MacDonalds has a solid menu that is hard for me to turn down or pass by when I'm hungry. Many fast food restaurants try to rob Ronald of the best fries in town, but my fast food cravings can only be satisfied by the double cheeseburger and medium fry - ALL FOR $2.12!!! Anytime my need strikes, I am only $2.12 & a mile away from satisfaction. The reality is I can satisfy any need I have with relative ease. Hunger is one thing, but every individual has a need that has only one satisfaction.
Every Wednesday night, teenagers gather at Shively Heights for something expected. There is form and process to each evening. Recently the ping pong table has returned to the foreground of the night. I once reigned as champion over the table, but now I disgracefully admit, I have been dethroned.
After as many games of ping pong can be squeezed in before 6:30, all the teenagers are rounded up to the main event - WORSHIP. I wonder what they expect to happen. The majority of teenagers come on their own initiative, and most of them who come have a knowledge of God, Jesus' death and resurrection, the need for forgiveness, and the need for some kind of religion.
The problem with me is that I do expect something to happen. I love getting to tell people about God's Word. The point is not that I like to hear myself talk. Rather, the point is that I get excited when I talk about God's Word. The beginning of nearly every single New Testament letter begins trumpeting the truth of what God has done for His people. When a believer hears the truth, the response is simply to celebrate, rejoice, get excited, pumped up, crunked. How many teenagers use the word rejoice in a day? I don't care what the word is. It is the response that's the same - the Word makes us exuberant with joy! When I don't hear people respond or don't see people moved, I wonder what in the world has seized their minds and desires.
As each week passes, I see the glaze in many teenager's eyes. There are so many things that grab the attention of a video junkie teen. Materialism has cashed on all of America's generations - not just teens, not just young adults, EVERYBODY! I crave to hear someone say, "I want God. This Jesus, you talk about - I want to know Him."
I want more than $2.12 worth of religion. I have been shown my Creator. I know what the victory is. I just want to celebrate the truth with everyone. I do keep coming back to church because the church has the truth. I'm not the lone ranger, and I need the party.
Pray for students to crave a relationship with God. Pray for worship at Shively Heights Baptist Church
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