Jesus is Greater than Religion

Love this look at the difference between being religious and being a Christian.

Here’s the words for those interested…

What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?
What if I told you voting Republican really wasn’t his mission?
What if I told you Republican doesn’t automatically mean Christian,
and just because you call some people blind doesn’t automatically give you vision.
I mean if religion is so great, why is it starting so many wars?
Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?
Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’d ever had a divorce,
but in the Old Testament, God actually calls religious people whores.
Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice,
tend to ridicule God’s people, they did it to John the Baptist.
They can’t fix their problems and so they just mask it,
not realizing religion is like spraying perfume on a casket.
See the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core.
It’s just behavior modification like a long list of chores.
Like let’s dress up the outside make it look nice and neat,
but it’s funny – that’s what they used to do to mummies, while the corpse rots underneath
Now I ain’t judging, I’m just saying quit putting on a fake look,
because there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by your Facebook
I mean in every other aspect of your life you know that logics not worthy.
It’s like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a jersey.
See this was me too, but no one seemed to be on to me.
Acting like a church kid while addicted to pornography.
You see on Sunday I’d go to church but Saturday getting faded,
acting if I was simply created to just have sex and get wasted.
See I’ve spent my whole life building this façade of neatness
But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.
Because if grace is water, then the church should be an ocean.
It’s not a museum for good people; it’s a hospital for the broken.
Which means I don’t have to hide my failure, I don’t have to hide my sin.
Because it doesn’t depend on me, it depends on Him.
See because when I was God’s enemy, and certainly not a fan,
He looked down and said I want that man.
Which was why Jesus hated religion, and for it he called them fools.
Don’t you see so much better than just following some rules?
Now let me clarify, I love the church, I love the bible, and yes I believe in sin.
But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let Him in?
See remember He was called a glutton and a drunkard by religious men,
but the Son of God never supports self-righteousness, not now, not then.
Now back to the point, one thing is vital to mention,
how Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums.
See one’s the work of God, but one’s a man made invention,
see one is the cure, but the other’s the infection.
See because, religion says do, Jesus says done,
religion says slave, Jesus says son.
Religion puts you in bondage, while Jesus sets you free.
Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see.
And that’s why religion and Jesus are two different claims.
Religion is man searching for God.
Christianity is God searching for man,
which is why salvation is freely mine,
and forgiveness is my own,
not based on my merits, but Jesus’s obedience alone.
Because He took the crown of thorns and the blood dripped down His face,
He took what we all deserved, I guess that’s why you call it grace.
And while being murdered, He yelled “Father forgive them. They know not what they do.”
Because while He was dangling on that cross, He was thinking of you.
And He absorbed all your sin and He buried it in the tomb.
Which is why I’m kneeling at the cross saying “C’mon, there’s room.”
So for religion, no I hate it, in fact I literally resent it,
because when Jesus said, “It is finished,” I believe He meant it.

 


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The Pear Tree and the Seasons of Life

pear-tree.jpg

There was a man who had four sons.

He wanted his sons to learn not to Judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the Winter, the second in the Spring, the third in Summer and the fourth son in the Fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second son said, no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful; it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree’s life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s Winter, you will miss the promise of your Spring, the beauty of your Summer and the fulfillment of your Fall.

Author Unknown

Love youth not for what they are now, but for what they can become. As a children’s song reminds us, each is a promise, a possibility, a great big bundle of potentiality. Only God knows the plans he has for us, but we know that those plans are for our good.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11


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Reminder for the New Year

There is a time for everything,
And a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to uproot,
A time to kill and a time to heal,
A time to tear down and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

(Ecclesiastes 3)

Redeem Your Time in the New Year!

Balancing the Books for a New Year

For the past year, take
All the suffering,
All the pain,
All the heartache,
All the rejection,
All the misunderstanding,
All the evil we encounter,
All the hatred directed at us,
All the malice we endure,
All the sadness,
All the tears,
All the sleepless nights,
All the fear,
All the doubt,
All the worry,
All the confusion,
All the perplexity,
All the sickness,
All the broken dreams,

And then add it all up, total it up to whatever fantastic sum it may come to. Multiply it a 1000 times and more.

Now place on the other side these things . . .

The Word of God,
The promises of God,
The love of God,
The power of God,
The plan of God,
The wisdom of God,
The kindness of God,
The sovereignty of God,
The grace of God,

And then add to that the death of the Son of God with its infinite transforming power toward us who believe, and then add to that the resurrection of the Son of God who came forth from the tomb undefeated, alive from the dead, holding the keys of death and Hell in his hand, who is now declared the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Factor all that in, and then add to it the indwelling Holy Spirit who is the down payment on all the promises of God and the guarantee of our salvation. Now put that sum on the other side of the ledger.

You do the figuring. Which is greater? Your sorrows or the vast and immeasurable promises of God, made in his Word, guaranteed by the Spirit, and purchased for us in the death and resurrection of our Lord?

With that in mind, the past year has been a very good year.
Next year promises to be just as good or even better.

 


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How Time Flies

When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept.
When as a youth I waxed more bold, time strolled.
When I became a full-grown man, time ran.
When older still I daily grew, time flew.
Soon I shall find, in passing on, time gone.
O Christ! wilt Thou have saved me then?

~Henry Twells

What will you do in the coming New Year?
Will Team creep, stroll, run, fly or be gone?
You really don’t know how much time you have…
But whatever time, make it count for God!
Have faith in God for what he will do for the New Year in your life!

“Life is short. Eternity is significant.” ~Unknown
“Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” ~Philip Yancey


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My Little Boy’s Dad

I may never be as clever as my neighbor down the street.
I may never be as wealthy as some other people I’ll meet
I may never have the fame that other men may have
But I’ve just got to be successful as my little boy’s dad.

There are certain dreams I cherish that I’d like to see come true,
There are things I’d like to accomplish before my working days are through
But the task my heart is set on is no mere passing fad
I’ve just got to be successful as my little boy’s dad.

It’s the one job I dream of, the task I think of most
for if I fail my little boy I’ve nothing else to boast
For all the wealth and fame I’d gather, my fortune would be sad
if I fail to be successful as my little boy’s dad.

I may never come to glory, I may never gather gold
And men may count me as a failure as my business life is told
But if my little boy can just grow up godly then I’ll be glad
Then I’ll know I’ve been successful as my little boy’s dad.

Source Unknown

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Parent Support

The REAL Night Before Christmas
(By Parents)

‘Twas the night before Christmas
when all through the house
I searched for the tools
to hand to my spouse
Instructions were studied
and we were inspired,
in hopes we could manage
“Some Assembly Required.”

The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,
while Dad and I faced the evening with dread:
a kitchen, two bikes, Barbie’s townhouse to boot!
And now, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!

We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat –
let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!
Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;
if we can’t get it right, it goes straight to the basement!

When what to my worrying eyes should appear
but 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,
With each part numbered and every slot named,
so if we failed, only we could be blamed.

More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,
all over the carpet they were scattered about.
“Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!
Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand.”
“Honey,” said hubby, “you just glued my hand.”

And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact
that all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
to keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night
with “assembly required” till morning’s first light.

We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,
till our eyes, they went blurry; our fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin
before we attached the last rod and last pin.
Then laying the tools away in the chest,
we fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.

But I said to my husband just before I passed out,
“This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.
Tomorrow we’ll cheer, let the holiday ring,
and not run to the store for one single thing!
We did it! We did it! The toys are all set
for the perfect, most magical, Christmas, I bet!”

Then off to dreamland and sweet repose
I gratefully went, though I suppose
there’s something to say for those self-deluded-
I’d forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!

 


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Strange Way to Save the World

I’m sure he must have been surprised
At where this road had taken him
‘Cause never in a million lives
Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem
And standing at the manger
He saw with his own eyes
The message from the angel come to life
And Joseph said

Why me
I’m just a simple man of trade
Why Him
With all the rulers in the world
Why here
Inside this stable filled with hay
Why her
She’s just an ordinary girl
Now I’m not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But this is such a strange way
To save the world

To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birth
But Joseph knew the reason
Love had to reach so far
And as he held the Savior in his arms
He must have thought

4 Him


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Night Before Christmas Mad Lib

Description
Just for fun. In this mad lib, you replace some of the words of the “Night Before Christmas” with words written by youth and chosen at random.

What you need

  • Slips of paper and something for youth to write with.
  • A print out of the modified “Night Before Christmas”
  • Create and label a box for each of the following categories. I have placed the number of items used from each box behind the category. This game uses 13 names. If you don’t have enough in any given category, just reuse those in the box more than once. Not all the pieces of paper will be used in the poem.

 

Word Categories

  • PLACE IN HOUSE – 2
  • ANIMAL – 4
  • THINGS – 6
  • FURNITURE – 4
  • NAME – 13
  • item of CLOTHING – 5
  • ACTION VERB – 5
  • SOUND – 6
  • VEHICLE – 2
  • BODY PART – 11
  • ADJECTIVE – 10

 

What to do

  1. Give each youth pieces of paper and a pen or pencil.
  2. Have eah youth write ONE WORD for each category and place it in corresponding box.
  3. Once all the youth have contributed, Begin to read the “Night Before Christmas.” Whenever you get to one of CATEGORIES in ALL CAPS, draw a slip of paper from that category and fill in the word on the piece of paper into the poem. You will need to use the correct feminine or masculine pronoun for each name used. I like to ask each youth to stand up when their name is called until the next name is called to make it easier to remember who is being talked about.

 

Notes:

  • If anything is inappropriate you can simply censor it by drawing out another piece of paper.
  • You can also censor the word if it would be particularly embarassing to a specific youth. Use your own wisdom.

 

Variation
Each youth must stand up when their name is called until a new name is called and if any actions are called out they must act out those actions.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS 
Modified with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the PLACE IN HOUSE
Not a creature was stirring, not even a ANIMAL;
The THINGS were hung by the FURNITURE with care,
In hopes that NAME soon would be there;
The youth were all nestled all snug in a FURNITURE
While visions of THINGS danced in their heads;

And NAME in a CLOTHING, and NAME in a CLOTHING,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s ACTION VERB,
When out on the PLACE IN A HOUSE there arose such a SOUND,
NAME sprang from the PLACE IN HOUSE to see what was the matter.

When, what to my ADJECTIVE, BODY PART should appear,
But a miniature VEHICLE, and eight tiny ANIMALs,
With a little ADJECTIVE driver, so ADJECTIVE and ADJECTIVE,
I knew in a moment it must be NAME.

More rapid than ANIMALs his/her coursers they came,
And s/he SOUND-ed, and SOUND-ed, and called them by name;
“Now, NAME! now, NAME! now, NAME and Vixen!
On, NAME! on, NAME! on, NAME and Blitzen!

As I drew in my BODY PART and was ACTION-VERBed around,
Down the FURNITURE NAME came with a bound.
S/He was dressed all in CLOTHING, from his/her BODY-PART to his/her BODY-PART,
And his/her CLOTHING was all tarnished with THINGS and soot;

A bundle of THINGS s/he had flung on his/her BODY PART,
And s/he looked like a peddler just opening his/her pack.
His/her BODY PART — how they ADJECTIVE! his/her BODY PART how ADJECTIVE!
His/her BODY PART were like THINGS, his/her BODY PART like a cherry!

s/He had a broad BODY PART and a little ADJECTIVE belly,
That shook, when s/he ACTION-VERB like a bowlful of THINGS.
S/He was ADJECTIVE and ADJECTIVE a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him/her, in spite of myself;

S/He spoke not a word, but went straight to his/her work,
And filled all the CLOTHING; then ACTION with a jerk,
And laying his/her BODYPART aside of his/her nose,
And giving a nod, up the FURNITURE s/he ACTION VERBed;

S/He sprang to his/her VEHICLE, to his/her TEAM gave a SOUND,
And away they all flew like the SOUND of an ANIMAL.
But I heard him/her SOUND, ere s/he ACTION VERB out of sight,
“ADJECTIVE Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

 

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Christmas Connect-the-Dots

connectdots.jpg

Description
Throughout the Bible God gave more than 300 prophecies that foretold the coming of Christ and what he would do. Looking back now, it’s easy to tell how to connect all the references together to get a picture of the birth of Christ. Use this connect-the-dots object lesson as a discussion starter to discuss some of the primary prophecies related to the birth of Christ being fulfilled.

Materials

  • Find a connect-the-dots image with a Christmas Theme. You can find easily by searching Google. Click here to Find One.
  • You can print a copy for each youth or simply show it on a powerpoint slide or OHP transparency if you still use those. This way everyone can see what happens as you begin to connect the dots.

Activity

  • Show the Christmas connect-the-dots puzzle to the youth.
  • Ask the youth if they believe that once all the dots are connected if they believe a Christmas picture will appear?
  • If all the dots are connected what do you believe will appear?

Applications

Doing a connect-the-dots puzzle is a little like what happened with the birth of Christ.

As you’re explaining, start connecting the dots of the puzzle.

  • You begin by believing that something special will appear. You might have a general idea what will appear, but you don’t really know all the details until everything is completed. You believe that there is a designer to everything on the page and if you just connect the series of clues you will be rewarded.In many ways, this is similar to what happened in Israel before the birth of Christ. God had given over 300 prophecies of a series of events that would mark the appearance of the Messiah. Even thought the Messiah had not yet appeared, there were many who believed that God would reveal what he promised. People had connected some of the events like the magi, but everything was not yet clear.
  • If you don’t connect the dots correctly, or if you decide to stop connecting them, you’ll never see the full picture the artist has designed. There were some people, that even when the Messiah appeared, missed him. Some were connecting the dots in expectation that the Messiah would be a literal worldly king and Jesus did not fit the figure they expected.

The same thing happens to many people today

  • Many people miss the Birth of Christ at Christmas because they make the wrong connections. Christmas is not about Santa Claus, shopping malls, and wonderful food. These things are nice, but the true reason for the season is to celebrate the birth of a Saviour.
  • Many people believe that there is a greater power, a design to the universe – that there is a purpose to the things that happen. Blaise Pascal said that inside everyone of us there is a God-shaped vacuum that only God can fill. But they don’t know how to connect the dots. They need someone who knows the true picture to help them see the real picture. As Christians we have a responsibility to help others see Jesus in the Christmas Story.

Discussion

  1. Why can you trust that God has a picture perfect plan even if you can’t se it yet?
  2. What happens to the picture when someone makes the wrong connections in life?
  3. What things distract people in life and cause them to doubt God’s design? Seemingly missing numbers? Vague dots? Big gaps?
  4. What is the next dot in your life? What connection do you think God has planned next for you? How is the Christmas Story important to you? How can you help others connect the dots this Christmas so that they can see God and connect to Him as Savior?

Here are some of the dots of the puzzle and how they connected together in the birth of Christ.

  • Born of The Seed of The Woman – Genesis 3:15, Galatians 4:4
  • Born of A Virgin – Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18,24,25
  • Son of God – Psalm 2:7, Matthew 3:17
  • Seed of Abraham – Genesis 22:18, Matthew 1:1
  • Son of Isaac – Genesis 21:12, Luke 3:23,34
  • Son of Jacob – Numbers 24:17, Luke 3:23,34
  • Tribe of Judah – Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:23,33
  • Family of Jesse – Isaiah 11:1, Luke 3:23,33
  • House of David – Jeremiah 23:5, Luke 3:23,31
  • Born In Bethlehem – Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1
  • The Star – Numbers 24:17, Matthew 2: 2b
  • Presented With Gifts – Psalm 72:10, Matthew 2:1,11
  • Worshipped – Isaiah 60:3, Matthew 2:11
  • Children Killed – Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16
  • Travel to Egypt – Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15
  • His Pre-Existence – Isaiah 9:6,7, Colossians 1:17
  • Called Lord – Psalm 110:1, Luke 2:11
  • Shall Be Immanuel (God With Us) – Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23

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MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Learn More…

Creative Youth ideas: 1700+ Resources for youth leaders, pastors, ministers to help plan camps, retreats, and meetings using games, illustrations, Children's Worship, Bible Studies, object lessons, sermons, creative ideas,creative activities