Converge
March 27th – That Sunday night, we’ll be going just down the road to Crosspointe church for Converge. Converge is a youth rally where the Creek will be joining together with almost 300 other students from around Cary and RDU to worship God and learn more about what they can do if they join together under the banner of the Gospel. We’ll work out rides, but make sure you’re there for this epic night!
Register for Crossroads
Going to Crossroads? The dates are June 27 – July 1! Total cost will be $270/person, with a deposit being due in April, and the final amount being due mid-summer. Go to http://www.crossroadsworldwide.org for more camp information, and register below at no cost. Just let us know you’ll be there!
Wednesdays!
Happy New Year to all of you! We just wanted to make everyone aware of our current situation with the Edge. So here’s the scoop:
When do we meet? —– Wednesdays, 7pm – 8:30pm
Were do we meet? —– The home of our worship pastor, Scott Pearce; 211 Larkwood Ln, Cary, NC
What do we do? —– The night starts off with some time to hang out, kick back, and enjoy good company. Then we have a group time of teaching, followed by some discussion time in separate guys’ and girls’ groups.
Remember, we’re here as a supplement to the discipleship of our churches youth that is being chiefly administered by their parents. Any questions you have, and anything we can do for you, don’t hesitate to email us, and we’ll get back to you ASAP! See you at the Edge!
Apology – 1 Peter 3:13-16
Apology. The root of the word you may or may not be more familiar with: “Apologetics.” This week we focus on a critical little chunk of scripture that calls on each and every Christian to be an apologist and give a defense of the Gospel.
“13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”[b] 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” – 1 Peter 3:13-16
BIG IDEA: We are called to be DEFENDERS of our own SUFFERING.
Peter is writing here clearly with some prophetic scripture in mind. Specifically, we see Isaiah’s influence:
Isaiah 50:9a “It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me, who is he that will condemn me?”
and
Isaiah 8:13a “The Lord almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread…”
Am I the only one seeing a theme here? The fact is, that to live a Christian lifestyle, you WILL suffer. No question. No “if.” But wait, there’s more. God promises us that He will not pit us against any challenge that is too much for us to bear as long as we lean on Him (1 Cor. 10:13). Let’s unpack this suffering a little further.
1. We suffer in two main ways. We suffer for:
(A) Our Humanity. We are, by nature, sinful beings living in a sinful world. Because of that, we will suffer. Sin isn’t pleasant, and so by virtue of the sin-stained reality we are part of, we will be forced to deal with the unpleasant.
(B) Our Christianity. For the world, culture is god, and God is a subsection of culture. For the Christian, God is god, and He defines and structures culture. When the world is the majority, the Christian must go against the grain, and that causes significant friction. The result of that friction is the persecution of the minority, the Christian.
The common theme though, is that in our suffering of all kinds, we can rest on an undying hope in Jesus Christ. We have hope in His promise of freedom from sin, knowing that one day we will leave our humanity in the literal dust and join Jesus in a sinless heaven. We also have hope in the righteousness of the Christian lifestyle. No matter how loud the world says that the the way we’re living is wrong, Jesus is always louder when He says it’s right.
And about this hope we have…
Here’s the kicker. The Christian lifestyle isn’t defenseless against the world and against the powers and principalities that run it (Rom. 8:36-39). But YOU, as a Christian, are the front line of defense against attackers of the Gospel truth.
2. YOU are called to be an apologist of your relationship with Jesus.
Apol-o-gist /ə-ˈpä-lə-jist/ = “one who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something”
It should be the responsibility of every Christian to be answer questions like, “Why do you have hope in Jesus?” and “What does it mean to be a Christian?” If you can’t share the Gospel with someone in under a minute, then you should take some time to think about it. Practice. Know what you believe and know how to tell somebody about it. The same rule goes for your personal testimony. Be prepared to share it with others. Have a Full, 10-minute version, and have a 30-second version. In sharing your faith though, keep a few things in mind:
Christ-Like Life – 1 Peter 3:8-12
1 Peter 3:8-12: “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.10For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
11He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
This week we take a look at some what Peter says about the look of a Christ-centered life. In summary, his Big Idea is that a Christ-Centered life looks like Christ. Seems pretty obvious right? Peter breaks this down a little more and points out 6 attributes that characterize a Christ-centered life.
1. Unity – This isn’t the first time that Peter talks about unity. Look back a few weeks and we’ll see that in 2:10-12, he focuses on the fact that we are a unified people. Remember too that we are called in 2 Corinthians the “body” of Christ. Each individual has his/her own unique and equally important role to play. It’s important to remember that we are all unified by the bond we share in the love of Christ. It’s a bond that reaches deeper than any sports team or club, it’s a unique bond that makes us family with one another. Look at Philippians 2. Paul writes here and says “make my joy complete by having the same mind…” In the ESV, we see the same words about being “like-minded” right here in Peter. This doesn’t mean finish each other’s sentences or laugh at the same jokes. It means that we, as a body, have our priorities in the same place and our focus on Christ.
2. Sympathy - We are to be sympathetic to our brothers and sisters. Sometimes sympathy doesn’t come naturally, and just like love, it has to be a choice. The best picture of sympathy comes from scripture. Romans 12:14-16 & 1 Cor. 12:21-26 push the same point; that we should share in the experiences that our family members in Christ experience. Mourn with those who mourn, and rejoice with those who rejoice. If you’ve ever been in the center of that situation, you know that it really helps to have someone who shares your pain, or who can share in your joy.
3. Brotherly Love – This attribute stems back to our relationship with each other as family. This word “philos” is only used in reference to Christians here in the New Testament. We love each other because we first were loved by Christ. Because of our relationship with Jesus, we have an understanding of what it is to genuinely love, and that is a love that we should share with our family in Christ.
4. Compassion – Compassion here is really related to sympathy. Sympathy is something that we choose to share with our Christian family, but compassion is something that we should demonstrate to everyone. We need to guard ourselves against complacency and remember that Christ came into this world and died for the entire population. Everyone is loved by God, and everyone should be loved by us.
5. Humility – Humility is an essential component of the Christian life. If we look back at Philippians 2, we see a wonderful description of Jesus that includes this: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Christ was humble and as a model for our behavior, we too should be humble. In addition, it’s impossible to show sympathy, among other things, when selfishness is present since sympathy, by definition, requires placing someone else above yourself.
6. Forgiveness – The rest of this scripture after verse 8 is more focused on forgiveness. Forgiveness is what all these other traits wrap up into. We forgive because we were first forgiven by God through Jesus. A grudge is a burden, and forgiveness is a refusal to carry the weight of that burden around with you. But without a humble heart, without a sympathetic and compassionate spirit, without love, forgiveness is not possible.
The most important thing to take away from this is not a checklist of qualities to make sure your life illustrates. This is a list of evidence that should be present in the presence of a transformed heart. Experiencing Jesus is a transforming power that fundamentally alters the heart and naturally produces the character traits of a Christian life. A Christ-centered life simply looks like Christ.
Husbands and Wives: 1 Peter 3:1-7
The beginning of 1 Peter 3 tackles what is arguably the most important social dynamic in humanity’s repertoire: marriage. This week’s BIG IDEA is that marriage and relationships are a gift from God designed to mirror his relationship with us. there are 3 points I’d like to unpack fro these verses that I feel are most broadly applicable.
1. True beauty comes from a life that reflects God
What kind of person looks beautiful to you. Try going to Google images (make sure safe search is turned on) and type in “beautiful people”. Who do we see? Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Chinese Geishas, brides in dresses and garb from all around the world. Each culture has its own definition of “beauty” that it imposes on its people. But genuine beauty is not subjective. Genuine beauty gets its very definition from God:
Proverbs 6:25: ”From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” Psalm 27:4: ”One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
God defines true beauty, and true beauty comes from a life that looks like God.
2. Men and Women are not designed to compete against each other, but rather to compliment each other.
At this point, let me take a second to clarify that men and women are both equally capable and valuable, and none of this scripture is to suggest that either gender is lesser in those areas.
That being said, men and women clearly have individual roles that God has designed them to fill in a marriage relationship. Proverbs 31 for instance, is a good character reference for a Godly wife, while Ephesians 5 does a great job of instructing a husband. Now in any household, there must be a leader. Jesus himself says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. God has set up the husband to be the head of the household, and hence giving him authority over the family, but authority is not equal to influence. That is to say that just because the husband has authority over the family, is not to say that the wife has no influence in family matters. Marriage is a team effort and it requires a commitment to Godliness on the part of both spouses.
3. Men and Women compliment each other, but they do NOT complete each other
I want to emphasize this point not so much because the text does, but because I think that while we’re looking at this topic, it’s crucial that we realize this truth as we cultivate relationships and eventually build marriages. Remember that marriage is a gift, and your significant other is a gift, but they are not a replacement for Jesus, and they are not capable of filling the hole present in every sinful heart. Men and women both have their strengths, but we all have our weaknesses too, and if our husbands/wives can’t do it, then who can? Tell ‘em Paul:
“7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
In our weaknesses, God makes us strong. Where we are lacking, God provides. Like caulk in drywall, Jesus fills the whole in the sinful heart and restores it to it’s intended beauty. In marriage, don’t focus on drawing closer to each other but on drawing closer to Jesus. As a result, husband and wife draw closer to each other AS they both draw closer to their shared Savior and Lord.
Remember that the Gospel is not just the beginning, it’s everything, and it is manifest in every area of life. Including marriage.
Unified – 1 Peter 2:10-12
Last week, we read through these three verses in 1 Peter and unpacked this critical spiritual truth: that the body of believers, who have chosen to accept Christ’s gift of salvation, is united in Him.
BIG IDEA: Before Christ, we are solitary. After Christ,we are unified.
“once you were not a people…” (1 Peter 2:10, emphasis added) Before Christ, we share common characteristics and we have similarities. For instance, we are all sinners, we are all human, some of us share the commonality of green eyes, some us of share red hair (or no hair). However, no common characteristic or similarity connects us as a community. ”…now you are the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:10, emphasis added) In Christ, we are united, not by a common environment as with co-workers or classmates, and not by a common interest as with friends and peers, but instead by a common love that creates between us not only a community, but a family. We are, as followers of Christ and strangers in this world, a family.
Unpacking “Unified”
1. Unified with Christ and with each other
Time after time, we are described as the “bride of Christ.” Marriage, being the most intimate and deeply connected bond known to us, is used to describe the relationship that we as the church have with Jesus. And we are a family with each other, bound more intimately by love than by any other tie.
2. Unified by God’s mercy
Our sin prevents us not only from having a relationship with God, but also from having the kind of genuine, intimate relationships we were designed to have with each other. God’s mercy enacted in our individual lives is an expression of His love that joins us together. Love is a big enough blanket to wrap us all up in together!
3. Unified to love God, one another, and the world
First and foremost we are unified with God so that we can share with Him an unrestrained and incomparable love that drives and fuels us. Secondly, we are unified to love each other. This is CRUCIAL! We must encourage one another, assist one another, and hold each other accountable. Together, we are unified because while one person can be incredibly influential when living a life for Christ, a united team of millions of people can impact the world more when unified than individually.
4. Unified for the glory of God
We are unified as an illustration of God’s mercy and of His love. So our lives and our community with each other can glorify God and exalt Him by the way it looks from the outside. Remember that we are strangers here. We are aliens, foreigners, sojourners, only on this earth for a time before going to our home in heaven. While here, BE different. We are made differently by the Holy Spirit. Don’t try and cover that up by imitating the world, instead amplify it and be set apart. Let your constant INTENTION be to direct ATTENTION to God by your lifestyle. St. Francis of Assisi once said, “preach the gospel at all times and, when necessary, use words.”
Stay Up to date!
Now you can keep track of our lessons as we go through them on Thursday nights. We’re using a tool known as “Really Simple Syndication” (RSS). Each week I’ll be posting our lesson online here on The Creek Edge website. Now you can stay in the loop by subscribing to our RSS feed and having the week’s lesson delivered to your inbox! Here is a simple set up for some common email utilities:
Gmail: sign into your Google account with your username and password. Then, choose the “reader” option located on the navigation bar in the upper left corner. Now choose “add a new subscription” and enter the following URL: http://thecreekedge.com/feed/
Yahoo: sign onto you yahoo account with your username and password. Then go to my.yahoo.com. Click on “add content” and choose “add RSS feed”. Enter the above URL and click “add”.
Outlook Express: open Outlook Express and click the “file” tab. Then choose “folder” and “add new RSS feed”. Enter the above URL.
Keep up to date! Students, follow along and save each week’s lesson. Parents, stay in the loop with what we’re discussing each week. Everyone else, reap the benefits of a weekly lesson! Thanks for being a part of the Creek Edge community!
Dare 2 Share – The “Un” Tour
Join us this February in Washington D.C. for an epic weekend that will challenge the hearts and minds of our students. Check out what Dare 2 Share has to say about it’s program this year:
“Un. It’s where teens live. Often unappreciated, unloved and deemed unworthy.
But God flips that idea on its head. He uses unlikely teenagers to do unbelievable things for His Kingdom. Like David. No one gave him a chance, not even his own family, yet he faced a giant unafraid while an entire army trembled.
At the un. Tour, David’s life will highlight what it means to be un:
- un.cool – God using uncool people to accomplish his misson
- un.alone – always in fellowship with the Trinity
- un.afraid – taking a stand & defeating giants in their lives
- un.leashed – motivated & mobilized to share the unstoppable Gospel message
This high impact training will inspire and equip your teenagers to begin sharing Jesus with their friends, and your youth group will never be the same as they witness the unstoppable power of the Gospel.”
Click on our Media section to Watch the video now, and don’t miss the “Un” tour this February with The Edge.
Set Apart – 1 Peter
This week on the Edge, we’re continuing our study of the book of 1 Peter. This letter is packed full of deep and insightful wisdom pertaining to our identity in Christ as a very special and sovereignly ordained people. We’ll be studying how we are Set Apart for the glory of God. Join us this week at 7pm to study God’s word and examine our struggles, and our living hope.
This week’s focus verse: 1 Peter 1:22 – “2Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.”
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