(Read this devotional entry and answers the question in your journal (or on a piece of paper). Show it to your huddle group leader at Emerge and get credit for completing it for Plinko. If you missed a previous week you can make up weeks and still get credit for it)

All right, so we had a great group time this past Wednesday at Emerge. We talked about how even though we know Jesus our relationship with him is not finished. While we as believers in Jesus have been saved by his great love, the Holy Spirit is continuing to save us by working in our hearts to make us more like Jesus. Wow that is a big thought! Jesus is not done with us when we become Christians; we are at the beginning of a Great Work in Progress. I don’t know about you but that is exciting.

For our Devo this week, we are going to spend some more time reading over the beginning of 1 Peter.

1. Before you do anything, make sure that you spend a few minutes praying. I like to ask God to use the time I am  going to spend in the Word to transform my heart and life.
2. There was a lot of big words and confusing stuff in this section. Write down a couple of things you would like to understand better or have questions about. Then during huddle groups next week ask your huddle group leader.
3. If you knew you were going to inherit $1,000,000 later in your life do you think you would be excited and continually thinking about what you were going to do with that money? I know I would.  Write what would you do with it? Now think about this! In verse 4 Peter tells us that we have an inheritance in Jesus that is so much greater and richer than a million bucks! Yet how often are we thinking about how blessed we are to have Jesus? That always makes me stop and think.
4. Do you ever look forward to your inheritance in Jesus? What do you think it would include?
5. Peter also tells us that when we experience grief, loss, hurt, depression, rejection, pain and hard things in life, these things mature our faith! In other words, our hard times in life are often the growing pains of growing up in Jesus. Can you think of a time when something hard helped you grow up in Jesus?
6. Do you think that even in hard and painful times you can have Joy and Hope? Why or why not?
7. Imagine what your life would look like if you could always have joy and hope when life is full of hurt and pain. Do you have that? Do you want to have that?

Don’t have your Bible? Click the link: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Wow.  What a great weekend.  Winter Breakaway went down in my history books as one of the greatest trips we’ve done yet.  It wasn’t seamless (thanks to a trip to the ER following an epic sledding crash, a foot of fresh snow on Sunday morning, and keys being locked in a car while running…haha) but God was all over this weekend.  God showed up.

Today I am home recouping from all our events and God has been flooding my mind with a number of things.  There is one thing in particular that I feel lead to write about.   Though I know only a few will read this…it’s important enough for me to spend some time on.  All weekend we spent time RE:defining Love.  I hope you all walked away from the experience knowing God a little bit more…and in turn knowing more about yourself too.

LOVE DEFINED:

Your life is a story…:  Our life is a story.  From beginning to end we are telling one story.  Though there are many parts of our story (sports, school, friends, family, etc) at the end of our life it’s our story/legacy that’s usually recapped.  As followers of Jesus we looked at Ephesians 1:3-6 identifying that God started our story before the foundation of the world.  He chose you!  What story are you telling? Are you living His story?

…to make people around you great…:  As we walk through 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, we see many characteristics of biblical love (vs. 4-7).  Every piece of it either pushes us to make other people great around us or it tells us how to fight making us the center of our world.  Love is self-sacrificing.  Biblical love focuses the decisions we make on making people around us great.

…ultimately to make God great.: But making people great is not God’s ultimate purpose.  God’s ultimate purpose is to make Himself great.  In reading 1 John 4:7-12 we see the summation of God’s ultimate purpose of biblical LOVE.

1. Love is not something that we do or something that we turn on and off…it’s who we are. (v. 7)
2. If love if not your lifestyle then you don’t really know God. (v.8)
3. God displayed biblical love in sacrificing His Son on our behalf.  We were once separated eternally from God, children of wrath, but He provided a way for us to be in His holy presence.  God sacrifice of His Son makes us whole but ultimately makes His name great in this world. (v.9-10)
4. Love is bigger than us.  When followers of Jesus love one another, we physically show an invisible God.  People see Jesus in us and in turn see God.  We love to make God great. (v.11-12)

Here’s what God’s been feeding me this AM.

I stand behind and defend the definition we wrapped up on Sunday morning.  In my knowledge I don’t know any biblical or logical evidence to combat what we talked about BUT as I was talking to you all on Sunday, God was putting a certain question in my mind that we didn’t have time to talk about.  It has to do with the other side of the definition.  Think about a wall.  A wall always has a minimum of two sides, right? It’s foundation is always the same though, right?.  No matter what angle to you look at that wall, weather if one side it’s pink while the other is blue…it’s still one wall, it’s foundation is the same.

Our definition, as we talked about has to be the foundation of love.  At its core it’s how God created love.  Our definition of Love has at least three sides.   So here’s my overwhelming question: What about those other sides?

Here are the three sides as I see them:

1. How do you love others (which was the core of our weekend?
2. How should others love you?
3. What does love look like when it goes wrong (self-centered-sinful)?

All of our time together was spent on how you should love others.  What about you though?  How should others love you?  How does this definition play out when you’re looking for love?  How does this definition play out when your parents get upset with you?

I stand by my argument that love isn’t something we do.  Love isn’t something that we turn on and off.   We don’t love when it’s convenient.  We, as followers of Jesus, are called to a lifestyle of love.

So if my parent’s are followers of Jesus what should I expect?  Should I expect that they never yell at me?  Should I expect that they never get angry?  Should I expect that they never loose their cool and if they do…they are sinning?

If our definition is the foundation of love then everything that pours out of us should strive to fall within that definition.  Then we MUST have an answer to the above questions?

Before I give you my thoughts…let me here yours. 

1. Describe to me how you should love others (as we talked about at WB and above in this posting).
2. How do you think others should love you?   Friends?  Siblings?  Boyfriends/girlfriends (when you turn 18…haha)?  Parents? Write down your thoughts for each one.
3. What does love look like when it goes wrong?

Your life is a STORY.  What story are you living?  The greatest story ever laid out is God’s story of redemption.  This story began before the creation of the world, way before Adam and Eve ever sinned and it continues today through Jesus Christ.  God invites you into His story and this is where true love begins!  Understanding this sets the stage for us to truly grasp real love and sets the groundwork for how we are to live out this real love!   RE:defining Love could be the greatest thing we ever define!

(Read this devotional entry and answers the question in your journal (or on a piece of paper).  Show it to your huddle group leader at Emerge and get credit for completing it for Plinko. If you missed a previous week you can make up weeks and still get credit for it)

I just typed out the recap of what we talked about last week at Emerge.  I would encourage you to look back at the recap and get the main points because today I want to ask you to engage a little with where we walked last Wednesday.   In short I believe that we tend to have a small view of God.  I think we tend to think to that God relates to us the same way that we relate to our friends.  Though God is our friend if we are Jesus followers, He is so much more than that.

IN YOUR JOURNAL WRITE OUT THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER THEM:

Stop right now and Pray.  Ask God to meet you in this time.

1. List out the three different ways Jordan thinks our circle of friends operate (its in the Week 1:RECAP blog).
2. What category do you fall in?
3. How does the way your group of friends operate effect your relationship with Jesus?
4. READ John 15:12-17
5. Copy down verse 16 in your journal
6. What make is hard to believe that God choses you still today…knowing all your junk and sins?  List a few things.
7. In God’s eye, do you have a purpose (look in vs 16 again)?  What is that purpose?

This week at Emerge we launched into our new series (UN)conformed.  This is a series walking through the book of 1 Peter in the new testament.  We value reading the Bible, knowing the Bible, and seeing God’s BIG story as it unfolds into our lives.  Last year we successfully walked through the book of Colossians in our Stolen Affections seriens and we are praying that God does the same through this one (if not more).

Half of our time together this past week, from a teaching standpoint, was unpacking Plinko and why we do it.  If you haven’t already, please read the separate post explaining Plinko in 2012.  This was important because we are looking to grow this year in how we do Plinko.  Though at the front end this may seem like just a fun game or an extravagant giveaways but it is so much more than that to us.  We are encouraging students (are rewarding them) for getting into God’s word.  Our leadership is working hard at how we are engaging our students, reminding them about the challenge of Plinko, and giving them opportunity to show what they have learned.  We gave every student that came to Emerge this past week a journal and we are encouraging them to do our weekly devo that we are putting up on the blog each week.  The devo will either correlate with the previous week or look to the week coming.  It our goal to get students in the Word and help them make sense of what their reading.

Then we launched into 1 Peter with an encouragement to see God bigger than we ever had before.

The series title of (UN)conformed comes from the idea that we are to live radically different than the world around us.  This is what this book is going to be continually pushing us back towards.  This book is going to unpack where our salvation comes from and where we are going in our lives with Jesus.  It’s my prayer that we lean why we need to live radically different and that God would give us a bigger heart towards Him.

This past week I made the claim that I think we have such a small view of God because we compare how He engages us with how we engage in our social circles.  What do I mean by this?  If we don’t know the God of the Bible then we automatically want to compare Him to what we do know.  If we’re told that God wants to have a relationship with us then what does that look like.  When we don’t know the God of the Bible then we compare Him to what we do know…the relationship we already have.

I contended that most of our students fit into one of three categories.  Our social circles function in one of three ways:

1) We are so tied to our friends that every decision we make centers on them.  They function like a pack.  It’s hard to let anyone else in and it’s hard to get out (without pain anyway).

2) Our circle of friends can be an extremely fickle group (changes frequently).  We could be best friends with a new person each week.

3) We could struggle with not having close friends.

These three categories could happen for a number of reasons…some out of our control and some by our own decision making.  One could move around a lot.  One could be a little socially awkward. Someone else could find their identity if a boyfriend while the other looks to have a new girlfriend each week.  I don’t think these categories are to far of a stretche and many of them are part of growing up.  Please don’t hear me say they are wrong or bad.

The problem with them is when we try understand GOD in the way our social circle functions.  If this is what we do then our idea of God goes something like this:

1) My circle is so tight how can God fit in the way I do life.  I can not let Him change me because if I change then those around me my not like it and then boot me out out of the circle.  If that happens, my identity is lost.

2) If I can bail on my friends anytime I want then God has the opportunity/right to bail on me. If I really like Him then I have to work real hard  at keeping Him around.  On the flip side, if He does something that I don’t approve us, I can bail on him.

3) If people around me struggle with being my friend then there is no way the God of the universe will want anything to do with me.

When we compare God to what we know we fail at seeing how great He really is.  Our greatest imaginations still fail to explain God.  This is why His Word is so important.  1 Peter 1:1-2 tells us that God chose us…He knows every part of our life,good and bad, and still chooses us.  Not only did He choose us, he invest so much in us that He sets us apart from the rest of the world through His Holy Spirit.  He make us radically different…He changes us.  He reveals how different our lives are by commanding us to be obedient to Jesus.

We are called to be (UN)conformed for the sake of His name sake and this start with a right way of knowing how God thinks about you!

There is nothing more important to me as the youth pastor than the students in Mosaic Youth knowing God.  Knowing God is so much more than knowing about Him or once having an experience with Him but it’s about engaging Him in his Word and allowing Him to make Himself great as we find consistency cracking our Bible open.  The Bible is living and active.  It’s in this Book that God reveals Himself and makes Himself known.  If we don’t read scripture we are starving…spiritually.

Call it bribery if you will, I like to think of it as encouraging…semantics, I know!

The entire purpose of Plinko is to draw students to the Bible.  At the end of this series we hope that a good number of students are engaging Jesus in His word.  It’s then our hope that God would use this “encouragement” to form habit as He makes Himself known in our lives.  We also place other opportunities to get your name in the drawing because growing in Jesus is not just about reading the Bible (but it’s what we struggle at most), it’s also about community and living for Him in your world.

If you want to have multiple chances to PLINKO, here’s what you need to do each week:

WHAT TO DO EACH WEEK:                                     VALUE:

• Sign in to Emerge every week.                              1 extra name in the box
• Bring a friend to Emerge (fill out info card)     2 extra names for BOTH of you that week.
• Win the game.                                                          2 extra names in the box
• Memorize scripture (1 Peter 1:13-21)                  2 extra names per verse you memorize and quote
• Complete the blog devo (and show a leader)    5 extra names in the box

Good luck!  It’s my prayer that Plinko doesn’t become great (or your focus) but that Jesus does!

For more info on Winter Breakaway you see our Emerge Haps page or email Jordan: jyoung@mosaicportland.org

For the past three years we have thrown white elephant gifts out the window and started focusing on things that matter. It has not been a hard switch. This year we collected school supplies for the children in an orphanage we served in this past summer in Puerto Cabazes, Nicaragua. Great work mosaic youth. I am proud of you not just this year but for the past three years. Love you all and have a very Merry Christmas.

Mosaic Youth’s Christmas Party has always aimed at benefitting those less fortunate than us at the expense of us having a dang good time!  Instead of doing a white elephant christmas gift exchange or an ugly sweater contest…we look for other ways to “celebrate the season” while focusing our gifts elsewhere.

For the past two years we have had a sock-drive.  Socks are the number one need of the Portland Rescue Mission during the winter.  Everyone received points for the amount of socks they brought and their huddle group received points too.  Over the past two years we have donated over 600 pairs of socks to the Portland Rescue Mission. AWESOME!

This year, because of our connection to Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua we are going to support the orphanage on the Verbo Church campus.  There are over 100 children living in the orphanage.  Because of this the Verbo Church started a school and it has become THE top school in the entire town.

We would like to bless them this year and collect school supplies as our “service project.”

As well we are doing our annual Christmas Ornament Costume Contest and Food Contest.  For the costume contest…pick your favorite Christmas icon and dress up like it.  Simple as that.  Leaders can and should participate .  Also, I am not afraid to give “group points” away if someone organizes a Nativity Scene…just saying!  Food.  If your last name begins with an A-H bring a “festive” appetizer.  If your last name begins with an I-O then bring a “christmassy” desert food.  Lastly if your last name begins with an P-Z then bring a “holiday” drink item!

Here’s what you need to know about the Christmas Party in nutshell:

• Our Christmas party is Wednesday, Dec, 14th.
• We are extending our time by 30 minutes. From 7-9pm.
• The entire night will be devoted to giving away as many points as we can so we can crown three winner of the evening.  We have great gifts to give away this year as we have in previous years past.
• POINTS:

1. Bringing school supplies for the children living in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Individual point will be giving out and group points will be given to huddle groups for amount of stuff collected.
2. Christmas Ornament Costume Contest: Points for dressing up AND more points for winning!
3. Food Contest:  You will get points for bringing something as well as winning the contest of your category - creativity counts.
4. Games:  Winners of the games will receive points