Missed the mark

Mr Matthew

Mr Luke.

Mr John...

There's one more...

...Which one did I forget?

Oh, dang. I Mister Mark.

Missed the Mark.  

Lachlan and I warmed up our teens (Year 10-12) with dad jokes. 

We shared some great ones. Some bad dad ones.

S brought his Bible. He got stamps.

Lachlan kicked off the session.

He asked, 

1. What is sin?

In olden days, one way of describing sin is "missing the mark". 

Just like this AI generated picture, the boy missed the mark. 

He's aiming his bow in completely the wrong direction. 

(And the adults - it is not good for them to just watch and smile).

NOTE: No virtual teens were injured in the AI session.

It says in scripture that we have all sinned. Another way of describing sin is iniquity, something bent or crooked.

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." — Isaiah 53:6

2.    How does sin affect you? 

We talked about how causes us to no longer clearly hear his voice, and we start to believe he doesn't hear ours. We feel far from God. Separated from him.

We talked about grave examples of sin, like going to prison or crashing a car. Also seemingly minor examples of sin like gossip. Even "small" sins breaks relationships and hurts people.

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." — Isaiah 59:2

Imagine trying to have a good life without hearing from the author of life. It would be hard to stay on track if can't hear his voice. How could you know or remember who you are!

3.    How do we break free from sin?

We talked through some ways - going to church, reading our Bibles, praying. This was a good time when I injected some incorrect information. I said, "I can work harder." 

This answer completely misses the mark, because in it we believe we can be good enough and hit the mark without Jesus. 

4.    Why do we need help from Jesus instead of fixing sin by themselves?

 The Bible is clear. We cannot work our way to salvation or eternity with God.

We are dead because of our sins. 

Besides some money to put food on the table, what we deserve and earn is death.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Romans 6:23

There is only one way to deal with sin. 

We turn away from our wrong way, and turn to Jesus.

5.    What has Jesus shown you about your sin?

I shared my story of rebellion over the years. Lachlan shared too.

It may be a while before we get to the point of being honest before each other, but we can talk to God one on one. And that's a good start.  

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." — 1 Peter 3:18

6.    What does he invite you to do with that? 

We left the youth with this promise and invited them to be honest with Jesus.

It's like what best friends can be for each other - be honest with each other about what's really going on. Tell the truth. Turn away from being alone, and support each other.

If we are honest with God, and talk to him about our sin, Jesus can help us confess and turn us away from our sin. And we can receive forgiveness. 

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." — 1 John 1:8-9

So, what will you say to Jesus?

That invitation is available for you today. 

Next week

Bring your Bible. 

I can't wait to hear what is shared.