I.
Themes
a.
Every year I pray and ask God for a theme for
our youth group for the year.
b.
Previous Themes: The complete life, No
compromise, It matters, Under the surface, A single drop, Signs, Complicated,
Clarity, Markers
c.
This year as I was praying I got the impression
that the theme of the year should be, “The middle.” I was surprised by this and I asked God if
maybe he meant, “The center.” Like we need
to be focusing on the center, our relationship with God. But I was told no, “The middle.” As I pondered what this mean the first
thought that went in my head was that of a baseball game, in which the pitcher
would throw the ball down the middle to get a strike, but it was also the point
at which the batter had the best chance of hitting the ball for a homerun. There was risk, but also reward in “the
middle.”
II.
The Beginning
a.
The beginning is when we get saved. It is the start of something great. The beginning is great, there is so much hope
and optimism. We think we can conquer
the world. Our sins are forgiven, our
load is lightened, and we are ready to win.
But then we hit the middle.
III.
The Middle
a.
Life is difficult in the middle. It is a place of danger, hurt, loneliness,
grief, and pain. We often get lost in
the middle. The middle is when we are
challenged in our faith, when doubts creep in, when many give up and no longer
follow God. The middle is where bad
things happen, where people lose hope.
b.
Yet in the middle, where the greatest risk is,
where life may be the worst it can be, that is when the greatest reward is
too. It is in that time when you can
grow the most, it is in that time when you can have more faith, it is during
that time when you can find the most victory.
But only if we learn to trust, that is the only way we can survive our
time in “the middle.”
IV.
Jairus in the Middle
a.
Mark 5: 21-24, 35-36 – “21 When Jesus had again
crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered
around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named
Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly
with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her
so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around
him.
b.
A woman approaches and touches Jesus at this
time, which causes her to be healed, but this takes time with Jesus speaking to
her.
V.
Success in the Middle
a.
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came
from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they
said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told
the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
b.
In the middle Jairus finds himself with no hope,
his daughter is dead. There is no reason
to believe in Jesus any more, there is no reason to trust, there is only
despair. But what does Jesus ask him to
do in this situation? Don’t be afraid,
just believe. He asks for trust, even
though there was no real reason to trust.
He asks them to push aside fear, even though that is what they
feel. He goes to the house and raises
Jairus’ daughter from the dead.
c.
You see even in the darkness of “the middle”
there is light because Jesus is there.
Are you living in “the middle?”
“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
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