Presbyterian Youth
Koinania October, 2001 Loosen up
Bummy
David...Basketti
Chilocothe
I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life working with teenagers. I love teenagers more than any other age group
BUT … There’s always disease that attacks you.. no other age group gets it. Most will grow out of it, but some won’t. It hurts your grades.. hurts your friendships… hurts your love-life.. hurts your relationship with Jesus! YOU’RE TOO TIGHT!!
You can’t Loosen Up! Best New Year’s Resolution… to be the best that Jesus wants you to be.. LOOSEN UP!
Watch 3rd graders get off a bus.....energy, fun...war! Watch 5th-graders: pushing, kidding, laughing...mayhem, blood Watch adults...no more pushing and shoving, but smiling and talking to each other... anxious to get on with things.... Watch senior citizens bus… nearly all smiling....friendly. slower, but happy. Watch teenagers....God..where are we now? How long is this gonna last? Is this gonna be boring? Do they have anything to drink? AND MOST OF ALL: What do they think of me? How do I look? Is something gonna happen that we can go back to school and talk about? TIGHT! UPTIGHT! NERVOUS! SELF-CONSCIOUS!
Want to know somebody’s anxieties? Look in their purse...or billfold.. Or the bag you brought for tonight… Prepared for everything....Me...keys….draft card...comb!
Imagine.. Somebody has buried $100,000 in your back yard. It’s for you and nobody else… He has a map on how to find it. .. But you don’t want to go get it because it doesn’t look cool to dig holes in your backyard. It’s yours! $100,000! That’s exactly how Jesus feels.. He’s given you such gifts.. Yes..even YOU!.. And all you have to do is loosen up so you can use them!
Want to loosen up be want Jesus has in mind? Simple. Be the only one in your group who is NOT constantly afraid of looking bad, or stupid, or uncool.
Kids: what they have. Teens: what they do. Adults: who they are. Most of you are stuck in the “What they do” stage. I’ve got to DO all the right things.
“For most teenagers, who they are depends upon who the most important people in their life think they are.”
How do you loosen up? A handful of New Year’s Resolutions. You can start tonight.. right now.. and I guarantee you, you’ll be happier by morning. #1: ask yourself the question: Who am I trying to please?
Hiney The Mule
Self-conscious: mind on self. Constantly conscious of yourself.
2nd Resolution if you want to Loosen up.. and really get all Jesus wants to give you, Get Your Mind off yourself.
Billie Jo: false hair color, fake nails, eyebrows plucked and new ones drawn on, artificial eyelashes.. undergarments gave her a lift.. “Oh, I could never be an actress!” Honey, all you ever do is act! Every waking moment asking herself.. “What do people think about me?”
If you want to loosen up, get your mind off yourself. Becky Smith................ Dale Carnegie: “You will make more friends in one day by being truly interested in other people than in an entire month of trying to get other people interested in you.” Whether getting a boyfriend, getting a job, or running for President. Get interested in other people!
How I got my job: My testimony… Interview: prepared.. “What questions do you have about Triopia?”
Mr. Rogers
- If you really want Loosen up to serve Jesus, Don’t take yourself so seriously….. Sarah takes notes on everything… everything I say in class, she writes down and reminds others.. Sarah’s locker looks like the inside of a space capsule.. Sarah has spare pencils, pens, sticky notes, Kleenex, pills, ointments, and medicines for diseases that were wiped out 100 years ago, just in case they come back!.. Sarah makes two copies of everything. Sarah reminds us of what we said yesterday. In short, Sarah drives us crazy! Old Fashioned Day.. no rules… Sarah had a nervous breakdown.
If you want to be a witness for Christ, Loosen up! I wasn’t much of a Christian in high school. In fact, I made fun of them… the most boring group in the school. I held off giving my life to Christ until after college because I was afraid I’d end up as boring as they were! LOOSEN UP! Go barefoot more often eat nothing but ice cream for an entire day bad day coming: wear your underwear backwards McDonnalds..”Have a Nice Day” Why? Do some serious coloring Ask the preacher to serve pizza at the next communion. Biggest grouch in your school “I Just want you to know that I feel great!”
Feel free to dream.. Bill Gates.. “I have enough computer geniuses. What I need.. what the world needs.. is more dreamers.”
Boy who knew how to loosen up: Matt, Kim, baritone.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice! Loosen up! Jeff W... free spirit....robbed Walmart singer
4th Resolution: Stop judging people. Judging makes you very tight. You go to school with some real jerks, right? You go to school with some goody-goodies who get all the breaks, right? You frankly aren’t too crazy about some people in this room right now, right? That’s cool. That’s alright.. But let me tell you a little secret about how to stop letting them bother you. Let Jesus handle it. Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and Let me take care of what’s bothering you. You’ve got one job tonight and tomorrow.. Just one job: Get closer to God and find out how much He loves you. That’s it! God said we must love our enemies..He didn’t say we had to like them. Pray for them! A lady I couldn’t stand.. Letter: the plays. Just become a Christian.. Now I work with her every week. Sometimes I want to shout: “Okay God! That’s enough!”
Don’t judge people too quickly… Church lady Uptight: Roger Ebert
And finally....if you want to loosen up and receive all that God has for you, You’ve got to get to know people……what makes them tick.
There are people in this room that you would absolutely love if you’d just get to know them. Some of you have gone to school for years with people whom you know hardly anything about.
Before you got here, you’ve run through this retreat several times.. How you plan to act.. Who’s going to be there? Will they like me? What if I’m left out? How can Jesus use you when you’re so busy worrying?
So Let’s do it. Here. Let me show you how it’s done.
Stand up....month of birth. (say Hi) Live on a farm. Cannot stand anchovies sleeps in only their underwear won’t be wearing tonight what you usually wear Used to take one large step into bed Used to cover up all but a place to breathe Honest: The main thing you’ve worried about this weekend is sleeping in the same room with strangers. Has ever faked being sick so you wouldn’t have to go to school Were talked into coming here? Wearing red underwear...blue, green, grey, pink, purple, white NONE?
(pass something?)
Puppy story.
End: Jesus made you to be you… Not the you you pretend to be. Most of your friends aren’t here tonight.. What a great time to see if it works.
(Don’t Nobody)
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