Jesus' Mission

Kate is Back!

It was another great morning at Founders Park today! Kate was back! She is the youth pastor at Rock Harbor Mission Viejo and its so good having her come help out on Friday mornings.

Nothing like Founders on a Friday morning

Grant has done a great job of setting up different things for leaders and kids to do as they eat doughnuts and hangout before the game starts. From Spikeball, to Disc Slam, to ultimate Frisbee, there are several different way for kids and leaders to connect over a good doughnut.

Musical chairs... with a twist.

The game this week was a variation of an old classic, musical chairs. Instead of chairs we had the kids split up into two groups, one group acted as chairs, and the other as the people trying to sit on the chairs. It was fun watching as kids got wild and started fighting for a spot on a chair.

Bryce and some 6th graders talking about life.

I got the privilege of giving the talk today. I talked about having a mission, getting lost, and then being found.

I talked about a time in 4th grade when a friend and I were bored on a summer day and came up with a mission. We were going to get lost! We packed a water bottle, you have to be prepared you know, and set out from his house hoping to not be able to find our way home. The only thing was, he wasn't allowed to cross any streets with stop signs and he knew his way around his neighborhood too well. I decided that if we wanted to accomplish our mission we were going to have to split up. Seconds after we split up, I was completely lost.

I remember feeling like around each corner I would see his house, but each corner brought new, unfamiliar sights. The more I walked, the more desperate I felt. I will never forget the feeling of seeing his mom's car come around a corner. I was such a relief, and the feelings of desperation changed to feelings of relief and joy instantly.

Jesus came to this planet on a mission. The Bible tells us, over and over again, that Jesus came to rescue the lost. and to save people, even those that didn't know they needed saving.

I told the story of a man that was desperately lost. His name was Zacchaeus. Three things to know about Zach is that he was a tax collector, meaning he stole money from people. Tax collectors were hated because they worked for the occupying government. They were Jews that used authority given to them by Rome to take advantage of other Jews. The last thing to know is that Zach was short. He was a "wee little man" as a classic Sunday School song states.

So, when the day came when Jesus was coming to town, Zach didn't have a chance to see him. Imagine a scene something like the scene in DC this week with the Pope. People were crowding everywhere to get a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus had become a big deal. No one would let Zach get in, so he found a tree that hung over the road Jesus was traveling down. He hid himself in the leaves so no one would see him and waited till Jesus passed by.

The second Jesus got under Zach, Jesus did something Zach wasn't expecting. He looked straight up at Zach and said, "Zach, come down immediately... I must stay at your house today."

NO ONE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS. Jesus, staying at Zacchaeus' house... People like Jesus weren't supposed to hang out with people like Zach. But Jesus didn't follow those rules. Jesus was different. Like the Pope stopping the parade to say hi to a little girl that got over the barricade this week, Jesus made time for everyone.

Zach responded to Jesus' kindness by changing. He told everyone he was going to give half of what he had to the poor, and then pay back thos he took advantage of 4 times the amount he stole. Zach knew that he had been lost, but was now found.

Jesus responded to those who questioned his actions by saying that he, "came to seek and save the lost." In John 3:17, directly after the ever so famous John 3:16, John writes, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

This was the mission of Jesus, to save, to find, to restore.

The three take-aways I had for the kids this morning were:

1. Jesus didn't come to hang out with "good" people, or popular people, or people that looked like they had everything figured out. Jesus came to be with everyone, especially the kind of people no one else wanted to be around. No matter who we are, how "good" we are, how "bad" we are, how strong or weak, how guilty, how messy, how rich or poor... Jesus came to be with us. Jesus wants to come to our house.

2. Jesus was on a mission to save people. He didn't come to judge or pint his finger at people and make them feel bad for not doing the right things, or making mistakes. Jesus came to love people, and to save them from living a diminished life. He doesn't use guilt and shame to show people what they are doing wrong, but lovingly invites them to follow him, motivating through love and kindness, like with Zach. Too bad so many of his followers, myself included at times, have missed that completely. Jesus uses love to invite people, not shame to exclude people.

3. Jesus can always find us, and he will never stop looking for us. In life, sometimes we just get lost. Its as true as anything, and, thank God, Jesus is always quick to search, and quick to find. Like he found Zach in the tree when no one else noticed him, he sees us and he invites us to come down, so he can come and be with us. We cannot get lost enough, or hide well enough for Jesus. He will always come to our rescue, he will always find us.

This is really GOOD NEWS. If you think of guilt and shame, or if you have ever experienced Christian people pointing a finger of judgment at you or someone you care about. I am sorry. That is not a good representation of Jesus. Jesus doesn't do that to change the world, Jesus loves, even to the point of death. Jesus was a perfect representation of God, Jesus was God, and God is LOVE.

World record amount of kids doing ninja kicks at Founders park.

The last Friday of the school year...

Solid crew for the last day of school!

Today was the last day of school for Ladera Ranch Middle School. 

For some of the WyldLife kids, this was their last day of middle school. 

Matt, some middle school friends, and a selfie stick.

We kept things very mellow this morning. There was no game, just frisbees, a football, spike-ball, and slam disc. I wanted to have today be focused on kids and leaders just hanging out and hopefully making connections that will last into the summer.

The 8th graders.

We did have the chance to celebrate both the 8th graders, and Grant.

We celebrated the 8th graders by having them all stand up on a picnic table, and then a few of the leaders prayed for them as they journey into high school. It was really cool to see some of the kids that I first met last year standing there, so much bigger and more mature than they were last year. It was great to reflect on the adventures we have had, and how we have gotten the chance to become friends.

It was also great to tell them about Young Life, and how we will be doing something VERY SIMILAR to WyldLife for them while they are in high school. I am excited about what lies ahead for them in high school, and about having them be a part of South County Young Life. We will be focusing on San Juan Hills and Tesoro High Schools, but anyone from any high school in the area is invited to participate for sure! Matt Wright and I, with a few new leaders, and some of the original SJH leaders are excited to get things going again next year in Young Life.

We celebrated Grant because it was his birthday today, and he is awesome.

Happy birthday Grant!!

I didn't give a long message today, but just reminded them that no matter what, Jesus will never leave them, and no matter what, Jesus will never stop loving them.

In the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, the very last sentence Jesus speaks to his disciples is, "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus wanted them to be sure that he was never going to leave them, never going to forsake them. Just like when Jesus forgave Peter and made sure Peter knew he was still a part of the inner group, Jesus wants to make sure we know he will never leave us either. We will make mistakes. We will make some shameful decisions. We will do things we hope no one else knows about. We might be publicly humiliated or even shunned… but Jesus will never stop loving us and never leave us. 

I hope that through this year, those of you who have read these blogs have come to know the love of Jesus more. I hope that you have been drawn to Jesus. I hope that I have done a good job putting Jesus on display in truth, because in truth, Jesus is the single most attractive person that has ever walked the earth. He loved more, cared more, healed more, served more, gave himself up more, and fought for humanity more than any other human being has in the history of the earth. 

I pray that if you started reading these skeptical of Jesus or the church, that you are now a bit more curious. Churches have done some things that just don't reflect Jesus well, and if you have been hurt by them, I am deeply sorry, but Jesus is so much bigger than that, and even when churches screw it up, he never changes, he never hurts, and he always restores death to life.  

See you guys this summer!

Judas, Peter, and Jesus...

Some of the girls having a blast!

I can't believe there is only one more week until school is out for the Summer! This has been an incredible year at WyldLife Ladera, and I am so thankful to get to be a part of a team of leaders that gets to love kids in Jesus' name! 

Cameron passing a marshmallow to Max!

Today's game consisted of throwing marshmallows into your teammate's mouths. The kids got into four different teams, and then into circles. One of the members got into the middle of the circle, and threw marshmallows to their teammates who had to catch them in their mouth. The winning team was the team who was able to get every member of the team to catch a marshmallow in their mouth.

After the actual game was over, kids started going for distance, or seeing who could catch the most marshmallows in a row. I watched as Matthew Luzuriaga caught 14 mallows in a row! It was pretty incredible, and always fun to see these guys getting to have a blast doing something they might not normally get to do.

Kate, from Rack Harbor, giving an awesome talk!

After the game, Kate, who not only helps us out on Friday mornings, but is the Youth Pastor at Rock Harbor Mission Viejo, gave the talk. She has been such an amazing help this year, and her heart for middle school kids shines out really bright. If you are looking for a church to get involved with that has a great youth program, Rock Harbor Mission Viejo could a great place to check out.

Kate started the talk by asking some kids to share about a time when they got busted. We have all been there, and that moment when you realize you are getting caught doing something you shouldn't have done is miserable. She shared about a time in her own life when she got busted by her mom for hiding math tutoring work that she hadn't done. She talked about how terrible it felt when her mom realized she had been lying, and the guilt and shame she felt.

Then she talked about Judas, Peter, and Jesus.

Judas and Peter were both disciples. Judas and Peter both followed Jesus around, listening to him teach, watching him do miracles, eating meals with him, praying with him, laughing with him, and spreading the truth and love of God with him.

Judas and Peter also both betrayed Jesus and both got busted.

We talked last week about how Judas betrayed Jesus and sold him out to the people that wanted to kill him. Jesus knew this was going to happen and told several of the disciples that Judas was the one betraying him at the Last Supper. After Judas realized what was happening and realized that Jesus was going to be executed, guilt and shame poured over him. The Bible tells us that Judas even tried to give the money he was given for betraying Jesus back, but nothing seemed to take away the guilt and shame. In the end, Judas hung himself.

Peter also denied Jesus. During the Last Supper, Jesus told all the disciples that they were going to abandon him, but Peter promised Jesus he would stay, even if it meant death. Several hours later, while Jesus was being tried, Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was three times! The Bible tells us that Peter even started cursing on the third time saying he didn't know who Jesus was. Jesus turned and looked at Peter the moment after he had done this… and Peter was busted. Enter guilt and shame, and the sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach.

But something different happened with Peter.

Jesus was crucified, buried, and then rose from the dead. All of this was so that we could have a close relationship with God. To show the depths of this, Jesus sought out Peter after he rose from the dead.

I can't imagine what Peter must have felt like, but unlike Judas, Peter waited. Jesus made time to get one on one with Peter, shortly after rising from the dead, to clear the air between them. He asked Peter three times, "Peter, do you love me?" Three times Peter responded, "Yes, you know I love you." Then Jesus restored Peter and gave him the task of spreading the message and giving people life.

Guilt and shame gone, restoration in full force.

I have to believe that the same could have been waiting for Judas. Jesus would never have wanted death for Judas, Jesus stands in opposition to guilt and shame. While Peter accepted forgiveness, Judas accepted guilt. Peter accepted the life that is in Jesus, Judas accepted the death of guilt and shame.

Jesus has the same for us, and for the middle school kids we care so deeply for. Jesus died to take away guilt and shame. We are free to come before God, blameless and fully known and loved. No matter what we may have done, no matter how spotty some of our past may be, even some of our present, God loves us deeply and completely. True life is found in relationship with God through Jesus.

It is my deepest prayer that you discover this life more and more, and that you all accept the gift of life over the burden of guilt and shame. It my deepest prayer that you, and these middle schoolers, accept the gift of acceptance and freedom in Jesus, over the rat race and bondage of trying to earn acceptance through performance, finances, beauty, material things, or success. The truest thing in this world is that the creator of everything knows and loves you as you are, because he wants to, not because of anything you have done or not done.

Please email me if you would like to know about what it might be like to follow Jesus, or contact one of the great churches that we have teamed up with so far (you can find them on the right hand side of the screen). There is nothing better in the world, and there are people that would LOVE to walk with you in this.

Our newest leader, Michele, and some of the girls!

Jesus was betrayed...

Happy National Doughnut Day!

Today was National Doughnut Day… but that's pretty much every Friday morning at WyldLife. As we are closing up the school year, I am enjoying these mornings more and more. Things change in the summer, and while we still have events, and get to spend time with our middle school friends, I always miss Friday mornings.

Before the madness!

The game today was one of the kids' favorites from last year with a twist. It was much like a classic game of "steal the bacon" with a twist. We had 4 teams, and then in the middle of the square, had two chalk balls, and two soft green balls. When numbers were called, kids with these numbers ran out to grab a ball and try to throw it at the other people inside the square. When the chalk balls hit, they leave a big white blob of chalk, but are softer than a pillow…

Maddie about to make a direct hit!

After the craziness of the game was over, Chris got to share about Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion. While things like betrayal and execution don't normally seem to be "good news," that is exactly what this is.

First the betrayal. Jesus was betrayed by one of his very best friends, Judas. I'm sure you have all heard of him, but what we don't normally remember is that Judas was one of the 12 closest friends of Jesus. Out of the many that followed Jesus around, this guy was in the inner circle. He was trusted by Jesus and everyone else close to Jesus… and he sold Jesus out to the people that wanted to kill him for a few pieces of silver.

The crazy thing is that Jesus knew this was going to happen. The Bible even tells us that on the night he was betrayed, Jesus told his friends that one of them was actually going to betray him. Jesus knew what was coming and did nothing to stop it.

He didn't stop it because it was a big part of the reason he was born.

In Mark 10:45, the author of Mark writes, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." When God created the world, he created humans to be in close relationship with himself. He didn't need us, and he didn't accidentally create humanity, but made us because he wanted us. Humans are at their best when they are in relationship with God, but things got off track early. Humans didn't trust God, and because of that, something we call sin entered into the world. While we often think of sin as specific actions that are "bad" or "wrong" it is much deeper than that. Basically, sin is a lack of trust in God that leads to acting out in a way that is contrary to how we were designed.

Sin, along with actually hurting us, makes the kind of relationship we were designed to have with God impossible. So, for that reason, Jesus came and made everything right by living a life of total trust and obedience to God, loving every person he came in contact with, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and setting captives free… including us. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus made it possible for us to be in close relationship to God, our extremely loving and caring Father. He took all the blame, and cleared the path so that we can get to God!

This is truly good news.

Before Jesus took his last breath, he cried out, "It is finished."

IT IS FINISHED.

We do not have to earn our way to God, that would be impossible. We do not have to grovel at the feet of a vengeful being waiting for us to make a mistake. All we have to do is accept the gift of new life that Jesus made possible. It is a gift that is at our fingertips, and it is a gift that, once we open it, can never be taken from us.

Chris sharing the greatest news ever!

The Good Samaritan...

It was so great to be back at Founders Park this week! For the past three weeks we have been meeting inside because of the rain, and while its good to switch things up, it makes coming back so much better! There is just something about meeting outside that I really love!

That's one long straw!

Today's game was simple, but the kids were pretty excited about it. We split the group up into two teams. Each team member was given a straw. They had to connect all their straws to form one giant straw, and then race to drink a can of Mountain Dew (because, after doughnuts in the morning kids need more sugar, right). It was pretty neat to see how they came up with different plans to help drink the soda faster. In the end I think the team with mostly girls won, but really, we never make a big deal about who wins, its all about having fun.

After the game Grant got to share a little bit more about what it looks like to love others. Last week I talked about how Jesus said the two most important laws in the Bible were, 1. To love God with everything we are, and 2. To love others like we love ourselves. 

In one of the Gospels, right after Jesus tells the religious experts this, one of them questions him again by asking him who Jesus is talking about when he says "others." The person asking the question was most likely expecting Jesus to say something like, "The other Jews." or maybe, "Others that are seeking to please the LORD." Instead, Jesus answers the question with a story about a guy that had been beat, almost to death, by robbers and then left for dead on the side of the road. This guy was a Jew, and as he lay there, several Jewish people passed by, and did nothing to help. A priest passed by and did nothing, and then a "Levite," another person with religious importance, passed by and did nothing. Next a Samaritan passed by. Jews hated Samaritans. There isn't really a good example in American culture to paint a good picture of this, but if there was anyone that was going to help this Jew, it certainly wouldn't be the Samaritan… BUT HE DID!

The Samaritan didn't just stop, but he used his own clothing to bandage the beaten Jew up, and then put him on his donkey, took him to the nearest inn, and paid for the people there to nurse him back to health. 

The Jews treated the Samaritans horribly. This Samaritan had every reason to pass by doing nothing, he could have even given this man a kick in the ribs and no one would have been surprised… but to actually help this Jew at his own expense, unthinkable. 

Jesus told this story to show what he meant by loving others, and to show that when we love him, we are free to love even the people that don't love us back… even the people we have a "right" to ignore.

Grant shared this story because seeing something like this is, in a way, a normal part of life in middle school. Kids get picked on, made fun of, bullied on a regular basis. Grant even shared a story of a time when he was bullied. When these kids begin to see how truly and deeply God loves them, they can then begin to love the kids around them, even when it might cost them something. 

It is our deep desire to make WyldLife a safe place. We want it to be a place where even the kids that are normally picked on can come and find love and acceptance. We want to make sure that there is at least an hour where even the kids that no one else likes can experience what it is like to be enjoyed, and accepted. 

It is our hope and mission to help each of these kids grasp on to the love of Jesus, and then become people like the Samaritan in this story.

On a sad note, this was Riley's last Friday morning with us. He will be spending the next month in Europe, and then be moving to Santa Cruz next semester. I am so thankful to have had him on this team. He has been such a gift to everyone here, and I am excited to see what the future holds for him!

We are really going to miss Riley!

A couple rainy Fridays...

Ben in the McDonalds playhouse.

While the rain we have been getting the last three weeks was desperately needed, I did not plan on having to relocate WyldLife on Fridays in May! The first week we met at Cinnamon Productions, but since our group was quite large, and possibly a bit disruptive (middle school kids being disruptive?!?) we decided to try McDonalds as a rainy day option. It worked so much better than CP. While the food may not be quite as good, there is a perfect space for us to meet, with a playhouse already built in, and far fewer people to bother.

Jack and Brandon getting crazy with Jenga!

To be honest, I enjoy when we have to change things up because of rain. When we meet at a restaurant, the whole vibe is much more relaxed, and the leaders get a better chance to actually hang out with kids. We bring games to play, and spend most of the time just talking and learning about what is going on in their lives.  

Grant talking about Jesus and "Blind Bart"

The last few times we have been able to end things with a talk about Jesus, like we normally do. Two weeks ago Grant was able to share about Jesus and a blind man named Bart (his real name was Bartimaeus). This man didn't have many options as far as making a living, and spent his time begging by the side of the road. This man heard Jesus coming, and started yelling, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" It was incredibly disruptive and the crowd began to get annoyed and angry. Many of the people in the crowd following Jesus began to rebuke Bart, telling him to shut up. To them, Bart didn't matter. He was a nuisance that was to be tolerated, but that was it. He wasn't a real person, just a beggar on the side of the road.

But he mattered greatly to Jesus.

As the crowd yelled at Bart to shut up, Bart yelled even louder for Jesus. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus heard Bart, and told the same people trying to get Bart to be quiet to go and get him. I love how Jesus works here. He asks the people who don't want Bart around, to go and get Bart and bring him front and center. He wants to make sure they all know that even blind beggars matter, that even the people no one wants to notice are incredibly important.

Jesus ends up healing Bart, and Bart left his place on the side of the road and began following Jesus. What a story of restoration, love, and new life. Like I have said over and over again, this is what Jesus does for people.

Last week I was able to share a story about a time when one of the "religious experts" was trying to trick Jesus and asked a question about what the most important law in the Bible was. Jesus didn't make very many friends among the religious elite of his time. He hung around people they didn't care for, he didn't seem to follow their rules and traditions, and he constantly called them out for treating people harshly.

The question posed to Jesus was about what the greatest commandment was. Jesus responded by saying the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also said that second was just as important, love others like we love ourselves. Jesus modeled this throughout his life. He was constantly loving people, caring for people, and going out of his way to be with the kind of people no one else wanted to be with. He loved the people society and Jewish religious culture had tossed to the side. And he love God with everything he was, going so far as to trust God with the ultimate act of sacrifice, his life.

I pray that when you think of Jesus, you don't think of a religious expert, or a system of beliefs, or a way of living, but a person. Jesus was a person, a human, and Jesus was God. Jesus showed us what God was like, and God wasn't like most people expected. God loved people, truly, even those people that the religious people of the time felt should be excluded. Jesus restored people and gave new and true life. Jesus loved his Father with his entire being, and Jesus loved those he came in contact with enough to die for them. Jesus loves you in the same manner. Jesus showed us God, and God is love. It is no surprise that the greatest commandment in the Bible is about love.

Switching it up

WyldLife take over at Cinnamon Productions!

Last Friday we had to switch things up at WyldLife. Instead of meeting at the park like normal, we met at Cinnamon Productions to escape the rain. It was awesome to see just how many kids came out. I think we pretty much took over the whole place!

Grant and Chris getting some Yahtzee action going!

Grant came with some games as usual and his table played Yahtzee and Jenga, while other tables played other games and just hung out. We had a new female leader checking things out and she was able to connect with some of the 8th grade girls that came out!

Its not a party till Josh gets a pack of butter to the face!

Before we all started driving kids to school, Chris shared a little about how Jesus switched things around in regards to how important people should act. Instead of having others serve them, or showing off the fact that they are important, Jesus said that truly important people are servants to everyone else. 

Jesus knew a little something of what this was like. It is safe to say that there isn't anyone that is more important than Jesus. He is God, and he was there when the world was created. He plays a part in keeping this creation together, and has the power to do incredible miracles. Not only that, but people wanted to be around him. He was a powerfully moving speaker, able to control a crowd, and someone others wanted to be around.

Jesus came to serve. Jesus lead by example and showed us what it is like to be in the Kingdom of God. Jesus shows that in the Kingdom, the true leaders don't order others around without regard to their well-being, but true leaders serve others. Jesus did this even to the point of allowing himself to be crucified.

A leader that loves those he is leading, and cares and serves them is truly inspiring. This is the way Jesus said those who follow him are to lead. This is the way Jesus leads. He doesn't command us to do things without regard to our needs and desires, but cares for us as he leads. 

What a wonderful leader to have! 

Chris sharing about how Jesus switched things up.

Jesus and a rich young man.

Doughnut and hangout time

Today was awesome! The sun was out, the weather was warm, and the sunrise on the drive into Ladera was incredible! Fridays are my favorite mornings of the week. I am always excited to hear about what the kids have been up to, see what is going to happen in the game we play, and then talk about Jesus and how much he loves them.

6 Stage obstacle course!

Grant planned out the game today, a 6 stage obstacle course that required each team to work together. It started with two kids partnered up and blindfolded. We separated them and they had to find each other just by sound, once they accomplished that, they tagged the next person who had to complete a kendama trick, he then tagged the next player who had to get a bean bag through the hole of a corn-hole board. After that, the next two people had to solve a riddle, then run and tag the next group that had to carry a leader to the next station where we ended things with a good ole fashioned foot race.

Blindfolded partner search

I honestly don't know who won, as usual, things got a little disorganized somewhere in the middle, but I know the kids all had smiles on their faces, and I heard a ton of laughter!

We can't get enough "corn-hole" around here

From the game we transitioned into the talk. I got to share about a time when Jesus totally flipped the common perception of people around. The story is found in Mark 10:17-31. 

I started this story by sharing about my first 50k trail race. On the day of the race, in the darkness before the race started I looked around and sized up the other people that would be running with me. I saw a good amount of people that looked super fit, and was certain that they would crush me. I also saw a handful of people that looked like they would be lucky just to finish. They didn't look like they were runners, and they certainly didn't look fit.

During the race, I started passing a good amount of the people I thought would beat me. As I passed they looked like they were hurting, and I started to get pretty confident. After 20 miles though, I started getting passed by some of the people I thought would be lucky just to survive the race. One in particular was a woman in her late 40's or early 50's. Right around mile 23 she blew right passed me looking super fresh. I tried so hard to stay with her, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't get my body to keep up. She ended up finishing about 45 minutes ahead of me!

6th grade guys small group

This story illustrates so much about life. I had no idea how much that woman had trained. I could only see what was on the outside. I couldn't see all the hours of preparation she had done, or the other ultra marathons that she had run. I just saw what I thought was a lady that would have a hard time just finishing, and I was WAY wrong.

In this story, a person comes up to Jesus and asks how he can inherit the kingdom of God. The author of Mark tells us that this man was rich, and he was an important person in the community. From the outside this guy looked like he had it all, he looked like a shoe in for the kingdom of God. 

Jesus tells him that in order to truly enter the kingdom, he needed to go back and sell everything he owned and give he money to the poor, then he wanted to man to come back and follow Jesus. It also tells us that Jesus looked at the man, and loved him.

In the story, this man turns around and walks away disappointed. He just didn't seem like he could do it. What Jesus asked was more than this person was ready to give.

Jesus then says something shocking. Jesus says it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom.

First I want to make sure to say that this story is not an attack on rich people, and Jesus is not asking that all his followers sell everything they have in order to follow him. Jesus had rich friends, one of the people that came to take Jesus' body off the cross was a rich person. 

What Jesus is saying is that in order to experience the kingdom, in order to experience the full life, Jesus needs to be the greatest desire of our heart. What goes on inside our hearts is far more telling about who we really are than what happens on the outside for others to see. This man may have thought that he had earned his way into the kingdom, he had followed the commandments, he was a "good person", he was looked up to in his community, and he was successful… but this story seems to show that he desired all those things more than Jesus. 

Jesus ends this time by saying, "but many who are first will be last, and the last first." Following God is a matter of the heart. We cannot earn our way into heaven, we cannot earn our way into God's love. Jesus tells us that in order to enter into true life, he must become the greatest desire of our heart, and we cannot fool him when it comes to that.

Its also important to remember that Jesus looked at this man and loved him. That's true of all of us as well. While I would like to think that Jesus is the greatest desire of my heart, I doubt that is actually true most of the time… and still, Jesus loves me. Jesus walks with me and as I walk with him, I will have opportunities to have him become more and more the center of my life, and he is patient and he is loving along the way.

The girls

Jesus and some children

It was a messy game day!

It was a fun Friday morning… even if it was a little gloomy and cold. The rain held off and we were able to have a great time hanging out, getting messy, and talking about life and Jesus. 

Getting ready

The game was a bit wilder than normal for Friday mornings, but it was fun. Kids had to get into teams, then select one person from the team to put a shower cap covered in shaving creme on their head. Once the game started, kids had to throw Trix cereal at their teammate with the shower cap and try to have them catch it on their head.

Jackson catching Trix!

I honestly don't know who won, but everyone had a really good time!

After, everyone ran around for a while trying to start an all out shaving creme fight. Thankfully we were able to keep that from happening as we transitioned into the more serious time of the morning. It can be difficult to play games like we did today, and then go straight into a time of talking and teaching, but I truly think its a good thing. These kind of games let kids be kids. It isn't every day that they get to do something like this before school, and while it can be difficult to control, I think it shows them that we care, and we want them to have fun.

Mackenzie was into it!

I had the privilege of teaching this morning and got to share a story from Mark 10:13-16 where Jesus hangs out with some little children.

In the story, Jesus and his disciples were taking a break on their journey to Jerusalem. I imagine that the air was thick with anticipation. Jesus was making his way to the city where he would be crucified. He knew what was going to happen there, and while his followers didn't, they knew something big was about to happen. 

As they were resting, some parents came with their children, most likely between the ages of 0-5, and wanted Jesus to meet them and bless them. Jesus had gotten a reputation as someone extremely special. Really great things happened wherever he went and people were getting healed all around him. these parents wanted their kids to get a chance to be touched by Jesus.

The disciples thought differently. They saw these parents and their kids as a nuisance, and tried to get rid of them before they bothered Jesus.

Back in those days people didn't think much of kids. While kids were a blessing for a family and a way of keeping the family name going, they were predominately a burden until they were old enough to help out. Also, there was an extremely high child mortality rate, and up to 50% of children didn't survive their first 12 years. The disciples just didn't think that Jesus would want to waist his time with kids. They thought Jesus had more important things to do. They thought that Jesus was too big of a deal to spend his time with normal kids.

They were wrong.

This is one of the seldom times where the author of Mark says that Jesus was upset with his disciples. He saw them telling the parents and kids to go away and got angry. He told his disciples to let the children come, and then proceeded to pick them up in his arms. As he was doing this he told the disciples something crazy, he told them, "the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."

Then he went even further and told his disciples that, "anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

This would have been radical. 

First, Jesus, God, stopped what he was doing and spent time with little kids. He wasn't too busy, too distracted, or annoyed that people were waisting his time. He picked the kids up and blessed them. It seems that this shows a lot about the character of Jesus. He was the kind of guy that would stop for the lowest of the low, for the people no one else wanted to be around, and he also enjoyed the company of children. Yes, he was on the greatest mission the world has ever known, but he stopped for kids. This seems to paint a picture of a person that smiles easily, is full of joy and grace, and laughs often. 

Secondly, Jesus switches things up when he says that unless people accept the posture of a child, they will never enter the kingdom of God. In those days kids were nothing, and they knew it. One of the greatest characteristics of children then was humility. Jesus is saying that without humility, we cannot experience the kingdom of God, we cannot experience true life.

It can be easy to think that Jesus doesn't have time for us, but this story helps to show that he does. The Creator of the universe stopped what he was doing to spend time with children… he does the same with us. No matter what, Jesus will always stop and take time to be with us. Also, he doesn't require anything of us in order for us to get to be with him. We do not need to be good enough, or important enough, or clean enough. Jesus desires that we come to him in humility, that we come to his as we are. 

Jesus spent time with children, and he desire to spend time with us. He is ok if we are messy, covered in shaving creme, or just covered in the mess of life. He doesn't need us to get cleaned up, or be on our best behavior. His desire is that we come to him as we are, in humility, as a child would.

Tyler was more excited than he might look.

Jesus and a desperate dad

WyldLife last week seemed like it was a blast. I say "seemed" because I was not there. My family and I were in Mammoth for a good friend's wedding. While I truly hate missing anything with WyldLife, I am  so proud of the leaders we have, and trust that they are more than able to make everything happen without me being there. From the looks of the pictures, and hearing stories from kids, Friday was awesome, and the volunteer leaders that took the reigns did an amazing job!

Andy Wright planned the game. It was a three legged relay race with a twist, one person was blindfolded!

After the game, Grant gave the talk. He talked about the feeling we can get sometimes when it seems like everything is spinning out of control. This fit really well with the game, seeing as how the person blindfolded probably felt pretty out of control the whole time.

Grant shared about a time when he went surfing with some friends on a day that was too big for him. Instead of backing down, he went for it and instead of surfing, found himself in a fight for survival for about 20 minutes in the impact zone. Everything felt totally out of control, and the ocean felt more like a washing machine. 

The feeling of being out of control is scary. Most of us like to feel in control, we might not be "control freaks" but we want to have an idea of what is going to happen, and how it might happen. 

But sometimes life just doesn't go the way we hoped, and things begin to feel like they are out of control. The truth is that life can be scary, it can be unfair, and things can get messy rather quickly despite our best efforts at being "in control." 

Jesus met a father and son that knew this feeling well in Mark 9:20-27. The boy was being controlled by an evil spirit, and as soon as he saw Jesus, things got out of control. The spirit threw the boy into a violent convulsion, eventually making him fall onto the ground writhing and foaming at the mouth. I can't imagine what the father thought at this point. He went on to tell Jesus that this would happen since his son was a little boy, and that sometimes the spirit would throw the boy into fire or water trying to kill him. 

The dad was desperate for help, his world and his boy were out of control.

In his desperation, the dad looked at Jesus and said, "Have mercy on us and help us, if you can."

IF YOU CAN.

When things get out of control, and there doesn't seem to be any logical way that they will get any better any time soon, it can be hard to have any sort of faith. Here, the boy's dad has some faith, or he wouldn't have come to Jesus in the first place, but you can hear the hopelessness and doubt in the way he asks Jesus to help. I can relate to this. 

Jesus looked at the dad and said, "What do you mean, 'If I can? Anything is possible if a person believes.'" Instantly the man cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

What an honest prayer. This man did believe, he was standing in front of Jesus asking Jesus to heal his boy, but he still doubted at the same time. He still questioned if Jesus could actually do anything about the situation, if Jesus could actually help his boy. I am a lot like this man… and I don't think Jesus is disappointed with that.

Jesus healed the boy. He didn't shame the father for his lack of faith. He didn't ask the father to go and believe more then come back. Jesus answered both of the father's prayers. He healed the boy, and in that he helped the man overcome his unbelief. 

When life gets out of control, we may begin to doubt. It is hard to believe 100% all the time. People getting sick, finances getting tough, and all the terrible things going on throughout the world might make it hard for us to believe. For these middle school kids it might be something like not having a lot of friends, getting made fun of, turmoil at home in the family, friends moving away, or feeling like no one understands them that causes them to begin to question. 

But this story shows us that it is OK. We can both believe and not believe at the same time, and Jesus can take it. He isn't ashamed of our unbelief… he isn't disappointed… God is God, and he is big enough to take our doubts. If we are open and honest with him, he can help our unbelief turn into belief.