March 28, 2019
Middle School:
This week we started a new three-week series titled “More Than the Red Letters.” The goal is to help the students to discover connections and ties between the Old Testament, and the New Testament.
This week, we focused particularly on how the Old Testament points to Jesus. The group read through Isaiah 9:2-7, in which Isaiah talks about the Messiah who is to come. Using this a reference point, the group noted that the entire OT points to Jesus – in fact, all of the Bible does! We talked a little bit about how this understanding of the Bible helps us to read and study the Bible, looking for Jesus throughout the scriptures. I encourage you to follow up with your student. Here are a couple of questions that will hopefully spark conversation about youth group last night:
- When have you seen Jesus fulfill these names given to him in Isaiah 9: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?
- If Jesus wants to lift our burdens – and he does – what does that tell you about him, and about his love for you?
- How can you become more aware of ways the OT points to Jesus?
High School:
The high school group spent the evening looking into 1 Peter 3:18-22, which is probably one of the most confusing passages in all of the epistles. 1 Peter 3:18 speaks of Jesus being put to death in the flesh, and raised in the spirit. Then, 3:19 talks about Jesus, in the spirit, proclaiming a message to “the spirits in prison” from the days of Noah. Then, in 3:21, Peter speaks of being saved through baptism. The students did an awesome job of making critical observations of the text, and asking some really good questions. Although we didn’t make much progress in understanding the text, we focused especially on 1 Peter 3:18, and the fact that Jesus died “to bring us to God.” We noted that Jesus didn’t die primarily to give us salvation, or to cleanse us from our guilt (those things are true, but not primary), He died so that we would be God’s people! Our application was that we need to have a genuine love for God as Christians. Our aim is not fire insurance, but it is a joy and delight in the King of the Universe.