Work Day 1 - Denial of the World

One day of work is done!  The weather cooperated enough for the crews to get a good amount done...it did rain at most work sites, one site had 3 inches in 2 hours, yet it was still very productive.  Most of the youth commented about how they really got to know their crew pretty well today and made more new friends.  Many of the youth spent the day scraping paint and putting on fresh paint, some inside a house and some are working on the exterior of a house.  Others spent the day scraping old shingles off a roof, repairing old damaged wood and putting down the underlay for the new shingles to add the rest of the week.  Andrew, Erik, Kacey, Don, and Clarissa shared that they are working on a house that is a shelter for kids in trouble, it helps keep the kids clean and safe and the kids even made lunch for them.  Katie shared that she had to save a neighborhood kid who got himself stuck in a fence and Isaiah and Colton had some time to get to know the neighborhood kids a little and even got to play a little football with them.  Sharing Christ's love is happening all over the place in many forms and it is so evident in the youth.  At dinner and devotions they were all so excited to share about everything that happened today!  God is working and it is awesome! 

In worship tonight we saw a short video of Josh Hamilton (baseball player - formerly on the Reds) sharing his story.  He shared how after high school he was drafted to play professionally.  His life was about baseball and his parents.  One day a dump truck ran a red light and took both of those from him.  He went to a dark place of drug and alcohol addiction.  At 25 while living with his grandma he began having terrifying dreams and eventually decided he couldn't do it on his own anymore and he gave his life to Christ.  The message tonight was about Denial of the World.  We talked about John 15:18-19 and just how strong the word hate is, in the original translation it means to pursue with hatred, to detest.  While the world does have good, useful and necessary things (money, technology, etc), none of those can replace Christ.  The grace that gets us out of trouble and darkness is the same grace that can stop us from falling into trouble and darkness.  We shouldn't be so wrapped up in what the world has and what is happening the world that we don't see the need.  We also read Romans 12:1-2 and noted that it is important to deny the things of the world, not the people of the world. 

A couple more questions for you to think about as we continue to think about them this week....
Are you denying the world or denying Christ?
You are not of this world and it has nothing to offer us, so why do we pursue it?
How much do you have to hate someone to not share the good news with them?