New idea that will make for at least something for a weekly post

Hey guys! So as some of you know, I have been chosen to work with my local youth group on Wednesday nights.  I will be leading the devotionals for the summer at the very least.  Well, I decided that it would be a cool idea to post a synopsis for them so that they could look back at it later in the week and be able to reflect on the devotional.  I then thought, hey, why not also post the synopsis to my blog?  So here you go.  My first attempt at a devo synopsis.


Hello HLWC Teens,

I had this idea that it might be neat and useful if I posted some of the things that we talked about or discuss on Wednesday nights.  One of the things in particular that I would like to start posting is the Bible verses discussed during the devotional.  The thing is, we often hear and understand the verses, but quickly forget them.  Posting them here will give you a place to look back on and remember what was discussed in case you missed something or wanted to remember something.

We started off by reading four verses, two from the old testament, and two from the new.

Verse 1 : Leviticus 20:13
"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

Verse 2 : 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Verse 3 : Ecclesiastes 3 1-8
"A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."

Verse 4 : Romans 12:15
 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

At this point I introduced to you Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas.  Their website is : http://www.godhatesfags.com/index.html .

I can't remember where I found the videos, but here are links to ones that are exactly the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0meqcKTAcMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVAb9LYT0hg&feature=related

Afterwards we read three more verses.

Verse 5 : Joel 2:13
"Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity."

Verse 6 : James 4:12
"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"

Verse 7 : 1 John 4:1
On Denying the Incarnation
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

We then had some brief discussion and reflection on the church.

My overall conclusion for Westboro is that their main argument is that they should only love those who are part of the kingdom.  But shouldn't we be trying to bring people into the kingdom?  If we are supposed to be like Jesus by showing the love of Christ, then how can we save anyone by preaching hate?

Leave your thoughts and discussions or questions below if you wish.

PS. I hope to do this most weeks for the devotional section, seems like a cool/neat idea to me.

God bless, and have a good week.