Tom Pounder

Great Changes Ahead

2010-09-24T08:16:00.000-04:00

As I said in my last post (about a month ago) that I was going through some transitions in life. At that time, I was not able to speak to them specifically. However, now as a letter is going out (and should have been received by now), I am able to speak more freely on this. The first change is that THIS SUNDAY, Sept. 26th, will be our LAST SUNDAY at Cedar Run.

It is with both great sadness and excitement that Anne & I announce that we are leaving Cedar Run Community Church. Sadness because we have spent the past 7½ years at a Church where God has blessed and led us in so many great and exciting ways. We have enjoyed our time at Cedar Run so much and leave more blessed for the experience.

After prayfully seeking God’s will for my life over the last couple of months, He has presented me with an amazing opportunity here locally at New Life Christian Church in Centreville. Starting on November 1^st, I will be the Family Ministry Pastor overseeing the Children's, Youth and Sportsplex Departments. It is an exciting new opportunity for Anne and I, and we feel blessed to be called to this mission.

Anne and I want to thank all of you who have supported and encouraged us over the years as our family has grown. We will look back with many great memories. Thank you all for helping make this season in our lives a very fond one. Although we would like to thank everyone who has impacted our lives, there are literally too many to post. So, generally speaking, we want to thank:

the Cedar Run Staff - great group of people to work with over the years.
the Parents - without your support and help, so many of what we did at Cedar Run would not have succeeded. I thank you for allowing me to work with your children.
the Students - it has been an honor and blessing for me to work with all of you. You all are God's unique creation and I thank you for catching the vision for what we were doing and allowing God to enter into your lives and impact you.
the Lord! Without Him impacting my life as a teen, I would have been in such a great position. The Lord has blessed my family and I and we are eternally grateful. We look forward to where He is directing us with New Life Christian Church.

We believe God brought us to Cedar Run in His timing and He is now moving us forward to another great opportunity. We pray that God continues to direct Cedar Run and grow it as the place He desires it to be.

The Second Change is happening to my writing. Currently, I have 2 blogs (this one, more personal and devotionally driven and another ministry focused one centered on encouraging youth ministers - www.notamegachurch.com).

Because of my new position at New Life and the focus that it will require, I will be eliminating this blog and no longer write here. This should be my last post on http://tompounder.blogspot.com. I will keep the site up for a while so you can browse past posts and hopefully be encouraged in Christ.

I will also be changing my Not a Mega Church blog to focus more on Family Ministry and encouraging children's, youth, young adult and family ministers. My blog has gain in popularity each month and I have received plenty of great reviews about it (In fact, currently YMToday.com uses my writing and I will become a contributing author to Youth Ministry 360 starting next week.). Therefore, I am continuing the Not a Mega Church blog but changing some of the focus to broaden on my new Family Ministry responsibilities. The blog title will likely change as well, but that will happen in time.

As we leave and transition on to this new and exciting opportunity, know that we are not leaving the friends and relationships we have developed over the years. We look forward to continuing them for many more years to come.

As you can see, there are a lot of changes but they are some great changes and challenges that Anne, the girls and I are really looking forward to. We ask for your continued prayer, support and friendship as we make these transitions. God has brought us this far and we know His plans for us will continue to guide us even further for His glory.

Sincerely,

Tom & Anne Pounder

Transitions

2010-08-27T07:02:00.001-04:00

This month for me has been the beginning of some transitions in my life.

I'm gearing up for the fall and the ministry ahead of me. As a college and young adult minister right now this is a whole new fall for me. I have never had to experience an August where I am trying to greet new college students or focus on how I can get to GMU more often so I can hang with some of the students on campus.
I'm also transitioning into the fall with my family. August is usually back-to-school month where my girls are getting pretty pumped about going back to school (I hope that never ends). So, my wife (mainly) and I plan out what activities the girls will be doing in the fall and what are their school needs. It's pretty cool and I'll have to say that we have most of that stuff settled now which is nice.

Transitions can sometimes be very exciting as a new opportunity arises, but they can sometimes be tough as something unexpected happens and throws your life into upheaval.

Regardless of what transition you are going through right now, the one thing that doesn't transition is God. As it says in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." He never changes and because of this Truth (and the many more He promises us throughout the Bible), we can rest assure that whatever we are going through today, He will bring us through it (maybe not perfectly without any bumps and bruises, but He WILL bring us through it).

So what transitions are you going through in life right now? Are they good or bad, exciting or mundane?

Offer it before the Lord and see how brings you through it.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Slowing Down

2010-08-06T08:04:00.000-04:00

I've been in a runners funk recently. For about a week or 2, running hasn't been so enjoyable. Actually, running is never enjoyable to me, but it has been more bearable up until recently. So, for the past 2 weeks, it has been harder to run. The first 5 or so minutes I run just stink and are hard on my legs so I decide early on to make it a 20-21 min run rather than my normal 25-26 min run.

So, the past few days I have tried to counter that hard first few minutes by going a little bit slower. I start off with a slower pace and try to ease into the run. And, amazingly, it actually worked! The first few minutes have been really relaxing and I have made my normal 25-26 minute run with ease. The difference was all in how I started and slowing down.

Every now and then we need to slow down in life. We need to take a few steps back and look at the bigger picture and see how the Lord is moving in our midst. In the fast pace world of Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area, this is particularly hard to do. Everything needs to happen immediately. But when we wait for Him, He reveals his path and provides the right action to take.

In Psalm 40:1-5, David talks about his waiting for the Lord and how the Lord heard his cry. That is the greatness of our Lord. He doesn't promise riches or wealth. But He does promise to hear us and to provide (Philippians 4:19).

So take some time today to slow down, rest in the Lord's wisdom and allow him to meet your needs.

V.B.S. & the Youth Working together

2010-07-29T06:41:00.000-04:00

In June I posted on my Not a Mega Church? blog about how V.B.S. is a great service opportunity for youth during the summer. In case you missed it, you can read that post here. In it, I highlighted 5 reasons why this should be a very viable option for your youth program to help out with.

Well, this week is V.B.S. week at Cedar Run and because of this I am going to give some give real-time examples of how the 5 reasons really shine through.

Check out how the week progresses here.

Mission Trips

2010-07-10T06:03:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of mission trips. My life was changed when I went on a mission trip right before my senior year in high school. Because of that experience, I believe everyone should have the opportunity to go on a mission trip - domestic or international.

However, as I prepared for a message to some college and young adults this past week, I was challenged to look at the mission field a bit differently. So often I (and many others) view missions as something you go out and do in other towns or countries around the world. But, as I looked at Christ's life (and that of Philip), I remembered that my mission field is right in front of me. In fact, it is wherever God leads me. Let me explain.

Take a minute and read Acts 8:26-38.

Where was Philip going?
Who directed him?
How did God use Philip?

In the often repeated scripture Matthew 28:19-20, Christ proclaims to his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Christ has told us all to go and make disciples. How do we do that? Teach them everything we know and baptizing them.

Using these 2 passages, I was convicted that it is my job to:

Teach all people (not just my ministry focus of youth and young adults or those in other cities or countries) about Christ. Whether it is my daughter or my neighbor or a friend I come into contact with, I cannot withhold the love, grace and peace of Christ that has impacted my life for the better. I need to share Him to others.
I will know when to share when the Lord directs me. Philip was told/directed twice (v. 26 & 29) to go take action that led to the Ethiopian eunuch coming to know the Lord as his savior. Philip just didn't look on the map and say I'm going here and I will do this. No, the Lord directed him. Therefore, I need to be in communion with the Lord for Him to direct me. Philip knew where to go because he knew the voice of the Lord. He knew what the Lord sounded like.

Therefore, my challenge to you all today is to review these 2 passages above and go before the Lord. Ask Him to direct you where to share, to whom you should share and what exactly you should share about Him.

Then, when He provides you with an opportunity, you will recognize it and be able to make an impact in someone else's life.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

The "I Run for Me" Running Company

2010-06-21T07:10:00.000-04:00

I think I'm gonna start my own running company. I know I have only been running for 6 weeks or so, but I have become infatuated with this new sub-culture within our society. I see ways they operate and the attire they wear (and boy, some of the attire they wear, I'm actually surprised they don't feel embarrassed wearing that in public). I see bumpers stickers like 26.2 to symbolize their achievements or goals. I see their iPods strapped to their shoulders. I must admit, I am getting sucked in moment by moment, new shoe by new shoe. It is a very interesting sub-culture - not bad, but interesting.

But honestly, the more I think about it, this is not me. The MAIN THING I have learned about running is that I run for me. I don't run for anyone else. I run for me. I don't run so that I can do a marathon. I don't run because I really like it or because I really want to. I don't run so I can l can wear those really short running shorts :) (kidding, I would never wear those running shorts - ever!).

I run for me. I run because I need to. I run to get focused on my day. I run to vent and pray to God. I run to ask Him for wisdom and discernment. I run to actually listen to music I like (not Miley Cyrus :)). I run to feel better about myself and to become more healthy, for me. I really do run for me!

I don't care what I look like when I run or what I wear (For what it's worth, I wear a long sleeve shirt, my sweat pants that probably smell really bad right now and my non-professional-running shoe.). I don't care if I run like a boxer. I don't care if my pace is too slow or too fast for someone else.

I don't care because I run for me. So, that is why I'm starting the "I Run for Me" Running Company. It's about you and running for you and you alone. I know it sounds really selfish, but in reality, you need to be selfish about some things so that you can give out appropriately when needed. Christ calls us all to serve (Luke 10:25-37 & John 13:1-17). He modeled it in all he did, even death on the cross (Philippians 2:5-8 & Mark 10:45). How can we possibly serve others with all we have if we aren't selfish about filling up our tank and getting right ourselves? We need to be selfish in some things.

So, everyone is welcome to join the "I Run for Me" Running Company. There are no fees to join, all you have to do is walk outside your front door or down where your treadmill is and start running.

Who knows, if we can start a movement here, we might even want to make t-shrits and sell them at running shops :)

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Injuries

2010-06-18T06:40:00.000-04:00

I had to sit out my run yesterday because my knee was hurting. See, the day before when I was running, I felt that I tweaked it in such a way that it caused some soreness after the run. Then, throughout the day it continued to feel awkward. Then, yesterday morning, as I was getting ready, my knee just felt too sore to try to run on it. So I decided that it would probably be better for me to sit out a day and let my injury heal than to try to rush it and maybe injure my knee worse.

This made me think of injuries in our personal lives. It made me think of all the times that I have been injured in life and try to rush back to quickly. For instance, if my heart has been broken by a broken relationship(s), do I try too quickly to mend the relationship or try to force the relationship to mend or do I just let it be?

But there are other examples of being injured in life as well. Things could have happened in our past that were not our doing that have affected the way we respond to circumstances or life situations. Whatever it is I think sometimes if we rush back into rectifying the situation too quickly, we may do more harm than good (just like running with an injured knee).

So, as I process my life and how I respond to injuries, I can rest on what Christ said in these 2 passages:

Matthew 6:12, 14-15, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors...For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 18:15-16, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Christ calls us to forgive and to confront in hopes to rectify the situation. He doesn't say it has to be immediately (although Paul does say in Epheisans 4:26, "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry"). Since Christ does not give a time frame, I would suggest going before God to find out the right time and place to confront.

The reality is I don't know where you are at with your injuries, but my hope and prayer is that you can forgive and confront in a loving way so that you can learn from all situations. That way you can continue to move forward in life so that you can be all that God created and designed you to be.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Not because we want to always, but because we HAVE & NEED to

2010-06-12T06:05:00.000-04:00

Many of you all know that I have been running regularly for the past month and a half. It has been a great stress reliever, processing time and Christ time as I listen to worship music and spend time in prayer. It is my goal to run between 20-30 minutes and 5 of the 7 days of the week.

As I wake up in the morning to run, there are many days in which I don't feel like running. I'm tired or my mind just doesn't want to process that day or there are other things I feel that I need to do instead. BUT, I get out and run anyways...not because I want to, but because I HAVE to. I make myself run because I HAVE to vent to God. I make myself run because I HAVE to listen to worship music to keep my focus on Him. I make myself run because I HAVE to get in shape because I need to be more healthy in my own life.

In the same way, my running is similar to my relationship with Christ. I don't always feel like spending time with Him. I don't always want to process with him because sometimes I'm mad and want to be angry. I don't always want to spend time with Him because I could be doing other, more "productive" things.

BUT, I NEED to spend time with Christ everyday. I NEED to get His input on how to handle certain situations. I NEED His wisdom and guidance. I NEED His peace.

Because our NEEDS always overrule our WANTS, we need to spend time with Christ everyday, including today.

So, right now, as soon as you stop reading this blog, I want you to click on the link below and spend time with Christ. You will benefit from it no matter what the topic is. I just pray that the Lord blesses and nurtures your heart wherever you are at right now.

Our Daily Bread

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Why I am BACK on Facebook!

2010-06-04T07:50:00.001-04:00

So, I've made it a week without Facebook. I deactivated it and then took the App off my iPhone. It has actually been a really good week without Facebook.

However, on Tuesday I found out that I was going to be taking the primary role in Cedar Run's College and Young Career Ministry this Summer. In years past, I have always been involved with this ministry as a person who helps transitions the high school graduates into this new ministry. But this year the Church Leadership has asked me to be the primary leader and organize this group to get some momentum behind it. This is something I am really looking forward to doing as I LOVE to create new programs and groups. And, I am going to love reconnecting with old students.

But, because of the short time frame I have to work to get this program started this summer, I know I need to use every tool I can to reconnect with a lot of old students. Considering these students do not love emails so much and I don't have all their cell numbers, I am going to HAVE to reactivate my Facebook account!

For all that I do not like about Facebook, the 1 great ministry tool it does do is it connects the masses of people all together. It allows me to get all the information out that I need to get out to a bunch of people at the same time.

So, I'm reactivating my account and I'm going to use it to kick butt in this new ministry opportunity I have. But please, in my attempt to re-engage in this social media try to keep your Mafia Wars, your Farmville Animals and your Jammin' Java concert invites to yourselves :).

Why I am Quitting Facebook

2010-05-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

This week I decided to quit Facebook. So, on Friday sometime, I will be deactivating my account, hoping to never reactivate it. Here are 3 reasons I am quitting Facebook:

It's too distracting. With all the status updates, applications, marketing ideas, changes in privacy policy, I almost need an administrative assistant to keep me up-to-date on what is happening with all my 500+ friends (most of whom I haven't seen in years). I think I could literally spend my whole day tracking what others do, what promotions are being offered and what So and So needs for his FarmTown. I'm sorry, but I have a wife and 4 young daughters, not to mention a full-time job, a mortgage and hopefully a social life. Facebook is too distracting for what I need to focus on, yet it is one of the 1st things I do when I wake up. I don't need any more distractions for my life.
I only use it for ministry. Actually, that is a really good reason to keep it. But, it is also the reason to delete it. With Facebook you can easily keep tabs on people without really being with and really knowing people. In youth ministry we strive to model Christ who came to Earth, met us where we were and then build a relationships that led us to God. Well, with Facebook, I'm developing relationships with people by basically seeing what they are doing and making a comment about it. I can "know" someone without really "knowing" someone. Facebook takes away actually physical time that I should be having with someone else.
I'm not that important. Who really cares what I am up to? Who cares that I am making brownies while playing with the kids? Actually, if I have time to write that then I am not really making brownies or playing with my kids. I am typing on Facebook (which is another reason to delete it). If my friends want to know what I am up to, then they should be able to call me and chat with me about it. They don't need to read what I am doing on some status update.

So, if you are really curious as to what I am doing, you can track me down a few different ways:

Email me - my friends know what that is
Call me - again, my friends know the number
Follow my Personal Blog (http://tompounder.blogspot.com)
Follow my Youth Ministry Blog (www.notamegachurch.com)
Follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/tapounder)

May God bless you and hopefully I will never be on Facebook again, not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just not for me :)

Running to Stand Still

2010-05-26T11:08:00.000-04:00

U2 has a great song from their Joshua Tree album called "Running to Stand Still". It was written about a heroin-addicted couple in Ireland. I love this song so much as it focuses on the struggle of this addiction. In many ways, she is running to stand still. She cannot get herself out of the muck and the mire.

As I have begun to run on a regular basis, this song sticks in my head because I do not want to be a person who is running to stand still. I want to be running with a purpose and making myself a better person. Before I started running I was overweight (203 pounds for a 5'10 body), had high cholesterol and I was never exercising. If I continued this pattern, it would not take too much longer before I would be experiencing some serious health related issues.

Since I have started running I have lost 18 pounds and am now feeling more fit than I have in years. I have also used my running as an opportunity to connect with God in a whole new, fresh level. I spend time worshiping to praise music and also spend time talking and listening to him. It has been a great connect for me with Him. I no longer feel that I am running to stand still.

So what about you? What or who are you running towards? How is it impacting your life (good or bad)?

The inspiration I have for running towards Christ is found in Matthew 6:33 where Christ says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Christ was referring to his provision if we seek Him. What a great thing to run towards. When we run towards Christ He will provide and take care of us! It may not be the way we think He "should" provide for us, but He will definitely provide.

So today and the rest of this week, DON'T run to stand still. RUN towards Christ and see how He ministers to you!

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

True Protection

2010-05-17T15:30:00.000-04:00

Psalm 40:11 says, "Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me."

I read this last week and I used it as my prayer for that day and the days following. Here is what I got out of what David was saying:

He asked God to "not withhold your mercy from me". Basically he is saying that he knows he is a sinful guy and that he has messed up a bunch. So as he is trying to do what is right he is asking for God to be merciful and gracious to him.
He says, "may your love...always protect me." I believe love is personal. Relationships in general are messed up as they can be very self-centered and conditional; a sort of a "what have you done for me lately" mindset. But God gives unconditional love and it will always cover and protect us no matter what situation we are in. His love is greater than all things and it will protect us through the great times and the bad as long as we allow ourselves to feel the love.
Finally he says, "may your truth always protect me." The fact is people will always have their own version of the truth as truth can sometimes be how we perceive things to be (whether we are right or wrong). But REAL truth rests in the Lord. After all He did say, "I am the way, the TRUTH and the life". He is the ultimate truth and understanding.

We all make mistakes and we try to learn from them. It is when we rest in the Lord and trust His will and His control, then we know that His love and Truth will come out on top. We must become less (and do less) so that God can become greater and shine through it all.

May you all be encouraged by this as much as I was.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

I went for a run today

2010-05-12T11:15:00.000-04:00

My life has never really been normal. It has always had it's ups and downs. Well, of late, that sense of normalcy has been in real peril as things have been far from it. I have had to juggle so much each day.

As I was telling a friend of mine about my recent juggling act, he suggested that I stop and focus on getting healthy myself. He challenged me that the only way I can make it through this recent juggling act is if I was taking care of myself - physically, spiritually and emotionally.

One of his suggestions was that I run every day.

So, this morning I went on my 2nd consecutive day of running. It wasn't long, but I ran for 30 minutes today. In that running, I put on some awesome music (some secular and some Christian) on my iPod. But, it was funny, when I ran to the secular music, I was mad and angry at life. I got all worked up over the smallest things.

But then, when I ran to Christian music, my shift focused from anger to God. It was as if God was ministering to me and nurturing me as I ran. As I ran and lifted my eyes up to the heavens, I cried, I praised Him, I allowed him to rest over me. I ran with a higher purpose in mind.

As I ran and focused on Christ, my mindset focused on trusting God's will and allowing Him to take care of me - where ever He leads me. I will be at peace about it because I know that God is going to take care of me.

I don't know what you are going through in life but I can attest that God wants to minister to you and He wants you healthy - no matter where you are at.

So my encouragement is to go out for a run. Put some Christian tunes that rock in your iPod and allow God to minister to you.

By the way, if you are interested, the 3 songs I ran to the most were:

"O Praise Him" by David Crowder Band
"Speaking Louder than Before" by Jeremy Camp
"Until the Whole World hears" by Casting Crowns.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Choosing today to fight for Christ

2010-05-06T10:38:00.005-04:00

Are you choosing today to fight for Christ?. You do not need to worry about living a lifetime of what Christ calls you to. Sure, that is the hope, but that can be overwhelming sometimes. So choosing to follow Christ means that each day you wake up, you will follow him with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Are you choosing today to fight for Christ?

This mindset can be particularly helpful for teenagers who have been in the party scene or who have been living active sex lives. For them, when you choose to follow Christ, that means you are "throwing away" that lifestyle - a lifestyle that has tremendous temporal pleasures. So, if someone commits their life to Christ, it may be hard to give up that next party or hook-up. But, if that person chooses to follow Christ each day, it is much more manageable and can even have some tremendous rewards with it.

So today, choose to follow Christ. Choose to live your life with integrity. Choose to say no to that party because you know the ramifications that can have on you and others. Choose to open your Bible to discover the truth and promises God has for you. Choose to pray more today. Choose to share about Christ to others today. Choose to listen to God today. Choose Christ today!

These are all manageable and beneficial things for you to do today that will help you grow closer to Christ.

May God bless you as you choose to follow Him today!

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

Feeling Burnt Out - Read this!

2010-04-22T13:04:00.001-04:00

Christ says in Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Ok! I'm going before the Lord because right now I am so emotionally and mentally drained, there is no one else who can promise me this! Sure, it may be easier to turn to other things that make it seem like they are giving you rest. But in reality it is only delaying the draining that I am currently feeling.

So I don't know about you, but I'm going before the Lord. AND, if you are feeling the same way I am, then I suggest you do the same.

May God be with you and give you the rest you need!

tompounder.blogspot.com

Need a Kick in the Pants - read this!

2010-04-09T06:12:00.002-04:00

I read this today - Ephesians 4:17-32. Take a minute and read through it.

I think I might be a little bit more direct today - what separates believers from non-believers is that we know the truth and it has set us free. I cannot recall of any time where I have heard a Christian state that "my life went to hell because I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior". But, on the other hand, I have heard many times how life is tough but they do not know the Lord. As Paul points out in v. 17 and 18, non-believers have futile thinking and have given themselves over to every kind of impurity because of the hardening of their hearts and their continual lust for more impurity. It is almost like their futile and perverted (not in a sexual way perverted) thinking has made them too drunk to think rationally.

Believers came to know Christ, however, because "you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (v. 22-24). Believers were able to separate themselves from the lusts of this world and see through to a better, stronger option - CHRIST!

Therefore, as Paul points out in verse 25-32, let's step up our game! Seriously, let's:

put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body (v.25)
do not let the sun go down on your anger so that you give Satan a foothold in your life (v.26)
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. (v.29)
get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. (v. 31)
be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (v. 32)

It time folks for all of us to get off our butts and start taking our life with Christ seriously. Let's not half-butt our life with Christ anymore. You believed in Him for a reason - let's reaffirm that faith and strive towards him all the more!

Take a least 1 of the points Paul outlines above and strive to work on that today and the rest of the week. Then, may the Lord move in your heart and your life as well as the lives you come into contact with.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to be a little bit honest here.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

www.notamegachurch.com

Being Effective and Productive for Christ

2010-04-05T06:23:00.001-04:00

2 Peter 1:3-10 says, "3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,"

I love 2 things about this passage:

1. If we possess these things:

goodness
knowledge
self-control
perseverance
godliness
brotherly kindness
love

we will be productive and effective in our knowledge of Christ. Therefore, I believe this translate into that we can be effective and productive as followers of Christ and evangelists for Christ.

2. In verse 10 that is says, "if you do these things, you will never fail". Life can be hard an challenging at times but Peter is saying that if we add to our faith the qualities outlined in verses 5-7, we will never fail. That doesn't mean that we will never experience hardship or tough times. Rather, we will never fail and over the long term, that will make us extremely productive for Christ.

These are just 2 thoughts that stuck out to me as I read this scripture.

As you look at it, what quality outlined in verses 5-7 do you struggle with? Pick at least 1 you can work on today and this week so that you can add to your faith and be effective and productive for Christ.

tompounder.blogspot.com

Some Scripture I read today - 3/19

2010-03-19T05:55:00.000-04:00

Continuing to read through 1 Peter, I read these in chapter 2 and was encouraged/challenged.

v. 11-12 - "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

We get trapped into living our lives the way the rest of the world does. But, ultimately, when we do that, there is a battle going on between our faith and the worldly desires. We need to live our lives pleasing to the Lord so that we can bring glory to Him.

v. 16 - "Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God."

v. 23 - "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

It can be so easy for us, when we are persecuted or made fun of because of our beliefs, to retaliate and say things back to defend ourselves. But, if Christ, hanging on the cross did not, then maybe we should take a step back and allow the Lord to justly judge and we, as v. 11-12 state, live our lives to glorify Him.

Take a Minute and ponder these verses. Pray and meditate on them before the Lord and see what HE puts on your heart today because of them.

May God bless you all today and do a great work!

tompounder.blogspot.com

Some Scripture I read today

2010-03-18T06:33:00.000-04:00

Today I started reading through 1 Peter. Here are some verses that stuck out to me:

v. 7 - "These [Trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (emphasis mine)

v. 15-16 - "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

v. 24-25 - "For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.' And this is the word that was preached to you." (emphasis mine)

Take a minute and ponder these verses and see what the Lord puts on your heart today because of them.

May God bless you all today and do a great work!

tompounder.blogspot.com

What am I suppose to learn from this?

2010-02-25T05:47:00.000-05:00

Throughout our lives we go through "seasons". I don't know whoever coined this term but if he/she would have trademarked this bad boy, they would be filthy rich right now as it is a very popular word. Well, right now I am going through a season and to be honest, I'm over it. I'm ready to move on as I've been in this season for too long.

As I have had a wide range of emotions during this season in my life, I realize that God is not done with me yet. He has me here for a reason and although I may be done, the reality is that I may not have even begun to experience what God wants to teach me throughout this season.

The passage I look towards a lot during this time in my life is Romans 5:1-5. Take a minute and read it.

In this passage Paul says that we need to rejoice in our sufferings because it produces perseverance, character and hope. Now, don't get me wrong, all seasons in our lives ARE NOT ALWAYS sufferings. But if we look at this passage that in everything, even our sufferings, God can continue to build into us, He will make us better through any experience or season in our lives. The question I need to keep asking is, "Lord, what do you want to teach me through this?" Why am I going through this time in my life. It is not all "whoa is me", but an earnest desire to learn from the Lord during this time.

Regardless of what the Lord is trying to teach me, I know 2 things:

I have to continue to seek Him (Matthew 6:33)
He will use this for His glory. It's not all about me - never has been and never will be. So, I need to stop looking at this from a "me" perspective and more at how can I use this for His Glory?

Just like me, you may be going through a season in your life where you may not be understanding that God is trying to teach you. My encouragement to you is to continue to pursue the Lord. He has you where you are for a reason and if it is through sufferings, He is there with us and will build into us more Christlike qualities to make us more effective for the Kingdom of heaven.

As Paul says, "hope does not disappoint us" (v. 5). Rest in God's hope and trust that He will not only bring you through all seasons but you will be better off because of it.

Take some time to pray and pursue the Lord. Whether this season is a tough time for you or not, ask Him what He wants you to learn from this season in your life.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

4:30 am, really?

2010-02-20T05:42:00.000-05:00

If you know me, you know that I am an early riser. I love to get up in the morning when it is just me. After all, with 4 young children under the age of 8 running around, it is hard to get that alone time. My routine usually involves:

praying
reading some scripture
dosing off
checking facebook, twitter and some youth ministry blogs
working on Cedar Run stuff like lesson prep or emails

The reason why I get up early in the morning is because it is time when I can just have as "Tom" time. All the girls are asleep and I can really focus in on some things.

The question I have for you all is - do you get that time alone to contemplate, to spend time with the Lord in prayer and search the scripture, to plan ahead for future goals and ideas. Do you make it a priority or is it just one of the many "to-dos" you try to fit into your day? When you make it a priority, you choose to do these things regardless of time and structure of your day.

I know I get up insanely early (4:30 am most days), but I cherish these times. This time where I can do these things are a priority for me. But, in order to get this time alone, I have to wake up early or stay up late - I choose early.

What do you like to do when you wake up? Do you get up early enough to have that alone time so where you are not rushed in the morning? Aren't we rushed enough throughout the day not to be rushed in the morning as well?

This week, spend some time getting up earlier in the morning and:

find a good place in your house to claim as your morning time
grab a cup of coffee, soda, juice, whatever
grab your Bible and prayer journal and, as Samuel did, say to the Lord, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3)
ask the Lord to not just speak to you now, but to start preparing you for what lies ahead.

God has some great plans for our lives. It would just be a shame to never make time to find out what those plans really are.

Examining Your Walls

2010-02-11T06:50:00.000-05:00

As I continue to read through Nehemiah, a ton of things are coming out of it.

Take a minute and read Nehemiah 2:11-20

Some questions to process:

What sticks out to you in these verses?
What was the first thing Nehemiah did with the Jerusalem wall?
What was his assessment of the wall?
How did the workers respond to Nehemiah's challenge?

Before Nehemiah got into actually rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, he had to do an assessment of the wall. He had to find out where the weak points were so he could hit those rough spots first. Once those weak areas were rebuilt and strengthened, the city of Jerusalem would be strong and better equipped to defend her city.

As I was reading through this I thought of how often I assess my life. How often do I look for weak areas or things that need improving?

I know it is not easy to look for weak or struggling areas in our lives. It can be a very humbling experience. But, as Paul points out in 1 Peter 5:5-6, when we humble ourselves, he will lift us up - "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

This week, do an assessment of your life. What are some strong areas and weak areas in your life? Of the weak areas, what steps can you take this week to improve?

After Nehemiah examined the walls, he devised a plan to strengthen them. The walls improved slowly, but eventually were rebuilt. In the same way, we can not expect God to repair those weak areas in our lives overnight. But if we come up with a plan and stick to it, we will be successful in rebuilding our walls as well.

Pray that God would allow you to see the walls in your life that you can begin to repair and strengthen them so you can glorify Him with who you are in all that you do.

http://tompounder.blogspot.com

So your saying there's a chance?

2010-02-04T06:15:00.006-05:00

In my personal devotion time, I am going through Nehemiah. I just started but what made me fascinated with reading through Nehemiah was the fact that he was chiefly responsible for organizing the effort to rebuild the Jerusalem wall. So, I began to read through and was struck by a few things. As I read and process, I will continue to write about them and I hope you are challenged/encouraged by them as well.

Read Nehemiah 1-2:10

Some questions to answer:

Who was Nehemiah?
What was on his heart to do?
How was God instrumental in allowing him to go on his mission?

Nehemiah was just a simple cupbearer. He didn't have real power or authority to do anything. But, his heart was to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall that was destroyed when they were taken over.

He knew that Israel messed up big time when they disobeyed the Lord (1:5-9). None-the-less, he went before God and prayed for a chance, just an opportunity to go before the King and make his petition. Then, in 2:1-4a, the King asked him for what he wanted. How crazy is that? That had God written all over that as how many times do you think a high King would take an interest in such a lowly cupbearer?

What is on your heart? How is God moving within it?

If God is pressing something on your heart, go before the Lord and pray for a chance to do something with it. Then, when he provides you with an opportunity, Carpe Diem - SEIZE THE DAY! God is giving you a chance, now do something with it.

Just because God gives you a chance to do something, big or small, doesn't mean it will be easy for you to do it. In 2:2, Nehemiah says that he was afraid. But, ultimately, he spoke up and got what he wanted. Do not let fear or uncertainty of the unknown effect your decision to go for it or not. Seize the day and be thankful to God that he has given you this great opportunity.

So again, is God pressing something on your heart to do? Go before him to verify if it is from the Lord or not. Then, if it is something He wants you to take action on, pray for an opportunity and then make the most out of the opportunity you have. Nehemiah did and you can too.

Genesis 4 Devotional

2010-01-29T19:26:00.003-05:00

This was the devotional that we gave out to the Cedar Run youth for this past week.

Read Genesis 4

1. Cain and Able were brothers. What did each of them do for a living?

2. Cain and Able brought an offering to the Lord. What was the difference between the two offerings and which one was view upon as better?

3. Because of the difference, Cain did what? Why do you think Cain did this? DIG DEEPER – Read 1 John 3:12.

4. What happened to Cain because of his actions?

5. This is yet another example of the consequences of sin. Review Genesis 3:1-19 to see past examples of the consequences of sin. We suffer these consequences when we fall away from the Lord’s provisions in our lives. This week, what is one thing you could do that will help you resist temptation to fall away from God and his provisions for you? (One suggestion is to read Ephesians 6:10-18)

The choices we make

2010-01-22T05:48:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, we talked about Genesis 3 - the Fall of man. In case you don't know what happens in Genesis 3, allow me to sum up.

God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from whatever tree they wanted, except for one specific tree.
Satan came alone (in the form of a snake) and caused Eve to 2nd guess what God had commanded.
Through Satan's temptation, Eve gave in and ate of the fruit that God told her not to.
After Eve ate it, she gave some to Adam, who was there with her, and he ate the fruit as well
After they ate of the fruit, the Lord found out and gave consequences to the snake, Eve and Adam (Genesis 3:14-19)

Now, Adam and Eve didn't have to eat that fruit. They had plenty of other food provided for them by God. Plus, they didn't have to listen to the snake. After all, who actually talks to a snake unless you live in Disney World?

But the fact is they choose to eat the fruit. They choose to listen to the snake. Therefore, the consequences they suffered were a direct result of their choices.

In the same way, the choices we make are going to either push us closer to Christ or further away. There is no way we can expect ourselves to "live it up" according to a worldly perspective and still expect to grow closer to Christ.

My encouragement to you today is to closely examine all the choices you make. As you are making decisions ask yourself, "Will ____________ draw me closer to Christ or further away?". It's a simple question but the rewards or consequences may not be very simple (see Adam, Eve and the Snake for reference).

May God impact you in a mighty way today!

Getting rid of your idols

2010-01-14T06:17:00.003-05:00

Read Judges 10:6-16

I help teach our Middle School "Grounded" class. Grounded is a walk through the Bible and some important Church doctrine.

Currently, we are going over the Judges and Kings of Israel. With the Judges a pattern that is often repeated goes something like this:

Israel sins and worship other gods and idols
God allows Israel and their faithlessness to be overtaken by an enemy
Israel learns their lesson, gets rid of the idols and cries out to the Lord for help
God hears their cry and helps them by sending a Judge to defeat their enemies
After victory, they live in peace for X amount of years until that Judge dies
Repeat steps 1-5

The reading in Judges 10:6-16 is very similar to this pattern.

The key point that I would like to discuss is pattern #3 where Israel learns their lesson, gets rid of the idols and cries to God for help. Obviously today we do not have idols or false gods such as Baal or whatever else the Israelites worshiped back then. But, we do have idols that take our focus off of Christ and onto something else.

Some current day idols could be our friends, alcohol, drugs, money, fame, a TV show, facebook or other social media outlets, or even our iPhones. Again, an idol is whatever takes our focus off of Christ. Do you have an idol?

Well, if you do, I want to encourage you to take the next step, as Israel did - get rid of your idols. See, they worshipped other idols and it didn't quite work out for them. So, they had to get right with the Lord again. In order to do that, they had to first get rid of the idols. I'm not saying that a requirement for God to help you means you have to get rid of your idols, but that is what is constantly demonstrated with the Israelites. Plus, how can we completely turn our focus on the Lord if we have our idols still with us? Get rid of your idols whatever they may be.

We have to get rid of the idols that hinder our relationship with Christ. Christ said that he has come to give us life to the full (John 10:10). How can he possibly do that if we are turning to other things as well?

My encouragement for you all today is:

examine your life. Do you have idols that are hindering what God wants to do in your life? If so,
Get rid of all the idols that are doing that. Throw them out or do whatever you have to do get into a position where God can minister to you and provide a life that is full (please note - I said full which does not necessarily mean fun or prosperous).

God will always provide, but not necessarily in the ways we think he "should" or will. Throw out your idols and turn your focus on Christ. Then, see how he provides.

Dance Party Options

2010-01-10T05:16:00.006-05:00

As you know we are going to have another Dance Party on Jan. 22nd. Well, we need your help in deciding the theme. Click the one theme you would prefer you do.

You have until Jan. 13th to decide. Results will be posted here!

New Years and New Beginnings

2010-01-07T10:38:00.004-05:00

It's the new year and as it is all the time when January rolls around, people try to make the most out of it by striving to make bold new starts. Whether it is giving up a bad habit or trying to lose weight, people see January 1 as the time to get serious.

Did you know that the most popular new years resolutions are:

Lose Weight
Manage Debt
Save Money
Get a Better Job
Get Fit
Get a Better Education
Drink Less Alcohol
Quit Smoking Now
Reduce Stress Overall
Reduce Stress at Work
Take a Trip

Those are all great resolutions, but where are doing resolutions to be more like Christ fall in? It would be a shame to do some of these most popular resolutions but fail to grow closer to Christ in any way.

Mark 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." If we seek him and strive for him first and foremost, all these other things we strive for or need will fall into place.

Therefore, my personal goal for 2010 is to never miss a day without spending time in Scripture and Prayer. It may be generic or common, but I am striving for it and hope not to fall short so that I can benefit and those around me can as well.

So what are you striving for this year? How can you draw closer to Christ this year? Make a goal and strive towards Him.

Source:

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml

We are all Misfits

2009-12-23T06:07:00.002-05:00

As I wrote in my last post, I love Christmas and all that there is about Christmas. I especially love all the Christmas specials. ABC Family has a ton of them every year in the 25 Days of Christmas so I record most of them and watch them over and over again my daughters.

One of my favorite Christmas specials is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Not only is it a classic Christmas special, but it has a great message as well.

Check out this clip and see what I'm talking about.

These "misfit" toys were stranded on the island with no hopes of ever being loved and cared for by someone else. That was until Santa came for them and delivered them on Christmas to the little boys and girls around the world.

In many ways, we are misfits too. We all have things about ourselves that we do not like or are proud of. We feel like misfits that no one could possibly love us for this or that.

BUT, the great news for us is that Christ was born, lived and died for all of us misfits.

John 3:16-17 says, "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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

He saw our deficiencies and still came and died for us all. How great is that!?! Today and the rest of this holiday season, rejoice in the fact that we have a savior that loved us so much that despite our "misfit" qualities, he came down for us and offered us such hope.

If you have never taken a minute to accept the grace and hope of Christ, all you have to do is:

Admit you have fallen short (Romans 3:23)
Believe that Christ died for you (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 5:8 and Romans 6:23)
Commit to following after Him (Romans 10:9-10)

Christ loves all of us no matter how much we feel like misfits. This Christmas season, rest in the hope and grace of Christ and let his love reign in your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thinking about Christmas

2009-12-17T06:06:00.004-05:00

I love Christmas! It is by far my favorite time of the year. As soon as Thanksgiving is over and Black Friday begins, I love decorating the house, putting up the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music and even SHOPPING! I know, shoot me, but I love the build up to Christmas.

The funny thing about my love for Christmas, though, is that as soon as Dec. 26th rolls around, I'm not so much into Christmas. I don't play Christmas music and I am already mapping out what decorations to take down and when to do them. I know, it's a bit silly.

Yesterday, I was reading a blog from my friend Barry Hill and he highlighted a group that started, I think, last year. It's called Advent Conspiracy. Take a minute and watch this video.

It has gotten me all fired up thinking about Christmas - the real meaning of Christmas. As a believer and active follower of Christ, I know what Christmas is about - the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. I understand that and I make sure our youth at Cedar Run know that and I make sure my own children know that.

Unfortunately for me, I can get so wrapped up in the season, the fun and the craziness of Christmas, I can sometimes forget the it's all about Christ. In fact, when Christmas is officially "over" on Dec. 26th, I need to not forget what it is about either. I don't need to pack up my beliefs of Christ just as I pack up my decorations. I need to use this season as an opportunity to proclaim Christ all the more. What a perfect opportunity to make an impact in the name of Christ!

Watching this video was a great reminder to me and I hope a great reminder for you what Christmas is about and to be sharing the stories of Christ, our great and wonderful savior to all people.

Serving within the Body of Christ

2009-12-08T06:08:00.005-05:00

Oftentimes, when we think of serving and ministering to others, it is perceived that we have to go on a missions trip or work camp to serve. Those are great avenues to serve and share the love of Christ. But when we do that, I believe we miss opportunities locally, right in our backyard to serve. In particular, we miss opportunities to serve within our own body of Christ.

This past week, we looked at 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. In it, it talks about the body of Christ and using our spiritual gifts in unison so that we can be a complete, fully functioning unit.

In the same way, we should be using our gifts and abilities to serve each other the body of Christ. Yes, we want to reach out to our unbelieving friends and yes we want to reach the world with the hope and love of Christ. But, we cannot forget our fellow believers. We cannot serve everywhere but our those around us and in the our local Church. There are a ton of needs out there!

It could be a mom who needs a helper (young or old) to fold clothes, watch the kids, or go grocery shopping. It could be volunteering for the children's ministry program as they have needs for childcare during the service.

Regardless of who or what it is, there are plenty of needs right here in your backyard for you to be used by God as a witness and testimony.

Application:

Take a minute and think through what your gifts are that the Lord has bless you with. As 1 Corinthians 12 points out, we are all blessed with gifts from the Lord. The question is are you using them for the glory of the Lord?

Once you have thought through your gifting from the Lord, look for avenues you can share them with others. Whether it is that mom at Church who seems overwhelmed (and rightfully so) or that Children's Ministry Director who is desperate for help or someone completely different, go before the Lord and ask Him to open doors. Then, when those doors open, do not hesitate, but pursue and allow God to use you as a witness and testimony of Him.

Pray for God to open opportunities for you to serve and be a witness of Him this week. Then, when they are presented, go and DO!

Teaching all we know

2009-12-03T08:09:00.007-05:00

When you hear the word "witnessing", what comes to mind? How do you feel about actually witnessing to others?

It has been my experience that when the word "witnessing" comes up, more people than not will tend to shy away from that as they think, "this is not for me". This often comes about because of some misconceptions that all witnessing is standing on a soap box in the middle of the mall or school proclaiming damnation on people if the do not repent.

Well, on Sunday morning we looked began to address this by looking at these 2 passages:

Based on these passages, here are 2 Quick Questions to think about:

What does Christ call us to do?
How does he encourage us to share about Him?

In Acts 1:8, Christ gives us a plan of action to be "witnesses" of him. He told his disciples to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Christ shared this with them in or around Jerusalem at the time. So, if you look at where he said this, you would understand that Christ's plan for us to be witnesses to others is to first look locally (Jerusalem for the disciples and your local town/city for you).

Then, in Matthew 28:19-20, Christ calls us what to share - teach "them to obey everything I have commanded you". Again, as I said earlier, often times when we think about sharing about Christ, a good amount of us tend to think that we can't do it or we wouldn't have the foggiest idea what to share. Well, Christ gives us all clear direction on what to share - share what He has taught you about life and living. If you profess to have Christ as your Lord and Savior, surely He has taught you something. Therefore, share with your friends and family all that Christ has taught you!

Application:

Pray that the Lord would open up doors and opportunities for you to share locally to others. It could be your friends, family, a parent at your child's school or someone in your class. Pray that God would open those doors.

Then, take a minute and jot down what Christ has taught you during your relationship with Him. I have found that it is always easier to remember those great things Christ has done in your life if you have them written down somewhere.

Finally, be ready to share with others.

May God bless you and give you the courage to take this great step of faith!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T06:24:00.002-05:00

Today is Thanksgiving and so it is appropriate to write about something that I am thankful for. So, here I go.

On Sunday night, at PowerHouse we talked about Jesus's question to his disciples found in Luke 9:18-20. He asked them, "Who do you say that I am"? Peter answered by saying, "The Christ (Messiah) of God". Peter knew this to be true about Jesus because of the many experiences he had with Jesus.

In the same way, my experiences with Christ recently have backed up entirely who I say Christ is. This fall has been a very challenging one for me on a lot of levels and it has caused me to draw closer to Him because of it. So, with that being said, who do I say that Christ is and what am I thankful for is very similar.

I say and I know for sure that Christ is

MY PROVIDER
MY SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT
MY PROTECTOR
MY ANXIETY RELIEVER

Scripture backs up all these characteristics of Christ. But, there is a difference between knowing the Truth and really experiencing the Truth. This fall, I really experienced the TRUTH of Christ.

Because Christ is all these things and so much more, I am extremely thankful today, thankful beyond I have ever been in my life.

THANK YOU JESUS!

What about you? Take a moment and identify who do you say Jesus is and thank Him for it!

The Benefits of Searching the Scriptures

2009-11-19T21:08:00.004-05:00

This past week we continued our series on Knowing God as we looked at one of the ways that we can know who God is. We looked at a variety of scripture such as:

Based on these passage, what do we learn about the character of God and who He is?

We learn that Jesus to be a teacher and he loves and cares for all people, that God is powerful – powerful enough to shut the mouths of lions and protect his followers, that God is loving, that He examines our hearts, not our appearances as he cares more about who you are on the inside and that we learn that he listens to us and hear our cries.

Because we know that God is loving, someone who teaches, powerful, and hears our cries and desires to help, we know that we cares for us, wants to help us grow as people, desires to help and is powerful enough to do something about it. That has direct implications in our lives if we allow him to.

There is so much we can learn about God by just searching the scriptures. The question is are you willing to take the time to learn about him?

This week, search the scriptures and get to know who God is so that you can benefit from that knowledge.

Last Week's Capernaum

2009-11-13T10:07:00.001-05:00

When I first came to Cedar Run, one of our goals was to find a quarterly service oppotunity for our youth to participate in. We always did a summer mission trip and with the success of those trips, we wanted something to come home and do on a regular basis so our students didn't have to wait to summer to serve. As I was thinking through all that what we could do, the first places I looked at were food banks and other donation groups. Although they were good experiences and we did them a few times, our students never really connected with those groups. I don't know exactly why they weren't connecting other than our teens seem to be more geared towards relational ministry opportunities rather than stocking shelves with food or collecting clothes for the homeless.

So, we tried a Young Life ministry called Capernaum. I wish I could remember why we choose Capernaum (maybe it was because we have a few students with disabilities in our youth program), but it became clear very quickly that not only did our students support this, but they excelled in this format. From our very first time helping Capernaum over 4 years ago, a lot of our students showed up to help and when we buddied up with our Capernaum buddies, they took the initiative and loved these kids the way Christ loves them. It is quite impressive to see our students step up in a big way and take ownership I have rarely had to tell our students what to do or to engage their buddies. They came and they served wholeheartedly.

This past Saturday was our Capernaum Saturday night with this month's theme being a Karaoke and Dance Party night. We got American Idol for the Wii and the fun began! American Idol Karaoke has some classic songs like, "I'm every woman" by Whitney Houston and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People. But it also has some newer songs like "Apologize" from Timberland and "Who Knew" by Pink. It is very easy to play as you just need the game, a Wii and 2 mics for the Wii.

From the moment the first song came on to to the very end, our students and their buddies sang song after song after song. Sometimes you couldn't understand what was being sung, but that just added to the carefree nature of the whole event. It was great as it seemed that almost every song ended up being an impromptu dance party. It was a lot of fun to see our student and their buddies singing their hearts out with reckless abandonment.

Normally when average high school students do karaoke with each other, it seems a little awkward at first until someone makes a complete fool of themselves which then gives others the freedom to go up and make a fool out of themselves. However, that was never an issue this past weekend as we had some of the coolest people in their high schools stand up and make a complete fool out of themselves. Why? Because they were serving the Lord and because, as a Capernaum Buddy, you have to be prepared for anything and to do anything. It was very rewarding to see the level of engagement our students had with their buddies. I have said this each time we do Capernaum - our students serving as Capernaum Buddies benefit just as much, if not more, as it benefits the buddies they serve. What a blessing!

The Way, the Truth and the Life???

2009-11-10T05:51:00.004-05:00

On Sunday we began our 1st week in a 3 week series entitled "Knowing God". How you know God begins in a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in John 14:1-7.

In it, Jesus says that the way to know God is to know him and that he is the only way to know God (v.6-7).

The question I challenged the students with is if Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to know God, are we making him OUR WAY to know God? By that I meant that there are many people and many religions out there that will say that they are the way and that they have the right truth and if they follow them, they will get to God. Or, there are things out there that are tempting like that great party coming up or a hook-up that will make them feel that if they just do that, they will have found their way and that life would be complete because of that.

But, what Jesus is saying is that He is the way, the truth and the life. That if we want to get to know God, we have to go through Jesus. That is the only way.

So, the question is - is He YOUR way and YOUR truth? If so, why and if not, why not?

The challenge this week is to go out and discover who Christ is so that:

You can get to know who God is and what He is about.
You can begin to make him your way so that when that next big event that comes about or when that next person comes up and says he know the way to true happiness, you can say, "That's ok, I know the real way and the real truth that leads to true life".

This week, discover who Christ and God is by opening up the Bible and reading. If you need a place to start, start with Luke 1 and do a chapter a day for the rest of the week. When you are done with that chapter answer these 3 questions:

What did Jesus say or do?
What does Jesus' words or actions communicate about who God is?
How can I apply what happened to my life?

Based on my life, I know that when I follow Jesus' way, His truth, I know God better and my life is more complete. How about yours? This week, let's all go out of our way to search the way and the truth Christ was about so that our way and truth can lead up to a full life that Christ promises to give us by following Him (John 10:10)

A Dance Party at Church???

2009-11-02T05:56:00.004-05:00

Yep, that is what we did. During our 5th Quarter event, we transformed our high school room into a cool dance floor.

Now, doing a dance party can be quite controversial as dancing in christian circles is not always encouraged. But, at Cedar Run, we are a non-denominational small-to-medium sized church with not lots of tradition. Because of this, we have done some very impromptu dance parties throughout the years so we thought this would be something we would like to try. But, in order to do this, I felt that there had to be some good benefits to doing this. Here are the benefits we felt we could gain by doing this:

It was a way to draw students into our Church. As I have posted before, 5th Quarter has been a great bridge event. Because of this, we already have a solid reputation around the area and felt that we could have a big draw.
The t-shirts are a good promotion tool as the students will likely wear those shirts again, spurring possible questions like, "Where did you get that shirt" or "You had a dance party at a Church"???
The word about Cedar Run would expand. So far, the excitement that we generated from the dance party was something we haven't generated since the Super Bowl Bash. It gets people talking and hopefully helps the students realize that there is something for them at Cedar Run.
It was a good opportunity to promote other things we were doing at Cedar Run. Our latest Sunday night series is on "Tough Choices". We figured that if more non-Christians were going to come to 5th Quarter on Friday night, this would be a great series to promote for them to come to. So, as students were leaving, the leaders and I passed out our fliers for Sunday night. Students got to see that we weren't a place in which you just had fun at. We were a place where we talked about tough choices students face.

The one thing I have always loved about Cedar Run is that they give us the freedom to try new things. They allow us to be creative in our efforts to draw students (as long as it is safe). If all we ever did was Sunday School and then Sunday night Youth Group, then I feel that we would have missed opportunities to draw new students into our program. That is the purpose of these "bridge events". A dance party is neither traditional or a new idea. But, it is something we wanted to try and I am glad we did.

For More on the Dance Party, you can check out my other blog - www.notamegachurch.com

Worship: Singing Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

2009-10-27T06:08:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday was the 2nd week of our 3 week series on Worship. What is it exactly and what does it look like?

Worship is praising God's name and glorifying his name in all we do. It can take the form of many different ways, but this week, we actually looked worship through singing and praising God's name. In the Bible, there are many references to worship through song. Some of them are:

Psalm 29:2 - “Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.”
Ephesians 5:19-20 – “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Chronicles 16:9 – “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!”
Psalm 144:9 – “I will sing a new song to You, O God; upon a harp, an instrument of ten
strings, will I offer praises to You.”
Psalm 34:3 – “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

The challenge this week was to worship God through song, to take out that regular playlist on your iPod and replace it with worship music. So that, when you are in your car or just chilling, you can worship God through song.

But, like anything else, worship can sometimes become stale and mundane. You may know the song and the lyrics by heart so you just sing. Therefore, in addition to the challenge to sing praises to God he deserves, take worship a step further this week. Sing those songs with all your heart to the Lord. Focus on who He is and what He has done in your life. Then give him praise and honor.

So, worship the Lord today and the rest of the week. Sing to him psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and see how He ministers to you through that this week.

Loving Others

2009-10-15T05:14:00.002-04:00

This week, we concluded our 3 week series on the Great Commandment by talking about Loving others (Matthew 22:39-40). In the 2 previous weeks in which we talked about how loving God starts with your heart (Luke 6:45) and how, before we could love other, we have to first be comfortable with who God created us to be.

Therefore, the challenge this week was simple - love others. In particular, love 3 people who are the hardest for you to love.

Jesus never gave guidelines for who we should love or how we should love them. He just simply said for us to love others as we love ourselves.

So, how are you doing loving others, especially the 3 you have the hardest time loving? Regardless of how you started off the week, finish this week strong. Love others this week with a passion and determination unlike any other and see how God blesses that commitment.

Loving God

2009-10-02T05:55:00.003-04:00

This past week we began a series on the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). This first week, we focused on Loving God.

To hear the message that Katie Von Kahle gave to the high school students, you can download it here or go to iTunes and search Tom Pounder.

What does it mean to love God? How can you love him with all your heart, mind and soul?

In Luke 6:45, Christ says, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

Loving God starts with your heart. It starts with a passion and a desire to love him and serve him – not just because he is God, but for all that he has done for you and brought you through.

So, how is your heart towards God? Do you love him with all your heart, mind and soul? If you don’t, why not? What is preventing you from that?

This week, do a gut check. Do you love God with all your heart, mind and soul? Why or why not?

Then, pray that God would give you that passion to love him the way he deserves to be loved.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 4

2009-09-24T05:54:00.003-04:00

The one thing I have been most encouraged by with Cedar Run's 30 Days of Prayer challenge has been the focus to be praying for specific things.

That has caused me to think and rethink through my prayer strategy for our Youth Program. What am I praying for? Who am I praying for? Am I praying for and believing God will work in the lives of our students and our program?

This week's prayer focus for me is to be praying for our youth and our youth program more specifically. I want to be praying for God's movement in their lives and his guidance for our program. It can be very easy at times to just move and lead students by my own power or thought. But, the students don't need to be impacted by my movement. These students need to be impacted by the Lord and I need to be turning to him specifically for them.

These last 30 days of prayer have been a great reminder and refocus for me be actively praying for the youth and giving it all over to the Lord.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 3

2009-09-15T06:37:00.003-04:00

Living in the past can be so easy. It's great to reflect on the glory days or the days of our youth in which we have some pretty fond memories. Bruce Springsteen even sings about the glory days.

But, just as great as those past days can be, it can also be a hinderance to moving forward. Sometimes looking at our past and reflecting on it can cause a lot of pain and suffering. You can see missed opportunities or painful events that will cause you to relive and experience those things.

It is very sad and although I may not be able to understand all that people went through or experienced in their past, I do know that getting out of the past and moving forward is not an easy thing to do.

But, some encouragement can be found in Philippians 3:13-14. In it Paul says, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Paul had a crazy past before he came into a relationship with Christ. So, he had lots of opportunities to reflect on his past. That could have caused him to not be as impactful for Christ as he could have been. After all, he used to imprison Christians and participated in the deaths of other believers for following Christ. How then, could he be used for Christ's glory? Simple, by focusing on the future and the prize for which God called him heavenward in Christ!

I know it sounds simple but is not. But we have to move forward always striving to draw close to Christ and allowing him to direct us. He can and WILL use us despite our past. We, then, have to consciously decide to move forward and not let Satan distract us or use it against us.

So, that is my prayer for us this week. That we can look past our past and be open to God's leading so we can move forward.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 2

2009-09-08T09:54:00.003-04:00

School has started! What a great time of year, a time of new beginnings and fresh starts.

But, as a parent myself, it is also a stressful time. Who are my children socializing with? Are they safe? Are they nice? How do the other children treat my daughters? Do my girls play well with others or are they selfish? Do they listen to their teachers?

There is so much to be stressful about, but alas, it is completely out of my control. That is why all I can do is offer it up in prayer to God. I find hope in:

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

And, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

So, my prayer this week is for my children and your children that they will be in safe hands and that the Lord will be with them throughout their time at school each day.

What about you? What are you praying for? How is God working in your life? Post a comment to encourage others.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update

2009-09-03T15:54:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday at Cedar Run, we started a 30 days of Prayer Challenge. I referenced Paul's challenge to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray continually" and the reasons why should pray. They were:

• It provides us with a way to confess our sins and accept his forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
• It is a way to hear his will for our lives and gives God a chance to guide and direct us (Proverbs 2:6-8)
• It gives us an opportunity to thank Him for all the blessings in our lives (Psalm 107:1)
• It provides us with a chance to pray for those who are sick or need healing, including ourselves (James 5:14-16)
• It is a way to worship Him and give him praises (Psalm 95:6)

These are great things to be praying through when you spend time with God. If you haven't looked at these verses before, spend some time on them and pray through them.

Well, this week I have been praying for 2 specific things:

For a college student I know who was having a challenging start to the semester. I prayed that God would work in this persons life, that they would be able to connect with other believers there and that they could continue to adjust to college life.
That God would move me and continue to open doors for me to further his kingdom, that I would not miss out on opportunities he presents.

It has been great to be specifically praying for these things and seeing God begin to work in them.

Are you doing the 30 Day Prayer Challenge? If so, what are you praying for and how are you seeing God work in that? Post a comment.

If not, start today and see how you experience God and how he works in those situations.

Testifying who God is

2009-08-29T05:59:00.002-04:00

This morning I read John 5:31-45 and I was struck in particular by verse 36 when Christ said, "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. "

It struck me for a few reasons:

Because Christ was saying that everything he is doing is because of his life purpose.
That everything he was doing testifies to God.
Christ finished strong! He accomplished his life purpose.

This led me to 2 questions and I challenge you to think about them as well. It caused me to think:

Is everything I am doing what God intended me to do?
Is everything I am doing a positive testimony to God?

Everyday, Christ was a living testimony to God's plan for his life and was always a positive witness to God and his Kingdom. Because of this, it is safe to say that Christ has brought more people into the Kingdom of Heaven then we will ever be able to know or understand. His impact is beyond comprehension.

Can the same be said of my life? Of your life?

Psalm 42:1-2 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

When we hunger and thirst for the Lord and seek Him first and foremost, he is faithful and will encourage us and take us to that next level so that in everything that we do, we know that we are living according to his intended purpose and being a positive testimony to his greatness and glory.

Missed Opportunities

2009-08-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

Just recently, Anne and I lost a good friend of ours, Pete Hill. I knew Pete for over 15 years dating back to when he was a youth group leader and I was in high school. Pete was a great man, husband and father. Please pray for his wife and 2 young children.

For the longest time, Pete and I were very close as we shared a love for the Cowboys and a heart for young people to come to know the Lord. We also did ministry together for years, we were roommates for a few years and he was in my wedding. We had several great times together. But, over the last few years, life happens and while we still talked, we rarely hung out. And that, is probably the one thing that bothers me the most. It is the amount of missed opportunities I had with him over the past few years.

I can make excuse after excuse as to why we both allowed things to prevent us from getting together more often, but that does no good now. Pete is gone and I had missed opportunities to spend time with a great man.

Christ says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

I know this scripture is used so much in regards to outreach, but I think this passage reflects exactly what Pete did in his life. He went and made disciples in all that he did. Whether it was how he acted or what he said (or didn't say), he represented Christ and sought to make disciples. Therefore, as fellow believers and followers of Christ, I want to encourage you this week to:

Make time for those most important to you. Don't miss opportunities and let time pass by without seeing and spending time together. One of the things I loved about Pete was that he was genuinely interested in you and wanted to spend time with you. Life happens and we become busy, but when we allow life to dictate what we do and don't do, we may miss great opportunities to spend time with others who are very important to us.
Share the love of Christ to others. As I already mentioned, one of the other things I loved about Pete is that he represented and reflected Christ's nature so much that it was impossible for us to be together and not talk about Christ and how we can be growing in Him. When you are with others this week, especially believers, talk about and encourage each other in Christ. It is true that we never know when someone will be taken away from us. Therefore, don't miss opportunities to share Christ and who he is to others. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Pete was saved and knew Christ as his Lord and savior. But, there are others in my life who I am not certain of. Are there others in your life that you may not be certain of? Don't let time go by and miss opportunities to share Christ with them.

It is sad that it takes a very unexpected and tragic event to make you reflect on what matters most. I am going to miss my friend very much. Don't wait for a tragic event to happen in your life. Act now and share Christ with those you care about the most.

Take some time and pray that God opens doors for you to connect with others and share Him this week.

Serving this Summer

2009-08-10T07:09:00.000-04:00

This summer has been a great service summer for the youth (and congregation as a whole) of Cedar Run. The Youth went to Coatesville, PA, helped a team to Nicaragua and helped out at Vacation Bible School. Each service opportunity was a great success as many people got to hear about God's love and see it in action.

Why do we serve? What purpose does it meet?

There are many reasons to serve, but I believe a chief reason is to emulate the example of Christ himself.

Read Mark 10:43-45

What does Christ say here?
How does Christ model servanthood?

Application:

Christ could have simply said, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" and that would have been a great saying. But, as everyone knows, talk is cheap. So, while James and John were asking Jesus to help them hold such a high position in the kingdom of heaven, Christ called them and us to a higher standard. Not only did Christ call us to a higher standard, he modeled it and showed everyone what that meant.

So, again, why do you serve? Do you serve out of the goodness of your heart? Do you serve because you will feel better about yourself or because you want to get recognized?

OR, do you serve because of the example Christ gave to us? Do you serve because the King of Kings viewed service so importantly that he came down from heaven, in obedience to his father (Philippians 2:7-8), to die for our sins?

Remember, Christ didn't have to die. He choose to serve us and die. He gave us his royal throne and all the perks that he had in heaven to die for us. That is sacrificing. That is serving.

Based on Christ's example, how can you serve others this week?

Pray that God opens up opportunities for you to serve others this week.

Mission Trip - Saturday Update and Devotional

2009-07-18T05:55:00.003-04:00

Well, we are coming home today! But, it has been an amazing trip. This trip will go down as one of the best mission trips Cedar Run has taken and I pray that we can build upon this and carry the momentum, community and excitement with us into the fall.

Our teams worked so hard yesterday to complete as much work as possible yesterday in their last day. They did such a great job. But, what was even more amazing was to see the looks on our teams faces when they had to leave the families we were ministering to all week. Yes, we did a great work for different families and they were blessed because of it. But, it seemed like we were blessed far more than they were. The memories and stories we have to share are numerous and we will be sharing them all when we return today.

Here is our devotional we will be working on today:

DEVOTIONAL:

Have you ever said something, either blatantly or innocently, that has offended someone? How did that person you offended respond? Were you able to bring resolution to the incident? If so, how?

Read Matthew 5:23-24, 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:25-27

What do these verses say about making a relationship right?

Why should we go and make a relationship right?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Over the course of a week where you spend 24 hours a day with others, tensions can run high and things can be said to that offend and may even deeply hurt someone else. Whether you intended to do it or now, you may have offended someone over the past week. Because of that offense, a foothold may have been created that could cause friction and ungodly attitudes towards others. Christ calls us to so much more than that. Christ unites, not divides.

Take a minute and think about whether or not you have offended or hurt someone with something you said or did this week. Following the example Christ and Peter talked about, prayerful consider how you can bring reconciliation to a relationship before you leave Coatesville.

Mission Trip - Friday Update and Devotional

2009-07-17T05:10:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a packed day as we accomplished a lot as well as had a great chance to minister to the families we are helping.

Our group basically finished the roof that was desperately needed. Here's a picture of Auston and Trevor taking a breather. It was definitely hotter and more humid today. Other groups finished windows, painted and worked on some interior work. It was a long day, but we are trying to accomplish all we can before we wrap up later today.

After we showered at the YMCA (are you singing the tune in your head now?), we headed over to a very nice park where we invited all the families over for a BBQ. Below is a picture of Heather and Laurel at the swing set with Kylie. We had a great time with them all and got to talk more with the families and learned more about their lives and history. They were all very grateful for us spending time with them and repairing the homes.

As I mentioned yesterday, this trip has been so rewarding. But please, continue to pray for us today:

Pray that we can finish strong
Pray that God allows more opportunities for us to share the love of Christ with them
Pray for the safe travel home for 7 of our students (they are going to YL camp early Saturday morning) and Sue Masters. They are planning on leaving after dinner.

If you would like to follow along with our devotional for the day, here it is.

DEVOTIONAL:

How patient of a person are you? What causes you to become impatient?

Read Philippians 4:6,7; 1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:33

What do these verse tell you about patience? Where should our focus be?

How do you think God can help you during times of impatience?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Today is your last full day on the Mission Trip! Often times, when the end is in sight, I can try to rush things just to get to the end quicker. The problem with doing this is that I can sometimes miss some of the great things I could experience because I was so focused on the end.

Even though this is the last day, God wants to teach you something and reveal himself to you in someway. Spend some time praying that God would teach you something new today and help you grow closer to Him. Then, stay focused throughout the day on being here and what God wants to teach you today.

Mission Trip - Thursday Update and Devotional

2009-07-16T05:15:00.004-04:00

I know these are getting kind of long, but please bear with me. This has been a very encouraging trip on a lot of levels:

Our group has really bonded well here. In some cases, it feels like these students have known each other for years. I can honestly say that there is not one student in our group who has been left out or felt excluded in any way on this trip (that would be a first). And, I believe this bond can carry over into the fall which will take our group to that next level. This is especially important with losing so many seniors from last year.
Our teams are working so hard! As I have mentioned before, we have been asked to do so many things that they have never been asked to do before. But, they have done them and done them with excellence.
God is opening up great conversations for me to have with our students. They have always said that going on a trip with youth can replace years of contact work with that I'd be able to do at home. That is very true, especially here on this mission trip. I have had some great conversations with them and gotten to know them in a way I would never have at home.
These students love to minister. It may not always be in the verbal proclamation, but they desire to show the love of Christ to others - especially children. When they see them at their homes or at the basketball courts, their eyes light up and they get a new burst of energy being around them.

Pastor Morris came up yesterday to see the students and encourage them. I believe that any time Pastor Morris takes time to see the students or be with them is always a plus. It show them that they matter to him. I have seen to many Senior Pastors never interact with the youth. That is not our Pastor and he does a great job showing our youth that he cares. Gabi Guetierrez couldn't believe that he would come up just for a few hours yesterday to see how we were doing and encourage us.

Some pictures:

This is Auston, Laurel, Trevor and Jonathan working on installing the metal roof on the house we are working on. We made a lot of progress yesterday but PLEASE PRAY that we get the roof on today as they are expecting Thunderstorms this afternoon.

Last night, after our meeting, some of our youth wanted to go watch the Summer League again and see if we could see any more of our V.B.S. youth from last year. Well, we did see more and got a chance to meet a few other students as well. What made this outing great was that after the summer league games were over, Gabi just went up to a few children and started a basketball game! We ended up playing 5-on-5 with these children - very fun.

God is definitely at work here. Please continue to pray for us, for endurance to press on, for God to continue to minister to us and reveal himself to us, and for more ministry opportunities for us to share Him to others.

If you want to track along with what our devotional is today, here it is.

DEVOTIONAL:

Say your friend jus told you he saw a U.F.O. What would it take for you to believe that he was telling the truth?

Read 1 Kings 18:19-39

What did Elijah believe about God?

How did God prevail in this story? Do you think it had anything to do with Elijah’s faith in God? Why or why not?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

What do you believe about God? Do you believe that does not make mistakes? I do and I know that you are here, serving on this trip, for a reason. Whether your parents made you come or you signed up to go with a friend, you are here for a reason! You have been up there for almost a week, so what is that reason? Why does God have you here?

Spend some time with God, asking him to reveal to you what you are suppose to be learning and how you can grow from this experience.

Mission Trip - Wednesday Update and Devotional

2009-07-15T05:10:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was another beautiful day up in Coatesville. We have been blessed with really good weather up here - very low humidity and in the low 80s. Because of the great weather, a lot of our work focus has been on outside work. Among other things, yesterday's work consisted of finishing some of the windows we replaced, tearing down a staircase, laying down tile in a bathroom and putting up a new one, and putting on a primer coat on around the a house.

What has impressed me the most so far is how well our students are learning and doing. These are not easy things to do and very few of them have ever done any kind of work like this before. BUT, they are learning and accomplishing the tasks. They are working very hard and have great attitudes about what is expected.

Some great relational work was done as well yesterday. We are continuing to get to know our families and minister to them. On my team, Laurel, Kelly and Jenna got to play with the baby some more and got some good starter conversations with the mother (on Monday, she didn't say anything to them except that they could hold the baby). The husband was at home all day yesterday so we learned a lot about him and he was very interested to know about our church and why we came all the way up from VA to help out.

Last night, we had the "night off" from organized meetings. So, about 15 of us went down to the basketball courts (about 2 blocks away) where Richard Hamiliton (former Wizard, current Piston player) has a Summer Basketball League for Coatesville. He buys them all jerseys and will show up every once in a while (he grew up in Coatesville and is a living legend here). It is some very good basketball to watch. Anyways, when we were down there, we ran into some old friends! We saw some of the V.B.S. students we minister to last year! It was amazing catching up with them. Here is the picture of 2 of the students with Trevor and Joe.

Not bad for a camera phone picture!

Even thought we had the "night off", I did pull our church together to debrief and talk about what we are learning at the sights and in their time with Christ. It is very encouraging to hear their responses - God is working in them. Continue to pray for us. Pray that we remain encouraged with the work we are doing and that the Lord provides opportunities for us to minister to the families we are working for. Also, pray that our group continues to gel together and that we can build strong relationships with each other and the Lord.

If you want to follow along with our devotional today, here it is:

DEVOTIONAL:

How important is prayer to you? What do you pray for? Do you believe that God answers your prayers?

Read Matthew 6:5-13; John 15:7

Jesus gives some guidance in verses 5-8 about where to pray and the manner in which you should pray? What are those?

In verses 9-13, Jesus shows us how to pray? Break it down into today's English. What is he asking you to do in each verse?

V. 9:

V. 10:

V. 11:

V. 12:

V. 13:

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Prayer is a powerful tool God gives us to speak to him and share our heart with him. It is so important he show us exactly how to pray. With today in mind, use the model Christ gave us in verses 9-13 and spend some time right now praying to God. Give him glory and honor, thanking him for all He has done and will continue to do, while also offering up prayers for the day. Remember, God is great and holy. He can and will do anything. Therefore, today, let's seek him and see where he leads and provides.

Mission Trip - Tuesday Update and Devotional

2009-07-14T05:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a great start for us. We got met our families and started working on our homes. From the 3 houses, some of what we did was to change out 3 windows, tore out bamboo, took out a microwave, installed flooring and a bathtub thanks to some great help from some local plumbers, and did some exterior beautification. It was neat to see everyone work together and accomplish the tasks we had. I am excited about the work ahead for the day.

But, what made yesterday even better was the interaction with the families. At one house, we had 3 of the children actually help out with the team as they worked on their house! They latched on to the team and just followed them around wherever they went. At my house, 2 of the children were gone to day camp for part of the time. But, there was a 6 month old boy there that Laurel Brubaker, Jenna Millman and Kelly Hard just wanted to pick up and hold. So, when the opportunity came about, and the mother let them hold him, they had a good time as they started to get to know the mother. The 3rd house had a guy who started to share about his love for bikes and that lead to some great conversations.

Please continue to pray for us as we minister to these families and each other. It's some hard work, but pray that God would give us the strength to endure and accomplish some great things for Him.

If you want to follow along with our devotional today, here it is:

DEVOTIONAL:

How would you describe what love is?

Read 1 Corinthians 13

According to this chapter, what are some characteristics of love?

If you do a really good job today and help out a lot of people, but did not love them, your team or God, is that ok? Why or why not?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Love defined by God can look very different from the way we define love. Reread verses 4-7. What characteristic of love are you really good at and what are you a little weak in? Today, strive to communicate the love of Christ. Write down a few specific things you can do or say to foster the kind of love Paul speaks about here.

Pray, then Love!

Mission Trip - Monday Update and Devotional

2009-07-13T05:29:00.003-04:00

The Cedar Run Youth are on our annual mission trip to Coatesville, PA. We arrived safely and ready to do a great work. We are broken up into 3 teams. Each team will have a dedicated house to work on for the entire week. The great news is that every house has 3-5 children there in which we can minister to. In fact, Good Works, Inc. has told us that our 1st priority is to minister to the families and then work on their house. That means that if a child comes up to us and wants to talk and play a game, we are to take the time and minister to them. The work on their house will come later.

We are all very excited for the week ahead. If you want to track along with us on what we are doing devotionally, take a minute and do the devotional below.

DEVOTIONAL

What chore is the hardest for you to do at home? Why?

Read John 14:21

From this verse, what does it mean to obey Jesus?

When we obey, what does that demonstrate?

What does Jesus promise us if we obey?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Charles Colson once said, “Holiness is obeying God”. We should be striving daily to become holy. Becoming holy comes from obeying God.

Are you obedient to God with your life? Are you being obedient during this trip? Obedience is more than just saying yes and doing the job. It takes place in your heart first and foremost. So, check your heart – how is your heart?

Write down 1 way you can become more obedient this week.

Pray, then Do!

Serving out of Love

2009-07-06T06:08:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, Phil Covert shared about serving and how serving others is serving God. Christ, himself, modeled servanthood by coming down to earth and giving his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). But, he didn't just choose to serve others through this one, great deed. He lived his life this way. He served others constantly. One example can be found in John 13:1-17. Take a minute and read it.

Why did Jesus do this particular act of service?
Why do you think Jesus washed his disciples' feet? Why did Peter want his whole body washed?
What did Christ encourage his disciples do now that their feet had been washed (verses 12-17)?

Application:

Make no mistake about it, this was a truly humble experience for Christ. He, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, got down and washed his disciples' feet - probably the dirtiest part of their bodies (Remember, they didn't have close-toed shoes or highly paved sidewalks back then. They walked in sandals on dirt roads).

Why did he do this? Because he wanted to show them the full extent of his love for them (v.1).

Is service to others and God for you an extent of your love for them or is it simply just and act that you are suppose to do?

At the end of his loving act, he challenged his disciples to go and do likewise. This week, choose to serve other and God. But, don't just do it because you are suppose to. Do it with a loving heart and a desire to serve. When we choose to serve that way, then we are truly emulating Christ's example.

Pray, then serve!

Sharing the Truth with others

2009-06-17T05:16:00.004-04:00

Two weeks ago, Grant Diamond shared with us on Sunday the benefits of staying in the word and how spending time daily can help us.

Read Deuteronomy 6:3-9

Some of this scripture is familiar from previous weeks, but as you can see, God is preparing to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land - the land filled with milk and honey.

Why is God telling them to obey?
What should we do with all the knowledge we have gained from spending time with God?
How will this benefit others?
How will this benefit us?

Application:

Oftentimes, when I read the Bible, I can become me-centric. By that I mean that I tend to focus on myself and how the verses apply to myself. But, God challenges us to look beyond ourselves here. In verse 7-9, he tells us share them with our children, talk about them as you are hanging out with others, and make it known to others what the Truth is.

How are you doing sharing the Truth of God to others? Remember, in Christ's command to make disciples, he challenged his followers to teach others everything he has commanded them (Matthew 28:20). Are you doing that?

This week, spend time reading the Truth. Then, write down an application. When you are doing your application, include one thing you can share with someone else and see how God blesses that.

Pray

FYI - To download Grant Diamond's message, go to http://tompounder.podomatic.com or go to iTunes and search Tom Pounder

Loving God, Reading the Bible and Living our Day

2009-06-07T21:04:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, Grant Diamond talked about the importance of staying in the word and living our lives through what God teaches us in it. He used Deuteronomy 6:5-6 as his main scripture.

What does God say here about the importance of following his commands?
How does it tie into loving God with all we have?

Grant's point was that the only way to truly know how to love God with all we have is to know the truth found in the Bible. It is His source for truth us today.

Read Psalm 119:97, 119:105

What does the writer of this Psalm, do with reading the word?
How does it benefit him throughout?

The writer meditates on what he reads and uses it to be a guiding light for his daily life. What do you do with God's word?

Application:

Too often than I would like to hope, I read God's word, write down a not or application about it and then forget about what I read. I don't use it as God intends us to. Therefore, I miss out on opportunities to love God during the day benefit from it.

But, if we sit down, meditate on God's word throughout the whole day, it will help us:

Love God and
Love Others

It will impact us throughout the day! So, right now, take a minute and write down 1 application you can have from today's reading.

Pray, Meditate and Apply God's word to your life today!

Remembering the Good God has done in our Lives

2009-05-28T05:20:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, we talked about Memorial Day and how it is the day we remember all of those great Americans who died fighting for our freedom.

Just as we remember our fallen Americans for the great things they have done, do you remember the great things God has done in your life? We looked at Joshua 4:1-7 as just one of the many times the Israelites set up memorials to remember the great things God has done for them. They were set up so that when their children asked what those stones meant, they would be able tell them how God provided for them.

What God has done in your life? Is it an answered prayer, an unexpected provision at the right time, help in overcoming an obstacle or temptation?

Take a minute and think through what God has done for you and do 2 things:

Memorialize it in some way. The Israelites set up stone pillars some of the times, but it could look differently for you (and probably should as having a variety of stone pillars set up in your room or throughout your house could become an obstacle for you and your family members). You could do a bookmark, write in a journal or even do a small creation that would help you remember.
If, after searching your life, you feel that God hasn't done anything significant in your life, I would challenge you to pray that he does move in your life in some way. Pray specifically and consistently for God to work and see how he brings about a resolution or blessing in your life. Once he does, memorialize it in some way.

When we memorialize the great things God has done in our lives, it enables us to always remember what he has done. So that when tough times hit and we have a crisis of faith, we can remember all that God has done and can do in our lives.

Pray

The Truth be told

2009-05-19T05:47:00.003-04:00

On Sunday, Bruce talked about being honest and telling the truth. He shared his experience of being caught trying to change a grade in high school and how that had a snowball effect on his life as his character quickly came into question.

Take a minute and review the scripture he shared. Read Matthew 5:33-37

If we are people who honor our promises and oath, then we have a sense of integrity and truth. Being truthful and honest are a direct reflection on your character - who you really are and what you really believe.

So, where do you get your truth from? Where do you get your sense of integrity and honesty?

Is it from your friends, TV or movies (seriously), what you read in the newspapers or online?

How do you know that those are the truth?

Ultimately, we find truth through Christ. Read John 14:6. What a bold statement! He IS the Truth and since we know that God does not lie (Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19), we know that we can take him for his word and his promises will never fail.

Is that true of the other places we can find truth?

Application:

Even though we may know that the 100% undeniable truth can only be found in Christ, we rarely take the time to spend it with Him. When we become so busy with life and the things we have to do, we fail to get that knowledge and understanding that will help us throughout the day.

So, today, take time and get to know the truth! Spend time reading through the Bible and discovering or rediscovering the truth found in Christ and God alone. Don't rely on other sources, rely on the one who IS the truth.

Then, jot down a note or 2 about what truth you learned and stick it in your pocket so you can reflect or turn to it throughout the day. Who knows, it may end up being very helpful for you throughout the day!

Pray and spend time with Christ today!

Spring Cleaning - What's Important

2009-05-05T10:19:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, we talked about identifying what is most important in our lives. That, if we are going to clean out our lives, as we clean out our rooms and homes, we have to first identify the most important things in them so that we don't throw them away.

As we discussed this, we looked at what Christ said to the Samaritan Woman.

Read John 4:4-26

What did Jesus ask the woman? What was her response?
What did Jesus offer the woman? Why was what he was offering different?
How can we have this water?

Application:

Jesus promised the woman that the water he was offering her, living water, would quench her thirst forever. Not only that but it "suggests that availability, accessibility and abundance of the divine life for believers" that ultimately leads to eternal life.

Are you drinking from the water Christ offers or are you trying to quench your thirst with things others view as important and necessary?

We can all have this water by being with Christ. When you are spending time in prayer, mediation, or study of the Bible, you are drinking from the living water that only Christ alone can offer you.

This week, spend time with Christ - more than just a 5-10 minute Bible reading - in which you are drinking the water and then enabling it to quench your thirst and provide that nourishment that we all need.

Pray

Source: Life Application Bible: John (pp. 77-83)

Spring Cleaning - Discovering our Purpose

2009-04-29T11:50:00.005-04:00

On Sunday we introduced a new series on Spring Cleaning. The whole purpose of spring cleaning is to clean out all the junk and clutter in our house that we stored up over winter and get it out of the house. It's a time to open up the window and let fresh air in and re-organize your house.

In the same way, we can do a Spring Cleaning in our personal lives as well. In order to do that, it is good to look at what God, our creator, had in mind when he created us.

Read Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:16, 1 Peter 4:10

What do these scriptures tell us about our purpose?
Does everyone have a gift? If so, how are we to use it?

Application:

It is clear that we were created as a masterpiece from God. He perfectly designed us for a purpose. Each person has a purpose and is gifted in some great way to serve others.

What is your purpose and your gift? I have no idea, but the Lord does and wants to reveal it to you.

This week, seek God to have him reveal your purpose and gifting. Spend time praying and listening to hear his truth about your life, direction and gifting. Then, use your gift to serve others and proclaim Christ.

Pray

Staying Connected to God's word

2009-04-21T10:11:00.008-04:00

On Sunday we had Karly, Corie and Kim all share about how spending time with Christ has made a tremendous impact in their lives. As they emphasized, it's so important to stay close to Christ daily.

God also emphasizes this to Joshua.

Read Joshua 1:6-9

What does God command Joshua to do?
Why did he encourage him to be strong and courageous?
What is Joshua to do with the book of the law? How do you think this helps him?
What's the promise God makes Joshua if he knows the law and obeys it?
How does this apply to us?

Application:

When Joshua had this encounter with God, he was just taking over the leadership of the Israelites as they headed into the Promised Land. Moses had just died and now, after 40 years of wondering in the wilderness, Joshua was put into this leadership role as they moved into their new land. Of all the times Joshua needed guidance and direction, it was now.

So, you would probably imagine that Joshua needed to hear something great from God at this point. Of all the things God could have said to him, he challenged him to be strong and courageous and to meditate on His word day and night. It is only through this that Joshua would be prosperous and successful. That's it! Stay close to the Lord by knowing, meditating and understanding his word. When he would do that, he would be prosperous and successful.

In the same way, if we are spending time with Christ daily, meditating and applying it to our lives, we will be in a much better place than if we did not do this. We will be prosperous and successful in life - maybe not in the way the world judges success and prosperity, but you will be successful by walking the path God has set for you.

Are you turning to God and his word for guidance and direction in your life?

This week, take time daily to spend time with Christ and see how you benefit from doing that. Set aside time each day - be intentional about it - and make sure that you can get encouragement and support from our creator. Then, apply what you learn and see what God has in store for you!

Pray

Easter Characters - Jesus

2009-04-15T21:42:00.006-04:00

On Sunday, we concluded our Easter series by looking at the reason for the Easter celebration - Jesus. We looked at His resurrection in Luke 24:1-12 and then his appearance to the disciples in John 20:24-29.

But the resurrection and the power of this great event didn't end on this great Sunday.

The power of the resurrection and the greatness of God continued to transform people and the world. Take a minute and read Acts 9:1-31, Acts 11:1-18, Acts 6:1-10). After you read each section, answer these questions:

What happened in this story?
Who was the person God reached out to? What was their mission?
What did each event reveal about God's plan to reach others?
Do you think these events would have happened had Jesus not rise from the dead?

Application:

When Christ died, the followers of Christ were left wondering what to do next. They were afraid and scared of what was going to happen to them and what they were going to do from that time forward. BUT, when Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, they got a 2nd wind and a decided to do something great because of it. God continued to guide and direct them as they impacted the world for HIM.

What has the power of Christ's resurrection meant to you? How has it impacted you and your life?

Remember, if Christ can overcome death, is there anything he can't do? Of course not! In Philippians 4:13, Paul says, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Through Christ and his power, you can do all things. This week, allow the power of Christ's resurrection to give you that 2nd wind and a fire to share about Him to those closest to you. When the disciples trusted God and relied on the power of the resurrection, they impacted the world!

Pray that God would put some people on your heart for you to share about Him to them this week.

Easter Characters - Peter

2009-04-06T06:07:00.007-04:00

Our Sunday, we continued our series on some of the main Easter Characters by focusing on Peter. We focused on how Peter went from being a fighter for Christ (John 18:7-11) to be a denier of Christ (Luke 22:54-62). Thinking through your life, when is it easy for you to go from a fighter for to a denier of Christ?

It is definitely hard to fight for Christ always as FEAR can creep in and cause you to deny - maybe not so much an an blatant denial, but it could be like not speaking up when you could say something.

Unlike Judas, the great thing for Peter is that he was given an opportunity for reconciliation with Christ.

Read John 21:15-19

What did Jesus ask Peter? How many times did he ask him this?
Why do you think Jesus asked Peter this and that many times?
What were the 3 responses Christ said to Peter's responses? What do you think these mean?

Application:

Christ asked Peter 3 times if he loved him. Christ didn't just model forgiveness here, but he also issued a challenge to Peter. He gave Peter the opportunity to reaffirm his commitment to himself (after denying him 3 times) and then told him to "feed my sheep". Peter went on to become one of the great evangelists ever as he was on the forefront of spreading the gospel, not just the the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.

Christ gives us the opportunity to reconcile with him daily. But, just like with Peter, he calls us to go and "feed his sheep." We are to go and further his kingdom.

We can not let fear or anything else allow us to prevent us from furthering the kingdom. Considering that this week is Good Friday and Easter, it is the perfect opportunity for you to share the love of Christ to others. Ask the Lord to provide opportunities for you to share about him to others. Then, when those opportunities open up, walk in boldness because you know that the Lord has given them to you.

Pray

Easter Characters - Judas

2009-03-29T04:56:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, we introduced our new series on 3 main characters in the Easter story - Judas, Peter and Jesus. We started by looking at Judas (John 12:1-6, Matthew 26:14-15). As a review, what do these verses reveal to us about Judas?

Judas' love of money provided ammunition for Satan to use against him. It gave Satan a foothold against Judas. As Peter talks about in 1 Peter 5:8, the devil roams around the earth looking for someone to devour. As followers of Christ, we are particularly targeted. When we provide him a foothold to use against us in our relationship with Christ, Satan is better equipped to tear us apart.

That is why we need Christ all the more and through him we can overcome.

Read Ephesians 6:10-18.

Who are we to be strong in?
How are we to be strong in him?
What does it mean that our battle is not against flesh and blood? Who is it against?
What does each part of the Armor of God help us with? How will they be useful to fight of Satan's attacks?

Application:

Paul calls us to put on the full armor of God "so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (v.10). It goes on to say that our battle is not against flesh and blood but "against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". Whoa! This is some serious stuff.

Because our battle is with Satan and all his goonies, we need this armor! This armor helps us stand firm by providing us the:

belt of Truth
breastplate of righteousness
gospel of peace at our feet
shield of faith
helmet of salvation
sword of the spirit - the word of God

Furthermore, Paul challenges us to be praying continually for those in the fight!

What powerful pieces to combat this battle! Are you equipped to fight with these pieces of armor? When we fail to put on the armor of God, we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to Satan's attacks. This week, let's be intentional about putting on the armor of God. Let's

speak the truth to others
live our lives with righteousness
be ready to share the great news of Christ when needed
have faith in the promises of God
spend time with Christ as much as possible
pray for others, as well as our lives

The battle we fight is daily and long. So, today, let's choose to put on the armor of God so we will be victorious - one day at a time.

Pray that God would give you the strength and desire to pursue him and be victorious for HIM in the battle.

He said what? - Producing Good Fruit

2009-03-20T06:12:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, we wrapped up our series on "He Said what?" by looking at Matthew 7:15-20. In this section, Christ calls us to produce good fruit. By that, he was challenging us that in all that we do and say we proclaim him and make followers of him.

In the book of Acts, it talks about the history of the early Christians and the first Churches. Take a minute and read about the Church of Antioch in Acts 11:19-26.

In verses 19-21, what were these Christians doing?
In verse 26, what were these same people doing?
How do verses 19-21 connect with verse 26?

Application:

These first Christians took to heart Christ's challenge to produce good fruit. Even under great persecution, they spoke to both Jews and Gentiles about Christ and many were saved (v.19-21). In addition, they took time to hear about God for themselves. They were taught by Paul and Barnabas for a whole year (v.26)

In order to produce good fruit, we need to remain in Christ (John 15:4-6). We have to be learning about Him and pushing ourselves in our relationship with him. If we are not connected to Christ, we lose our power source (v.4). Therefore, in order to produce good fruit, we have to stay connected to him daily.

On Sunday, we talked about ways that we can remain in Christ this week:

Memorize a Bible Verse and apply it
Be held accountable to someone else this week

These were just 2 ways we discussed but, there are many other ways. Brainstorm for a minute other ways you can remain in Christ this week.

This week, the challenge is to 1. Remain in Christ (stay connected to him daily) and 2. Produce good fruit.

Pray this week for the desire and hunger to remain in Christ. Also pray that God would use you to produce good fruit in all that you do and say.

He said what? - Clean the inside of your cup?!?

2009-03-16T10:55:00.005-04:00

On Sunday we continued our He Said What series talking about cleaning out the inside of your cup.

We looked at these primary verses - Matthew 5:21-30, 38-48.

Did Christ's challenge shock you at all? How so?
Of the ones that Christ identified (hate, lust, revenge and love for enemies), which is more challenging for you to step up to?

As Christ encouraged us, we need to continue to do what is right, but he takes it a step further by saying in Matthew 12:34 that all our actions and good works have to stem from our heart. God cares more about our heart than our actions. The perfect example of this is found in 1 Samuel 16:1-13.

What was Samuel's mission here?
In verse 6, Samuel thought he had the right son of Jesse to be king. But, God had someone else in mind. What was God's criteria for the new king (v.7)?
How was David described? Did he look like he could be king?

Application:

David didn't necessarily look like a King. He was young and smaller than the rest of his brothers. But, most importantly, he had the heart that was right. He had a heart that was passionate about God and to follow him - "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1-8). Even though David didn't look like a King, because of his heart and how it impacted his actions, he went down in the history books as one of the great Kings of Israel.

Sure, David made his share of mistakes but time and again, he heart was always for God and his relationship with the Lord impacted him. That is what is important to God. David desired to have a clean heart, one that would worship and praise God (Psalm 51:1-17).

So, how is your heart? How is the inside of your cup?

This week, let's do good and reflect Christ in all that we do. But, let's keep our heart in check and make sure that out of the overflow of our heart, we act and speak.

Pray that God would create in you a clean heart, one that is passionate about him and that your actions this week will reflect that clean heart.

He said what? - Ask, Seek and Knock

2009-03-09T06:40:00.006-04:00

On Sunday we introduced a 3 week series on tough saying Christ said during his Sermon on the Mount. For the complete sermon, check out Matthew 5 - 7.

Of Christ's entire message, we have selected 3 sections in which made me (and probably you) say, "He said what?". Basically, these are head turning statements that challenge and push us to in how we live our life.

The 1st one we looked at was Matthew 7:7-14. Take a moment in read it.

In this section Christ made 2 "He said what?" statements:

Ask, Seek and Knock and the door will be opened to you (v.7-12)
Few find and go through the gate that is narrow. Many people enter the wide gate but it ultimately leads to destruction (v.13-14)

1. What or whom are these statements referring to?

When we ask, what do we receive?
When we seek, what do we find?
When we knock, who will open the door?

2. Why do you think few enter the gate that is narrow?

Application:

These are head turners for me because too often we believe that we will find Christ without having to put forth any effort of our own. As believers we expect him to be there and make everything right. Well, that is half right. He is always there for us, BUT, we have to make some effort - even just the simple ask, seek and knock. How easy is that? When we do that, Christ promises us that we will find him and that we will be blessed (v.11).

This week, let's ask, seek and knock on CHRIST's door! Let's enter the narrow gate this week and choose to follow CHRIST this week!

There are many things we can ask for and seek that lead us no where. Let's choose to follow Christ this week and see how he blesses us and bless those around us.

It begins with seeking him. If you do not have a quiet time plan for the week, let me suggest you do these:

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

Some questions you can ask yourself during these times are:

What happened in the story?
What did Jesus say or do?
How can I adjust my life to what he said or did?

I believe that if we truly seek after CHRIST this week, we will find him and be blessed because of it.

Pray that Christ would give you the strength, time and desire to pursue him this week.

Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control

2009-03-02T20:10:00.008-05:00

I'm hooked on "24". This might surprise some people as they know that I liked to make fun of "24" for years. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of the show, I was just amazed at all Jack Bauer could do in a 24 hour time period.

In the midst of the craziness of the day, Jack is very controlled and is able to get the things done that needs to be done. However, there are times when things do not go as planned (ie, a terror suspect doesn't answer the questions quick enough or something unexpected happens) that Jack loses his self-control and gets more than a little mad in his efforts to accomplish his task.

Does this sound familiar with you at all? Do you demonstrate self-control up to a point? What sets you over the edge?

No matter what our circumstances are, God has some thoughts about what it means to be self-controlled and how it affects ourselves and others.

Read 1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Peter 1:5-8

What do these verses tell us about self-control?
What is the strict training we, as believers, are involved in?
How is self-control apart of that training?

Application:

This whole series on the Fruit of the Spirit was meant to be an encouragement to fight for Christ! I've said it before, but we have to choose each day to follow Christ. It's an active choice in an active relationship. 1 Timothy 6:12 says, "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

This week, fight the good fight of your faith each day by instilling the fruit of the spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Clothe yourself with one or more of these fruit and encourage others to walk alongside of you as you all, together, fight for your relationship with Christ. Choose to follow him today and see how he blesses you!

Pray

Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness

2009-02-20T07:20:00.006-05:00

On Sunday, we looked at our 3rd fruit of the spirit - Goodness.

During that time we looked at Matthew 5:16 in which Christ challenges us that "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We also looked at Titus 2:14 in which Paul said that “[Jesus] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Christ calls us to let our light shine before others so that they may praise God because of it. He modeled this challenge by himself by doing good and sacrificing our life so that we could come into a relationship with God.

Read Galatians 6:6-10

Using goodness as an example, what does it mean that you reap what you sow?
How have you either positively or negatively reaped what you sowed?
How will we and other benefit if we reap goodness?
What is the challenge here?

Application:

I love the phrase, "God cannot be mocked" (v.7). How we act and what we say will have a direct impact on what we sow. It is like we plant apple seeds and hope that we grow oranges. If our actions and words do not line up with godliness, how can we expect ourselves to become more Christlike and how can we expect others, who are watching us, be draw to him?

This week, let's

focus on doing good to others so that they may see our good works and praise and be drawn to God.
encourage other believers. Galatians 6:10 says, "let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Believers need to experience the good works of others as well.

Pray that God would help you be a light to others this week.

Fruit of the Spirit - Patience

2009-02-18T12:07:00.003-05:00

On Sunday we looked at our 2nd Fruit of the Spirit – patience. We discussed 3 ways we can lengthen our fuse so that we do not lose our patience:

For starters, identify what lights your fuse. What is it that makes you lose your patience? Is it slow drivers, long lines for lunch, people constantly late or something else? If you want to increase your patience, you have to first identify what makes you impatient and shorten your fuse.
You may need to modify your expectations or correct mistaken beliefs. Part of what may make us impatient is that we have false beliefs about how things should work or happen. Therefore, when they do not go as we think they should go, we lose patience and get frustrated.
Build time into our lives for relaxation, renewal, and rest. This is so important because we live in such a busy area. If all we do is run around with our heads cut off going from place to place, participating in this and that, we will never be able to rest and relax. When we are not able to rest and relax, our fuse becomes less.

Two verses we highlighted were Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Peter 5:7.

How do these verse help us with patience?

So, at the mid-week point, how are you doing this week in being patient?

One great example of patience is God’s patience with us. Ever since Adam and Eve first turned their backs on God, He has been striving towards reconciling our relationship with Him. But, no matter what he tried, we kept on turning our backs on him. For instance, take a minute and read Psalm 81:12, Romans 1:21-32.

What would you have done if your people responded to you this way?
How did God respond?
How does God show us his patience here?

God could have easily come down and destroyed us all for all the times we have blown it with him. But, he didn’t. He remained patient and ultimately sent his son to die for us.

This week, let us continue to work on lengthening our fuse. In addition, let’s be striving towards Christ this week in all that we do. He has been so patient with us over the years.

Pray for patience this week, practice it and seek Him!

Fruit of the Spirit - Peace

2009-02-11T06:19:00.001-05:00

I love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Rarely is there an episode that I watch that the floodgates of tears don't flow out. I'm not afraid to admit it as I'm sure I'm not alone.

But, why is it that so many people cry while watching this show? I believe it is because we are moved as we witness the Extreme Makeover crew go from house to house trying to improve lives by rebuilding homes of people in need. It is a great show of compassion and community support. It is amazing to see what people working together can do for a family in a week. Just as amazing is seeing the look on the family's faces as they walk through their new house! Their lives are now forever changed because of the generousity and compassion of others.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16 it says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

When you think of being "God's temple", what do you think of?
What does it mean that God's spirit lives in you?
How should we live our lives if we are God's temple with God's spirit living in us?

When we come into a relationship with God, He is with and in us. How great is that! But, just as great as that is, it can be very challenging as well. Think about it, as God's temple/house, we are representing Him in all that we do and say. Think about your day. Have you represented God positively in all that you have done or said today?

So, how does this apply to PEACE at all???? Here's how - when we are in Christ, we are a new creation. Our old self is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17)! To bring in our new self so that we can represent Christ best (as his temple/house), we need to put on characteristics found in the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Peace is one of those characteristics that we can clothe ourselves with as we attempt to represent Christ.

John Stott said, "Now peacemaking is a divine work. For peace means reconciliation, and God is the author of peace and of reconciliation". If we want to have peace in our lives, it starts with reconciling relationships. First, with God and then with others. God demonstrated his desire for peace by reconciling our relationship with him by sending his son, Jesus, to die for us.

Application:

As we talked on Sunday, the application for the week is two-fold:

Ask God to search your heart for relationships in your life that are not at peace – relationships that are not reconciled right now.
Then, seek to reconcile any relationship that God puts on our heart. BUT, do not do it by yourself! Ask God to make known to you how you should do this.

Remember, as John Stott said, “God is the author of peace and of reconciliation.” Who better to lead you in reconciliation with another person than the author and perfecter of it?!?

As 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, we are God's temple. Let's be striving to represent Christ in all that we do and say this week. Whether you are able to reconcile relationships with others or not this week, represent Christ in such a way that people can see your deeds and praise God.

Pray that God would search your heart for any relationships that needs mending in your life and that he would give you the wisdom to know how to reconcile.

Fruit of the Spirit? What is that?

2009-02-03T05:57:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, Rick Beckwith introduced us to the concept of Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-25.

Of the Fruit of the Spirit, which is the easiest one for you to do?
Which one is the hardest for you to do?

What great characteristics for us to instill in our lives! Now, as perfect as I claim to be (haha), I am also a realist and know that I can not always live up to these characteristics. I lack patience a lot and my self-control is not controlled all the time. But, the great news is that when we choose to follow Christ and pursue him, he will be with us, helping us instill these characteristics into our lives.

Read Philippians 2:12, 13

As Rick pointed out on Sunday, we are like an apple. What??? By that, just like an apple, we start off perfect and in great shape. But over time, as we invest in "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (Galatians 5:19-21) our perfect apple becomes worn, beaten up and dirty. We are embarrassed by things we have done and try to hide them. But, it is God's intent to help us and to shield us from the junk found in those things.

By instilling characteristics like "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22,23) we can attempt to instill the goodness and hope of Christ in our lives. Imagine if you lived your life each day with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control of Christ. How might that effect your friendships, your relationship with your parents, siblings, classmates?

I believe it could have a huge impact, not just in you but in everyone you come into contact with.

Application:

As part of his challenge, Rick focused on the Fruit of the Spirit - Peace. He passed out cards and challenged us to:

Describe what peace is.
Tell what peace might look like to you.
Identify what causes a lack of peace for you. Is it uncertainty about the future? Uncertainty about who you are or who you will become? Tension in some relationships or something else entirely?
Specifically and measurably, what can you do this week to experience peace?
Who can you ask to help encourage and pray for you this week as you seek to experience peace?

Numbers 4 and 5 are crucial as you continue to grow in a relationship with Christ. My encouragement is to really step out and try something. I have found that it's easy for us to say each week you are going to take action, but then fail to do it for whatever reason.

To help fight that, let's take a moment right now and actually write it down a measurable goal regarding peace and then ask someone to pray for and encourage you to do that this week.

It is when we step out in faith like this and push ourselves and others that we can experience the life God intended for us to live.

End by Praying for the week and that God would give you the ability to obtain your goal.

Hearing, Believing and taking Action

2009-01-26T09:00:00.015-05:00

On Sunday, we talked about Rahab and how she played a vital role in the fall of Jericho.

So, just as a refresh as to who she was:

A Prostitute
From a family and society that had many gods. They did not worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This is who she was, but this would not define how she would move forward.

Read Joshua 2

Joshua charged 2 men to do what at Jericho?
The men hid in Rahab's house during the night. Who was Rahab?
Why did Rahab protect the 2 men?
When Jericho fell, what happened to Rahab (Read Joshua 6:20-25)

Rahab could have heard all this news about what God had done for the Israelites and just shrugged it off. However, she heard the news and believed that God could do anything. Therefore, she took action and hid the Israelite spies in hopes that she would be spared when Israel overtakes Jericho.

Because Rahab heard, believed and took action, her family was saved AND she was also part of Christ's geneology. GOD USED HER in a mighty way!!!!

In the same way, God wants to use us. The question always boils down to will we let Christ in and allow Him to use us as he did Rahab?

Think about it, how many times do we hear the great works of God, believe them to be true, but then not let it impact our lives?

Application:

This week, let's open up the Bible daily and discover all the great things God has done and has planned for us. Then, let's take action and follow His lead. As Phil point out in James 2:14-26 that faith without deeds is dead, we need to not just read and learn about Christ, but take action.

If you aren't currently reading through anything, let me suggest you do these readings this week:

Day 1: Matthew 5:1-12

Day 2: Matthew 5:13-16

Day 3: Matthew 5:17-20

Day 4: Matthew 5:21-26

Day 5: Matthew 5:27-32

Day 6: Matthew 5:33-37

Day 7: Matthew 5:38-48

No matter what you are reading, when you go through your quiet times this week, ask these questions:

What is God/Christ talking about here?
What is God saying to you in this section?
How can you apply what you just read and learned?

Take some time praying this week that God would use what you just read and learned and help give you the strength to take action with it.

We remember Rahab not for what she heard or believed, but for the action she took. This week, let's put some action behind out beliefs and see where God leads us.

Relying on the Lord's ability

2009-01-19T06:29:00.004-05:00

As we talked on Sunday, Moses had to put his fears and doubts and trust in the Lord. He had to trust God because God had called him to do a mighty work, yet he felt unqualified for the work.

We are all unqualified for the work God calls us to, but if we trust and remain faithful to Him, he will guide and direct us.

The challenge Moses had to lead the Israelites out of Egypt wasn't the last time Moses needed to rely on God. Read Exodus 17:1-7.

What was the complaint of the Israelites?
According to v. 5, how mad where they at Moses?
What did Moses do?
How did God respond?

Moses was definitely put into a difficult position. He was the leader of the Israelites and as leader, you hear the good and the bad (often the bad). So, Moses do when he was faced with this tough situation? He turned to God and relied on God's ability to do what needed to be done.

Application

When faced in tough or difficult situations, do you turn to God as Moses did and rely on Him to help? Or do you, like I do more times than not, turn to myself and see how I can get the job done.

1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

He will take care of you and provide for you for you. He desires to do that! What we have to do is to turn to him, seek him, and ask him for direction.

This week, seek him and turn to him to provide for you and see how God works in the midst of that!

Spend some time praying that for some things right now on your mind that you could turn over to God.

Taking Action

2009-01-12T05:34:00.000-05:00

In Genesis 12:1-3, God made a covenant with Abraham.

As we talked on Sunday, Abraham took the promise that God made him and didn't just believe him, but he put actions behind his beliefs. Because he believed God, he put his faith into action by:

Moving to a foreign land
Trusting that at the age of 100 he could have a son
Being willing to sacrifice his one and only son

Even though he did those things, it wasn't always easy for him to put action behind his faith. After all, no one is perfect.

One example of the challenge Abraham faced can be found in Genesis 16:1-6. Read through it and take a minute to answer the 3 questions.

Even though God promised Abraham an heir and many descendants, what did Abraham do?
How did that effect Sarah and Abraham?
Why do you think Abraham gave in and slept with Hagaar?

Like Abraham, even though we, ourselves, know the promises of God, it can be hard to put action behind our beliefs. Can you recall a time when you struggled to put action behind your beliefs?

It can be very hard, especially with all the pressure we feel from others and we put on ourselves to be accepted and feel included to take a stand for our beliefs and put them into action. But, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:7, God has given us the spirit of power. When we choose to live out our faith by what we do and say, there comes the power of God behind it.

We may not see the fruit of our actions or words immediately, but down the road God will bless what you did in front of others.

Application:

Living for the Lord is hard to do as it is, so why be the lone ranger? My encouragement for you this week is to find someone who will spur you on (Hebrews 10:24-25) and this week go after the Lord together. This way, you 2 can spur each other on towards Christ and actively living for him. My encouragement in your selection process is to:

find someone who actively desires to pursue the Lord - someone who is at the same level of spiritual maturity as you.
find someone of the same gender

If you do not have someone you can think of to team up with, pray to God that he will provide such a person.

I pray that God will bless you and encourage you when you take the leap of faith and proclaim him in your actions and words.

It's that time of Year again!

2008-12-30T05:51:00.004-05:00

Can you remember the New Years Resolution you made last year? If, what was it?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Timothy 4:8

What do these verses tell you about the importance of being physically fit?

What do these verses tell you about the importance of being spiritually fit?

It's that time of year again! January is quickly approaching and this is the month that we typically make these bold and ambious goals to either diet, exercise, start something new, etc. These are very good things to do and I strongly encourage you to do this. For me, the problem isn’t coming up with a goal or task to do. Rather, it is actually getting out of my routine and actually doing it. For instance, Anne keeps encouraging me to exercise and Rick Huber wants to help me come up with a healthy eating plan. It’s not that I don’t want to do them, it is just getting myself out of the same daily routine I am comfortable and familiar with.

Working out and exercising are good goals to go after as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that we are to honor God with our bodies. However, in 1 Timothy 4:8, Paul also writes that although taking care of ourselves is good, spiritual nurishment is of even greater importance. “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

What holds you back from setting goals and accomplishing them this year? And, what kinds of goals are you striving for? My encouragement for you, as we begin this new year, is to really look at setting goals that push us closer to Christ.

Maybe it is having a family Bible Passage of the week that your family can read on their own and then meet up to discuss at the end of the week. Maybe it is to take notes during your pastors or youth pastor's messages and apply 1 thing from it that week.

Whatever your goal may be, I hope and pray that take some time and really process how you and your family can benefit this year with some Christ-centered goals.

Application:

Write down 1 goal you can do this year that will push you closer to Christ. Then, share your goal with someone else so they can be praying for you and encouraging you in your goal.

Christmas, Linus and Communicating

2008-12-23T05:57:00.000-05:00

What is your favorite part of Christmas? Why?

I love Christmas! It is my favorite holiday of the year. I love decorating the day after Thanksgiving (although this year, my 12 ft. wreath hanging fall put a damper on this year's decorating), listening to Christmas music and watching all the Christmas specials.

This past Sunday, I had the pleasure of listening to Katie Von Kahle share with our middle school students about the meaning of Christmas. She did a great job and in it, she showed a great clip from Charlie Brown's Christmas involving Linus. Check it out.

Read Luke 2:1-20

What does this passage mean to you? What is the importance of Christ being born?

What did the Angels say would happen with Christ being born?

What is the latest thing you have upgraded? For instance, did you upgrade your cell phone, video game console or computer recently? Why did you upgrade?

It might be a stretch to say that God upgraded his means of communicating to us by sending his son, Jesus, to come down here on earth, live among us and die for us. God brought the savior to us! When Christ came to earth, it signaled to us that God deeply cares about us and will stop at nothing to get across his message of love, forgiveness and redemption.

God upgraded from having Prophets speak the truth to his people, to sending his son, one and only son, to live among us. Christ spoke for God as he is God (John 1:1-2). What a huge decision God made to reach out to us.

Because God changed his approach to reaching us, sometimes we need to change the approach we have at hearing and being challenged by Christ.

Application:

So, this week, how can you upgrade your relationship with Christ? What can you do that will push you closer to him this week? **Try to avoid the common - "I will read the Bible more" or "I will pray more". Those are very good, but are not specific enough. Instead of saying, "I will read the Bible more", maybe put down, "I will read through Philippians and write down 1 application that I will do this week based on what I read"**

Write it down and share it with someone else so they can be encouraging you. Or, if you are bold enough, post it under the comments section and I and others that read it will be praying for you.

Who can you Impact?

2008-08-27T06:53:00.002-04:00

1. Is there a social group that you tend to reflect? For instance, in school, would someone describe you as a jock? a dancer? a skater? or any other group? How hard would it be for you to be associated with another group of people? What would you have to do in order to go from a jock to a skater?

Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

2. What was Paul’s goal here?

3. How was he going to accomplish this?

4. Why would this be effective and how could it be ineffective?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Paul’s goal was to win as many people to Christ as possible. He seemed teachable and appeared to change tactics all the time to reach people for Christ. That is even more clear here in these verses. According to these verses, he “became” whatever group of people he wanted to reach. If he was after Jewish people, he became like them.

I want to caution you, though, when we attempt to become like those who we are trying to win to Christ, it can become easy to start being impacted by them and their lifestyle rather than they being impact by you. For example, if you are trying to win friends from the baseball team and they like to go party. You can go along with them to the parties, but remember why you are there. Do not sacrifice your witness and potential impact by giving in and thinking you have to do what they do and be like them exactly to win them for Christ. That is not what Paul is implying here.

Paul did not sacrifice who God made him to be. What Paul was doing here was helping every person, whether Jew or Gentile, free or slave, white or black, come to know Christ. He wanted to take away any barriers that prohibited a person from coming to know Christ. But, he never gave in to worldly temptations to win them for Christ.

Young Life has a great saying, “Every kid”. Simply put, they are out to reach every student for Christ. In the same way, we should be after everyone. You may be most effective reaching students who are just like you (i.e., if you are a baseball player, you are most likely to identify and reach baseball playing/knowledgeable people). But that should not limit you from being able to share Christ with a person who is involved in the Chess Club.

This week, pray that God would identify a group of people to you so that you can become like them in order to win them for Christ. It won’t happen overnight, but as you begin to win their trust, you can begin to win them to Christ. Also, pray for an opportunity for God to open doors so that you might be able to share Christ with them. Now, tell a friend so that they could help and encourage you as well as be challenged for themselves.

Pray

Gideon and his 300

2008-07-26T06:23:00.002-04:00

1. Have you ever been asked to accomplish a task given very little resources or time to do it? What was it and how did it turn out?

Read Judges 7

2. What did God say to Gideon about the number of men Gideon had assembled (v.2-3)?

3. After Gideon got rid of some of the soldiers, what did God say next (v. 4)? How many total men did Gideon have left to battle the Midianites?

4. How did the battle turn out? What is the lesson learned here?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Imagine if you were Gideon and God kept on taking away people from your army. How would you respond? I don’t know about you, but I would be a little scared and worried wondering how we could possibly defeat our enemy with so few people.

But, God is a provider. He provided victory for Gideon and he will provide victory for all of us in our situations – no matter what they are and how the outcome looks.

The question is, are you a believer in God’s provision? God is faithful and will always be that way. That is why Gideon trusted God with just 300 men. Never did he question or waver in his faith in God.

The way God provides may not be conventional or logical, but the end result is a provision for us.

This week, how can you rest in his provision? What can you trust God with this during the upcoming week. Think about and pray it over to God. Then, see how he provides. Share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

His Lasting Challenge

2008-07-09T06:01:00.001-04:00

1. If you were on your deathbed, what do you think your final words would be?

Read Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8

2. In Matthew 28:18-20, what was Christ’s challenge to the disciples? What were they to do?

3. In Acts 1:8, what was the strategy Christ gave them to share his message?

4. Why do you think these final words from Christ were important for his followers to hear?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

As part of his final words recorded by Matthew, Christ gives his disciples a clear challenge – go and make disciples. And, that is exactly what they did. They went and made disciples for Christ outlined extensively in the book of Acts. Because of their faithfulness and commitment to Christ and his challenge, you and I are believers! Think about it, what are the chances you and I would have even heard more than 2 sentences over 2000 years later about Christ, if it were not for those faithful and committed to accomplishing Christ’s challenge? Not very likely.

After the challenge, Christ gave them a strategy. What good is a challenge without helping provide a little strategy to accomplishing that challenge? If you look on a map, Jerusalem was the closest location to where the disciples were at that moment. So, the 1st place Christ told them to share his message was to the people closest to them. Then, he told them to go to Judea. That was a little bit further out as they would have to share Christ to people they did not know. Finally, he told them to stretch his message to the ends of the earth.

This strategy can be easily duplicated by us. First, who are those closest to us that we can share Christ to (Jerusalem)? Then, who are those people that you know a little bit, but not really that you can share Christ to (Judea and Samaria)? Finally, where are places you could go and share the love of Christ with?

Christ’s challenge did not end with the disciples. This is a challenge to all of us. Are you making disciples for Christ? Are you being strategic in reaching others for Him?

This week, the challenge is to identify your Jerusalem friends, the people you may or may not know in Judea and Samaria and plan to go to the ends of the earth (maybe a mission trip to another state or country). Take a minute, pray and think through who God is laying on your heart to share the love of Christ with.

Then, write their names down under the 3 Columns: Jerusalem, Judea, Ends of the Earth. Who has Christ put on your heart? Finally, pray that God will give you the opportunity to share with them the love of Christ.

Pray

Sharing the Love of Christ to everyone

2008-06-17T05:51:00.002-04:00

1. Think of a person in your school, community or church that doesn’t seem to have many friends. Why do you think that is so?

Read Matthew 9:9-13

2. What did Jesus tell Matthew to do?

3. How did the Pharisees respond to Jesus eating with Tax collectors and “sinners”? Why do you think they responded this weay?

4. What was Jesus’ response?

5. Based on this story, who do you say Christ is?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Matthew had a very dubious career, but a very promising one! Not many people liked him or respected him as Tax collectors were often know to be liars and cheaters. But boy was he making some serious cash!

So here we have Jesus, a well respected teacher, healer, and son of God, coming up to Matthew and simply saying, “Follow me”. Jesus didn’t care that he was a tax collector who cheated and stole from the other people. He still called him to follow him.

Although this upset the “religious leaders”, Jesus made it clear – he came to help everyone, not just the health and well-respected. But in particular, he came to help those who needed it the most. He came to call all to follow him.

Why would he do this? Why did he care for the lonely, the sick, the friendless and the needy? Because we are all children of God. And, as children of God, he loves each and every one of us so much! As John 10:10 points out, Christ came to give us all life to the full, not just a certain group of people. Do we love others the same way Christ loves us?

I want you to think back to that person you identified in question #1. What can you do this week to befriend him/her and share the love of Christ with him/her? Write down goal and share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

Greatness = this? Really?

2008-06-04T06:43:00.002-04:00

1. What are other words that come to mind when you hear the word great?

Read Philippians 2:1-11

2. Based on verses 1-7, how should we act? Why?

3. How is Christ described?

4. Because of Christ’s actions, what happened to him (v. 9-11)?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Even though he is God, he humbled himself and was obedient all the way to the cross. Christ humbled himself by coming down to earth, living as a carpenter and hanging out with the poor and outcasts of society. That doesn’t seem like that would be fit living for a King, the creator of the world does it?

In addition to his sacrifice of fine living, think of Christ’s obedience. Remember the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ asked God to take “this cup be taken from me.” He didn’t want to die this way, but he concluded his time by saying, “Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Christ was humble and obedient. Those don’t seem to be the two biggest characteristics of greatness. But, that is what Christ modeled and he is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Not a bad outcome for his obedience and humility, eh? As committed followers of Christ, what could you do this week to emulate Christ’s example? Write it down and share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

True Power

2008-04-06T06:27:00.002-04:00

1. Have you ever experienced greatness like never before (i.e., hitting a game winning home run or goal, or performing a great masterpiece on the piano)? What was it and how did it feel?

Read Luke 10:1-20

2. What did he say to the 72 when he sent them out?

3. What is the significance of verse 16?

4. How did Christ respond when the 72 came back excited about all the powerful things they had done?

Additional Thoughts & Application

When we go and share Christ, either in word or deed, we must be aware of one major idea: it is Christ in you that enables you to do what you do and it is Christ in you that they are rejecting or accepting.

This was flushed out here when the 72 were sent out by Christ. In verse 16, Christ says, “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me”. It is easy to take things personally when we share about Christ. If you are sharing and someone wants nothing to do with you, as hard as it may be, do not take it personally. Christ says that if they listen to you, it is because of Him, if they reject you, they are rejecting Him, not you. So, do not be discouraged and let it dissuade you from sharing Christ to someone else. It is Christ they are either accepting or rejecting.

In verses 17-20, the 72 came back excited as “even the demons submit to us in our name”. I can see how the 72 came back ecstatic about that kind of power – the power to have demons submit to you. But, Christ is quick to remind them to “not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven”. Power can do many things to a person. One effect that we have to guard against is that we become overcome with power and want that “feeling” all the time. But, we have to remember, it is Christ in us that enables us to have that power.

John 15 says we are the branches, Christ is the vine, the source. Apart from him, we can do nothing. You will experience many things when you follow Christ and share about him. Whether it is with what we share or what we experience, it is Christ at the center of it all.

This week, keep in mind our true source and power and turn to him in all things. In order for him to enable you to do things beyond your imagine, we have to get our power daily from him. How can you keep plugged into Christ all week? Identify a few different ways and share this with a friend so that they could help and encourage you as well as be challenged for themselves

Pray

Laying a Good Foundation

2008-03-22T06:46:00.002-04:00

1. Of the materials listed below, what is the best to use as a foundation in a building? Why?
A. Lumber B. Sand C. Rock D. Rubber

Read Luke 6:46-49

2. Who are the 2 type of people described in this passage? What is the difference between the 2?

3. What happened to the Wise person’s house when a storm struck? What happened to the Foolish person’s house when a storm struck?

4. How does this illustration help Christ point out the importance of hearing and doing? Why is hearing the word not good enough?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Having a sure, strong foundation can help you weather all sorts of storms. Whether it is a relationship crisis or a circumstantial crisis, Christ has pointed out just how important being properly grounded in his wisdom and taking action is.

In this Easter weekend, take some time and examine what or who you are putting your foundation in. Is it in Christ who can help you weather all sorts of storms or is it in something else?

Look back at v. 49 and check again what the Rock that Christ was talking about consisted of. It consisted of hearing the word of the Lord and taking action.

If you also look back at v.48-49, the man dug deep. His foundation did not just go a few feet. It went deep because the storms that approach can get pretty fierce at times. In the same way, the storms in our lives can get rough as well.

How are you able to withstand the fiercest of storms? The encouragement here is to be consistently hearing the word of the Lord and putting it into practice daily. By doing this, we can withstand the fiercest of storms that come our way.

Write 1 goal down that you can do this week in regards to listening and doing. Then, share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

Freedom to Serve

2008-03-06T05:54:00.001-05:00

1. There were great people and warriors who fought for freedom, not just in America, but also in the world. Who are some that you admire and why?

Read Galatians 5:13-15

2. How does Paul think we should we use our freedom?

3. Out of ___________ should we serve one another? Why do you think Paul said we need to serve this way?

4. What will happen if you devour one another?

Additional Thoughts & Application:

Freedom is such a big idea. When you have freedom you can do whatever you want. As followers of Christ, He set us free by his death and resurrection on the cross.

With freedom, though, comes responsibility. Just because we are free, as Americans, that does not mean we can just go out and kill another person.

In the same way, just because Christ gave us freedom by his death and resurrection, does not mean that we should continue to live like we did before we knew him. Remember, we have been transformed into a new person when we decide to follow Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

In this passage, Paul challenges us her to use our freedom to serve one another. Why should we use our freedom to serve one another? Why shouldn’t we use our freedom to do whatever we please? After all, people sacrificed their lives so we could do whatever we wanted, right?

Not exactly. Christ sacrificed his life so that the law would no longer bind us and through him a new covenant was created. So, yes, we have freedom now – a freedom that is engulfed in grace. But that does not mean that we can keep on living the same way we used to live apart from Christ. There needs to be a life change and a strive towards greatness found in Christ.

How can you serve others this week in love? Use your freedom in Christ to show your love to others by service. Write down 1 goal you can do this week and then share it with another person so that they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

Are there gray areas?

2008-02-18T07:06:00.001-05:00

1. Have you ever regret a decision you made? What was the decision and why did you regret it?

Read 1 Samuel 15

2. What did the Lord want Saul to do?

3. Where did Saul fail to do what God asked of him?

4. What was the result of this action?

Additional Thoughts & Application

Saul was given a simple command from God, “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them.” There was no grey area in that statement. However, Saul tried to find that grey area.

He did most of what God commanded, but he failed to complete the task at hand. He thought if they kept the best of the cattle and sacrificed it to God, it would be great.

The only problem was that was not what God had told him to do. God was very straightforward in what he wanted but Saul tried to alter the plans a bit.

As followers of Christ, God has certain guidelines for us to live by. In all He says there is not a lot of gray area, but we sometime try to find that area. It is as if we do not think God’s desires and guidelines for living our life are good enough. That maybe if we give or do 75% of it, then that would be sufficient.

That is the kind of thinking that got Saul in trouble. He did most of what God wanted, but not all of it. Because of this, he was rejected and all of Israel failed to benefit from such a great victory.

Think about 1 thing that Christ has commanded that you have not fully lived up to in the past. For example, loving our neighbors or turning the other check.

Write it down at least 1 way in which you can fully integrate this into your life this week. Then, share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

Abraham's Test

2008-02-03T06:55:00.000-05:00

1. Were you ever promised something that you had to wait a while for (i.e., a new video game, DVD, clothes)? What was it and how did it feel once you finally got it?

Background:
God promised Abraham and Sarah that, despite their old age, they would have a son born to them and all their descendants would be numerous and it would be a great nation. Finally, their son, Issac, was born.

Read Genesis 22:1-28

2. What did God tell Abraham to do? How did Abraham respond? How would you have responded to this knowing the history of the situation?

3. When Abraham was ready to sacrifice Issac, what happened?

4. Why did God test Abraham with this?

Application:

Abraham was a righteous man. He did many great things in the eyes of God. But now, he was put to the test. God asked him to spare his one and only son. He had no idea that God was going to spare Issac’s life, but nevertheless, Abraham proceed to the mountain top and was preparing to sacrifice Issac to God.

But then God stopped him. God was merely testing him. But why would God test Abraham with this? As Matthew Henry points out in his commentary, this request by God was a test of Abraham’s faith and obedience.

Think about it, Abraham had just been given a son after many, many years in which his wife, Sarah, was barren. Now God expects him to give Issac up? Was Abraham’s faith going to be strong enough to be obedient to such a request from God?

Abraham was willing to make a huge sacrifice for God – the giving up of his one and only Son. Because of his obedience and faith in God, he passed the test and the angel of the Lord said that he will be very blessed with many descendant (Genesis 22:16-17)

What are you willing to sacrifice for your relationship with Christ? Is there anything you wouldn’t do for God? What is 1 thing that you are willing to sacrifice for Christ this week? Write it down and share it with another person so they can be encouraged and help you achieve your goal.

Pray

Wasted Opportunity?

2008-01-20T06:08:00.000-05:00

Have your response to something or action ever caused someone to be completely surprised? For example, have you ever turned down a gift unexpectedly? What was the situation?

Read Acts 16:16-36

Why was Paul and Silas thrown into prison?

When the Earthquake hit, what happened to Paul and Silas? What did they do?

What was the Guard going to do when he woke up? Why would he have done that?

When the Guard saw that Paul and Silas were still there, how did he respond? Why do you think he responded that way?

What else did the Guard do after he came to believe in Christ?

Application

What would you have done if you were in prison for a punishment that didn’t fit the crime? Would you be rejoicing? What would happened if you were unexpectedly freed? Would you have stayed like Paul and Silas or left?

Paul and Silas were rejoicing in prison and when the opportunity came for them to leave, they stayed. Because of these actions, they were blessed and lives were changed. The Guard was ready to kill himself when he saw what had happened because if they had escaped under his care, he would have had to suffer that prisoner’s punishment (“Believers Church Bible Commentary: Acts”, p. 186). But, Paul & Silas stopped him and revealed that they did not escape.

Why would they do such a thing? We do not know for sure, but because they stayed, it caused the Guard to ask, “What must I do to be saved?” He had just experienced an event unlike any other in which Paul and Silas had an opportunity to leave, but didn’t. He was going to kill himself to avoid severe punishment, but then realized that he had been saved from that as they were still in jail.

So, why ask to be saved? Again, we do not know for sure, but the fact remains that the Guard wanted to come to know what Paul and Silas had – a relationship with Christ. But, it didn’t stop there. Once he heard the truth, he brought his family in to be baptized and also took care of Paul and Silas – washing their wounds from the flogging they received.

All this happened because they were salt and light to the Guard when they could have been anything but. They could have easily left and I doubt people would not have thought any less of them. But they stayed and utilized this situation for Christ.

What can you do this week to be salt and light to those you are close too? Pray this week that God provides you with an opportunity to make the most out of every opportunity for Him and when the opportunity presents itself, don't make it a wasted opportunity.

Pray

Whose God is Greater?

2008-01-10T20:56:00.000-05:00

1. Have you ever been challenged to a duel of sorts? What was it and what was the outcome?

Read 1 Kings 18:16-39

2. Elijah was known as a “troubler of Isreal”. Why was that?

3. What did Elijah challenge Obadiah to?

4. How did the Prophets of Baal do? What kind of “encouragement” did Elijah offer them?

5. What did Elijah have done to his sacrifice in order to prove to greatness and power of God? What happened to Elijah’s sacrifice?

6. How did the people respond to this?

Application

Elijah had a reputation as being a troubler of Israel. He was not viewed positively in the King's eyes because he spread the word of the true God.

Finally, Elijah had enough with Israel's unbelief and decided to challenge the 450 Prophets of Baal to a "Whose God is Greater" duel. He had word sent throughout all of Israel to come and watch. Talk about pressure.

How much faith do you think Elijah had in God that He would prevail over Baal? Do you have that kind of faith in God?

As we read, God did come through while Baal was a no show. Or, as Elijah taunted, "Perhaps he [Baal] is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." (v.27)

In this story, Elijah believed and did something about it. He didn't just call himself a follower of God, he took action. Because of that, lives where impacted for God and many believed in Him.

How was Elijah salt and light to Israel in this story? How did he penetrate Israel with the light of God? How can you act similar this week?

Pray

Trusting God

2007-12-28T06:35:00.000-05:00

In the news recently was more news from the Spears family. This time, instead of Britney doing something outrageous, her 16 year old sister announced in OK! Magazine that she was 12 weeks pregnant.

Can you imagine for a minute how your world would change if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant at your age?

Read Luke 1:26-38

1. What did the angel say to Mary?

2. Despite all that potential for problems (considering that back then unwed, pregnant teenagers could've been stoned to death for this act), how did Mary respond?

3. What possesses a girl that young to go along with a plan like this?

I believe it is because she held onto the promises of God. She probably didn’t know what would become of her once she accepted this challenge to be the mother of God’s child, but she knew enough about God to accept the challenge.

4. And how did this story end – down the road?

Luke 2:6-7 – “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Application:

Mary was a young teen when she became pregnant with Jesus. Some say she was as young as 13! As I wrote earlier, being an unwed pregnant teen was more than just frowned upon back then. Some people could actually have been stoned to death for this act. But, she wasn’t stoned to death and Jesus was born to be the savior of the world.

She put her trust in God’s plan and because of that, we all benefit by having an opportunity to know and follow Christ.

So, what can we learn from Mary?
1. She trusted God plan even when she may not have fully known the outcome.
2. She followed through
3. Because of her actions, we all benefited

This is a simple concept – Trust God, follow through and benefit. But, the application can be and should go much deeper than that.

See, there is a difference between saying you are trusting God and actually trusting God like Mary did. She put her life on the line and spared nothing to trust God and follow through on his plan.

The question is, are you able to trust God like Mary did? Are you willing to put your life as you know it in God’s hands and let him guide you? I’m not saying that now you have to become a monk or nun in order to really trust God.

But, we live in a control freak, self-centered world today where we don’t want other people determining our way for us. But, what God is saying is that I have a plan for you – trust Me [God] and follow.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”

So, I want to take a minute and brainstorm how you can trust God this week. How do you actually trust him?

Will God ever lead you down the road that doesn’t lead to success? No. Remember, because Mary trusted and followed through on God’s plan, the whole world, not just her and Joseph benefited. The key for us to actually place our 100% trust in following God’s plan.

PRAY

Spreading the Great News!

2007-12-09T06:55:00.000-05:00

When something good happens to you, what do you do? Do you keep it quiet or share it with others? What is something good that has happened to you lately?

Read Luke 2:8-20

Who did the Angels appear to?

What message did the Angels bring?

Why is this great news?

When the Angels left, what did the Shepherds do?

What did they do after they saw Jesus?

Application:

The Shepherds were some of the lowest of the low in the class structure back then. They were so low that even their testimony wasn't admissible in court. But God choose to reveal this great news first to the Shepherds! What a great privilege and responsibility.

So, what can we learn from these poor, outcasted Shepherds? They did 3 things that we should all seek to do.
1. They had an experience with God (when the Angels came).
2. They verified the truth (went to go see Jesus) and then
3. They shared their experience with others (told everyone that Jesus was born).

They experienced God, verified the truth and shared it with others.

Are you experiencing God? When was the last time you prayed for God to work in a situation and trust that He will help? When was the last time you gave God control? In order to experience Him, we have to give Him the opportunity.

Are you verifying the truth? When was the last time you heard something about God and then opened up your Bible and verify it was true and to see other things that God has and can do? In order to verify the truth, we have to go and seek it out.

Are you sharing your experiences (good news) about God with others? It seems that often times, when God does a good work in our lives such as answering a prayer, that we tend to forget to tell people that God did this. We share our good news, but fail to mention that God had a hand in it. It's like we are afraid to tell people that we believe in God.

Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile".

Let's not be ashamed of the gospel, but let's open our lives us to experience him. Once we have that experience, verify it is His work, then share it with others. God will bless you and others.

Pray

ReUnited!

2007-11-24T06:38:00.000-05:00

1. Have you ever had a falling out with a friend? What ever happened? Did you remain separated or was there ever a time when you made amends and reunited? Describe the situation.

Read Genesis 27:19-41

2. What did Jacob do?

3. Why did Jacob want the blessing that his father was to give Esau?

4. How did Esau respond to not receiving the blessing?

5. How would you have responded if Jacob did this to you?

Read Genesis 33:1-12

6. How did Esau greet Jacob?

Application:

The firstborn in every household always gets the blessing from the father. Jacob, with the help of his mother, stole that blessing. Fearing for his life, Jacob fled and began a new life on his own.

Years later, Jacob and Esau met up again. Not knowing how things would turn out, he turned to God for help (Genesis 32:9-12) and prepared a gift for Esau. When the met face to face, Esau probably shocked the world by running up to Jacob and embraced him. What a difference in Esau's reaction from the last time Jacob and he were together.

Here's the point - no matter what happens in a friendship, we can come back and attempt to be reunited, even in the midst of terrible situations. In fact, Christ showed us the importance on being reunited and reconciled by his death on the cross. Remember, it does take 2 to be reunited, but at least you can make an attempt to restore the friendship.

This week, examine your friendships, current ones and past ones. Is there a relationship that is on the brink of full scale war between you two? Or is there a past relationship that has ended and no reconciliation has occurred? I want to challenge you to: 1. Pray for God to give you wisdom in addressing it and 2. seek to reunite with that friend and try to make amends.

As James 1:5-6 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Seek God's wisdom and attempt to restore a broken relationship and see how God guides you through it.

Pray.

If Trinity can do it...

2007-11-10T06:37:00.000-05:00

1. Did you see that Trinity College game a few weeks ago? It was the one in which they had 2 seconds left, down by 4 and needing a TD to win the game. Oh yeah, they had to go 65 yards to do it. Did you see that one? If not, go to YouTube and look at it. It was insane how they used 15 laterals to win the game! Unless you witnessed it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe it. Have you seen anything in your life that unless you witnessed it with your own eyes, you wouldn't believe it?

Read Luke 9:12-17

2. Why do you think the “twelve” wanted to send away the crowd?

3. What was Jesus’ response?

4. What was the problem with that?

5. So, what did Jesus do?

6. What was the end result?

Application:

Can you imagine being apart of that crowd? You are probably pretty pumped because you got to see and hear from Jesus - a major draw. But now you're hungry and have no place to go. So, what happens, Jesus get 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish from the crowd and goes on to feed over 5,000 men (not to mention women and children)! How insane is that?

Jesus had every right to tell the crowd to disperse and he'll meet up with them again tomorrow, but he didn't do that. He knew that they had a need, a physical need - not a spiritual one. So, instead of having them all to fend for themselves, he chose to feed them with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. I don't know what is as amazing, the fact that he fed them with that little or that they had 12 basketfuls of leftovers!?!

So, here's the point - Jesus cares not just about your spiritual health, but your physical health as well. He wants to meet your needs and provide for you. Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well”. The question is, do you want what Christ is offering?

Regardless of where you are at in life, Christ wants us to cast all our cares, our worries, our concerns on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

When we cast our cares on him and when we seek him, he promises to care for us and provide. Will you let him? This week, cast all your cares on him and seek him. Then, see and experience where he will lead you.

Pray.

Who's got the Power?

2007-10-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

1. When you think of angels, what descriptions come to mind? How powerful do you think they are? Where do they get their power? Do they have more power than Christ?

Read Hebrews 1

2. How is Christ described?

3. Who has authority over angels?

4. What are the roles of angels? Who are they to minister to?

Application:

In movies, TV shows and books, Angels are often given a great amount of power. But, that power comes from God alone. They can not do anything without God's direction.

This chapter was talking about how some people were putting things such as Angels in front of importance over Christ. The writer of Hebrews (unknown writer - some think Paul wrote it), made it clear that Christ is of great importance and has power over all these things.

Is there something or someone you put in greater importance over Christ? If we look honestly, I think it is natural - we all do that. Whether it is our career, money, boyfriend/girlfriend, or Pastor, it is easy to look focus on who Christ is. He is the son of God and through him all things are possible (Phil. 4:13).

This week, refocus on who Christ is by reading some of the gospels. My suggestion would be Luke 9:10-27. Also, refocus on all that He has done in your life and seek Him this week with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Turn to him and see where he leads.

Pray.

All you need is love?

2007-09-28T22:09:00.000-04:00

1. Think of a person who has truly loved you. What were the marks of that persons way of relating to you?

Read 1 Corinthians 13

2. What is so tragic about using our gifts without love (v. 1-3)?

3. How would you define each of love’s qualities (v. 4-7)?

4. Why is love greater than faith or hope?

5. What aspect of love do you need to develop the most?

6. How have you seen love make an impact in our life or the life of others?

Application:

Can it be that simple? Can love really be that important or powerful? To answer that question, all you have to do is look at God's love for us. God's love overcame sin! It broke down that sin barrier that prohibited us from having a relationship with God.

Therefore, since Paul writes about it as extremely important and God demonstrates it through Christ, we know that all we need is love. But, please know, there is a difference between Godly love and human love. Godly love is found in verses 4-7. Human love is often portrayed as lust, excitement and passion found on TV or in the movies.

What kind of love are you demonstrating and are you allowing Godly love to impact you and those around you? This week, take at least 1 of the love qualities mentioned in verse 4-7 and integrate it into your life and see how God uses that in your life and those around you.

PRAY.

How are we acting?

2007-09-08T06:43:00.000-04:00

Take a minute and review how you acted this past day. How did you treat your family members? How did you treat your friends or people at school?

What did you communicate to them (not just words, but with your actions) by the way you acted?

Read Philippians 1:27a – “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

What does it mean to conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?

To help, list all that Christ stands for. How did Christ conduct himself? What did he do?

APPLICATION:

When Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians, he is in Jail. In the situation he was in, he conducted himself in a manner worthy of Christ. As stated in Philippians 1:12-14, he was not only conducting himself in a manner worthy of Christ, but he was doing this to further the kingdom as well! So, instead of acting poorly or complaining, he was winning over the inmates and the guards for Christ by the way he acted?

But, what is a “manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”? What does that mean? It can be many things, but two of Christ’s primary goals were to love and forgive.

Are we loving people with words and deeds? Are we forgiving people? Remember, anyone can say they love and forgive people, but do your thoughts and actions back up that love and forgiveness. To bring back an old and overused phrase, do you "WWJD"?

This is the encouragement for us in that whatever happens to us, conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Not when good things happens or when life is going well. It is in all situations. We are representatives of Christ and by treating other people the way Christ would, we may win them over to Him as well.

PRAY

Furthering the Kingdom in all Situations

2007-08-29T07:22:00.000-04:00

What was one of the worst thing that happened to you? How did you respond?

Read Philippians 1:12-14 – “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”

What was his situation? Where was he?

What was his attitude about his situation?

How did this inspire others?

What often prevents us from furthering the Kingdom? What holds you back?

How does Paul's example inspire you to further the KIngdom?

Application:

Paul is in jail, probably for a crime he didn’t commit – false accusations or something like that. He was probably fed little and beaten. Despite this, he is making the most out of his situation.

He took advantage of it and was using it to further the kingdom – v. 12 – “…what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ”

He didn’t let his circumstances dictate what he was or wasn’t going to do.

So, he shared the gospel with others. But he was also furthering the kingdom by inspiring others to share about Christ. v. 14 – “…most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”

He was inspiring other Christians elsewhere with his boldness. If Paul was furthering the Kingdom in a hostile environment such as Prison, then why couldn't they do it?

Why can’t we do it? What is preventing us from furthering the kingdom?

Don't let your situation or circumstances dictate what you will or will not share about Christ. Set 1 goal right now of how you can further the kingdom in all situations. Remember, actions speak louder than words. We don't have to preach or get on our soapbox to further the kingdom. Our actions are even more powerful of the life change found in Christ only.

Pray

Where's your heart?

2007-08-11T06:36:00.000-04:00

When you wake up in the morning, what are you most excited to do? What motivates you throughout the day?

Read Matthew 6:33; Luke 9:23, 57-62

What are these verses saying?

What do these verses say about priorites?

Where should Christ be in those priorities?

Application:

You tend to put the most energy to things that motivate you and spur you on. Where does Christ fall in your motivation? Are you motivated to know Him better so you can live life better? Or do other things come first and take the priority?

Are you passionate about Christ? Do you desire to grow in Him? Do you yearn to know Him better?

Where you find out where your heart is, that is where you will be spending your time and energy.

When you commit the day and the week to Christ, seek Him throughout that time, you will discover how He makes a direct impact on your day and week. When we seek Him first and foremost, then stay committed to Him throughout, He will guide you. BUT, you have to seek Him. It is not checking Him off the list after your pray once or you read the Bible. You have to keep Him first throughout the day.

What can you do this week to put Christ first again?

1 suggestion is to wake up and the first thing you do when you wake up is to spend time with Christ by reading the Bible, praying, committing the day to Him. Another suggestion is to get the Topical Memory System from the Navigators and carry some verses to mediate and memorize throughout the day.

This way, we can keep Christ consistently in our lives throughout the day and He can and will make an impact in our lives.

Pray

Why are they Here?

2007-07-05T05:56:00.000-04:00

Did someone you know ever show up at Church or a Christian Meeting (ie, FCA, Young Life, Campus Crusade) and you thought, why are they here? _________ (fill in the blank) isn't a Christian, he/she shouldn't be here. Why did you think that?

Read Acts 9:1-19

Who is Saul? What did he do?

Why was he persecuting Christians?

How did Ananias respond to the report of Saul’s conversion?

What if Saul lived today and shared his testimony at your school or at your Church? What would you think? Would you want to be associated with him?

Application:

Are people like Saul, people we want in Church or say they are a Christian? Why or why not?

What about someone like:
• Brittney Spears
• Paris Hilton
• Bill Clinton

Should the Church be made up of people like these? Why?

Absolutely! Not everyone who commits their life to Christ is going to look the same. But, everyone needs Christ. Remember the woman at the well, the demon possessed man, the woman caught in adultery? Christ extended his hand to them and invited them into a relationship with him.

As a Church (a body of believers), our goal should be to invite everyone to church and help lead them into a relationship with Christ so that they can impact and lead others to Christ.

Remember, it doesn't matter who you were or where you came from. Christ loves us all - every single one of us and we have to do our part in helping everyone come into a relationship with him.

Today, think of someone you know that you should extend your hand out to and invite them to Church or a Young Life Club. Pray that God would give you an opportunity to invite them to this activity and allow God to work. Remember, God is the one who changes hearts and impacts people. We are just merely a tool, ready to be used.

Once the opportunity presents itself, act on it.

Pray

The Energy Bar

2007-06-27T08:53:00.000-04:00

When you have a long day, what is the 1st thing you look forward to doing when you get home?

Read Mark 1:16-20
1. What did Jesus mean when he told them that He would help them become fishers of men?
2. What was the response of Simon, Andrew, James and John?

Read Mark 1:21-34
3. What was the difference between the way Jesus taught and the teachers of law taught?
4. How did the people respond to Jesus’ healings?

Mark 1:35-39
5. According to these verses, why did Jesus come to earth?
6. Why did Jesus get up early in the morning to pray?

Application

In these sections, Jesus called fishermen to become fishers of men, he healed the demon-possessed, the sick, gave an amazing teaching about God and spent time with God early in the morning.

After such long and challenging days, the last thing you would expect a person to do would be to wake up early in the morning, before sunrise, pray and spend time with God. However that is exactly what Jesus did. He knew that if he was going to have many more days like these, which he would, he would have to get charged back up and reenergized by God.

Days like those are draining and if you have enough of them, you may want to just quit what you are doing and retreat. Christ modeled to us that we need to go to God for our strength. We need to turn to him always and all the more when we encounter days like that.

How often do you spend time with God? When you do, is it meaningful and purposeful, or is it just a thing that you check off for the day and said that you did it?

Let’s spend some meaningful time with God this summer. Wake up a few minutes early in the morning to pray, listen and spend time reading the Bible and see where God takes you. If Christ, the savior of the world needed to, I think we do too.

Pray