Our youth group, THE VINE, returned from camp this past week. Our youth pastor, Jason Turner, shares a little of his vision with us about what he sees God doing in our youth ministry, and as a church, as we are becoming an ark for His Kingdom.
Lifegroup discussion questions after the jump!
Did you have a camp experience growing up? What was that like? Did it change you?
If you read the Old Testament, you can sometimes get the picture that God was angry all the time, and eager to judge His people. Why do you think that is?
Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.
-Genesis 6:11-16
Was God really eager to judge? Jason made the point that God waited… He held back His judgement until the ARK was ready… How long was that?
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
-2 Peter 3:9
What was the purpose of the ark? Who does the ark glorify?
Just a few generations after the ark, we find another giant construction project. All the people came together in Babylonia and made a construction plan.
They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
-Genesis 11:3-4
This time, instead of assigning a construction project, God prepares to enact judgement because of a construction project. Why is this? What is the purpose of the city, and the tower? Who does it glorify?
So, which construction project are we working on? The Ark, or the Tower? How do you know? What should we expect the results to be?