Three friends were lying in the grass underneath the stars one night, when they began to wonder out loud what they were. The first one said that they were fireflies that were stuck. The second one said that they were dead people looking down on us. The third one said that they were balls of gas burning millions of miles away.
Two boys and a girl were walking to school one day. They were talking to eachother about why the sky was blue.
The first boy said that the sky was blue because the earth is 75% water, water is reflective, and the sunlight bounces off of the water and back to the sky causing it to look blue.
The second boy said that the sky was blue because it was supposed to be.
The girl said that the sky is blue because it isn’t gray. If it were filled with rain and storms, then it wouldn’t be blue.
Who’s right?
How many of you like to watch storms at night. They are pretty awesome right. What happens when it storms? Damage. Things get damaged or destroyed. Lightning is powerful. My friend was in Vegas once where it rains about 2% of the year. He was there during a storm. He could see the desert from his room, and he watched the lightning hit the ground. ‘BAM’ and then sand would fly up from the force of the lightning.
The sky is something beautiful when it’s clear and blue. It’s safe. It’s fun. It has a real positive effect on our attitudes. When the sky is gray, we call it gloomy and depressing. The sky would always be blue if it weren’t for the rain and bad weather.
Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Let me tell you what this is not saying: There are youth ministries in our community who would have you believe that if a person is not a Christian, then you should not hang out with them. The Bible doesn’t teach that. Jesus built relationships with everyone. He did not shun someone because of his or her lifestyle.
This verse raises a few questions:
1) What is a fool?
a. A fool is someone who knows right from wrong and chooses to do the wrong. They simply don’t care about doing right. They aren’t ignorant. They are just uninterested.
2) Are you a fool?
3) Do you hang with fools?
4) Who do I know that’s wise?
Just because you hang around fools, doesn’t mean that you will become a fool. It means that sooner or later something bad will happen to you.
You were created by God to have a great life. Jesus said, I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly. Most people go through life and never really experience it the way that God intended them to. We make bad decisions. We hang with people who make bad decisions.
You might find this interesting:
When I was growing up, surveys said that the top 3 greatest influences in my life were:
1) Spiritual leaders
2) Teachers
3) Parents
That list has changed. Guess whom the top three influences are in your life:
1) Parents
2) Media
3) Friends are the number one influence
Your friends are the most powerful influence in your life. Your friends have more influence over you than anybody, including yourself and even including God.
Do you know why? Because we all have 3 basic HUGE needs –
I want to be loved.
I want to be people to look at me and know that I can do whatever it is.
I want to belong (I want to be accepted)
On the questions that we asked last week, most of you said that acceptance isn’t important to you. Apparently, it is important. It is actually one of the most important things in your life. Just chew on that for a little bit.
Everyone has some goals for what they want their lives to look like. Girls have been planning their marriages since they were 10 and 12 years old. Your future isn’t just about a job. It’s about who will you be. What kind of man will you be? What kind of woman will you be?
Your friendships determine the direction and the quality of your life. Choose your friends wisely.
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