Sunday School Heroes Pt.1

This past Wednesday night at our Varsity youth service we finished a series looking at the first six chapters of the book of Daniel. For me it was a lot of fun to re-visit some my favorite Sunday School stories that I heard as a kid growing up in church.

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and the fiery furnace in Daniel chapter three is a classic Sunday School hero story. It is about three young hebrew men who were forced to leave their home of Jerusalem and serve in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar - the ruler of the Babylonian Empire. To set the stage for our story it is helpful to consider that throughout the Bible Babylon continually shows up as the city in opposition to God.

So, King Neb. builds a ninety foot tall gold statue - which most likely resembled himself - and commanded “when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” Daniel 3:5-6. The three young men have a decision to make -- bow or burn? They don’t bow. They are brought on trial before the king and given a chance to save their necks. They still don’t bow. In anger, King Neb decides to cook the rebels and orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter. They still don’t bow.

They overcome this test of their faith. They face the most powerful man in the world and embrace their execution without wavering in their devotion to God. What amazing courage. What great strength. Then the strangest thing happens. "King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, 'Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?' They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' He answered and said, 'But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.' Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, 'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!' Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.'" Daniel 3:24-28.

The fourth man among the flames was the Son of God. At first glance it seems as if Jesus shows up to the rescue in dramatic fashion at the last minute to save our heroes from the fire. However, maybe He didn’t wait for the flames to show up? It wasn’t until the flames that King Neb saw Jesus, but could it be that He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the whole time? That would explain how the three didn’t bow when everyone else was bowing to save their own necks. Their faithfulness wasn’t based on their own courage or strength, but based on their understanding that they were not standing alone. They had each other, but more importantly there was a fourth man standing with them, but no one else could see Him until there were flames. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:5-6,8.

The point is Jesus -not the three young men - was the hero the whole time. At the end of the day no matter what you are facing He is your only hero. With Jesus by your side you don’t have to bow. With Jesus by your side you can face the furnace knowing that in the fires of life, those around you will see Christ in you.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. 2 Cor. 4:7-12

All for Jesus,

Kevin Phipps
Student Ministries Pastor

Chicago

I am very excited to tell you about a wonderful opportunity for your son or daughter this upcoming year. This summer Varsity (High School Ministry) and Redtree (College age & Young Adult Ministry) will be taking a mission team of students to Chicago, Illinois. I am thrilled and eager to see Jesus do a great work, not only for the people of Chicago but in the lives of those on the trip.

The dates for the trip will be July 30th – August 5th. The Mission Church will actually partner with young people from “The Lifehouse Church” in Reserve, La for the outreach. While in the city we will be staying at and workin g with a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base.

The strategic location for our outreach is the melting pot of the city, a five square mile region with 300,000 people of 31 different ethnicities. Our focus will be multi-fold: ministering to the needs of the poor, praying with Chicago politicians outside of City Hall, street evangelism, drama, and assisting with the needs of a new church plant.

If you know someone who would be interested in coming or if you are interested in sponsoring someone to go it would be great to hear from you.

Kevin Phipps – Student Ministries Pastor

Cell Phone: 985.974.8658
E-Mail: kevin@themission.org

Meat Lovers

Been reading through the One Year Bible. For me, it's the best way to get a consistent, and BALANCED diet of God's Word! I have to have a plan. And I also really like the fact that it forces you to read the parts you might otherwise skip. One of these sections is in Numbers 11 and it stirred a prayer inside of me.

In Numbers 11, Moses and the Israelites are in the wilderness on the way to The Promised Land, and the Israelites begin complaining to Moses and God...again. They're tired of manna. They wish they had meat and all the other stuff they ate back in Egypt while they were slaves.

Never mind the fact that God has delivered them from Egypt, performed wonders on their behalf, leads them with His visible presence, defeats every enemy they encounter, has redeemed them and made them a covenant people, and is taking them into their the Promised Land that He swore to give their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The menu God is serving doesn't suit them!

So God, in one of His more sarcastic moments says, "You want meat? Ok, How about meat for a month until you gag on it!" God then proceeds to cover them in quail. The people gorge themselves on it, and later that place is named Kibroth-hattaavah (Graves of Gluttony).
So the prayer I found myself praying is: God, don't give me what I want, but what you will! I think sometimes the worst possible thing that could happen to us is for God to give us what we want! The truth is that most of the time we don't even know what we want. What we think will make us happy doesn't. What we think is better isn't. What we think we can't live without ends up killing us. It's incredibly freeing to realize that God knows what's best for me. I don't have to figure that out. I just have to trust Him, knowing that He is working all things for my good, and that no matter what happens I'm a step closer to my destiny (as Pastor Deven has been speaking recently).

I ask God to order my steps...Close the wrong doors and open the right ones...Lead me in every way...Connect me with the right relationships as only He can...Give me Divine appointments...Don't give me what I want, but what He wills! (By the way, Not My will, but Your's be done sounds familiar...)

-Ben

A Heroic Life!

I believe the world desperately needs us to live up to our greatness in Him. The bible says that all creation is crying out for the sons (and daughters) of God to manifest...to become.

He has called us to live as Jesus did ~ a heroic life. Jesus came to bring out the best in us. When this happens, we should expect that everything else will change for the better. It means our world begins to reflect the kind of place in which God intended us to live.

Why do hero’s need to step up? Because diseases are killing millions, and heroes find cures. Because famines leave starving children, and heroes find a way to provide help. Because struggling economies are leaving families homeless, and heroes find opportunities to create jobs. Hero’s stop genocide, stop slavery, find water in thirsty places, and they love and provide for orphans. They care for the forgotten. They seek peace and pursue it!

I am so proud to pastor one of these heroes and his name is Captain Robert Lansden. This man is truly a world changer because of Christ in him. Robert is a man willing to sacrifice comfort and security for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of peace in a foreign land. He could have bunkered down in his successful law practice right here at home. But he has chosen to separate himself from his precious wife and family, from his church, from his friends and loved ones to bunker down in Iraq. He has done this in order to make a difference. He has chosen to lead others in rebuilding a nation. (Not just brick and mortar)

Captain Robert, I love being your pastor and loved going through Mission Bridge School with you. In addition, being on outreach with you in Costa Rica was truly a joy. Today we are honored by your commitment and your heart. Also, to MaryAnn and the children…thank you for giving to the Lord!

-Pastor Deven

Saturday Nights Just Got More Interesting

Really pumped about the launch of our new Saturday Night Worship Experience (begins this Sat, 6pm at the theater in Hammond/across from SLU). I love the feel of an evening service. For some reason people tend to come to an evening service in a different frame of mind - a little more relaxed and easy-going (which is kinda my style). I'm also excited about creating an environment and another opportunity where people can come to enjoy God and experience His love.

I feel like one of the main challenges we face nowadays is TIME! There are so many things happening, usually both mom and dad work, more and more people work on Sundays, etc. etc. Gone are the days of "nine to five!" So creating another time slot and opportunity opens things up, and is an important way to reach people in today's world.

In John Chapter 5, Jesus heals a man who had been sick for 38 years. It just so happened that Jesus healed him on the "wrong" day (The Sabbath). The religious leaders didn't like this too much, and when they confront Jesus about it, Jesus tells them something very interesting:

"My father is always working, and so am I." John 5:17

I love this. The father is always working. He's always looking for the sick, the broken, those with an open heart to come home. And it doesn't matter what day or what time it is...The father is working! Thirty-eight years is a long time to be sick. Fortunately for this man, Jesus was more interested in doing the Father's work than what day it was. I wonder how many people who would never have come to church on a Sunday will have the chance to meet the Healer on Saturday!

Who do you know that can't make a Sunday, but could make a Saturday? Remember, the Father is always working!

-Ben