Juno

I just got finished watching the movie "Juno". If you haven't seen it the main gist of the movie is a 16 year old girl gets pregnant, decides against abortion and chooses to give the baby up for adoption. All in all the movie is pretty good but there was one scene in particular that really struck me as being very true. When she tells her parents about the pregnancy, her dad says that he is surprised because he thought she was the kind of girl who "knew when to say when". Her reply is "Dad, I don't really know what kind of girl I am".
This is way too true for way to many teenagers. No one is telling them what kind of person they should be and what it means to be conformed to the image of Christ so they are just being whatever they feel like being. I was listening to a young lady on the radio explain why she left the church when she went to college. She said she wanted to experience college in all its fullness and she knew she couldn't do that and call herself a christian. She left the church only to return upon graduation. Can a saved person wander away like that then wander back? No! We either love Christ or we don't. We are either commited or we are not. I don't think there a pew-warming christians, you are bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God or you are lost. This is the message that needs to be preached so our young people hear it. How will they know what God requires if they never hear about it? Again, it all goes back to solid, biblical doctrine being preached passionately and consistantly.

2 Timothy 1

I've decided to do just 2nd Timothy this week and save Titus for next week. As I read both First and Second Timothy I am really surprised at how important doctrine was to Paul. I'm not sure how I missed this. It really makes me examine my own ministry even more to be sure I am keeping Paul's commands to Timothy. As a Youth Pastor, there is always a line to be walked between entertainment and teaching. It needs to be something they enjoy coming to and feel comfortable inviting their friends too, and it also needs to be meaty and Bible-saturated. I know that in the past I have had youth services that have been filled with fluff and have thrown out candy and had a fun time but no one learned anything. I also know that I have had services that have been so teaching-focused I wonder how much of what I said was retained. However, after reading these books I think the answer is to continue to teach doctrine but to try do it in engaging and interesting ways. I spend so much time studying for lessons (reading commentaries, word studies, etc.) and while that's a good thing, I need to invest time in illustrations and stories that make what I am saying memorable. One thing I won't do under any circumstances is have an all-entertainment, fluffy teaching on how to be a better you with no doctrine.

I Be faithful and use the gifts God gave you
A. vs 1-2 Greetings
B. vs 3-7 Fan your gift into flame
C. vs 8-12 Do not be ashamed of the gospel or of its apostles
D. vs 13-15 Guard what was deposited in you by the Holy Spirit
E. vs 16-18 Paul prays for Onesiphorus

This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
2 Timothy 1:9

What day were you saved? According to this verse, if you are saved it was because of a decision that was made wa-a-a-a-a-y before you were born. God chose you to be in Him before the first act of creation and your repentance and trusting in Jesus was just confirmation of what was already written. There is a lot of comfort in this verse. The most comforting aspect is if you are saved He will hold you safe through this life. There is nothing you can do to get unsaved. Those that fall away were false converts and were never saved in the first place. Nothing surprises God and He already knows all of our days. Not only does He know them but He also ordained them. God actively works in our life to bring His best plan for all of us to fruition. God is a good God that can be trusted and loved whole-heartedly and with abandon.

1 Timothy 4

Well I just finished Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I didn't see the cliffhanger coming and am really looking forward to Season 2. I've got the first two episodes downloaded and will probably watch them tonight.

IV Train yourself in correct doctrine
A. vs 1-5 Everything God created is good
B. vs 6-8 Train yourself to be Godly
C. vs 9-10 God is the Savior of all men
D. vs 11-14 Set an example for the believers
E. vs 15-16 Persevere in correct doctrine

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
1 Timothy 4:1
They forbid people to marry
1 Timothy 4:3
I don't want to say too much about this but it certainly begs a question. Paul draws a clear line between "things taught by demons" and "forbidding people to marry". If this is true, how can the Catholic church get away with telling their priests not to marry? And is this why the Catholic church has had so many problems with sexual deviancy from its leadership? Maybe they need to reevaluate their stance on this in light of Scripture.

...train yourself to be godly.
1 Timothy 1:7
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
1 Timothy 1:13
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 1:16
Doctrine, Doctrine, Doctrine. Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy, Orthodoxy. This is what is needed. We must train ourselves in Godliness, persist in the teaching and preaching of the Word, and be persistent in our prayers. Why? Because this is not only how we work out our own salvation, but how we work out salvation in those around us. We must be a people who are saturated with the Word and infatuated with God. Devoted to the public reading of Scripture and to the gathering of ourselves together to hear it. Growing in the things of holiness and having a hunger for a deeper walk with God. Let me repeat Paul's command, watch your life and doctrine closely. Someone is always watching.