Three years ago today, I wrote my first post for the five15 blog.  We weren’t even called five15 then!  In three years, I’ve written more than 1000 posts, y’all have posted thousands of comments, and we’ve had visitors from more than 50 countries.

Thanks for reading.

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Today is Nicole’s birthday! I love her like crazy!

I won’t tell you how many years, but please join me in wishing her a happy birthday…

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In case you missed it, here were the announcements from Saturday night:

1. LOGO REDESIGN. If you want to submit an entry for the five15 Logo Redesign Contest, it needs to be in to me by the end of the month.
2. EVANGELIZE PRINCE CASPIAN. We’re going to see Prince Caspian on Saturday. Buy your tickets online! AND: come early and join us in doing some evangelism. We’re going to meet at 5:30pm in front of the theater and tell people about Jesus.
3. SUMMER SCHEDULE.  I’ll post on this soon with more details.
   

   

4. SUMMER BOOK CLUB. Check it out.
   

   

   
   

5. DRAMA CAMP. July 1-2.  More details coming later this week.

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Six of our Seniors responded to my invitation to say something to five15, commenting on what they learned and how God met them during their high school years, and challenging us to live for Christ. These were so good, that I want you to be able to read and review them again. Enjoy:

Jonny:

Whoa, this is crazy. I never thought I would be at my last five15 meeting… Man I am so old! If you had told me 4 years ago that I would be standing up here, telling you all how God has changed me through five15, I probably would have thought that you were crazy. But now, thanks to God’s grace, that is exactly where I find myself.

There are so many ways that five15 has impacted and changed my life. The biggest being my conversion and baptism two years ago. But another one being my outlook on friends. Before I started coming to youth meetings, friends, to me, were just the people that I had the most fun with. But now thanks to Steve’s faithful preaching, I realize that are a gift from God. And that a good friend isn’t just one that you have a good time with, it’s more importantly the friend who will challenge you in your faith. He, or she, is the one who won’t stand by and watch you stumble into sin, but will catch you and try to, with scripture, put you back on solid ground.

Proverbs 13:20 says “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” Thanks to five15, and Steve, I now walk with the wise.

So if I could exhort you to one thing it would be this; find a friend. A friend that will preach the gospel to you everyday, and will catch you when you fall.

Liane:

Looking back on high school, I can’t believe how fast it went by. Because it’s such a busy season of life, I think it can be easy to miss the unique opportunities God has given us as teenagers. I know that I missed out on some of these while I was in high school, and I want to encourage you all to look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of your time (Eph. 5:15-16).

First, the opportunity to press into God by reading His Word. Like people always say, you have more free time now than you ever will again. Make reading your Bible a priority every day. Not only will His words become a joy and the delight of your heart (Jer. 15:16), but you will discover the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord (Phil. 3:8), the only One who truly satisfies.

Second, the opportunity to seek your parents’ wisdom. In my self-sufficiency, I often tried to deal with my problems on my own (which never really worked), instead of seeking help from God and my parents. At the end of my junior year, God mercifully revealed to me my prideful attitude. I repented of this sin and, by His grace, have seen change in this area over the last year. Although there is still much room for growth, I can already see the blessings resulting from seeking my parents’ guidance. At this point in my life where many big changes and weighty decisions lie ahead, I am so grateful that I can go to them for practical and gospel-centered counsel. I would encourage you guys to take advantage of your parents’ wisdom now, while you are still living at home and it is easily accessible. Confess your sin to them honestly and invite their input humbly, remembering that God gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

Third, the opportunity to reach out to others. My dad always encouraged us to reach out to kids who seemed lonely or were new, and the five15 challenge also served as a helpful reminder. Although this is so contrary to our culture and our own nature, stepping outside your comfort zone to reach out to others makes a loud statement about who you are living for.

Your time in five15 will go fast; enjoy it and make the most of it!

Caroline:

The middle and high school years are very influential in our lives. Some of the most prevalent influences which shape who we become are our relationships. Who we emulate says a lot about what we value. I urge you to make your relationship with God of first importance. Seek to grow in godliness now while you have the faithful help of your parents and pastors around you.

Cultivate your relationships with God and your family and then seek to promote biblical fellowship with your peers. A truly lasting and meaningful friendship is one that is rooted in a love for Christ. When you remember to count others as more significant then yourself, you avoid foolishness and empty relationships in which you’re looking only to what you can gain; be it popularity or just a good time. Think about how you can help your friends by reminding them of the Gospel and pointing them continually to Christ.

I know you’ve heard it a lot before but, remember 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” So, take this wonderful opportunity to begin living for Christ; living a life that brings glory to God for sending his Son as a ransom for us, who only deserve His wrath.

How do you cultivate growth in godliness? Begin by remembering that your salvation did not come to you by anything you did. Salvation comes through repentance and faith in Christ’s work on the cross. Immerse yourself in God’s word everyday and welcome correction, remembering that it is a gift to keep you from harm.

Joseph:

I started attending five15 at the beginning of eighth grade. I knew that, Lord willing, I had five long years ahead of me – half of middle school and all of high school. It seemed like an eternity then. However, it went by a whole lot faster than I expected. You’ve probably heard something to this effect – of how time just flies – from older friends, siblings and parents.

Well, believe it or not, it’s actually true. I’m not saying middle and high schools were a breeze; not at all. Getting through them was pretty tough at times – both academically and socially.

But think of it this way. If you’re not there already, you’ll definitely be in high school by next fall. Pretty soon after that, you’ll be an upper classman. Then, a senior, an eighth-semester senior, and then graduated. While there is certainly a lot to look forward to in these times ahead, I would urge you not to get too far down the road just yet. Enjoy, saver, and be content in whatever season you find yourself.
Moreover, I would counsel you to make the most of the time you have. Don’t wait until later to start living for God fully or killing sin decisively, but get passionate for the Lord and His kingdom now. In the words of Ecclesiastes, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth.”

Personally, I’ve found it easy to get preoccupied with my mundane, day-to-day business. I forget to center the entirety of my existence on God, and procrastinate (usually unintentionally) in confronting the sin still prevalent in my life. I’ve found the best answer for such situations is having strong quiet times – involving prayerful meditation on scripture – and then continuing to direct my thoughts and emotions towards God throughout the day; as Brother Laurence said, to “continually practice the presence of God.”

Looking back, I wish I had pursued these practices sooner and more aggressively. I constantly found myself thinking there would be time in the future to grow. But waiting until later is a waste – a waste of both time and opportunity.

These few years in five15 really do count for something. Don’t let yourself drift, but “press on to know the Lord.” During this season, remember the words in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near….”

Hannah:

My family started attending Sovereign Grace when I was eleven years old. My sinful nature told me that people had to introduce themselves to me if I was to get friends, not vice versa. I acquired very few friends that way, and I was feeling very left out. Even after becoming a Christian in seventh grade, my next few years were spent selfishly spending time only with those I knew or wanted to know.

When the five15 Challenge was proposed, my first thoughts were adamantly against it. I wish I could tell you I was all for it, having remembered how others had reached out to me and wanting to do the same. I wish I had been willing to do it simply to please God. Instead, my thoughts went more like this: What?!? Meet new people? Step outside my comfort zone? You have to be kidding me!

Thankfully, God worked on my heart, using my dad specifically. My dad would talk to my brother and I on the drive to five15, reminding us that we were to meet new people for God’s glory. It was another way to live not for ourselves but for God – just like 2 Corinthians 5:15 states. Having prepared our hearts, he expected us to fulfill the challenge. He used the drive home to ask us about who we had met. If we had failed to meet anyone, he would kindly ask us why not and how we could do better next time. It wasn’t long before I began to look forward to fulfilling the challenge.

I will not say it is now natural for me to go up to a perfect stranger and introduce myself, but it has gotten easier only because I know I am honoring God if I do so. I have learned that you can make so many more friends if you are the one going up to people and initiating the conversation. Two of the greatest parts about the challenge are that we do not have to do it alone and we do not have to limit it to five15. Meeting the few we do not know at Five15 simply sets us up for situations where we will be one of the new people – such as when we move up into Crossroads. I praise God for teaching me this important lesson.

Gabe:

What I have to say is really very simple. It’s something I always knew per se, but something God has been really drilling into my head over the past while. It has strongly impacted the way I try to grow in godliness, the way I pray, the way I sing to God and more. It’s this: There is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus. No matter how huge of a sinner I am or you are, if we’re in Christ—no condemnation.

But I’m well acquainted with the feelings of condemnation. Like when I’ve just sinned in some grievous way for probably the five thousandth time and my conscience is screaming and when I read God’s Word and it points the finger at me and calls me the sinner that I know I am and I know there is no way God can be pleased with me, ‘cause I’ve heard Him calling me to repent in this area and here I’ve fallen again and I can’t seem to change and it just seems like an endless cycle of sin and “Are you actually telling me that God really loves me?” I have spat in God’s face and trampled His glory by my disobedience again and again.

But what God’s word says is that the reason I’m secure in my salvation and in God’s love and favor on my life is because Jesus Christ is secure before the Father, not because my deeds deserve it. Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” What it comes down to is I’m an evil sinner who has profaned God’s glory, but Jesus Christ is greater than me and all of my sin. What He did for me on the cross, bearing God’s wrath, covers all my sin. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…”

So now the condemnation that I feel when I sin isn’t real condemnation before God but the devil trying to get me to doubt God. God doesn’t judge me based on my works anymore but by Jesus’ works. If my feelings are telling me I’m too sinful to be saved or to be loved by God, they’re lying. Condemnation is something I need to repent from! Trusting God and believing in His promises means there is no condemnation if I have accepted God’s gift of righteousness in Jesus Christ. God has not given me the authority to condemn myself. God has reserved that for Himself and He has already proclaimed that there is no condemnation for me simply because I have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation.

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If you’re interested, here was the playlist tonight:

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It’s been more than a week now since that eventful cookout, but I noticed something that has stayed with me. To get charcoal to light, you put it in a pile, douse it in lighter fluid, and toss on a match. Burn! Burn!

Then you let it sit for ten or fifteen minutes to get hot. When you come back, you’ve got a beautiful pile of gray charcoal briquets, radiating delicious heat from a piping hot, glowing red center. I don’t understand quite how this works, but it seems that one piece of charcoal won’t stay lit by itself. It needs the heat of the other bits of charcoal to generate that red hot glow. In fact, when I came back to the grill with the meat, I noticed that one of the pieces of charcoal had rolled off the pile, and sat by itself off to the side: still black, cold, and useless.

So what’s the lesson here? Just this: the church is like a pile of charcoal. If you want to burn hot with passion for Jesus, you have to find a way to be near other people who are hot with passion for Jesus. God has given us that way: the church. A Christian who separates himself or herself from the church will not stay lit for long. The flame goes out, the center grows cold. It’s a sad thing to watch.

The scary thing is that with the church, it isn’t the physical proximity that makes the difference. Some people come to church, but their hearts aren’t in it. They’d rather be somewhere else.  In their hearts, they’ve rolled off the pile.

So here’s the point: If you want to burn with passion for Jesus, get on the pile.  Throw yourself into serving the church and getting to know people who are passionate for Jesus.  The fire of love for the Savior that is in them will spread to you, and warm your soul as well.

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This Saturday night is our Senior Meeting: our annual opportunity to thank and honor our seniors for their participation in five15. We’ll hear from a few Seniors about what they have learned in five15, we’ll give out the five15 Awards, and we’ll pray for the Seniors.

You know the drill: Pizza and Ping-Pong at 5:15pm; meeting starts at 6:30pm.

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I walked into the kitchen the other day and found some meat defrosting on the counter. The label, neatly affixed on top of the meat, immediately caught my attention:

In case you can’t read it, the label says “Boneless Country Ribs.” Think about that for a minute. Let it sink in. Here’s how my thought process unfolded as I stood, befuddled, in my kitchen:

Boneless Country Ribs
Boneless Country Ribs
Boneless Ribs
Ribs = Bones
Ribless Ribs
?!

In other words, this is a package of nothing. How can you have ribless ribs? It doesn’t make sense. You know what else doesn’t make sense?

A Bible without Jesus, that’s what.

But that’s kind of what my Bible has felt like recently. Reading the Mull (formerly known as the “Annual Bible Reading Plan Developed By Mark Mullery For Soveriegn Grace Church”; the guys in Manskool shortened it), we’ve recently found ourselves reading Psalms and Isaiah. Now, don’t get me wrong: this is good stuff. And I’m learning a lot:

• I’m glad I’m not Moab.
• I’m glad I’m not Philistia.
• I’m glad I’m not Assyria.

Seriously, I’ve gotten a lot more than that out of it, but I will be the first to admit that isn’t always easy to find Jesus in the Old Testament. I know he’s there: every verse in our Bible is points to Jesus in some way. Luke records how Jesus explained this to two of his followers:

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus himself makes this even more clear:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…” (John 5:39)

This verse inspired John Calvin to write:

“We ought to read the Scriptures with the express design of finding Christ in them.” Calvin’s Commentaries, on John 5:39.

I’m telling you this to encourage those of you who are reading through portions of the Bible where it is hard to find Christ. Stick with it. He’s there. When I look some of these passages in the full light of day, they don’t seem as hard as they do in the bleary-eyed dawn. Here are some questions you can use as you read through the Old Testament (or the New) to help you find Christ:

• How does this verse show me my (or all humanity’s) disposition to require a Savior?
• How does this verse show me God’s disposition to provide a Savior?

These are Mark’s questions, and they are invaluable for keeping your Bible from turning into some kind of ribless ribs of a book.  In fact, if you start using these questions regularly, I think you’ll find Psalms and Isaiah are stuffed with the gospel.

• For instance, in Psalm 77, what are the mighty deeds of God, and the wonders he has worked?  How has he redeemed his people?  If the Exodus is the OT high water mark of God’s gracious intervention among his people, what is the high water mark for us, this side of the NT?  (Softball alert.)  Reflect on the similarities and differences between the Exodus and the Cross…  There - you’re doing it!  No ribless ribs here.
• What about Isaiah?  Well, the nations get thrown under the bus of God’s judgment: bad news for Babylon, Assyria, Egpyt, Cush, Tyre, Sidon, and friends.  But it’s not all sunshine and daisies for God’s people: watch out for Isaiah 22 and 24.  Part of the trick here is that we often end up reading only one chapter at a time.  Not always helpful, but maybe unavoidable for now.  What is helpful is to keep in view the big themes of the book: watch for alternating themes of judgment and deliverance.  Note who is judged and why, and who gets delivered and why.  And especially how - this will become even more important as we move into the 40s and 50s.

So, stick with it. This book is what it promises to be: a faithful record of God’s gracious and redemptive purposes for His people, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.  And every page of your Bible is about that story.

Incidentally, the ribless ribs were delicious.

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What Pride Will Get You…

Friday night, Nicole and I had a cookout at Burke Lake Park with our friends Seita and Emma, plus all our kids. It was the perfect setup: a pristine spring evening, deserted picnic pavilion, nearby playground for the kids. We’d been looking forward to this for a few days; Seita and I set the time and place and left it up to the ladies to work out the menu.

As the ladies unpacked the food and set up the table, we realized that we had a problem: Nicole and Emma had misunderstood each other about the meat. We had hamburger patties, but no way to cook them. An honest mistake that any of us could make.  So Seita and I jump in the car, headed to Giant.  As we leave the park, we share a chuckle about the sight of raw hamburger meat surrounded by all the fixin’s. I utter the following arrogant verdict: “That’s why the men need to be included in the picnic planning.”

Ever read James 4:6? How about 1 Peter 5:5?  Then this will sound familiar: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” As my son often tells me in the midst of a hotly contested game of Chutes and Ladders, “Trouble is coming.”

We get to Giant and buy charcoal, and matches on the hustle. Being the experienced griller that I am, I know we need ready-light charcoal, or this could be a long night. Seita and I both inspect the bag and both conclude that we don’t need lighter fluid.  Two of us.  We both read it.  We both agreed this was the thing.

You can see where this is going. We get back to the picnic area and find that kids and wives are getting hungry in the nearly 30 minutes we’ve been gone. We start dropping matches on our neat pile of charcoal, but nothing happens. Dread sets in. A closer look at the bag, and we both realize—simultaneously—that we needed lighter fluid after all. [I take full blame for this. Seita was a victim of my arrogance, I think.]

A quick trip to the park store (another 15 minutes) and we are back with the lighter fluid and good to go. We enjoyed our meal in an otherwise uneventful manner, but I learned some lessons. Now, I can’t really say that our oversight at Giant was God’s direct judgment for my sinfully arrogant comment about our (supposed) masculine superiority. But as I reflected on this episode, another verse came to mind:

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:29-30.

I knew I blew it on the first part. There was no way my comment was good for building up Seita. I don’t think it gave him grace in any meaningful sense. And I’m sure it grieved the Holy Spirit because it was uttered arrogantly.

But I’m encouraged as I finish reading verse 30: it is by the Holy Spirit that I was sealed for the day of redemption. Thus there is no sin I can commit (small or large) that will keep me from ultimately enjoying the salvation that Christ purchased for me.

I share this story with you because I know that we often sin with our words, and so that we can learn together to choose and use our words with great care.

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Parents,  Saturday night, we provided a handout for parents about popular internet filters and monitoring software.  In case you weren’t there or lost is, here is the info:

Cybersitter (www.cybersitter.com $40) This service has many features to block websites, emails, IMs online chatting, etc, and also has the ability to scan your hard drive for objectionable material. This product also includes a basic email–filtering feature, although this feature wouldn’t replace a typical spam filtering product. Cybersitter can record both sides of IM sessions, as well as log all sites visited and any violations. This information can then be e-mailed to you in a daily activity report.

Safe Eyes (www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes/ $50-$55) – A highly rated filter, this service logs websites visited and IM sessions by each user, and you can share your logs with others so they can see what you (as the administrator) are viewing. This product sends alerts via email, text message and telephone calls when someone attempts to access a forbidden website. This is one of the few filters compatible with a Mac, although reviews mention that this product can crash frequently.

Covenant Eyes (www.covenanteyes.com  $85/year for one license) – This service monitors and records all web activity and scores all sites according to the maturity of the content. This information is emailed in a report to the accountability partner(s) of your choice.

BSafe (http://www.bsafehome.com/  $50-$70) - This is a highly rated filter which seems to be geared towards helping families. This product includes a time-of-day internet restriction, and filters and logs IM conversations. Like other services, it also offers remote notification and management. This product does not allow users to keep the same profile automatically when installing on multiple computers, so this may create extra work.

Web Watcher (www.webwatcherkids.com/ $97) – This product includes a website monitor and blocker, a chat recorder, key logger, and an automated screenshot capture tool. The product is more oriented towards monitoring than accountability. Currently, the filter software is only available for PCs.

If  you have experience with any of these products or advice for other parents, please leave a comment!

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