Some good news and some bad news

So, I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like first? I'll give you the bad news first, since that's the way the gospel works. The bad news is that my cousin Jordan Noblitt died this week. The cause of death is unknown, but I suspect it is related to either past or present drug use. I didn't know Jordan too well, even though he was only one year younger than me. As I sat at his viewing tonight, I couldn't help noticing the ridiculously large number of people who knew Jordan, or his family and had come to pay their respects. The showing was scheduled from 4-8 and I left around midnight with people still waiting in line to pay their respects. It made me realize how connected we are to each other, even if we don't realize it. While this just happened a few hours ago, I can see how it could shape the way I conduct myself around others, the things I speak to them, and the urgency I feel for preaching the gospel. No one but God can know when a person is saved, but I honestly don't think Jordan had put his faith in Jesus. I had the same feelings at my grandmother's funeral. I know that there might be some reading this blogg who are offended by me "making judgements" of this nature. I am sorry to offend you, but my Christian convictions tell me that without faith in Christ's death on the cross, we will all be sent to Hell. That is why I feel an urgency to tell others and "pull them from the flame" as James says in the Bible. There is a big debate in Christianity about the way the gospel should be preached. Should we mention hell, sin, and righteousness? Or should we preach God's love. I do not intentionally set out to offend people. But I would rather give a clear and understandable gospel message to an unbeliever, than become too scared of offending them that I don't speak of the matter at all. So, I think Jordan's death will, among other things, cause me to be bold in preaching the gospel.

That leads to the good news. This past sunday, we had our first youth group. It went from 7-8:30pm and went really well. The fellowship at the beginning went well. I didn't have to do anything except listen to these kids tell their stories and just hang out. That part is easy and pretty natural to everyone. Of course, I'll try to make sure the shyer kids feel welcomed too. Then, we played a game called "signs". It's a hilarious game and the youth really seemed to like it. Maybe a little too much though. See, in the game, everyone has a sign that they send to other people when the "it" person's back is turned. It's really fun to see them try to sneak the signals past the "it" person, who stands in the middle of the circle and tries to catch the signs being sent. However, once I got up talk about Jesus, I think some of them were still sending signs when MY back was turned. So, it was really funny while we were playing and kinda funny while I was talking.

And the topic of my message that night was simply the gospel. I spent 30 mins telling them why and how to get saved. I used the 10 commandments to show them what sin was, then tried to explain how Jesus can complete that legal transaction for sin by dying. I definitely noticed a change in their demeanor as I got deeper into the 10 commandments. They stopped sending their signs. However, I did have the expected public speaking nerves. I know these will get better with time, but I also could have prepared for the message better. That also makes coming home for this funeral hard, since I had planned to finish my lesson plan on friday and practice it on sat. I think I'll be ok, but I'll have to work hard to be prepared.

Anyway, I'm in my columbus, IN home right now. We've got the funeral tomorrow and then I'll have to drive another 4 hours back to ohio. Things are going well though. Lots of cool prospects on the horizon. More on that and the weather at 11