Jacob Ryan Cox

- Christianity has an image problem and a reality problem - Statistics show that Christianity dies out with our generation: - Atheism and Non-Christian religions are spreading and growing like a virus. - Estimated 1.1 billion Atheists in the world in 1981 (1/6th of the earths entire population) - Why? People have lost respect for our faith because of the way we live our lives, and because they think that the religion has become irrelevant to their lives. - Christians have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for - (Ask what the youth think outsiders of Christianity think of faith) - Hypocritical (85%) - Angry/ Violent - Judgmental (87%) - Illogical - Too Political - Us vs. Them thinking/ Convert- Focused -Anti- Homosexual (91%) - Dont like them b/c of what they say, how they - Sheltered look, what they believe - Selfish - Empire- Building - Out of touch w/ reality - Too opinionated -This is what we as Christians- followers of Christ, are spreading right now not peace, love, gentleness, kindness, grace, and redemption, but hypocrisy, selfishness, arrogance, ignorance, and judgment. - We can narrow down what non-Christians think about us into 5 broad categories: - Hypocritical. Outsiders consider us hypocritical- saying one thing but doing anotherand they are skeptical of our morally superior attitudes. They say that Christians pretend to be something unreal, conveying a polished image that isnt accurate. Christians think the church is only a place for virtuous and morally pure people. - Too focused on converting people. Outsiders wander if we genuinely care about them. They feel like targets rather than people. They question our motives when we try to help them get saved, despite the fact that many of them already have tried Jesus and experienced church before in a negative way. - Anti-homosexual. Outsiders say that Christians are opinionated and show disdain for gays and lesbians. They say that Christians are fixated on curing homosexuals and leveraging political/ biblical solutions against them.

- Sheltered. Christians are thought of as old fashioned, boring, and out of touch with reality. Outsiders say we do not respond to reality in appropriately complex ways, preferring simplistic solutions and answers. That we are not willing to deal with the grit and grime of peoples lives.

- Judgmental. Outsiders think of Christians as quick to judge others. They say we are not honest about our attitudes and perspectives about other people. They doubt that we really love people as we say that we do.

- Why is this? What is the effect of our hypocrisy and negligence? - The effect of our life styles is causing Christians and non-Christians alike to abandon the church, and Jesus entirely. Now Im not saying that it is all our personal faults for this at all. 59% of non- Christians have a skewed perception of Christ b/c of growing up in a hypocritical church, 41% b/c of having parents or close friends that tell them not to trust the church or Jesus, or that have a hypocritical life style. And the media certainly blows things out of proportion sometimes, and other times it just reveals how hypocritical Christians today are. - What is the solution then?? - Are you guys starting to wrap your heart and mind around all of this? Millions of young people outside of Christianity are emotionally and mentally disengaging from the God who died on the Cross for them and rose again. -The nations population is increasingly resistant to Christianity, and the critics are becoming bolder and more vocal than ever. - The bottom line of what we as Christians believe is that while Jesus loves flawed people, I do not. David Kinnaman -A huge chunk of a new generation (Our Generation) has decided that they want nothing to do with us. - The solution is to be radical! If the tide of the world is tugging you in the opposite direction from Christ, plant your feet in the ground, look above you at the larger picture at hand, and say, Even though I are broken and flawed, the Lord forgave me because He loves me, and He has done the same for you. Being radical means doing something thats not just different, but waaayy different, like being a sold out, outspoken and humble follower of the Gospel. -The solution is a revolution! Bringing back what was taken from us, and taken from the Lord- our brothers and sisters lost in sin. We talked about this in Sunday school this week: that if we want to change the world, we need to actually care about others, and become Christians outside of our own little boxed in view of the world. - The solution is listening to the Holy Spirit so that you can point people to the Father. We are so picky about who we talk to Jesus about. Is anyone unworthy of the Gospel to you? Because that is exactly how we all choose to witness and live our lives, like Christ doesnt like this person or that group.

- By denomination we are PROTESTant. We should have one hand raised high in the air saying that we worship the almighty and loving Christ! That we dont conform to the patterns of this world any longer, and that we are here to show EVERYONE compassion, and the grace of the Lord. But that doesnt mean just going out and denying everything. Integrity is a huge part of being an honest person, and an honest Christian. And thats what people are looking for, can you walk your talk.

- This is Spiritual warfare- but whats funny about it is that the war is already won were just letting the defeated spoil our victory. Satan LOST at the Cross! Anything and everything he ever says to you is a total lie! Once we realize that we are free to take the chains and shackles off. We realize the truth- The Cross is real, the Christ is alive, and Hes coming to take us home. -Revolution? (Introduce that something huge has been coming for a long time now. And your salvation experience.) -Did you know that every single spiritual revolution that has ever taken place began on either a college or high school campus? And that the kids who started them began preparing for it in their youth groups? Nothing can match up against our determination, and unyielding desire that drives us when rallied behind something that inspires us. - If you call yourself a Christian you need to check yourself right now. Jesus Christ Himself says that if you arent with me, then you are against me. Youre either gathering or scattering at all times. That means that when he says in John 14:15 that, If you love me, then you will keep my command you would love him, and keep His commands. - Jesus commands are these- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:36) Go and make disciples out of all the nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; The Great Commission) and of course the 10 commandments. - Teenagers have always had a thing for disobeying the established order its what we do, try to push our boundaries placed on us b/c we feel like the rules are placed here to screw us over. We are the bride of Christ. We are his most beloved creation ever. Why then would we think that he is trying to screw with us? The Commandments were explained to me this way and it shed a whole new light on how I viewed them- the laws given to us by God are not laid down on us to punish us we arent being grounded hes placed them here to direct us, b/c without this we would be lost like our society is beginning to be today! The commandments are laid down to bring us closer to Christ, as well as bring others closer to Christ. - The only way to shake the very foundations of the earth, and the increasingly lost society today is through our unification- being absolutely behind one another, carrying each others burdens, our souls set ablaze with the knowledge and faith in the Good News of Christ Jesus. The only way to be unified is through community- the forging of friendships, trust, love, and the utmost compassion for everyone around us. The only way to achieve community is through discipleship; and discipleship is what we as Christs own bride have all been called to- to actually be disciples- to lead by following. We have all been called to be reconciled ambassadors, wounded healers, a leader but a follower in this revolution. - Love God, do whatever you want.- Dianna Nail - perfectly said, this is absolutely the truth because when you love God, and your completely on fire for Him, what you want to do will be exactly what he commands, caring for those who are lost, and those who are found in the light, and showing the greatness of The Lord to everyone through your pure and righteous life stile. - The solution is ultimately and overwhelmingly to Love our God. If we can not see that our God is always and unconditionally for us, then we will never be able to embrace the Christ who overcame sin, and is beginning to show us the way to rise above it as well.

We have to fall in love with the fact that we are Gods chosen people; we are His greatest love of all! The fire that fuels our hearts does not come from our own personal triumphs. We can never earn the grace of God, and that is what is so beautiful about the gospel- that the Father loves us so much that He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us! That is the greatest love, and it is what our world and our hearts are screaming to be a part of. - Rally behind a cause. - All revolutions need to have a goal in mind and something worth fighting for. As Christians our thing to fight for is Christs love! Our goal that we should work to achieve is showing those lost to the Gospel the great peace and grace of God! - Jesus says in Matthew 9:37 that, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. - It is time to put our money where our mouths are. If we really believed that Jesus died on the Cross to free us of sin, scorn its shame, and bring us back to Him for all eternity, then why have our lives not reflected that? This is the news that changes peoples lives! Why not our own as well? - It is time to join together, and be accountable for our actions. One person should be so close and trusted by another to tell him or her that theyve messed up. At other end, one person should be so close to another, and so trusting in another to accept accountability. If we do not hold ourselves to the standards of Gods grace then our spirit will crumble along with our goal of impacting the whole world. Bottom line- walk the walk, talk the talk, and hold each other to the standards of the Grace of God. - Community is the biggest part of unification! We need to become more than just a group of people whos only thing in common with each other is a youth group every Wednesday or a bible class and church every Sunday. We need to have more in common that just seeing each other once or twice at school. It is high time that we get to know each other better, because that is the only way we can move as a the body of Christ. The way we do that is through serving together, encouraging one another, not being so shy around each other, and having fun! Things like that are the way people bond! (Like in the games we play before church, or mission trips, or service projects, or prayer groups before school, or as team mates on your sports teams, etc.) - We need to make it our goal to constantly become closer as a youth group, and as a Christian community. But while we grow closer, we must be cautious of letting each others praise get to our heads. In John 5:44 Jesus is saying the same thing to the people of Galilee, How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain praise that comes from the only God? Be mindful of the fact that as you grow closer and closer to Christ, and grow stronger in your faith, Satan will use everything in his arsenal to tear all of your works down. Dont let ignorance and arrogance ruin the work you do in the name of Christ, or let pride and selfishness ruin your relationships with each other. The bottom line. - What if we really loved each other for who we all are? How radical would that be? What if we really and truly cared about each others well being, and showed it through applying that care in our daily actions? How righteous would that be? Its things like that that spread the Gospel, things like showing that you care, listening to peoples problems,

slowing your tongue, and just being great people that truly please God. -When people see that our actions are so out there because we actually love them they will ask why we are so different, where does our self control come from? That is when the door to witnessing is opened. When they ask why we are so different we will say, Because I know that there is a God, in fact, I know Him so well that he calls me his son/daughter and I call him my Father. And I know that he died on the cross to bring us back to be with him forever, freeing us from sin and shame. - The cause we are rallying behind is the harvest. (?) The leader of the revolution is The God the Almighty most Magnificent The Savior of all man kind! The God we serve is so powerful that He created the universe, and so all knowing that He knows every star in every solar system in every galaxy by name. He is so loving that he knows every single one of us 6.3 billion humans by name, knows the exact amount of hair we have on our heads, knows exactly what our hearts want, and need. He is so loving that He hears all of our prayers, everything we ask for, and all of our problems, and answers them all with His overwhelming love, giving us peace in every trial. This is the God we love, and this is the God we serve. If our God is for us, then who could ever stand against us?? - (Close with scripture and prayer) Isaiah 58:1-4, 6-12 "Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well- watered garden, an overflowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the desecrated ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.