22 Jun, 2011

Super 8

 

Scene 1:

Summer of 1979. Five friends. The adventure of a lifetime...

 

They set out to make a zombie film, but are swept up into an even bigger adventure. They witness a catastrophic train crash that turns out to be anything but an accident...

Unusual disappearances. Inexplicable events. 

They begin to investigate and uncover a truth more terrifying than they could imagine.

To survive, to save each other, to save their town, they will have to make sacrifices. They will have to work together. 

_________

Scene 2:

A couple thousand years ago. Four friends.

There's a rumor that Jesus is in town. Their friend is in desperate need of healing. They will do whatever it takes.

Let the adventure begin.

"A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”"  Mark 2:1-5 (NIV)

Dug a hole...through the roof. What? Desperation. Teamwork. Persistence. Adventure. Love.

_________

Jesus says the two most important things are: 1) Loving Him 2) Loving others (Matt 22:37-40).
He tells us that the world will know His love through our unity (John 17:22-23).
He also tells us that we will do even greater things than He did (John 14:12). Whoa, really?

Jesus calls us into an adventure, a story bigger than ourselves. His mission is to redeem His creation. It's a big job and we are His hands and feet. He calls us to sacrifice, to take risks...and most importantly, He asks us to do it together.

Loving Jesus. Loving others. Adventure. TOGETHER. 

Loving someone is powerful. Having your friends love them with you is life-changing.

MyStory becomes exponentially more powerful when it becomes OurStory.


When you read Mark 2:1-5, what do you notice about the friends of the paralytic? What are they willing to do for their friend just to get Him to Jesus? Would anything have stopped them?

 

How is this a reflection of Jesus' pursuit of you? Of your friends? 

 

A huge part of MyStory takes place in your community...in your group of friends. When you are a team, loving others together, it becomes OurStory. How does your story become more powerful in community?

 

Your friends need to know the love of Jesus. They may not have literal train crashes in their lives, but we all have our own catastrophes, wounds and brokenness. You do. Your community does. Your friends do. How can you, with your friends, better love others in their train crashes? To what lengths will you go to love them, show up in their lives, sacrifice for them? How far will you go to bring them to Jesus?

Loving others is always an adventure. What adventure is Jesus calling you and your friends on? WHO is He calling you to love and HOW? It could be as simple as taking them to coffee or inviting them to hang out with your group...or it could be as intense as digging a hole through a roof...

 

So, what's the adventure look like today?

 

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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

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