The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Colossians 1:16quoted at the opening of the service to lead into worship: all things were created by and for Jesus
16 For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
referenced during the offering: Jesus says I am the good shepherd who sacrifices his life for the sheep
1 “Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
13 The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
19 Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words.
20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”
22 It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem.
23 It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
24 The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me.
26 But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
33 The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’
35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken),
36 do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’
37 If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me.
38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
40 He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed.
41 Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.”
quoted to show that no temptation is beyond what is common to man and that God provides a way out
13 No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Mike Demetrius, First B's youth director, brought the message on Graduation Sunday, directing his words to the graduating seniors but drawing everyone into the same questions. Using Matthew 7:24-27, he pressed on what it actually looks like to build your life on the rock rather than on sand. He worked through three things he tells students, but turned each one back on the congregation as a whole.
What was said
Mike opened by asking people to remember middle school and high school, not to be nostalgic but to be honest. He described watching students at parties drift away from adults and toward conversations and behaviors they knew better than to have in the open. His point was that from a young age, most of us learned to perform differently depending on who was watching, and that pattern does not simply stop at graduation.
He then read Matthew 7:24-27, where Jesus describes two builders, one on rock and one on sand, who face the same storm with opposite results. Mike said he identifies more with the second builder than he would like to. He spent time in his own middle and high school years following formulas that felt like they worked, like getting into trouble with friends at three in the morning, only to find out later that the habits formed then had a much longer reach than he expected.
The first thing he wants students to carry with them is to walk in truth. He was not speaking in abstractions. He told a story about stealing orange Tic Tacs as a child and blaming his father, and how one small lie demanded another lie to cover it, and then another. His argument was that when we step outside what God's word says, we begin building a life that requires lies to hold it together, and that the way back is confession, the plain kind, to God and to people who deserve the truth.
The second thing is quality relationships, specifically two kinds. The first is choosing friends whose values and direction you actually want, because, as he put it to the students, your friends will determine the direction and the quality of your life. The second is the relationship with parents, which he said students tend to drift from right at the moment they need it most, and that when that gap opens, a fifteen-year-old with a bad idea can fill the space a parent used to occupy.
The third is walking in purity, particularly in how students handle sex, alcohol, and drugs. He named those directly because, he said, every student is going to face them and needs an answer ready before the moment arrives. He tied this back to trust: do we actually believe that what God has placed within marriage is better than what we can arrange for ourselves?
He then turned everything toward the adults in the room. He quoted 1 Corinthians 10:13, that no temptation has come to us that is not common to everyone, and that God provides a way through it. His question was whether the congregation has the same community it is trying to build for its students. He asked whether there is someone each person could call right now if they were struggling. He ended with an invitation to start wherever a person actually is, even if that starting point is telling God, "I don't trust you, but I want to."
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Michael talked about students behaving differently when they are away from their parents, and about his own habit of building what he called 'sandcastles' on flawed formulas he picked up in middle school and high school. What formulas or assumptions did you carry into adulthood that eventually stopped working for you?
Michael described the Tic Tac story to show how one action outside the lines can quickly require a second lie and then a third to cover it. Have you seen that compounding effect of small lies in your own life, and what did it take to start walking out of it?
She'll stay here the first here. Go away the second. Yeah. Pretty fun, Good morning, church. How are we doing today?
It's good to see you. It's good to see you. Can I share just a little word of scripture? I think this is a good one to lead us into worship. And it's from Colossians, and here's what it says.
For by him, Jesus, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. Isn't that a good reason to worship God this morning? Amen. Isn't it? So would you stand and we'll sing with you?
We'll start by singing glory to God.
Saying glory to God. Glory to God. Glory to God. Glory Glory to
Red microphone's on. Yeah. Hey, good morning. I've got a couple of announcements but it's graduation Sunday. That's the first one and probably the last one too.
Graduation Sunday and so Mike will come up and kind of introduce you to the grads. Blake, if you'll flip through the slides, I'd appreciate it. There will be. There he is. There he is.
Yeah. No. No. We're on. That was last week but we're on tomorrow, meal music message, 06:00.
Naomi's gonna make, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and we get to start in a new book of the Bible, and it is Colossians. And it's been, conversation style, and so, it's just been rich and just know that it's another worship gathering that we have that you're invited to.
Amen. I'll say that. And if you'll flip on through there, Blake, or send that clicker up to me. We're looking for sound booth volunteers. Don't pay any attention to me fussing at him the whole time.
It's that's not what it's like at all. Okay. People turn around and looking at you and you miss a slide here and there. No. After you actually, if if you would like to help with that, please let us know.
That'd be great and there's a prayer group that meets every Wednesday morning in the church office at 07:30 in the morning. That's a great time. It's a little bit of a heartbeat of what's going on in the church and in the missions world. So, we're praying for missionaries every week. That's one of the main reasons we get together but also, whenever you're together with other believers and you're praying, the things that are the most concerning to you, cast all your cares upon the Lord because he cares for you, right?
We're doing that too. Next, Blake. Sunday school is on a break during July. So, Sunday school is on a break during July. If y'all need to know that.
This comes out in the Email too. What does Sunday school entail? All of the Sunday school like children's church or.
Children's church.
Yeah. Children's church and that's that's the Sunday school that we're talking about. That's on a break during July and Vacation Bible School, the theme this year is Christmas in July. You can see a little blurb back there in the back about it. A little kiosk kinda set up to let you know more information but June 27 up through July 1, Christmas in July being the theme.
If you wanna sign someone up, you can sign em up on the website or come in to the church office and we'll do that. If you would like to be a part of it and volunteer for it, you can do the same. Next, Blake. It is graduation Sunday. Now I'm gonna turn it over to Mike Demetrius.
Here he is. He's got the lapel mic this week.
Check. Check. Check.
There you go.
Alright. Yes. As Ray said, today is senior Sunday, which means over the past two days, a bunch of students here in our community have completed their high school career. Can we give them a little round of applause? So I don't know who's here.
I know there's a lot of families in town and a lot of activities going on, but we'll just start from the top. And the Shultons, Savannah Shultons and Cade Shultons, they have graduated, and we're very proud of them. And Sarah Robinson and Annie Gregg. Is Annie Gregg here? Annie Gregg.
Okay. Well then, Chloe Wingard, she has graduated, gonna be taking a gap year. She's not here today. She had to be with family. But we do have I see Virginia Girling is here and she's going to come on up to the stage.
So Virginia has worked very hard. If I could have my girlfriend come up here and help me pass out some bibles. Thank you. Virginia's worked very hard. She's headed off to UVA, gonna be studying there.
We're very proud of her. It was her first choice, and she got it. So yeah. Woo hoo. And then Caroline Girling is also here who recently graduated.
Yes. Let's hear her. Headed off to Rhodes College in Cornell to study animal science. Very proud of her as well. Rachel Clemmer.
Is Rachel Clemmer here? Rachel, come on up. Come on up, Rachel. Awesome. So proud of Rachel.
She graduated, and that means no more volleyball. She's been playing a ton of volleyball. Then we've got Sarah Talarico. Is Sarah Talarico in the crowd? Oh, there she is.
Sarah Talarico. Come on up. Thanks for coming up. Sarah headed off to West Point. And I don't know if Braden is here.
Braden Wyrick. But Braden also graduated, and so those are our students that have graduated this year. I know it's it's crazy to see them all grown up. COVID hits, and, like, the kids get taller, they get older, and they end up graduating. We go, woah.
How did that happen? But it did happen, so just wanna keep you up to date. I'm gonna pray for these girls and hi. And and then we'll just ask God to bless them on their journey. Heavenly father, we love you so much.
God, thank you for each and every one of these students. Those that are here and those that couldn't be with us today, God, I ask that you just place your hand of protection and guidance on their life. God, that you'll lead them on the path that you have for them, that you protect them against any harm that would come their way, and that you'd lead them to the purpose and calling that you have for their life. I ask this in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen.
Thank you guys for coming up. Thank you. And and just so you know, we gave them a Bible and a journal. And that Bible, it's a one year Bible, so every day you just turn to the day of the year and then there's a short little Old Testament, New Testament, a Psalm, and a Proverbs. Sometimes have you guys ever had a point where you don't know where to read in a Bible?
You know you want to read the Bible, you don't know where? So that's what that is. So they take it off to college with them. When they read the Bible, they just pick up to that day. And we also have the one year reading plan here at this church.
So if you are not signed up for that, look into that. That's it. Adios.
I'm walking in freedom for God so love God so love. Praise God. Praise love God so love verse three, an invitation
to bring up.
Bring all your fears, bring your additions,
God, what a beautiful invitation, and it is true. You are inviting us to come to you to bring everything to you. We don't need to fix ourselves first. We we come to you as we are, and as we do, and yield to you, that's where the transformation happens. So, Lord, may we may we feel confident and sure that as we come to you, God, that you care, that you love us, and that you desire to make us more like yourself.
May we be willing. In Jesus' amen.
The sweetest friend, but only trust in Jesus' name. Christ the cornerstone. Sing that chorus again. Christ alone.
Here's a good word from Matthew. Matthew. This is Jesus speaking, and he says, anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. It's like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes and the torrents and floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it will not collapse.
Why? Because it is built on that bedrock. Isn't that good news? God, that we would be wise. Not just gathering knowledge but wisdom that comes from you.
Amen. Building our life upon you. Solid rock. That is you, Jesus. Amen.
But it could fill me. Hands into praise and treasures they play, they're not enough. And then you came along and put me back together. And every desire You turn grace into goddess. You turn bones into armies.
You turn seas into highways.
You can have a seat here for a minute. This is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the ushers to come on forward, and we're gonna sing. Jesus paid it all. It's one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture.
John 10, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. Think about that for a second. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. What does a shepherd do? Leads, guides, protects.
Here's what Jesus says. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. Indeed, that is what Jesus has done for us. Amen. Yes.
He truly did pay it all and we're going to sing that but Ray, would you pray first? Sure.
God, I thank you for the time lord to gather and to celebrate your great love that you have for us, lord. To know that you are nurturing and you are guiding. You are leading. You're leading us in the way lord that we would go and when we stray, lord, you pursue us. Thank you.
Thank you, God that you are that your rod and staff that do truly comfort us lord. In Jesus name, we thank you for this glorious morning and for all of these graduating and for these those of us lord here going out in the world. When I look out this morning, I see faces that I haven't seen in a while. Maybe they've been gone for the winter. Maybe they've been gone to college or coming back just to visit at this just beautiful time of year.
Lord, thank you for those. Thank you for those who have come through here for a time. Then you have sent on out into the world. Lord, may we be a launching pad into the very uttermost parts. May the gospel advance.
Lord, because of you motivating us to do what you would have us to do. Lord, may it may it advance because of what we're doing and not in spite of what we're doing. In Jesus name, lord, we ask that you'd be directing our steps. We'd be sensitive to your voice and that we would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do every good work that you have for us. In Jesus name, lord, we thank you and we're overwhelmed with your love.
Accept this back, lord. You truly have paid it all. We want for others to know that. Amen.
Alright.
Our next guest needs no introduction. This is Mike Demetrius, our youth director. And about I don't know if he's gonna tell you this, but about two weeks ago, I said, hey. Grad Sunday's coming up. If you wanna take rather than just announcement, you wanna take the message, then do.
Okay? And what'd you say?
I said, nope.
But given a later chance, I said, no pressure. I'll prepare a sermon. I'm ready. But if you want to, do. You know?
And so he he let me know later. He said, yeah. I think it's I think I do. I've got something to say. So here you are.
Yes. Thank you. Glad to be here. As Ray said, my name is Michael Demetrius. I'm the youth pastor here at First Bee and so glad to do that.
Let me let me pray and we'll get started. Heavenly father, we pray for your words. God, would you speak through me this morning? God, would you prepare each and every heart here? God, we pray you'll give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart that understands what you're saying, who you are, and what you're doing.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Today, we're gonna be in Matthew seven. But before we get there, I just wanna to ask you a question. With it being grad Sunday, this time of year comes around and it just makes me reflect, do you guys remember what it was like for you in your middle school or high school years?
Does anyone remember what that was like? Some of you, I know it was just as I look out, it's just a couple years for some of you. Others of you may have been more, but do you remember kind of what what were the challenges that you faced when you were in middle school and high school? Did you always wanna get up in the morning and go to school? No.
Probably not. It's as I as I look at this time and even just being at graduation yesterday, was awesome, Jimmy Chen spoke, was pretty incredible, but I'm reminded that I I don't know if we would have had that many students graduating if we didn't have parents rustling beds early in the morning saying, hey, you need to get up or asking questions like, did did you do your homework? I know you wanna go play with your friends but did you do your homework? Did you study for that test? And and all along the way, I see this this batting back between the lines or as a parent kinda guides their student down the path.
And I don't know if it would look the same without those guardrails, that guidance. And so hats off to parents. You are valuable and you do far more than you get credit for. So what I asked what was that like because as I go and I spend a good bit of time with students and one thing that I see is when I go to either grad parties or I was at a birthday party for some 15 year olds last week and I noticed it's it's really fun watching these subcultures because I'm obviously not 15 anymore, but when kids come in, they come into a house and they, like, they see the food, they, like, chow down on a bunch of food real quick, and then they kinda get a little awkward around adults. And they're like and then they click up together, and they normally find their way off into, like, the garage or out to the trampoline, and and they they go off and kind of collect up and do their own thing.
And just being a fly on the wall, I've noticed a few things. Sometimes the conversations that go on when they're away from parents, they're a little different than they are when they're in the main part of the house. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's the language is a little bit different, the content's a little bit different and I'm just reminded that when I was growing up, it was the same way. When you get with your friends, sometimes you say bad words, sometimes you talk about things that your parents wouldn't want you to talk about and we know not to do it right in front of them.
Right? I mean, I've chewed on more than my fair share of bars of soap in my day but it's it's the reality that we know where we can do that stuff and where we can't. When we're away from authority, we kind of maybe we say things that that aren't acceptable in in different environments. And so as I think back, it's like, yeah, I did did all these things. I I totally get it.
And the reality is is I think we all probably did. We all probably said things that we shouldn't have and used words we shouldn't have and we knew the context and the environment where that was okay to do. And as our seniors graduate, it's that time of year where I start reflecting, man, what do I want our students to leave? Leave going off into the world knowing. And that's what brought me back to Matthew seven, and Carl shared a little bit of it today too.
But Matthew seven twenty four, it's where Jesus is kinda sharing. He's like, hey, I've told you all these things. And he's like, now let me let me tell you what happens with what you do with these. And he says this, he says, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the flood came and the winds blew and they beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock.
And that's what I want for our students. I want them to have a life that's founded on the rock. But the reality is is that sounds good, but what does it actually look like? You know? They're not teaching masonry.
They're not teaching us to find a big stone in school. No. Practically, what does this look like? And he goes on to say that everyone who hears these words in mind doesn't put them into practice will be like a foolish man who who builds his house on the sand. The rain comes, same circumstances come.
The rains come, the flood comes, the winds blow, they beat against that house and it falls, and then it goes on to say, and great was the fall of it. And unfortunately, I identify far too much with the second half of this. The reality is I spent a good bit of my life building sandcastles. I I followed formulas that were flawed deeply and it took a while for them to run out and maybe go, wow, this is not working anymore. Some of those formulas I picked up in middle school and high school.
You know, and and if I may, there's a big difference in high school in the real world. The things that caused me to succeed and make friends in high school, once I graduated, took me a while to realize they were no longer working. That they were no longer working. For for example, I don't know if I should say this as a youth pastor, but if you if you have a few beers at a party and you're in high school, you know what you are? You're crazy.
You're wild. You're fun. You drink too much as a 45 year old, we have different names for it. We call it alcoholism. We condemn that behavior later on in life.
Yet those habits were formed here. They grip here and they don't let go here. We fail to see that. The reality is when I was in middle school and high school, somehow no one told me this but the formula was fun is going to equal alcohol minus parents plus an activity. You isolate.
You find some substance. You get with your buddies. You just see what happens. But there's this separation that takes place. And the reality is there's a lot of times where my parents thought I was at home in bed, And I wasn't.
I was out riding around with my friends. And I'll never forget the time we got pulled over. It's 03:00 in the morning on a school night. And we get pulled over, and what does the cop say when he pulls you over? Anybody know?
Anybody know? What do they say when they pull you over? Before that, what do they say? License License and registration, please. What you do think happens when you get pulled over with a 15 year old driver?
And we took his grandma's car. What do you think happens? License and registration please. Here's how this goes, ready? License and registration please.
I don't have one. You don't have it or you don't have one. I don't have one. Step out of the car, Ring ring ring ring. Miss Demetrius, do you know where your son is?
Yeah, he's downstairs asleep. That's weird. He's in the back of my cruiser. Why don't you come down here? Ouch.
Ouch. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, I have a three year old of my own and I realize that my parents worked very very hard to keep me safe and I worked very very hard to find unsafe environments. I was far safer at home in my bed than riding around with a kid with no driver's license in the middle of the night doing things I can't even mention from this stage which is pretty bad considering what I just told you. So so as I think about this, you know, to build our house on the rock, I start thinking what is practically what does that look like?
I wanna share with you kinda three ideas that we share with our students. One, we want them to walk in truth. We want them to walk in truth because the reality is this, not every idea or every feeling that we have is a good one. And when they stand in opposition to what God's word says, we just we would do far better to assume that our answer is incorrect, that maybe this is not a good idea, and that I should take God's answer and just go with it. When when I say to walk in truth, I mean to not live a life of lies.
I've had a point in time in my life where there were lies in my life and they looked it's funny they started at kind of a young age. I remember I was young and I went to the grocery store with my mom and I really liked orange Tic Tacs. Does anyone remember Tic Tacs? There was orange Tic Tacs and I'm, you know, a little kid and my mom said I couldn't have them. So a little while later, we're in the car and I pull out this pack of Tic Tacs, right, that I obviously didn't pay for.
And I and I pull them out and I start eating them and mom goes, Where did you get those Tic Tacs? Right? So I had an action, an action that I I wanted and I knew that like I can't be like, Mom, I'm taking these. But I took them. I didn't let her know.
I had an action. But now push comes to shove and my mom says, Where did you get those tic tacs? And me and my parents were divorced so I said, Dad gave them to me. Lie one. She goes, really?
That's interesting. Where'd your dad get them? I said, oh, dad sells these now. Lie two. I tell that story, one, because it's silly.
Two, because it illustrates a point that when we we step outside the lines, we start living a life that requires lies to back them up. And one lie can compound upon another lie to where we build this web and I desperately do not want that for our students. Anybody in here ever gotten a phone call that goes something like this? Hey. Can I talk to you about something?
Your heart kinda sinks. You're double checking that list of lies that you've got. I don't want that for our students. I don't want our students to live a lie. I think that God, in his truth, has equipped us with the tools necessary to bring those lies out into the open to live lies of truth.
I remember in my life when I had to go and get those skeletons out of the closet and say, hey. Here's something that happened in the past and I have been living a lie and I won't do it anymore. I'd rather us have a riff in this relationship and be able to start working on it than live a life that is a lie anymore. So I want our students to live in the truth and God's truth and then actually to live a life that is true, that they agree with, that they stand behind. The second thing that we want for our students is we want quality relationships.
We want them to have qual can you guys hear me in the back okay? We want them to have quality relationships. We say in youth group that your friends will determine the direction and the quality of your life. Your friends determine the direction and the quality of your life. I mean, we're gonna start looking like those that we hang out with most.
Their values will become our values. So to choose our friends wisely, to pick friends that that know the truths that we just spoke about, that don't tell lies and things like that, and that know God's truth and can guide us on the path that God has for us. So we want them to pick good friends. The second quality relationship that I think gets overlooked is the relationship with the parents. You know, having a semi adult brain now and I look at the situations, I go, man, as as students try to figure out the things that they're into and they separate a little bit from parents, that danger ratio goes way up because the parent that loves them the most and cares about them the most and has the most influence in their life can be substituted for a 15 year old with a great idea.
Right? And it's just not the best formula but if students and this part this part, I tell our students that it has to come from them. Parents are willing to parent but, man, students, if they hide things, it is so hard to know what's going on. When I was my parents had no idea what I was into. No idea what I was into because students are good at hiding it.
We just know they're so smart. That's why we send them to school, to get them so smart. But, man, sometimes it's used against us. So to choose quality friends and then to partner up with their parent to deal with some of these tough topics like sex and alcohol and drug use. I mean, every one of our students is gonna have to have an answer for how they handle themselves sexually, how they handle sex, how they handle alcohol, and how they handle drugs.
They're gonna have to have that answer because our society and our culture will present them with that. It's sooner rather than later. So those are two of the things that we want. The third thing that we want for them is for our students to walk in purity, to walk in purity. And the reason that we want that is because we know that God has something so special inside marriage and that marriage will either be the area of the greatest fulfillment and joy and happiness in life or it can be the area of the greatest pain and hurt and regret based on how we conduct ourselves sexually.
So we it's tough to talk about these things but we say, hey, we've got to figure out how we're gonna do this. And we look at again, we go back to truth and we say, says that we we we date and we wait for marriage. That's just the plan. Now we've got other wrenches that get thrown into this especially with the the Internet and the content that's on there that, man, it's just we've got to guard our hearts and minds. So we tell our students these things and and so those are just three of the things that we like to share with our students.
But let me ask you, what do you think about those things? I mean, do you do you think just by show of hands, do you think these are good ideas to share with middle schoolers and high schoolers? So some of you do agree that that this is some content that, yeah, it should be addressed and we shouldn't leave it up to 13 or 15 or 17 year olds come up with their own conclusions on this stuff. You know, I thought it was funny just speaking about time tested truths. You know, we have the Bible and it stood the test of time.
I thought it was funny yesterday at the graduation, Jimmy Chen was speaking. He's a local cinematographer. He's very successful. And he said that when he was starting his career, his parents wanted him to go and be a doctor and kinda follow this path, but he he was like, the mountains, I gotta go. I need to climb.
I need to do my video thing. He wanted to do what he was passionate about. And his parents said to him, Jimmy wait, they're Chinese. And he said, Jimmy, our our language is 5,000 years old and we have no word for what you're trying to do. And I thought it was brilliant because it just illustrates this like, that's not time tested and proven.
Now, he's been very successful. I'm glad he followed his heart because because we have some great movies and and he's been awesome. But for us to have time tested truths and not the latest idea or whatever the latest music will blow our way is definitely not the truth that we want our students to be following. But as I thought about this and these truths, I started thinking, isn't this what isn't this what God wants for us too? The reality is when I look at my own life, if I'm gonna color outside the lines or do something that kinda doesn't jive with God, don't I kinda isolate from those that are gonna call me out on it?
Don't I kinda distance myself from God a little bit? Isn't this true of my own life? Isn't it good in my own life if I air out those lies, pick up the phone, make the phone calls I need to make, and say things like, I'm sorry, or you don't know this but I need to let you know I did this. To air out those things so that we can live a life in the truth. The Bible tells us in first John one nine that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness.
Question for you, how much unrighteousness? All unrighteousness. That's a promise that we have. It's a truth. Sometimes the reality is that when we sin, when we color outside the lines, we don't feel like we can go back to God.
We get that Judas syndrome goes, no, it's too bad. I better handle it on my own. God tells us we can come back to him. That's a truth regardless of what we think or how we feel. We like to think, oh, let me earn it and then I'll come back to him, show him how great I am.
It's not the best formula. If we'll confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, purify us from all unrighteousness. Listen, quality relationships. Do you have people in your corner right now that you could call? Ring, ring.
Hey, I need to talk to you. I'm struggling with looking at things that I shouldn't. Hey, I need to talk to you. Somebody reached out to me on Facebook. I haven't talked to them in years.
Just doesn't feel right. I just need to let someone know. What should I do? Do we have a strong community that can say, hey, I'm telling you, don't take steps down that road and here's why. It's good for our students.
Is it good for us? The reality is this though, it's hard to partner with God. It's hard to partner with God and my guess is it's for one reason. I think it really comes down to this one question. Do we trust God?
Do we trust God? You know, Adam and Eve are in the garden and they believed a lie. They believed that they could create a better life than the life God had for them. And they stepped outside of his boundaries that fell in pleasant places. They stepped outside of those boundaries and they saw a better life than the life God had created for them.
We must fight this temptation. I always get this image in my head of the horse that's got his head all the way through the fence and he's eating that grass on the outside. We got a heavenly father that looks out for us. But do we trust him? Do we trust that his promises are true?
Do we trust that if we walk in his ways, we will have what we need? I believe that community is essential. We were designed to be in relationship with God. We were designed to be in community with others. That's what we're created for.
Bible says this in first Corinthians ten thirteen. He says this, no temptation is seized to you beyond that which is common to man. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you're tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can stand up under Guys, the devil will want you to think that you're the only one experiencing what you're experiencing.
You're the only one fighting the temptation that you're fighting. I'll guarantee there's other people in this room fighting the same thing, fighting the exact same thing that have been through the same things. This room is powerful based on the truth that God has shared with each and every one of us. And you know what? It's simple.
To be in community with other believers, it's just simply this. What have you learned? What has God done? Who are you gonna share it with? What have you learned?
What have you learned? What's God shown you? What's God taught you along the way? Who are gonna share it with? It's just about not keeping it.
It's not about going and God is so good all the time. No. Yes, but no. It's also what has God done? Hey.
When we were going through this in my life, here's how God showed up. It's just simply sharing what God has done. It's it's funny. I love this part. No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man.
Me and Matteo were at a gas station the other day and he picked up a pack of crackers and he goes, peanut butter crackers and he loves them. He goes, dad, I want these. And I went, No, no, no. We got food. Put them down.
And we get back out to the truck and I'm about to pick them up and put them in. He goes, And in that moment I went, the human experience is really not that different. We like to think that, oh, I'm so I'm a unique little butterfly and we are or whatever, but the reality is we experience the same temptations. We say at this church, say there's no such thing as new news. It's just old news happening to new people.
It's just old news happening to new people. So it's new to Mateo, first time he stole anything that I know of. It was so funny to go back that store and have the conversation that my mom had with me where I had to go in and put it back on the counter and be like, oh, I'm sorry. You're so embarrassed, you know, but Anyway, we can't look better. We can't look better and get we can't look good and get better at the same time.
Okay? Sometimes in life, it's gonna take that humility the Bible talks about. It's gonna take going to someone and saying I was wrong. It's gonna take going to God and saying, hey, God. I know you know about this.
I know I've never talked to you about it, but here's some things I'm doing. Here's some things I need to confess and bring out into the open to air them out, and we've gotta do those things. The last thing I wanna say is that and I'll I'll have the the band go ahead and come on up. It's important for us to build our house on the rock. These are three little principles.
There's so many more but man, for us to have quality relationships, to walk in purity, and to walk in truth, it's so huge. Maybe maybe you're here today and you need to take a step and when I talk about lies, there's one on the forefront of your mind. I wanna encourage you to make that phone call today. Maybe you're here today and you're like, I don't trust God. Maybe you start with that.
Would you be willing to pray a prayer so simple that goes, God, I don't trust you. God, I don't even believe in you. God, this happened in the past and it hurt and I don't feel like I can trust you again. Can you start there? I had a mentor from my from another church and and he would tell me, Mike, sometimes you're not gonna wanna read your Bible.
Maybe don't read. Maybe just tell God that. God, I don't want you, but I want to want you. Can you just start there? God, I don't I don't trust you, but I wanna trust you.
I wanna know more about you. So maybe you're here today and that's that's your step. So I just wanna encourage you, whatever that step is, whatever God is prompting you, would you make a move? And if you don't have a community, if you don't have a person that you could call and say, hey, I'm struggling with it, find someone here inside this church. This is a huge resource.
And if it's not here in this service, someone that knows about it, I'll tell you it's in the second one because some people got there's some experience in that second service now. So let me pray for us. But in in all seriousness, find a community. Find a community. There is resources inside this room locked up inside God's people.
So heavenly father, would you take my craziness and use it for your kingdom and for your good? God, I pray that we can serve you, that we can walk in your truth, walk in purity, and break the lies. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Thank you, Mike. That's a lot better than what I had. Thank you. Thank you. Would you stand with us and we're gonna sing What We Believe?
It's sort of a creedal statement almost by the newsboys. It's a chorus. We believe is the name of.
And crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death. We believe in the resurrection. And he's coming back again. Let's sing that again.
We believe in God the father. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit, and he's given us new life. We believe in crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death.
We believe in resurrection. And he's coming back again.
I'm not used to having to have this in my hand. I've got that benediction up there and I'll come to that, but I kinda wanna pronounce more of a higher high church sort of blessing today. It seems ceremonially appropriate. So, in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Oh Lord, our God, you who assured our father, Abraham, of your great love for him and for his children by faith.
On this occasion, lord, we ask that you would send your grace upon the children you have given us for a time. We ask that you would keep them from the temptations of the adversary. Keep them from error. Keep them from impurity, from overwork in the service of mammon, from vainglory, and from the pride of life. Lord God, we ask that you would multiply the fruit of our imperfect labors as parents and teachers and church family and bring from these a harvest of righteousness that at the last, you may be well pleased with them as they are conformed into the image of your son, Jesus.
We ask all these things in your name. Amen. Amen. Romans one seventeen says, for in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. The good news, the righteousness of God is revealed.
It is a righteousness that that is by faith. It is from the first to the last. Just as it is written, the righteous or the just shall live by faith. Amen. Go in peace.
