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** February Message from Luke

Lately in our youth group meetings we have been examining cultural perceptions of Christianity and the church and discussing whether or not these perceptions are accurate and what, if anything, we should do about them. We have been having some excellent discussions and I appreciate how much everyone is concerned for the proper public expression of their faith. We know that in some instances we may be unpopular for what we believe, as Jesus told us we would, but there are also occasions where we would do well to heed the advice of those around us. We must be careful to not be overly negative, judgmental, or hypocritical. To learn to follow Jesus means to be authentic and honest about who we are and who we are not. In light of these perceptions we have been examining our own lives to see if some of them apply directly to each of us. One of the issues that came up during our discussion was the tendency to be judgmental of certain people. I confessed that I easily judge people who wear certain expensive brands of clothing and I immediately label them as “snobs” and assume that they are snotty and stuck-up. Scripture tells us that God does not participate in this behavior (Galatians 2:6) and neither should we. When we judge people in this manner we are not being faithful to Jesus and we are not following His commands (Matthew 7:1-2). I would encourage everyone, just as I did with our youth, to examine themselves and see if you have a tendency to be judgmental of people around you and if so, to ask yourself what you can do to change your heart to conform to the ways of Jesus.
Also, I have been getting a few questions about the winter retreat for the senior high students as well as the summer mission trip. Plans for these are well under way with just a few final details to be worked out. When those things are finalized I will get the information out to everyone so that those who want to participate can do so. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions abou the youth program, please e-mail me at lucasklaehn@hotmail.com, or lklaehn@faithchurchneenah.com.

Thank you and God bless. Luke