Kairos Being Christian

November 9, 10, 11

Talk
Piety
HOW YOU ARE CHRISTIAN IN YOUR LIFE AND RELATIONSHIPS
DEDICATION TO GOD THROUGH MY DEDICATION TO FRIENDS THROUGH
GOOD AND BAD TIMES
MISCONCEPTION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PIOUS (HOLY JOE, ETC)
EXAMPLE OF PUTTING GOD AND OTHERS IN FRONT OF YOURSELF
EXAMPLES OF HOW LOVE REVEALS ITSELF IN LITTLE THING:
PERSONS IN YOUR LIFE WHO EXEMPLIFY VALUES OF A CHRISTIAN
HOW YOU HAVE BEEN COURAGEOUS, HAPPY, HUMBLE, NATURAL
TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE FAILED TO BE A CHRISTIAN
TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED IN BEING A CHRISTIAN
EXAMPLES OF BEING PIOUS MEANS FINDING OUT WHO i AM, WHOSE I
AM, AND WHAT I AM CALLED TO BE AND TRYING TO BE THAT

Know Yourself, Ideals, and Gods Friendship

Recognizing God in our lives. Live up to the ideal of Gods friendship. Personal
examples and feelings are crucial
Do not preach or give the impression that I am the Perfect Christian or that
living as a Christian is easy. Stress that it is a struggle but definitely worth the
effort.

Introduction:
This afternoon I am going to talk to you about piety, being a Christian. Being
a Christian, in my opinion is the daily struggle to accept Gods friendship as it was
describe in __________s talk this morning. Piety, in its simplest form is love: Love
of God, Love of others and love of oneself. It is honestly and naturally living the
life of a Christian. Piety is the prime example of a Christian Ideal.

Body of the talk:

I. There are several misconceptions of piety, and I would like you to take them
down in your notebooks:
A. The Holy Joe --acts very holy, talks a lot about religion, but is only
acting. He is unreal.
B. The Pharisee --like the Holy Joe --talks holy, but is hypocritical in
his actions.
C. The Mechanical Christian --goes through the motions, but does so
only out of fear or habit.
D. The Self-Seeker --goes through the motions, but with only himself
in mind. He is selfish.

II. Piety is real, and piety is worthwhile. Piety is being gentle, understanding,
showing selflessness, having acceptance, doing what is right. Piety has its
challenges and difficulties but in the end of it all, all the hardships are
worth the happiness and love in Christianity. Growing up, it was just my mom
and three older brothers. Because of the situation my dad was in, we had
many different churches reach out to us. We moved a lot and went to many
different churches. My mom raised us to be go to church every sunday and
pray everyday multiple times a day because we always had something to be
thankful for. I saw a lot of Gods doings as I grew up. He stood by my
familys side, took care of us and helped my mom raise her four kids all on
her own.

III. A pious person is one who lives with and for God and others as Christ
did. Put God and others in front of themselves. A pious person is real with
God. He/she knows him/herself and his/hers motivations. Being pious is
being gentle, understanding, unselfish, accepting to all and doing what is
right.
IV. A pious person is one who puts God and others in front of self. Growing
up, Ive had an influential pious person in my life sharing her beliefs and
always showing trust in God. A pious person knows and accepts God as a
friend and lives his/her life as a prayer to God and she did so. A pious person
has a genuine love for others and dedicates him/herself to them before
him/herself and this is all she ever does. This pious person is my mother.
She has exemplified values of a Christian. She has always put others first,
she has lived her whole life putting her loved ones before anything. My mom
at a young age raised 4 children all on her own, my three older brothers and
I. Most of you do not know but I am the youngest of 4 and also the only girl
I was always babied and taken care of by my mother, brothers, or family
members. I grew up with mom always working and my brothers basically took
care of me and raised me while my mom was making sure she was able to put
a roof over our heads, food in our mouth and clothes on our backs. She
sacrificed so much to make sure we had what we not only needed but
everything we ever wanted.

V. A pious person shows love for others in daily actions. A pious persons love
reveals itself in little things. Christianity is an action, not a virtue. Many
people have taught me the ways I should act towards others. I was always
told that its the little things that count. Kind gestures, and showing you
care goes a long way. I constantly try to smile at others walking by and
complimenting people because you never know how much of an impact
something small can have on a person.
VI. The qualities of a pious person are that he is: courageous, happy,
humble, and natural. Even when you are not having the best day. When I am
going through hard times I try my best to stay positive because I dont want
others to get any negativity from me, courageous so that I motivate myself
to stay strong, happy because I know its only temporary and God has plans
for me, humble to God and natural to Him because I want him to see the real
me and accept me as I am so I can do the same. And thats what a pious
person is..
A. A pious person is courageous. He/she stands up for his/her beliefs
even when it is not the easy thing to do.
 B. A pious person is happy because he/she recognizes God and others as
friends. He/she does not complain about the time, energy and effort
that living a Christian life requires. He/she is enthusiastic about life.
C. A pious person is humble. He/she is not ashamed of performing
Christian acts, but doesnt brag about them either. He/she acts out of
genuine concern and love; he/she does not seek recognition; he/she is
concern.
D. A pious person is natural. He/she is real with God, others, and
him/herself, he/she does not pretend to be someone he/she in not

VII. Being pious is always a struggle. It is hard to be a true Christian because

having a good relationship with the Lord and with other people is hard work.
No one is ever a true Christian all the time. There will be many times when
we fail to be pious. At a point in time I gave up, I began losing my faith in
God. Questioning his plan for me and those in my life. Id questioned why, on
february 1st of 2012, he had to take my cousin from us leaving behind a
family of his own when he was only 20 years old. Id question why he would do
such a thing to a family who has always lived a good christian life. But one
thing Id question every day for as long as I can remember is why he had to
take my dad from me. Why my dad was incarcerated when I was only two
years old. Why all the other girls got to have their dads and I didnt. Id cry
as a little girl, begging him to tell me what I did that was so bad that he had
to deprive me of experiencing a life with my dad. The older I got the more I
questioned why he didnt allow my own dad to come home with me after my
mom drove all night to come visit him for just a few hours. It took me a
while to understand why my dad was in these huge buildings always wearing
the same outfit as these other men. Not having my dad in my life as much as
I wished has definitely affected me. Id cry almost everyday to my brothers,
asking them what I, Daddys little girl, could do to have my dad to go home to
and talk to at the end of a rough day or when I needed him the most and not
only on weekends.
As I got older I learned more, I also went through a lot more. At the age of 15 my
mom decided she and her now fiance wanted to move in together. So she did, she
took me with her to this new house they had bought to live with him and his 6 kids.
 I also changed schools. It was a tough transition, a lot to get used to all at once. I
had a hard time adjusting, so I began to push myself away. But in 2013 my oldest
brother had a daughter, my niece Kataleya. She and my other nieces and nephew
changed things. These blessings brought back the light and helped our family, that
seemed to be falling further and further apart, come back together. I found
myself building up a relationship with God as well with my family again. I realized
that God was working in mysterious ways when my dad was imprisoned, he kept my
dad safe in there. If my dad wasnt in there all these years he probably wouldnt
even be alive today. I see now that He was keeping my dad safe, I believe that with
Gods will, my dad will come out soon and he will get a second chance at life and with
his kids.
A. The effort is what counts. God does not expect us to be perfect.
When we fail, the important thing is to get back up and try again. My
dad was not perfect, he got himself to where he now, but no one is
perfect. I am not perfect either, but what Ive seen from people who
I see as pious people is that even when life knocks them down, they
continue to get try again and again. You dont have to be perfect to be
pious, because trust me when I say I am nowhere near the perfect
Christian. But I believe that as long as we trust and believe in God and
follow his ways then that will lead us onto the right path.
VIII. It is possible to lead a Christian life. I recognize Gods doings in my daily life
and even in my relationships with others. Ive supported doing the right and
just thing with being kind and loving to those in my live. Even with all the
tough times Ive gone through I see that it was a way for me to become a
strong follower of God and all the tough times are worthwhile to reach a
pious and Christian life.
A. Before I began to truly try to live as a Christian again I had so much
anger and hurt stored inside. So much baggage effecting me in a
negative way.
B. My family, especially my nieces and nephew, influenced me to change
my way of thinking they gave me unconditional love. I think that was
Gods way to get through to me. Their happiness was passed down to
me.
 C. Being a Christian has added to my relationships with God and others,
it has brought positivity and happiness into all my relationships and a
piece of mind.
D. When I am pious I feel at ease. I feel complete and safe. I feel
strong and loved. Piety is real and it flows from the heart.
E. Friends and other people have helped me become pious through their
positive outlook, love, care and courage. Piety is people. It cannot
exist without people.

Conclusions:
Being pious means finding out who I am, whose I am, and what I am
called to be-and trying to be that. I am a child of God, one who he will only build
up and make stronger. I am to love and bring joy to others and to focus on God,
then others, then myself. Please remember that: Piety is real; piety is worthwhile;
but, most of all, remember that PIETY IS LOVE! So dont get so stuck up on the
struggle and know you will get love and pure honesty living a Christian life.

Song (Choices)
Oceans - Hillsong United

The God I Know - Love & The Outcome

Lyric Sheet

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

Hillsong United
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand
 And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name

Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

The God I Know

Love and The Outcome
Oh-oh-ohhh
Oh-oh-ohhh

If it was all about religion

What to do, what to say
What to wear on a Sunday

All about perfection

 Black and white, wrong or right, never grey
Well, I'd never make it
I'd never be good enough (Oh-oh-ohhh)

I try to walk the line, pray that I'd find

Something that I knew was real
Began to realize, the harder I tried
The colder I'd start to feel
Until the moment, the second I met Your Love (Oh-oh-ohhh)

And then I threw my hands up, worries down

I remember when He showed me how
To break up with my doubt
Once I was lost, but now I'm found
No strings attached, when He saved my soul
I want you to know, the God I know
Oh, you gotta know, oh, the God I know

He is more than just a rescue

That's where it starts
Not where it ends, let freedom in
More than just a story, in the sky, wearing white
He's alive, in every moment
And now that I know this Love
(Oh-oh-ohhh)

I can throw my hands up, worries down

I remember when He showed me how
To break up, with my doubt
Once I was lost, but now I'm found
No strings attached, when He saved my soul
I want you to know, the God I know
Oh, you gotta know, oh, the God I know

What was I waiting for

I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

I can throw my hands up, worries down

I remember when He showed me how
To break up, with my doubt
Once I was lost, but now I'm found
No strings attached, when He saved my soul
 I want you to know, the God I know
Oh, you gotta know, oh, the God I know

What was I waiting for

I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms

What was I waiting for

I came alive when I let go
All I had was a broken heart
Then He held me in His arms
Oh-oh-ohhh, oh-oh-ohhh, oh-oh-ohhh

Kairos Booklet

Piety: Being Christian

Piety is:________________________________________

A Christian reveals true humility by showing the gentleness of Christ, by being always
ready to help others, by speaking kind words and performing unselfish acts, which elevate
and ennoble the most sacred message that has come to our world. -Ellen G. White

What are the qualities of a pious person?

Example of people we see and automatically think are pious:

For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us
to honor the truth first. -Aristotle

Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil. -Robert A.

Heinlein