Kirkmont Youth Newsletter

YS STUDENT NEWSLETTER #326

January 28, 2008

Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot

LEARN THE SECRETS TO GREAT FRIENDSHIPS

This Bible study is designed especially for middle school students, and will walk you through some of the major truths in God's Word. In this study you'll learn:
- what kinds of friends to look for
- how you can be a friend worth having
- how to help your friends when they're hurting
- what to do when your friends let you down

Don't get stuck with friends who bring you down. Learn the secrets of doing friendship God's way so you'll have friends who always stick close.

Learn more and purchase "Stick" here.
https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=571

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

Find a Christian bookstore near you:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/store/dealers/

1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

EXTREME FRIENDSHIP--LOVE IS MEANT FOR EVERYONE

Matthew 5:44
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

START
Ever since third grade you've been feuding with the sorry excuse for a human being who's just plunked down in the desk in front of you. Last week your squabble erupted afresh when the guy pelted your house with three dozen eggs--resulting in two giant swaths of dimpled siding, three shattered windows, and one traumatized family dog. If that wasn't bad enough, the police interrogated you. Your parents blamed you. The only plus about sitting behind him now is that he can't see your laser-like eyes smoking holes in his skull.

How do you treat people who inflict pain on you?

READ Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said: 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

THINK
Perfect? Like God? If this command sounds over the top, breathe deeply. Then answer this: Why does Jesus tell you to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"? (Look for what follows "that you may be...")

On whom does God shower his care--his warm sun and life-giving rain?

Even pagans who don't know God care about people who love them. How can you do better than that?

LIVE
If you love people who cause you pain, are you excusing the wrongs they do? Explain.

You've learned that God wants his care to spread around the world and to every person on the planet. No doubt there are some people you'd rather skip. Yet when you love the unlovable and care for the incurable, you're like God. Perfect. Holy. Mature. God never brushes off evil. In fact, he's the only being in the universe who knows how it feels to have the whole human race stand against him (Romans 5:10). But his undeserved kindness busts through our sinfulness and makes us his friends (Colossians 1:21-22). He wants us to pass on to others the love he's given to us.

When you scan your world, who looks easy to love? Why?

Who is more challenging to love? Make a list. Next to each name, jot down one tiny way you can show this person the same brand of kindness God shows us.

WRAP
You might figure that Jesus received a lot of playground thrashings as a kid. After all, he tells you not just to love your enemies but to "turn your other cheek" (Matthew 5:39 NIRV). One thing shows us for sure that Jesus was no wimp: He was radically tough in his willingness to suffer for our sake. Loving an enemy doesn't mean you're pathetically weak. It proves you're incredibly strong.

MORE THOUGHTS TO MULL
What people in your world act with Christ-like kindness? Ask them how they pull it off.

Think about some of your ugliest thoughts about people. Then ask yourself how you'd feel if God or other people felt that way about you.

Some of the people who hurt you in life will be fellow Christians. How does the fact that you and your archenemy may one day share a pew in heaven alter how you act now?

MORE SCRIPTURES TO DIG
Your natural instincts tell you to dish back whatever others dish at you. Jesus sums up that mentality in Matthew 5:38-42. Then he tells us to go out of our way to be kind to people who cause us pain. Clearly that's a massive challenge, but it's doing love the way Jesus does it. You might feel as though you're letting evil slide if you don't take revenge for the wrongs done to you. Actually, when you choose not to repay evil with evil, you stomp on evil by doing good things. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Look for all of these deep thoughts in Romans 12:17-21.

None of this means you can't ask God to rescue you from people who aim to crush you. Look at Psalm 25 for some wise words. King David prays for safety. He asks for his enemies' downfall. But David also asks God to forgive his sins, and he invites God to guide him along the right paths in every part of his life.

You have one enemy who's more evil than any other. And he's one guy you don't have to love. Read about him in 1 Peter 5:8-11.

**

Taken from "Stick" by Kevin Johnson, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here:
https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=571

2. SURF REPORT

~ Captain Underpants Game: Just for fun!
http://www.scholastic.com/captainunderpants/blunderpants.htm

~ HomeworkSpot.com: Get some help with your tough assignments
http://www.homeworkspot.com/

3. FORGETTABLE FACT

While 7 men in 100 have some form of color blindness, only 1 woman in 1,000 suffers from it.

4. POTENT QUOTABLES

"You have become a mature person when keeping a secret gives you more satisfaction than passing it along."
~Author Unknown

"The best mirror is an old friend."
~George Herbert

5. TODAY IS...

NATIONAL KAZOO DAY! So get out there and make some noise... Learn all about kazoos here:
http://www.kazoos.com/historye.htm

*All "surf report" internet links and "potent quotables" are provided for informational purposes, and do not imply endorsement by Youth Specialties.