Today, we’re discussing the concept of conformity and the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs, even when it means going against the crowd. Julie shares the story of Peter denying Jesus out of fear as an example of conformity. While it’s easy to conform to popular opinion, it’s crucial to stand up for what you believe in, especially when it comes to faith. Stay grounded in God’s Word so you can stand firm in your belief, and be ready to explain your faith if questioned… God will be with you in these moments!
What’s New!
Monday Story:
- When you act like you don’t like a book or a movie because everyone is trashing it…we can do the same thing with our faith, just like Peter did. He did it because he was scared, he was worried about what his relationship with Jesus might cost him.
Tuesday Key Verse:
- I Peter 3:15 – “Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
Wednesday Prayer:
- Father God, there are times that I’m tempted to fit in with the crowd over standing out because my relationship with you. Help me stay strong I have to stand alone. Help me always be brave to talk about You. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Thursday Question:
- What is something you’ve pretended like you didn’t like when you actually did? Why did you do that?
Friday Fun Fact:
- Q: What’s another word for going along with what the crowd is saying?
- A: Conformity
Show Notes:
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Transcription:
I have a question for you. Has this ever happened to you? You hear a song or you watch a movie, or you read a book and your thought is, I don’t like this. I don’t like the song. It’s not very catchy. I don’t like the lyrics, I don’t like the book, I don’t like the movie. I don’t like the way the movie ended. Whatever. And you really feel like, yeah, I don’t like that. And then, you get in your group of friends and they’re all, Hey, have you heard this song? It’s the best song ever. Or, I read this book in a weekend, it was amazing. Or, I think this is my favorite movie I’ve ever seen. And then you find yourself going, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was great. This has ever happened to you. Well, you are in good company.
This is God on the Go. I’m Julie Lyles Carr, and we’re here to help you make the minutes matter. And we’ve been talking about what it means to go against the crowd. Now, I will confess to you, I don’t like being the odd man out. I don’t like being the one when everybody’s having a good time talking about a song or a movie that they like, to be the one who goes Wah wah wah… I didn’t like it. And I’ll find myself at times going along with the crowd just to keep things nice, to keep things pleasant. Fine, it’s just a song or a book, who cares? But unfortunately, when I do that, I can also find it difficult to stand up for things that are really important, to really put it out there and stand in disagreement with the crowd. Even a group of friends I really like, even people whose opinions I really appreciate. There are times that we need to stand up for what we know is what we know about Jesus, even when it kind of messes up the vibe.
Now, let me ask you this. Do you know what another word is for going along with what the crowd is saying or doing? There’s a real short word for it, and the word is conformity. Conformity is the word that we use when we talk about going along with a group, trying to fit in with a group. And what it means is that we’re trying to form ourselves into whatever that group is thinking or doing or saying, or what they like, even when it comes down to a book or a movie. But when we practice too much conforming to the crowd, instead of sometimes standing up and going against the crowd, we can find it difficult to stand up for the things that matter most. Sometimes we do this, and this is probably when it’s affected me the most, when I’m scared about something. I don’t want to be rejected by a group or I’m worried about what they’re going to think. And we’re not alone in that.
One of Jesus’s closest friends, one of his disciples named Peter, he dealt with this. After Jesus is arrested and he has been taken to the high priest and then to the leader over Jerusalem, like we talked about last week, Peter was following at a distance and he was following the soldiers to see where they were taking Jesus. Now, immediately after Jesus was arrested, he was taken to the high priest’s house and the Bible tells us that there was sort of like a courtyard and there was a fire in this courtyard and there were people sitting around the fire. So, Peter had walked a little more slowly, kind of stayed behind, probably didn’t want to be identified as one of the guys who’d been hanging out with Jesus, but he also wanted to see where they were taking Jesus. He ends up in this courtyard with these people around the fire, and as he sits there, three different people say to him, Hey, I know Jesus. And all three times Peter was like, I don’t know him. I don’t know what you’re talking about. He actually even acts mad when he gets questioned about this. And yet of course, Peter knew Jesus, and Jesus had told Peter, Hey, there’s going to come a point where you are going to act like you don’t know me. And Peter couldn’t believe it. He was like, I would never go along with the crowd in that way. I wouldn’t do that. And yet, after seeing Jesus be arrested, probably being scared, being nervous about what might happen next, Peter does go along with what he thinks the crowd wants. He does try to conform to what he thinks would be the safest thing to do in this situation, which is to say, I don’t know who Jesus is.
Now, here’s the good news. Even when we have times that we conform to what the crowd does, even when we have times that we’re scared to speak up about our opinion or to go in a different direction than the crowd, we can learn from that. And Peter certainly learned his lesson. Years later, listen to what he writes in the book of one Peter. This is in chapter three and verse 15, a letter that he wrote to other Christians. He said, worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. Wow. This to me says that Peter learned a hard and a difficult lesson around that fire with those three people saying, we think you know Jesus. And him saying, I don’t. And then realizing how wrong he had been. He learned that when the crowd asks us why we believe in God the way we do, we can always be ready to explain it. Sometimes when you go against the crowd, it means you’re going to have to speak up. And it means you’re going to need to be ready to explain why you believe what you believe, and God will be with you while you do it.
Text the word, GO to 89419 and we’ll send you discussion questions and the memory verse and all kinds of cool things. God on the Go is sponsored by George Fox University, where each student will be known personally, academically and spiritually. And I’ll see you next week.
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