High Voltage Outline - Oct 15, 2006

Wow...

Here is tonight's outline...

See below for a rundown of how the night went...


Ordinary Heroes
Week 1 – Intro and Matthew
High Voltage – October 15, 2006 – Jim Clark
He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:14-15

A Disciple:
One who stays close to Jesus.
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Mark 2:23-24

One who is sent out on a mission.
Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Mark 6:7, 12-13

One who lives with purpose and power.
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Jesus invited and they followed.
Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
-They didn’t have any special training or skills or a common background.

-They did stay close to Jesus, learned constantly and make mistakes.
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

i.e. Matthew (left a dishonest life to follow The Truth)
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. Matthew 9:9-10
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
Dishonesty is deceitfulness in someone’s character or actions.
Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all weights in the bag are off his making. Proverbs 16:11
An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Proverbs 24:26

Action Steps:
1. Regardless of your past, understand that God can change your future.

2. Realize that you can be a disciple of Jesus.

3. Recognize others who are waiting be invited to follow Christ.

The Bottom Line: The disciples weren’t extraordinary people, just ordinary heroes following an extraordinary Savior.


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Weekend Overview:
Attendance: Below average...
Lesson Topic: Week 1 - Ordinary Heroes... Matthew
'Fun Factor': Average
Volunteer Involvement: Way Below Average
Music: N/A
Student Involvement in Music: n/a
Lesson Quality: average
Length of Lesson: 32 minutes
Student Response: below average
Overall Night Rating (scale of 1(not good) to 10(awesome)): 4
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Tonight we started a new series, based in part on the "Heroes" TV show on NBC that started this season. The series is pretty interesting... We're talking about the disciples who followed Jesus and how we can be disciples as well...

But we played a game... which seemed like a good idea before we started... called "Straw Towers." In this game, we gave each table a couple of rolls of tape and a couple of bags of straws. The object was to create the largest and strongest tower that they could. Elisabeth, Marisela, Jared, Amanda and Ravynn won. They created an awesome tower... I'll try to post a picture of it tomorrow... the digital camera cord is at home...
But then several middle schoolers and a few others couldn't put down the tape or the straws... to the point where I was almost ready to get off the stage and forget the message. Which is really hard... considering the time that I put into these messages.

But sometimes I wonder... "Does anybody get it?" Several students were pretty dialed in tonight... that's just about the only thing that kept me going... if there weren't there, i would have called it off.

Not the best night in my book... This is one of those nights when I find myself hoping that God's Holy Spirit is doing something that I can't see, hear or perceive... Come Holy Spirit!!


JC