Extraordinary Pt. 3

This past Sunday, we discussed the Joseph story a little more and looked at his brothers more closely.

In the story of throwing Jospeh in the pit, we see quite a few characteristics of people we might run into when we are either in a pit or thrown into a pit by someone.

It sounds kinda harsh, but being thrown into a pit can be quite subtle.

Anywhere from verbal bullying to a friend continuously ignoring us without knowing the reason, the reasons can vary as to how we end up in our pits.

One thing is for certain, we will end up in a pit at some point....they are unavoidable.

There are 2 types of people (generally speaking) that you encounter when you are in a pit.
1. The "informer" - those that stand at the top and holler things down at you. They love to tell you reasons why you are in your pit, the offer suggestions as ways to get out of the pit and usually their efforts ted to keep us in our pits.
2. The "jumper" - those that jump down in the pit with you, get their hands dirty and get messy in your mess.

Last week we ended the session with pieces of cut rope that were selected from an adult who was holding a cup of ropes. Students then prayed with an adult and left these pieces of rope at the foot of the cross, to symbolize they were ready to break free from their pits...Christ has extended the rope and is our rescue from our pits. His death and resurrection overcome any obstacle we go through in life. By His power we are healed!

This week, the students were asked to identify a friend who they know are in a pit. They also identified through the types of people we encounter when we are in a pit, which ones they were most like....the "informer or the jumper."

Spending time in prayer, the students came to the altar, dug their hands through buckets of dirt we had placed around the altar and grabbed a piece of rope that was placed down at the bottom. This was to symbolize that Jesus calls us into the messes of those around us. If they felt led, during the week, they could give this rope to a friend going through a tough time to let them know they weren't going to go through this alone.

The call to be Christ like in the life of a teenager can be really tough to figure out. It is hard enough for a seasoned believer to fully embrace because of the continued battle against the flesh we all go through. Ephesians 5:1-2 calls us to follow God's example in Christ, as living our lives sacrificially. to me, that absolutely indicates a call to get messy. Philippians 2:1-11 calls us to be imitators of Christ....looking out for the interests and needs of others....

When someone is in a pit, don't you think one of their main interests is to get out? I know it is for me!

Next week, we will tie everything in to Christ.....we will show how this passage in Genesis is not ultimately about Joseph even though he is the most talked about individual in this story. Joseph is only the subplot to the main Plot.

"The Pit" - Extraordinary Pt. 2

We jumped in to the meat of the "Extraordinary" series this past Sunday as we covered Genesis 37-42. The story follows the unbelievable journey of Joseph and his dreams.

Now, we need to set this up to show how it might relate in today's world....here's how we did it.

A few weeks ago, I traveled to a Beach Retreat location in Panama City, to check it out for the upcoming retreat in June. It looked familiar in pictures and it was very similar to a place I stayed in 17 years ago when I was fresh out of college and working as a summer intern at a church. When I pulled in to the location, it didn't look anything like the place I had imagined in my head. I am finally old enough to realize, in real time,  that things change over a 17 year period.

I jumped out of my car because it was raining and ran for cover under the breeze way covering that overlooked the basketball courts...I pulled my phone out to take a picture (see below) and that's when it hit me. I walked out on to the court and stood there for a while and the memories came flooding back. This was the exact spot we dropped our luggage and started shooting around (I wasn't a very good intern because I was supposed to be keeping everyone in line and stationary while the youth pastor checked us in).

What I started to think about was the journey I had been on. I knew 17 years ago that I would be a youth pastor some day and there I stood, 17 years later, as a youth pastor. It was surreal, nostalgic and quite a trip to be honest. I can clearly say that the road from that court in 1996 to me standing on it again in 2013 was not how I would have planned it, yet, there I was....and I began to think of Joseph and his dream in Genesis 37.

He had a dream that his brothers would one day bow down to him and he made the mistake of telling them the dream. No one likes "that guy." Those dreams are awesome if you are the one who comes out on top, but he was already hated by his brothers because his was the "favored" child. His second dream included his parents this time and they would all bow down to him.

His brothers plotted to kill him one day, as Joseph went to check on them, at his father's wishes. When he arrived, they roughed him up, stripped off his coat and threw him in a pit and then sat down to eat (talk about ruthless siblings). They decided (wisely) not to kill him, but rather, sell him to a group of people traveling through. Those people, in turn, sold him to Potiphar, who was in charge of Pharaoh's army (we'll come back to this).

Do you think that Joseph started to question the dreams he had while in the pit? Maybe, but what about now? He went from a pit to being a slave? The Bible says that "God was with Joseph" and everything he did, God blessed. He was put in charge of Potiphar's whole house. Potiphar's wife thought that included her. She seduced Joseph time and time again and Joseph refused every time....even running away from her while she yanked his garments...Now she had him. She claimed attempted rape, Potiphar got mad and through Joseph in prison. He did the right thing and ended up in prison.....Come On Man!

Do you think he started to doubt those dreams now? Pit, to slave, to prison! The bible says that God was with Joseph and blessed everything he did and he was put in charge of the prison. He just happened to meet 2 royal workers who had been thrown in prison, a cup bearer and a baker....what does a baker have to do to get thrown in prison? Joseph explained the dreams that these 2 prisoners had (because Joseph was kind of an expert on dreams, hmm ....). They came true and 2 years later, Pharaoh had a dream and Joseph was remembered because of the dreams he predicted that came true about the 2 prisoners.

HUGE PART! Joseph was summoned by Pharaoh and the Bible says, they took Joseph out of a "pit" to clean him up and make him presentable before Pharaoh  He interpreted the dreams and Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph, he decided to make Joseph 2nd in command of all of Egypt, WOW! Joesph didn't see that one coming I bet.

A few years later, there was a famine in Israel and it was known that Egypt had food because of Josephs 7 year plan. Jacob (Joseph's father) sent the sons to Egypt to get food and who just happened to be in charge of the food distribution.....Joseph. He recognized them but they had no clue who he was and when it was their turn to approach and ask, they all bowed down before Joseph (Genesis 42:6).

Preparation! Scholars differ between how many years it took for the dream to come true. Roughly the idea is generally viewed between 24-28 years. What was so important about the pit? It wouldn't be the only time that Joseph would be in a pit and it was as if that first pit experience was a set up to the second pit, the final place Joseph was before he became 2nd in charge. What was so important about being sold to Potiphar? If you are going to be 2nd in command of everything in Egypt, wouldn't it be important to know military tactics, strategy and lingo? He spent quite a few years serving the Captain of the Royal Guard, consistently hearing conversations and strategy about military life. What was so important about the prison? First, the fact that he was not killed by Potiphar is huge! Prison almost seems like protection for Joseph rather than punishment. Oh, and he happened to be thrown in the royal prison where he just happened to meet 2 royal prisoners, who just happened to have dreams, and one of those guys just happened to remember Joseph when Pharaoh had a dream....pretty crazy coincidence huh?

Did Joseph experience the same nostalgic moment like I had, standing on the court in Panama City? We don't know, but we can clearly see that Joseph's dreams did come true, but it probably wasn't the exact road Joseph had thought he would take to get there.

We all have "pits" in our lives...they are unavoidable. But it's how we look at our "pits" that determine where we will end up some day. Whether we have stumbled in to them ourselves, or someone has thrown us in the "pit", the "pits" in our lives are not punishment (although they may seem that way from the view we currently have). Those "pits" are to prepare us, for just that right moment in time, that we can't see. Joseph broke free from his pit to land in another pit and when the time was right, God was all over this situation....just as he had been while he was a slave and a prisoner.

God is calling each of us out of our "pits" and the promise of hope is this, God is there with you, always. He is in the mess, in the pit, in captivity, in prison, with you. In order for us to ever take hold of the palace, we must first learn to be prepared in the pit. I heard one pastor say it this way....in order to serve in the palace, you have to learn to serve in the pit. We all want to view the palace but we must first break free from our "pits"

To end the night, we asked the students, "what are those "pits" in your life. No matter how deep or shallow, they need our attention and through the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been extended a rope to climb out of our "pits".....His grace is sufficient for each one of us! We then placed 6 inch pieces of rope on a table and had the students, as they were moved to, grab a piece of rope, find an adult who was standing by, kneel at the cross we positioned in the center of the room and pray together....leaving that rope at the foot of the cross because that "pit" had been defeated and victory to overcome it is possible through Christ. Amen?

Extraordinary Moment - 1988 World Series (Greatest Game of All-Time)

1988 World Series - Game 1 - Bottom of 9th... by senatork

Arguably, the single greatest World Series Game in the history of baseball. There are plenty to choose from, but this one game has more "extraordinary" reasons why, in my opinion, tops even the 2011 World Series, Game 6 (which is a close 2nd because of the back and forth excitement).

This was supposed to be a 4 and out series. The Los Angeles Dodgers were a good team, obviously, but they were facing the Goliath of all MLB teams, the Oakland A's. Stacked with the best starting pitcher (Dave Stewart), the best relief pitcher (Eck), the best all around player (Jose Canseco) and the best young power hitter (Mark McGwire)....the Dodgers run was supposed to come to very quick end.

I personally watched this game and recorded it...(I have it on a VHS tape in my basement) and I really couldn't tell you why I had decided to record this specific game. I did that on occasional  to go back and watch the mechanics of the pitchers, as I pitched in high school and had dreams of becoming a Major League player one day.

The first 8 innings were playing out like a script had been written for this series...Stewart was shutting the Dodgers down, completely. Canseco hit a home run that put a dent in the camera in center field and Dennis Eckersley was now in to pitch relief and finish the last paragraph and end chapter 1 of this supposed short book.

Kirk Gibson, who was a decent talent throughout the years, but never someone you would build a team around, had a career year in 1988. Gibson was notorious for getting injured and wasn't even supposed to play the entire series because he could barely walk...having 2 messed up legs (ankles and knees). Watch the video of his at bat against Eck. He fouls a few balls off and can barely make it out of the batters box. He was swinging with all arms because he didn't have any drive in his legs to push through the ball.

I had watched a hitting instructional video around this time of Tony Gwynn, the Hall of Fame OF for the San Diego Padres. I remember him saying that in order to be a great hitter, everything must come in to balance. Sight, ability to pick up on pitches quickly, quick wrist action, lower body balance and upper body strength. Obviously, if the lower body balance is out of whack, the rest almost doesn't matter....except for this one moment in time.

Pitch after pitch, Gibson fought off nasty sinkers, 2 seam fast balls that were falling off the table and change ups that were starting in the strike zone and then diving into the dirt. He was patient enough to work the count into a hitters count and waited for a pitch he could handle. With a flick of the wrist, baseball history was made and it was one of those stunning moments where the favored team, just couldn't rebound from actually losing a game. It was David hitting Goliath or Luke Skywalker delivering the 2 fatal shots that destroyed the Death Star in Star Wars....up against odds that weren't even just unfavorable...it was almost a 'just go ahead a lay down" type feeling.

For every reason that was stacked up against them, i found my favorite saying the moment Gibson sent the ball over the wall....That's why they play the game y'all!

Have you ever faced a moment in life like this? Where the odds were completely against you? Now, if we are honest, most of the time, we strike out or tap into a routine grounder to end the game and we lose. But there have been enough of these type of games through out the history of sports to remind us that we can't quit. Even when we don't even see the reason the play ourselves.

No joke, because I personally watched this game, it has stayed with me all these years and I use it sometimes to motivate myself in certain situations...For instance, when I may have a sore throat or I am having an off night at church before I get up to speak at youth group...I tell myself to get in the batters box, zone out the distractions of what might be hindering me, and start taking whacks....Usually, when all is said and done, I totally forget the bad attitude or the sick feeling until it's over.

So, whatever surmounting issue you may be facing right now, keep hacking, knowing that with just the right pitch and the right timing, a simple flick of the wrist can change everything.

See you Sunday night as we continue our series, Extraordinary!

- Jay

Forgiveness - in an image

Salvation was paid for on the cross by Christ....it cost us nothing and cost God His Son! This is where true forgiveness began, for all who would confess Christ with their mouth and believe in their hearts. This forgiveness is still available for us today and is still found at the cross as a reminder of how we received our pardon.

The students at [lit] last Sunday practiced forgiveness in an extraordinary way.....on each piece of paper is either the name of someone they need to forgive or the name of someone they need to seek forgiveness from.....What better place to take these hurtful and tough situations, than the foot of the cross! Loved the imagery of this moment!

- Jay

Extraordinary Series - Part 1

(Reference Genesis 50 and Matthews 18:21-22)

Tonight we started "Extraordinary" with a fun intro.."Twist and Shout" by the Beatles! They made an extraordinary impact on the music scene and continue to influence bands and musicians to this day. It was said that ordinary people + an Almighty God = extraordinary things. One of those is practicing forgiveness where Jesus said to forgive not just 7 times, but rather 77 times (70 x 7 in some translations)...7 was a number of perfection or completion and Jesus was saying that we should forgive completely and continually. Don't stay chained to that moment or person in time. Forgiveness doesn't depend on the other parties response based upon Genesis 50 and Joseph giving pardon to his brothers even though they never actually fessed up and apologized for throwing Joseph in a pit, leading him to be sold to serve as a slave and end up in prison....someone just threw a fastball down the middle of the plate and Joseph could have sought revenge on his brothers, storing up anger and angst for this one moment in time, but he choose to forgive through the power of an Almighty God...and that's extraordinary!

- Jay