Summer 2023 Vision
Vision • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Just Say It!
Just Say It!
The day McGuire flipped out. I won’t forget it and not many of my teammates will either.
We were playing baseball at Central Christian College in McPherson, KS. As a team we were in the running for a conference championship. These were 2 games against Central Christian that we should win.
We lost the first one to a walk off play in the last inning.
We came down to the second game and we had a 3 run lead in the last inning and we lost that game to a walk off home run.
I was mad!
Our coach had a way about him that he would beat around the bush.
So I am mad and he is making us run for losing the game. We are running sprints.
He starts talking and starts beating around the bush. He is like guys I am not sure I am going to say this...
I started slamming my fist on the ground and yelling just SAY IT!
It was the day I flipped out.
So this morning the Lord has been laying this on my heart and to some degree I just need to say it.
16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich—both lead only to poverty.
I have watched in my 16 years of living and engaging in the community of Rockaway Beach that there are those who are oppressing the poor to enrich themselves.
I have fought this!
Many in this room have given their lives to fight this oppression in our community.
(Stigma Slide)
Oppression comes in many forms. Two I want to focus on today is some oppression comes from the outside and second is some comes from within.
We together have made great strides against this oppression.
I believe we once again find ourselves up against something that is threatening our progress and a desire to once again bring oppression back on our children.
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
This is a very selfish question.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Fifteen: The King’s Rebuke (Matthew 18)
“True humility is not thinking meanly of oneself; it is simply not thinking of oneself at all.”
2 Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them.
3 “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
A child did not have any importance in Jewish society. The child was subject to the elders and was not taken seriously.
So to turn and become like children is a radical reorientation. It is upside down Kingdom.
5 And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me.
Oppression from the outside
Oppression from the outside
8 A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt.
9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are.
10 Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
11 So the Egyptians assigned taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.
12 But the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly
There are those on the outside of Rockaway Beach, Merriam Woods and Venice on the Lake that want to keep us in poverty.
By their own selfish motivation they want to keep the people of our area from succeeding.
The biggest current threat that I want to call out in The vape epidemic and THC.
There are those who are profiting off of the people of this area.
We would all agree that it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to vape and it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to have THC or Marijuana. Correct?
I think we could also agree that when we think of paradise we think of a world were pain is not present, hurt does not happen, that anxiety is not a thing and therefore the there is not a need for THC.
It is not all it is advertised to be. My experience in working with those who are active users is that it does calm anxiety when using it but it has a tendency to double the anxiety when you don’t have it.
Oppression from within
Oppression from within
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!”
32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.
33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
1 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night.
2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
There are those who are the inside of our community and allowing teens and kids to have vapes, carts from 18-9.
There are adults that are selfish and they are profiting off and oppressing our children for their own gain and they don’t care about the future of our kids.
Some may say I want to help but I struggle myself. Guess what? You are not the standard so quit selling yourself short believing that if you are struggling that you can’t be a part of the solution.
Warning
6 “But whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea!
Here is what we are doing to combat this and trying to stop the oppression in our community.
(Summer Slide)
Mentors
Interns
Key dates
Financial Curriculum
BridgeKids Kingdom Economics
Tag line: A Biblical Financial Literacy Program for Kids in Rural Communities
Monday- Lesson Day
Tuesday- Chore Day
Wednesday- Payday-shop
Thursday- Sabbath
Options- Journaling, resting, going outside, gardening, reading
(Adventure Slide)
Student led prayer
Level 1, Level 2, Level 3
Mission teams
Adult ministry Wednesday night worship
Adults join in on student led prayer
Small group training for our small group leaders