At the beginning of service show pictures of youth, vbs, youth group, etc.
Begin message with:
The Lifehouse video. Afterwards relating the video to the typical life of our youth.
The young lady in the video, what did she represent? A typical youth in today’s day and age. The pains, struggles, feelings, confusions, etc.
Show picture of our youth! Is it any different for OUR young people here at Oakwood Wesleyan? Not at all! Any one of our young people here could be that young lady on the stage, struggling with any one or more or all of those struggles she portrayed. Sex, chasing after money, eating disorders, and suicide and cutting to release pain.
We would really be foolish to think differently.
As a result, I believe that I am going to challenge many of you here this morning on many different levels. I am going to show you something’s that you will probably not like. And I’m going share some information with you that you may very well not like.
I ask you to please be patient, please keep an open mind, and for the sake of our youth please process what we talk about today.
Here we go!
Leviticus 20:2-5 (NIV)
2 "Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives [a] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. 3 I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 4 If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, 5 I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
What is this Molech:
Define Molech as: Wikipedia defines it as:
Moloch, Molech or Molekh, representing Hebrew מלך mlk, (translated directly into king) is either the name of a god or the name of a particular kind of sacrifice associated historically with Phoenician and related cultures in north Africa and the Levant.
Moloch, sometimes Ba'al Moloch, known as the Sacred Bull, was widely worshipped in the ancient Near East and wherever Punic culture extended (including, but not limited to, the Ammonites, Edomites and the Moabites). Baal Moloch was conceived under the form of a calf or an ox or depicted as a man with the head of a bull.
When we talk about the importance of a youth ministry, which includes everything from infant to our senior high group, this scripture really makes quite a statement.
On its face this scripture speaks volumes towards the first commandment,
Exodus 20:3 (New International Version)
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
But when we take it apart, it starts to take a different meaning.
Leviticus 20: 2
'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives [a] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.
God doesn’t say, any of his sheep, goats, rams, donkeys, or camels, He says children. Setting them apart.
I did the usual google search for stoning and came a crossed a stoning of a Kurdish woman, whom I’m assuming was a prostitute by her manner of dress or lack there of. It wasn’t hard to envision that it probably wasn’t much different back in the Old Testament times. Extremely mobbish and violent!
OK, so how can a stoning NOT be violent? But people with cell phone camera’s taking pictures, people stepping in to kick her, rolling her over. Someone obviously had an actual video camera. Dare I say there seemed to be some taking pleasure in the activity?
Leviticus 20: 3
3 I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.
Defiled: to make unclean or impure: to corrupt the purity or perfection of
But God does not stop with the parents of the sacrificed children:
Leviticus 20: 4-5
4 If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, 5 I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
God goes to those in the parent’s area of influence, the community! If any of the members of the community did nothing to stop the parents, or failed to take the corrective action, which was stoning to death, God would “set His face against that man and his family.”
So what does this molech look like?
Back to google I went:
(the slides are below, I was not able to paste them within this writing.)
These slides are great representations of the Molech of days gone by but…
how does this apply to us, today, the here and now?
Do you think that molech is alive and well today?
I have to say yes, he is alive and well and he has his sights set on our children.
So what would you consider a modern day molech?
Marilyn Manson’s website: In order to scroll down one of the pages on his site, you use a knife that cuts and bleeds. It contains many pictures of deformed naked bodies.
The above picture is what is currently posted on Abercrombie and Fitches website.
Philip Morris’s, the tobacco company, their First Value statement:
We conduct ourselves within both the spirit and the letter of the law, regulations, agreements and policies that govern us. We are honest with one another and with our stakeholders, fully disclosing all appropriate information, and not just that which supports our point of view. We have the courage to do what's right.
Fact Sheet from the center of disease control:
Cigarette Smoking-Related Mortality
(updated September 2006)
Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from cigarette smoking. In fact, one in every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. Every year, smoking kills more than 276,000 men and 142,000 women. (CDC)
Please understand my intent is not to bash any particular store or company, but to make us aware of the type of advertising that companies are using to attract our youth and their true motivations, MONEY.
Just recently in the news Mattel recalled millions of toys because of their hazards and potential health problems, where is Philip Morris’ recall? Do they really have the courage to do what is right like they state in their value statement?
Do we have the courage?
We make some pretty harsh judgments against our youth today and hold them to some very high standards, when the truth is many adults have difficult times controlling their own thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions, imagine being a youth today, trying to find your way and struggling with all of the worlds stimulus of materialism, sex, fun and games mentalities.
The world’s mentality, if it feels good, it is! Go for it!
TELEVISION
This generation views 16 to 17 hours of television each week and sees on average 14,000 sexual scenes and references each year. That's more than 38 references every day.(battlecry.com)
INTERNET
This generation spends three hours a day online and is the first to grow up with point-and-click pornography. Almost 90 percent of teens have viewed pornography online at one of the 300,000 adult websites, most while doing homework.(battlecry.com)
MUSIC
More than 25 percent of teen-targeted radio segments contain sexual content; 42 percent of the top selling CDs contain sexual content. (battlecry.com)
ADVERTISING
With more than $128 billion dollars in their pockets, this generation has been targeted by corporate America, who does everything it can to grow brands and profits without any regard to the moral decay of a generation. (battlecry.com)
Abercrombie & Fitch to your kids: Group sex now!
Posted: November 14, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Forty-five specific portrayals of sexual imagery in the first 120 pages, advice to the readers ... this is how the new Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly titled "The Christmas Field Guide" begins its new quarterly magazine that is targeted to your 10- to 13-year-olds. The 45 images include overt portrayals of group sex, lots of teen and young adult nudity, men kissing, and teens /young adults frolicking in a river engaging in sexual activity in multiple group settings.
Did I mention that the actual clothing doesn't begin being advertised until page 120?
This is just the beginning of his article. I attempted to obtain this catalog to verify this information, but was not able to, so let’s just say that some of this is correct! Does it change things? No.
OK, I spent the first 8 pages on just giving you information, so what exactly does it all mean to us and why did I spend this much time and why should we care.
Here is the break down of where we have been and the direction that we are headed as God’s bride, His church.
The percent of bible believing Christians:
65% WW II generation born 1901-1924 (wikipedia)
35% baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964
16% Gen x period roughly between 1959 and 1980
4% of this generation (millennials) born after the Gen X
Is suicide common among children and young people?
In 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death in each of the following age groups.1 Of every 100,000 young people in each age group, the following number died by suicide:1
• Children ages 10 to 14 — 1.3 per 100,000
• Adolescents ages 15 to 19 — 8.2 per 100,000
• Young adults ages 20 to 24 — 12.5 per 100,000
As in the general population, young people were much more likely to use firearms, suffocation, and poisoning than other methods of suicide, overall. However, while adolescents and young adults were more likely to use firearms than suffocation, children were dramatically more likely to use suffocation.
The affect that our society has on our youth perpetuates itself among their own peer group.
Take Paul Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter. He was teased as a teen in school and youth group! Youth group, the place that is supposed to be the safe haven, was not for Paul.
Being teased and out cast is the one commonality among school shootings.
The language, pictures and videos that we see and hear today on the radio and TV, was not allowed when I was a teen. Think back to your day. Do you ever remember hearing curse words or seeing sexual images on the TV?
OK, enough is enough, what do you do? Here’s what God says.
Exodus 3: 7-10; 12
The Lord said:
I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them, and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians.
I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. My people have begged for My help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. Now go to the king! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.
But Moses said, “Who am I to go to the king and lead Your people out of Egypt?”
God replied, “I will be with you.”
Moses still was still not comfortable with this, as he did not speak well, so God gave Moses Aaron to assist with Moses lack of confidence in his speaking.
Is there a difference between the Israelites and our youth? Are they not both slaves? The Israelites slaves to the Egyptians, our youth slaves to the modern day materialism and sexualism of our society?
Are they both not being treated poorly and to the betterment of someone else besides themselves and God?
The one difference that I see between the Israelites and our youth is this. The Israelites knew that they did not deserve to be treated poorly and cried out to God.
Our youth, though some know, a majority do not! The reason why there is such a strong decline in Bible believing Christianity. They are loosing a sense of where they belong, whom they belong to and where they are going, and what is truly important.
I have spent almost 10 years working with youth and the one thing that most have in common is not knowing where to focus. Not knowing what is important. Most of all not having the support they deserve and need when they fall. I am not just talking about a parent or family as a support, but a community that comes together to love and support our youth.
Molech is strong and has a game plan and it is working!
So who does that leave to balance the scales? Not just balance, but to begin tipping the scales back in
God’s direction. Who does that leave to lead our youth out of their slavery, sexual immorality, materialism, selfism, and into a world filled with love, peace, and forgiveness? Are you nervous yet?
The answer is us! We are the modern day Moses. We are to lead God’s children out of the depths of their slavery!
There are so many different areas to get involved it really isn’t that difficult. You see, it just isn’t about getting involved in a youth ministry; though I would love the help and support, and so would our youth,
it is really just about getting involved.
We as a body of believers have a responsibility to set the example to our youth.
If our youth look at our church, and they do, and see a majority not involved, besides Sundays, what does that show our youth about the churches credibility? Don’t misunderstand me; you see molech deals in tangibles, money, sex, materialism, the here, and the now. God deals with those things also, but on His terms and on His timeline. Molech is about our terms and our timeline. Which do you think our youth find more satisfying and appealing?
If they see a majority not supporting a ministry, where is that ministries value?
Matthew 19:13-14 (NIV)
The Little Children and Jesus
13Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Jesus says. “Do not hinder them!”
If we fail to act, are we not contributing to that hindrance?
Mark 9:36-37 (NIV)
36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
What better way to welcome God into your life than through the life of a child! It is so rewarding and will not just benefit the life of our youth, but yours as well!
Last year Pastor Ken talked about putting God in a box and placing Him on a shelf. Remember that?
Several weeks ago he talked about an active faith that bears fruit.
Listen to the song While you were sleeping – Casting Crowns
Two years ago I shared my story. Part of that story was my involvement in my churches youth group and never having been given the story of Jesus Christ. Did a leader in my church miss an opportunity to share Christ with me? Several. They were sleeping.
Are you sleeping?
Begin message with:
The Lifehouse video. Afterwards relating the video to the typical life of our youth.
The young lady in the video, what did she represent? A typical youth in today’s day and age. The pains, struggles, feelings, confusions, etc.
Show picture of our youth! Is it any different for OUR young people here at Oakwood Wesleyan? Not at all! Any one of our young people here could be that young lady on the stage, struggling with any one or more or all of those struggles she portrayed. Sex, chasing after money, eating disorders, and suicide and cutting to release pain.
We would really be foolish to think differently.
As a result, I believe that I am going to challenge many of you here this morning on many different levels. I am going to show you something’s that you will probably not like. And I’m going share some information with you that you may very well not like.
I ask you to please be patient, please keep an open mind, and for the sake of our youth please process what we talk about today.
Here we go!
Leviticus 20:2-5 (NIV)
2 "Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives [a] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. 3 I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 4 If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, 5 I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
What is this Molech:
Define Molech as: Wikipedia defines it as:
Moloch, Molech or Molekh, representing Hebrew מלך mlk, (translated directly into king) is either the name of a god or the name of a particular kind of sacrifice associated historically with Phoenician and related cultures in north Africa and the Levant.
Moloch, sometimes Ba'al Moloch, known as the Sacred Bull, was widely worshipped in the ancient Near East and wherever Punic culture extended (including, but not limited to, the Ammonites, Edomites and the Moabites). Baal Moloch was conceived under the form of a calf or an ox or depicted as a man with the head of a bull.
When we talk about the importance of a youth ministry, which includes everything from infant to our senior high group, this scripture really makes quite a statement.
On its face this scripture speaks volumes towards the first commandment,
Exodus 20:3 (New International Version)
3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
But when we take it apart, it starts to take a different meaning.
Leviticus 20: 2
'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives [a] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.
God doesn’t say, any of his sheep, goats, rams, donkeys, or camels, He says children. Setting them apart.
I did the usual google search for stoning and came a crossed a stoning of a Kurdish woman, whom I’m assuming was a prostitute by her manner of dress or lack there of. It wasn’t hard to envision that it probably wasn’t much different back in the Old Testament times. Extremely mobbish and violent!
OK, so how can a stoning NOT be violent? But people with cell phone camera’s taking pictures, people stepping in to kick her, rolling her over. Someone obviously had an actual video camera. Dare I say there seemed to be some taking pleasure in the activity?
Leviticus 20: 3
3 I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.
Defiled: to make unclean or impure: to corrupt the purity or perfection of
But God does not stop with the parents of the sacrificed children:
Leviticus 20: 4-5
4 If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, 5 I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.
God goes to those in the parent’s area of influence, the community! If any of the members of the community did nothing to stop the parents, or failed to take the corrective action, which was stoning to death, God would “set His face against that man and his family.”
So what does this molech look like?
Back to google I went:
(the slides are below, I was not able to paste them within this writing.)
These slides are great representations of the Molech of days gone by but…
how does this apply to us, today, the here and now?
Do you think that molech is alive and well today?
I have to say yes, he is alive and well and he has his sights set on our children.
So what would you consider a modern day molech?
Marilyn Manson’s website: In order to scroll down one of the pages on his site, you use a knife that cuts and bleeds. It contains many pictures of deformed naked bodies.
The above picture is what is currently posted on Abercrombie and Fitches website.
Philip Morris’s, the tobacco company, their First Value statement:
We conduct ourselves within both the spirit and the letter of the law, regulations, agreements and policies that govern us. We are honest with one another and with our stakeholders, fully disclosing all appropriate information, and not just that which supports our point of view. We have the courage to do what's right.
Fact Sheet from the center of disease control:
Cigarette Smoking-Related Mortality
(updated September 2006)
Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from cigarette smoking. In fact, one in every five deaths in the United States is smoking related. Every year, smoking kills more than 276,000 men and 142,000 women. (CDC)
Please understand my intent is not to bash any particular store or company, but to make us aware of the type of advertising that companies are using to attract our youth and their true motivations, MONEY.
Just recently in the news Mattel recalled millions of toys because of their hazards and potential health problems, where is Philip Morris’ recall? Do they really have the courage to do what is right like they state in their value statement?
Do we have the courage?
We make some pretty harsh judgments against our youth today and hold them to some very high standards, when the truth is many adults have difficult times controlling their own thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions, imagine being a youth today, trying to find your way and struggling with all of the worlds stimulus of materialism, sex, fun and games mentalities.
The world’s mentality, if it feels good, it is! Go for it!
TELEVISION
This generation views 16 to 17 hours of television each week and sees on average 14,000 sexual scenes and references each year. That's more than 38 references every day.(battlecry.com)
INTERNET
This generation spends three hours a day online and is the first to grow up with point-and-click pornography. Almost 90 percent of teens have viewed pornography online at one of the 300,000 adult websites, most while doing homework.(battlecry.com)
MUSIC
More than 25 percent of teen-targeted radio segments contain sexual content; 42 percent of the top selling CDs contain sexual content. (battlecry.com)
ADVERTISING
With more than $128 billion dollars in their pockets, this generation has been targeted by corporate America, who does everything it can to grow brands and profits without any regard to the moral decay of a generation. (battlecry.com)
Abercrombie & Fitch to your kids: Group sex now!
Posted: November 14, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Forty-five specific portrayals of sexual imagery in the first 120 pages, advice to the readers ... this is how the new Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly titled "The Christmas Field Guide" begins its new quarterly magazine that is targeted to your 10- to 13-year-olds. The 45 images include overt portrayals of group sex, lots of teen and young adult nudity, men kissing, and teens /young adults frolicking in a river engaging in sexual activity in multiple group settings.
Did I mention that the actual clothing doesn't begin being advertised until page 120?
This is just the beginning of his article. I attempted to obtain this catalog to verify this information, but was not able to, so let’s just say that some of this is correct! Does it change things? No.
OK, I spent the first 8 pages on just giving you information, so what exactly does it all mean to us and why did I spend this much time and why should we care.
Here is the break down of where we have been and the direction that we are headed as God’s bride, His church.
The percent of bible believing Christians:
65% WW II generation born 1901-1924 (wikipedia)
35% baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964
16% Gen x period roughly between 1959 and 1980
4% of this generation (millennials) born after the Gen X
Is suicide common among children and young people?
In 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death in each of the following age groups.1 Of every 100,000 young people in each age group, the following number died by suicide:1
• Children ages 10 to 14 — 1.3 per 100,000
• Adolescents ages 15 to 19 — 8.2 per 100,000
• Young adults ages 20 to 24 — 12.5 per 100,000
As in the general population, young people were much more likely to use firearms, suffocation, and poisoning than other methods of suicide, overall. However, while adolescents and young adults were more likely to use firearms than suffocation, children were dramatically more likely to use suffocation.
The affect that our society has on our youth perpetuates itself among their own peer group.
Take Paul Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter. He was teased as a teen in school and youth group! Youth group, the place that is supposed to be the safe haven, was not for Paul.
Being teased and out cast is the one commonality among school shootings.
The language, pictures and videos that we see and hear today on the radio and TV, was not allowed when I was a teen. Think back to your day. Do you ever remember hearing curse words or seeing sexual images on the TV?
OK, enough is enough, what do you do? Here’s what God says.
Exodus 3: 7-10; 12
The Lord said:
I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt, and I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them, and I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians.
I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. My people have begged for My help, and I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. Now go to the king! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.
But Moses said, “Who am I to go to the king and lead Your people out of Egypt?”
God replied, “I will be with you.”
Moses still was still not comfortable with this, as he did not speak well, so God gave Moses Aaron to assist with Moses lack of confidence in his speaking.
Is there a difference between the Israelites and our youth? Are they not both slaves? The Israelites slaves to the Egyptians, our youth slaves to the modern day materialism and sexualism of our society?
Are they both not being treated poorly and to the betterment of someone else besides themselves and God?
The one difference that I see between the Israelites and our youth is this. The Israelites knew that they did not deserve to be treated poorly and cried out to God.
Our youth, though some know, a majority do not! The reason why there is such a strong decline in Bible believing Christianity. They are loosing a sense of where they belong, whom they belong to and where they are going, and what is truly important.
I have spent almost 10 years working with youth and the one thing that most have in common is not knowing where to focus. Not knowing what is important. Most of all not having the support they deserve and need when they fall. I am not just talking about a parent or family as a support, but a community that comes together to love and support our youth.
Molech is strong and has a game plan and it is working!
So who does that leave to balance the scales? Not just balance, but to begin tipping the scales back in
God’s direction. Who does that leave to lead our youth out of their slavery, sexual immorality, materialism, selfism, and into a world filled with love, peace, and forgiveness? Are you nervous yet?
The answer is us! We are the modern day Moses. We are to lead God’s children out of the depths of their slavery!
There are so many different areas to get involved it really isn’t that difficult. You see, it just isn’t about getting involved in a youth ministry; though I would love the help and support, and so would our youth,
it is really just about getting involved.
We as a body of believers have a responsibility to set the example to our youth.
If our youth look at our church, and they do, and see a majority not involved, besides Sundays, what does that show our youth about the churches credibility? Don’t misunderstand me; you see molech deals in tangibles, money, sex, materialism, the here, and the now. God deals with those things also, but on His terms and on His timeline. Molech is about our terms and our timeline. Which do you think our youth find more satisfying and appealing?
If they see a majority not supporting a ministry, where is that ministries value?
Matthew 19:13-14 (NIV)
The Little Children and Jesus
13Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Jesus says. “Do not hinder them!”
If we fail to act, are we not contributing to that hindrance?
Mark 9:36-37 (NIV)
36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
What better way to welcome God into your life than through the life of a child! It is so rewarding and will not just benefit the life of our youth, but yours as well!
Last year Pastor Ken talked about putting God in a box and placing Him on a shelf. Remember that?
Several weeks ago he talked about an active faith that bears fruit.
Listen to the song While you were sleeping – Casting Crowns
Two years ago I shared my story. Part of that story was my involvement in my churches youth group and never having been given the story of Jesus Christ. Did a leader in my church miss an opportunity to share Christ with me? Several. They were sleeping.
Are you sleeping?
No comments:
Post a Comment