What is LOFT Youth Group?

Welcome to LOFT Youth Group!

It is my opinion, and I may be biased, but I believe youth group is one of the most exciting times of life. I love youth group and I am so excited that you are a part of it. For those who are first timers tonight, to those who have been here for a while, I am excited to have you here.

Why?

Because youth group is a special time and opportunity for you. This is a time where you get to be with your friends, make new friends, step out of your comfort zone, play games, learn more about the Bible, but most importantly grow closer to Jesus.

You will make some friendships that will last a life time. You will connect with some adults who love you and will be there for you through the tough times of life. You will have opportunities to serve others locally and internationally.

Our youth group is called LOFT, which really refers to the awesome space we meet in upstairs, but The Room Upstairs Where Youth Group Meets or TRUWYGM doesn’t roll off the tongue very well. However, LOFT has become to mean so much more!

One student suggested that LOFT should mean, Living Our Faith Together, and that has stuck ever since.

Faith is the central part of the equation. What is the Faith? Faith in what? We are talking about faith in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, lived a perfect life, shed His blood and died on the cross for sins, was buried and rose again! By faith, we mean that we are a Christian, or follower of Jesus.

Living: Faith then needs to be alive! It is in living out our faith (Romans 12:1-2). Faith needs to be a part of everyday life. It should impact your relationships with your parents, siblings and friends. It shapes your decisions and your goals. It changes everything.

Our: Faith is personal, as in you have to choose for yourself to believe Jesus. But faith is not private, it is communal. That means that Jesus didn’t save you to isolation, but to community. This is what the church is, a community of believers, a new family. Youth group can become like family to you.

Faith: it is the evidence of things unseen. Faith in Jesus is to trust Him, that He is who He said He is. That He has done what He said He did. That He will do what He promises to do.

Together: Again, you are not alone. We are called to carry each other’s burdens. Jr and Sr High can bring some of the toughest choices and the hardest times in life. You will be learning so much and exposed to so much. You need godly, Christian friends to come alongside of you and to help you.

That is what LOFT is all about. And we developed this around 4 principles.

Principles #1 – it’s about Jesus. John 14:23; Matthew 22:37-38

I know that you have come with a lot of expectations and desires, but principle #1 will help you see that it is not about you, but about Jesus.

When asked what the most important commandment was in all the Bible, Jesus’ response was, “to love the Lord your God…” with everything you are. The first and most important reason LOFT exists is that we learn to love Jesus first and most. We will learn about who Jesus is, what He has done, and His Word that He gave to us. We will learn about our desires and affections and how we are tempted to love other things more than Jesus. We will discover together that learning to love Jesus will lead to obedience.

Loving Jesus together comes in the form of teachings, service opportunities, worship times and being together.

Principle #2 – care for each other. Matthew 22:39-40

Principle #1 helped us see that it is not about us, but about Jesus. When we understand that properly we will see that it leads us to put others before ourselves. Another reminder that “it’s not about you.”

We’ve already mentioned the importance of friendship and Christian community. When you learn to value the people around you in this youth group, and see them as your brothers and sisters in Christ, you will find that this group will transform you as your care for each other.

Jesus said, “they will know you are my followers by your love for each other.” As you learn to love other believers like Jesus commands you to, you will create a community that is compelling. People will want to know Jesus because of how well you love each other. It’s true! I’ve seen it! LOFT Youth Group has been and can be a group that loves each other well and draws people to Jesus.

Caring for each other comes generally by gathering together weekly, participating in activities, retreats, camps and small groups.

Principle #3 – tell others. Psalm 107:2; Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 1:16

This part flows from the first two. When you learn to love Jesus first, you will not be able to contain your joy and will want to tell others. When you have a community that you care for and all hold the faith in common, you will encourage each other to communicate the Good News.

We’ve talked about loving fellow believers by growing in community. Well, to love unbelievers is to tell them about Jesus. Loving the world is to point them to God and His Word. It is learning to step out of your comfort zone, bring God up in conversations and share about Jesus with them. It can be scary, but it will be life changing when you do.

I remember the first time I shared the Gospel with someone. I grew up in church, Bible studies, Sunday School, camps… the whole 9 yards. But I was scared to tell others. Until that day and everything changed. Let me briefly share my experience.

I was on a missions trip and we were going door to door telling people about Jesus (crazy right?). I kept playing the “prayer warrior” card, meaning I was too afraid to talk so I’d pray for the person talking. Then, out of now where, I heard myself say, “I’ll talk at the next house!”

I was so nervous and had no idea what to say. Fortunately, we had studied the Romans Road and I had those verses underlined in my Bible. I started with Romans 3:23, asked her if she would read it and asked her what it meant. Then I went to the next verse, same thing. When I got to the end, Romans 10:9-10 which talks about believing Jesus and confessing Him, I asked her, “is that what you would like to do?” She replied, “YES!” And I said, “are you sure?” because I couldn’t believe God would allow me the privilege of leadings someone to Christ.

She bowed her head and received Jesus right there! I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to tell others. After that experience, it was as if a switch was flipped in my soul. I became so excited to share, and I began to understand more about Jesus and His Word.

Communicating the Gospel will activate your soul and deepen your relationship with Jesus.

LOFT encourages communicating to others by regular reminders of the Gospel, practice sharing the Gospel, missions trips, and opportunities to welcome your friends weekly to youth group or events.

Principle #4 – You get out of it what you put into it. Galatians 6:7-9

The Bible says, “You will reap what you sow.” This principle is so important to understand. It refers to planting seeds. If you plant an apple seed, you will reap an apple tree. If you plant a tomato plant, you won’t get beets, you guessed it, you will get tomatoes.

The principle is that the fruit you receive is based on the efforts you put in to it. Youth group is like that. You will determine what kind of experience you have in LOFT. I can promise you that youth group will provide the same opportunities to all of you.

Some of you will embrace it and grow in your relationship to Christ and each other. For those that do, LOFT will be some of the best times of life for you.

For others, you will keep LOFT at an arm’s length, you will keep up your walls and you won’t buy in. You may have a good time, but it won’t be transformative.

The question is, what outcome do you want? Will you buy into these four principles? Will you put forth the effort? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?

If you do, I promise you won’t regret it and you will have the time of your life in LOFT.

The Proof Is In The Pudding

Source: 1 John 2-3

I enjoy looking into the etymology of words and phrases to find out how they developed overtime. We are all familiar with the phrase, “the proof is in the pudding” right? Did you know that it was originally, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”? Or did you know that “pudding” originally did not refer to a sweat custard desert but to more of a sausage? I did not!

Even with the changes in our language over time, and the development of the phrase, the meaning still follows. You only know if something is good by tasting it, or the final product will prove the process.

In many ways, I think the Apostle John was calling out the early Christians with a message we need to hear today. “You say you are a Christian? Well the proof is in the pudding!” Or, “what your life is characterized is evident of what you truly believe.”

Listen to his words:

“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10)

That’s a tough phrase, and John isn’t holding back any punches here. He’s serious, and so should we. John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is saying that we need to be certain of our faith for the glory of God and the salvation of our souls.

Who Do You Belong To?

Are you a child of God or of the devil?

Unlike the popular expression that Oprah uses, we are not all children of God. To be clear, we are all made in the image of God, but we are not all children of God. John writes,

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13)

And Luke writes,

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

And Jesus said,

 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

The New Testament makes it very clear, that only those who believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him are the children of God and have the right to call Him, “Abba Father.”

But there is a big difference between a “possessor” and a “professor” of belief in Christ. There are some who claim to be Christians, but one day Jesus will say, “depart from me, I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:23). That verse is a very frightening verse. It should cause us to pause, think and examine our hearts and lives to be certain we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

The book of 1 John was not written to cause to fear our salvation, but give us assurance that we are saved. And John gives us two ways we can be certain that we truly believe in Jesus and are children of God.

The Proofs

First, the proofs are evident of genuine faith, not a way to earn God. What we talk about in this section is not a way to become a Christian, but evidences of being a Christian. For one to come to Christ, he must repent and believe in Jesus. This is an acknowledgement of sin and your own inability to earn God’s favor, belief that Jesus is the Son of God who lived a perfect life and was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, that He died and rose again. He is the only way to God.

Those who truly believe in Christ and are His follows display this by:

Doing what is Right

“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:4-6)

It’s hard to be clearer than this. If you say you are a Christian but you don’t obey Jesus, you are a liar. Ouch. That is bold, straightforward truth and it might hurt. Genuine faith is walking the way Jesus walked and abiding in Him, that means doing what He did.

Abiding means to “dwell with”, it’s a relational term meaning to spend time together. This means that as we love Jesus, and spend time with Him, we will become more like Him and do what He tells us to.

Truth: you can’t do what He wants if you don’t know what He says…you have to read your Bible if you are a Christian.

Now, this does not mean that a true Christian doesn’t sin, it does mean that a true Christian’s life will not be characterized by sin. The Bible is clear that we struggle with an old sin nature that is passing away, but our new life in Christ should continue to get stronger (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Think of your old sin nature like a chicken. Before Christ it was alive and in control. But in Christ, the chicken’s, or sin nature, head is chopped off. You ever seen a chicken with it’s head cut off? It still runs around and flops around for a while, but eventually it quiets down and finally dies.

You may still be wrestling with a dead chicken, but you are learning to say “no to ungodliness and yes to righteousness” (Titus 2:12). 

Not only is righteous living a proof of true faith, but the second proof is love for fellow believers.

Loving the Church

Church can be a term we get mixed up often. Church is not a building, but a “called out people.” The “Church” is all the believers in Jesus Christ, everywhere, at all times. Also known as the “Universal Church.” If you are a Christian you are part of The Church.

But it’s hard to practically love the Church Universal, and the commandments Christ has given is on a much more practical level. God calls all believers to be a part of a local church, a local gathering of fellow believers, brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” (1 John 2:9)

“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” (1 John 3:14)

Loving fellow believers is important because we are a new community, rescued from death unto life. We are a new family that supersedes earthly relationships. Believers are part of a new Body of Christ and need each other. Jesus said people will know we are His followers by our love for each other.

We need to be a community that treats each other with love and respect in such a way that we are a light for Christ. How’s your love for your church? Your youth group? Do you talk about it in a way that would cause others to desire to be a part of it? Do you long to be with fellow believers?

These are attitudes that will develop from genuine faith in Christ.

Living Proof

There are certainly other proofs we could say, The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, but we don’t have time to unpack more. John calls us out to examine our lives and our relationships. Am I living is such a way that my faith is evident to others? Is sin or Christ reigning in my decisions?

“And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1 John 3:23-24)

You claim to be a Christian? The evidence will be in the life you live, or the proof is in the pudding!