As a son or daughter, we have a list of obligations that we perform in order to honor or respect our parents, such as: doing well in school, doing chores at home, calling home, respecting their presence in our lives, etc.

James explaining how the XYZs of things that we do don't really equate to a genuine relationship

But what if our relationship with our parents never goes beyond a list of to-dos, i.e. the obligations as a child is greater than the relationship itself? How would it be if we only related to them based on these obligations?

So it is with Christian life. There are many good things that Christians do: pray, read the Bible, fellowship with one another, sharing the Gospel with others, doing all sorts of church activities, but if the relationship between the Christian and God is merely about these things, we would be missing the point. The one thing that is really necessary is that personal connection to God.

In the Bible, the Pharisees related to God in this way: they religiously obeyed what they thought to be good, religious obligations, but they elevated doing these things above relating to God himself. And when Jesus (God) came to point out problems in their thinking, they continued to relate to God through these misperceived obligations and ended up crucifying Jesus himself.

So much for a message outline!

Here are some photos to sum up the night last Friday (February 24th)!

Delicious Pepe's pizza!

DIscussion time!

Yogurt with toppings, anyone?

Ultimate King Kong Shower Tournament!

NINJA!

See you this Friday!!