MOVE Update, Day 2

Today started waaaay too early for just about all of our students!  After being too excited and hyped up to get a good night's sleep, we all arrived at breakfast at 7am, not in any way awake, and in serious need of caffeine.  As I write this post, many of our students are crashing, and I'm pretty sure we will sleep soundly tonight!

The theme of Day 2 has been "You Are King."  Following yesterday’s discussion that wherever students are, God is right there with them - "You Are Here" - today's discussion turned toward authority.  In the Daniel story, King Nebuchadnezzar tries to set himself up as the ultimate authority.  He demands that Daniel and his friends become entirely subservient to him, even to the point of worshiping his idol.  Yet even as King Nebuchadnezzar tries to usurp God's authority, God is shaping Daniel's life.

Mark Christian opened this morning with a question: "What do you do with a God who sends you to Babylon to be a slave?"  In other words, how do we respond to God when he lets us experience trouble and hard times.  Do we recognize God's ultimate authority as King and Creator, or do we try to usurp him?  Brad Tate, our evening speaker, ended our night with this question: "Are we spending our lives trying to build our own kingdom, or are we trying to build the Kingdom of God in our life?"  Recognizing and submitting to human authority does not come naturally to students.  Submitting to God's will can at times be excruciating!

Aside from the topics we are wrestling with at MOVE, our day was also filled with a ton of fun.  Almost all of our students spent some time in beautiful downtown Holland.  We all made crowns out of newspaper, and our adult staff spoke words of affirmation to each student in our group.  We played some card games and Frisbee.  We ate a ton of food at Hope’s incredible cafeteria, and we ended the day together at Pizza Hut.

Please continue to pray for us as we look forward to tomorrow.  God is good, and he is working on our hearts.  Students are beginning to open up in our groups, and are becoming more comfortable sharing.  Pray with me that they will come to know our God as the ultimate authority in their lives, because God is King!

Sunday's Message

Frank shared about Father's Day this past week. You can listen to the message HERE.  

If you would like to listen on itunes, search for South Lansing Christian Church in the podcast section.  

You can also listen on our app. Visit the Apple App store or the Google Play store and search for seekstudyserve.

MOVE Update, Day 1

Five delays in the church parking lot and one torrential downpour later, we made it safely to Hope College!  Of the eighteen students SLCC brought to this CIY conference, nine have never been before.  God is awesome, and I'm excited about what he is going to do among us this week!

At MOVE, we will be unpacking the story of the prophet Daniel, as found in the Old Testament.  Daniel's story shares many similarities with what Christian students face today.  Daniel was taken from his home, subjugated to a new King, given a new name, and pressured to betray his religion.  In other words, Daniel was tempted to conform.

Students are repeatedly tempted to conform.  Instead of following God's standards for sexuality, our world asks them to conform to a false standard, and tells them that everyone else is doing it.  Instead of valuing God's Kingdom, students - and parents - are told to seek success and prestige.  Why wouldn't we want our kids to get into the most exclusive college or to land the career with the biggest paycheck?  Instead of understanding themselves as having been created in God's image, students are told to fit into the drama club, the football team, the nerds, the popular crowd, or some other social subset.  Those who don't conform are excluded.

Daniel must have felt lost and alone in Babylon, in very much the same way that our students often feel lost and alone.  As we closed out the evening gathering, Bryan Jones, our speaker, told us this: Faith doesn't mean that we will never face trouble, or feel discouraged, or see pain.  Faith means that no matter what, God is with us.  Just as God was faithful to Daniel in Babylon, he will be faithful to our students. 

I'm looking forward to continuing our journey through Daniel this week, and to seeing students realize that God continues to be with them.  Tomorrow our day starts bright and early with breakfast at 7, and a packed schedule of MOVE!  Please pray with me for our student and adult volunteers as we experience this journey together.  Pray that our students new to Christianity will come to know Jesus for the first time.  Pray that our students who feel alone will realize God’s presence in their lives.  Pray that our adults will stay energetic and enthusiastic – ready to serve and to lead.  In all things, pray with me that God will be glorified!