Hi! My name is Jillianne and I am the new assistant youth minister here! And, I hate change! Okay, I’m not sure that I really HATE change but I’ve been dealing with a lot of changes in my life recently and I’m kinda ready to be done with change for a while …
So the first big change in my life is the fact that my husband and I got married this past Christmas Eve. It was both of our second wedding and we both have children – his children live in OH (Connor, 15 and Carley, 12) and my son lives with me (Blaine, 6). So that’s been a HUGE change in my life.
Also, I just moved to Charlotte in June after living in South Carolina all my life and that is a BIG change too! I really LOVE my old friends, my old house! My old bathroom … it was the size of mine and Matt’s office on the third floor and it was FABULOUS. The little townhouse where we are living now … my bathroom there is about the size of the closet in mine and Matt’s office! That is a real change ... trust me.
So, needless to say, I’ve been thinking about and dealing with “change” a lot recently. And so, I thought we might think together about change tonight!
I am wondering - by a show of hands … who here likes change?
Not many people do in general. Well … except maybe a baby in a diaper. Get it? Change the diaper! (that was my attempt at humor)
And so I started wondering … are there things in our lives that don’t change?
Can you think of anything? You might be feeling like … my parent’s rules will never change, my friends will always be the same, and you are probably right for now … but the truth is eventually they will change!!
So, here’s some of the things I thought of that change. These are really random examples, sorry:
*trees change – they lose their leaves, stay that way for a while and then
get really pretty flowers or new leaves.
*we change – right? Our physical appearance! I must say – I could go
without the gray hair. I mean, come on! I’m only 34. My little boy is always changing – his teeth – he looks like a different person depending on what tooth has fallen out / which is growing in. And he’s a cutie! Just watch some of his dance moves:
And, do he’s changing every day and I don’t even want to think about 10 years from now how much he will have changed ….
*And what about outer space – that’s always changing and moving. One day Pluto is a planet and the next it is not. There’s water on Mars or some other planet now. It’s incredible!
*school changes – you go from elementary to middle to high school. The people in class with you change. The things you are learning change. The people who teach you change.
*animals change – they get bigger, shed their skin, change colors based on
where they are standing, and so on.
*I don’t know about you …. but …. our taste in food changes – now when you get to know me, you will discover that I tend to be a pretty picky eater but I LOVE iced coffee and Mexican food. Like I just discovered that I LOVE guacamole. 34 years … who knew. And when I was pregnant, I couldn’t even look at an egg or I would throw up.
*our friends change – sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, sometimes permanently, sometimes just when certain people are around.
*the ocean – goes in and out and erodes the sand around it, washes in new
shells.
*technology – when I was in high school, I thought I was the coolest kid because of my BAG phone, Internet existed but we didn’t really use it. Now - computers, kindles, iPads, Android cell phones (I remember fondly my bag phone from high school). Pretty soon you guys won’t even need backpacks … everything will be on your laptop or kindle! And so, technology, has certainly CHANGED society and our ability for instant communication.
*how about EYC / this youth group – the people in it change every year (I am sure that some of you are probably missing some of last year’s seniors and there are lots of new faces … which is a good thing), sometimes there are new crew leaders or Sunday school teachers or assistant youth ministers!!
I’ve been thinking a lot about you guys and the EYC program here and some of the CHANGES happening. One of the most obvious changes really cool changes is this new 6:20pm Eucharist. I think it is going to be a really great experience and will be a worship service that anyone can come to but that is designed just with YOU GUYS in mind and by some of you. And, the fact that we’re going to have a theme for the year this year. And each crew has created a logo idea – and we will get to sharing those in a minute. Bottom line - that is a change for us!
So I couldn’t really think of much that doesn’t change. And then it hit me … (so click on the video below) watch this!
http://sermonspice.com/product/28699/change
Something we don’t have to question is the fact that God is with us and God loves us! There is absolutely NOTHING we can do to change that. And, God, is NEVER going to change that!
So – God being with us = God loving us - that is the one constant, never changing fact about our lives! If you don’t believe me … you can find this fact all over the Bible! Just turn to the book of Psalms – about half or more talk about God and love!
*You all know – John 3:16 – For God so ______ the world (who is the world? Us!) so much that he sent ….
*There’s this book / letter / epistle in the NT called 1 John and in it we read something crazy about God’s love for us …
1 John 4:16b says: "God is love!"
In fact, this whole section of 1 John talks about God’s love! Picture this … this year is 100, maybe 110. This John guy … probably the same man who wrote the Gospel of John is really old. There are people going around saying that Jesus didn’t really become flesh (who know what that is called – Incarnation). Jesus was just a “spirit.” And so John felt like he needed to write this book (only 5 chapters) to talk about the fact that Jesus was God as a human and to teach Christians who would later read it how to discern a true teachers (ethics, love, etc.)
So God loves us and that never changes. But check this out … as long as we have God’s love (which is how long?? FOREVER). So as long as we have God’s love, we can be pretty beast at dealing with change, even if we don’t like it!
Because here is the really cool part about us - we were created for change! Let me explain … would you agree that 1. We are creature? 2. We are part of God’s creation?
Think about it. In the creation story in Genesis, who remembers the very FIRST thing God created?
ON day 1 – God created the day that CHANGED into _______ (night).
On the 4th day God created the seasons and the years … things that CHANGE!
And what about Jesus?! Jesus very frequently CHANGED his location. Several times in Scripture we read that Jesus left one good experience/location/place he was doing good to go to another and change his location.
But going to a new place isn’t always easy! Is it? High school students … who remembers the first day of 9th grade? For some of you that is going to be in a couple of days. And anyone who’s is not a 6th grader … who remembers your first time coming to EYC? I can remember being in college or better yet when I was in seminary and having a baby at the same time … and staying up all night studying sometimes … that wasn’t easy.
And here is good news in dealing with change … it is a 100% guarantee. Sometimes the things in life that are the hardest to overcome (i.e. change of most any kind) can produce the greatest results! Kinda like a man dying a horrendous death (nails piercing His body). But think about all that has become, all that we have because of that. We wouldn’t be sitting together right now if Jesus hadn’t of loved us enough to get through that change in his life. It’s kinda like getting through the first day / first year of high school or middle school or the first day of EYC.
So I think that this year is going to be tremendous. I am really looking forward to the CHANGES and getting to know you and all the great things we have planned to do, like our fall retreats, our Wednesday night Bibles studies, our Urban Ministries soup kitchen/5th Saturday, winter retreat, spring break mission trip, Costa Rica, and EVERYTHING!
Amen?!
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