Youth Group Key Verse of the month:
Q: It's not a religion, it's a relationship?
A: "He has shown you, oh man, what is good. Now what does the Lord require of you? To live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."
Micah 6:8
Youth Group to share:
Q: Does God love us no matter what?
A: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39
Girls' Bible study:
Q: What is a 'Godly' woman?
A: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."
Proverbs 31:30
4 comments:
But is that not what the definition of religion, the reason for coining the term in the first place, is? A relationship to the divine? I'd say that the only ones who have confused religion with relationship are the faithful themselves. Anyone can have a relationship with something or someone but a God-fearing person has true religion. It's not a word to be shunned as so many trendy people like to, but a word to explain to others where you stand in the world, as well as where your heart resides.
Agreed, that is what Religion originally meant, but like many words it's general understood meaning became skewed. When people hear the word Religion they don't automatically think about their relationship with God, they think about the obligations to give, to come, to join etc.
No, it's not to be shunned, but it's also not to be given as the only response.
The Pharisees in the temples were very Religious and they probably had a relationship with God in their own right, but all that they projected were the precepts of 'Religion.' They were entirely irrelevant and Christ rebuked them for being about the Religious group rather than the relationship a religion should be founded on :-)
The 'requirements' of a religion aren't to be requirements- these fruits flow from relationship. If there comes a point where they need to be mandated then we've lost a connection somewhere. It's like setting an end goal for someone and saying 'ok, now find the road' rather than showing them the road to the goal.
Which people are we talking about here? The word 'relationship' has been tossed around the Christian scene for years- long enough to to degrade it's meaning to the point of religion. The thing is, it's merely a replacement word for religion with a revised definition tacked on. What word will come next?
Why does this matter? The more that meanings change, the more skewed things can become.
Like you said, the Pharisees in the temples had a certain relationship to God, but all that they projected were the precepts of this 'relationship.' They were entirely irrelevant and Christ rebuked them for being about the practices rather than the religion.
Haha, I'm not here to argue the minute details of phrases Christians have used and overused over the years. That's the reason the phrase is posted as a question and that verse is given as a means of answer. I want the students in our youth group to not just take a catch phrase at face value, but know the meaning behind what they're saying.
Yes, the people who are most confused are those who already believe- isn't that mostly who we're talking to? 'He has shown you, oh man, what is good...' sounds to me like the subject(s) of the verse already know God and are looking for what that means.
The Requirements that are spoken of flow from being in relationship with God. Yes, that is what religion means, but the organized forms of religion can exist without a relationship with God. That's been seen throughout history, with stagnance or degrading results. But from relationship with God comes the fruits of religion. Religion is not to be thrown out, but not to be given as the end-all. A 'You prayed the prayer and are trying to be a good person so you're part of the religion now,' ideology means nothing without a deeper, constant change of God being in people's lives.
That's what the post is about- calling current Christians to quit treating their religion as a program, but as a life-changing, beautiful relationship, and to live that out for the world to see =)
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