Put your hands up open up wide Put your hands up side by side Age don’t matter like Race don’t matter like Place don’t matter like what’s inside
Let the kick drum kick one time Breathe out let your mind unwind Eyes on the ceiling Looking for the feeling Wide open let your own eyes shine
Yeah, it’s where the fight begins Yeah, underneath the skin Between these hopes and where we’ve been Every fight comes from the fight within
– Chorus – I am the war inside I am the battle line I am the rising tide I am the war I fight
Eyes open open wide I can feel it like a crack in my spine I can feel it like the back of my mind I am the war inside
I get the feeling that we’re living in sci-fi I get the the feeling that our weapons are lo-fi Ain’t no killer like pride No killer like I No killer like what’s inside
Yeah, it’s in the air we breathe Yeah, it’s in the blood we bleed Beneath these dreams and what we’ve seen We are the kids of the in-between
Put your hands up open up wide put your hands up side by side Age don’t matter like Race don’t matter like Place don’t matter like what’s inside
Yeah, every thought or deed Yeah, every tree or seed The big things come from the little dreams Every world is made by make believe
This past weekend we wrapped up a 6-week series called “The Diary of a Wired Kid.” The Wire is the name of our middle school ministry, and we wanted to address questions that a lot of our students are thinking but not asking out loud – things that they might wrestle with in a diary. They might not be asking it for any number of reasons – fear of embarrassment, because they just don’t know if it’s appropriate or not, they’ve never considered whether or not God might be interested in their question or have anything to say about it in the Bible, or because it’s simply never dawned on them to do so.
Our series BIG IDEA was this: God cares about me and what I’m going through.
Here are the six questions we addressed in the series (obviously there are many more, but …):
Why am I going through all of these changes? Does God not like me or something?
What should I do my friend is, or I am getting bullied?
How can I talk to my friends about God without throwing up?
What am I supposed to do if my parents don’t get along?
My parents always say dumb stuff. What do they mean?
God tells me to forgive, but what if the other person really hurt me and they don’t deserve it?
Understanding that God does indeed care about us and that the Bible is relevant and has practical advice about how to deal with everyday life is so crucial for students. The series was a great success, and we felt that the students were very engaged each week.
The People of God in Community. God creates us for community, but intimacy often leads to conflict. It was no different for the early Christian community, which brought together people from a multitude of backgrounds and ethnicities. So for Paul and other leaders, the task becomes not only proclaiming that the kingdom of God is here in the person of Jesus Christ, but actualizing it in the lives of individuals in the all-inclusive, loving community that this message creates. Because the leaders could not be with every community all of the time and God’s purposes reach far beyond the contemporary problems, theological instruction, pastoral care, and training in discipleship are needed. Thus these first leaders instruct Christians by writing letters to the various groups, letters that continue to instruct us today.
The People of God into Eternity. The efforts of God to form an all-inclusive community of loving persons on earth comes to fulfillment beyond time in the formation of a new heaven and new earth. Old ways of oppression, alienation, travail, suffering, and mortality end, and life eternal takes their place. Worship of self gives way to worship of God. “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face” (Revelation 22:2-4). To everyone who longs to be part of this loving, nurturing, all-inclusive community: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift” (Revelation 22:17).