gentleman should be. It is a shame, though, that the CD covers and concert behavior of popular Christian musicians does not offer our sons and daughters an alternative to the world’s mold.

They do so because they believe their bodies are their own to do with as they please. If they feel certain appearance or behavior will help the spread of the gospel, then they feel they can do with their body as they feel best. The same goes for some families. They feel that how they dress, body piercings, tattoos, smoking, drinking, abortion and more is none of anyone’s business but the individuals. This is the world view of today, but God would not have us squeezed into the world’s mold. What is God’s alternative to the cult of self-ownership? It is my hope that these daily devotionals, done privately or as a part of your family’s daily altar, will help you understand what the Word of God says on the subject, breaking free from the world’s mold and causing surprise to all the pagans who know you.

Rev. John S. Mahon - Director Grace Community Int.

October 2011; Yaoundé, Cameroon