Hi!
I'm finally posting about Worthy!!!! Below is some of my notes on the first message we heard. More are coming. Enjoy!
The theme of the youth retreat this year was "Jesus changes everything". This includes our faith, our evangelism, and much, much more! Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, and he changed EVERYTHING. He made the blind see, the lame walk, the sick healthy, the dead rise, cast out demons, etc. Plus, he changed the way people looked at the law of Moses and how to live for God!
The first night, Mr. Brewer (our youth pastor) taught us about how Jesus changes us through grace. Below are some of my notes on this sermon.
When Jesus changes us through grace, it's something only he can do. We cannot give spiritual sight to those who are spiritually blind.
Mr. Brewer gave the example of trying to explain what color looks like to someone who is blind. How could you explain it in a way that they could understand? You couldn't say that the color green looks like trees, because they don't know what trees look like either. The point is, describing color to a blind person is impossible.
The first point he made was that Jesus changes our hearts. He saves us because of HIS righteousness, not because we did something great (we didn't). On a side note, I feel like that last sentence is something I've heard SO much. I have to ask God to make it real to me every time I hear that truth. Otherwise, I will block it out and not want to hear it anymore. I DO need to be constantly reminded of it!!! We don't contribute at all to bringing our salvation about, except to bring the sin that we need to be saved of.
When we are saved, it is easy to take it for granted that we are chosen by God. To help us avoid this way of thinking, and instead be thankful to God that we were chosen, we can remember what we were like before we were saved. We were hateful, malicious, envious, foolish, disobedient, and rebellious. We were headed to hell. Thinking about how we were saved from eternal sorrow, regret, pain, and horror should boost our thankfulness to God a lot!
The second point was that Jesus changes our religion. A works-based religion says: "If I obey, God will love me." A faith-based religion, a religion changed by Jesus, says: "God loves me because of who he is, regardless of how I perform." Of course, he is grieved when we sin, but his love for us never changes. Just because he is sad does not mean he is going to leave us alone.
There is a song by Casting Crowns (I don't know what it's called :D) that I've heard on the radio, and part of it goes something like, "Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of Who you are." I feel like that sums it up perfectly. :) Basically, a works-based religion is all about us, while a faith-based religion is all about Jesus.
The third and final point Mr. Brewer made was that Jesus changes our status. We go from being hateful and rebellious, to heirs of God. We go from wrath to mercy, all because of the Gospel. We get what Christ deserves.
Thanks for reading. I hope this encouraged you :)
-Sarah :)
The first point he made was that Jesus changes our hearts. He saves us because of HIS righteousness, not because we did something great (we didn't). On a side note, I feel like that last sentence is something I've heard SO much. I have to ask God to make it real to me every time I hear that truth. Otherwise, I will block it out and not want to hear it anymore. I DO need to be constantly reminded of it!!! We don't contribute at all to bringing our salvation about, except to bring the sin that we need to be saved of.
When we are saved, it is easy to take it for granted that we are chosen by God. To help us avoid this way of thinking, and instead be thankful to God that we were chosen, we can remember what we were like before we were saved. We were hateful, malicious, envious, foolish, disobedient, and rebellious. We were headed to hell. Thinking about how we were saved from eternal sorrow, regret, pain, and horror should boost our thankfulness to God a lot!
The second point was that Jesus changes our religion. A works-based religion says: "If I obey, God will love me." A faith-based religion, a religion changed by Jesus, says: "God loves me because of who he is, regardless of how I perform." Of course, he is grieved when we sin, but his love for us never changes. Just because he is sad does not mean he is going to leave us alone.
There is a song by Casting Crowns (I don't know what it's called :D) that I've heard on the radio, and part of it goes something like, "Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of Who you are." I feel like that sums it up perfectly. :) Basically, a works-based religion is all about us, while a faith-based religion is all about Jesus.
The third and final point Mr. Brewer made was that Jesus changes our status. We go from being hateful and rebellious, to heirs of God. We go from wrath to mercy, all because of the Gospel. We get what Christ deserves.
Thanks for reading. I hope this encouraged you :)
-Sarah :)
