What's Up?

Proof that I'm doing my homework

2011-09-06T21:41:00.004-05:00

Hey everybody. I just wanted to let you know that I've started a new blog. In one of my classes, it is required that we do a daily devotional on the book "Spiritual Disciplines Handbook" by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun and keep a journal for every day that we've read. The teacher said that we could "turn in" our daily journal via blog so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I invite you all to read that blog as this blog is not very well kept up on.
:P

So, if ever you need a daily devotion, I pray that you will find it and that you will be edified through it.

My newest blog:
Practices That Transform Us

VBS verse

2011-08-10T15:37:00.002-05:00

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. pslams139:14. The first night of vbs was amazing time to be with god , and it was a blast too. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. pslams139:4. the second night was even more amazing because god was with us thorw the hold night.

Relentless

2011-06-12T13:40:00.005-05:00

Last Wednesday night, it was our honor and privilege to host the PR group Relentless, from MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe, KS. It was a magnificent time of establishing friendships, playing volleyball, beating each other up gladiator style in a bounce house, and praising and worshiping our God and King.

An amazing thing happened that night: God showed up. In fact, He has been making regular visits to our youth group. You see, as we actively seek Him, He is found by us. He will never disappoint us. By living lives pleasing to Him, and expecting to meet Him when we gather together, we invite His Spirit to come among us, in His way. Our youth group has an incredible heart for worshiping Him, and He honors us with His Holy Presence every time.

If you have never had an encounter with God, come join us on Wednesdays. Prepare yourself to meet Him, because He will show up.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Life with Christ

2011-06-01T15:17:00.003-05:00

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him. rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

so life in jesus christ all the time.

Lord, Lord

2011-05-31T01:58:00.002-05:00

The Bible says that "we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." Romans 8:26

Sometimes, when we aim to pray for someone, we can pray with many words and never find the right words to express what the need is. We may not even know what to pray about or what to ask for. It is during these times that we should remember Romans 8:26 and just cry out to God, "Lord, Lord" and know that he will hear the cries of your spirit.

Don't worry about what to pray, just cry out to him and rest in his goodness and love.

“Be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

Greetings from Jabalpur

2011-04-21T19:23:00.002-05:00

Our youth group has been sponsoring a child in Jabalpur, India for a couple of years. She is a young girl about 12 years old. She has been sending us letters every few months, but we have not responded in any way. Until now....

This Wednesday, the 20th, we read her two most recent letters to us and wrote our own letter back to her. And next Wednesday, the 27th, we will be having a special offering for her.

Bring your money and let's see who can stretch their offering farther across the sanctuary -- the boys or the girls?

Show your compassion to our sister in Christ in another country. We can have a pen pal in India. And that is exciting!

The Healing Power of God

2011-03-06T22:28:00.002-06:00

We had revival this weekend, with my long-time friend Rocky Meo. After Friday's message about expecting the deliverance and healing of God (Psalm 107:19-20), Rocky met with we menfolk Saturday morning for breakfast and challenged us to stand in the gap for our teens and children (Ezekiel 22:30). This morning, we talked about freedom in Christ, from sin, addiction, affliction, sorrow, strife, anger, depression, ailments, sickness, and anything else that hinders our walk with God (Galations 5:1). Finally, tonight, we gathered together to worship our Redeemer, our Savior, our Healer, and Rocky took us to Acts 3 to hear about a cripple healed in the name of Jesus Christ. Following a message on the power of His precious name, Rocky invited us to the altar to lay out before God any unconfessed sin or troubling afflictions. We offered our prayers up to the King of kings, and He brought healing to His people. Praise the Lord! He is so good, and I truly love Him with all of my being.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Love of the Father

2011-03-06T07:14:00.002-06:00

This week, I had a wonderful moment with God. He wrapped His arms around me and kept whispering in my ear, "I love you. I love you."

God is not a god of wrath or judgment. He is a God of Love. It is the core, the very heart, of who He is. And it is out of this abundant love for us that He made a way for us to join Him in perfect, loving relationship: the blood of His Son, Jesus the Christ. Praise the Lord! So this morning, I look forward to expressing my love for Him with my church family. He is worthy, He is Lord, He is love.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

Chasen On and On Tour

2011-02-26T12:34:00.002-06:00

Last night, Josh C, KindGirl15, and I went to see Chasen in concert at Grace Bible Church, and it was an experience! Josh won a CD for being the loudest person in the crowd (who'da thunk?) and it was an awesome time of serious worship. From Crazy Beautiful to the title song Your Love Goes On and On, we poured out our hearts to the Lord. Afterward we went to IHOP for some post-worship grub. All in all, it was a great night of praise and fellowship, and I am grateful to the King of kings that He overwhelmed His people with His presence and love.

A prayer from Nehemiah

2011-02-23T23:39:00.002-06:00

Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.
Blessed be Your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are the LORD.
You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,
and all their starry host, the earth and all that is in it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to everything,
and the multitudes of Heaven worship You.
Nehemiah 9:5-6

God truly is an amazing and loving God. Today I was privileged to see Him answer prayer in a powerful and glorious way. And tonight at church, He moved among His people with power and grace. We got together to worship Him. We read from His Holy Word, sang songs of praise and adoration, and shared our talents with one another for His glory, and in return, He blessed us. He revealed His message to us through Mickey's lesson. He taught us that no matter how far we fall, or how often, we are NEVER too far for His nail-pierced hand to reach us. Thank You, Jesus, for loving us so much more than we deserve.

We don't mourn like those who have no hope...

2011-02-12T17:18:00.002-06:00

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier this week, our church lost a dear sister. She is now resting comfortably in the arms of our Lord and Savior. We rejoice with her, yet also grieve her passing. She will be missed, and always loved, but we know that we will see her again on the other side of Glory.

I am taking this loss pretty hard. Nita was a good friend, and adopted me as her nephew in Christ. It has not been easy to cope with the sadness, and I am at times overwhelmed with sorrow and pain. But God is good, no matter how I feel, and His love and goodness surround me. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4)." The psalmist wrote that "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5)." I know that my sorrow is temporary, and it does not take away the joy that comes from knowing my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love Him, I praise Him, and I thank Him. Nita isn't hurting anymore. She is in her glorified body.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21

Psalm 41

2011-02-07T21:14:00.002-06:00

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
He will bless him in the land
and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I know that You are pleased with me,
for my enemy does not triumph over me.
In my integrity You uphold me
and set me in Your presence forever.
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

God's Protection and Provision

2011-02-03T19:55:00.006-06:00

Matthew 6:25-34 (New International Version, ©2010)

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I was truly blessed this week to see God's hand at work in my life. See, a few weeks ago, He asked me if I would let Him use my truck for His purposes. I told Him, "My truck is a blessing from You. You can use it any way You want."

So here comes the blizzard. And God used me, my sister, and my truck to provide for people. And He blessed us. He has provided food, gas, even boots and gloves, because we have been faithful to follow His will for us. And, this is the part that I find amazing, when others have been stuck, even 4x4's, God has kept us rolling. His hand of protection has been over us. And I am so grateful to Him.

I know the weather has been rough for a lot of people. But I am glad to know that the God who controls the storm is the same God who is watching over me.

God is bigger than the Boogieman, bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV. God is bigger than the Boogieman, and He's watching over you and me.

god works in good ways

2011-01-31T09:38:00.006-06:00

youth service was a really good service last night, and it was amazing too. God works in the most amazing ways to me . i love god for what he stands for.

Praise be to the Lord our God!!!

2011-01-30T21:11:00.004-06:00

After Jesus' death and resurrection, He appeared to the disciples. When Thomas saw Him, he exclaimed, "My Lord, and my God (John 20:28)." Tonight, I can join him in his cry of joy, for my Lord, Savior, and King came among us as we worshiped Him. It was a fantastic time of fellowship and praise to the King of kings. I am so grateful for the way that He poured out His Spirit on us. He answered all of my prayers, and honored the time and commitment we gave Him in preparation for tonight's service.

As Seth reminded us, Romans 10:9 tells us "that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Our belief in Him- His power, His love; will lead us to act in ways that glorify Him, such as telling others about what He has done for us.

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Deuteronomy 10:21
He is your praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

We are called to honor and praise Him. If you are want to learn how, come join us every Wednesday night @ 6:45 as we worship our King.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you as you continue to serve Him.

Psalm 101

2011-01-27T09:01:00.002-06:00

I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life-
when will you come to me?

I will walk in my house
with blameless heart.
I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.

The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me.
Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.
.....

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.

What a Night of Worship!

2011-01-26T22:21:00.003-06:00

Wow! Tonight was amazing!

I love seeing teens worship God. I love to worship Him along with them. And that's exactly what happened. We had a chance to glorify our Savior and King, and that's what we did!

If you missed it, don't worry. It happens every Wednesday @ 6:45 pm.

And don't forget, the Youth are taking over the service this Sunday night @ 6!

With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD;
in the great throng of worshipers I will praise Him.
Psalm 109:30

BLAST is Coming!

2011-01-25T22:39:00.003-06:00

OK, guys, here's the scoop:
To register to share your talent is $15
T-shirts are $10
It is FREE to go.
Registration forms are due Feb 6.
Pastor Tom has more info.

Psalm 92

2011-01-25T22:26:00.003-06:00

It is good to praise the LORD and
make music to Your Name, O Most High,
to proclaim Your love in the morning
and Your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.

For You make me glad by Your deeds,
O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
How great are Your works, O LORD,
how profound Your thoughts!
The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.

But You, O LORD, are exalted forever!

Get Excited!!

2011-01-24T13:34:00.005-06:00

This Sunday Night
6 PM
It's the NYI (Youth) Service!
The music is going to be AWESOME!
There's gonna be a skit performed by our Drama Team,
and a message from our beloved leader, Seth.

Come join us and experience worship the way it oughta be.

Psalm 119

2011-01-23T23:45:00.003-06:00

How can a young [person] keep [their] way pure?
By living according to Your Word.
I seek You with all my heart;
do not let me stray from Your commands.
I have hidden Your Word in my heart
that I might not sin against You.
Praise be to You, O LORD;
teach me Your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from Your mouth.
I rejoice in following Your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on Your precepts
and consider Your ways.
I delight in Your decrees;
I will not neglect Your Word.

Psalm 18

2011-01-21T19:48:00.004-06:00

I love You, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I am saved from my enemies.
.....
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,
to the blameless You show Yourself blameless,
to the pure You show Yourself pure,
but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
.....
The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!

Ephesians 4:29, 5:4

2011-01-19T20:16:00.003-06:00

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

Forgiveness

2011-01-18T13:51:00.005-06:00

God loves you a lot but you have to let him in your life , so you can love him more than you do right now. You can't let your life get in the way of God's plans but if you do you will lose the way God made for you. Sometimes, when people are mean to us, we hold on to our anger, and lose our focus on God. Jesus told us to forgive them, no matter what.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15

My New Toy

2011-01-18T11:49:00.004-06:00

I bought a new toy today. It's a pull-up bar that attaches to the door frame. My sister watched me and laughed as I began to work out on it. She found my excitement funny, then asked me to be sensible. See, she is worried about me getting "too buff." I told her that muscles only do two things: grow or shrink. As I thought about it, I realized that faith is a lot like that. If we rely on God and put our trust in Him, then our "faith muscle" grows. But when we do things like worry, doubt, and manipulate, our faith muscle shrinks because we aren't using it. So how do we exercise our faith to make it grow? Check out some of these Bible passages:

Psalm 7:10
Psalm 18:2
Matthew 6:25-34
Romans 3:21-5:11
Galatians 2-3
Ephesians 2:1-10
Hebrews 11
James 2:14-26

Philippians 4:8

2011-01-17T09:37:00.005-06:00

Finally, bothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.

What does it mean to be "saved"?

2011-01-16T00:48:00.001-06:00

In church, we use words like "saved," "born again," and "redeemed." But what do they really mean? What are we saved from? How, and why, are we born a second time? And doesn't "redeem" mean turning in a coupon?

I could quote all kinds of Bible verses that talk about sin and evil, and how all of us are born into a fallen world. But the acts of man speak out about it as loudly as the words of God. Look at cruel dictators who torture and kill people. Many times, these men and women started with good intentions, but were corrupted by power and greed. But the evil nature of man is proven even in smaller things: a child unwilling to share a toy, a businessman who puts profits ahead of truth and justice, or a teenager who lies to or disrespects their parents. Many people would say something like, "Yeah, I've made some mistakes, but I'm basically a good person. A loving God wouldn't send me to Hell." There are a few things wrong with this kind of thinking.

The problem is that every man is a "good" person in his own eyes. So whose idea of good matters? Is it a fluid and subjective thing? If so, Hitler can justify his actions as good. He truly believed that he was doing the right thing. Yet so many of us would label him "evil." What authority do we have to decide between right and wrong, good and evil? If these concepts are real, then they must have a definitive source. Think about it: the laws of math, nature, and physics apply to everyone, regardless of belief or culture. They each exhibit absolute truths. Why do we think morality is any different?

So, if there is an absolute moral truth, where did it come from? The Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God, and that He is holy and righteous. These qualities are reflected in us. For instance, when we watch a movie, we root for the good guy to win. If he or she is faced with a "moral dilemma," we cheer when they make the "right" decision. Why? Because our Creator loves right decisions. But if He put within us His desire for justice, truth, and mercy, then where did corruption, dishonesty, and selfishness come from? God's enemy, and ours: Satan.

See, Satan was a beautiful angel. He floated above God's throne and, through his beauty, drew attention and worship to God. Somewhere along the way, though, he wanted to become like God instead of serving Him. So he gathered a third of Heaven's angels and went to war. Satan lost, and God kicked him and his angels out of Heaven. So they hate God. And because of that, they hate us, because God loves us so much. The best way to break the heart of God is to corrupt His most beloved creation, so Satan tricked us into acting selfish. In that moment, mankind broke our relationship with God. A world created in love was forever infected with wickedness. And so were we. Now we have two natures at war within ourselves: the nature to do good, to love, to see justice prevail; and our desire for instant gratification, to steal, lie, cheat, anything to make us feel good.

But what happened to this God who loved us so much? Did He just give up on us? A holy God, a pure God, a God of truth and love, cannot be in the presence of evil, lies, and greed because they violate who He is. So when we chose to break our relationship with Him, what did He do? In His infinite love, He found a man who was searching for truth. A man who had heard the stories of a time before, when we existed in harmony with our Creator, and wanted to experience that more than anything. A man named Abram. God chose him, and named him Abraham. And God became friends with Abraham, and gave him a son, Isaac, who had a son that God named Israel. Israel had twelve sons, and through them, God created a nation of people, chosen because of Abraham's love for God. This nation, Israel, was chosen by God to teach everyone else about Him. But they couldn't live up to their promises to serve Him. So, rather than watch us continue in rebellion to His love, God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to teach us about Him and show us how to live in relationship with Him. But our sin was in the way. See, sin isn't just breaking the law. It's more like having an affair, and breaking the heart of God. And before our relationship with God could be restored, a price had to be paid. Death is the only punishment for sin. But God loves us so much that, instead of killing us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place. No matter how "good" a person we are, or try to be, we cannot repay God for the hurt that our disobedience has caused Him. Only the blood of Jesus can make all of that sin go away. Through His blood, we who were so stained with selfishness and lies, can stand before a Holy God, and He can embrace us as His beloved children.

"But," you say, "if God loves us so much, how can He send people to Hell?" The answer is found in relationship. Let's say I fall in love with a woman and ask her to marry me. She says, "No, I'd rather run around with all of these other guys. Leave me alone." Having rejected my love, she can't expect to go to Hawaii on a honeymoon with me, or to spend her life with me. She made her choice, and, regardless of how much I love her, she will always be separate from me. In the same way, we cannot reject God's love and expect Him to let us spend eternity in His presence.

So back to the questions I asked at the beginning. We are "saved," rescued from sin and separation from our loving Creator God, in this life and the next. We are "born again" when we accept His love, and He adopts us as His children. And "redeemed" means that Christ, through His blood, restored our value, our worth, and traded our sin and impurity for a life of joy in the LORD.

For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 117

2011-01-14T17:30:00.002-06:00

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol Him, all peoples.
For great is His love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD.

Hula Hoops and the Name of God

2011-01-13T15:28:00.001-06:00

Last night was a great night. We played a fun relay race game with hula hoops where we discovered that the pink hula hoop is superior to the blue hula hoop. Who knew?

We also studied God's Word. The lesson was about Psalm 139:20 which says "...your adversaries misuse your name." This was our main focus: being careful not to take the Lord's name in vain.

The name of the Lord has become a byword, a slur, an expletive. Instead of using his name in praise and admiration, it is often used in anger. Exodus 20:7 says that the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
We should be careful how we use the name of God, and how we represent him.

Join us next Wednesday for more fun activities and a great time of studying God's Word together!

BLAST 2011

2011-01-11T03:10:00.000-06:00

Hey, guys!! It's time to gear up for BLAST!!!

That's right! Registration forms are due to be notarized by FEB 6.
It's $15 to go, and $10 for the tee shirt.
It's happening in March, so don't dilly-dally!!

True Fasting

2011-01-10T23:06:00.001-06:00

Grace and Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Well, the church-wide fast started today, and it isn't all that easy. If you didn't hear Seth's message on what true fasting means, go back to the Youth Page and check it out!

For the fast, I am giving up any form of media that does not glorify God. Seems all big and important, but it boils down to this: if what I watch on TV doesn't glorify God, I won't watch it. The same goes for music I listen to, books I read, videogames I play, anything in my life. So the question is, how do you define "glorifying God?" Well, the Bible has some interesting things to say about that.

You might think that God wants us to do things like follow the Ten Commandments. Ok, not murdering anyone should be simple. But Jesus went beyond that. He said that to hate someone is to murder them in your heart (Matthew 5:21-22). And that commandment about not committing adultery? "Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28)." Wow!

So if our status before God is based on what we think as well as what we do, then how do we win? How can we be perfect enough to please Him, with these high expectations? After all, we're only human, right?

God knows we aren't perfect and can't please Him in our own strength. "There is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:3). But, and here is the Good News, WE AREN'T ALONE!!! God didn't set out some huge impossible goal of perfection just to let us fail before Him! He gave us a Helper. Jesus said that "the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:25)." The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). As Christians, He will direct our lives, if we allow Him to.

But that sounds all high and preachy. What about something practical, something down to earth that we can use as a guide? The apostle Paul has that covered. In Philippians 4:8, he gives us specific things that we can focus on that we know will glorify God: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."

So, that is my goal for the next 21 days. If anything I do to entertain myself doesn't fit that model, it doesn't fit into my life. But what am I going to do without Spongebob to entertain me? Hmmm... perhaps reading the Bible. Praying is good too. And, since I don't have the boob tube to distract me, maybe now would be a good time to start those other activities that I keep putting off, like exercising.

The bottom line is this: fasting means focusing on God in a real and direct way, and strengthening our walk with Him. But, as Christians, shouldn't we be doing that anyway?

Christmas party

2010-12-03T05:56:00.000-06:00

hey guys whats up?
coming up is the youth groups annual Christmas party woo hoo!!! we do this every year and its tons of fun, we have a white elephant gift exchange. and every year we sponsor a family, and shop for part of their Christmas list, its loads of fun and we get to help people out. This year is a little special because not only are we sponsoring a family but we are also having a dinner with them too.
this year it takes place on the18th. decorating and cooking starts at 1:00 PM, if you can it would be awesome if you come and help out, and the actual dinner/party starts at 4:00 PM.

Worship

2010-10-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Hey, guys. This is Josh. I would like to say that I am thrilled to be able to lead worship for you guys on Wed nights. It is a passion I have had for some time, and God has finally opened the door.

The primary goal of Selah is to glorify God. There are a lot of consequences to a statement like this. It means living a life of worship, and of leading others into it. It is a heavy burden at times, but it is the work that Jesus has set us apart to do. And it is the Prime Directive of all who profess the Name of Christ. But, specific to the band, we (Selah) have two areas of focus.

First, we want the music to be alive and powerful, energetic and thought-provoking, challenging and fun. This means quality of songs chosen, and quality in the performance of them. To this end, we are being very selective about who is able to join us on the platform. Spiritual maturity and musical skill must both be present before anyone can join Selah. Not just skill, but compatibility in musical style and personal interaction with us. This is not done in an effort to exclude anyone, simply to offer the very best that we have to the Lord.

The second focus is to bring those around us into this esteemed calling. For some, this means decipleship and development in their spritual walk. For others, instruction and training in the area of music. This goal requires a commitment of time and personal investment. And it is not something we can do alone. I would ask that you pray for us, that God will give us opportunities to share with and grow those around us. To this end, I personally will be evaluating my schedule for times that I can spend giving music lessons to those interested, and deepening relationships.

With this in mind, I invite you to join us on Wed nights, and experience and participate in our collective worship of the Almighty God, whom we serve.

Boasting In The Lord

2010-10-09T23:26:00.000-05:00

Hey, there. I know it's been a while, but I'd like to take a moment to share my excitement for today's Quiz Meet.
Teen Quizzing is something that greatly excites me because it is a competitively involving sport that is inseparable from the studying of the scriptures, which are God's Word. Awesome, isn't it?
Three out of our four quizzers received a ribbon today, and the fourth one did well but just missed the ribbon cut-off point.
Needless to say (but still said,) I am extremely proud of all of our quizzers.

game night 8-21-10

2010-08-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

This is Alexander Epperson. i am a younger member of the youth group and the vice president of the council in case something happens to poor Seth, lets pray for the best.

Game nights are one of my favorites events we do. we just hang out at the church and play all kinds of games. this time around we did a lot with water balloons. including the classic water balloon toss, as well as just messing around with them and throwing them at each other. we also did water balloon volleyball; we had a sheet/ table cloth, and had people hold the four corners, and lobbed a water balloon back and forth, and for the grand finale we had gigantic water baloons. After that we played some regular volleyball. Then we started to get hungry so we ordered some pizza from Dominoes it was delicious. After that we pretty much did what ever. The whole thing officially ended at 9:00 but some parents were a bit late in picking us up

Good Advice

2010-07-11T01:38:00.001-05:00

"The shortest distance between a problem and
a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything."

When you just can't stand it anymore, kneel. :D

Teen Camp -- That Just Happened!

2010-06-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

Returning from teen camp is one of those bitter-sweet things, you know? It's like you're glad to be back home but you miss the daily worshiping of God and constant involvement in the word, as well as the fellowship with believers from all across the Missouri district.

Well, I'm here to tell you that all the best parts of teen camp can happen right where you're sitting. At teen camp, we learned that worshiping isn't singing, shouting, or any other action that you can perform. These things are how we express our worship. When we are obsessed with something we love -- such as video games, movies, celebrities, or appearance -- we spend a lot of time "worshiping" or praising that thing. We spend our free time on it, we create time to do it, we talk about it with our friends. Do you see what I'm saying? Here, this is what God's Word says on the subject:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Romans 12: 1 - 2

Isn't it interesting that to worship God, we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices? That means that what we do with our bodies -- how we live our lives, the choices we make, what we do in our free time and the character we display while we work -- all these things are acts of worship, more than singing, shouting, etc.

And to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind", we must read God's word so that we will know God's will for our lives.

Don't just be a Teen Camp Christian. Read the Bible daily -- true commitment to God isn't something you put on a shelf. It's something you put into practice every day of your life.

May the Grace and Peace of Jesus Christ our Lord be with you,
Seth Lyons

In the beginning....

2010-05-28T22:58:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody. Our church youth group has had a lot of fun and good events this year, but it's not over yet. I'm excited about a few things in particular.
Firstly, I'm excited to have some of the teens doing Wednesday night lessons throughout the month of June.
Secondly, I'm super excited to go to teen camp! The church has provided scholarships for teens to be able to go to teen camp without concern for finance. (can I get an "Amen! Praise the Lord!" ?) Anyway, teen camp is gonna be great. What's not to love about Camp Pinecrest? So much fun and a lot of opportunity to take refuge from the world and reestablish your faith and commitment to God. My prayer is that what happens at Teen Camp, doesn't stay at Teen Camp. I'm just glad my boss is willing to let me go for a week!