Glorifying God through our young people

Summer Suggestions

          How are you enjoying your summer break so far? I know most of you are already sleeping in, playing xbox and the wii till the wii hours of the morning….all that good stuff. Just remember to take time this summer to spend with God. Since it easy to take a break from your typical schedule, I thought I would give you some suggestions for studying with God this summer. 1. Go to the city park and read the Bible. 2. Invite some friends over and have a devotional. 3. While on vacation, go outside to a quiet place and take in the scenery of God’s creation. 4. Have a prayer day, in which you pray for someone at the beginning of every hour throughout the day. These are just some suggestions to get you thinking about spending some time with God this summer. No matter what you do, or where you go this summer, strive to glorify Him in all that you do.

 

Class of 2012

Congratulations to our Seniors

You Don’t Know

I want you to think about bullying and how much of an issue it has become.  It seems like everyday we hear of a teen who has suffered severley because someone was a bully to them.  I have an excerpt from a article I saw on the internet that I want to share with you.  I do not know the source or the name of the author, and this is not original to me.  “ the boy you punched in the hall today, committed suicide a few minutes ago.  The girl you spread rumors about, saying she was wild with guys, has never even held hands with a guy.  The boy you called lame, he has to work every night to support his family.  The girl you pushed down the other day, she is already being abused at home.  The girl you called fat, she is starving herslef.  The old man you made fun because of the ugly scars, he fought for our country and watched his best friends die in his arms.  The boy you made fun of for crying, his mother is dying of cancer.  You think you know people and for that you feel justified to make fun of them or call them names, the truth…….you don’t know them at all.”  As you think about this, remember we are made in the likeness of God(Gen 1:26) and the person you are talking about was made in the image of God.  The person you are bullying, Christ also loved and died for him or her as well as you(Jn 3:16).  Remember when you are looking into the eyes of the person you are bullying, you are looking into the eyes of God,  would you do that to God or Christ.  As Christians we need to be the ones reaching out and helping, and not the one reaching out and causing the pain, hurt, and hate.  God is Love, and so should we!

It is so easy for us as humans to look at other people and cast a judgement on them.  Is it really how someone looks that determines thier heart?  When we look at someone and see that they don’t look like we do, we automatically assume they are beneath us….we think in our minds this person is poor, snobish, punk, geek, trouble maker..etc.  Again, does thier look determine thier heart, not at all….  I want you to watch this video, notice the reaction of people at the beginning, and then the reaction at the end.  Here is the link    http://youtu.be/ZsNlcr4frs4

LIGHT

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=K7WZGWNX#

Matthew 5:14-16.  What is your Light doing for yourself and for others?

Stopping For A Moment

I want you to watch this video and then read the article below.  Here is the video link  http://youtu.be/myq8upzJDJc

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping, and continued to walk.  A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.  The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother dragged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.  In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.  No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.  This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour:

Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?  So, as you think about this story….do we do this God.  He is always here, yet we walk by…barely taking a look much less stopping to see Him.  I challenge you this week to slow down and take notice of God in your life

Catching a cold

Well…… it is nice to be out of the house for a little bit.  This cold has really taken its tole on me.  I want to say thanks to all of you for checking on me and praying for me and sending me “feel Better messages.”  I pray that none of you will get this sick the rest of the year.

CYC is next weekend.  I am excited and I know you are too.  I will be collecting money on sunday.  Make sure that you have checked- in with me about the trip and whether or not you have paid or need to pay.  We will be meeting Wednesday night after service to discuss our time of departure and the articles you need to bring.  If you have any questions just call me or text me.

I have uploaded the cave trip pictures on the “Pictures” page so swing by there and check them out.  Also look at the “upcoming events”  I have posted dates for workacamp and mid-south youth camp.

have a great weekend!  j-rod

New Updates

Well,  I have been trying to learn this website stuff.  I have made some updates to the web page.  At the top right you will see a calendar page.  I have figured out how to post our monthly calendars using a PDF format.  Now you can download our monthly calendars from home(i have posted Feb & March).

Now if you will look to the lower right you will see the Blog Roll.  I have put some links there to different things that pertain to our youth group.   Some are helpful for information, others are for simply seeing what is going on in other youth groups.  i hope you enjoy these added features.

If you think of something that you think might be helpful to our web page, let me know and i will see what i can do to get it on here.  Remember that any of the posts or pictures you can comment on or even link to your twitter or facebook accounts.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  J-rod

Growth

January is over and February is here…one month down already for 2012.  How is your year shaping up so far?  I hope that you are making every effort to spend more time with God this year.  Individual growth is the key to growth of the congregation.  Think about this….when one is totally committed to the cause they are serving, they will do everything within their power to get others onboard.  So….if we are totally committed or on fire for the church and the works of the church, better are the chances of us getting others onboard….hence from individual growth we have church growth.  Again, I encourage you to continue to spend time with God every chance you get.

Under Construction

i am currently learning how to work on all of this stuff, so endure with me as i learn.  i have a couple of pages.  One will hopefully be for pictures and the other will be for events.  so explore the site, leave some comments and hopefully over the next couple of weeks this will expand into a great place.  J-rod

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