Red Shirt #4 -- Good Soil: 052312

Tonight we completed our Red Shirt series by looking at the last type of soil talked about in Luke 8:4-8, 11-15.  This type of soil isn't a red shirt soil, but a gold shirt one.  They are the ones that grow and mature and produce.  It tells us about them in verses 8 and 15.  It says they are seed tha fall on good ground, which means they end up growing and reaching teh full potential that God created them for.  They grow, mature, thrive, and reproduce.  The people described here believe in Jesus, accept him as their Savior, make him their master, and then go out and convert others. 

It tells us that these type of people are defined by doing 5 different things.  #1.  They have a good and noble heart.  This comes by allow God, through His Holy Spirit, to transform us.  Then we resolve to do good and noble things, finding out what is good and noble, and actually acting on it.  #2.  They hear God's word.  This could be by going to church, reading the Bible, praying, reading Christian books, talking with people about God's word, etc...  #3.  They retain God's word.  We can do this by memorization and setting down markers to remind yourself.  #4.  They persevere. No matther what happens they hold onto their faith in God.  They spend time with Him so they can learn trust.  #5.  They produce a crop.  They actually go out and tell other people the good news about Jesus.  These are signs that accompany a mature Christian. 

I give tonight: B+
Favorite Moment: Evoke Video

Red Shirts #1: Trampled Dirt -- 050212

Tonight we began our new series: Red Shirts.  Red shirts in Star Trek are the expendable crew members.  They are usually killed off quickly to show the danger of the situation.  They usually are wearing red shirts, thus the name, and have no name.  They are destined to die.  When it comes to churches we have red shirts too.  They are the ones who don't have a faith tht survives and they never end up growing in their relationship with Christ. Don't be a red shirt! 

We read the parable to the sower (or soil if you wish) from Luke 8:4-8, 11-15.  A parable is a story with a point, trying to cmmunicate the point through a comparison.  Jesus used them quite often in order to help those who were listening understand what he was talking about, using fimiliar images.  he also used them so that only true seekers could understand the true meaning of the parables.  This particular parabel can teach us 3 ways we can be red shirts (those that don't survive or grow in their faith).

The seed is God's word, going out through preaching, evangelsim, etc...  This is the gospel, the good news that Jesus died, came back to life, and we can get forgiveness for the bad things (sins) we ahve done through Him so we can havea  good relationship with God now and for eternity in heaven.

The soil is different types of people's hearts and how they respond to the gospel.  Some never grow, some grow but die, some grow but never thrive, and some grow, thrive, and hel others grow.

The Path soil (verses 5 and 12) represents a hardened heart that refuses to ever listen to the gospel.  It is trampled down and hardened.  There is no way the seed can ever get into the ground in order to grow, so instead it lies on top , waiting its fate without ever fulfilling its purpose.  Why is it so hard?  It has been trampled down by others, it has never been softened through plowing.  These are people that have beaten down by those aruond them, they ahve experienced pain and are now bitter and unwilling ot allow anyone in to heal their pain.  Maybe you are this type of person, abused, neglected, hurt by something in your past, bitter against God for allowing theings to happen in your life.  Your heart has become hardened to hearing that God cares for you and wants to heal you, so you never let the message sink in.

The birds that eat up the seed represents the devil, our enemy.  The ultimate fate of the seed on hard soil is to be eaten by the birds.  Satan desires to keep you away from God, so that you, as he is, will be condemned to an eternity in hell.  He watns you to be bitter and in pain and never experiece the freedom that comes through Christ.

You don't have to be a redshirt, you don't have to live in pain and ibtterness any more.  But you hae to allow God to soften your heart, by opening up your pain and bitterness to him, releasing the grip you have had on it and let God have it isntead so he can heal it for you.

I give tonight: B-
Favorite Moment: Group resplit!

The Farming Game: 102611

Tonight we talked about Luke 8:5-8, 11-15 which is a parable about a farmer planting seeds.  The seeds fall onto four different types of soil with different results.  The dirt of representative of people who have heard the gospel, the seed being the gospel.  The first type of dirt is Path Dirt, which is trampled and hard soil.  Birds come and eat the seeds so no plant is ever grown.  These are peple that come to church, have the chance to hear the good news and have thir life changed for the better by it but are distracted or just refuse to think about what they hear.  The second type of dirt is Rocky Dirt, which is dirt with a lot of rocks still in it.  Because of this the seed is planted but has no root, so when the sun comes out the plant withers.  These are those who hear God's word but don't stick with it.  They are pumpled up to follo God one minuted but when it becomes too difficult to stick with God they abandon the path.  They have never spent any time reading their bible or in prayer to build up their roots.  The thid type of dirt is Thorny Dirty, which is dirt that has weeds growing in it.  Because of this the seed grows but they never grow big enough to produce anything because they are choked by the weeds surrounding them.  These people have experenced life's worries, pleasures, and riches and follow after them instead of fully following God, thus they enver each others.  The final type of soil is Good Dirt.  This dirt takes in the seed, grows a plant, and produces a crop.  The bible gives 5 things that it does.  #1.  It had a noble and good heart.  #2.  It hears the word.  #3.  It retains the word. #4.  It perseveres.  #4.  It produces.  You can be good soil if you listen, retain, stick with it, and share the gospel.

I give tonight: A-
Favorite moment: I Broke Facebook Rap