Ladera WyldLife: Jesus' Mission

Kate is Back!

It was another great morning at Founders Park today! Kate was back! She is the youth pastor at Rock Harbor Mission Viejo and its so good having her come help out on Friday mornings.

Nothing like Founders on a Friday morning

Grant has done a great job of setting up different things for leaders and kids to do as they eat doughnuts and hangout before the game starts. From Spikeball, to Disc Slam, to ultimate Frisbee, there are several different way for kids and leaders to connect over a good doughnut.

Musical chairs... with a twist.

The game this week was a variation of an old classic, musical chairs. Instead of chairs we had the kids split up into two groups, one group acted as chairs, and the other as the people trying to sit on the chairs. It was fun watching as kids got wild and started fighting for a spot on a chair.

Bryce and some 6th graders talking about life.

I got the privilege of giving the talk today. I talked about having a mission, getting lost, and then being found.

I talked about a time in 4th grade when a friend and I were bored on a summer day and came up with a mission. We were going to get lost! We packed a water bottle, you have to be prepared you know, and set out from his house hoping to not be able to find our way home. The only thing was, he wasn't allowed to cross any streets with stop signs and he knew his way around his neighborhood too well. I decided that if we wanted to accomplish our mission we were going to have to split up. Seconds after we split up, I was completely lost.

I remember feeling like around each corner I would see his house, but each corner brought new, unfamiliar sights. The more I walked, the more desperate I felt. I will never forget the feeling of seeing his mom's car come around a corner. I was such a relief, and the feelings of desperation changed to feelings of relief and joy instantly.

Jesus came to this planet on a mission. The Bible tells us, over and over again, that Jesus came to rescue the lost. and to save people, even those that didn't know they needed saving.

I told the story of a man that was desperately lost. His name was Zacchaeus. Three things to know about Zach is that he was a tax collector, meaning he stole money from people. Tax collectors were hated because they worked for the occupying government. They were Jews that used authority given to them by Rome to take advantage of other Jews. The last thing to know is that Zach was short. He was a "wee little man" as a classic Sunday School song states.

So, when the day came when Jesus was coming to town, Zach didn't have a chance to see him. Imagine a scene something like the scene in DC this week with the Pope. People were crowding everywhere to get a glimpse of Jesus. Jesus had become a big deal. No one would let Zach get in, so he found a tree that hung over the road Jesus was traveling down. He hid himself in the leaves so no one would see him and waited till Jesus passed by.

The second Jesus got under Zach, Jesus did something Zach wasn't expecting. He looked straight up at Zach and said, "Zach, come down immediately... I must stay at your house today."

NO ONE WOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS. Jesus, staying at Zacchaeus' house... People like Jesus weren't supposed to hang out with people like Zach. But Jesus didn't follow those rules. Jesus was different. Like the Pope stopping the parade to say hi to a little girl that got over the barricade this week, Jesus made time for everyone.

Zach responded to Jesus' kindness by changing. He told everyone he was going to give half of what he had to the poor, and then pay back thos he took advantage of 4 times the amount he stole. Zach knew that he had been lost, but was now found.

Jesus responded to those who questioned his actions by saying that he, "came to seek and save the lost." In John 3:17, directly after the ever so famous John 3:16, John writes, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

This was the mission of Jesus, to save, to find, to restore.

The three take-aways I had for the kids this morning were:

1. Jesus didn't come to hang out with "good" people, or popular people, or people that looked like they had everything figured out. Jesus came to be with everyone, especially the kind of people no one else wanted to be around. No matter who we are, how "good" we are, how "bad" we are, how strong or weak, how guilty, how messy, how rich or poor... Jesus came to be with us. Jesus wants to come to our house.

2. Jesus was on a mission to save people. He didn't come to judge or pint his finger at people and make them feel bad for not doing the right things, or making mistakes. Jesus came to love people, and to save them from living a diminished life. He doesn't use guilt and shame to show people what they are doing wrong, but lovingly invites them to follow him, motivating through love and kindness, like with Zach. Too bad so many of his followers, myself included at times, have missed that completely. Jesus uses love to invite people, not shame to exclude people.

3. Jesus can always find us, and he will never stop looking for us. In life, sometimes we just get lost. Its as true as anything, and, thank God, Jesus is always quick to search, and quick to find. Like he found Zach in the tree when no one else noticed him, he sees us and he invites us to come down, so he can come and be with us. We cannot get lost enough, or hide well enough for Jesus. He will always come to our rescue, he will always find us.

This is really GOOD NEWS. If you think of guilt and shame, or if you have ever experienced Christian people pointing a finger of judgment at you or someone you care about. I am sorry. That is not a good representation of Jesus. Jesus doesn't do that to change the world, Jesus loves, even to the point of death. Jesus was a perfect representation of God, Jesus was God, and God is LOVE.

World record amount of kids doing ninja kicks at Founders park.