Sermon:
June 9, 2002
All Services

Scripture:
Romans 12:1-2 
Romans 12:9-21

The scripture for today is Paul writing to the church in Rome. Remember, when Paul wrote his letter, there weren’t any church buildings. There weren’t any organ committees. There weren’t any elderly Christians who were baptized as babies in the church. It was all new, and it was growing, and their reputation was known by Paul even though he had never visited. Sometimes I think he was writing to a church more like the kids in our student ministry than like the rest of the church. Listen for ways that Paul calls us to apply our faith. 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may prove what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect…. 

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” No, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Last November, I had lunch with a young, hip youth minister who had a big, exciting first year and was struggling in his second year. I told him there are lots of ups and downs, and he asked me how I could stay in it for 13 years. I said: “I don’t know. I’d tell you if I could, but I lost my mind a long time ago.” Did you know the average career for a youth minister is about two years?  And yet about 90% of all Christians commit their lives to Christ by the age of 20. I decided to stay in it for a longer haul. After all, with everything else changing during adolescence, it would be good to have a few constants in the kids’ lives. They say if you want to learn something really well, you have to teach it to someone else. Early on I realized that I couldn’t keep up with any kid (they all know more than I do), so I decided I had better just keep loving kids and telling them about Jesus. And I’ve learned a few things through the years in youth group, though this list is not as eloquent as Paul’s or Robert Fulgram’s. 

• Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.
  

• When it comes to kissing, there’s a big difference between “peaches” and “alfalfa.”
  

• The minute rowdy becomes obnoxious, you have to stop.
  

• Whatever happens, pretend that it’s working.
  

• No put downs!
  

• Parents, if you wait until Sunday to decide whether you will go to church, you’ve lost the battle.
  

• When you or your kid gets in trouble, it’s very difficult to “fall back” on a group you haven’t been there for.
  

• Slip-n-slides are the best way to get Jello off of your body.
  

• Don’t put the list of what to bring to the retreat on the back of the return registration form.
  

• Parents, we make our kids brush their teeth and never worry about whether they’ll reject it when they get older.
  

• If you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, you can do whatever you want!
  

• Don’t be afraid to be labeled a Jesus Freak.
  

• Even all the alternative kids look alike.
  

• We’re the church. If we don’t talk about Jesus, who will?
  

• At church, always buy whatever the youth are selling.
  

• Always remember: God’s crazy about you.
  

• Any idiot can put people down. It takes real character to build them up.
  

• Anybody can love their friends. Try something tough, and love your enemies.
  

• You can be tough on kids if they know that you love them.
  

• They don’t care how much you know, till they know how much you care.
  

• And remember, the church is always only one generation away from extinction.

Through the last six years, we’ve challenged the kids to take the next step in their faith at our Youth Encounter Weekends. Today I want to offer up a challenge, and you don’t have to be a kid to take it. When you leave here, go light your world. Challenge the assumptions. Keep asking W.W.J.D. – What Will Jesus Do through me? Because there’s more to this life than just “getting through” it. Jesus is coming back. And you gotta serve somebody! It might be the devil, or it might be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody! 

I love confirmation and graduation. This is an important time for you. You are (graduating or confirming your faith) before the church body. Graduating. What an awesome time. It’s exciting.  Different stages of life. Transitional stages of life. Upon the completion of your studies, upon satisfying the course of study requirements, you receive a thrill. Most of you have been through that wonderful time of reward called “commencement.”  

What a time! Pomp and Circumstance, trumpets, gifts, family and friends (the exchange of money!). And when you earn higher degrees, the faculty are decked out in their full regalia, robes of royal colors, processing in (men can wear dresses without anybody thinking it’s wrong).  And of course you’ll have to endure the “commencement address.” Some important person from sports, television or industry is called upon to address the graduating class. 

In all the commencements I’ve witnessed, I’ve noticed a common theme. Commencement can easily begin a life of deception. You see, we are regularly lied to in commencement addresses.  At some point the dignitary will look out over the class and say something like this: “You are the future! You are the hope for tomorrow! Our future is in your hands!”  

The first few times I heard that as a student, I was flattered and thought it might be true. But after having heard it so many times, I’ve realized it’s utter deceit. I hate to tell you this, and forgive me for not flattering you on your special day, but you are not the future. You are not even the hope for tomorrow! Maybe you didn’t expect to come today and be told that, but it’s true. From the perspective of the Christian Gospel, it is not right to think that we are the future or that we are the hope for tomorrow, because we’re not. Nowhere in the Bible are we ever told we are the future, let alone the hope for tomorrow. If you believe that, look out, because you are starting out on a journey that does not know God. 

Everywhere you go you hear the message: “Think for yourself. Be an individual! Be unique!” And the majority of people in Western culture say: “Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s all think for ourselves. Okay. How about you? Yeah, me too!” In every generation it’s repeated again and again. Everybody thinks they’re ushering in the future. Everyone thinks they’re unique, new and improved. 

Do you see the deceptive character of the commencement address that begins with “You’re a unique individual who can think for yourself and create a unique future by your own hands”?   Church, it is simply not true! Don’t believe it. The future is not in our hands! We are not the hope for tomorrow. You and I are not the future.  

But in youth group, I learned that the future has a name. And the name of the future is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, Son of God. God incarnate (in the flesh). We don’t have to live in the delusion that we are the future. Do you know that Jesus Christ is our future? No matter what job you may have in life? Whether you are a doctor, businessman, businesswoman, teacher, researcher, a mom, a missionary or pastor, Jesus Christ is your future, and you are called to follow him. 

In youth group, I’ve learned that following Jesus is not some spiritual mumbo jumbo. It is not abstract. Our Bible passage gives practical advice about how to live. We follow Jesus because we believe that God entered history as Jesus and offers salvation to you and me and every person from their sins. God has promised to be present with us and to consume us. It’s not just we that invite God into our lives. God invites us into his own life. God invites you to join him in his work. We do it God’s way that Jesus showed us. We join God’s Kingdom. We put our faith in him. And when we get it right, youth group is a small slice of what it is like in the Kingdom of God. 

Youth ministers sometimes say: “How is your ministry going?” And I get uncomfortable. “How is your ministry going?” “Oh, my ministry is going fine. What is your ministry?” The ministry is not mine, or any person’s. I can’t engineer it. The future is not mine to create. The future is God’s, and we simply respond. There is only one ministry: the ministry of Jesus Christ. Within that ministry there are a diversity of gifts, and that’s why we all look so different. The question is “How are we to serve that ministry?” Look again at what Paul said… 

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God… Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds… prove what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect….Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” No, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Where do you go to find the other story? At church. At youth group. It’s our task. And it’s tough work. It takes all your intellect. It takes you striving for it. We have to break away from the massive message of the other to find it. But Jesus is offering it, and in youth group we offer Jesus. Settle for nothing less. Know how to tell the story. It’s the kind of thing you probably won’t hear anywhere else, even in commencement addresses. 

Dorothy Day, a twentieth-century theologian, quotes a man named Cardinal Suhardt. “The task of the Christian life (I would add “and the task of any church and youth group”) is to live in such a way that your life would not make sense if the Gospel you proclaim were not true.” So let’s keep going, and let’s do it! Amen!