Threshold Blog

Video:
http://goo.gl/HVvHd

Topic:
Wasting Time

Bible:
2 Thessalonians 3:6-8

Discussion Starter:
30,000 dominoes stacked up just to be knocked down for a YouTube video? Think about all the hours that went into that. 30,000 dominoes takes a long time and a steady hand. Simultaneously fascinating and an epic waste of time!

The Apostle Paul said this about epic time waste, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6) Notice how serious Paul is about this? He doesn’t issue a lot of “commands” but in this case he did. Instead, as he says in verse 8, we should work hard so we’re not a burden on others.

3 Questions:

• Would you rather sit around and do nothing or have something productive to do?
• Have you ever been called lazy?
• What do you think being idle reveals about your relationship with God?

Chew on this:
What’s the difference between being idle and resting? (As in, observing the Sabbath.)

Video: http://goo.gl/6Jbk0

Topic:  Focus

Bible: Colossians 3:2, 17

Discussion Starter: At first you look at this video and maybe wonder: Why? But the answer is also somewhat obvious: Because he had a laser.

This works because the laser focuses all the power of the lights electrons into a beam strong enough to pop the black balloons, which absorb the energy instead of scattering it like a lighter colored balloon would, causing it to burst. If it didn’t focus all of its energy than this wouldn’t work at all.

In Colossians 3:2, the Apostle Paul tells us “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In other words, focus all of your attention on important, Kingdom-minded things. And what’s the impact? Paul answers that in verse 17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

1. If you had a laser that could blow things up, what would you blow up first?
2. Would your friends describe you as focused or lacking focus?
3. Would you describe your relationship with God as focused or lacking focus?

Chew on this: If lasers focus their energy for good/evil what does that say about my ability to stay focused?

Postscript:  Yes, you can buy the laser in the video. Here’s the link: http://www.wickedlasers.com/arctic

Video:

http://goo.gl/D8yH0

Topic:

Teamwork

Bible:

Romans 12:4-5

Discussion Starter:

Two quick thoughts. 1. Are there videos for the times they tried this and failed? 2. Wouldn’t that be cool to try while water skiing?

In all seriousness, a stunt like that is daring and likely took some planning and practice. It is a fantastic example of the amazing things you can do when you work as a team.

In Romans 12, Paul writes “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Just like the skiers, the church is supposed to be a team. We don’t all have the same job to do, but each of us is important.

3 Questions:

1. What’s one thing you’ve accomplished on a team?
2. How is your church like a team?
3. Do you feel needed in your ministry?

Chew on this:

If the body is made up of many parts, does age matter?

Video:

http://goo.gl/1mxk0

Topic:

Inventing Something

Bible:

Acts 6:1-4

Discussion Starter:

The cell phone has been around for so long and is so normal in our daily life that we don’t even think about it as something someone invented. But way back in 1973 Marty Cooper did just that. Built around the simple idea that people are fundamentally mobile, he used his knowledge to create a way for people to communicate with anyone, anywhere.

While not specifically talked about, the Bible documents Jesus followers inventing lots and lots of things to deal with everyday problems. In Acts 6, the church faced a problem of having widows who weren’t getting properly cared for. So someone came up with the idea… we should have people in the church whose role is caring for widows! That may seem obvious, but someone had to actually invent that.

We share this because the church/youth group needs you to help identify things which aren’t working very well and help creatively invent solutions! With your help the church/youth group can help more and more people in new ways.

3 Questions:

1. Would you rather be grounded for a month or lose cell phone privileges for a month?

2. Have you ever lost your cell phone somewhere strange? Where?

3. What are things that you think your church/youth group could do better?

Chew on this:

If we’re supposed to help invent stuff why does everyone talk about the church not wanting to change?