IT'S ALL LIES: THE SIN OF EXCUSE

To begin the new year, we will be featuring a series of articles based on the theme "Live Dead." The articles will be written by the each speaker based on the letter they presented at Convention. We hope this provides a tool for you to use for leadership, discipleship or mentoring as you challenge you students to "Live Dead." 

In preparing for “L” is For Lies in the L.I.V.E. D.E.A.D. sermon at Youth Convention, I couldn’t help but think back to where lying began. And I saw something intriguing…even a little scary. 

Genesis 3:8-13 recounts what happened after Adam & Even chose to disobey God. “8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’ 10He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’ 11And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ 12The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’ 13Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” The comparison I want to make is between sin and excuses. In Genesis 3, everyone had an excuse! Adam had an excuse…he blamed the woman. Eve had an excuse…she blamed the serpent. 

At the heart and foundation of sin itself, came the spirit & mentality of excuse. The first time in history that there was sin…an excuse followed shortly thereafter. There is only one degree between sin and excuse. The Greek for word for sin…”havatia”…means “to miss the mark”. The dictionary defines excuse as “a reason to miss the mark”! 

Brian Houston of Hillsong Church says, “An excuse is not much more than the meat of a lie with the skin of a reason!” The enemy lies…we know that. People lie…we know that. But take note that not just the lies we tell, but also the excuses we make, will give way to the Enemy’s plan to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. 

Kyle Bethke - Bethel Church in Modesto, Lead Pastor
Regional Leader with NCN Student Ministries

PROTESTANT DECLINE

While we have always enjoyed religious freedoms in this country, the current trend in society is to have the freedom to practice nothing.  Each year, more churches open than close, but many denominations shrink with the passing of each New Year.  The statistics don’t add up.  While the number of churches grow, the amount of believers in society are shrinking.  
 

For what may be the first time in centuries, Protestants no longer make up the majority of Americans. Those claiming to be Protestants have slid to 48% in the United States, down from 52% in 2007. 22% of Americans claim Roman Catholicism, just edging out the "nones," a category that has been surging in recent years. 20% of Americans, primarily the under-30 set, claim no religious affiliation. The study pointed out that "none" needn't necessarily mean "atheist" as much as it implies a dissatisfaction with mainline denominations. Either way, it's a major religious, cultural and even political shift in a country for which religious freedom is a benchmark ...

With the “nones” closing the gap on the United States population, churches face a real dilemma on reversing the trend.  Opening new churches hasn’t made an impact, and actually parallels the decline in believers.  Many of these churches are surviving on transplant growth.  As the church, we need to stop fishing from each others ponds, and go out and catch some fresh fish.  If we don’t, pretty soon there will be “none”.

 -NCNSM Staff

-Source: Relevant Magazine