“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:26–31
If you grew up with any Sunday school experience as a kid, you’ll likely have vivid memories of some of the Bible stories. There was Abraham following God’s call, Moses parting the Red Sea, David slaying the giant, and of course, Daniel in the lions’ den along with countless others. Usually told by a well-intentioned teacher with state of the art technology like flannel-graph to drive home the point, these stories often portrayed these historical figures as the Old Testament equivalent of The Avengers, complete with super-human abilities and shiny halos of awesomeness. The message often came across: “Look at these great men and women. Try to be like them.” The principles taught were often good in and of themselves, but when they become disconnected from the cross of Christ and the affection-transforming message of the gospel, the end result is nothing more than an empty, lifeless, moralism.
Tim Keller points out that, “The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness that otherwise you would never be able to overcome.”
In the pages of the Bible, we don’t find airbrushed super heroes, but men and women who were deeply flawed and pretty messed up. In fact, upon closer inspection, instead of heroes we see narcissists, cowards, slaves, murderers, outcasts, adulterers, oddballs and weirdos. Yet in spite of their shortcomings, they each were deeply loved, and God chose to use them in great ways for his glory.
Over the next six weeks at Mars Hill Students, we are going to reframe some of the “Bible heroes” through the lens of God’s grace. We will be looking at how God does extraordinary things through jacked-up, ordinary people, and also how each of these unlikely heroes is a shadow of the ultimate hero of Scripture: Jesus.
Here is the schedule:
- November 12th and 13th: Joseph: Trusting God's Providence
- November 19th and 20th: Joshua: Bold Faith
- November 26th and 27th: Ruth: Patience and Redemption
- December 3rd and 4th: David: Faithfulness When Nobody is Looking
- December 10th and 11th: Hosea: Loving the Unlovely
- December 17th and 18th: John the Baptist: True Greatness
If you are in grades 6–12, we want you to become a part of a movement of hundreds of young people across Mars Hill who are living on mission for Jesus’ fame. All our student ministry locations meet on Wednesday nights from 6:30–9 p.m., with the exception of Bellevue, who meets on Tuesday nights. Check out marshill.com/students for more details about each location!
